FreeLists / dokuwiki / [dokuwiki] Using JSLint

[Myron Turner <turnermm02@xxxxxxx>]

I've been working for some time on a plugin for DokuWiki which uses some 
Javascript.  Of course, I want as much as possible to satisfy the rules 
for plugins and use of various features such as javascript.   On the 
info page for use of javascript 
(http://wiki.splitbrain.org/wiki:devel:javascript), it is recommended 
that we pass out scripts through JSLint, because if the scripts don't 
conform to JSLint, errors will creep in when DokuWiki compresses the 
Javascript    But it's hard to know how far to take the warnings emitted 
by JSLint, which at least to me seem a bit quirky.
For instance, it doesn't like you to create an array using the class 
constructor:
      Problem at line 29 character 34: Use the array literal notation [].
   var selected_files = new Array();

It also prefers the "dot notations" over array notation for accessing 
properties:
     Problem at line 59 character 23: ['abs_path'] is better written in 
dot notation.
    var index = f['abs_path'].selectedIndex;

Then it doesn't like you to declare variables inside a block.  For instance:
   for(var i=0; i<a.length;i++) {
      var b=get_b();
      var c=get_c();
    /*  do something */
 }

It would prefer that you declare a and b in advance.

  var b;
  var c;
   for(var i=0; i<a.length;i++) {
       b=get_b();
       c=get_c();
    /*  do something */
 }

It even objects to:

if(x == y) {
  var q = x;
}

But in fact Javascript doesn't recognize block scope:  "Javacript does 
not have block-level scope. All variables declared in a function, no 
matter where they are declared, are defined throughout the function" 
(Flanagan, Definitive Guide).  

I'm not interested in splitting hairs or arguing with JSLint.  
Basically, I simply would like to know how far we have to carry our 
conformity to JSLint without causing ourselves problems.
Thanks.

--

_____________________
Myron Turner
http://www.room535.org
http://www.bstatzero.org
http://www.mturner.org/XML_PullParser/

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