Use Node.js to write extended basic methods for other programs

Ready to start

First we create a node notification (ES3en-ES4en) folder using the following directory structure.

.

|-- build/                   # This is where our extension is built.

|-- demo/

|   `-- demo.js              # This is a demo Node.js script to test our extension.

|-- src/

|   `-- node_gtknotify.cpp   # This is the where we do the mapping from C++ to Javascript.

`-- wscript                  # This is our build configuration used by node-waf

This beautiful looking tree was generated using the generic tree.

Now let me create the test script demo. js and decide that our extended API upfront should look like this:

// This loads our extension on the notify variable.
// It will only load a constructor function, notify.notification().
var notify = require("../build/default/gtknotify.node"); // path to our extension
 
var notification = new notify.notification();
notification.title = "Notification title";
notification.icon = "emblem-default"; // see /usr/share/icons/gnome/16x16
notification.send("Notification message");

Write our ES21en. js extension
Init method

To create an ES27en. js extension, we need to write an C++ class that inherits node::ObjectWrap. ObjectWrap implements public methods that make it easier to interact with Javascript

Let's start by writing the basic framework of the class:

#include <v8.h> // v8 is the Javascript engine used by QNode
#include <node.h>
// We will need the following libraries for our GTK+ notification
#include <string>
#include <gtkmm.h>
#include <libnotifymm.h>
 
using namespace v8;
 
class Gtknotify : node::ObjectWrap {
 private:
 public:
  Gtknotify() {}
  ~Gtknotify() {}
  static void Init(Handle<Object> target) {
   // This is what Node will call when we load the extension through require(), see boilerplate code below.
  }
};
 
/*
 * WARNING: Boilerplate code ahead.
 *
 * See https://www.cloudkick.com/blog/2010/aug/23/writing-nodejs-native-extensions/ & http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=dlsym
 * 
 * Thats it for actual interfacing with v8, finally we need to let Node.js know how to dynamically load our code.
 * Because a Node.js extension can be loaded at runtime from a shared object, we need a symbol that the dlsym function can find,
 * so we do the following: 
 */
 
v8::Persistent<FunctionTemplate> Gtknotify::persistent_function_template;
extern "C" { // Cause of name mangling in C++, we use extern C here
 static void init(Handle<Object> target) {
  Gtknotify::Init(target);
 }
 // @see http://github.com/ry/node/blob/v0.2.0/src/node.h#L101
 NODE_MODULE(gtknotify, init);
}

Now we must write the following code into our Init() method:

Declare the constructor and bind it to our target variable. notification var n = require (" "); Bind notification() to n: n.notification ().

// Wrap our C++ New() method so that it's accessible from Javascript
  // This will be called by the new operator in Javascript, for example: new notification();
  v8::Local<FunctionTemplate> local_function_template = v8::FunctionTemplate::New(New);
   
  // Make it persistent and assign it to persistent_function_template which is a static attribute of our class.
  Gtknotify::persistent_function_template = v8::Persistent<FunctionTemplate>::New(local_function_template);
   
  // Each JavaScript object keeps a reference to the C++ object for which it is a wrapper with an internal field.
  Gtknotify::persistent_function_template->InstanceTemplate()->SetInternalFieldCount(1); // 1 since a constructor function only references 1 object
  // Set a "class" name for objects created with our constructor
  Gtknotify::persistent_function_template->SetClassName(v8::String::NewSymbol("Notification"));
   
  // Set the "notification" property of our target variable and assign it to our constructor function
  target->Set(String::NewSymbol("notification"), Gtknotify::persistent_function_template->GetFunction());

Declare attributes: n.title and n.icon.

  // Set property accessors
  // SetAccessor arguments: Javascript property name, C++ method that will act as the getter, C++ method that will act as the setter
  Gtknotify::persistent_function_template->InstanceTemplate()->SetAccessor(String::New("title"), GetTitle, SetTitle);
  Gtknotify::persistent_function_template->InstanceTemplate()->SetAccessor(String::New("icon"), GetIcon, SetIcon);
  // For instance, n.title = "foo" will now call SetTitle("foo"), n.title will now call GetTitle()

Declarative prototyping method: ES63en. send()

  // This is a Node macro to help bind C++ methods to Javascript methods (see https://github.com/joyent/node/blob/v0.2.0/src/node.h#L34)
  // Arguments: our constructor function, Javascript method name, C++ method name
  NODE_SET_PROTOTYPE_METHOD(Gtknotify::persistent_function_template, "send", Send);

Now our Init() method should look like this:

// Our constructor
static v8::Persistent<FunctionTemplate> persistent_function_template;
 
static void Init(Handle<Object> target) {
 v8::HandleScope scope; // used by v8 for garbage collection
 
 // Our constructor
 v8::Local<FunctionTemplate> local_function_template = v8::FunctionTemplate::New(New);
 Gtknotify::persistent_function_template = v8::Persistent<FunctionTemplate>::New(local_function_template);
 Gtknotify::persistent_function_template->InstanceTemplate()->SetInternalFieldCount(1); // 1 since this is a constructor function
 Gtknotify::persistent_function_template->SetClassName(v8::String::NewSymbol("Notification"));
 
