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index.html
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<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="chrome=1" />
<link rel="icon" href="docs/images/favicon.ico" />
<title>Backbone.js</title>
<style>
body {
font-size: 14px;
line-height: 22px;
font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial;
background: #f4f4f4 url(docs/images/background.png);
}
.interface {
font-family: "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important;
}
div#sidebar {
background: #fff;
position: fixed;
top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0;
width: 200px;
overflow-y: auto;
overflow-x: hidden;
padding: 15px 0 30px 30px;
border-right: 1px solid #bbb;
box-shadow: 0 0 20px #ccc; -webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 20px #ccc; -moz-box-shadow: 0 0 20px #ccc;
}
a.toc_title, a.toc_title:visited {
display: block;
color: black;
font-weight: bold;
margin-top: 15px;
}
a.toc_title:hover {
text-decoration: underline;
}
#sidebar .version {
font-size: 10px;
font-weight: normal;
}
ul.toc_section {
font-size: 11px;
line-height: 14px;
margin: 5px 0 0 0;
padding-left: 0px;
list-style-type: none;
font-family: Lucida Grande;
}
.toc_section li {
cursor: pointer;
margin: 0 0 3px 0;
}
.toc_section li a {
text-decoration: none;
color: black;
}
.toc_section li a:hover {
text-decoration: underline;
}
div.container {
position: relative;
width: 550px;
margin: 40px 0 50px 260px;
}
div.run {
position: absolute;
right: 15px;
width: 26px; height: 18px;
background: url('docs/images/arrows.png') no-repeat -26px 0;
}
div.run:active {
background-position: -51px 0;
}
p, div.container ul {
margin: 25px 0;
width: 550px;
}
p.warning {
font-size: 12px;
line-height: 18px;
font-style: italic;
}
div.container ul {
list-style: circle;
padding-left: 15px;
font-size: 13px;
line-height: 18px;
}
div.container ul li {
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
div.container ul.small {
font-size: 12px;
}
a, a:visited {
color: #444;
}
a:active, a:hover {
color: #000;
}
a.punch {
display: inline-block;
background: #4162a8;
border-top: 1px solid #38538c;
border-right: 1px solid #1f2d4d;
border-bottom: 1px solid #151e33;
border-left: 1px solid #1f2d4d;
-webkit-border-radius: 4px;
-moz-border-radius: 4px;
-ms-border-radius: 4px;
-o-border-radius: 4px;
border-radius: 4px;
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 1px 10px 1px #5c8bee, 0px 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 6px 0px #1f3053, 0 8px 4px 1px #111111;
-moz-box-shadow: inset 0 1px 10px 1px #5c8bee, 0px 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 6px 0px #1f3053, 0 8px 4px 1px #111111;
-ms-box-shadow: inset 0 1px 10px 1px #5c8bee, 0px 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 6px 0px #1f3053, 0 8px 4px 1px #111111;
-o-box-shadow: inset 0 1px 10px 1px #5c8bee, 0px 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 6px 0px #1f3053, 0 8px 4px 1px #111111;
box-shadow: inset 0 1px 10px 1px #5c8bee, 0px 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 6px 0px #1f3053, 0 8px 4px 1px #111111;
color: #fff;
font: bold 14px "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif;
line-height: 1;
margin-bottom: 15px;
padding: 8px 0 10px 0;
text-align: center;
text-shadow: 0px -1px 1px #1e2d4d;
text-decoration: none;
width: 225px;
-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; }
a.punch:hover {
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0px 20px 1px #87adff, 0px 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 6px 0px #1f3053, 0 8px 4px 1px #111111;
-moz-box-shadow: inset 0 0px 20px 1px #87adff, 0px 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 6px 0px #1f3053, 0 8px 4px 1px #111111;
-ms-box-shadow: inset 0 0px 20px 1px #87adff, 0px 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 6px 0px #1f3053, 0 8px 4px 1px #111111;
-o-box-shadow: inset 0 0px 20px 1px #87adff, 0px 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 6px 0px #1f3053, 0 8px 4px 1px #111111;
box-shadow: inset 0 0px 20px 1px #87adff, 0px 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 6px 0px #1f3053, 0 8px 4px 1px #111111;
cursor: pointer; }
a.punch:active {
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 1px 10px 1px #5c8bee, 0 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 2px 0 #1f3053, 0 4px 3px 0 #111111;
-moz-box-shadow: inset 0 1px 10px 1px #5c8bee, 0 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 2px 0 #1f3053, 0 4px 3px 0 #111111;
-ms-box-shadow: inset 0 1px 10px 1px #5c8bee, 0 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 2px 0 #1f3053, 0 4px 3px 0 #111111;
-o-box-shadow: inset 0 1px 10px 1px #5c8bee, 0 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 2px 0 #1f3053, 0 4px 3px 0 #111111;
box-shadow: inset 0 1px 10px 1px #5c8bee, 0 1px 0 #1d2c4d, 0 2px 0 #1f3053, 0 4px 3px 0 #111111;
margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px }
a img {
border: 0;
}
h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 {
padding-top: 20px;
}
h2 {
font-size: 22px;
}
b.header {
font-size: 18px;
line-height: 35px;
}
span.alias {
font-size: 14px;
font-style: italic;
margin-left: 20px;
}
table {
margin: 15px 0 0; padding: 0;
}
tr, td {
margin: 0; padding: 0;
}
td {
padding: 0px 15px 5px 0;
}
code, pre, tt {
font-family: Monaco, Consolas, "Lucida Console", monospace;
font-size: 12px;
line-height: 18px;
font-style: normal;
}
tt {
padding: 0px 3px;
background: #fff;
border: 1px solid #ddd;
zoom: 1;
}
code {
margin-left: 20px;
}
pre {
font-size: 12px;
padding: 2px 0 2px 15px;
border: 4px solid #bbb; border-top: 0; border-bottom: 0;
margin: 0px 0 25px;
}
img.example_image {
margin: 0px auto;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div id="sidebar" class="interface">
<a class="toc_title" href="#">
Backbone.js <span class="version">(0.9.1)</span>
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>➢ <a href="http://github.com/documentcloud/backbone">github repo</a></li>
<li>– <a href="docs/backbone.html">annotated source</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#introduction">
Introduction
</a>
<a class="toc_title" href="#upgrading">
Upgrading
</a>
<a class="toc_title" href="#Events">
Events
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>– <a href="#Events-on">on</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Events-off">off</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Events-trigger">trigger</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#Model">
Model
