Retrieving Data. A Best Practice. - Beta Test Suite for zjrJS

Challenges

• Your web application needs to retrieve data from your server or data storage.
  
• Your web application needs to speed up initial page load by deferring some data retrieval to on-demand or on-time-out.

Requirements

• Your data can be written in javascript.
  
• You can add a javascript method that calls back to a pre-defined function in your main script. (Or better: you control the data retrieval.)

Benefits
Reduce both the perceived and the actual initial loading time of the main page.

Dependencies
zjrJS.Doc.lS() to load scripts

Example
<script type="text/javascript" src="zjrJS.version.js" id="zjrJS"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">/* <![CDATA[ */

zjrJS.Doc.aE(window,"load",function(){
//The reader script should be instructed to call back when done loading
zjrJS.Doc.lS("myDataReader.js", "myDataReader");
});

//This is the callback function that myDataReader.js will invoke
function myDataReaderCallback(){
//Now we know the reader is loaded and ready, let's get some data.
//This data script should also call back when done loading.
zjrJS.Doc.lS("myData.js", "myData", 30);
}

function myDataCallback(){
//Now we know the data is loaded and ready, do something with the data
}
/* ]]> */</script>

In the above example you saw that the on-demand moment is body.onLoad(). Use it to load parts of your application you don't need right away. Other moments include button pushes, menu invocations, log-in requests, and the likes.

Don't use zjrJS.Doc.lS() when...

• When you do not control, or did not sign agreements on the script you invoke. See the JQuery example below.
  
• When you need to load a CSS or other media file that does not contain client side script.
  
• When for some inexplicability you are required to use AJAX.

How to do this using competitive libraries
JQuery getScript()
<script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">/* <![CDATA[ */

//The reader script does not need to be instructed to call back when done loading
//because we provide the callback function right here.
$.getScript("myDataReader.js", function(){
//Now we know the reader is loaded and ready, let's get some data.
$.getScript("myData.js", function(){
//Now we know the data is loaded and ready, do something with the data.
//Just mind your closures.
});
});

/* ]]> */</script>