Question

I have the following setup (pseudo coffee code). Models and collections are loaded using Require.js.

ParentModel = Backbone.Model.extend

ParentCollection = Backbone.Collection.extend

CollectionA = ParentCollection.extend
    model: ModelA

CollectionB = ParentCollection.extend
    model: ModelB

CollectionC = ParentCollection.extend
    model: ModelC

ModelA = ParentModel.extend
    defaults:
        collectionB: new CollectionB()
        collectionC: new CollectionC()

ModelB = ParentModel.extend
    defaults:
        collectionA: new CollectionA()

ModelC = ParentModel.extend
    defaults:
        collectionA: new CollectionA()

ModelA has two collections with ‘child’ models. ModelB and ModelC has the vice versa: one collection with ‘parent’ models. ModelA works fine, but ModelB and ModelC generate two errors. The first by Firebug’s spy.js: “Module name ‘modelB’ has not been loaded yet for context: _” and the second by Require.js: “Module name ‘collectionB’ has not been loaded yet for context: _”. If I don’t load the collections in model B and C, there are no errors and the app works. I’m trying to solve the error, but I don’t know what is going wrong. Is it a Backbone.js circular reference issue or a Require.js circular dependency or maybe something else?

EDIT

Code for organisation.coffee (modelA)

define (require) ->
    _ = require 'underscore'
    mGroup = require 'models/object/group/group'
    cDepartement = require 'collections/object/group/departement'
    cProject = require 'collections/object/group/project'

    mGroup.extend
        'urlRoot': '/api/organisation'
        'defaults': _.extend({}, mGroup.prototype.defaults,
            'type': 'organisation'
            'departements': new cDepartement()
            'projects': new cProject())

Code for project.coffee (modelB)

define (require) ->
    _ = require 'underscore'
    mGroup = require 'models/object/group/group'
    cOrganisation = require 'collections/object/group/organisation'

    mGroup.extend
        'urlRoot': '/api/project'
        'defaults': _.extend({}, mGroup.prototype.defaults,
             'type': 'project'
             'organisations': new cOrganisation())

If I comment out the cOrganisation = require… and new cOrganisation than everything works. Projects, departements and organisations are all groups, but organisations are parents of projects and departements.

Answer 1

Yes. Just move defaults to initialize method. There it’ll be used when all definitions are loaded. Something like:

ModelB = ParentModel.extend
  initialize(options) ->
    options = options || {}
    if options.collectionA
      this.collectionA = options.collectionA
    else
      this.collectionA = new CollectionA()