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>– <a href="#Model-extend">extend</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-constructor">constructor / initialize</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-get">get</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-set">set</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-escape">escape</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-has">has</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-unset">unset</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-clear">clear</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-id">id</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-idAttribute">idAttribute</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-cid">cid</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-attributes">attributes</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-changed">changed</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-defaults">defaults</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-toJSON">toJSON</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-fetch">fetch</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-save">save</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-destroy">destroy</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-validate">validate</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-isValid">isValid</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-url">url</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-urlRoot">urlRoot</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-parse">parse</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-clone">clone</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-isNew">isNew</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-change">change</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-hasChanged">hasChanged</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-changedAttributes">changedAttributes</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-previous">previous</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Model-previousAttributes">previousAttributes</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#Collection">
Collection
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>– <a href="#Collection-extend">extend</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-model">model</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-constructor">constructor / initialize</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-models">models</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-toJSON">toJSON</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-Underscore-Methods"><b>Underscore Methods (28)</b></a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-add">add</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-remove">remove</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-get">get</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-getByCid">getByCid</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-at">at</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-length">length</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-comparator">comparator</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-sort">sort</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-pluck">pluck</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-url">url</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-parse">parse</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-fetch">fetch</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-reset">reset</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Collection-create">create</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#Router">
Router
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>– <a href="#Router-extend">extend</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Router-routes">routes</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Router-constructor">constructor / initialize</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Router-route">route</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Router-navigate">navigate</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#History">
History
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>– <a href="#History-start">start</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#Sync">
Sync
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>– <a href="#Sync">Backbone.sync</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Sync-emulateHTTP">Backbone.emulateHTTP</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Sync-emulateJSON">Backbone.emulateJSON</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#View">
View
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>– <a href="#View-extend">extend</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-constructor">constructor / initialize</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-el">el</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-$el">$el</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-setElement">setElement</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-attributes">attributes</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-dollar">$ (jQuery or Zepto)</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-render">render</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-remove">remove</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-make">make</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-delegateEvents">delegateEvents</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#View-undelegateEvents">undelegateEvents</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#Utility">
Utility
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>– <a href="#Utility-noConflict">noConflict</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#Utility-setDomLibrary">setDomLibrary</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#examples">
Examples
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>– <a href="#examples-todos">Todos</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-documentcloud">DocumentCloud</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-linkedin">LinkedIn Mobile</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-flow">Flow</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-audiovroom">AudioVroom</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-foursquare">Foursquare</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-wunderkit">Wunderkit</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-khan-academy">Khan Academy</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-do">Do</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-posterous">Posterous Spaces</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-groupon">Groupon Now!</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-basecamp">Basecamp Mobile</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-slavery-footprint">Slavery Footprint</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-stripe">Stripe</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-diaspora">Diaspora</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-soundcloud">SoundCloud Mobile</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-pandora">Pandora</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-code-school">Code School</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-cloudapp">CloudApp</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-seatgeek">SeatGeek</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-grove">Grove.io</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-kicksend">Kicksend</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-shortmail">Shortmail</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-battlefield">Battlefield Play4Free</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-salon">Salon.io</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-tilemill">TileMill</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-blossom">Blossom</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-animoto">Animoto</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-decide">Decide</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-trello">Trello</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-ducksboard">Ducksboard</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-picklive">Picklive</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-quietwrite">QuietWrite</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#examples-tzigla">Tzigla</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#faq">
F.A.Q.
