The future of web app development is taking shape, and it’s changing the way we think about server-side app architecture. In this article, Matt E. Patterson shows why a new WebSockets-driven approach is catching developers’ attention, and how it can mean faster, easier development that results in an experience just as rich as client-side SPAs.
Topic: Application Development
Web, iPhone, and Android application development. Mobile-first, future-friendly, and multi-device strategies. Web and native app integration. Working with databases. Understanding and working with an API. Retrieving and transforming data from third-party apps and communities. Putting your content in my pocket. Understanding web services. Patents, royalties, and web standards.
Responsible JavaScript: Part III
Convenience always comes at a price. On the web, developer convenience often means third-party JavaScript—and we pass the hefty cost on to our users. Jeremy Wagner shows us how to get and keep third-party scripts under control through clean-up sprints and eternal vigilance in Part III of Responsible JavaScript.
Responsible JavaScript: Part II
Web development is hard. We don’t always get it right on the first try. Fortunately, we don’t have to get everything perfect from the start. Jeremy Wagner provides some helpful ways to start recovering from our collective JavaScript hangover.
Responsible JavaScript: Part I
The web is drowning in a sea of JavaScript, awash with unnecessary bloat, inaccessible cruft, and unsustainable patterns. Jeremy Wagner plots a course to navigate the JavaScript Sea responsibly by building the right things the right way and using the web platform the way it was meant to be used.
Coding with Clarity: Part II
Coding with clarity sets great developers apart from the rest. Brandon Gregory shares some principles for organizing objects and functions in JavaScript that will improve clarity, making your code easier to read, understand, and extend.
Designing for Research
Image quality may be about striking the balance between speed and quality, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. What if, despite having methods to develop better and better image experiences for the web, the user disagrees? In a quest to find answers, Jeremy Wagner takes us through an image quality study that he designs, develops, and iterates on with user feedback. Asking “Why?” is no easy undertaking in research. His lossy is your gain.
Owning the Role of the Front-End Developer
“The modern developer can’t hide behind a keyboard and expect the rest of the team to handle all of the important decisions that define our workflow,” writes front-end developer Ronald Méndez. Drawing on his decade of experience, he shares advice for going beyond code, sharing ideas, and fighting for a seat at the table.
Coding with Clarity
Always writing the clearest possible code is what helps separate the great developers from the merely good. It cuts confusion, reduces headaches for current and future developers, and saves everybody time in the long run. And though not always as easy as it sounds, with good forward planning, a logical approach to code structure, and adherence to a few guiding principles, coding with greater clarity is something all developers can achieve.
Yes, That Web Project Should Be a PWA
A Progressive Web App (PWA) is a website with special powers. Despite what you might have heard, most websites—and, more importantly, their readers—can benefit from becoming PWAs. And it’s so easy! New A List Apart editor-in-chief Aaron Gustafson explains.
Web Maintainability Industry Survey: How Do We Maintain?
Maintenance is an ever-present aspect of web development, but there simply isn’t much data about what we do industry-wide. To uncover what developers consider best practices and great resources, we’re all taking the (very short!) Great Web Maintainability Survey from Jens Oliver Meiert.