 // Our getters and setters
 Gtknotify::persistent_function_template->InstanceTemplate()->SetAccessor(String::New("title"), GetTitle, SetTitle);
 Gtknotify::persistent_function_template->InstanceTemplate()->SetAccessor(String::New("icon"), GetIcon, SetIcon);
 
 // Our methods
 NODE_SET_PROTOTYPE_METHOD(Gtknotify::persistent_function_template, "send", Send);
 
 // Binding our constructor function to the target variable
 target->Set(String::NewSymbol("notification"), Gtknotify::persistent_function_template->GetFunction());
}

The only thing left to do is to write us in Init method using C + + : New, GetTitle, SetTitle, GetIcon, SetIcon, Send

Constructor method: New()

The New() method creates a new instance of our custom class (1 Gtknotify object), sets 1 initial value, and returns the JavaScript processing of the object. This is the expected behavior of JavaScript using the new operator to call the constructor.

 
std::string title;
std::string icon;
 
// new notification()
static Handle<Value> New(const Arguments& args) {
 HandleScope scope;
 Gtknotify* gtknotify_instance = new Gtknotify();
 // Set some default values
 gtknotify_instance->title = "Node.js";
 gtknotify_instance->icon = "terminal";
 
 // Wrap our C++ object as a Javascript object
 gtknotify_instance->Wrap(args.This());
 
 return args.This();
}
getters  and  setters: GetTitle(), SetTitle(), GetIcon(), SetIcon()

The following is mostly boilerplate code that boils down to a value conversion between C++ and JavaScript (v8).

// this.title
static v8::Handle<Value> GetTitle(v8::Local<v8::String> property, const v8::AccessorInfo& info) {
 // Extract the C++ request object from the JavaScript wrapper.
 Gtknotify* gtknotify_instance = node::ObjectWrap::Unwrap<Gtknotify>(info.Holder());
 return v8::String::New(gtknotify_instance->title.c_str());
}
// this.title=
static void SetTitle(Local<String> property, Local<Value> value, const AccessorInfo& info) {
 Gtknotify* gtknotify_instance = node::ObjectWrap::Unwrap<Gtknotify>(info.Holder());
 v8::String::Utf8Value v8str(value);
 gtknotify_instance->title = *v8str;
}
// this.icon
static v8::Handle<Value> GetIcon(v8::Local<v8::String> property, const v8::AccessorInfo& info) {
 // Extract the C++ request object from the JavaScript wrapper.
 Gtknotify* gtknotify_instance = node::ObjectWrap::Unwrap<Gtknotify>(info.Holder());
 return v8::String::New(gtknotify_instance->icon.c_str());
}
// this.icon=
static void SetIcon(Local<String> property, Local<Value> value, const AccessorInfo& info) {
 Gtknotify* gtknotify_instance = node::ObjectWrap::Unwrap<Gtknotify>(info.Holder());
 v8::String::Utf8Value v8str(value);
 gtknotify_instance->icon = *v8str;
}

Prototyping method: Send()

First we extract the this reference of the C++ object, and then use the object's attributes to build the notification and display.

// this.send()
static v8::Handle<Value> Send(const Arguments& args) {
 v8::HandleScope scope;
 // Extract C++ object reference from "this"
 Gtknotify* gtknotify_instance = node::ObjectWrap::Unwrap<Gtknotify>(args.This());
 
 // Convert first argument to V8 String
 v8::String::Utf8Value v8str(args[0]);
 
 // For more info on the Notify library: http://library.gnome.org/devel/libnotify/0.7/NotifyNotification.html
 Notify::init("Basic");
 // Arguments: title, content, icon
 Notify::Notification n(gtknotify_instance->title.c_str(), *v8str, gtknotify_instance->icon.c_str()); // *v8str points to the C string it wraps
 // Display the notification
 n.show();
 // Return value
 return v8::Boolean::New(true);
}

Compile the extension

node-waf is a build tool used to compile extensions to Node, the basic encapsulation of waf. The build process can be configured through a file called wscript.

def set_options(opt):
 opt.tool_options("compiler_cxx")
 
def configure(conf):
 conf.check_tool("compiler_cxx")
 conf.check_tool("node_addon")
 # This will tell the compiler to link our extension with the gtkmm and libnotifymm libraries.
 conf.check_cfg(package='gtkmm-2.4', args='--cflags --libs', uselib_store='LIBGTKMM')
 conf.check_cfg(package='libnotifymm-1.0', args='--cflags --libs', uselib_store='LIBNOTIFYMM')
 
def build(bld):
 obj = bld.new_task_gen("cxx", "shlib", "node_addon")
 obj.cxxflags = ["-g", "-D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64", "-D_LARGEFILE_SOURCE", "-Wall"]
 # This is the name of our extension.
 obj.target = "gtknotify"
 obj.source = "src/node_gtknotify.cpp"
 obj.uselib = ['LIBGTKMM', 'LIBNOTIFYMM']

