Mithril for Haxe
Mithril is a small, yet great javascript MVC framework that is faster and more flexible than most others. Here's the Haxe version for Mithril 2, with some useful extra features thanks to macros and the type inference.
Installation
Standard procedure: haxelib install mithril and then -lib mithril in your .hxml file.
How to use
Mithril has a great introduction on its website and an astounding amount of documentation, so I'll only highlight what you need to get started with the Haxe version here.
Implement the Mithril interface
Because of Javascript's dynamic nature compared to Haxe's strongly typed system, the balance between flexibility and compiler safety can be difficult. When using Mithril, you will create components that will be used together with the Mithril API. For these objects you should implement the Mithril interface. Here's an example of a Mithril component:
import mithril.M;
class TodoComponent implements Mithril
{
var todos : Array<Todo>;
public function new(todos) {
this.todos = todos;
}
// When implementing Mithril, the last m() expression
// or Array of m() is returned automatically.
public function view() {
m("div", [
m("h1", "To do"),
m("table", todos.map(function(todo) {
m("tr", [
m("td", m("input[type=checkbox]", {
onclick: function(e) todo.done = e.target.checked,
checked: todo.done
})),
m("td", todo.description)
]);
}))
]);
}
}
class Todo
{
public var done : Bool = false;
public var description : String;
public function new(description, ?done) {
this.description = description;
if(done != null) this.done = done;
}
}
class Main
{
// Program entry point
static function main() {
var todos = [
new Todo("Learn Haxe"),
new Todo("??"),
new Todo("Profit!")
];
M.mount(js.Browser.document.body, new TodoComponent(todos));
}
}The major API differences
-
Use M, not m!
import mithril.M;, then useMinstead ofmfor the whole API. As you see above, the only exception is when usingm(), you can use that without prefixing withM. -
m.redraw.sync()is available throughM.redrawSync().
Upgrading from 1.x to 2.x
- The
M.routemethods can now be called as in the Mithril syntax,M.route.parametc. To callM.routehowever, useM.route.route. -
M.withAttrhas been removed. Use ane -> e.targetlambda function instead.
"this" is slightly different
Because of the slight mismatch between Haxe classes and the classless Mithril structure, an important difference is that in lifecycle methods, the native javascript this points to vnode.tag instead of vnode.state. Otherwise it would have pointed to another object when inside instance methods.
This is usually nothing you have to worry about if you're using Haxe classes only for your components and state. In that context, this works normally.
When using Node.js
If you're using Node.js, you can install and use Mithril from npm instead of the Haxe port (see below for server side examples). To do that, define -D mithril-native.
Haxe examples
This repo has some examples that can be interesting to test. Clone it, open a prompt in the directory and run:
haxelib install mithril
Then select one of the following:
Some small apps
A collection of two demo apps, available on the Mithril site.
haxe client.hxmlnekotools server -d bin- Open http://localhost:2000/ in a browser.
Webshop
A simple e-commerce site to demonstrate the power of Mithril.
haxe webshop.hxmlnekotools server -d bin/webshop- Open http://localhost:2000/ in a browser.
Live demo here: http://ciscoheat.github.io/webshop
From scratch
If you prefer a bare-bones example (doesn't require cloning), create the following two files and follow the instructions below:
index.html
<!doctype html>
<body>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/mithril/mithril.js"></script>
<script src="example.js"></script>
</body>Example.hx
import mithril.M;
class User
{
public var name : String;
public function new(name) {
this.name = name;
}
}
class Example implements Mithril
{
var user : User;
public function new() {
this.user = new User("Thorin Oakenshield");
}
public function view() [
// Display an input field
m('input', {
// Updates the model on input
oninput: e -> user.name = e.target.value,
// The redraw triggered by the oninput event will update
// the input field value from the model automatically
value: user.name
}),
// Display a div with class .user and some style
m('.user', {style: {margin: "15px"}}, user.name)
];
// Program entry point
static function main() {
M.mount(js.Browser.document.body, new Example());
}
}Compile and run with:
haxe -lib mithril -js example.js -main Example- Open index.html in a browser.
Server side - All targets
The rendering part of Mithril has been ported to Haxe, so you can now enjoy writing Mithril templates and have them rendered to HTML anywhere. Here's a class to get you started:
import mithril.MithrilNodeRender;
import mithril.M.m;
class Main {
static function main() {
var view = m("ul", [
m("li", "item 1"),
m("li", "item 2"),
]);
// <ul><li>item 1</li><li>item 2</li></ul>
Sys.println(new MithrilNodeRender().render(view));
}
}(Note: The above code may not work in interp mode. Test it with neko instead.)
Server side - Node.js & isomorphism
Without too much hassle, it's possible to render a Mithril component/view serverside on Node.js. Run the following in the repo directory:
npm installhaxelib install hxnodejshaxe server.hxmlcd bin
Example 1: Simple rendering
node server.js outputs a simple HTML rendering example.
Example 2: Isomorphic code
node server.js server
Starts a server on http://localhost:2000 that executes the same code on server and client. The server generates the HTML so the page is perceived to load quickly and search engines can index it, then the client enables the functionality.
Example 3: Cross-platform rendering
As a bonus, a Neko version of Example 1 will also be compiled. Test it with
neko server.n
The MithrilNodeRender is tested with travix and should work on all targets.
Feedback please!
Feedback is always welcome! Open an issue and give me a piece of your mind. :)
