Snapp Framework

A lightweight JSX/TSX framework for building fast, reactive web applications with direct DOM manipulation - no virtual DOM overhead.

📋 Table of Contents

What is Snapp?
Core Concepts
Installation
Quick Start
API Reference
Type Definitions
Core Architecture
Contributing

What is Snapp?

Snapp is a lightweight JavaScript framework that compiles JSX/TSX directly to native DOM operations. It's designed for developers who want:

✅ JSX/TSX syntax you already know
✅ Direct DOM control without abstraction layers
✅ Reactive state that updates elements individually
✅ Zero virtual DOM - just compiled JavaScript
✅ TypeScript support out of the box
✅ Automatic memory management with built-in cleanup

Why Snapp?

Feature	Snapp	Virtual DOM Frameworks
Learning Curve	Native DOM skills	New abstractions
Performance	Direct DOM	Reconciliation overhead
Debugging	Browser DevTools	Framework DevTools needed
Memory	Efficient cleanup	GC dependent

Core Concepts

1. JSX Compiles to DOM Operations

// What you write:
<button onClick={() => alert("Hi")}>Click me</button>;

// Gets compiled to:
snapp.create("button", { onClick: () => alert("Hi") }, "Click me");

2. Dynamic State with Arrow Functions

The key difference in Snapp is how you handle reactive values:

const count = snapp.dynamic(0);

// ❌ WRONG - accesses value once at render time
<p>{count.value}</p>

// ✅ CORRECT - wrapped in arrow function for reactivity
<p>{() => count.value}</p>

// When count updates, ONLY this text updates:
count.update(5);

Why arrow functions? Snapp tracks dynamic value access inside the function. When you call count.update(), it re-executes that function and updates just that specific text node, attribute, or style.

3. Regular Variables Stay Static

const staticText = "Hello";
const dynamicText = snapp.dynamic("World");

<div>
  {staticText} {/* Static - never changes */}
  {() => dynamicText.value} {/* Dynamic - updates when dynamicText changes */}
</div>;

Installation

npm install @snappjs/core

Basic Setup

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>My Snapp App</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="app"></div>
    <script type="module" src="src/index.js"></script>
  </body>
</html>

// src/index.jsx
import snapp from "@snappjs/core";

const App = () => {
  return <h1>Hello Snapp!</h1>;
};

const app = document.getElementById("app");
snapp.render(app, App());

Quick Start

Example 1: Simple Counter

import snapp from "@snappjs/core";

const Counter = () => {
  const count = snapp.dynamic(0);

  return (
    <>
      <h2>Count: {() => count.value}</h2>
      <button onClick={() => count.update(count.value + 1)}>Increment</button>
    </>
  );
};

snapp.render(document.body, Counter());

Example 2: Todo List

import snapp from "@snappjs/core";

const TodoApp = () => {
  const todos = snapp.dynamic([]);
  const input = snapp.dynamic("");

  const addTodo = () => {
    const newTodos = [...todos.value, input.value];
    todos.update(newTodos);
    input.update("");
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Todos</h1>
      <input
        value={() => input.value}
        onInput={(e) => input.update(e.target.value)}
        placeholder="Add a todo..."
      />
      <button onClick={addTodo}>Add</button>
      <ul>{() => todos.value.map((todo) => <li>{todo}</li>)}</ul>
    </div>
  );
};

snapp.render(document.body, TodoApp());

API Reference

snapp.create()

Creates a DOM element, component, or fragment.

create(
    element: string | Component | "<>",
    props?: SnappProps,
    ...children: SnappChild[]
): Element | DocumentFragment

Usage:

// HTML element
snapp.create("div", { id: "main" }, "Hello");

// Component
const MyComponent = (props) => <div>{props.children}</div>;
snapp.create(MyComponent, {}, "Hello");

// Fragment
snapp.create("<>", null, <div>A</div>, <div>B</div>);

// In JSX, you use the angle brackets directly:
<div id="main">Hello</div>
<MyComponent>Hello</MyComponent>
<>
    <div>A</div>
    <div>B</div>
</>

snapp.render()

Renders a component or element to the DOM.

