How to create a Backbone model from a POJO or a JavaBean?

Question

I have a POJO named Person.java, is there any bash or utility that allows me to create a Backbone model named person.js from Person.java so I don't have to re-type all the fields again?

Thank you.

Answer 1

If you're using the Jackson JSON Processor http://jackson.codehaus.org/ to translate your POJO model code to JSON, you should not have to recreate any of the properties on your Backbone model. A simple example:

public String getPerson(){
    Person personPOJOInstance = new Person();
    ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
    StringWriter sw = new StringWriter();

    try{
        mapper.writeValue(sw, personPOJOInstance);
        pojoJSON = sw.getBuffer().toString();
    }
    catch(IOException exc){

    }
    return pojoJSON;
}

You don't even have to worry about doing this if you're using a Spring MVC controller and mark your controller method with the following @RequestMapping annotation, like so:

@RequestMapping(method= RequestMethod.GET, produces = "application/json", value="/path/to/controller/method")
public @ResponseBody getPerson(){
    return new Person();
}

Finally, your backbone model is as simple as:

var Person = Backbone.Model.extend({
    url: '/path/to/controller/method'
});

You're not required to specify any default attributes on your Backbone model, although it may be a good idea to do so.

Now when you fetch the model, you can access any of the properties that came from the original POJO on the Backbone model like this:

//instantiate and fetch your model.
var person = new Person();
person.fetch();
...
//access properties on your model.
var name = person.get('name');