Net - A simple, robust XMLHTTP interface

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Net.js - (4.8KB) - 2006-08-29

Public Methods

get

• static
• Parameters

  oArgs - a hash (or object) that expects certain key/value pairs:

  • url - string containing the absolute or relative URL to which the request will be made.
  • [optional] vars - a string or object literal containing keys and values to pass along with the request.
  • onsuccess - a function reference to a function taking a single argument, the request object. This function will be called upon connection success.
  • [optional] onerror - a function reference to a function to handle errors. See _fnErrorDefault for format information.
• Return Value - true on success, false on failure.
• Summary - dispatches a GET request to the given URL and passes the given parameters. Calls onsuccess on success with the request object as the only argument, or onerror on failure.

post

• static
• Parameters

  oArgs - a hash (or object) that expects certain key/value pairs:

  • url - string containing the absolute or relative URL to which the request will be made.
  • [optional] vars - a string or object literal containing keys and values to pass along with the request.
  • onsuccess - a function reference to a function taking a single argument, the request object. This function will be called upon connection success.
  • [optional] onerror - a function reference to a function to handle errors. See _fnErrorDefault for format information.
• Return Value - true on success, false on failure.
• Summary - dispatches a POST request to the given URL and passes the given parameters. Calls onsuccess on success with the request object as the only argument, or onerror on failure.

Example Usage 1

var fnWhenDone = function(R) { alert(R.responseText); };
Net.get({url: "foo.xml", vars: "x=1&y=2", onsuccess: fnWhenDone});
      

Explanation

Probably the simplest invocation of Net.get() with a simple relative URL, a string of '&' delimited key=value pairs, and a callback function that simply alerts the responseText property of the R object.

Example Usage 2

var fnWhenDone = function(R) { alert(R.responseText); };
var fnWhenError = function(sType, R) { alert("Error! ("+sType+"): "+(R.statusText||'')); };
Net.post({url: "foo.php", vars: {x: 1, y: 2}, onsuccess: fnWhenDone, onerror: fnWhenError});
      

Explanation

A call to Net.post() that passes an object literal with key-value pairs for the vars and both a success and error handler.

Test Script

See test.html for a working implementation.

Private Methods

Net [constructor]

• Summary: called internally to construct a new instance of the Net class for each request.

_createRequestObject

• static
• Parameters - none.
• Return Value - a reference to a valid request object or null.
• Summary - creates a request object and returns a reference to it.

_fnErrorDefault

• static
• Parameters
  • sType - a string indicating the type of error.
  • Request - the request object involved with the error.
• Return Value - none.
• Summary - receives an error type, one of: "timeout", "initialization", or some other message such as an HTTP failure code. This method is an empty shell and will be used by default unless a function reference for an error handling function is passed into the original Net.get() or Net.post() call.

_serializeObject

• static
• Parameters
  • oFrom - an object containing key-value pairs.
• Return Value - a string with the contents of the object passed in, URI-encoded and '&'-delimited.
• Summary - serializes a JS object into a URI-encoded string of key-value pairs.

_setCallback

• Parameters
  • fnCallback - a function reference to the function that is to be called on success of the request.
  • fnError - a function reference to the function that is to be called in the case of an error.
• Return Value - none.
• Summary - binds the success and error callback functions to the request instance.

Meta

• License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
• Original Author: Brad Fults <bfults@gmail.com>
• Last Updated: 2007-02-19