</a>
<ul class="toc_section">
<li>– <a href="#FAQ-events">Catalog of Events</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#FAQ-tim-toady">More Than One Way To Do It</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#FAQ-nested">Nested Models & Collections</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#FAQ-bootstrap">Loading Bootstrapped Models</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#FAQ-extending">Extending Backbone</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#FAQ-mvc">Traditional MVC</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#FAQ-this">Binding "this"</a></li>
<li>– <a href="#FAQ-rails">Working with Rails</a></li>
</ul>
<a class="toc_title" href="#changelog">
Change Log
</a>
</div>
<div class="container">
<p>
<img style="width: 451px; height: 80px;" src="docs/images/backbone.png" alt="Backbone.js" />
</p>
<p>
Backbone.js gives structure to web applications
by providing <b>models</b> with key-value binding and custom events,
<b>collections</b> with a rich API of enumerable functions,
<b>views</b> with declarative event handling, and connects it all to your
existing API over a RESTful JSON interface.
</p>
<p>
The project is <a href="http://github.com/documentcloud/backbone/">hosted on GitHub</a>,
and the <a href="docs/backbone.html">annotated source code</a> is available,
as well as an online <a href="test/test.html">test suite</a>,
an <a href="examples/todos/index.html">example application</a>,
a <a href="https://github.com/documentcloud/backbone/wiki/Tutorials%2C-blog-posts-and-example-sites">list of tutorials</a>
and a <a href="#examples">long list of real-world projects</a> that use Backbone.
Backbone is available for use under the <a href="http://github.com/documentcloud/backbone/blob/master/LICENSE">MIT software license</a>.
</p>
<p>
You can report bugs and discuss features on the
<a href="http://github.com/documentcloud/backbone/issues">GitHub issues page</a>,
on Freenode IRC in the <tt>#documentcloud</tt> channel, post questions to the
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/backbonejs">Google Group</a>,
add pages to the <a href="https://github.com/documentcloud/backbone/wiki">wiki</a>
or send tweets to <a href="http://twitter.com/documentcloud">@documentcloud</a>.
</p>
<p>
<i>
Backbone is an open-source component of
<a href="http://documentcloud.org/">DocumentCloud</a>.
</i>
</p>
<h2 id="downloads">
Downloads & Dependencies
<span style="padding-left: 7px; font-size:11px; font-weight: normal;" class="interface">(Right-click, and use "Save As")</span>
</h2>
<table>
<tr>
<td><a class="punch" href="backbone.js">Development Version (0.9.1)</a></td>
<td><i>47kb, Full source, lots of comments</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="punch" href="backbone-min.js">Production Version (0.9.1)</a></td>
<td><i>5.3kb, Packed and gzipped</i></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
Backbone's only hard dependency is
<a href="http://documentcloud.github.com/underscore/">Underscore.js</a> <small>( > 1.3.1)</small>.
For RESTful persistence, history support via <a href="#Router">Backbone.Router</a>
and DOM manipulation with <a href="#View">Backbone.View</a>, include
<a href="https://github.com/douglascrockford/JSON-js">json2.js</a>, and either
<a href="http://jquery.com">jQuery</a> <small>( > 1.4.2)</small> or
<a href="http://zeptojs.com/">Zepto</a>.
