Web Development Recipes 2nd Edition

by Brian P. Hogan, Chris Warren, Mike Weber, and Chris Johnson

Modern web development is so much more than just HTML and CSS with a little JavaScript mixed in. People want faster, more usable interfaces that work on multiple devices, and you need the latest tools and techniques to make that happen. This book gives you over 40 concise solutions to today’s web development problems, and introduces new solutions that will expand your skill set - proven, practical advice from authors who use these tools and techniques every day. In this completely updated edition, you’ll find innovative new techniques and workflows, as well as reworked solutions that take advantage of new developments.

Web development is constantly changing, and you need to stay on top of your game. Discover a wide spectrum of web development techniques, from how to improve the way you present content, to solutions for data analysis, testing, and deployment.

In this edition we introduce new tools, add new recipes, and modernize old ones. You’ll use Vagrant to automate server setup, and you’ll discover new ways to develop blogs and static sites. You’ll learn how to use Grunt to script the deployment of your web project, and use Angular to build a single-page app.

You’ll learn how to make content stand out with simple cross-browser styles; create animations that work well everywhere without plugins; and create lightweight, responsive layouts. We’ll show you how to use preprocessors like CoffeeScript and Sass; write tests for your code; use Git and Dropbox to collaborate; configure and secure the Apache web server; use virtualization to set up your own servers automatically; and much more.

Whether you’re new to front-end development, or you’ve got a few years of experience, you’ll become a more versatile developer by finding out how - and why - to use these solutions in your next project.

• Errata, typos, suggestions

• Source Code (zip file)

Releases:

• P1.0 2015/07/21
• B3.0 2015/07/08
• B2.0 2015/05/08
• B1.0 2015/04/21

• Acknowledgments
  • Brian Hogan
  • Chris Warren
  • Mike Weber
  • Chris Johnson
• *Preface
  • Who’s This Book For?
  • What’s in This Book?
  • What You Need
  • Online Resources
• Eye-Candy Recipes
  • Styling Buttons and Links
  • Styling Stand-Alone Quotes with CSS
  • Creating Animations with CSS3 Transformations
  • Creating Interactive Slideshows with jQuery
  • *Creating and Styling Accessible Tooltips
  • Using Font Icons
• User Interface Recipes
  • Creating an HTML Email Template
  • Swapping Between Content with Tabbed Interfaces
  • Accessible Expand and Collapse
  • Interacting with Web Pages Using Keyboard Shortcuts
  • Rendering HTML with Handlebars Templates
  • Displaying Information with Endless Pagination
  • *Extending Endless Pagination With PushState
  • Snappier Client-Side Interfaces with Knockout.js
  • Creating a Search Interface with React
  • Creating Client-Side Apps with Angular.js
• Data Recipes
  • Adding an Inline Google Map
  • Creating Charts and Graphs with Highcharts
  • Building a Simple Contact Form
  • Accessing Cross-Site Data with JSONP
  • Creating a Widget to Embed in Other Sites
  • Building a Status Site with JavaScript and CouchDB
• Mobile Recipes
  • Targeting Mobile Devices
  • Touch-Responsive Drop-Down Menus
  • *Mobile Drag and Drop
  • Creating Interfaces with jQuery Mobile
  • Using Sprites with CSS
• Workflow Recipes
  • Rapid, Responsive Design with Skeleton
  • Creating a Simple Blog with Enfield
  • Building Modular Style Sheets with Sass
  • Cleaner JavaScript with CoffeeScript
  • Managing Files with Git
• Testing Recipes
  • Testing Websites on Real Devices
  • Tracking User Activity with Heatmaps
  • Browser Testing with Selenium
  • Testing Web Interfaces with Nightwatch
  • Testing JavaScript with Jasmine
• Hosting and Deployment Recipes
  • *Using Dropbox to Collaborate and Host a Static Site
  • Setting Up a Virtual Machine
  • Changing Web Server Configuration Files with Vim
  • Configuring Secure Websites with Apache
  • Securing Your Content
  • Rewriting URLs to Preserve Links
  • Automating Static Site Deployment with Grunt
  • Configuring a Virtual Machine with Puppet
• Bibliography

Brian P. Hogan is a web developer and teacher who loves to build things for the web. When he’s not hacking on code, he’s writing songs, playing games, or spending time with his family.

Chris Warren is a developer from Minneapolis. He’s been creating websites since teaching himself HTML in 1998.

Mike Weber is a web developer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He’s been developing professionally since 2005, almost exclusively with Ruby on Rails.

Chris Johnson is a developer, author, and teacher living outside of Madison, Wisconsin. He enjoys crafting clean code and showing what he has accomplished no matter the tools and materials.