Make the engine.io client work in Node.js enviornments that have a window global

[3rd-Eden]

The current node check is really awful as it check is a global window variable is defined or not; https://github.com/LearnBoost/engine.io-client/blob/master/lib/util.js#L204-L226

Which happens to be case in my app. Is there a way we can make this a proper node.js check?

[rauchg]

What's a proper node.js check?

[rauchg]

I believe that things like browserify populate a lot of node globals in the browser, that's why not having a window global was the closest thing to "detecting node" in my mind.

[3rd-Eden]

I was thinking about a '.node' in require.extensions check.

[3rd-Eden]

exports.request = function request (xdomain) {
  if ('undefined' !== typeof require && require.extensions && '.node' in require.extensions) {
    var _XMLHttpRequest = require('xmlhttprequest').XMLHttpRequest;
    return new _XMLHttpRequest();
  }

  if (xdomain && 'undefined' != typeof XDomainRequest && !exports.ua.hasCORS) {
    return new XDomainRequest();
  }

  // XMLHttpRequest can be disabled on IE
  try {
    if ('undefined' != typeof XMLHttpRequest && (!xdomain || exports.ua.hasCORS)) {
      return new XMLHttpRequest();
    }
  } catch (e) { }

  if (!xdomain) {
    try {
      return new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.XMLHTTP');
    } catch(e) { }
  }
};

Would work against edge cases of client module loaders. No mode loader is going to require '.node' files and the module system is set in stone in node so it would be save enough to expect this property.

[3rd-Eden]

or we can just forget all the checks.. and add a

try { return require('xmlhttprequest').XMLHttpRequest() }
catch (e) {}

[rauchg]

I like that most I think. Not sure if that exact impl is gonna work though.

[3rd-Eden]

i'll make a pull req with working version :p