</p>
<h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2>
<p>
When working on a web application that involves a lot of JavaScript, one
of the first things you learn is to stop tying your data to the DOM. It's all
too easy to create JavaScript applications that end up as tangled piles of
jQuery selectors and callbacks, all trying frantically to keep data in
sync between the HTML UI, your JavaScript logic, and the database on your
server. For rich client-side applications, a more structured approach
is often helpful.
</p>
<p>
With Backbone, you represent your data as
<a href="#Model">Models</a>, which can be created, validated, destroyed,
and saved to the server. Whenever a UI action causes an attribute of
a model to change, the model triggers a <i>"change"</i> event; all
the <a href="#View">Views</a> that display the model's state can be notified of the
change, so that they are able to respond accordingly, re-rendering themselves with
the new information. In a finished Backbone app, you don't have to write the glue
code that looks into the DOM to find an element with a specific <i>id</i>,
and update the HTML manually
— when the model changes, the views simply update themselves.
</p>
<p>
If you're new here, and aren't yet quite sure what Backbone is for, start by
browsing the <a href="#examples">list of Backbone-based projects</a>.
</p>
<p>
Many of the examples that follow are runnable. Click the <i>play</i> button
to execute them.
</p>
<h2 id="upgrading">Upgrading to 0.9</h2>
<p>
Backbone's <b>0.9</b> series should be considered as a release candidate
for an upcoming <b>1.0</b>. Some APIs have changed, and while there is a
<a href="#changelog">change log</a> available, and many new features to
take advantage of, there are a few specific changes where you'll need
to take care:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
If you've ever manually set <tt>this.el</tt> in a Backbone View to be a
particular DOM element, you'll want to use
<a href="#View-setElement">setElement</a> instead.
</li>
<li>
Creating and destroying models is now optimistic. Pass <tt>{wait: true}</tt>
if you need the previous behavior of waiting for the server to acknowledge
success. You can now also pass <tt>{wait: true}</tt> to <a href="#Model-save">save</a> calls.
</li>
<li>
If you have been writing a fair amount of <tt>$(view.el)</tt>, there's now
a cached reference for that jQuery object: <a href="#View-$el">$el</a>.
</li>
<li>
If you're upgrading, make sure you also upgrade your version of Underscore.js
to the latest — 1.3.1 or greater.
</li>
<li>
<tt>model.set</tt> will no longer trigger change events when setting a value
with <tt>{silent: true}</tt> then setting it back to its original value.
Similarly, after changing an attribute silently, that <tt>change:attribute</tt>
event <i>will</i> fire during the next change.
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="Events">Backbone.Events</h2>
<p>
<b>Events</b> is a module that can be mixed in to any object, giving the
object the ability to bind and trigger custom named events. Events do not
have to be declared before they are bound, and may take passed arguments.
For example:
</p>
<pre class="runnable">
var object = {};
_.extend(object, Backbone.Events);
object.on("alert", function(msg) {
alert("Triggered " + msg);
});
object.trigger("alert", "an event");
</pre>
<p>
For example, to make a handy event dispatcher that can coordinate events
among different areas of your application: <tt>var dispatcher = _.clone(Backbone.Events)</tt>
</p>
<p id="Events-on">
<b class="header">on</b><code>object.on(event, callback, [context])</code><span class="alias">Alias: bind</span>
<br />
Bind a <b>callback</b> function to an object. The callback will be invoked
whenever the <b>event</b> is fired.
If you have a large number of different events on a page, the convention is to use colons to
namespace them: <tt>"poll:start"</tt>, or <tt>"change:selection"</tt>.
The event string may also be a space-delimited list of several events...
</p>
<pre>
book.on("change:title change:author", ...);
</pre>
<p>
To supply a <b>context</b> value for <tt>this</tt> when the callback is invoked,
pass the optional third argument: <tt>model.on('change', this.render, this)</tt>
</p>
<p>
Callbacks bound to the special
<tt>"all"</tt> event will be triggered when any event occurs, and are passed
the name of the event as the first argument. For example, to proxy all events
from one object to another:
</p>
<pre>
proxy.on("all", function(eventName) {
object.trigger(eventName);
});
</pre>
<p id="Events-off">
<b class="header">off</b><code>object.off([event], [callback], [context])</code><span class="alias">Alias: unbind</span>
<br />
Remove a previously-bound <b>callback</b> function from an object. If no
<b>context</b> is specified, all of the versions of the callback with
different contexts will be removed. If no
callback is specified, all callbacks for the <b>event</b> will be
removed. If no event is specified, <i>all</i> event callbacks on the object
will be removed.
