DOMHelpers.isReady() and DOMHelpers.version

Quick Start (30 seconds)

// Check if the library is fully loaded
if (DOMHelpers.isReady()) {
  console.log('All helpers are available!');
  console.log('Version:', DOMHelpers.version);  // "2.3.1"
}

---

What is DOMHelpers.isReady()?

DOMHelpers.isReady() is a health check for the entire library. It returns true if all three core helpers — Elements, Collections, and Selector — are available and ready to use.

Simply put, it answers one question: "Did everything load correctly?"

---

Syntax

DOMHelpers.isReady()    // returns true or false
DOMHelpers.version      // returns a string like "2.3.1"

Member	Type	Returns
isReady()	Method	true if all helpers exist, false otherwise
version	Property	Version string (e.g., "2.3.1")

---

Why Does isReady() Exist?

The Situation It Solves

The DOM Helpers library creates three separate helpers. In most cases, they all load fine. But in certain scenarios, something might go wrong:

• A script loading error could prevent the full library from initializing
• A content security policy (CSP) might block parts of the code
• The library might be loaded in pieces in a modular setup
• The script might run before the DOM is available

Without isReady(), you'd have to check each helper individually:

// Without isReady() — checking each one manually
if (typeof Elements !== 'undefined' &&
    typeof Collections !== 'undefined' &&
    typeof Selector !== 'undefined') {
  console.log('All good!');
}

That's verbose and easy to forget.

The isReady() Way

// With isReady() — one simple check
if (DOMHelpers.isReady()) {
  console.log('All good!');
}

✅ One call instead of three checks ✅ Clear intent — anyone reading the code knows what it means ✅ Future-proof — if new helpers are added, the check can expand

---

How Does isReady() Work?

Here's what happens behind the scenes when you call DOMHelpers.isReady():

DOMHelpers.isReady()
   ↓
Checks: Does this.Elements exist?    → Yes/No
   ↓
Checks: Does this.Collections exist? → Yes/No
   ↓
Checks: Does this.Selector exist?    → Yes/No
   ↓
Returns: true (all exist) or false (one or more missing)

The actual implementation is simple:

isReady() {
  return !!(this.Elements && this.Collections && this.Selector);
}

What's the !! doing? It converts the value to a strict boolean. If all three helpers exist, the result is true. If even one is null, undefined, or false, the result is false.

---

Basic Usage: isReady()

Example 1: Safe App Initialization

function startApp() {
  // Always check before using the library
  if (!DOMHelpers.isReady()) {
    console.error('DOM Helpers did not load correctly.');
    return;
  }

  // Safe to use all helpers
  Elements.header.update({ textContent: 'App Started!' });
  Collections.ClassName.btn.update({ disabled: false });
}

startApp();

What's happening here:

• Before using any helper, we ask isReady() if everything loaded
• If it returns false, we stop and log an error — no crashes
• If it returns true, we proceed confidently

---

Example 2: Conditional Feature Loading

// Only enable advanced features if the library is fully available
if (DOMHelpers.isReady()) {
  // Full library available — use all features
  Elements.header.update({ textContent: 'Full Mode' });
  Collections.ClassName.feature.update({ style: { display: 'block' } });
} else {
  // Fallback — use plain JavaScript
  document.getElementById('header').textContent = 'Basic Mode';
}

What's happening here:

• We use isReady() to decide between the enhanced library and plain JavaScript
• This is useful for progressive enhancement — your app still works even if the library fails to load

---

Example 3: Waiting for Readiness

// If the library loads asynchronously, you might need to wait
function waitForDOMHelpers(callback, maxWait = 5000) {
  const start = Date.now();

  function check() {
    if (typeof DOMHelpers !== 'undefined' && DOMHelpers.isReady()) {
      callback();
    } else if (Date.now() - start < maxWait) {
      setTimeout(check, 100);
    } else {
      console.error('DOM Helpers did not become ready in time');
    }
  }

  check();
}

// Usage
waitForDOMHelpers(() => {
  console.log('Ready! Running app...');
  Elements.header.update({ textContent: 'Loaded!' });
});

What's happening here:

• If the library script loads asynchronously (e.g., with async or defer), it might not be ready immediately
• This utility function polls isReady() every 100ms until the library is available
• After 5 seconds, it gives up and logs an error

---

Basic Usage: version

Example 1: Simple Version Logging

console.log(`DOM Helpers v${DOMHelpers.version}`);
// Output: "DOM Helpers v2.3.1"

---

Example 2: Startup Banner

function logStartupInfo() {
  if (DOMHelpers.isReady()) {
    console.log('─────────────────────────────');
    console.log(`  DOM Helpers v${DOMHelpers.version}`);
    console.log('  Status: Ready ✅');
    console.log('─────────────────────────────');
  }
}

logStartupInfo();
// Output:
// ─────────────────────────────
//   DOM Helpers v2.3.1
//   Status: Ready ✅
// ─────────────────────────────

---

Example 3: Version Checking

function requireMinVersion(minVersion) {
  const current = DOMHelpers.version.split('.').map(Number);
  const required = minVersion.split('.').map(Number);

  // Compare major.minor.patch
  for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
    if ((current[i] || 0) > (required[i] || 0)) return true;
    if ((current[i] || 0) < (required[i] || 0)) return false;
  }

  return true; // Versions are equal
}

// Usage
if (requireMinVersion('2.3.0')) {
  console.log('Version requirement met!');
} else {
  console.warn('Please update DOM Helpers to at least v2.3.0');
}

What's happening here:

• We split the version string into [major, minor, patch] numbers
• We compare each part to ensure the current version meets a minimum requirement
• This is useful when your code depends on features added in a specific version

---

Using isReady() and version Together

A Complete Initialization Pattern

function initializeApp() {
  // Step 1: Check if DOMHelpers global exists
  if (typeof DOMHelpers === 'undefined') {
    console.error('DOM Helpers library is not loaded.');
    return false;
  }

  // Step 2: Check if all helpers are ready
  if (!DOMHelpers.isReady()) {
    console.error('DOM Helpers loaded partially — some helpers are missing.');
    return false;
  }

  // Step 3: Log version info
  console.log(`DOM Helpers v${DOMHelpers.version} — all systems ready`);

  // Step 4: Proceed with app setup
  Elements.header.update({ textContent: 'Application Ready' });

  return true;
}

const appReady = initializeApp();

Step by step:

1️⃣ First, we check if the DOMHelpers global even exists — if the script failed to load at all, this would be undefined

2️⃣ Then, we check isReady() — the script might have loaded partially but some helpers didn't initialize

3️⃣ We log the version so we know exactly what's running

4️⃣ Only then do we start using the library

---

Common Questions

"What causes isReady() to return false?"

The most common scenarios:

Scenario	Why isReady() Returns False
Script error during load	Library code threw an exception before all helpers were created
Partial import	Only some modules were imported in a modular setup
Load order issue	Code runs before the library script has executed
CSP restriction	Content Security Policy blocks the library from initializing

In typical usage (loading the full library via a <script> tag), isReady() will almost always return true.

---

"Can version change at runtime?"

No. DOMHelpers.version is set when the library is built and doesn't change during execution. It's a simple string property:

version: "2.3.1"

---

Summary

Member	What It Does	Returns
isReady()	Checks if all three helpers (Elements, Collections, Selector) are available	true or false
version	Reports the library version	String like "2.3.1"

Simple Rule to Remember: Call isReady() before using the library in situations where loading might fail. Check version when you need to log or verify compatibility.