Now that we are ready to start the build, run the following command in the top-level directory:

node-waf configure & & node-waf build

If one is normal, we will be compiled extension, is located in: / build default/gtknotify node, try:

#include <v8.h> // v8 is the Javascript engine used by QNode
#include <node.h>
// We will need the following libraries for our GTK+ notification
#include <string>
#include <gtkmm.h>
#include <libnotifymm.h>
 
using namespace v8;
 
class Gtknotify : node::ObjectWrap {
 private:
 public:
  Gtknotify() {}
  ~Gtknotify() {}
  static void Init(Handle<Object> target) {
   // This is what Node will call when we load the extension through require(), see boilerplate code below.
  }
};
 
/*
 * WARNING: Boilerplate code ahead.
 *
 * See https://www.cloudkick.com/blog/2010/aug/23/writing-nodejs-native-extensions/ & http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=dlsym
 * 
 * Thats it for actual interfacing with v8, finally we need to let Node.js know how to dynamically load our code.
 * Because a Node.js extension can be loaded at runtime from a shared object, we need a symbol that the dlsym function can find,
 * so we do the following: 
 */
 
v8::Persistent<FunctionTemplate> Gtknotify::persistent_function_template;
extern "C" { // Cause of name mangling in C++, we use extern C here
 static void init(Handle<Object> target) {
  Gtknotify::Init(target);
 }
 // @see http://github.com/ry/node/blob/v0.2.0/src/node.h#L101
 NODE_MODULE(gtknotify, init);
}

0

The above code will display a notification message at the top right of your screen.

Mingle npm package

That's cool, but how do you share the results of your efforts with the Node community? This is the main purpose of npm: to make it easier to expand and distribute.

The npm extension pack is very simple. All you have to do is create a file in your top-level directory that contains your extension information.

#include <v8.h> // v8 is the Javascript engine used by QNode
#include <node.h>
// We will need the following libraries for our GTK+ notification
#include <string>
#include <gtkmm.h>
#include <libnotifymm.h>
 
using namespace v8;
 
class Gtknotify : node::ObjectWrap {
 private:
 public:
  Gtknotify() {}
  ~Gtknotify() {}
  static void Init(Handle<Object> target) {
   // This is what Node will call when we load the extension through require(), see boilerplate code below.
  }
};
 
/*
 * WARNING: Boilerplate code ahead.
 *
 * See https://www.cloudkick.com/blog/2010/aug/23/writing-nodejs-native-extensions/ & http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=dlsym
 * 
 * Thats it for actual interfacing with v8, finally we need to let Node.js know how to dynamically load our code.
 * Because a Node.js extension can be loaded at runtime from a shared object, we need a symbol that the dlsym function can find,
 * so we do the following: 
 */
 
v8::Persistent<FunctionTemplate> Gtknotify::persistent_function_template;
extern "C" { // Cause of name mangling in C++, we use extern C here
 static void init(Handle<Object> target) {
  Gtknotify::Init(target);
 }
 // @see http://github.com/ry/node/blob/v0.2.0/src/node.h#L101
 NODE_MODULE(gtknotify, init);
}

1

For more details on the ES159en.json format, you can get the documentation from npm help json. Note that most fields are optional.

You can now install your new npm package by running npm install in your top-level directory. Another useful command, npm link, allows you to create a link to your development directory without having to install/uninstall every time your code changes.

If you write a cool extension, you might want to publish it online in the central npm library.

#include <v8.h> // v8 is the Javascript engine used by QNode
#include <node.h>
// We will need the following libraries for our GTK+ notification
#include <string>
#include <gtkmm.h>
#include <libnotifymm.h>
 
using namespace v8;
 
class Gtknotify : node::ObjectWrap {
 private:
 public:
  Gtknotify() {}
  ~Gtknotify() {}
  static void Init(Handle<Object> target) {
   // This is what Node will call when we load the extension through require(), see boilerplate code below.
  }
};
 
/*
 * WARNING: Boilerplate code ahead.
 *
 * See https://www.cloudkick.com/blog/2010/aug/23/writing-nodejs-native-extensions/ & http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=dlsym
 * 
 * Thats it for actual interfacing with v8, finally we need to let Node.js know how to dynamically load our code.
 * Because a Node.js extension can be loaded at runtime from a shared object, we need a symbol that the dlsym function can find,
 * so we do the following: 
 */
 
v8::Persistent<FunctionTemplate> Gtknotify::persistent_function_template;
extern "C" { // Cause of name mangling in C++, we use extern C here
 static void init(Handle<Object> target) {
  Gtknotify::Init(target);
 }
 // @see http://github.com/ry/node/blob/v0.2.0/src/node.h#L101
 NODE_MODULE(gtknotify, init);
}

2

Next, go back to your root code and run:

 
$ npm publish

That's it. Your package can now be installed by anyone using npm install your package name command.