MooTools

MooTools

MooTools

Software

MooTools (My Object-Oriented Tools)[4] is a lightweight, object-oriented JavaScript framework. It is released under the free, open-source MIT License.[5]

Quick Facts Developer(s), Initial release ...

Overview

MooTools provides the user with a number of options beyond native JavaScript. These include:

  • An extensible and modular framework allowing developers to choose their own customized combination of components.[6]
  • MooTools follows object-oriented practices and the DRY principle.[7]
  • An advanced effects component, with optimized transitions such as easing equations used by many Flash developers.[8]
  • Enhancements to the DOM, enabling developers to easily add, modify, select, and delete DOM elements. Storing and retrieving information with Element storage is also supported.[9]

The framework includes built-in functions for manipulation of CSS, DOM elements, native JavaScript objects, Ajax requests, DOM effects, and more. MooTools also provides a detailed, coherent application programming interface (API),[10] as well as a custom downloads module allowing developers to download only the modules and dependencies they need for a particular app.[11][12]

History

Valerio Proietti first authored the framework and released it in September 2006[13] taking as his inspiration Prototype and Dean Edward's base2. MooTools originated from Moo.fx, a popular JavaScript effects library released in October 2005 by Valerio Proietti as an add-on to the Prototype Javascript Framework.[14] It can be used as a lighter alternative to script.aculo.us or other, bigger libraries. It provides simple, basic effects, and guarantees a small library size.

Whereas Prototype extended—prototyped—many of JavaScript's native String, Array, and Function objects with additional methods, Proietti desired a framework that (at the time)[15] further extended the native Element object as well[13] to offer greater control of the Document Object Model (DOM).[16]

Components

MooTools includes a number of components, but not all need to be loaded for each application. Some of the component categories are:

  • Core: A collection of utility functions that all the other components require.[17]
  • More: An official collection of add-ons that extend the Core and provide enhanced functionality.[18]
  • Class: The base library for Class object instantiation.[19]
  • Natives: A collection of JavaScript Native Object enhancements. The Natives add functionality, compatibility, and new methods that simplify coding.
  • Element: Contains a large number of enhancements and compatibility standardization to the HTML Element object.[20]
  • Fx: An advanced effects-API to animate page elements.[21]
  • Request: Includes XHR interface, Cookie, JSON, and HTML retrieval-specific tools for developers to exploit.[22]
  • Window: Provides a cross-browser interface to client-specific information, such as the dimensions of the window.[23]

Browser compatibility

MooTools is compatible and tested with:[24]

Emphasis on modularity and reusability

Every JavaScript framework has its philosophy, and MooTools is interested in taking full advantage of the flexibility and power of JavaScript in a way that emphasizes greater modularity and code reuse. MooTools accomplishes these goals intuitively to a developer coming from a class-based inheritance language like Java with the MooTools Class object.

Class is an object of key/value pairs containing either properties or methods (functions). Class is effortlessly mixed and extended with other Class instantiations allowing for the most excellent focus of MooTools: Code reuse achieved through maximizing the power of JavaScript's prototypical inheritance but in a Class object syntax more familiar to classical inheritance models.[25]

Object-oriented programming

MooTools contains a robust Class creation and inheritance system that resembles most classically based Object-oriented programming languages. For example, the following is MooTools' equivalent of the examples in Wikipedia's polymorphism page:

var Animal = new Class({

    initialize: function(name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

});

var Cat = new Class({
    Extends: Animal,

    talk: function() {
        return 'Meow!';
    }

});

var Dog = new Class({

    Extends: Animal,

    talk: function() {
        return 'Arf! Arf!';
    }

});

var animals = {
    a: new Cat('Missy'),
    b: new Cat('Mr. Bojangles'),
    c: new Dog('Lassie')
};

Object.each(animals, function(animal) {
    alert(animal.name + ': ' + animal.talk());
});
 
// alerts the following:
//
// Missy: Meow!
// Mr. Bojangles: Meow!
// Lassie: Arf! Arf!

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Original release announcement
  2. [2]
    "Release 1.6.0 · mootools/Mootools-core". GitHub.
  3. [3]
    "MooTools". mootools.net.
  4. [4]
    "MooTools at FOSDEM slides" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
  5. [5]
    The Official MooTools Website
  6. [6]
    MooTools' Core Download Page
  7. [7]
    MooTools Class Object Archived 2008-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
  8. [8]
    MooTools' Effects (FX) Class Archived 2008-06-23 at the Wayback Machine
  9. [9]
    MooTools' Element Class - A comprehensive list of Element manipulation methods. Archived 2008-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  10. [10]
    A Better Way to Use Elements
  11. [11]
    MooTools Core Builder
  12. [12]
    MooTools More Builder
  13. [13]
    Newton, Aaron (September 18, 2008). MooTools Essentials: The Official MooTools Reference for JavaScript and Ajax Development (1st ed.). Apress. pp. xvi. ISBN 978-1-4302-0983-6.
  14. [14]
    Newton, Aaron (September 18, 2008). MooTools Essentials: The Official MooTools Reference for JavaScript and Ajax Development (1st ed.). Apress. pp. xv. ISBN 978-1-4302-0983-6.
  15. [15]
    Version 1.6.1 of Prototype includes "an element metadata storage system." Prototype 1.6.1 released Archived 2010-03-01 at archive.today by Sam Stephenson, written September 1st, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
  16. [16]
    Note that MooTools does not extend the native Object—all JavaScript primitives like String and Function inherit from it—but instead provides a convenient Hash for the purpose: Think of it like having a set of utility methods that allow for nearly effortless object manipulation of regular JavaScript objects that are otherwise unaffected by the process. (Newton, Aaron (September 18, 2008). MooTools Essentials: The Official MooTools Reference for JavaScript and Ajax Development (1st ed.). Apress. pp. xvi. ISBN 978-1-4302-0983-6.)
  17. [17]
    MooTools Core Archived 2009-10-02 at the Wayback Machine
  18. [18]
    MooTools More Archived 2009-10-04 at the Wayback Machine
  19. [19]
    MooTools Class Archived 2008-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
  20. [20]
    MooTools Element Archived 2008-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  21. [21]
    MooTools Fx Class Archived 2008-06-23 at the Wayback Machine
  22. [22]
    MooTools Request Class Archived 2008-07-30 at the Wayback Machine
  23. [23]
    In addition to getting the size for any Element, you can easily get the dimensions of the window Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine
  24. [24]
    MooTools lists its compatibility on its homepage.
  25. [25]
    jQuery versus Mootools

Further reading
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