Moving the class mechanism out of the Uize base module allows us to get just the basic utility belt features without taking the class code along with it.

Some people just want a good suite of utility belt features to complement the features of JavaScript and/or other JavaScript frameworks or libraries they may be using. They may like the toolkit provided in the Uize base module but not wish to buy into the whole framework in a given application they're working on. Now, developers can load in just the Uize base module to get just the base toolkit.

Moving the class mechanism out of the Uize base module that defines the namespace for the UIZE JavaScript Frameework allows us to load in package modules without the extra weight of the class code.

Some people may wish to load in the various utility packages of the UIZE JavaScript Framework, like the data manipulation modules under the Uize.Data namespace, or the color manipulation modules under the Uize.Color namespace. In order to do so, they will at least need the Uize namespace and module loader mechanism that is defined in the Uize base module. With the class mechanism moved out of the Uize base module, it is now possible to use just the packages of the UIZE JavaScript Framework without loading as much code as before.

From a code development and maintenance perspective, moving the class mechanism into its own separate module will make it easier to manage and maintain this code going forward.

Making improvements to the class mechanism will be easier with the code that implements it in a well defined module. Similarly, maintaining the unit tests for the class mechanism will be easier with those tests in their own corresponding separate unit test module. Continuing to bloat up the size of a monolithic Uize module was simply not a scalable approach, and creating a separate module for the class mechanism is just good old fashioned code modularization common sense.

Various modules that were previously sublassing off of Uize, or that otherwise depended on the class mechanism in the Uize module, have been updated to now use the new Uize.Class module.

The list of updated modules includes...

There is a possibility that you may not have to do anything at all - this will depend on whether or not you've created your own custom classes that subclass off of the old Uize base class.

If you're not sure, search your codebase for the text "superclass:'Uize'" - use a well crafted regular expression, as needed, to make sure you catch all cases with whitespace and/or quotes variations. If you find any classes that derive directly from the old Uize class, update that code to now subclass the new Uize.Class base class - modify the superclass specifier in the module declaration to now specify Uize.Class as the superclass for such modules.

THE OLD WAY...

Uize.module ({
  name:'MyNamespace.MyClass',
  superclass:'Uize',
  builder:function (_superclass) {
    var _class = _superclass.subclass ();
    // ...
    return _class;
  }
});

THE NEW WAY...

Uize.module ({
  name:'MyNamespace.MyClass',
  superclass:'Uize.Class',
  builder:function (_superclass) {
    var _class = _superclass.subclass ();
    // ...
    return _class;
  }
});

Your modules may not look exactly as shown above, but it should be clear once you inspect them. This should be a one line change to a small number - if any - of your custom modules.

If you've created any JavaScript libraries to optimize the load time of your Web pages, you should update them to add an entry for the new Uize.Class module.

For any JavaScript library (.library.js) files that you may have created, chances are that they will be loading in some module - like the Uize.Node module - that requires the Uize.Class module. To ensure that the load performance for your production ready pages isn't tripped up by a separate HTTP request for the Uize.Class module, add an entry in your library files, right before the first module that depends on the Uize.Class module (typically, this will be the Uize.Node module).

THE OLD WAY

/* Library Contents
  Uize.Node
  Uize.Widget
  Uize.Widget.Page
*/

Uize.module ({name:'Uize.Widget.Page.library'});

THE NEW WAY

/* Library Contents
  Uize.Class
  Uize.Node
  Uize.Widget
  Uize.Widget.Page
*/

Uize.module ({name:'Uize.Widget.Page.library'});