This plugin is a proof of concept of how Joomla could manage JavaScript libraries, as well as dependent scripts. The idea is to ensure that one and only one copy of any specific library is loaded on the page. This is one way we could potentially solve the problem.
This library will automatically send jQuery into noConflict() mode immediately after loading it. If a copy of jQuery is already present in the document head, it will not load another copy.
It does not remove duplicate instances of libraries that have been added into the document head manually, nor does it remove scripts that have been hard coded into the template. It only manages the JavaScript libraries that have been registered within it.
This plugin has support for the Google and Microsoft JavaScript CDNs. To activate, select the CDN you wish to use from the parameters in the plugin. If you wish to use a different CDN for a specific library, this is possible using the "overrides" parameter. Specify the name of the library, followed by a comma, followed by the URL to the library.
Once you have the plugin enabled, you can simply register a library this way:
<?php
JavascriptLibraries::register_library('jquery', '1.4.2', 'media/jquery-1.4.2.min.js');Rouven Weßling has a proposed integration for the Joomla Platform's JDocument class. If this proposal is accepted, you can make your code forward compatible with his work by first checking JDocument for the registerLibrary() method:
<?php$document = JFactory::getDocument();
if (method_exists($document, 'registerLibrary')) {
$document->registerLibrary('jquery', '1.4.2', 'media/jquery-1.4.2.min.js');
} else {
JavascriptLibraries::register_library('jquery', '1.4.2', 'media/jquery-1.4.2.min.js');
}Be sure to bundle a copy of the JavaScript library with your extension, otherwise an exception will be thrown. When you load a JavaScript library, you specify the name of the library (in lowercase) and specify the minimum version you wish to use. If other extensions register a higher version, that will be used instead.
You can also register a specific script, specifying which library the script relies on:
<?php
JavascriptLibraries::register_library('jquery', '1.4.2', 'media/jquery-1.4.2.min.js');
JavascriptLibraries::register_script('path/to/my/jquery/based/script.js', 'jquery');The JavascriptLibraries class will make sure that dependent scripts are loaded after the specified library. Rouven's proposed JDocument integration does not currently register scripts with specific libraries, so simply call the existing addScript() method in forward-compatible code:
<?php$document = JFactory::getDocument();
if (method_exists($document, 'registerLibrary')) {
$document->registerLibrary('jquery', '1.4.2', 'media/jquery-1.4.2.min.js');
$document->addScript(JURI::base() . 'path/to/my/jquery/based/script.js');
} else {
JavascriptLibraries::register_library('jquery', '1.4.2', 'media/jquery-1.4.2.min.js');
JavascriptLibraries::register_script('path/to/my/jquery/based/script.js', 'jquery');
}This plugin has only been tested on the Square One distribution of Joomla 2.5, but is intended to work all the way back to Joomla 1.5. Because of this, the JavascriptLibraries class is included in the same file as the plugin for maximum compatibility.