Maintainable Social Script Integration

Published on Dec 19, 2014 (updated Feb 5, 2024), filed under tools, development, javascript, maintainability. (Share this post, e.g. on Mastodon or on Bluesky.)

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In my book, a website embeds all those third-party “share” and “like” and “+1” scripts, whether from Facebook or from Twitter or from Google (or from AddThis) like this:

<div id=social></div>

That’s it ^*. The reason for this brevity is maintainability. Instead of contaminating tens or hundreds or thousands of files, template or not, WETting them with different scripts and their configuration code and such, we want to just add what is structurally needed. One container. To be populated and managed through one script.

Lacking alternatives, I’ve built such a script and now added it to GitHub. “Social Widget Wrapper” I’ve called it. (This can be renamed later.) It’s actually three scripts at the moment, for I’ve worked on three different approaches. (This should be consolidated.) And as it’s getting a bit more complicated from here, I suggest you check out the project page and, if you like, help me make all of it easier and better. I’m a terrible scripter ^†.

Oh. In other words, I’ve open-sourced a functioning but scrappy script, or three of those, that shield markup from social widgets or their scripts or so, and now throw it all at everyone around.

^* …assuming an already existing site default script that takes care of the magic; otherwise we need to add another line for a script. Container and ID may be changed, sure (if appropriate).

^† …which may affect the Google Photo Fetcher script, too.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m an engineering lead, guerrilla philosopher, and indie publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager for companies you use every day (like Google) and companies you’ve never heard of, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also with respect to politics and philosophy. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my experiences and perspectives. (Please share feedback: Interpret charitably, but do be critical.)