</p>
<pre>
object.off("change", onChange); // Removes just the onChange callback.
object.off("change"); // Removes all "change" callbacks.
object.off(); // Removes all callbacks on object.
</pre>
<p id="Events-trigger">
<b class="header">trigger</b><code>object.trigger(event, [*args])</code>
<br />
Trigger callbacks for the given <b>event</b>, or space-delimited list of events.
Subsequent arguments to <b>trigger</b> will be passed along to the
event callbacks.
</p>
<h2 id="Model">Backbone.Model</h2>
<p>
<b>Models</b> are the heart of any JavaScript application, containing
the interactive data as well as a large part of the logic surrounding it:
conversions, validations, computed properties, and access control. You
extend <b>Backbone.Model</b> with your domain-specific methods, and
<b>Model</b> provides a basic set of functionality for managing changes.
</p>
<p>
The following is a contrived example, but it demonstrates defining a model
with a custom method, setting an attribute, and firing an event keyed
to changes in that specific attribute.
After running this code once, <tt>sidebar</tt> will be
available in your browser's console, so you can play around with it.
</p>
<pre class="runnable">
var Sidebar = Backbone.Model.extend({
promptColor: function() {
var cssColor = prompt("Please enter a CSS color:");
this.set({color: cssColor});
}
});
window.sidebar = new Sidebar;
sidebar.on('change:color', function(model, color) {
$('#sidebar').css({background: color});
});
sidebar.set({color: 'white'});
sidebar.promptColor();
</pre>
<p id="Model-extend">
<b class="header">extend</b><code>Backbone.Model.extend(properties, [classProperties])</code>
<br />
To create a <b>Model</b> class of your own, you extend <b>Backbone.Model</b>
and provide instance <b>properties</b>, as well as optional
<b>classProperties</b> to be attached directly to the constructor function.
</p>
<p>
<b>extend</b> correctly sets up the prototype chain, so subclasses created
with <b>extend</b> can be further extended and subclassed as far as you like.
</p>
<pre>
var Note = Backbone.Model.extend({
initialize: function() { ... },
author: function() { ... },
coordinates: function() { ... },
allowedToEdit: function(account) {
return true;
}
});
var PrivateNote = Note.extend({
allowedToEdit: function(account) {
return account.owns(this);
}
});
</pre>
<p class="warning">
Brief aside on <tt>super</tt>: JavaScript does not provide
a simple way to call super — the function of the same name defined
higher on the prototype chain. If you override a core function like
<tt>set</tt>, or <tt>save</tt>, and you want to invoke the
parent object's implementation, you'll have to explicitly call it, along these lines:
</p>
<pre>
var Note = Backbone.Model.extend({
set: function(attributes, options) {
Backbone.Model.prototype.set.call(this, attributes, options);
...
}
});
</pre>
<p id="Model-constructor">
<b class="header">constructor / initialize</b><code>new Model([attributes])</code>
<br />
When creating an instance of a model, you can pass in the initial values
of the <b>attributes</b>, which will be <a href="#Model-set">set</a> on the
model. If you define an <b>initialize</b> function, it will be invoked when
the model is created.
</p>
<pre>
new Book({
title: "One Thousand and One Nights",
author: "Scheherazade"
});
</pre>
<p>
In rare cases, if you're looking to get fancy,
you may want to override <b>constructor</b>, which allows
you to replace the actual constructor function for your model.
</p>
<p id="Model-get">
<b class="header">get</b><code>model.get(attribute)</code>
<br />
Get the current value of an attribute from the model. For example:
<tt>note.get("title")</tt>
</p>
<p id="Model-set">
<b class="header">set</b><code>model.set(attributes, [options])</code>
<br />
Set a hash of attributes (one or many) on the model. If any of the attributes
change the models state, a <tt>"change"</tt> event will be triggered, unless
<tt>{silent: true}</tt> is passed as an option. Change events for specific
attributes are also triggered, and you can bind to those as well, for example:
<tt>change:title</tt>, and <tt>change:content</tt>. You may also pass
individual keys and values.
