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Moodle JavaScript Cookbook
Moodle JavaScript Cookbook

Moodle JavaScript Cookbook: Make Moodle e-learning even more dynamic by learning to customize using JavaScript. With over 50 recipes, this Cookbook allows you to add effects, modify forms, include animations, and much more for an enhanced user experience.

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Moodle JavaScript Cookbook

Chapter 2. Moodle and Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI)

In this chapter, we will cover:

  • Initializing the YUI 3 library

  • Loading YUI 3 modules

  • Loading YUI 2 modules from YUI 3

  • Attaching basic event handlers

  • Attaching advanced DOM event handlers

  • Implementing Event Delegation

  • Debugging with the YUI console

Introduction


There are a lot of common tasks that need to be performed when writing JavaScript. A large proportion of this simply involves dealing with differences between web browsers. The need for a way to hide or abstract the specifics of each browser into a standard interface gave rise to sets of tools known as JavaScript libraries. One of the leading libraries in use on the web today is the Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI).

Moodle includes a copy of the YUI as its preferred JavaScript library. YUI provides developers with access to a wide range of tools for enhancing their web applications:

The YUI Library is a set of utilities and controls, written with JavaScript and CSS, for building richly interactive web applications using techniques such as DOM scripting, DHTML and AJAX. YUI is available under a BSD license and is free for all uses. YUI is proven, scalable, fast, and robust. Built by frontend engineers at Yahoo! and contributors from around the world, it's an industrial-strength...

Initializing the YUI 3 library


In this recipe, we will learn how to initialize the YUI 3 environment within Moodle, which will get us ready to start using YUI 3 features. Moodle takes care of most of the initial setup, namely loading the required CSS and JavaScript files, so all we need to be concerned with is activating the YUI environment.

This example will show how to execute JavaScript code from within the YUI environment. We will set up a small YUI script which will simply display a message including the version number of the active YUI environment in a JavaScript alert box.

This provides a simple view of what is required to get YUI up and running that we will build on further in the subsequent recipes.

Getting ready

We begin by setting up a new PHP file yui_init.php in the cook directory with the following content:

<?php
require_once(dirname(__FILE__) . '/../config.php');
$PAGE->set_context(get_context_instance(CONTEXT_SYSTEM));
$PAGE->set_url('/cook/yui_init.php');
$PAGE-&gt...

Loading additional YUI modules


YUI has a whole host of additional modules providing a very wide range of functionalities. Some examples of commonly used functionalities provided by additional modules include:

  • Animation

  • Drag and drop

  • Manipulating DOM elements

  • Handling DOM events (that is an input button's "click" event)

  • Handling data (JSON/XML)

For a current list of all the modules available, please refer to the Yahoo! Developer Network website for YUI 3 at the URL: http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/3/

How to do it...

The loading of additional modules is achieved via the use method of the YUI object. In the previous recipe we learned how to run code via the use method with the following syntax:

YUI().use
( function(Y) { /* <code to execute> */ } );

Note that the use method takes an arbitrarily long number of arguments (one or more) and only the last argument must be the anonymous function described in the previous recipe. The preceding arguments are a list of one or more modules you wish to...

Loading YUI 2 modules from YUI 3


There can be several reasons why we would want to load YUI 2 modules from within YUI 3. We may have a substantial amount of pre-written YUI 2 code that we wish to use straight away, saving us the trouble of rewriting it from scratch. Another reason may be, as in this book, we wish to use features of the YUI 2 that have not yet been re-implemented as native YUI 3 modules.

In this recipe, we will learn how to load YUI 2 modules from within YUI 3 by loading the Calendar widget from YUI 2, inside a native YUI 3 script.

Getting ready

We begin by creating a new PHP file yui_cal.php in the cook directory with the following content:

<?php
require_once(dirname(__FILE__) . '/../config.php');
$PAGE->set_context(get_context_instance(CONTEXT_SYSTEM));
$PAGE->set_url('/cook/yui_cal.php');
$PAGE->requires->js('/cook/yui_cal.js');
echo $OUTPUT->header();
?>
<div id="calContainer"></div>
<?php
echo $OUTPUT->footer();
?>

You will notice...

Attaching basic event handlers


Events are the basis for managing how the user interface responds to particular actions taken by the user, primarily with the keyboard and/or mouse. An event is a particular action taken in the context of a particular DOM element. The following are two common examples:

  • An input button element has a click event, which occurs when the user clicks the mouse while the mouse pointer is hovering over the button

  • An input text box has a focus event, which occurs when the text box has gained focus, meaning the user has moved the cursor into the text box either with the mouse cursor or using the Tab key

Therefore, an event handler is a specific block of code (callback function) that we have registered (attached) to a particular element and event combination, that is, the input button and its click event.

In this recipe, we will learn how to attach a click event handler to an HTML input button as per the first example. We will set up the code such that an alert is displayed...

Attaching advanced DOM event handlers


Sometimes we simply want to run JavaScript code when the page loads, rather than in response to an action taken by the user (as in the previous example).

A simple way to achieve this would be to put our code directly in the JavaScript file outside of any functions or event handlers. Using this method, our code would just be executed straight after it is loaded. If we are following the best practice technique of loading our script files at the end of the body tag, our code will be executed after the main body content of the page has loaded.

Note that Moodle implements this best practice for us automatically when we use the technique from the Loading a JavaScript file recipe in Chapter 1, Combining Moodle and JavaScript unless we specify otherwise, as per the Loading a JavaScript file in the <head> recipe. Using this latter technique of loading a script file from the <head>, our code would be executed before the rest of the page had finished...

