00mjk / formfactor

HTML5 Form-factor detection - formfactorjs. Needs you to help write more detection specs.

FormFactor

FormFactor helps you customize your web app for different form factors, e.g. when you make "the mobile version", "the TV version", etc.

About Form Factor Detection

The "write once, run many" aspect of HTML5 means developers are building HTML5 apps for desktop, tablets, mobiles, TV, and so on. We don't advocate a separate web app for every device ever, but we do think it's sometimes nice to make a distinct interfaces for each major form factor. You keep your core app - most of the logic, markup, and styling - and you augment it with an "awesome layer" to target each form factor.

You've heard of Browser Detection and Feature Detection. Form Factor Detection is a third way, providing an avenue to manage conceptually distinct user interfaces. It doesn't eliminate the need for the first two approaches, but you use them in the context of a particular form factor's interface.

About FormFactor.js

This library is a bit of infrastructure to help you manage a multi-form-factor project. We're sorry to infom you this library alone won't automatically make a spiffy mobile version of your desktop app. It's really just piping, the spiffiness is up to you.

• FormFactor allows you to register a number of "Form Factors".

• Each Form Factor is an id and a list of "indications" that the form factor is in use.

• If any indication is true, the form factor is deemed to be in use.

• FormFactor allows you to register a number of "User Interfaces" (UIs).

• Each "UI" is associated with any number of "Form Factors", "Resources", and "Callbacks". The "Resources" can be stylesheets or scripts.

• When FormFactor.js deems a given form factor is in use, and there is a UI for that form factor, it does the following:

  • Attach the form factor's id to the document's root ("html") tag.
  • Dynamically loads and executes all resources.
  • Calls all callbacks, passing in the Form Factor id.

Usage

THIS IS VERY UNDER CONSTRUCTION

    <script src="formfactor.js"></script>
    <script src="/formfactors/tv.js"></script>
    <script>
      (function() {
        /* contents of tv.js */
        formfactor.register({tv: [ 
          "tv",
          function() { return navigtor.indexOf("Samsung") > 0; },
          (navigtor.indexOf("Samsung") > 0)
        ]
      })();
    </script>
    <script>
      var formfactor = formfactor.detect([
        {
          formfactor : "tv",
          resources: ["/style/tv.css", "/style/fullscreen.less",
                        "/script/ambientsounds.js", "/script/fx.coffee" ],
          callbacks: function() { alert("Look mum, I am on TV!"); }
        },
        {
          formfactor: "tablet",
            ...
        }
      },
      // default callback when nothing matches. 
      {
        "resources": ["/style/plain.css", "script/plain.js"],
        "callbacks": function() { alert("In plain mode.");}
      }
    );
   
    </script>
    <script>
       if(formfactor.is("tv")) {
         alert("Look ma, Im on tv!");
       }

       if(formfactor.isnt("tv")) {
         alert("The revolution will not be televised");
       }
    </script>

FAQ

• Does this replace Media Queries?

  No, this is a proof-of-concept framework designed to complement all the existing technologies on the web and help you target specific classes of devices with stylesheets.

• Does this replace Feature Detection?

No, we like feature detection too much! In the context of any given UI, you should still be using feature detection for features which may or may not be present.

• Can I still practice responsive web design?

  Heck Yes! You can still use all the current techniques to style your app or site based on capabilities such as min-device-width etc.

• Can this detect every device class?

  Not a chance yet. We need your help to expand this project to help with device detection.

• Can I define definitions for my own device classes - perhaps I don't care for TV.

  Yes. In fact, the core framework is agnostic about form factors and their indications. We do include a handful of basic indicators for the main devices, but we hope the community will help refine them over time.