DynWorker

DynWorker

The Talk

DynWorker is a WebWorker library which makes it easier to work with workers (haha). You no longer need to create a separate file for each different worker... the only extra file you will ever have to load is dynworker.js.

DynWorker contains a few utilities to augment your worker. You can easily inject functions into the worker, run arbitrary code, pass messages containing mixed data (everything is JSON-encoded), and access DOM storage (local and session).

Development has stopped and DynWorker hasn't been updated in at least three years, but it still works fine and is used in the wild. Pull requests, bug reports, and other questions are very welcome. Take care and have fun!

The Code

// If the library is in the current dir and
// is named dynworker.js, this works:
var worker = new DynWorker();

// Otherwise you need to specify a filename,
// but it needs to be on the same domain.
var worker = new DynWorker("/js/lib/dynworker.min.js");

// You can have a shortcut with Ender:
var worker = new $.worker();

// You can also modify the default path once and for all:
DynWorker.path("path/to/dynworker.js");
var worker = new DynWorker();


// The function is namespaced under $.ns
// inside the worker.
worker.inject("funcName", function(arg1, arg2) {
  var result = "Do something awesome here";
  
  // In-worker helpers are namespaced under $
  $.receive(function(e, data) {
    // Receive messages from the main thread
  });
  
  return result;
});

// The callback gets back the raw event and the
// parsed data
worker.receive(function(e, data) {
  data; // Display and strike awe
});


// The #run function wraps the function call in a
// $.send() so the return value of the
// function is sent up.
worker.run("funcName", arg1, arg2);

// Hence, these two are equivalent:
worker.run("funcName");
worker.eval("$.send($.ns['funcName']());");

DOM storage

The $.localStorage API mimics the window.localStorage API, minus the array-like interface. Under the hood, all calls are asynchronous, but it doesn't matter too much. All workers and the main thread use the same DOM storage. The $.sessionStorage API is the same.

Inside the worker:

$.localStorage.setItem("key", "data");
$.localStorage.getItem("key", function(data) {
  // Do something with that data
});

The License

DynWorker is licensed under this MIT License.