render(
    target: Element,
    component: Element | DocumentFragment | string | number,
    type?: "replace" | "append" | "prepend" | "before" | "after",
    callback?: (success: boolean) => void
): void

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`target`	Element	required	The DOM element to render to
`component`	Element \| DocumentFragment \| string \| number	required	What to render
`type`	string	`"replace"`	Where/how to render
`callback`	Function	optional	Called with true/false on success/failure

Render Types:

const content = <div>New content</div>;
const target = document.getElementById("app");

// Replace target's children
snapp.render(target, content, "replace"); // Default

// Add as first child
snapp.render(target, content, "prepend");

// Add as last child
snapp.render(target, content, "append");

// Insert before target
snapp.render(target, content, "before");

// Insert after target
snapp.render(target, content, "after");

// With callback
snapp.render(target, content, "replace", (success) => {
  if (success) console.log("Rendered!");
});

snapp.dynamic()

Creates a reactive state value.

dynamic<T = any>(initialValue?: T): DynamicValue<T>

Properties:

interface DynamicValue<T> {
  readonly value: T; // Get current value
  update: (newValue: T) => void; // Set new value
}

Usage:

// Create dynamic state
const count = snapp.dynamic(0);
const user = snapp.dynamic({ name: "John", age: 30 });
const isVisible = snapp.dynamic(true);

// Use in JSX with arrow function
<div>
  Count: {() => count.value}
  Name: {() => user.value.name}
  Visible: {() => (isVisible.value ? "Yes" : "No")}
</div>;

// Update state
count.update(5);
user.update({ name: "Jane", age: 25 });
isVisible.update(false);

// Update based on previous value
count.update(count.value + 1);

Dynamic State in Different Contexts:

// Text Content
const message = snapp.dynamic("Hello");
<p>{() => message.value}</p>;

// Attributes
const id = snapp.dynamic("item-1");
<div id={() => id.value}></div>;

// Styles
const color = snapp.dynamic("blue");
<p style={{ color: () => color.value }}>Colored text</p>;

// Event Handlers (regular functions)
const handleClick = () => alert("clicked");
<button onClick={handleClick}>Click</button>;

// Conditional Rendering
const showHeader = snapp.dynamic(true);
<>{() => (showHeader.value ? <header>Title</header> : null)}</>;

snapp.on()

Listens for DOM ready events.

on(event: string, callback: () => void): void

Usage:

// Wait for DOM to be ready before accessing elements
snapp.on("DOM", () => {
  const element = snapp.select("#myElement");
  console.log("Element is in DOM:", element);
});

// snapp.on("DOM") is called after snapp.render() completes
const App = () => {
  return <h2 id="myElement">Title</h2>;
};

snapp.render(document.body, App(), "replace", () => {
  // At this point, the DOM is ready
  snapp.on("DOM", () => {
    console.log("Now we can access #myElement");
  });
});

snapp.select() / snapp.selectAll()

Query DOM elements using CSS selectors.

select(selector: string | string[]): Element | Element[] | null
selectAll(selector: string | string[]): NodeListOf<Element> | NodeListOf<Element>[] | null

Usage:

// Single selector
const element = snapp.select("#myId");
const element = snapp.select(".myClass");

// Multiple selectors (returns array)
const elements = snapp.select(["#id1", "#id2"]);

// Select all matching
const items = snapp.selectAll(".item");
const items = snapp.selectAll(".item, .product");

// Multiple selectors for selectAll
const results = snapp.selectAll([".class1", ".class2"]);
// Returns array of NodeLists

// Returns null if not found
const missing = snapp.select("#doesNotExist"); // null

snapp.applystyle() / snapp.removestyle()

Manage element styles programmatically.

applystyle(
    element: Element | Element[],
    styles: Record<string, string | number>
): void

removestyle(
    element: Element | Element[],
    styles?: Record<string, string | number> | boolean
): void

Usage:

const box = snapp.select("#box");

// Apply styles
snapp.applystyle(box, {
  backgroundColor: "blue",
  padding: "20px",
  "border-radius": "8px", // CSS property names with hyphens work
});

// Remove specific styles
snapp.removestyle(box, {
  backgroundColor: "blue",
  padding: "20px",
});

// Remove all styles
snapp.removestyle(box, true);

