3 files changed, 55 insertions, 26 deletions

diff --git a/src/Angular.js b/src/Angular.js
index 9b2c7ea6..9eaeb093 100644
--- a/src/Angular.js
+++ b/src/Angular.js
@@ -793,21 +793,50 @@ function merge(src, dst) {
  * @function
  *
  * @description
- * Compiles a piece of HTML or DOM into a {@link angular.scope scope} object.
+ * Compiles a piece of HTML string or DOM into a view and produces a linking function, which can
+ * then be used to link {@link angular.scope scope} and the template together. The compilation
+ * process walks the DOM tree and tries to match DOM elements to {@link angular.markup markup},
+ * {@link angular.attrMarkup attrMarkup}, {@link angular.widget widgets}, and
+ * {@link angular.directive directives}. For each match it executes coresponding markup, \
+ * attrMarkup, widget or directive template function and collects the instance functions into a
+ * single linking function which is then returned. The linking function can then be used
+ * many-times-over on clones of compiled DOM structure, (For example when compiling
+ * {@link angular.widget.@ng:repeat repeater} the resulting linking function is called once for
+ * each item in the collection. The `ng:repeat` does this by cloning the template DOM once for
+ * each item in collection and then calling the linking function to link the cloned template
+ * with the a new scope for each item in the collection.)
+ *
    <pre>
-    var scope1 = angular.compile(window.document);
+    var mvc1 = angular.compile(window.document)();
+    mvc1.view; // compiled view elment
+    mvc1.scope; // scope bound to the element
 
-    var scope2 = angular.compile('<div ng:click="clicked = true">click me</div>');
+    var mvc2 = angular.compile('<div ng:click="clicked = true">click me</div>')();
    </pre>
  *
- * @param {string|DOMElement} element Element to compile.
- * @param {Object=} parentScope Scope to become the parent scope of the newly compiled scope.
- * @returns {Object} Compiled scope object.
+ * @param {string|DOMElement} element Element or HTML to compile into a template function.
+ * @returns {function([scope][, element])} a template function which is used to bind element
+ * and scope. Where:
+ *
+ *   * `scope` - {@link angular.scope scope} A scope to bind to. If none specified, then a new
+ *               root scope is created.
+ *   * `element` - {@link angular.element element} Element to use as the template. If none
+ *               specified then reuse the element from `angular.compile(element)`. If `true`
+ *               then clone the `angular.compile(element)`. The element must be either the same
+ *               element as `angular.compile(element)` or an identical clone to
+ *               `angular.compile(element)`. Using an element with differnt structure will cause
+ *               unpredictable behavior.
+ *
+ * Calling the template function returns object: `{scope:?, view:?}`, where:
+ *
+ *   * `view` - the DOM element which represents the compiled template. Either same or clone of
+ *           `element` specifed in compile or template function.
+ *   * `scope` - scope to which the element is bound to. Either a root scope or scope specified
+ *           in the template function.
  */
-function compile(element, parentScope) {
-  var compiler = new Compiler(angularTextMarkup, angularAttrMarkup, angularDirective, angularWidget),
-      $element = jqLite(element);
-  return compiler.compile($element)($element, parentScope);
+function compile(element) {
+  return new Compiler(angularTextMarkup, angularAttrMarkup, angularDirective, angularWidget)
+    .compile(element);
 }
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
@@ -989,7 +1018,7 @@ function toKeyValue(obj) {
 function angularInit(config){
   if (config.autobind) {
     // TODO default to the source of angular.js
-    var scope = compile(window.document, _null, {'$config':config}),
+    var scope = compile(window.document)(null, createScope({'$config':config})),
         $browser = scope.$service('$browser');
 
     if (config.css)
diff --git a/src/Compiler.js b/src/Compiler.js
index 6aee40b8..890f2510 100644
--- a/src/Compiler.js
+++ b/src/Compiler.js
@@ -80,30 +80,30 @@ function Compiler(markup, attrMarkup, directives, widgets){
 }
 
 Compiler.prototype = {
-  compile: function(element) {
-    element = jqLite(element);
+  compile: function(templateElement) {
+    templateElement = jqLite(templateElement);
     var index = 0,
         template,
-        parent = element.parent();
+        parent = templateElement.parent();
     if (parent && parent[0]) {
       parent = parent[0];
       for(var i = 0; i < parent.childNodes.length; i++) {
-        if (parent.childNodes[i] == element[0]) {
+        if (parent.childNodes[i] == templateElement[0]) {
           index = i;
         }
       }
     }
-    template = this.templatize(element, index, 0) || new Template();
-    return function(element, parentScope){
-      element = jqLite(element);
-      var scope = parentScope && parentScope.$eval
-          ? parentScope
-          : createScope(parentScope);
+    template = this.templatize(templateElement, index, 0) || new Template();
+    return function(scope, element){
+      scope = scope || createScope();
+      element = element === true
+        ? templateElement.cloneNode()
+        : (jqLite(element) || templateElement);
       element.data($$scope, scope);
       template.attach(element, scope);
       scope.$element = element;
       scope.$eval();
-      return scope;
+      return {scope:scope, view:element};
     };
   },
 
diff --git a/src/widgets.js b/src/widgets.js
index 58c22081..14d6fe10 100644
--- a/src/widgets.js
+++ b/src/widgets.js
@@ -676,7 +676,7 @@ angularWidget('ng:include', function(element){
           xhr('GET', src, function(code, response){
             element.html(response);
             childScope = useScope || createScope(scope);
-            compiler.compile(element)(element, childScope);
+            compiler.compile(element)(childScope);
             scope.$eval(onloadExp);
           });
         } else {
@@ -793,7 +793,7 @@ var ngSwitch = angularWidget('ng:switch', function (element){
           var caseElement = switchCase.element.cloneNode();
           element.append(caseElement);
           childScope.$tryEval(switchCase.change, element);
-          switchCase.template(caseElement, childScope);
+          switchCase.template(childScope, caseElement);
         }
       });
     });
@@ -945,7 +945,7 @@ angularWidget("@ng:repeat", function(expression, element){
                   (index == collectionLength - 1 ? 'last' : 'middle');
             lastElement.after(cloneElement = element.cloneNode());
             cloneElement.attr('ng:repeat-index', index);
-            linker(cloneElement, childScope);
+            linker(childScope, cloneElement);
             children.push(childScope);
           }
           childScope.$eval();
@@ -1067,7 +1067,7 @@ angularWidget('ng:view', function(element) {
         if (src) {
           $xhr('GET', src, function(code, response){
             element.html(response);
-            compiler.compile(element)(element, childScope);
+            compiler.compile(element)(childScope);
           });
         } else {
           element.html('');