Implementing event delegation


So far we have looked at a range of methods for registering single events to single elements. These techniques are very useful but it becomes inefficient and laborious when we wish to register events for multiple elements.

If we take the example of a navigation control in the form of a list of links, we could implement a click event for each link by manually registering the event against the ID of the element. While this may be fine for a handful of links, as soon as the list starts to get larger it becomes very cumbersome to manage these events. The more links there are, the more it becomes prone to mistakes and bugs. Would you want to write (and manage) code to register click events to 50 links by hand if you didn't have to?

Fortunately, it so happens that the YUI has a solution for just this type of problem, namely Event Delegation.

Event delegation is a technique whereby we can designate a parent element to hand down events to its child elements. Picking up...

Debugging with the YUI console


Debugging is one area where JavaScript has suffered in the past — there are a range of browser plugins available which help to some extent, but if we wish to debug an issue that occurs in a browser that doesn't have these usual features, we have a problem!

YUI's answer to this problem is the YUI Console, as shown in the following image:

This is a widget that displays a log of all messages that have been written to the console log. These include messages from existing YUI widgets and plugins, but may also include customized messages logged from our own JavaScript code.

In this recipe, we will display the YIU console and log some example messages to it.

Getting ready

First, we create a PHP page yui_console.php to house the console, with the following content:

<?php
require_once(dirname(__FILE__) . '/../config.php');
$PAGE->set_context(get_context_instance(CONTEXT_SYSTEM));
$PAGE->set_url('/cook/yui_console.php');
$PAGE->requires->js('/cook/yui_console...
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Key benefits

  • Learn why, where, and how to add to add JavaScript to your Moodle site
  • Get the most out of Moodle's built-in extra‚Äîthe Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI)
  • Explore a wide range of modern interactive features, from AJAX to Animation
  • Integrate external libraries like jQuery framework with Moodle

Description

Moodle is the best e-learning solution on the block and is revolutionizing courses on the Web. Using JavaScript in Moodle is very useful to administrators and dynamic developers as it uses built-in libraries to provide the modern and dynamic experience that is expected by web users today.The Moodle JavaScript Cookbook will take you through the basics of combining Moodle with JavaScript and its various libraries and explain how JavaScript can be used along with Moodle. It will explain how to integrate Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI) with Moodle. YUI will be the main focus of the book, and is the key to implementing modern, dynamic feature-rich interfaces to help your users get a more satisfying and productive Moodle experience. It will enable you to add effects, make forms more responsive, use AJAX and animation, all to create a richer user experience. You will be able to work through a range of YUI features, such as pulling in and displaying information from other websites, enhancing existing UI elements to make users' lives easier, and even how to add animation to your pages for a nice finishing touch.

Who is this book for?

This book is aimed at developers and administrators comfortable with customizing Moodle with the use of plugin modules, themes, and patches who want to make their site more dynamic. If you have prior knowledge of HTML, PHP, and CSS and a good working knowledge of the underlying structure of Moodle, then this book is for you. No prior experience with JavaScript is needed.

What you will learn

  • Get started with the Yahoo! User Interface Library
  • Add validation features to your Moodle forms
  • Retrieve and process data from external sites in a range of formats using AJAX
  • Add feature rich spreadsheet-style data tables‚Äîsorting, paging, and inline editing
  • Add auto-complete functionality to text boxes and combo boxes
  • Make use of advanced navigation controls‚Äîdrop-down menus, tabbed panels, and modal windows
  • Use animation techniques‚Äîfading, scrolling, and resizing
  • Integrate external libraries such as JQuery framework, MooTools framework, and Dojo framework
  • Initialize a YUI DataSource
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Publication date : Apr 26, 2011
Length: 180 pages
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Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781849511902
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Table of Contents

9 Chapters
Combining Moodle and JavaScript Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Moodle and Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI) Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Moodle Forms Validation Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Manipulating Data with YUI 3 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Working with Data Tables Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Enhancing Page Elements Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Advanced Layout Techniques Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Animating Components Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Integrating External Libraries Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.7
(3 Ratings)
5 star 66.7%
4 star 33.3%
3 star 0%
2 star 0%
1 star 0%
Chris Swan Jul 26, 2011
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
The Moodle JavaScript Cookbook by Alastair Hole is an ideal resource for the developer wishing to customise a standard installation. Basic JavaScript knowledge is needed to gain the most benefit from this book however there is a Pandora's box of code waiting for you to experiment with. In his book, Alastair explores different tools that are available to make Moodle work harder for you. There is excellent coverage of the use of JavaScript libraries to improve the Moodle UI as well as importing and using currently available external libraries. Different methods of achieving the outcome are demonstrated leading to flexible solution development. The Moodle JavaScript Cookbook makes a useful reference and tutorial but also is also a great book to flick through during your developers' coffee break in search of a serendipity moment.Chris Swan
Amazon Verified review Amazon
W. Baars Aug 04, 2011
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
One of the mayor 'complaints' about open source lms systems such as Moodle is the fact that the 'looks' can be a bit dissapointing. Now with the surge of HTML 5 (javascript) for those who can, it is possible to make moodle look great or make it even more interactive.In the moodle community there is a lot to find about not-so-technical stuff, but for those who want to get deeper into it, you may be on your own a bit. This book will help those technical guys and girls. You may need to know some php, html but you do not need to know any javascript for this book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
luisdev Mar 27, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
This book was written in May 2011 - almost three years ago as I write this. A lot has changed in Moodle in those three years. So, how relevant is this book to the current version of Moodle (2.6)? Does the content of this book still apply to the current version of Moodle and can we still use what this teaches to develop JavaScript in the current versions Moodle? A lot has changed in Moodle since 2011!Are there any plans to publish a new updated version?
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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