flatiron/director
Director
Director is a routing library for JavaScript that handles URL and command-line pattern matching across client-side, server-side, and CLI environments. It provides a unified approach to defining routes as nested object literals, where each key maps to a URL segment and its handler, supporting both hash fragment monitoring and the HTML5 History API for browser navigation without page reloads.
The library distinguishes itself through its ability to operate in multiple contexts with a single routing paradigm. It supports asynchronous handler queue execution for sequential tasks like authentication, lifecycle hooks that run before, after, or once per route match, and recursive route evaluation that fires parent handlers when deeper nested routes are matched. Resource binding maps route definitions to named methods on separate objects for better encapsulation, while path scoping groups related handlers under common URL prefixes.
Director also handles server-side HTTP request dispatching by method and path, with automatic request body parsing and context enrichment for handler functions. Its CLI mode matches command-line arguments against defined patterns and executes corresponding handlers. The router supports token-based URL pattern matching with named parameters and regular expressions, wildcard captures for catch-all routes, and ad-hoc route registration after initialization. Configuration options include recursion direction, strict matching, delimiter choice, and fallback handlers for unmatched routes.
Features
- Object Literal Route Trees - Defines routes as nested JavaScript object literals where each key maps to a URL segment and its handler.
- Routers and URL Utils - Matches URL patterns and dispatches requests to handler functions in browser and server environments.
- CLI Command Dispatchers - Parses command-line arguments against defined patterns and dispatches to corresponding handler functions.
- Route Pattern Matching - Matches dynamic URL segments using named tokens and regular expressions inside route definitions.
- Token-Based URL Matchers - Matches dynamic URL segments using named tokens and regular expressions embedded in route definitions.
- HTTP Request Routing - Matches incoming HTTP request method and path against a routing table and dispatches the associated handler function.
- HTTP Request Routers - Matches HTTP methods and paths to handler functions for server-side request dispatching.
- CLI Argument Matchers - Ships a CLI router that parses command-line arguments against defined patterns and executes matching handlers.
- CLI Argument Matchers - Parses command-line arguments against defined patterns and dispatches to matching handler functions.
- History API Navigators - Uses the HTML5 History API for cleaner URL navigation without hash fragments in single-page applications.
- Client-Side Routers - Provides client-side navigation using hash fragments and HTML5 History API without page reloads.
- Hash Change Detectors - Implements hash fragment change detection to trigger client-side route transitions without page reloads.
- Hash-Based Routing - Provides hash-based client-side routing that switches views without triggering page reloads.
- History API Navigators - Provides HTML5 History API navigation for cleaner URLs in single-page applications without hash fragments.
- Nested Routing - Supports hierarchical route definitions with nested object literals and shared prefixes for modular application design.
- Client-Side URL Rewriting - Provides client-side URL routing using hash fragments and HTML5 History API for single-page applications.
- HTTP Route Handlers - Matches incoming HTTP request methods and paths to handler functions for server-side request dispatching.
- CLI Routers - Ships a CLI mode that matches command-line arguments against defined patterns and executes corresponding handlers.
- Async Route Handlers - Runs route handlers sequentially with async control flow for tasks like authentication or animations.
- Path Prefix Groupers - Groups related route handlers under a common URL prefix for shared base path and context.
- Route-to-Method Binders - Maps route definitions to named methods on separate objects for encapsulated handler organization.
- Lifecycle Hooks - Runs functions before, after, or once when a route is matched for authentication and cleanup side effects.
- Handler Execution Queues - Provides a queue-based mechanism for executing route handlers sequentially with async control flow.
- Sequential Handler Queues - Supports asynchronous handler queue execution where each function passes control to the next for sequential tasks.
- Dynamic Route Registration - Supports adding route handlers dynamically from different parts of an application after initialization.
- Recursive Route Evaluators - Fires parent route handlers in forward or backward order when deeper nested routes are matched.
- Request Body Parsing - Parses incoming request bodies automatically or streams them to handlers without waiting for the end event.
- Catch-All Path Captures - Supports wildcard captures that collect all remaining path segments after a fixed prefix for catch-all routes.
- Router Configurators - Configures routing options including recursion direction, strict matching, delimiter, and fallback handlers.
- Routing - Small, isomorphic URL router.
- Routing Libraries - Tiny, isomorphic URL router.
- 路由和链接(Routing And URLs) - Listed in the “路由和链接(Routing And URLs)” section of the Awesome Frontend awesome list.
