Nørd

Nørd is a modern JavaScript framework that enables developers to build web applications with fine-grained reactivity and a component-based architecture. It uses tagged templates for HTML rendering and Grains as primary reactive primitive. Nørd is TypeScript-centric, offering fully typed components and templates.

Key Features

• Component-Based Architecture: Build your UI with reusable and composable components, enhancing maintainability and reusability.
• Fine-Grained Reactivity: Efficiently update your UI with fine-grained reactivity using Grains, a unique feature that connects values directly to DOM nodes.
• No JSX Required: Utilize tagged template literals for a cleaner and more intuitive syntax, removing the need for compiling JSX.
• TypeScript Support: Take advantage of full TypeScript support for a strongly typed development experience, enhancing code quality and maintainability.
• Directives: Enhance your templates with powerful directives for DOM manipulation, offering declarative access to the DOM.
• Dependency-Free: Enjoy the benefits of a framework that operates without external dependencies, making your project lightweight and faster to load.

Getting Started

In the Browser

Before diving into a full project, you can experiment with Nørd directly in your browser:

JSFiddle: For a quick and straightforward experience, try out Nørd using this JSFiddle link. It provides a basic HTML setup to test out Nørd's features. StackBlitz: For a more comprehensive exploration, including Vite and TypeScript support, visit this StackBlitz project. It's a great way to see Nørd in action within a more complex environment.

Scaffolding a new Project

To start a new Nørd project, use the official scaffolding tool. Make sure you have Node.js version 18.0 or higher installed, then run:

# Using yarn
yarn create @grainular/nord

# Using npm
npm create @grainular/nord

This command will execute the @grainular/create-nord tool, guiding you through the process of creating a new project. You can choose from various templates, such as a basic HTML setup or a modern Vite-based template with TypeScript.

Installing

To add Nørd to your existing project, you can install it via npm or yarn:

# Using yarn
yarn add @grainular/nord

# Using npm
npm install @grainular/nord

Using Nørd

Once Nørd is added to your project, you can start by importing it. Here's a basic example to get you started:

import { createComponent, render } from '@grainular/nord';

const App = createComponent((html) => html`<h1>Hello, Nørd!</h1>`);

render(App, { target: document.querySelector('#app') });

In this example, createComponent is used to define a new component, and render attaches it to the DOM, targeting a specific element. This setup demonstrates the simplicity and power of Nørd's component system and rendering process.

Components

In Nørd, components are essential for building the UI. They are defined using the createComponent function, which encapsulates both logic and presentation:

Read more about components in the official documentation.

Creating a Component

import { createComponent } from '@grainular/nord';

const Greeting = createComponent((html, { name }) => {
    html`<h1>Hello, ${name}</h1>`;
});

This example shows a Greeting component that renders a name within an <h1> tag.

In Nørd, both components and their templates are evaluated only once. This means that the logic inside the component function runs only during the initial creation. It creates a static structure, with reactivity handled by Grains and Directives rather than re-evaluating the entire template.

Rendering a Component

To display your component in the DOM, use the render function:

import { render } from '@grainular/nord';
import { Greeting } from './greeting.component.js';

render(Greeting, {
    target: document.querySelector('#app'),
    hydrate: { name: 'World' },
});

Here, Greeting is rendered inside a specified DOM element with properties passed via the hydrate option.

Grains

Grains are Nørd's reactive primitives, central to its state management. They provide a way to create and manage reactive states in your application.

Read more about grains in the official documentation.

Creating and using Grains

A Grain is created with the grain function and is used to store and react to changes in data:

import { grain } from '@grainular/nord';

const count = grain(0); // Initialize a Grain with a value
console.log(count()); // Access the current value

Updating a Grain

import { grain } from '@grainular/nord';

const count = grain(0); // Initialize a Grain with a value
count.set(1); // Sets the value
count.update((c) => c + 1); // Updates the value

Subscribing to changes

Grains allow subscription to value changes, enabling components to reactively update:

count.subscribe((value) => {
    console.log(`Count updated to: ${value}`);
});

When count is set to a new value, the subscribed function will execute, providing the updated value.

Directives

Directives in Nørd provide a declarative way to manipulate the DOM within templates. They are functions that receive DOM nodes and apply dynamic logic or behaviour.

Read more about directives in the official documentation.

Usage

A simple directive is a function that takes a node as an argument:

<div ${(node) => console.log(node)} ></div>

This directive logs the associated DOM element when the component is evaluated.

Directive Factories

Nørd comes with built-in directive factories for common tasks. For example, the on directive factory attaches event listeners:

import { on } from '@grainular/nord';

<button ${on('click', (ev) => console.log(ev))} ></button>

In this case, clicking the button logs the click event.

Custom Directives

You can create custom directives using createDirective:

import { createDirective } from '@grainular/nord';

export const applyColor = createDirective((node) => {
    node.style.background = 'red';
});

// Usage
<div ${applyColor} ></div>

This custom directive changes the background color of the element to red.

Contributing

Contributions to Nørd are always welcome! Whether it's bug reports, feature requests, or code contributions, please read our contribution guidelines for more information on getting involved.

License

Nørd is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT License.