Frontbacked frontbacked-ql Library

The frontbacked-ql library is the client-side engine responsible for bringing Frontbacked themes to life.

Role in the Platform

Its primary role is to parse the Frontbacked Query Language (FQL) embedded in a theme's HTML and orchestrate the data flow.

1. FQL Parsing: Scans the HTML for {STATE} declarations in comments and f-* attributes on tags.
2. Request Orchestration: Organizes and plans the necessary network requests to the server. It intelligently handles dependent requests (e.g., fetching data B only after data A is available).
3. State Management: Injects fetched data into the web app's state as declared in the FQL.
4. DOM Injection: Automatically updates HTML tag attributes and inner text with the fetched data, ensuring the UI stays in sync with the state.
5. Error Handling: Manages fetch errors and provides mechanisms for developers to handle them gracefully.

How it Works

By using the frontbacked-ql library, theme developers can write less code. Instead of manual fetch calls and DOM manipulation, they simply declare the data sources in the HTML, and the frontbacked-ql library handles the "how" and "when" of fetching and displaying that data efficiently.

Technical Details

• Core: AST (Abstract Syntax Tree) generator and resolver for FQL expressions.
• Injection: Direct DOM manipulation based on parsed FQL instructions.