@xaendar/signals 0.4.4 → 0.4.6

package/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,239 @@
+# @xaendar/signals
+
+A complete implementation of the [TC39 Signals proposal](https://github.com/tc39/proposal-signals) — reactive primitives (`State`, `Computed`, `Watcher`) plus a high-level `effect` helper, exposed as the `Signal` global namespace.
+
+[![npm version](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@xaendar/signals)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xaendar/signals)
+[![license](https://img.shields.io/npm/l/@xaendar/signals)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
+
+---
+
+## Installation
+
+```bash
+npm install @xaendar/signals
+```
+
+---
+
+## Overview
+
+| Primitive | Description |
+|-----------|-------------|
+| `Signal.State` | Mutable reactive value — the source of truth |
+| `Signal.Computed` | Lazy derived value — recomputed only when stale and read |
+| `Signal.subtle.Watcher` | Low-level push observer — notified synchronously on change |
+| `effect(fn)` | High-level helper — re-runs `fn` on every dependency change |
+| `loadSignals()` | Bootstraps the `Signal` global — call once at application startup |
+
+> **Granular updates** — signals form a fine-grained reactive graph. When a `State` value changes, **only the `Computed` nodes and `Watcher`s that transitively depend on that exact signal** are marked stale or notified. Every other node in the graph is left completely untouched, making updates **O(changed signals)** rather than O(application size).
+
+---
+
+## Initialization
+
+Call `loadSignals()` **once** before using any signal primitive. It installs the `Signal` namespace on `globalThis`.
+
+```ts
+import { loadSignals } from '@xaendar/signals';
+
+loadSignals();                      // production
+loadSignals({ devMode: true });     // enables additional runtime checks
+```
+
+---
+
+## `Signal.State`
+
+The fundamental mutable reactive value.
+
+```ts
+const count = new Signal.State(0);
+
+count.get();        // 0 — registers as a dependency if inside a Computed
+count.set(1);       // propagates change to all dependents
+count.set(1);       // no-op — Object.is(1, 1) === true, no propagation
+```
+
+### Options
+
+```ts
+const price = new Signal.State(9.99, {
+  // Custom equality — prevent propagation when change is negligible
+  equals(oldVal, newVal) {
+    return Math.abs(oldVal - newVal) < 0.001;
+  },
+  // Called when the first Watcher/Computed subscribes to this signal
+  watched() {
+    console.log('price is now observed');
+  },
+  // Called when the last subscriber unsubscribes
+  unwatched() {
+    console.log('price is no longer observed');
+  },
+});
+```
+
+---
+
+## `Signal.Computed`
+
+A **lazy**, **cached** derived value. The callback is executed only when:
+1. The computed value is explicitly read via `.get()`, **and**
+2. At least one of its dependencies has changed since the last evaluation.
+
+Between reads, the cached result is reused with zero cost.
+
+```ts
+const firstName = new Signal.State('Ada');
+const lastName  = new Signal.State('Lovelace');
+
+const fullName = new Signal.Computed(() =>
+  `${firstName.get()} ${lastName.get()}`
+);
+
+fullName.get(); // 'Ada Lovelace'   — computed and cached
+
+lastName.set('Byron');
+fullName.get(); // 'Ada Byron'      — recomputed (lastName changed)
+fullName.get(); // 'Ada Byron'      — served from cache
+```
+
+Dependencies are tracked **dynamically**: if a branch is not entered during an evaluation, signals inside that branch are not tracked.
+
+```ts
+const showTitle = new Signal.State(false);
+const title     = new Signal.State('Dr.');
+
+const label = new Signal.Computed(() =>
+  showTitle.get() ? `${title.get()} ${firstName.get()}` : firstName.get()
+);
+// While showTitle is false, title is NOT a dependency of label.
+```
+
+---
+
+## `effect(fn)`
+
+Runs a side-effectful function and **automatically re-runs it** whenever any signal read inside it changes. Re-execution is scheduled as a **microtask**, so multiple synchronous signal writes are batched into a single re-run.
+
+Returns a disposer that permanently stops the effect and releases all subscriptions.
