javascript module pattern...it's what we all should be using

those that know me in the tech world know that i'm an avid ajax developer. i'm as obsessed as i can be about being on the cusp of new tech. and get all giddy when i see any new functionality that i can integrate into my toolbox. that being said, i recently made the switch from prototype to jquery.

there's 3 major reasons for my switch:
1.) jquery is smaller
2.) jquery is faster
3.) jquery has more of a plugin base(prototype doesn't even have plugins) and there are way more things made with jquery.

being an avid prototype user i was heavy into using it's built in classes. a prototypejs class is basically a json object that calls an initialization function when initialized. when i switched from prototytpe to jquery, that had to change.

i read into the jquery forums to see what other people were using, and i found that the most advanced plugins and best implemenations that i could find were using the module pattern.

i started using this in a new site with jquery and i have to say, it's a lot nicer way to program js. it changes the scope so you don't have to worry about binding all of your functions. also, as i read on another site, i'm using two variables for public and private objects (pub and pri) that i prefix onto anything. then all i have to do is return pub and it's all set.

i do have to worry about calling my init function now, but that's ok. 6 extra characters is worth it. check out the basic explaination here:
http://yuiblog.com/blog/2007/06/12/module-pattern/