$().SPServices is best for SOAP
SPServices is a great tool, really nice work, Marc Anderson (@sympmarc). It has been there all the time I have developed for SharePoint. But the fact that you work with XML and you must parse the attributes (!) was the reason why I prefered listdata.svc and Client Object Model, where you get objects in JSON or you have a nice API to get objects and their properties. But there is an area where SPServices are really the best tool: SharePoint Web Services which only understand SOAP like SocialDataService.asmx.
$ and jQuery in SharePoint
Do you still use $ for jQuery? Well, don’t. If your code with $ resides with a SharePoint Images webpart, it will stop working. You’ll get errors like
Uncaught TypeError: Cannot call method 'empty' of null
The reason is that SharePoint uses $ in its own javascript code: CMSSiteManager.js 
function $()
{ULSjlC:;
var elements=new Array();
for (var i=0; i < arguments.length; i++)
{
var element=arguments\[i\];
if (typeof element=='string')
element=document.getElementById(element);
if (arguments.length==1) return element;
elements.push(element);
}
return elements;
}
ScriptResx.ashx in SharePoint
In my previous post I showed a little proof-of-concept for an httphandler which I want to use to dynamically get the localization resources from SharePoint as javascript object. But wait a moment. How does SharePoint handle localization on client? When you look in Script tab in Chrome dev tools, you’ll find:
ScriptResource.axd
It is added to the server when deployed. See a good introduction to WebResource.axd and ScriptResource.axd by Brian Chavez.
Custom HttpHandler in SharePoint for getting dynamic javascript code
Sometimes I want to add some dynamic javascript code. E.g. I had an idea to get javascript code for localization dynamically. Kirk Evan provides a very clean approach to add ASP.NET HttpHandler to SharePoint. This is just a little lab: Create a SharePoint empty project. I call it Jerkelle. Create a class called Resx2JsHandler and implement the IHttpHandler interface Add the mapped folder Layouts and create Jerkelle.ashx file Here is the project. I probably will publish it on my github account:
The Jerkelle.ashx file is very simple, it references to the code file (Resx2JsHandler.cs):
XMLHttpRequest the hard way
$.ajax is great, it hides much of the complexity. But sometimes we need to work with “raw” javascript :) So let’s look behind the scenes. The XMLHttpRequest (or just XHR) is used to open a connection to a server without a page reload. Internet Explorer calls it ActiveXObject and it differs in IE versions. Wikipedia article gives a good example how to create one constructor for all browsers:
if (typeof XMLHttpRequest == "undefined") XMLHttpRequest = function () {
try {
return new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP.6.0");
}
catch (e) { }
try {
return new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP.3.0");
}
catch (e) { }
try {
return new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
catch (e) { }
//Microsoft.XMLHTTP points to Msxml2.XMLHTTP and is redundant
throw new Error("This browser does not support XMLHttpRequest.");
};The remainder is more or less the same among the browsers. We open a connection defining the HTTP verb, URI and async mode (true or false):
Push a copy of Resources to client in javascript
In one of my previous posts I told about pushing a copy of an object into client. Now I’ll try to copy my resource values into client. The problem is often that we must create multiple localization resources: first as resx-file. If we use much ajax and client side rendering, we must provide some localization there, too. If they are different subsets of localization resources, it isn’t a problem. But when you get overlapping, it becomes more difficult to manage and sync them. See how Microsoft Ajax Library provides some strings:
What if we just copy the values from resx file into client? If there are not business constraint it can make the development much easier. Let’s try it. For that we need Reflection. We start with changing the access modifiers on resx file to public:
Then we must get all static properties of the auto-generated class (ResXFileCodeGenerator):
Add links to Global Navigation in My Sites
Oliver Wirkus shows how to add links to Global Navigation in My Sites. Just go to: Central Administration Applicaiton Management Manage Service Applications User Profile Service Application Configure Personalization Site
Comments from Wordpress.com
Lroth - Feb 4, 2015
There is no “configure personalization site” link. What is in the tea you are drinking?
It is actually coffee…Just kidding. This is an instruction for SharePoint 2010.
Parameterize a javascript object and create url
If you want to add some parameters to an url which you want to open, you can use jQuery.param function:
var url = "some\_url";
var params = {
name: "Setner",
email: "setner@narspi.name",
mobile: "123456789"
};
var search = "?" + $.param(p);
url += search;
```It is handy, indeed. In an environment without jQuery (are there some?:) ) you can just iterate an object and join properties:
var url = “some_url”; var params = { name: “Setner”, email: “setner@narspi.name”, mobile: “123456789” }; if (url.match("/\?/g") == null) { url += “?”; } else { url += “&”; } var search = “”; for(var p in params) { search += [p, params[p]].join("="); } url += search;