🪨 @benev/slate
by chase moskal
🚧 prerelease, see changelog
- frontend ui library, built on lit
- wonderful web components
- versatile views
- hipster hooks syntax
- satisfying state management
- useful utilities
- top-tier typescript typings
slate is my life journey to "solve frontend".
i've iterated on this for many years, and it's always shifting and changing as i build real apps with it.
features, handy tools, and state management patterns, are accumulating and being refined.
you see, most devs misunderstand how to leverage web components..
please don't make your whole app out of web components.. they're too cumbersome for that — you need views!
- think of web components as an interface for html authors
- components allow novices to easily paste complex features onto html pages
- but these components are html-native — not typescript-native — so they don't take typesafe props, and they're referred to by tag names with bad editor support
- views are the right building blocks for typescript developers to structure their app ui
- "slate views" are typescript-native — you import 'em, and they take typesafe props
- slate views are built on
lit
- slate views have a hooks-based usage pattern inspired by react
- slate helps you fully leverage the power of the
shadow dom
- slate offers signals and any other hip newfangled patterns that i fancy
- slate also lets you build html web components with the same syntax and hooks as the views
so, you want to think of web components as the tip of your iceberg — they are the entrypoints to your ui — they are the universal control surfaces to help html authors interact with your systems — but below the surface, most of your internals can be made of nicely composable views.
👷 quick start
- install slate
npm i @benev/slate
- create your app's
nexus
you'll use the nexus to create components and views which have hard-wired access to your context object.
import {Nexus, Context} from "@benev/slate"
export const nexus = new Nexus(
new class extends Context {
theme = css`
* {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
box-sizing: border-box;
}
`
my_cool_thing = {my_awesome_data: 123}
}
)
- import templating functions
these are augmented versions of lit
's templating functions, which directly implement signals
.
they are fully compatible with lit.
import {html, css, svg} from "@benev/slate"
⚙️ slate components
you can create custom html elements that work in plain html or any web framework.
nexus.shadowComponent
export const MyShadowComponent = nexus.shadowComponent(use => {
use.styles(css`span {color: yellow}`)
const count = use.signal(0)
const increment = () => count.value++
return html`
<span>${count}</span>
<button @click=${increment}>increment</button>
`
})
nexus.lightComponent
export const MyLightComponent = nexus.lightComponent(use => {
const count = use.signal(0)
const increment = () => count.value++
return html`
<span>${count}</span>
<button @click=${increment}>increment</button>
`
})
deploying your components
- register components to the dom
import {register_to_dom} from "@benev/slate"
register_to_dom({
MyShadowComponent,
MyLightComponent,
})
- now use your components via html
<section>
<my-shadow-component></my-shadow-component>
<my-light-component></my-light-component>
</section>
- the camel case names like
MyComponentName
are automatically dashify
'd into my-component-name
psa: let component dom registration happen all in one place
- this opens the door for you to use slate's
apply
functions to manipulate components en masse - for example, apply a css theme into the shadow dom for all of the components:
import {apply, css, register_to_dom} from "@benev/slate"
const applyCustomTheme = apply.css(`
button {
color: red;
}
`)
register_to_dom(
applyCustomTheme({
NastyNavbar,
DopeDropdown,
MarvelousMarquee,
})
)
- if you're authoring a library with components that you want people to use
- your should re-export
register_to_dom
and apply
for them - let your downstream users perform the dom registration themselves
- they get the opportunity to apply a custom css theme onto your shadow components
- they can then also easily rename components
🖼️ slate views
views are just like components, but are not registered to the dom as custom html elements.
instead, they are used via javascript.
you import them, and inject them into your lit-html templates.
they accept js parameters called props
, and are fully typescript-typed.
nexus.shadowView
export const MyShadowView = nexus.shadowView(use => (start: number) => {
use.name("my-shadow-view")
use.styles(css`span {color: yellow}`)
const count = use.signal(start)
const increment = () => count.value++
return html`
<span>${count}</span>
<button @click=${increment}>increment</button>
`
})
auto_exportparts
is enabled by default.