// Multiple elements
const boxes = snapp.selectAll(".box");
snapp.applystyle(boxes, { color: "red" });
snapp.removestyle(boxes, { color: "red" });

snapp.remove()

Remove elements from the DOM.

remove(items: Element | Element[]): void

Usage:

const element = snapp.select("#myElement");
snapp.remove(element);

// Remove multiple
const items = snapp.selectAll(".item");
snapp.remove(items);

Type Definitions

SnappChild

type SnappChild =
  | string
  | number
  | Element
  | DocumentFragment
  | SnappComponent
  | SnappChild[]
  | null
  | undefined
  | boolean;

Represents anything that can be rendered as a child element.

SnappProps

type SnappProps = Record<string, any>;

Props object for components. Can contain any key-value pairs.

SnappComponent

type SnappComponent<P extends SnappProps = SnappProps> = (
  props: P & { children?: SnappChild[] }
) => Element | DocumentFragment;

A component function that takes props and returns a DOM element or fragment.

Example:

interface ButtonProps {
  label: string;
  onClick?: (e: Event) => void;
}

const MyButton: SnappComponent<ButtonProps> = (props) => {
  return <button onClick={props.onClick}>{props.label}</button>;
};

DynamicValue

interface DynamicValue<T = any> {
  readonly value: T;
  update: (newValue: T) => void;
}

Reactive state container that notifies subscribers when updated.

RenderType

type RenderType = "before" | "prepend" | "replace" | "append" | "after";

Determines where elements are rendered relative to the target.

EventHandler

type EventHandler = (event: Event) => void;

Function called when an event fires.

HTMLAttributes

Comprehensive attribute interface supporting:

Global attributes: id, class, style, title, etc.
Data attributes: data-*
ARIA attributes: aria-*
All event handlers: onClick, onSubmit, onChange, etc.

Core Architecture

How Snapp Works

JSX Compilation → TypeScript/Babel compiles JSX to snapp.create() calls
Element Creation → snapp.create() builds native DOM elements
Dynamic Tracking → When you use () => dynamicValue.value, Snapp tracks dependencies
Subscriptions → Each dynamic value tracks which elements depend on it
Updates → When you call update(), only affected text nodes/attributes/styles change
Cleanup → MutationObserver automatically cleans up when elements are removed

Internal Files

src/core.ts (Main Implementation)

The heart of Snapp framework containing:

Key Functions:

create(element, props, ...children) - Creates DOM elements or components
render(target, component, type, callback) - Renders to DOM
dynamic(initialValue) - Creates reactive state
on(event, callback) - Listens for DOM events
select(selector) / selectAll(selector) - DOM queries
applystyle(element, styles) - Apply CSS styles
removestyle(element, styles) - Remove CSS styles
remove(items) - Remove elements from DOM

Internal State Management:

// Counter for unique element IDs
let dataId: number = 0;

// Counter for dynamic state IDs
let dynamicId: number = 1;

// Tracks if DOM is ready
let DOMReady: boolean = false;

// Tracks which dynamic values are being accessed
let track_dynamic: Set<string> | null = null;

// Stores all dynamic values and their subscribers
const dynamicData: Record<
  string,
  {
    value: any;
    subscribe: Map<Element, number[]>;
  }
> = {};

// Maps elements to their dependent dynamic values
const dynamicDependencies = new Map<Element, SubscribeData[]>();

// Event delegation system
const eventListener: Record<string, EventHandler> = {};
const elementEvent: Record<string, Record<number, EventHandler>> = {};

SVG Support:

Snapp automatically detects SVG elements and uses createElementNS() instead of createElement():

const SVG_ELEMENTS = new Set([
    "svg", "circle", "ellipse", "line", "path", "polygon", "polyline",
    "rect", "text", "g", "defs", "filter", "image", "use", "mask", "pattern",
    "linearGradient", "radialGradient", "stop", "animate", "animateTransform", ...
]);

Event Delegation:

Rather than adding listeners to every element, Snapp uses event delegation:

// Single listener per event type
document.addEventListener("click", eventTemplate);

// Template checks if target has snapp-e-click attribute
const elWithAttr = target.closest("[snapp-e-click]");
if (elWithAttr) {
  // Get element's ID and call its handler
  const elementDataId = elWithAttr.getAttribute("snapp-data");
  elementEvent["click"][elementDataId](event);
}

This is more efficient than listeners on every element.

