Version 2.x

dcl is a micro library written in JavaScript for node.js and modern browsers that implements OOP with mixins + AOP at both “class” and object level.

Its repository is hosted at https://github.com/uhop/dcl – version 2.x branch is called dev2x.

Getting started

• Installation - super-simple ways to install dcl
• Tutorial - hands-on with dcl
• Cheatsheet - look up common operations
• ChangeLog - an official record of changes

Module documentation

• dcl.js - dcl kernel that includes chaining control and AOP support
  • dcl.superCall() - super call decorator
  • dcl.advise() - general advice decorator, includes useful shortcuts:
    • dcl.before() - “before” advice decorator
    • dcl.after() - “after” advice decorator
    • dcl.around() - “around” advice decorator
  • chaining directives:
    • dcl.chainBefore() - “before” chaining directive
    • dcl.chainAfter() - “after” chaining directive
  • property directive:
    • dcl.prop() - custom property decorator, useful for getters/setters
• advise.js - object-level AOP with dynamic advisement
  • advise() - general advice directive, includes useful shortcuts:
    • advise.before() - “before” advice decorator
    • advise.after() - “after” advice decorator
    • advise.around() - “around” advice decorator
• debug.js - error-checking and introspection facility
  • dcl.log() - log information of classes and objects

Library documentation

dcl comes with a small library of useful advices, mixins, and base classes:

• Advices - various debugging, cache, and AOP helpers
• Bases - constructor helpers
• Mixins - life-cycle helpers
• Utils - utilities

Advanced topics

• Decorator - explains the concept of decorators, and how they are used in dcl
• Supercalls in JS - discussion of different methods to do supercalls in JavaScript, their pros and cons, and what was selected for dcl and why
• Constructors - desigining robust mixin-aware constructors
• Multi-stage construction - implementing multi-stage construction
• Destructors - destructing objects and freeing its resources is a serious business
• OOP and JS - discussion of advanced OOP, its deficiencies, and ways to overcome its problems
• OOP in JS slides - my presentation at ClubAjax partially based on the blog post above; dcl was introduced as an experiment to create a balanced OOP + AOP package, which helps leverage mixin-based techniques