Asset pipeline require not working with coffeescript [v1.4.2 and above]

[tmikoss]

Calling #= require ./other_file, in a .js.jsx.coffee file no longer seems to work in version 1.4.2 and above. The file is not evaluated - tested by putting a console.log at the top of the required file.

Changing the extension to .js.jsx and calling //= require ./other_file works as expected.

Last version of react-rails where it worked as expected was 1.3.3.

Setting config.react.jsx_transformer_class = React::JSX::JSXTransformer does not fix the issue.

[rmosolgo]

Hmm if file extensions makes a difference, I bet it's related to

#385
#411

[tmikoss]

Glanced over the changes in those two, but there's nothing that stands out as problematic to me. However, I'm not an expert on how the asset pipeline works.

I've created a minimal app that reproduces the issue - https://github.com/tmikoss/react-rails-coffeescript-require-example

[rmosolgo]

Man, it's been a weekend of Sprockets-wrangling.

Thanks the the demo project. I cloned it locally and started it up. Sure enough, I only got the three log statements. So I pointed it at my local react-rails and started poking and prodding.

Some things I noticed

• In Sprockets 3, CoffeeScript uses the "old" engine feature, but JSX is set up as a mime-type + transformer (the "new" way).
• On Sprockets master CoffeeScript uses the "new" way

It makes me think that somehow our transformer doesn't play well with the engine scheme.

Some things I tried

• Added a test for #= require in js.jsx.coffee. It worked but that's because I'm testing with Sprockets 2.
• Mostly, I tried tweaking stuff in engine.rb
  • Adding the .js.jsx.coffee extension to the CoffeeScript mime-type (didn't work, that was before I realized how different Sprockets 3 vs master was)
  • Registering the JSX engine along with the transformer (didn't work)
  • Registering the CoffeeScript processor as a transformer (didn't work)
  • Manually adding the Sprockets::DirectiveProcessor for .js.jsx.coffee (didn't work)

So far, nothin! But it has to be, has to be, has to be, something related to engines vs. transformers.

I've got to get a failing spec in the repo. I'm going to try making some gemfiles with sprockets 3 and Sprockets 2!

[rmosolgo]

I opened an issue an issue on Sprockets to see if that team has any suggestions: rails/sprockets#231

[rmosolgo]

Tried this again in hopes that it would have been fixed by some work in the last few months, and it seems like it was:

~/code/react-rails-coffeescript-require-example $ bundle update react-rails
# ...
# ... 
Using railties 4.2.5
Installing sprockets-rails 3.1.1 (was 2.3.3)
Using coffee-rails 4.1.0
Installing react-rails 1.8.0 (was 1.5.0)
Using rails 4.2.5
Bundle updated!

🎉

Since the previous update also bumped sprockets-rails, I locked sprockets-rails to ~> 2.0 and tried again:

~/code/react-rails-coffeescript-require-example $ bundle update sprockets-rails
# ... 
Using sprockets-rails 2.3.3 (was 3.1.1)
# ... 

🎊

@tmikoss , Are you able to update to the latest react-rails? OK to close this?