Elliott - Programming JavaScript Applications: Robust Web Architecture with Node, HTML5, and Modern JS Libraries

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There are many books on the web technologies covered in this publication. However, there are precious few on JavaScript that can be recommended to somebody who wants to learn how to build a complete JavaScript application from the ground up. Meanwhile, almost every new tech startup needs knowledgeable JavaScript application developers on staff. This book exists for one purpose: to help you gain the knowledge you need to build complete JavaScript applications that are easy to extend and maintain.

This book is not intended to teach you the basics of JavaScript. Instead, its designed to build on your existing knowledge and discuss JavaScript features and techniques that will make your code easier to work with over time. Normally, as an application grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to add new features and fix bugs. Your code becomes too rigid and fragile, and even a small change could necessitate a lengthy refactor. If you follow the patterns outlined in this book, your code will remain flexible and resilient. Changes to one piece of code wont negatively impact another.

This book will focus primarily on client-side architecture, although it will also cover server-side topics, such as basic RESTful APIs and Node. The trend is that a great deal of the application logic is getting pushed to the client. It was once the case that the server environment would handle things like templating and communication with vendor services. Now, its common to deal with both of those jobs inside the browser.

In fact, a modern JavaScript application does almost everything a traditional desktop app would do completely in the browser. Of course, servers are still handy. Server roles frequently include serving static content and dynamically loaded modules, data persistence, action logging, and interfacing with third-party APIs.

Well cover:

You have some experience with JavaScript; at least a year or two working frequently with the language, but you want to learn more about how you can apply it specifically to developing robust web-scale or enterprise applications.

You know a thing or two about programming, but you have an insatiable thirst to learn more. In particular, youd like to learn more about how to apply the powerful features that distinguish JavaScript from other languages, such as closures, functional programming, and prototypal inheritance (even if this is the first youve heard of them).

Perhaps youd also like to learn about how to apply test-driven development (TDD) techniques to your next JavaScript challenge. This book uses tests throughout the code examples. By the time you reach the end, you should be in the habit of thinking about how youll test the code you write.