- auto exportparts is an experimental shadowView feature that makes it bearable to use the shadow dom extensively.
- if auto_exportparts is enabled, and you provide the view a
part
attribute, then it will automatically re-export all internal parts, using the part as a prefix. - thus, parts can bubble up: each auto_exportparts shadow boundary adds a new hyphenated prefix, so you can do css like
::part(search-input-icon)
.
nexus.lightView
export const MyLightView = nexus.lightView(use => (start: number) => {
use.name("my-light-view")
const count = use.signal(start)
const increment = () => count.value++
return html`
<span>${count}</span>
<button @click=${increment}>increment</button>
`
})
deploying your views
🪝 use
hooks — for views and components
slate's hooks have the same rules as any other framework's hooks: the order that hooks are executed in matters, so you must not call hooks under an if
statement or in any kind of for
loop or anything like that.
core hooks
- use.name ~ shadowView, lightView
assign a stylesheet to the shadow root.
only works on views, because having a name to differentiate views is handy (components have the names they were registered to the dom with).
use.name("my-cool-view")
- use.styles ~ shadowView, shadowComponent
assign a stylesheet to the shadow root.
only works on shadow views or components (light views/components are styled from above).
use.styles(css`span { color: yellow }`)
- use.state
works like react useState hook.
i actually recommend using signals instead (more on those later).
const [count, setCount] = use.state(0)
const increment = () => setCount(count + 1)
- use.once
initialize a value once
const random_number = use.once(() => Math.random())
- use.mount
perform setup/cleanup on dom connected/disconnected
use.mount(() => {
const interval = setInterval(increment, 1000)
return () => clearInterval(interval)
})
- use.init
perform a setup/cleanup, but also return a value
const scene = use.init(() => {
const scene = setup_3d_scene_for_example()
return [
scene,
() => scene.cleanup(),
]
})
- use.defer
execute a function everytime a render finishes.
you might want to do this if you need to query for elements you just rendered.
use.defer(() => {
const div = document.querySelector("div")
const rect = div.getBoundingClientRect()
report_rect(rect)
})
note that it returns a signal, which starts with an undefined
value, but gets updated after every render.
const div = use.defer(() => document.querySelector("div"))
console.log(div.value)
const handleClick = () => console.log(div.value)
signal hooks
- use.signal
create a reactive container for a value (inspired by preact signals)
const count = use.signal(0)
const increment = () => count.value++
you can directly inject the whole signal into html
html`<span>${count}</span>`
- use.computed
create a signal that is derived from other signals
const count = use.signal(2)
const tripled = use.computed(() => count.value * 3)
console.log(tripled.value)
- use.op
create an OpSignal in a loading/error/ready state, and it can hold a result value
const count = use.op()
count.load(async() => fetchCount("/count"))
- use.load
shorthand for creating an OpSignal, and immediately loading something into it
const count = use.load(() => fetchCount("/count"))
flatstate hooks
watch hooks
useful accessors
these are not hooks, just access to useful things you may need, so you're allowed to use them under if statements or whatever.
- use.context
access to your app's context, for whatever reason
use.context.my_cool_thing
- use.element
access the underlying html element
use.element.querySelector("p")
- use.shadow ~ shadowView, shadowComponent
access to the shadow root
use.shadow.querySelector("slot")
- use.attrs ~ shadowComponent, lightComponent
declare accessors for html attributes
const attrs = use.attrs({
start: Number,
label: String,
["data-active"]: Boolean,
})
set them like normal js properties
attrs.start = 123
attrs.label = "hello"
attrs["data-active"] = true
get them like normal js properties
console.log(attrs.start)
console.log(attrs.label)
console.log(attrs["data-active"])
components rerender when any attributes change from outside
🥇 plain elements — gold and silver
gold and silver are "plain" elements, which are alternatives to LitElement.
they're used as primitives underlying nexus components.
