Render ($compile) html from backend into view without blocking dom

Question

CONTEXT

I need to load in my AngularJS (v1.4) app some HTML gotten from backend and insert it (the html) into my partial (already loaded). The partial has already some HTML loaded (and completely functional). Right now I'm able to load the HTML and compile it with a directive posted here (Compiling dynamic HTML strings from database). See code below.

PROBLEM

But...when part of the HTML is already loaded (partial loaded and functional) and then I get another HTML content from backend, and the directive is compiling that new one, the entire document (DOM) gets "freezed". I can't type on inputs or do any click on buttons, including those in my previous loaded HTML.

QUESTION

How could I load HTML content, $compile it in "background" or any other way that allows me to continue using the rest of the (already functional) HTML?

It is for me a requisite that the new html content that arrives gets compiled because it contains angular validations and so on that need to be compiled and get inside the "angular world" (be inside the angular digest cycle and so on).

This is the directive I'm using for compiling the html

(function () {

    var dynamic = function($compile) {
        return {
            restrict: 'A',
            replace: true,
            link: function (scope, ele, attrs) {
                scope.$watch(attrs.dynamic, function(html) {
                    if (html) {
                        ele.html(html);
                        $compile(ele.contents())(scope);
                    }

                });
            }
        };
    };

    dynamic.$inject = ['$compile'];

    angular.module('app')
        .directive('dynamic', dynamic);
}());

In the controller I've something like

// this will be filled with asynchronous calls were I get the HTMLs from a service
// in order to keep this example simple I just made a demo, not with the real async calls
$scope.secciones = []

//when the promises are getting resolved "secciones" would be something like (more items can be added after in time)
$scope.secciones = [
    {html: "<div> some html content here (not too small sometimes) </div>"},
    {html: "<div> another html content here (not too small sometimes) </div>"}
]

...and in the view

<!--every time an async call with html is resolved, it's added to secciones, then a new div is generated and compiled-->
<!-- if there was some html previously rendered and the app starts compiling new html the UI gets "freezed"-->
<div ng-repeat="item in secciones">
    <div dynamic="item.html"></div>
</div>

Note: I'm using this approach because each html represents a tab in a tabpanel I have, in which the user actually sees only one html of all of them in "secciones" (the others are hidden, but still there), but I need to compile the others in order to get them ready for the user when he/she click that other tab (another html in secciones).

If there could be any solution to this by upgrading to a newer version of AngularJS(1.x), let's say 1.6, for instance. I'd would be glad to try it out.

Answer 1

Basically I have done this by getting html from script tag and compile it and append to existing div. You can use following snippet.

Include div in your html

<div id="step-container">

</div>

Controller code

var template = $templateCache.get('basicInfo'); // or your html
$compile($("#step-container").html(template).contents())($scope);
$("#step-container").show();

For demonstration this will be included in html page

<script type="text/ng-template" id="basicInfo"></script>

In this way you can compile you html coming from backend.

Hope it helps.

Answer 2

You can try use this directive to compile the HTML code. This directive compile the code when to detect any change in variable htmlCode

module.directive('bindHtmlCompile', ['$compile', function ($compile) {
        return {
            restrict: 'A',
            link: function (scope, element, attrs) {
                scope.$watch(function () {
                    return scope.$eval(attrs.bindHtmlCompile);
                }, function (value) {
                    element.html(value && value.toString());
                    var compileScope = scope;
                    if (attrs.bindHtmlScope) {
                        compileScope = scope.$eval(attrs.bindHtmlScope);
                    }
                    $compile(element.contents())(compileScope);
                });
            }
        };
    }]);

you can install via bower, DirectiveRepo

USAGE:

<div bind-html-compile="htmlCode"></div>