a minimal binding library for the DOM. runs with component.io and standalone.

bindings.js uses ES5 getters and setters to get or update DOM elements. Keep in mind that you should treat this library as another way to access the DOM. Don’t do things like read, write, read, write… or performance might hurt. For best performance, cache the returned object of bindings() and only get a new one, when you’ve expected DOM changes. Additionally specify a root element whenever possible. Before you optimize anything: "Use tools, not rules". The DOM may not be your bottleneck as it is pretty fast in modern browsers.

Install with component(1):

$ component install maxhoffmann/bindings

…or simply download the repository. Use bindings.standalone.js if you don’t use component.io.

If you use component.io make sure to require the library:

var bindings = require('bindings');

Include data-bind attributes in your HTML:

<ul>
	<li data-bind="person.name">Max</li>
	<li data-bind="person.age">24</li>
</ul>
<ul>
	<li data-bind="animal.type">dog</li>
	<li data-bind="animal.color">white</li>
</ul>

Get data from the DOM:

var dom = bindings();
var name = dom.person.name;	// Max
var color = dom.animal.color; // white

Update data in the DOM:

var dom = bindings();
dom.person.name = 'Joe';
dom.animal.type = 'cat';
dom.animal.color = '<span>black</span>'; // you can use HTMLt

And the DOM changes automatically:

<ul>
	<li data-bind="person.name">Joe</li>
	<li data-bind="person.age">24</li>
</ul>
<ul>
	<li data-bind="animal.type">cat</li>
	<li data-bind="animal.color"><span>black</span></li>
</ul>

You may use a different syntax:

bindings().person.name // Max
bindings('person').name // Max

You may specify a root element:

bindings('person', rootElement).name

Convert data to JSON:

var json = JSON.stringify( bindings('animal') );
var json = JSON.stringify( bindings().animal ); // same result
console.log(json); // "{"type":"cat","color":"<span>black</span>"}"

Make a new dev build:

$ make dev

Run tests by opening test/index.html or run:

$ make test

If all of your tests pass, make a new production build (includes standalone build):

$ make

The MIT License (MIT)