for most cases you probably want to stick with the nexus components, and only use gold/silver when you're doing some funky sorcery, or you yearn to go back to a simpler time without hooks.
consider these imports for the following examples:
import {GoldElement, SilverElement, attributes, flat} from "@benev/slate"
gold element — shadow-dom element
export class MyGold extends GoldElement {
static get styles() { return css`span {color: blue}` }
#attrs = attributes(this as GoldElement, {
label: String
})
#state = flat.state({
count: 0,
})
render() {
return html`
<span>${this.#state.count}</span>
<button @click=${() => this.#state.count++}>
${this.#attrs.label}
</button>
`
}
}
silver element — light-dom element
export class MySilver extends SilverElement {
#attrs = attributes(this as SilverElement, {
label: String
})
#state = flat.state({
count: 0,
})
render() {
return html`
<span>${this.#state.count}</span>
<button @click=${() => this.#state.count++}>
${this.#attrs.label}
</button>
`
}
}
deploying plain elements
if you want plain elements to have reactivity or have the context's css theme applied, you'll want to run them through nexus.components
before you register them:
register_to_dom({
...nexus.components({
MyGold,
MySilver,
}),
})
🔮 deferred context
you can extend the context with anything you'd like to make easily available to your components and views:
export const nexus = new Nexus(
new class extends Context {
my_cool_thing = {my_awesome_data: 123}
}
)
but since your components are importing nexus
, the above example creates the context at import-time.
you may instead prefer to defer the creation of your context until later, at run-time:
export class MyContext extends Context {
my_cool_thing = {my_awesome_data: 123}
}
export const nexus = new Nexus<MyContext>()
nexus.context = new MyContext()
register_to_dom(myComponents)
🛠️ standalone utilities
if you're using nexus components and views, you'll probably be using these utilities via the use
hooks, which will provide a better developer experience.
however, the following utilities are little libraries in their own right, and can be used in a standalone capacity.
🛎️ signals
signals are a simple form of state management.
this implementation is inspired by preact signals.
- signals — they hold values
import {signal, signals} from "@benev/slate"
const count = signal(0)
const greeting = signal("hello")
count.value++
greeting.value = "bonjour"
console.log(count.value)
console.log(greeting.value)
- reaction — react when signals change
signals.reaction(() => console.log("doubled", count.value * 2))
count.value = 2
- html templating — you can omit .value
html`<p>count is ${count}</p>`
- op signal — to represent async operations
const json = signals.op<MyJson>()
console.log(json.isLoading())
await json.load(async() => {
const data = await fetch_remote_data()
return JSON.parse(data)
})
console.log(json.isReady())
console.log(json.payload)
- computed — signal derived from other signals
count.value = 1
const tripled = signals.computed(() => count.value * 3)
console.log(tripled.value)
- wait — for debounced tracking
const tripled = signals.computed(() => count.value * 3)
console.log(tripled.value)
count.value = 10
console.log(tripled.value)
await signals.wait
console.log(tripled.value)
- signal tower
import {SignalTower} from "@benev/slate"
const signals = new SignalTower()
- slate comes with a default tower called
signals
, but you can create your own - signal towers are completely separated from one another
🥞 flatstate
flatstate help you create state objects and react when properties change.
flatstate is inspired by mobx and snapstate, but designed to be simpler. flatstate only works on flat state objects. only the direct properties of state objects are tracked for reactivity. this simplicity helps us avoid weird edge-cases or unexpected footguns.
flatstate basics
- make a flat state object
import {flat} from "@benev/slate"
const state = flat.state({count: 0})
- simple reaction
flat.reaction(() => console.log(state.count))
- flatstate immediately runs the function, and records which properties it reads
- then, anytime one of those recorded properties changes, it runs your function again
- your reaction can listen to more than one state object
- two-function reaction
flat.reaction(
() => ({count: state.count}),
({count}) => console.log(count),
)
- now there's a separation between your "collector" and your "responder"
- the collector "passes" relevant data to the responder function
- flatstate calls the responder whenever that data changes
- stop a reaction
const stop = flat.reaction(() => console.log(state.count))
stop()
- reactions are debounced -- so you may have to wait to see state changes
const state = flat.state({amount: 100})
state.amount = 101
console.log(state.amount)
await flat.wait
console.log(state.amount)
flatstate advanced
flatstate integration with frontend elements
☢️ reactor
create reactions that listen to both signals and flatstates at the same time.