+
+```ts
+import { effect } from '@xaendar/signals';
+
+const count = new Signal.State(0);
+
+const stop = effect(() => {
+  console.log('count is', count.get());
+});
+// → logs: "count is 0"  (runs synchronously on creation)
+
+count.set(1); // → microtask logs: "count is 1"
+count.set(2); // → microtask logs: "count is 2"
+
+stop();       // disposer — unsubscribes everything
+count.set(3); // → silent
+```
+
+---
+
+## `Signal.subtle.Watcher`
+
+The low-level primitive used by frameworks to implement scheduling. The `notify` callback fires **synchronously** the first time a watched dependency changes after each `watch()` call.
+
+```ts
+const sig = new Signal.State(0);
+
+const watcher = new Signal.subtle.Watcher(() => {
+  // Called synchronously when sig (or any watched computed) changes.
+  // No signal reads or writes are allowed here.
+  console.log('something changed — schedule a re-read');
+  queueMicrotask(() => {
+    watcher.getPending().forEach(s => s.get()); // pull new value
+    watcher.watch();                             // re-arm
+  });
+});
+
+const derived = new Signal.Computed(() => sig.get() * 2);
+watcher.watch(derived);
+derived.get(); // initial evaluation
+
+sig.set(5); // → "something changed — schedule a re-read"
+```
+
+---
+
+## `Signal.subtle` utilities
+
+| Function | Description |
+|----------|-------------|
+| `untrack(fn)` | Executes `fn` without registering any dependency |
+| `currentComputed()` | Returns the `Computed` currently being evaluated, or `null` |
+| `introspectSources(node)` | Lists the signals a `Computed` or `Watcher` depends on |
+| `introspectSinks(node)` | Lists the dependents of a `State` or `Computed` |
+| `hasSources(node)` | `true` if a `Computed` or `Watcher` has at least one source |
+| `hasSinks(node)` | `true` if a `State` or `Computed` has at least one sink |
+
+```ts
+const a = new Signal.State(1);
+const b = new Signal.Computed(() => a.get() + 1);
+
+// Read b without tracking it as a dependency
+const value = Signal.subtle.untrack(() => b.get());
+
+Signal.subtle.introspectSources(b); // [a]
+Signal.subtle.introspectSinks(a);   // [b]
+Signal.subtle.hasSinks(a);          // false — b is not yet watched
+```
+
+---
+
+## How the reactive graph works
+
+```
+Signal.State  ──────────►  Signal.Computed  ──────────►  Signal.subtle.Watcher
+   (source)                   (derived)                      (observer)
+     │                            │                               │
+  .set(v)                    lazy .get()                    notify() callback
+     │                            │                               │
+     └── marks dependents stale ──┘     schedules microtask ──────┘
+```
+
+1. `State.set()` marks all direct `Computed` dependents as **dirty** and all reachable `Watcher`s as **pending**, invoking their `notify` callback synchronously.
+2. A `Computed` is only re-evaluated when `.get()` is called on a stale node — **pull-based**, not push-based.
+3. `Watcher.notify` is push-based and fires synchronously; the actual value read happens separately, in a microtask or scheduler tick.
+4. Signals with no active `Watcher` are not tracked and can be garbage-collected independently.
+
+---
+
+## TypeScript
+
+`SignalOptions` and `SignalEqual` are exported for use in custom signal subclasses.
+
+```ts
+import type { SignalOptions, SignalEqual } from '@xaendar/signals';
+
+const myEquals: SignalEqual<number> = (a, b) => Math.abs(a - b) < 0.01;
+
+const opts: SignalOptions<number> = {
+  equals: myEquals,
+  watched()   { /* ... */ },
+  unwatched() { /* ... */ },
+};
+```
+
+---
+
+## Related packages
+
+| Package | Description |
+|---------|-------------|
+| [`@xaendar/core`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xaendar/core) | Web Component base class, decorators, and `InputSignal` |
+| [`@xaendar/types`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xaendar/types) | Shared TypeScript utility types |
+| [`@xaendar/compiler`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xaendar/compiler) | Template compiler |
+
+---
+
+## License
+
+MIT © [Kaitenjo](https://github.com/kaitenjo)