

JavaScript Web Apps by O'Reilly - maccman
http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781449307530/

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smoody
I just ordered direct from O'Reilly (eBook) and, before ordered, located a
coupon code that worked for me (on August 31, 2011): 4cast -- it gave me a 50%
discount on the eBook ($13.99) and supposedly gives 50% off on the printed
version.

The books looks to be useful for people who want to build/understand an MVC
library from the ground-up with jQuery as a base. There are also chapters
about the various ready-built solutions.

Nicely done maccman.

~~~
PedroCandeias
Cheers for the coupon, mate. Worked for me too.

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baalexander
I bought the Early Release of this book a couple months ago. The book does a
good job of introducing MVC concepts and how they can and should be
implemented in a JavaScript web app. Even if you have a background in RoR,
Django, CakePHP, etc., the best practices for implementing the MVC concepts
client side should prove helpful.

The most worthwhile part of the book - for me - was maccman's coverage of
three popular JavaScript MVC frameworks: Backbone, Spine, and JavascriptMVC.
The coverage included the basics of how each framework worked, as well as
sample apps for each. Other gems included dependency management options
(module loaders) and testing client side apps.

My only complaint - and one that maccman can't be faulted for - is the book
covers a topic that's rapidly changing. There's few de facto client-side
frameworks for MVC or dependency management or maybe even testing. Personally,
I think that makes this more exciting, and the book does cover the current
state well.

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maccman
I've just released the final version in paperback - also available on
Amazon.com: <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/144930351X/>

~~~
mikaelgramont
Like others I bought the ebook back in May. Is the final version different
enough to make me re-read it now?

~~~
maccman
Most of it was finished back then - just a lot of copyediting, and the final
chapters have changed.

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foobarbazoo
Wow, a JavaScript MVC application book with no SproutCore coverage whatsoever.

If anyone needed proof that SproutCore has failed to launch, this is it.

~~~
tomdale
To be fair, this book is about libraries that are strictly MVC implemented in
JavaScript, and no more. At the time Alex was writing the book, SproutCore 1.4
was the current version, and is obviously a "full-stack" framework, including
a UI library.

SproutCore 2.0 alpha was released on May 25th of this year, so Alex didn't
have time to cover it. My hope is that a second edition would hopefully at
least mention it, now that it is much more competitive with things like
Backbone and Knockout, et al. :)

~~~
maccman
This is precisely correct.

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juretriglav
Appeared exactly when I needed it. I'm currently exploring the JS web app
world, and I am in need of some guidance. Sometimes I struggle because my flow
currently consists of taking apart other JS apps, instead of having a solid
foundation and implementing my own solutions.

There are some things that just aren't intuitive, when you're reading other
people's code. I hope this book either enables me to write code from scratch
or significantly speeds up my "decompiling" of other people's code.

Congrats on the launch! Must've been quite a ride, since from what I read,
you're traveling the world and surfing. Nicely done.

~~~
PedroCandeias
I'm with you. After 10-odd years of getting by just from reading
documentation, blogs and stackoverflow (on lamp+js), I recently rediscovered
the joy of good quality technical books. There's nothing like taking a nice,
structured tour from the 101 all the way to the more advanced topics, is
there?

~~~
romansanchez
Not at all. Books are usually my first way to go too, then I'll go to blogs,
documentation, etc.

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Joeri
Jvascript web applications seems too generic as a title. The book covers one
way, but there are many different approaches to skin that cat.

The whole javascript apps scene won't stabilize until we get cross-framework
ways of building ui components and doing layout. I should be able to take a
sproutcore component and use it in an extjs layout, without it becoming a
giant hack.

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d0m
It's freaking that there's a backbone.js section in it. Am I the only one on
earth who _doesn't_ like this library ?!

~~~
lobo_tuerto
If you'd like to explain what is it that you don't like about it?

I've just introduced myself into it, and I'm really liking all about it. ALL.

~~~
d0m
I feel backbone.js is a great base to build a custom mvc framework on top of
it. However, for simple projects, I find it to be to heavyweight. I.e. it's
really hard to have nested collections (You have to rebind all events). Views
could give you a better hand for 90% of scenarios.. These are only 2 examples,
but this is why I say it's more of a meta-framework. (I use backbone and patch
it with lots of function, event binding, etc. and only then I can use it in my
code).

So, I think there's still a place for a smaller, more 90%/10% mvc framework..
and have backbone.js to fallback on in the 10%. In fact, _this_ framework
could be build on top of backbone :)

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PedroCandeias
Took a look at the toc, looked like a great package, made the purchase. Hoping
to read it soon. Well done, maccman.

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neovive
Just ordered the ebook and read through the first chapter. Great work! This is
exactly the book I was looking for to take my JS skills to the next level and
just the right size. Once a programming book goes beyond 300+ pages, it starts
becoming an impediment to progress.

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jentulman
Bought (and enjoyed) this back in May while it was still a preview and I'm
really pleased to have the finished copy now.

Congratulations Alex, really liked the writing style and it's been very
helpful alongside 'The Definitive guide'.

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rushabh
While no doubt it must be no mean task to document fast moving technology (I
have just seen the toc), but many of these concepts/libraries are still
evolving. Maybe a good record to check back in a few years, what worked, what
didnt.

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lobo_tuerto
What version of backbonejs is covered in this book?

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weepy
Looking forward to my copy in the post !

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danso
Since you're one of the few published experts on this specific, evolving area
:), what are your thoughts on the tradeoffs between the current popular
frameworks (i.e. are they so different - yet mature - that each one could
conceivably be a best fit for a certain type of applications?). And which
framework do you currently prefer?

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Sindrome
Added to safari book case.

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ajayka
Just ordered it!

~~~
fatalerrorx3
I was just about to order it, but their registration system is messed
up...makes me iffy on the idea of buying it now -- if they can't get a simple
checkout process right =D

~~~
rachelj
Hey, sorry registration wasn't good. What was the problem? Did you run into an
error, or was it just that setting up an account was a hassle?

~~~
mindrunner
I have to agree. I had to jump through hoops, and registration was a PITA.

If not for the 'feeding frenzy' I was in, I would have not bought the ebook at
that moment.

 __Edit: The book was worth it, jsut the process of buying it __

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dan_martell
Congrats Alex!

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danso
I didn't click through to the preview pages:

Does the book talk about some of the existing frameworks, such as backbone.js?
Or does it walk you through rolling your own MVC?

~~~
zinssmeister
Yes it covers backbone.js and other frameworks.