signals and flat both share the same reaction syntax, but they are separate state management systems. reactor
lets you combine both.
slate components and views are already wired up to the reactor and will respond to changes automatically. you only need the reactor when you want to respond to state changes when you're outside of slate components or views.
- you can use one-function reaction syntax:
import {reactor, flatstate, signal} from "@benev/slate"
const state = state({count: 0})
const count = signal(0)
reactor.reaction(() => console.log(`
flat count is ${state.count},
signal count is ${count.value}
`))
- two-function reaction syntax:
reactor.reaction(
() => ({a: state.count, b: count.value}),
results => console.log(results),
)
- reactions can be stopped:
const stop = reactor.reaction(
() => console.log(state.count)
)
stop()
- wait for the debouncer:
await reactor.wait
💫 ops
utility for ui loading/error/ready states.
useful for implementing async operations that involve loading indicators.
you get a better dev-experience if you use ops via signals, but here is the documentation for plain ops on their own, without signals.
- create some ops
import {Op} from "@benev/slate"
Op.loading()
Op.error("a fail occurred")
Op.ready(123)
- check an op's status (proper typescript type guards)
Op.is.loading(op)
Op.is.error(op)
Op.is.ready(op)
- grab an op's payload (undefined when not ready)
const count = Op.ready(123)
const loadingCount = Op.loading()
Op.payload(count)
Op.payload(loadingCount)
- run an async operation which updates an op
let my_op = Op.loading()
await Op.load(
op => my_op = op,
async() => {
await nap(1000)
return 123
}
)
- ops signals integration — i recommend trying
use.op()
or signals.op()
to create OpSignal
instances which have nicer ergonomics (an OpSignal is just an op that is wrapped in a signal, plus some handy methods)
const count = signals.op()
await count.load(async() => {
await sleep(1000)
return 123
})
count.isLoading()
count.isError()
count.isReady()
count.payload
count.setLoading()
count.setError("big fail")
count.setReady(123)
- loading effects for ops
- i precooked some ascii loading indicators for you. import 'em:
import {loading} from "@benev/slate"
- then use 'em in your views or whatever.
return loading.binary(videoOp, video => html`
<p>video is done loading!</p>
${video}
`)
- these loading effects can accept ops or op signals.
- to make your own, you can use the helpers
makeLoadingEffect
or makeAnimatedLoadingEffect
(if you can figure out how to use 'em)
🪈 pipe
- pipe data through a series of functions
- maybe you've done silly nesting like this:
register_to_dom(
apply.signals(signals)(
apply.flat(flat)(
apply.css(theme)(
requirement.provide(context)(elements)
)
)
)
)
- now you can do this instead:
import {Pipe} from "@benev/slate"
Pipe.with(elements)
.to(requirement.provide(context))
.to(apply.css(theme))
.to(apply.flat(flat))
.to(apply.signals(signals))
.to(register_to_dom)
- call
.done()
when you want to return the result
🧐 more useful utils
ain't got no time to document these, but they're there
debounce
— my trusty debouncerdeep
— utilities for data structures like 'equal' and 'freeze'is
— proper type guardsob
— map over an object's values with ob(object).map(fn)
ev
— to listen for eventsel
— small syntax to generate html without litnap
— sleep for x millisecondsexplode_promise
— make an inside-out promisegenerate_id
— generate a crypto-random hexadecimal id stringpubsub
— easy pub/sub toolrequirement
— pass required data to a group of thingsShockDrop
and ShockDragDrop
— for drag-and-drop integrationswatch
— new heavy-duty state management pattern, with deep-watching in state trees, formalized actions, and even undo/redo history