WebCell

Web Components engine based on VDOM, JSX, MobX & TypeScript

Feature

Engines comparison

feature	WebCell 3	WebCell 2	React	Vue
JS language	TypeScript 5	TypeScript 4	ECMAScript or TypeScript	ECMAScript or TypeScript
JS syntax	ES decorator stage-3	ES decorator stage-2
XML syntax	JSX import	JSX factory	JSX factory/import	HTML/Vue template or JSX (optional)
DOM API	Web components	Web components	HTML 5+	HTML 5+
view renderer	DOM Renderer 2	SnabbDOM	(built-in)	SnabbDOM (forked)
state API	MobX `@observable`	`this.state`	`this.state` or `useState()`	`this.$data` or `ref()`
props API	MobX `@observable`	`@watch`	`this.props` or `props => {}`	`this.$props` or `defineProps()`
state manager	MobX 6+	MobX 4/5	Redux	VueX
page router	JSX tags	JSX tags + JSON data	JSX tags	JSON data
asset bundler	Parcel 2	Parcel 1	webpack	Vite

Installation

npm install dom-renderer mobx web-cell

Web browser usage

Demo & GitHub template

Project bootstrap

Tool chain

npm install parcel @parcel/config-default @parcel/transformer-typescript-tsc -D

`package.json`

{
    "scripts": {
        "start": "parcel source/index.html --open",
        "build": "parcel build source/index.html --public-url ."
    }
}

`tsconfig.json`

{
    "compilerOptions": {
        "target": "ES6",
        "module": "ES2020",
        "moduleResolution": "Node",
        "useDefineForClassFields": true,
        "jsx": "react-jsx",
        "jsxImportSource": "dom-renderer"
    }
}

`.parcelrc`

{
    "extends": "@parcel/config-default",
    "transformers": {
        "*.{ts,tsx}": ["@parcel/transformer-typescript-tsc"]
    }
}

`source/index.html`

<script src="https://polyfill.web-cell.dev/feature/ECMAScript.js"></script>
<script src="https://polyfill.web-cell.dev/feature/WebComponents.js"></script>
<script src="https://polyfill.web-cell.dev/feature/ElementInternals.js"></script>

<script src="source/MyTag.tsx"></script>

<my-tag></my-tag>

Function component

import { DOMRenderer } from 'dom-renderer';
import { FC, PropsWithChildren } from 'web-cell';

const Hello: FC<PropsWithChildren> = ({ children = 'World' }) => (
    <h1>Hello, {children}!</h1>
);

new DOMRenderer().render(<Hello>WebCell</Hello>);

Class component

Children slot

import { DOMRenderer } from 'dom-renderer';
import { component } from 'web-cell';

@component({
    tagName: 'hello-world',
    mode: 'open'
})
class Hello extends HTMLElement {
    render() {
        return (
            <h1>
                Hello, <slot />!
            </h1>
        );
    }
}

new DOMRenderer().render(
    <>
        <Hello>WebCell</Hello>
        {/* or */}
        <hello-world>WebCell</hello-world>
    </>
);

DOM Props

import { DOMRenderer } from 'dom-renderer';
import { observable } from 'mobx';
import { WebCell, component, attribute, observer } from 'web-cell';

interface HelloProps {
    name?: string;
}

interface Hello extends WebCell<HelloProps> {}

@component({ tagName: 'hello-world' })
@observer
class Hello extends HTMLElement implements WebCell<HelloProps> {
    @attribute
    @observable
    accessor name = '';

    render() {
        return <h1>Hello, {this.name}!</h1>;
    }
}

new DOMRenderer().render(<Hello name="WebCell" />);

// or for HTML tag props in TypeScript

declare global {
    namespace JSX {
        interface IntrinsicElements {
            'hello-world': HelloProps;
        }
    }
}
new DOMRenderer().render(<hello-world name="WebCell" />);

Inner state

Function component

import { DOMRenderer } from 'dom-renderer';
import { observable } from 'mobx';
import { FC, observer } from 'web-cell';

class CounterModel {
    @observable
    accessor times = 0;
}

const couterStore = new CounterModel();

const Counter: FC = observer(() => (
    <button onClick={() => (couterStore.times += 1)}>
        Counts: {couterStore.times}
    </button>
));

new DOMRenderer().render(<Counter />);

Class component

import { DOMRenderer } from 'dom-renderer';
import { observable } from 'mobx';
import { component, observer } from 'web-cell';

@component({ tagName: 'my-counter' })
@observer
class Counter extends HTMLElement {
    @observable
    accessor times = 0;

    handleClick = () => (this.times += 1);

    render() {
        return <button onClick={this.handleClick}>Counts: {this.times}</button>;
    }
}

new DOMRenderer().render(<Counter />);

CSS scope

Inline style

import { component } from 'web-cell';
import { stringifyCSS } from 'web-utility';

@component({
    tagName: 'my-button',
    mode: 'open'
})
export class MyButton extends HTMLElement {
    style = stringifyCSS({
        '.btn': {
            color: 'white',
            background: 'lightblue'
        }
    });

    render() {
        return (
            <>
                <style>{this.style}</style>

                <a className="btn">
                    <slot />
                </a>
            </>
        );
    }
}

Link stylesheet

import { component } from 'web-cell';