Memory Management:

MutationObserver watches for removed elements:

const observer = new MutationObserver((mutations) => {
  mutations.forEach((element) => {
    element.removedNodes.forEach((node) => {
      // Clean up event listeners
      if (node.getAttribute("snapp-e-click")) {
        delete eventEvent["click"][elementDataId];
      }
      // Clean up dynamic dependencies
      if (node.getAttribute("snapp-dynamic")) {
        dynamicDependencies.delete(node);
      }
    });
  });
});

src/types.ts (Type Definitions)

Comprehensive TypeScript types for:

Component types: SnappComponent, SnappChild, SnappProps
State types: DynamicValue, SubscribeData
Attribute types: HTMLAttributes, IntrinsicElements
Handler types: EventHandler, RenderType

SubscribeData Interface:

interface SubscribeData {
  type: "node" | "attr" | "style"; // What's being updated
  temp: Function; // Function to re-execute
  subscribe: string[]; // Dynamic IDs this depends on
  node?: Text; // Text node being updated
  attr?: string; // Attribute name being updated
  prop?: string; // Style property being updated
}

This tracks what type of update happens when a dynamic value changes.

src/jsx.d.ts (JSX Support)

Ambient type declarations for JSX:

declare global {
  namespace JSX {
    interface IntrinsicElements {
      // All HTML/SVG elements with their attributes
      div: HTMLAttributes<HTMLDivElement>;
      button: HTMLAttributes<HTMLButtonElement>;
      svg: HTMLAttributes<SVGSVGElement>;
      // ... etc
    }
    interface ElementAttributesProperty {
      props: any;
    }
    interface ElementChildrenAttribute {
      children: any;
    }
  }
}

This enables TypeScript to recognize JSX syntax and provide autocomplete for elements and attributes.

src/index.ts (Entry Point)

import snapp from "./core";
export default snapp;
export type { DynamicValue, SnappProps, SnappComponent, SnappChild };

Single entry point that re-exports the framework and types.

Dependency Tracking Algorithm

When you write:

const count = snapp.dynamic(0);
<p>{() => count.value}</p>;

Snapp does the following:

Start tracking: Set track_dynamic = new Set()
Execute function: Call () => count.value, which accesses the value getter
Track access: Inside value getter, add ID to track_dynamic
Create subscription: Store the function and which dynamic values it depends on
On update: When count.update(5) is called, re-execute the function and update the text node

This is why arrow functions are essential - they defer execution so Snapp can track what's accessed.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how to get involved:

Development Setup

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development watch mode
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

Code Style

Use TypeScript for type safety
Follow existing code patterns in src/core.ts
Add JSDoc comments for public APIs
Test with JSX examples

Pull Request Process

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make your changes with clear commit messages
Ensure code compiles: npm run build
Submit PR with description

License

MIT - See LICENSE file for details

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src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
EXPLAIN.md		EXPLAIN.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
snapp.png		snapp.png
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json

License

SnappJS/snapp

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Snapp Framework

📋 Table of Contents

What is Snapp?

Why Snapp?

Core Concepts

1. JSX Compiles to DOM Operations

2. Dynamic State with Arrow Functions

3. Regular Variables Stay Static

Installation

Basic Setup

Quick Start

Example 1: Simple Counter

Example 2: Todo List

API Reference

snapp.create()

snapp.render()

snapp.dynamic()

snapp.on()

snapp.select() / snapp.selectAll()

snapp.applystyle() / snapp.removestyle()

snapp.remove()

Type Definitions

SnappChild

SnappProps

SnappComponent

DynamicValue

RenderType

EventHandler

HTMLAttributes

Core Architecture

How Snapp Works

Internal Files

src/core.ts (Main Implementation)

src/types.ts (Type Definitions)

src/jsx.d.ts (JSX Support)

src/index.ts (Entry Point)

Dependency Tracking Algorithm

Contributing

Development Setup

Code Style

Pull Request Process

License

Support

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