feat(scope): add $watchSet API

Allows watching a set of expressions. If any one expression changes
then the reaction function fires.

Author: mhevery

lib/core/scope.dart

@@ -185,6 +185,47 @@ class Scope implements Map {
     return () => _watchers.remove(watcher);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * A variant of [$watch] where it watches a collection of [watchExpressios]. If any
+   * one expression in the collection changes the [listener] is executed.
+   *
+   * * [watcherExpressions] - `List<String|(Scope scope){}>`
+   * * [Listener] - `(List newValues, List previousValues, Scope scope)`
+   */
+  $watchSet(List watchExpressions, [Function listener, String watchStr]) {
+    if (watchExpressions.length == 0) return () => null;
+
+    var lastValues = new List(watchExpressions.length);
+    var currentValues = new List(watchExpressions.length);
+
+    if (watchExpressions.length == 1) {
+    // Special case size of one.
+      return $watch(watchExpressions[0], (value, oldValue, scope) {
+        currentValues[0] = value;
+        lastValues[0] = oldValue;
+        listener(currentValues, lastValues, scope);
+      });
+    }
+    var deregesterFns = [];
+    var changeCount = 0;
+    for(var i = 0, ii = watchExpressions.length; i < ii; i++) {
+      deregesterFns.add($watch(watchExpressions[i], (value, oldValue, __) {
+        currentValues[i] = value;
+        lastValues[i] = oldValue;
+        changeCount++;
+      }));
+    }
+    deregesterFns.add($watch((s) => changeCount, (c, o, scope) {
+      listener(currentValues, lastValues, scope);
+    }));
+    return () {
+      for(var i = 0, ii = deregesterFns.length; i < ii; i++) {
+        deregesterFns[i]();
+      }
+    };
+  }
+
+
   $watchCollection(obj, listener, [String expression, bool shallow=false]) {
     var oldValue;
     var newValue;

test/core/scope_spec.dart

@@ -404,6 +404,75 @@ main() {
     });
 
 
+    describe(r'$watchSet', () {
+      var scope;
+      beforeEach(inject((Scope s) => scope = s));
+
+      it('should skip empty sets', () {
+        expect(scope.$watchSet([], null)()).toBe(null);
+      });
+
+      it('should treat set of 1 as direct watch', () {
+        var lastValues = ['foo'];
+        var log = '';
+        var clean = scope.$watchSet(['a'], (values, oldValues, s) {
+          log += values.join(',') + ';';
+          expect(s).toBe(scope);
+          expect(oldValues).toEqual(lastValues);
+          lastValues = new List.from(values);
+        });
+
+        scope.a = 'foo';
+        scope.$digest();
+        expect(log).toEqual('foo;');
+
+        scope.$digest();
+        expect(log).toEqual('foo;');
+
+        scope.a = 'bar';
+        scope.$digest();
+        expect(log).toEqual('foo;bar;');
+
+        clean();
+        scope.a = 'xxx';
+        scope.$digest();
+        expect(log).toEqual('foo;bar;');
+      });
+
+      it('should detect a change to any one in a set', () {
+        var lastValues = ['foo', 'bar'];
+        var log = '';
+        var clean = scope.$watchSet(['a', 'b'], (values, oldValues, s) {
+          log += values.join(',') + ';';
+          expect(oldValues).toEqual(lastValues);
+          lastValues = new List.from(values);
+        });
+
+        scope.a = 'foo';
+        scope.b = 'bar';
+        scope.$digest();
+        expect(log).toEqual('foo,bar;');
+
+        scope.$digest();
+        expect(log).toEqual('foo,bar;');
+
+        scope.a = 'a';
+        scope.$digest();
+        expect(log).toEqual('foo,bar;a,bar;');
+
+        scope.a = 'A';
+        scope.b = 'B';
+        scope.$digest();
+        expect(log).toEqual('foo,bar;a,bar;A,B;');
+
+        clean();
+        scope.a = 'xxx';
+        scope.$digest();
+        expect(log).toEqual('foo,bar;a,bar;A,B;');
+      });
+    });
+
+
     describe(r'$destroy', () {
       var first = null, middle = null, last = null, log = null;