# pjax .--. / \ ## a a ( '._) |'-- | _.\___/_ ___pjax___ ."\> \Y/|<'. '._.-' / \ \_\/ / '-' / | --'\_/|/ | _/ |___.-' | |`'` | | | | / './ /__./` | | \ | | \ | | ; | | / | | jgs |___\_.\_ `-"--'---' ## pjax = pushState + ajax pjax is a jQuery plugin that uses ajax and pushState to deliver a fast browsing experience with real permalinks, page titles, and a working back button. pjax works by grabbing html from your server via ajax and replacing the content of a container on your page with the ajax'd html. It then updates the browser's current url using pushState without reloading your page's layout or any resources (js, css), giving the appearance of a fast, full page load. But really it's just ajax and pushState. For [browsers that don't support pushState][compat] pjax fully degrades. ## Overview pjax is not fully automatic. You'll need to setup and designate a containing element on your page that will be replaced when you navigate your site. Consider the following page. ``` html

My Site

Go to next page.
``` We want pjax to grab the url `/page/2` then replace `#pjax-container` with whatever it gets back. No styles or scripts will be reloaded and even the h1 can stay the same - we just want to change the `#pjax-container` element. We do this by telling pjax to listen on `a` tags and use `#pjax-container` as the target container: ``` javascript $(document).pjax('a', '#pjax-container') ``` Now when someone in a pjax-compatible browser clicks "next page" the content of `#pjax-container` will be replaced with the body of `/page/2`. Magic! Almost. You still need to configure your server to look for pjax requests and send back pjax-specific content. The pjax ajax request sends an `X-PJAX` header so in this example (and in most cases) we want to return just the content of the page without any layout for any requests with that header. Here's what it might look like in Rails: ``` ruby def index if request.headers['X-PJAX'] render :layout => false end end ``` If you'd like a more automatic solution than pjax for Rails check out [Turbolinks](https://github.com/rails/turbolinks). Also check out [RailsCasts #294 : Playing with PJAX](http://railscasts.com/episodes/294-playing-with-pjax) ## Installation ### bower Via [bower](https://github.com/twitter/bower). ``` $ bower install jquery-pjax ``` Or add `jquery-pjax` to your apps `bower.json`. ``` json "dependencies": { "jquery-pjax": "latest" } ``` ### standalone pjax can be downloaded directly into your app's public directory - just be sure you've loaded jQuery first. ``` curl -LO https://raw.github.com/defunkt/jquery-pjax/master/jquery.pjax.js ``` **WARNING** Do not hotlink the raw script url. GitHub is not a CDN. ## Dependencies Requires jQuery 1.8.x or higher. ## Compatibility pjax only works with [browsers that support the `history.pushState` API][compat]. When the API isn't supported pjax goes into fallback mode: `$.fn.pjax` calls will be a no-op and `$.pjax` will hard load the given url. This mode targets the browser requirements of the jQuery version being used. For debugging purposes, you can intentionally disable pjax even if the browser supports `pushState`. Just call `$.pjax.disable()`. To see if pjax is actually supports `pushState`, check `$.support.pjax`. ## Usage ### `$.fn.pjax` Let's talk more about the most basic way to get started: ``` javascript $(document).pjax('a', '#pjax-container') ``` This will enable pjax on all links and designate the container as `#pjax-container`. If you are migrating an existing site you probably don't want to enable pjax everywhere just yet. Instead of using a global selector like `a` try annotating pjaxable links with `data-pjax`, then use `'a[data-pjax]'` as your selector. Or try this selector that matches any `` links inside a `
` container. ``` javascript $(document).pjax('[data-pjax] a, a[data-pjax]', '#pjax-container') ``` #### Arguments The synopsis for the `$.fn.pjax` function is: ``` javascript $(document).pjax(selector, [container], options) ``` 1. `selector` is a string to be used for click [event delegation][$.fn.on]. 2. `container` is a string selector that uniquely identifies the pjax container. 3. `options` is an object with keys described below. ##### pjax options key | default | description ----|---------|------------ `timeout` | 650 | ajax timeout in milliseconds after which a full refresh is forced `push` | true | use [pushState][] to add a browser history entry upon navigation `replace` | false | replace URL without adding browser history entry `maxCacheLength` | 20 | maximum cache size for previous container contents `version` | | a string or function returning the current pjax version `scrollTo` | 0 | vertical position to scroll to after navigation `type` | `"GET"` | see [$.ajax][] `dataType` | `"html"` | see [$.ajax][] `container` | | CSS selector for the element where content should be replaced `url` | link.href | a string or function that returns the URL for the ajax request `target` | link | eventually the `relatedTarget` value for [pjax events](#events) `fragment` | `"body"` | CSS selector for the fragment to extract from ajax response You can change the defaults globally by writing to the `$.pjax.defaults` object: ``` javascript $.pjax.defaults.timeout = 1200 ``` ### `$.pjax.click` This is a lower level function used by `$.fn.pjax` itself. It allows you to get a little more control over the pjax event handling. This example uses the current click context to set an ancestor as the container: ``` javascript if ($.support.pjax) { $(document).on('click', 'a[data-pjax]', function(event) { var container = $(this).closest('[data-pjax-container]') $.pjax.click(event, {container: container}) }) } ``` **NOTE** Use the explicit `$.support.pjax` guard. We aren't using `$.fn.pjax` so we should avoid binding this event handler unless the browser is actually going to use pjax. ### `$.pjax.submit` Submits a form via pjax. This function is experimental but GitHub uses it on [Gist][gist] so give it a shot! ``` javascript $(document).on('submit', 'form[data-pjax]', function(event) { $.pjax.submit(event, '#pjax-container') }) ``` ### `$.pjax.reload` Initiates a request for the current URL to the server using pjax mechanism and replaces the container with the response. Does not add a browser history entry. ``` javascript $.pjax.reload('#pjax-container', options) ``` ### `$.pjax` Manual pjax invocation. Used mainly when you want to start a pjax request in a handler that didn't originate from a click. If you can get access to a click `event`, consider `$.pjax.click(event)` instead. ``` javascript function applyFilters() { var url = urlForFilters() $.pjax({url: url, container: '#pjax-container'}) } ``` ### Events All pjax events except `pjax:click` & `pjax:clicked` are fired from the pjax container, not the link that was clicked.