@component({
    tagName: 'my-button',
    mode: 'open'
})
export class MyButton extends HTMLElement {
    render() {
        return (
            <>
                <link
                    rel="stylesheet"
                    href="https://unpkg.com/bootstrap@5.3.3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css"
                />
                <a className="btn">
                    <slot />
                </a>
            </>
        );
    }
}

CSS module

`scoped.css`

.btn {
    color: white;
    background: lightblue;
}

`MyButton.tsx`

import { WebCell, component } from 'web-cell';

import styles from './scoped.css' assert { type: 'css' };

interface MyButton extends WebCell {}

@component({
    tagName: 'my-button',
    mode: 'open'
})
export class MyButton extends HTMLElement implements WebCell {
    connectedCallback() {
        this.root.adoptedStyleSheets = [styles];
    }

    render() {
        return (
            <a className="btn">
                <slot />
            </a>
        );
    }
}

Event delegation

import { component, on } from 'web-cell';

@component({ tagName: 'my-table' })
export class MyTable extends HTMLElement {
    @on('click', ':host td > button')
    handleEdit(event: MouseEvent, { dataset: { id } }: HTMLButtonElement) {
        console.log(`editing row: ${id}`);
    }

    render() {
        return (
            <table>
                <tr>
                    <td>1</td>
                    <td>A</td>
                    <td>
                        <button data-id="1">edit</button>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td>2</td>
                    <td>B</td>
                    <td>
                        <button data-id="2">edit</button>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td>3</td>
                    <td>C</td>
                    <td>
                        <button data-id="3">edit</button>
                    </td>
                </tr>
            </table>
        );
    }
}

MobX reaction

import { observable } from 'mobx';
import { component, observer, reaction } from 'web-cell';

@component({ tagName: 'my-counter' })
@observer
export class Counter extends HTMLElement {
    @observable
    accessor times = 0;

    handleClick = () => (this.times += 1);

    @reaction(({ times }) => times)
    echoTimes(newValue: number, oldValue: number) {
        console.log(`newValue: ${newValue}, oldValue: ${oldValue}`);
    }

    render() {
        return <button onClick={this.handleClick}>Counts: {this.times}</button>;
    }
}

Form association

import { DOMRenderer } from 'dom-renderer';
import { WebField, component, formField, observer } from 'web-cell';

interface MyField extends WebField {}

@component({
    tagName: 'my-field',
    mode: 'open'
})
@formField
@observer
class MyField extends HTMLElement implements WebField {
    render() {
        const { name } = this;

        return (
            <input
                name={name}
                onChange={({ currentTarget: { value } }) =>
                    (this.value = value)
                }
            />
        );
    }
}

new DOMRenderer().render(
    <form method="POST" action="/api/data">
        <MyField name="test" />

        <button>submit</button>
    </form>
);

Async component

`AsyncTag.tsx`

import { FC } from 'web-cell';

const AsyncTag: FC = () => <div>Async</div>;

export default AsyncTag;

`index.tsx`

import { DOMRenderer } from 'dom-renderer';
import { lazy } from 'web-cell';

const AsyncTag = lazy(() => import('./AsyncTag'));

new DOMRenderer().render(<AsyncTag />);

Animate CSS component

import { DOMRenderer } from 'dom-renderer';
import { AnimateCSS } from 'web-cell';

new DOMRenderer().render(
    <AnimateCSS
        type="fadeIn"
        component={props => <h1 {...props}>Fade In</h1>}
    />
);

Node.js usage

Tool chain

npm install jsdom

Polyfill

import 'web-cell/polyfill';

Server Side Rendering

https://github.com/EasyWebApp/DOM-Renderer?tab=readme-ov-file#nodejs--bun

Basic knowledge

Web components
Custom elements
Shadow DOM
Element Internals
CSS variables
View transitions
ECMAScript 6+
TypeScript 5+

Life Cycle hooks

connectedCallback
disconnectedCallback
attributeChangedCallback
adoptedCallback
updatedCallback
mountedCallback
formAssociatedCallback
formDisabledCallback
formResetCallback
formStateRestoreCallback

Scaffolds

Basic
DashBoard
Mobile
Static site

Ecosystem

We recommend these libraries to use with WebCell:

State management: MobX (also powered by TypeScript & Decorator)
Router: Cell Router
UI components
- BootCell (based on BootStrap v5)
- MDUI (based on Material Design v3)
- GitHub Web Widget
HTTP request: KoAJAX (based on Koa-like middlewares)
Utility: Web utility methods & types
Event stream: Iterable Observer (Observable proposal)
MarkDown integration: Parcel MDX transformer (MDX Compiler plugin)

Files

ReadMe.md

Latest commit

History

ReadMe.md

File metadata and controls

WebCell

Feature

Engines comparison

Installation

Web browser usage

Project bootstrap

Tool chain

package.json

tsconfig.json

.parcelrc

source/index.html

Function component

Class component

Children slot

DOM Props

Inner state

Function component

Class component

CSS scope

Inline style

Link stylesheet

CSS module

scoped.css

MyButton.tsx

Event delegation

MobX reaction

Form association

Async component

AsyncTag.tsx

index.tsx

Animate CSS component

Node.js usage

Tool chain

Polyfill

Server Side Rendering

Basic knowledge

Life Cycle hooks

Scaffolds

Ecosystem

Roadmap

v2 to v3 migration

More guides

`package.json`

`tsconfig.json`

`.parcelrc`

`source/index.html`

`scoped.css`

`MyButton.tsx`

`AsyncTag.tsx`

`index.tsx`