jQuery Sharing between Parents and iFrames (inherit.js)

Used to share between a single instance of jQuery through iFrames. Do note, the iFrame content must originate from the same domain, or this plugin will NOT work as expected. Download Page

/*!
 * jQuery iFrame Inheritance
 *
 * Copyright (c) 2009 Eric Garside (http://eric.garside.name)
 * Dual licensed under:
 *      MIT: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php
 *      GPLv3: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html
 */
(function($){
	
	// Create a function in the Global Namespace so we can access
	// it from the iFrame by calling parent.inherit()
	this.inherit = function(child){
		// First, bind a copy of jQuery down into the DOM of the 
		// iFrame, so we can hook in functionality. Things may get
		// a bit confusing here, as we're creating this function in
		// the parent, but have to set it up internally to get called
		// as if it were in the child.
		child.jQueryInherit = this.parent.jQuery;
		
		// Bind a special ready callback binding function, to handle the
		// scope of responding to the document.ready hook instead of the 
		// parent's document.ready
		child.jQueryInherit.fn.ready = function( fn ) {
			// Attach the listeners
			child.jQueryInherit.hooks.bindReady();
			
			// If the DOM is already ready
			if (child.jQueryInherit.hooks.isReady)
				// Simply trigger the callback
				fn.call( child.document, child.jQueryInherit );
				
			// Otherwise, remember it so we can trigger it later
			else
				child.jQueryInherit.hooks.readyList.push( fn );
			
			return this;
		}
	
		// Create a namespace for hooking some functionality to the
		// iFrame, like document.ready decetion and handling
		child.jQueryInherit.hooks = {
			isReady: false,
			readyBound: false,
			readyList: [],
			// Mimic the readyBind() function in the child, so it can
			// set up the listeners for document.ready
			bindReady: function(){
				if (child.jQueryInherit.hooks.readyBound) return;
				child.jQueryInherit.hooks.readyBound = true;
			
				// 	Mozilla, Opera, and webkit nightlies support
				if ( child.document.addEventListener ) {
					child.document.addEventListener( "DOMContentLoaded", function(){
						child.document.removeEventListener( "DOMContentLoaded", arguments.callee, false );
						child.jQueryInherit.hooks.ready();
					}, false );
							
				// For IE
				} else if ( child.document.attachEvent ) {
					// ensure firing before onload,
					// maybe late but safe also for iframes
					child.document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange", function(){
						if ( child.document.readyState === "complete" ) {
							child.document.detachEvent( "onreadystatechange", arguments.callee );
							child.jQueryInherit.hooks.ready();
						}
					});
							
					// If IE and not an iframe
					// continually check to see if the document is ready
					if ( child.document.documentElement.doScroll && child == child.top ) (function(){
						if ( child.jQueryInherit.hooks.isReady ) return;
						
						try {
							// If IE is used, use the trick by Diego Perini
							// http://javascript.nwbox.com/IEContentLoaded/
							child.document.documentElement.doScroll("left");
						} catch( error ) {
							setTimeout( arguments.callee, 0 );
							return;
						}

						// and execute any waiting functions
						child.jQueryInherit.hooks.ready();
					})();
				}

				// A fallback to window.onload, that will always work
				jQuery.event.add( child, "load", child.jQueryInherit.hooks.ready );
			},
			// Hook the ready trigger to fire off the hook bindings
			ready: function(){
				// Make sure the DOM is not already loaded
				if ( !child.jQueryInherit.hooks.isReady ) {
					// Remember that the DOM is ready
					child.jQueryInherit.hooks.isReady = true;
				
					// If there are functions bound...
					if ( child.jQueryInherit.hooks.readyList ) {
						// Execute them all
						jQuery.each( child.jQueryInherit.hooks.readyList, function(){
							this.call( child.document, child.jQueryInherit );
						});
						
						// Reset the list of functions
						child.jQueryInherit.hooks.readyList = null;
					}
					
					// Trigger any bound ready events
					jQuery(child.document).triggerHandler('ready');
				}
			}
		};
		
		return child.jQuery = child.$ = function( selector, context ){
			// Test and see if we're handling a shortcut bind
			// for the document.ready function. This occurs when
			// the selector is a function. Because firefox throws
			// xpconnect objects around in iFrames, the standard
			// jQuery.isFunction test returns false negatives.
			if (selector.constructor.toString().match(/Function/) != null)
				return child.jQueryInherit.fn.ready( selector );
						
			// Otherwise, just let the jQuery init function handle the rest. Be sure we pass in
			// proper context of the child document, or we'll never select anything useful.
			else
				return child.jQueryInherit.fn.init(selector||this.document, context||this.document);
		}
	}
	
})(jQuery);

/******* Inside the Child Element *******
 * Inside the head of the iFrame Content, you'll need to make a call
 * to the following inheritance function, to set up jQuery for the
 * iFrame. The call returns the iFrame's personal jQuery object, which
 * means it can be used to trigger the document.ready event, helpful
 * for condensing code.
 */
parent.inherit(window);

// Example of using the inheritance function as document.ready
parent.inherit(window)(function(){
    alert( jQuery('.someElementInTheiFrameDom').text() );
});

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about jQuery, iFrames, and Inheritance