How to develop your own javascript library

JavaScript is one of the most common languages ​​used in web development today. Many web programmers have written their own JavaScript libraries to help others solve repetitive tasks and improve development efficiency. To create your own JavaScript library, you need to pay attention to the following steps.

Understand what JavaScript libraries are

Before you start creating Javascript libraries, you need to understand what they are. A JavaScript library is a set of code snippets that encapsulates certain functionality and provides a simple and easy-to-use API interface. Developers can introduce the library into the project and use its available APIs to perform its functions.

Good JavaScript library code should:

• Encapsulate code that needs to be used again
• Simplified API to make it easy to use
• Fully tested To ensure stability

These properties are necessary to convert the code into a library.

Required Tools

Before you start creating a JavaScript library, you need to make sure you have the necessary development tools on your computer. The most commonly used development tools include:

• IDE. There are many developers who use something like a suitable Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for programmers' Javascript writing. Some well-known IDEs are Eclipse, Visual Studio Code and WebStorm, etc., which are all good choices.
• editor. If you are not used to using IDE, but want to add some extensions to the editor, such as Vim, Sublime Text, Notepad, etc., these editors are also very good for JavaScript development.
• version control. When multiple people develop in a project, it will bring about version control problems. At this time, version control systems such as Git or SVN come in handy.

Writing JavaScript

Writing JavaScript is the core of creating a JavaScript library. The writing process for most libraries is based on the same idea.

Library developers usually use some "self-contained" (Self-contained) patterns, using some module pattern and class pattern techniques. These patterns all follow a similar structure:

• Anonymous function "wrapper" enables the creation of private space
• An initialization function, after performing some necessary setup, before the final exit
• In some cases, multiple methods are exposed to help developers make calls quickly.

The following shows the writing style of a simple JavaScript library. This includes closure techniques.

;(function (window, undefined) {
  function example (string) {
    if (!(this instanceof example))
      return new example(string)
    this._string = string
  }

  example.fn = example.prototype = {
    example: '0.0.1'
  }

  example.fn.toString = function () {
    return this._string
  }

  window.example = example
})(window)

This code uses some AMD and CommonJS module patterns through an immediately executed function and closure form. It contains a wrapper function to ensure that this code is only executed once and creates private space.

A constructor example is created internally, containing a string of any length and passed in as a parameter. Then a function object of toString() is defined on the prototype property of the function.

At the end of the code, it exposes example to the global namespace window for others to use.

Submit code

In the process of writing code, you can use version control systems such as Git or SVN to track code changes. When the library is ready, it's a good idea to create a repository that commits to a platform like GitHub or GitLab.

These open source communities can promote your code globally, making it easier to discover and make it easier for others to share the libraries you develop.

Testing

JavaScript libraries must be fully tested before they are officially released to a production environment. Different testing frameworks like Jasmine and Mocha can be used to perform unit testing and integration testing in the application to ensure the quality of the library. Some popular testing frameworks include:

• Mocha: is a JavaScript testing framework for browser-side and Node.js.
• Jasmine: Jasmine is a JavaScript testing framework based on behavior-driven development.

Testing of code is a crucial part of the process of creating a library, because it is best to test it in real-life scenarios such as multiple browsers and multiple devices before publishing.

Documentation

When creating a JavaScript library, you need to write documentation and get used to getting the corresponding information from the code.

Good documentation should include the following:

• An overview of the functions, classes, objects, etc. exported from the library
• Their inputs, outputs, and usage
• Configuration details and extension options
• Error handling and debugging information

Additionally, it should be noted that the project should include a well-written documentation for the benefit of others Ability to understand and use the code. If the documentation process is too cumbersome, it will be difficult for users in many usage scenarios to have a general impression of the project, which will have a negative impact on the popularity of the library.

Ready

Creating a good JavaScript library requires careful planning, as well as good structure and documentation. But once created, you can use it as a basic building block for yourself or other developers, allowing you to increase code reuse to an unprecedented level.

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