Cactus started out as a library that was supposed to fix cross browser issues. It expanded into a collection of utilies useful... pretty much always.

It has now been refactored to use with the Joose (http://www.joose.it) meta object system and it runs on both node and in the browser.

Quick run-through of current functionality:

• The Addon module contains addons to the built in data types.

• Data contains data structures (Map, Set, Tree) and more high-level structures (ArrayController, KeyValueCoding).

• Util contains stuff that doesn't belong anywhere else.

• Web contains helpers for cross browser functionality, selectors, and wrappers that simplifies working with the DOM a lot.

Code Conventions (work in progress)

• _ may be used for argument names in callbacks that are not used.

• Camelcase abbreviations, Id and Url.

• Set default values for parameters at the top of a functions body, or use TypeChecker to set them (also use at top.)

• Events should be named in the correct grammatical form, most often in preterite to avoid confusion. onAdd is ambiguous, onBeforeAdd or onAdded (prefer over onAfterAdd for conciseness) is not.

• Comments should not stretch over 80 columns wide.

• Don't marginal adjust comments.

• Lines should not be wider than ~120 characters.

• Functions that may return null, or variables that may contain null as well as the intended type should be suffixed with maybe. var userMaybe = getUserMaybe();.

• Boolean names should have a predicate prefix. hasUser and isAdmin.

• Use hungarian notation instead of constraining a value's type implicitly. Use plainPassword and hashedPassword over password.

Don't use these constructs:

• with. Confusing. Instead do var o = longName; o.x = 1;.

• new Boolean/new String/new Number, messes up typeof and comparisons.

• typeof x === "object", since typeof null => "object", use instanceof instead.

• [new] Array(). new Array(1) vs new Array(1,2) is confusing. [1], [1,2] is not. And [] is more concise.

• [new] Object(). {} is more concise.

Types in documentation

• primitive types (number, boolean, string) => as is

• an instance of class C => C

• an implementer of a role R => R

• collection => numbered by indices 0..length-1, has length property

• hash => Object with properties that may contain different values

• map => Object where each property has the same type

• entity => any value that can be compared with ===

• Object => any non-primitive value

• null/undefined is never allowed for any type unless explicitly stated in documentation.

• Number/Boolean/String => don't use.

• Exceptions

• Declare exceptions with @throws in documentation.

• Errors should not have a @throws declaration.

• Prefer to not use exceptions.

Iteration:

• Core should use for loops for iteration as much as possible.
• Other modules may decide.