ng-falcor: Use Falcor in Angular 1.x Projects

Installation

npm install ng-falcor

Alternatively, copy the UMD file dist/ng-falcor.js in this repo and put it wherever you want.

Experimental!

This lib is pre-1.0 and likely have breaking changes before hitting 1.0, especially as Falcor (which is also pre 1.0) continues to evolve.

How does it work?

See the Falcor website for how Falcor works. This lib provides an Angular factory that wraps a Falcor model and exposes it to your logic and templates. Subsequently, Angular bindings operate against a single source of truth consisting of a Falcor model containing all your application data. From then on, it's simply a matter of manipulating the JSON graph via the model.

API

ngFalcor.create(opts)

The main export of ng-falcor has but one method create() which returns an Angular factory function. Pass it an options hash:

• source (DataSource) Any object that implements the Falcor DataSource convention.
• router (string) If provided, a new falcor.HttpDataSource is created using this and added to the model. This is an alternative to source.
• headers (object) An object containing HTTP request headers. If provided, the falcor HttpDatasource will send these headers along with every request. Only use in conjunction with router.
• timeout (number) If provided, falcor HttpDatasource requests will timeout after this many milliseconds. Only use in conjunction with router.
• cache (object) Pre-populate the model cache. Useful for bootstrapping data for example.
• onChange (function) Alias to onChange on the internal Falcor model.

ngf

This is the singleton object that gets injected into your controllers by the factory. You can name it whatever you want, but ngf is nice and short. It has several methods:

• ngf(path) - Synchronous getter. Will trigger a router request as a side effect if the value isn't found in the model. As usual with Falcor, the provided path must point to a leaf node in the graph.
• ngf.twoWay(path) - Returns a function that serves as an ng-model in a two-way binding scenario. Must be used in conjunction with ng-model-options="{getterSetter:true}". Be aware this will send set requests to your Falcor model as the user interacts with the bound element.
• ngf.get(...args) - Alias to get(...args) on the internal Falcor model.
• ngf.getValue(...args) - Alias to getValue(...args) on the internal Falcor model.
• ngf.set(...args) - Alias to set(...args) on the internal Falcor model.
• ngf.callModel(...args) - Alias to call(...args) on the internal Falcor model (named callModel to avoid colliding with JS's Function#call).
• ngf.invalidate(...args) - Alias to invalidate(...args) on the internal Falcor model.
• ngf.configure(options) - Configure your ngf object with a fresh configuration. Accepts same options as ngFalcor.create(options). Warning: this has the side effect of deleting all cached Falcor data.
• ngf.reconfigure(options) - Reconfigure your ngf object. Accepts same options as ngFalcor.create(options). Warning: this has the side effect of deleting all cached Falcor data. The difference between this and ngf.configure() is that this merges the given configuration information into the existing, instead of replacing it.
• ngf.scope(rootPath) - Returns a function that behaves just like ngf(path), except rootPath is prepended to path. rootPath can also be a function that returns a path.
• ngf.detach(template) - Creates a detached object containing data from the Falcor model based on the given template. The template object is keyed/valued by names/paths. Returns a promise for an object matching the templates, with values resolved from Falcor based on corresponding paths. This object can then be mutated arbitrarily. See also ngf.attach() below.
• ngf.reattach(detached) - Takes an object returned from ngf.detach() (see above) and reattaches it to the model, calling set on the model as necessary. Presumably, the values of this object will have been mutated in some way. Returns a promise on completion.
• ngf.object(template) - Similar to detach, but synchronously returns an object whose keys are getters/setters to the falcor model. Handy for when one of your directives simply must have an object rather than referencing graph leaves.

Iteration helpers

Often your JSON graph will contain lists, which you'll iterate using ng-repeat. This lib offers some helper utilities.

Iteration mode 1: simple ranges

ngf.range(lo, hi) returns an array of integers from lo to hi (inclusive). This list can be passed directly to ng-repeat and each integer can then be used as an index into your Falcor list. See the recipes section for examples.

Iteration mode 2: stepping pagers

A stepping pager supports the traditional paging scenario. It's an object gotten by calling ngf.stepper(size), where size is the number of things on each page. See the recipes section for examples. A stepping pager has these methods:

• pager.prev() - Go to the previous page.
• pager.next() - Go to the next page.
• pager.hasPrev() - Is there a previous page?
• pager.hasNext(total) - Is there a next page? This method needs to know the total number of things in the list in order to work.
• pager.indices() - Return an array of numbers representing the current page of items being viewed. This array can be passed to ng-repeat and each number can then be used as an index into your Falcor list.

Iteration mode 3: increasing pagers

An increasing pager supports the infinite scrolling scenario. It's an object gotten by calling ngf.increaser(size), where size is the number of things to increase by each time. See the recipes section for examples. An increasing pager has these methods:

• pager.more() - Increase the size of the list.
• pager.hasMore(total) - Can the list be increased? This method needs to know the total number of things in the list in order to work.
• pager.indices() - Return an array of numbers representing all the items being viewed. This array can be passed to ng-repeat and each number can then be used as an index into your Falcor list.

Credit

Credit due to @rolaveric for inspiration and providing some useful pieces to this puzzle. And of course the Falcor and Angular teams.