Question

My MVC controller is in charge of passing desired onload javascript to my view object which inserts it into the bottom of my main page template.

My question is…should I store the actual onload js scripting in my controller, or should i store it in my model, and have the controller pull it from there?

My confusion is rooted in the fact that its not really business logic…

Option 1:

/* --- js store in my controller --- */
$page->add_js_onload('various jquery scripting');

Option 2:

/* --- js fetched from my model --- */
$page->add_js_onload($this->model->fetch_onload_js());

Which is cleaner and more scalable (or just more elegant)?

Answer 1

You’re absolutely right when you say “it’s not really business logic.” When doing MVC for the web you should consider JavaScript code a view or a partial view (e.g. /views/mywidget/myfile.js.php–in which case you can load dynamic data into it if you need to), or a separate entity entirely (e.g. /public/js/myfile.js, which you’ll include in your view with a script tag). The specifics depend on what MVC framework you’re using.

Keeping actual JS code in your controller or model goes against MVC principles just as much as putting HTML code there.