</p>
<pre>
note.set({title: "March 20", content: "In his eyes she eclipses..."});
book.set("title", "A Scandal in Bohemia");
</pre>
<p>
If the model has a <a href="#Model-validate">validate</a> method,
it will be validated before the attributes are set, no changes will
occur if the validation fails, and <b>set</b> will return <tt>false</tt>.
Otherwise, <b>set</b> returns a reference to the model.
You may also pass an <tt>error</tt>
callback in the options, which will be invoked instead of triggering an
<tt>"error"</tt> event, should validation fail.
</p>
<p id="Model-escape">
<b class="header">escape</b><code>model.escape(attribute)</code>
<br />
Similar to <a href="#Model-get">get</a>, but returns the HTML-escaped version
of a model's attribute. If you're interpolating data from the model into
HTML, using <b>escape</b> to retrieve attributes will prevent
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting">XSS</a> attacks.
</p>
<pre class="runnable">
var hacker = new Backbone.Model({
name: "<script>alert('xss')</script>"
});
alert(hacker.escape('name'));
</pre>
<p id="Model-has">
<b class="header">has</b><code>model.has(attribute)</code>
<br />
Returns <tt>true</tt> if the attribute is set to a non-null or non-undefined
value.
</p>
<pre>
if (note.has("title")) {
...
}
</pre>
<p id="Model-unset">
<b class="header">unset</b><code>model.unset(attribute, [options])</code>
<br />
Remove an attribute by deleting it from the internal attributes hash.
Fires a <tt>"change"</tt> event unless <tt>silent</tt> is passed as an option.
</p>
<p id="Model-clear">
<b class="header">clear</b><code>model.clear([options])</code>
<br />
Removes all attributes from the model. Fires a <tt>"change"</tt> event unless
<tt>silent</tt> is passed as an option.
</p>
<p id="Model-id">
<b class="header">id</b><code>model.id</code>
<br />
A special property of models, the <b>id</b> is an arbitrary string
(integer id or UUID). If you set the <b>id</b> in the
attributes hash, it will be copied onto the model as a direct property.
Models can be retrieved by id from collections, and the id is used to generate
model URLs by default.
</p>
<p id="Model-idAttribute">
<b class="header">idAttribute</b><code>model.idAttribute</code>
<br />
A model's unique identifier is stored under the <tt>id</tt> attribute.
If you're directly communicating with a backend (CouchDB, MongoDB) that uses
a different unique key, you may set a Model's <tt>idAttribute</tt> to
transparently map from that key to <tt>id</tt>.
<pre class="runnable">
var Meal = Backbone.Model.extend({
idAttribute: "_id"
});
var cake = new Meal({ _id: 1, name: "Cake" });
alert("Cake id: " + cake.id);
</pre>
</p>
<p id="Model-cid">
<b class="header">cid</b><code>model.cid</code>
<br />
A special property of models, the <b>cid</b> or client id is a unique identifier
automatically assigned to all models when they're first created. Client ids
are handy when the model has not yet been saved to the server, and does not
yet have its eventual true <b>id</b>, but already needs to be visible in the UI.
Client ids take the form: <tt>c1, c2, c3 ...</tt>
</p>
<p id="Model-attributes">
<b class="header">attributes</b><code>model.attributes</code>
<br />
The <b>attributes</b> property is the internal hash containing the model's
state. Please use <a href="#Model-set">set</a> to update the attributes instead of modifying
them directly. If you'd like to retrieve and munge a copy of the model's
attributes, use <a href="#Model-toJSON">toJSON</a> instead.
</p>
<p id="Model-changed">
<b class="header">changed</b><code>model.changed</code>
<br />
The <b>changed</b> property is the internal hash containing all the attributes
that have changed since the last <tt>"change"</tt> event was triggered.
Please do not update <b>changed</b> directly. Its state is maintained internally
by <a href="#Model-set">set</a> and <a href="#Model-change">change</a>.
A copy of <b>changed</b> can be acquired from
<a href="#Model-changedAttributes">changedAttributes</a>.
</p>
<p id="Model-defaults">
<b class="header">defaults</b><code>model.defaults or model.defaults()</code>
<br />
The <b>defaults</b> hash (or function) can be used to specify the default
attributes for your model. When creating an instance of the model,
any unspecified attributes will be set to their default value.
