Introduction to Rendr

Isomorphic JavaScript frameworks are gaining popularity, enabling the creation of JavaScript applications that run seamlessly on both client and server. This "write once, run anywhere" approach leverages server-side rendering for faster initial page loads and improved client-side interactivity. This article explores Rendr, an open-source library from Airbnb, initially designed for their Backbone.js and Node.js mobile apps.

Key Features of Rendr:

• Isomorphic Rendering: Rendr renders Backbone.js applications on both the client and server using a shared codebase. Server-side rendering delivers content before client-side JavaScript execution, resulting in a quicker user experience.
• Node.js and Grunt Integration: Requires a Node.js server and utilizes Grunt, a task runner, for automation of tasks like minification and testing.
• Modular Structure: Rendr applications typically include components like Homepage, User View, Users List View, Repo View, and Repos List View, each with its own associated files for models, views, controllers, etc.
• Backbone.js Foundation: Built upon Backbone.js, leveraging its models, views, collections, and routers for application structure and data management.

Understanding Rendr's Functionality:

Rendr's core principle is to enable the rendering of Backbone.js applications on both the server and client using identical code. This pre-rendering on the server significantly speeds up initial page load times. Once the client-side framework loads, Backbone.js manages subsequent routing. Rendr is not a full-fledged framework; its design focuses on:

• Environment-agnostic application logic (minimizing if (server) { ... } else { ... } blocks).
• Seamless RESTful API interaction.
• Abstraction of library complexities.
• Server-side DOM avoidance.

A Simple Rendr Application (GitHub Browser Example):

The article uses a sample GitHub browser application to illustrate Rendr's functionality. This application, available in Rendr's example repository, comprises:

• Repos List View: Displays a list of GitHub repositories.
• Repo View: Shows detailed information for a selected repository.
• Users List View: Lists GitHub users.
• User View: Presents a user profile and their repositories.

Setting Up a Rendr Application:

1. Node.js and Grunt Installation: Install Node.js from the official website, then install Grunt globally using npm install -g grunt-cli.
2. Project Dependencies: Navigate to your project directory and run npm install to install Rendr and its dependencies.
3. Starting the Server: Execute grunt server to launch the development server. The application will be accessible at localhost:3030.

Application Structure:

The sample application's structure mirrors a standard Backbone.js application, with conventions borrowed from Express and Rails. It includes folders for models, views, controllers, collections, and templates. Each folder contains files for each of the application's views (Homepage, User View, etc.).

Key Components:

• routes.js: Defines the routing configuration, mapping URLs to controllers and actions (e.g., match('', 'home#index')).
• index.js or server.js: Initializes configurations (e.g., dataAdapterConfig, apiPath), starts the server, and sets up the data fetching mechanism.
• Views: Extend Backbone.js views and handle rendering. The example shows a users_index.js view.
• Templates: Define the HTML structure using a template engine (e.g., Handlebars). The example shows a users/index.hbs template.
• Controllers: Handle routing logic and data fetching. The example shows a users_controller.js with an index method.
• Models: Extend Backbone.js models for data representation and fetching from the GitHub API (e.g., user.js).
• Collections: Extend Backbone.js collections to manage sets of models (e.g., users.js).

Conclusion:

Rendr provides a powerful way to build isomorphic JavaScript applications. While this article covers the basics, further exploration of its GitHub repository and advanced examples will reveal its full potential. The combination of server-side rendering and client-side interactivity offers significant performance and SEO advantages.

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