Example: Using NodeList - Ducks Game

This example demonstrates how to use multiple NodeList features to build a simple game.

Ducks remaining: 10

The HTML

<div class='gallery'>
    <ul class="duck-row">
        <li></li> <!-- each of these will be a duck -->
        <li></li>
        <li></li>
        <li></li>
        <li></li>
        <li></li>
        <li></li>
        <li></li>
        <li></li>
        <li></li>
    </ul>
    <div class="water">
        <img class="shadow" src="../assets/node/images/water-shadow.png"/>
        <img src="../assets/node/images/water.png"/>
    </div>
</div>
<button id="button-reset" class="yui3-button">Reset</button>
Ducks remaining: <span class="ducks-remain">10</span>
<input type="checkbox" id="show-attitude"/><label for="show-attitude">Show attitude</label>

YUI Instance

The use statement doesn't include node because it's loaded as a requirement of transition.

YUI().use('transition', 'button', function(Y){
    // code goes here
});

Setting Vars

The variable ducks is used for easily manipulating all the ducks at once. We'll display various duck comments from the array squawkTextArr on a rotating basis.

var ducks = Y.all('.duck-row li'),
    ducksRemaining = 10, // value for UI display
    squawkTextIndex = 0, // index in the squawkTextArr to use next
    squawkTextArr = [   // duck comments
        '#@&~*Q!',
        'Hey!?',
        '911 on U!',
        "U&nbsp;fly's&nbsp;down",
        'duck&nbsp;pile!',
        'Ricochets&nbsp;kill!',
        'how&nbsp;sporting.',
        "shoe's&nbsp;untied"
    ];

Initializing the Ducks

Repetitive markup is added with the .append() method to all the ducks in the NodeList. This keeps the original markup simple and clear.

// append the same content for each duck <li>
ducks.append('<img src="../assets/node/images/duck.png"/><div class="squawk"><div class="text">#@&~*Q!</div><div class="small-squawk-bubble"></div></div>');

All the ducks in the NodeList are given the set-up class with the .addClass() method. This class is found on any duck that has the state of being set up, as opposed to being knocked down.

// give them all the set-up state class
ducks.addClass('set-up');

This state could be a Boolean property, but it's handy as a class, because a NodeList can be made containing the squawks of all "set up" ducks in this way, squawks = Y.all('.duck-row .set-up .squawk'); as we'll see in the makeDucksSquawk function.

Making the Ducks Swim

This uses transition to make the ducks swim right to left

// this makes the ducks move from right to left.
// When the duck on the far left disappears from view,
// it's added to the far right end of the row.
var makeDucksSwim = function () {
    var frontDuck;
    
    // move the duck row to the left one duck space over 2 seconds
    Y.one('.duck-row').transition({
        easing: 'linear',
        left: '-119px',
        duration: 2
    }, function () { // when the row finishes its right to left transition...
        // remove the first duck on the left
        // which has trasitioned out of view
        frontDuck = Y.one('.duck-row li').remove();

        // append the removed first duck onto the right end
        Y.one('.duck-row').appendChild(frontDuck);

        // set the position for the next makeDucksSwim()
        Y.one('.duck-row').setStyle('left', '10px');

        // if there are ducks remaining, make them swim again
        if (ducksRemaining > 0) {
            makeDucksSwim();
        }
    });       
}
makeDucksSwim(); // this initializes the ducks swimming

Click Event Handler

// handles a click on a duck
var duckClick = function(e) {
    var squawks;
    
    // remove the squawk belonging to the duck that was clicked
    e.currentTarget.one('.squawk').setStyles({'top': '-400px', 'opacity': '1'});
    
    // makes the ducks appear to lay back when clicked
    e.target.transition({
        duration: 0.2,
        height: '3px',
        width: '133px'
    });
    
    // the clicked duck will no longer have the 'set-up' class/state
    e.currentTarget.removeClass('set-up');
    makeDucksSquawk(); // makes the ducks squawk
    updateDucksRemaining(); // update the number of ducks still set up
};

Squawking Ducks

// this makes the duck's squawks show and hide and get various text
var makeDucksSquawk = function(){    
    squawks = Y.all('.duck-row .set-up .squawk'); // a NodeList of the squawks of set-up ducks
    if (Y.one('#show-attitude')._node.checked) {  // only have ducks squawk if the checkbox is checked
        // fill voice bubbles with next text string
        Y.all('.duck-row .set-up .squawk .text').setHTML(squawkTextArr[squawkTextIndex]);
        
