Just when we thought it was safe to call jMaki feature complete we got a lot of feedback for various features that could all be handled by a single extension feature.

What are extensions in jMaki?

Extensions are behavior / functionality that are shared across widgets. Extensions are loaded after the jmaki.js and before glue (your application logic). Examples may include enhanced debugging support, sound, or controllers that are specific to an individual application.

What does an extension look like?

jmaki.namespace("jmaki.extensions.jmaki.ext.bar");

jmaki.extensions.jmaki.ext.bar.Extension = function(args) {
  jmaki.debug = true;
  jmaki.log("jMaki bar Extension intialized");
  jmaki.log("jMaki bar : extensionDir=" + args.extensionDir);
 }

Extensions are namespaced JavaScript objects that are mapped in the config.json file like the following:

{
  'config': {
    'version': '.9.3',
    'extensions' : [
          'jmaki.ext.foo' 
         ]
    }    
}

Extensions are like widgets in that the application will look under /resources/jmaki/ext/bar for a file called extension.js. The contents are like the file above. The extensions will be located in the resources directory and located using the extension name. The extension 'jmaki.ext.foo' would be located in the following directory:

resources
    |
    +jmaki
       |
       +ext
          |
          +foo
             |
             +extension.js

Extensions can also be loaded on a per URL basis or based on a wildcard like you may see in the code below:

{
  'config': {
    'version': '.9.3',
    'extensions' : [
          { url : '/basicArgs.jsp',  name : 'jmaki.ext.foo' },
          { url : '*.jsp', name : 'jmaki.ext.bar'},
          { url : '/relativedir/*', name : 'jmaki.ext.foo', args : { 'topic' : 'footopic'}}
         ]
    }    
}

Notice the url property can be a URL or contain a '*'. The mappings can also provide an args property containing default data that is accessible in the extension (extension.js).

We also plan on adding a page level tag and or function for adding functions in the next release. It is our hope to keep the core of jMaki small and nimble. At the same time we want to future proof jMaki.Extensions are available in the PHP, Phobos, and Java versions of jMaki and may be found at the jMaki Downloads page.

Here are some extensions we are thinking about:

• Back/Forward button tracking
• Sound
• Bookmarking
• Google Gears Integration
• Cross Widget Drag and Drop
• JavaScript controllers

What kind of extensions would you like to see for jMaki?