</p>
<pre class="runnable">
var Meal = Backbone.Model.extend({
defaults: {
"appetizer": "caesar salad",
"entree": "ravioli",
"dessert": "cheesecake"
}
});
alert("Dessert will be " + (new Meal).get('dessert'));
</pre>
<p class="warning">
Remember that in JavaScript, objects are passed by reference, so if you
include an object as a default value, it will be shared among all instances.
</p>
<p id="Model-toJSON">
<b class="header">toJSON</b><code>model.toJSON()</code>
<br />
Return a copy of the model's <a href="#Model-attributes">attributes</a> for JSON stringification.
This can be used for persistence, serialization, or for augmentation before
being handed off to a view. The name of this method is a bit confusing, as
it doesn't actually return a JSON string — but I'm afraid that it's
the way that the <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/JSON#toJSON()_method">JavaScript API for <b>JSON.stringify</b> works</a>.
</p>
<pre class="runnable">
var artist = new Backbone.Model({
firstName: "Wassily",
lastName: "Kandinsky"
});
artist.set({birthday: "December 16, 1866"});
alert(JSON.stringify(artist));
</pre>
<p id="Model-fetch">
<b class="header">fetch</b><code>model.fetch([options])</code>
<br />
Resets the model's state from the server. Useful if the model has never
been populated with data, or if you'd like to ensure that you have the
latest server state. A <tt>"change"</tt> event will be triggered if the
server's state differs from the current attributes. Accepts
<tt>success</tt> and <tt>error</tt> callbacks in the options hash, which
are passed <tt>(model, response)</tt> as arguments.
</p>
<pre>
// Poll every 10 seconds to keep the channel model up-to-date.
setInterval(function() {
channel.fetch();
}, 10000);
</pre>
<p id="Model-save">
<b class="header">save</b><code>model.save([attributes], [options])</code>
<br />
Save a model to your database (or alternative persistence layer),
by delegating to <a href="#Sync">Backbone.sync</a>. The <b>attributes</b>
hash (as in <a href="#Model-set">set</a>) should contain the attributes
you'd like to change — keys that aren't mentioned won't be altered — but,
a <i>complete representation</i> of the resource will be sent to the server.
As with <tt>set</tt>, you may pass individual keys and values instead of a hash.
If the model has a <a href="#Model-validate">validate</a>
method, and validation fails, the model will not be saved. If the model
<a href="#Model-isNew">isNew</a>, the save will be a <tt>"create"</tt>
(HTTP <tt>POST</tt>), if the model already
exists on the server, the save will be an <tt>"update"</tt> (HTTP <tt>PUT</tt>).
</p>
<p>
Calling <tt>save</tt> with new attributes will cause a <tt>"change"</tt>
event immediately, and a <tt>"sync"</tt> event after the server has acknowledged
the successful change. Pass <tt>{wait: true}</tt> if you'd like to wait
for the server before setting the new attributes on the model.
</p>
<p>
In the following example, notice how our overridden version
of <tt>Backbone.sync</tt> receives a <tt>"create"</tt> request
the first time the model is saved and an <tt>"update"</tt>
request the second time.
</p>
<pre class="runnable">
Backbone.sync = function(method, model) {
alert(method + ": " + JSON.stringify(model));
model.id = 1;
};
var book = new Backbone.Model({
title: "The Rough Riders",
author: "Theodore Roosevelt"
});
book.save();
book.save({author: "Teddy"});
</pre>
<p>
<b>save</b> accepts <tt>success</tt> and <tt>error</tt> callbacks in the
options hash, which are passed <tt>(model, response)</tt> as arguments.
The <tt>error</tt> callback will also be invoked if the model has a
<tt>validate</tt> method, and validation fails. If a server-side
validation fails, return a non-<tt>200</tt> HTTP response code, along with
an error response in text or JSON.
</p>
<pre>
book.save("author", "F.D.R.", {error: function(){ ... }});
</pre>
<p id="Model-destroy">
<b class="header">destroy</b><code>model.destroy([options])</code>
<br />
Destroys the model on the server by delegating an HTTP <tt>DELETE</tt>
request to <a href="#Sync">Backbone.sync</a>. Accepts
<tt>success</tt> and <tt>error</tt> callbacks in the options hash.