        // increment the index to get the next squawk text
        squawkTextIndex = (squawkTextIndex += 1) % (squawkTextArr.length);
        squawks.transition({
            top: {
                delay: 0.5,
                value: '0px', // drop squawks into position from hidden 
                duration: 0   // instant position change
            },
            opacity: { // fade out
                delay: 3.0,
                duration: 0.3,
                value: 0
            } 
        }, function(e){
            // after squawks are faded out,
            // move them to hidden position and set opacity to 1 again
            squawks.setStyles({'top': '-400px', 'opacity': '1'});
        });
    }
}

Reset and Ducks Remaining

// This resets all ducks, "ducks remaining" counters, and row position
// make the duck images full height
// start them swimming     
var reset = function() {
    Y.all('.duck-row li img').setStyle('height', '55px');
    Y.all('.duck-row li').addClass('set-up');
    updateDucksRemaining();
    makeDucksSwim();
}

// counts the ducks remaining, and updates the UI counter display
var updateDucksRemaining = function() {
    ducksRemaining = Y.all('.gallery li.set-up').size();    
    Y.one('.ducks-remain').setHTML(ducksRemaining);    
}

Prefer node.delegate() over nodelist.on()

Sometimes you need to create individual subscriptions for each Node in a NodeList, but usually it's preferable to use event delegation as shown in this example.

Listeners

// listeners
Y.one('.duck-row').delegate('click', duckClick, 'li');
Y.one('#button-reset').on('click', reset);

Complete Ducks Example Source

<style>
.gallery{
    position: relative;
    background: url(../assets/node/images/background.png);
    width: 638px;
    height: 180px;
    overflow: hidden;
    -moz-border-radius: 8px;
    -webkit-border-radius: 8px;
    border-radius: 8px;
    -moz-box-shadow: 0 0 45px #000 inset, 3px 0 6px rgba(0,0,0,0.8);
    -webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 45px #000 inset, 3px 0 6px rgba(0,0,0,0.8);
    border: 4px solid #637073;
    cursor: crosshair;
    margin: 0.5em 0 0.8em;
}

.water{
    position: absolute;
    top: 114px;
    left: 0;
    width: 677px;
    height: 50px;
}

.water img{
    position: absolute;
    top: 0;
    left: 0;
}

.water .shadow {
    left: 8px;
    opacity: 0.5;
    filter: alpha(opacity=30);
}

.duck-row {
    position: absolute;
    left: 10px;
    top: 57px;
    width: 1340px;
    padding: 0;
    margin: 0;
}

.duck-row li{
    position: relative;
    display: inline-block;
    zoom: 1; *display: inline; /* IE < 8: fake inline-block */
    width: 133px;
    height: 70px;
    margin: 0 -4px 0 0;
    vertical-align: bottom;
}

.duck-row li img{
    position: absolute;
    bottom: 7px;
    left: 0;
}

/* the voice bubble of the ducks */
.duck-row .squawk {
    position: absolute;
    top: -400px;
    left: 50px;
    -moz-border-radius: 4px;
    -webkit-border-radius: 4px;
    border-radius: 4px;
    background-color: #ffe;
    line-height: 1.2em;
    border: solid 1px #cc8;
    -moz-box-shadow: 2px 2px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.2);
    -webkit-box-shadow: 2px 2px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.2);
}

.duck-row .squawk .text{
    padding: 0.2em 0.4em 0.2em 0em;
    text-indent: 0.2em;
    overflow: hidden;
}

.small-squawk-bubble{
    position: absolute;
    bottom: -4px;
    left: -8px;
    width: 4px;
    height: 4px;
    border: solid 1px #cc8;
    -moz-border-radius: 3px;
    -webkit-border-radius: 3px;
    border-radius: 3px;
    background-color: #ffe;
    font-size: 2px;
}

#button-reset{
    margin-right: 2em;
}

.ducks-remain{
    font-size: 150%;
}

#show-attitude{
    margin-left: 8em;
}
</style>

    <div class='gallery'>
        <ul class="duck-row">
            <li></li> <!-- each of these will be a duck -->
            <li></li>
            <li></li>
            <li></li>
            <li></li>
            <li></li>
            <li></li>
            <li></li>
            <li></li>
            <li></li>
        </ul>
        <div class="water">
            <img class="shadow" src="../assets/node/images/water-shadow.png"/>
            <img src="../assets/node/images/water.png"/>
        </div>
    </div>
    <button id="button-reset" class="yui3-button">Reset</button>
    Ducks remaining: <span class="ducks-remain">10</span>
    <input type="checkbox" id="show-attitude"/><label for="show-attitude">Show attitude</label>

