UI-Router for AngularJS 1.0 - Sample Application

http://ui-router.github.io/sample-app-angularjs/#/mymessages/inbox/5648b50cc586cac4aed6836f

This sample app is intended to demonstrate a non-trivial ui-router application.

• Multiple sub-modules
• Managed state lifecycle
• Application data lifecycle
• Authentication (simulated)
• Authenticated and unauthenticated states
• REST data retrieval (simulated)
• Lazy loaded AngularJS module (contacts submodule)
• Sticky States with Deep State Redirect

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Visualizer

We're using the State and Transition Visualizer to visually represent the current state tree, as well as the transitions between states. Explore how transitions work by hovering over them, and clicking to expand details (params and resolves).

Note how states are entered when they were previously not active, exited and re-entered when parameters change, and how parent states whose parameters did not change are retained.

Structure

The application is written in ES6 (transpiled using babel), and utilizes ES6 modules. We are loading the modules and creating bundles using webpack 4.

There are many ways to structure a ui-router app. We aren't super opinionated on application structure. Use what works for you. We organized ours in the following way:

• Sub-module (feature) organization
  • Each feature gets its own directory.
  • Features contain states and components
  • Specific types of helper code (directives, services, etc) used only within a feature may live in a subdirectory named after its type (/mymessages/directives)
• Leveraging ES6 modules
  • Each state is defined in its own file
  • Each component (controller + template) is defined in its own file
  • Components exported themselves
  • Components are then imported into a states where they are composed into the state definition.
  • States export themselves
  • The feature.module.js imports all states for the feature and registers then with the $stateProvider
• A single angular module is defined for the entire application
  • Created, then exported from bootstrap/ngmodule.js
  • The ng module is imported into some other module whenever services, config blocks, directives, etc need to be registered with angular.

UI-Router Patterns

• Defining custom, app-specific global behaviors
  • Add metadata to a state, or state tree
  • Check for metadata in transition hooks
  • Example: routerhooks/redirectTo.js
    • If a transition directly to a state with a redirectTo property is started, the transition will be redirected to the state which the property names.
  • Example: routerhooks/authRequired.js
    • If a transition to a state with a truthy data.authRequired: true property is started and the user is not currently authenticated
• Defining a default substate for a top-level state
  • Example: declaring redirectTo: 'welcome' in app.states.js
• Defining a default parameter for a state
  • Example: folderId parameter defaults to 'inbox' in mymessages.states.js (folder state)
• Application data lifecycle
  • Data loading is managed by the state declaration, via the resolve: block
  • Data is fetched before the state is entered
  • Data is fetched according to state parameters
  • The state is entered when the data is ready
  • The resolved data is injected into the components
  • The resolve data remains loaded until the state is exited
• Lazy Loaded states
  • The Contacts submodule (all its states and components) are lazy loaded
  • The Contacts "future state" (a placeholder) is added in bootstrap/ngmodule.js
  • ocLazyLoad is used to lazy load the angular module
• Deep State Redirect (DSR)
  • DSR used on the contacts and mymessages top level states
  • When a substate of a DSR state is activated, the state and parameters are memorized
  • When contacts or mymessages is activated again, the transition redirects to the memorized deep state and params
• Sticky States
  • Sticky States are enabled on the contacts and mymessages top level states
  • The modules' views (including DOM) and state are retained when a different module is activated
  • When returning to the module, the inactive state is reactivated
  • The views are restored (unhidden)