Add provision for before and after hooks in a router

[jaseemabid]

I wanted to execute a specific function before/after every route of a specific controller is matched, and I got here.

http://danialk.github.io/blog/2013/06/08/backbone-tips-after-and-before-methods-for-router/

var Router = Backbone.Router.extend({
    routes: {
        '': function(){
            console.log('INDEX ROUTE');
        }
    },
    before: function () {
        console.log('before');
    },
    after: function () {
        console.log('after');
    }
});

The API looks clean and it does it by monkey patching 2 route callbacks. I think its worth to have this as a core feature. Comments?

[akre54]

This has been suggested a few times before (an early one being #299). If you do a search though the issues for similar terms you'll see a bit more background.

It's easy enough to wrap your callbacks directly, with a plugin (i.e. backbone-route-filter), or in a base router pattern. Give it a shot and let me know if that works for you.

[braddunbar]

Hi @jaseemabid! With the changes in #2890, wrapping up route handlers has been made much easier. I think it will probably fit your needs rather well.

var Router = Backbone.Router.extend({
  execute: function(callback, args) {
    // before...
    if (callback) callback.apply(this, args);
    // after...
  }
});

[jaseemabid]

@braddunbar That's a good one! Thanks