event cancel arguments notes
event lifecycle upon following a pjaxed link
pjax:click ✔︎ options fires from a link that got activated; cancel to prevent pjax
pjax:beforeSend ✔︎ xhr, options can set XHR headers
pjax:start xhr, options
pjax:send xhr, options
pjax:clicked options fires after pjax has started from a link that got clicked
pjax:beforeReplace contents, options before replacing HTML with content loaded from the server
pjax:success data, status, xhr, options after replacing HTML content loaded from the server
pjax:timeout ✔︎ xhr, options fires after options.timeout; will hard refresh unless canceled
pjax:error ✔︎ xhr, textStatus, error, options on ajax error; will hard refresh unless canceled
pjax:complete xhr, textStatus, options always fires after ajax, regardless of result
pjax:end xhr, options
event lifecycle on browser Back/Forward navigation
pjax:popstate event direction property: "back"/"forward"
pjax:start null, options before replacing content
pjax:beforeReplace contents, options right before replacing HTML with content from cache
pjax:end null, options after replacing content
`pjax:send` & `pjax:complete` are a good pair of events to use if you are implementing a loading indicator. They'll only be triggered if an actual XHR request is made, not if the content is loaded from cache: ``` javascript $(document).on('pjax:send', function() { $('#loading').show() }) $(document).on('pjax:complete', function() { $('#loading').hide() }) ``` An example of canceling a `pjax:timeout` event would be to disable the fallback timeout behavior if a spinner is being shown: ``` javascript $(document).on('pjax:timeout', function(event) { // Prevent default timeout redirection behavior event.preventDefault() }) ``` ### Server side Server configuration will vary between languages and frameworks. The following example shows how you might configure Rails. ``` ruby def index if request.headers['X-PJAX'] render :layout => false end end ``` An `X-PJAX` request header is set to differentiate a pjax request from normal XHR requests. In this case, if the request is pjax, we skip the layout html and just render the inner contents of the container. Check if your favorite server framework supports pjax here: https://gist.github.com/4283721 #### Layout Reloading Layouts can be forced to do a hard reload when assets or html changes. First set the initial layout version in your header with a custom meta tag. ``` html ``` Then from the server side, set the `X-PJAX-Version` header to the same. ``` ruby if request.headers['X-PJAX'] response.headers['X-PJAX-Version'] = "v123" end ``` Deploying a deploy, bumping the version constant to force clients to do a full reload the next request getting the new layout and assets. ### Legacy API Pre 1.0 versions used an older style syntax that was analogous to the now deprecated `$.fn.live` api. The current api is based off `$.fn.on`. ``` javascript $('a[data-pjax]').pjax('#pjax-container') ``` Expanded to ``` javascript $('a[data-pjax]').live('click', function(event) { $.pjax.click(event, '#pjax-container') }) ``` The new api ``` javascript $(document).pjax('a[data-pjax]', '#pjax-container') ``` Which is roughly the same as ``` javascript $(document).on('click', 'a[data-pjax]', function(event) { $.pjax.click(event, '#pjax-container') }) ``` **NOTE** The new api gives you control over the delegated element container. `$.fn.live` always bound to `document`. This is what you still want to do most of the time. ## Contributing ``` $ git clone https://github.com/defunkt/jquery-pjax.git $ cd jquery-pjax/ ``` To run the test suite locally, start up the Sinatra test application. ``` $ bundle install $ bundle exec ruby test/app.rb == Sinatra/1.4.5 has taken the stage on 4567 for development with backup from WEBrick # in another tab: $ open http://localhost:4567/ ``` [compat]: http://caniuse.com/#search=pushstate [gist]: https://gist.github.com/ [$.fn.on]: http://api.jquery.com/on/ [$.ajax]: http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.ajax/ [pushState]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Guide/API/DOM/Manipulating_the_browser_history#Adding_and_modifying_history_entries