So, you've tried your hand at writing jQuery plugins and you're comfortable putting together something that probably works. Awesome! Thing is, you think there might be better ways you could be writing them - you've seen them done a number of different ways in the wild, but aren't really sure what the differences between these patterns are or how to get started with them.
This project won't seek to provide a perfect solution to every possible pattern, but will attempt to cover a simple template for beginners and above. By using a basic defaults object, simple constructor for assigning the element to work with and extending options with defaults and a lightweight wrapper around the constructor to avoid issues with multiple instantiations.
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Include jQuery:
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.0.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
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Include plugin's code:
<script src="dist/jquery.boilerplate.min.js"></script>
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Call the plugin:
$("#element").defaultPluginName({ propertyName: "a custom value" });
The basic structure of the project is given in the following way:
├── demo/
│ └── index.html
├── dist/
│ ├── jquery.boilerplate.js
│ └── jquery.boilerplate.min.js
├── src/
│ ├── jquery.boilerplate.coffee
│ └── jquery.boilerplate.js
├── .editorconfig
├── .gitignore
├── .jshintrc
├── .travis.yml
├── boilerplate.jquery.json
├── Gruntfile.js
└── package.json
Contains a simple HTML file to demonstrate your plugin.
This is where the generated files are stored once Grunt runs.
Contains the files responsible for your plugin, you can choose between JavaScript or CoffeeScript.
This file is for unifying the coding style for different editors and IDEs.
Check editorconfig.org if you haven't heard about this project yet.
List of files that we don't want Git to track.
Check this Git Ignoring Files Guide for more details.
List of rules used by JSHint to detect errors and potential problems in JavaScript.
Check jshint.com if you haven't heard about this project yet.
Definitions for continous integration using Travis.
Check travis-ci.org if you haven't heard about this project yet.
Package manifest file used to publish plugins in jQuery Plugin Registry.
Check this Package Manifest Guide for more details.
Contains all automated tasks using Grunt.
Check gruntjs.com if you haven't heard about this project yet.
Specify all dependencies loaded via Node.JS.
Check NPM for more details.
Have you got in this repo and still not sure about using this boilerplate?
Well, extending jQuery with plugins and methods is very powerful and can save you and your peers a lot of development time by abstracting your most clever functions into plugins.
This awesome guide, adapted from jQuery Plugins/Authoring, will outline the basics, best practices, and common pitfalls to watch out for as you begin writing your plugin.
Also, check our guide on How to publish a plugin in jQuery Plugin Registry!
jQuery Boilerplate was made with love by these guys and a bunch of awesome contributors.
Check CONTRIBUTING.md for more information.
Check Releases for detailed changelog.
MIT License © Zeno Rocha