Javascript Web Applications [Paperback] Alex Maccaw

by Alex MacCaw

Building rich JavaScript applications that bring a desktop experience to the Web requires moving state from the server to the client side—not a simple task. This hands-on book takes proficient JavaScript developers through all the steps necessary to create state-of-the-art applications, including structure, templating, frameworks, communicating with the server, and many other issues.Throughout the book, you'll work with real-world example applications to help you grasp the concepts involved. Learn how to create JavaScript applications that offer a more responsive and improved experience.* Use the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, and learn how to manage dependencies inside your application* Get an introduction to templating and data binding* Learn about loading remote data, Ajax, and cross-domain requests* Create realtime applications with WebSockets and Node.js* Accept dropped files and upload data with progress indicators* Use major frameworks and libraries, including jQuery, Spine, and Backbone* Write tests and use the console to debug your applications* Get deployment best practices, such as caching and minificationTable of Contents 1 MVC and Classes* Early Days* Adding Structure* What Is MVC?* Toward Modularity, Creating Classes* Adding Functions to Classes* Adding Methods to Our Class Library* Class Inheritance Using Prototype* Adding Inheritance to Our Class Library* Function Invocation* Controlling Scope in Our Class Library* Adding Private Functions* Class Libraries 2 Events and Observing* Listening to Events* Event Ordering* Canceling Events* The Event Object* Event Libraries* Context Change* Delegating Events* Custom Events* Custom Events and jQuery Plug-Ins* Non-DOM Events 3 Models and Data* MVC and Namespacing* Building an ORM* Adding ID Support* Addressing References* Loading in Data* Populating Our ORM* Storing Data Locally* Adding Local Storage to Our ORM* Submitting New Records to the Server 4 Controllers and State* Module Pattern* Adding a Bit of Context* State Machines* Routing 5 Views and Templating* Dynamically Rendering Views* Templates* Binding 6 Dependency Management* CommonJS* Module Loaders* Wrapping Up Modules* Module Alternatives* FUBCs 7 Working with Files* Browser Support* Getting Information About Files* File Inputs* Drag and Drop* Copy and Paste* Reading Files* Custom Browse Buttons* Uploading Files* jQuery Drag and Drop Uploader 8 The Real-Time Web* Real Time’s History* WebSockets* Real-Time Architecture* Perceived Speed 9 Testing and Debugging* Unit Testing* Drivers* Headless Testing* Distributed Testing* Providing Support* Inspectors* The Console* Using the Debugger* Analyzing Network Requests* Profile and Timing 10 Deploying* Performance* Caching* Minification* Gzip Compression* Using a CDN* Auditors* Resources 11 The Spine Library* Setup* Classes* Events* Models* Controllers* Building a Contacts Manager 12 The Backbone Library* Models* Collections* Views* Controllers* Syncing with the Server* Building a To-Do List 13 The JavascriptMVC Library* Setup* Classes* Model* Using Client-Side Templates in the View* $. The jQuery Plug-in Factory* Putting It All An Abstract CRUD List jQuery Primer* DOM Traversal* DOM Manipulation* Events* Ajax* Being a Good Citizen* Extensions* Creating a Growl jQuery Plug-in CSS Extensions* Variables* Mixins* Nested Rules* Including Other Stylesheets* Colors* How Do I Use Less? CSS3 Reference* Prefixes* Colors* Rounded Corners* Drop Shadows* Text Shadow* Gradients* Multiple Backgrounds* Selectors* Transitions* Border Images* Box Sizing* Transformations* Flexible Box Model* Fonts* Graceful Degradation* Creating a Layout

Genres: Programming, Technology, Technical, Computers, Coding, Nonfiction, Computer Science

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Ivo Stoykov · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me JavaScript in the book's title is somehow misleading. This is because usually, in web applications along with JavaScript, take part also HTML and CSS. Thought JavaScript exists in contents it is observed as a building block of some libraries, like jQuery, Node.js (to mention more popular).

If one is interested in JavaScript itself this is not the right book. If it is interested in JavaScript based technologies (patters, libraries, etc.) involved in today web applications this might be a book of interest.

[Brett Bukowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Goes for breadth over depth; it presents a hodge-podge of ideas and lacks the polish and consistency that (usually well-edited) O'Reilly books have. However I do like that it assumes that the reader is already fairly adept with JavaScript.

[Miguel Frias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!, It teach you how to build an Javascript Web Applications with barebones, without frameworks, for later use frameworks, which is great, because in this way you can learn how an MVC frameworks.

[Max Lybbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written book with good advice. It was published just before frameworks like Bootstrap, React, and Angular became popular. Those frameworks implement much of the advice from this book, but they do so in a way that means the programmer can largely ignore the details.

So (1) this book was ahead of its time; and (2) the world has moved on and JavaScript Web Applications is now a little dated. Even so, it's still a worthwhile read.

[Rex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book - I have a background in Flex and all I really care about here is how and why to structure a javascript application and some background into some of the architectural decisions that were made along the way. After reading this book, I had a really nice background on many of the common JS MVC frameworks (aka...the way of the future). While the "Bible" aka "Javascript: The Definitive Guide" seems to be very popular, I liked this book much more as a resource.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young author gets reader through process of making lightweight MVC framework and give insights on different modern tricks/tools/frameworks/specs. Very good read. Book is also quite short (~280 pages with appendixes), which makes it even better.

[Miloš · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved that it's a short book. Unfortunately it's a bit too broad for it's size. it's still a good introduction on how Javascript client-side frameworks are put together and used. It should make reading the actual source of backbone or some other library easier during day to day development.

[Sergey Ermakovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful book. I particularly like CSS3 reference at the end - it's compact, but yet powerfull.

[Тарас Буник · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually this book is too hard for me by now, but I should write more JavaScript.