<script>
YUI().use('transition', 'button', function (Y) {

    var ducks = Y.all('.duck-row li'),
        ducksRemaining = 10, // value for UI display
        squawkTextIndex = 0, // index in the squawkTextArr to use next
        squawkTextArr = [   // duck comments
            '#@&~*Q!',
            'Hey!?',
            '911 on U!',
            "U&nbsp;fly's&nbsp;down",
            'duck&nbsp;pile!',
            'Ricochets&nbsp;kill!',
            'how&nbsp;sporting.',
            "shoe's&nbsp;untied"
        ];

    // append the same content for each duck <li>
    ducks.append('<img src="../assets/node/images/duck.png"/><div class="squawk"><div class="text">#@&~*Q!</div><div class="small-squawk-bubble"></div></div>');
    
    // give them all the set-up state class
    ducks.addClass('set-up');
    
    // this makes the ducks move from right to left.
    // When the duck on the far left disappears from view,
    // it's added to the far right end of the row.
    var makeDucksSwim = function () {
        var frontDuck;
        
        // move the duck row to the left one duck space over 2 seconds
        Y.one('.duck-row').transition({
            easing: 'linear',
            left: '-119px',
            duration: 2
        }, function () { // when the row finishes its right to left transition...
            // remove the first duck on the left
            // which has trasitioned out of view
            frontDuck = Y.one('.duck-row li').remove();

            // append the removed first duck onto the right end
            Y.one('.duck-row').appendChild(frontDuck);

            // set the position for the next makeDucksSwim()
            Y.one('.duck-row').setStyle('left', '10px');

            // if there are ducks remaining, make them swim again
            if (ducksRemaining > 0) {
                makeDucksSwim();
            }
        });       
    }
    makeDucksSwim(); // this initializes the ducks swimming
    
    // handles a click on a duck
    var duckClick = function(e) {
        var squawks;
        
        // remove the squawk belonging to the duck that was clicked
        e.currentTarget.one('.squawk').setStyles({'top': '-400px', 'opacity': '1'});
        
        // makes the ducks appear to lay back when clicked
        e.target.transition({
            duration: 0.2,
            height: '3px',
            width: '133px'
        });
        
        // the clicked duck will no longer have the 'set-up' class/state
        e.currentTarget.removeClass('set-up');
        makeDucksSquawk();
        updateDucksRemaining(); // update the number of ducks still set up
    };
    
    // this makes the duck's squawks show and hide and get various text
    var makeDucksSquawk = function(){    
        squawks = Y.all('.duck-row .set-up .squawk'); // a NodeList of the squawks of set-up ducks
        if (Y.one('#show-attitude')._node.checked) {  // only have ducks squawk if the checkbox is checked
            // fill voice bubbles with next text string
            Y.all('.duck-row .set-up .squawk .text').setHTML(squawkTextArr[squawkTextIndex]);
            
            // increment the index to get the next squawk text
            squawkTextIndex = (squawkTextIndex += 1) % (squawkTextArr.length);
            squawks.transition({
                top: {
                    delay: 0.5,
                    value: '0px', // drop squawks into position from hidden 
                    duration: 0   // instant position change
                },
                opacity: { // fade out
                    delay: 3.0,
                    duration: 0.3,
                    value: 0
                } 
            }, function(e){
                // after squawks are faded out,
                // move them to hidden position and set opacity to 1 again
                squawks.setStyles({'top': '-400px', 'opacity': '1'});
            });
        }
    }
    
    // This resets all ducks, "ducks remaining" counters, and row position
    // make the duck images full height
    // start them swimming     
    var reset = function() {
        Y.all('.duck-row li img').setStyle('height', '55px');
        Y.all('.duck-row li').addClass('set-up');
        updateDucksRemaining();
        makeDucksSwim();
    }
    
    // counts the ducks remaining, and updates the UI counter display
    var updateDucksRemaining = function() {
        ducksRemaining = Y.all('.gallery li.set-up').size();    
        Y.one('.ducks-remain').setHTML(ducksRemaining);    
    }
    
    // listeners
    Y.one('.duck-row').delegate('click', duckClick, 'li');
    Y.one('#button-reset').on('click', reset);
});
</script>