

Ask HN: How does a beginner navigate the JavaScript MVC jungle? - ekpyrotic

HN, I am an average programmer. When I have time outside my day-to-day occupation, I develop webapps on the side. I usually develop in some combination of JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, and SQL.<p>I want to move over to some dedicated JavaScript solution (using the MVC architecture pattern). I've been meaning to do so for a while, and over that time I have read a number of introductions to the various frameworks, i.e., Backbone, Angular, Meteor. And have a passing acquaintance with a few.<p>But now that I want to develop a new product, I don't where to start with this fragmented JavaScript jungle. Do you have advice on:<p>(1) The best MVC for beginners;<p>(2) The best place to start with databases;<p>(3) Essential reading;<p>(4) General information/advice.
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rolleiflex
I am also trying to navigate the same jungle for a new project. Here's what I
could find in the last few days. I am not an experienced programmer likewise,
so take this with a grain of salt.

1) I would argue this is a close call between Angular and Ember, and I
personally picked Angular, mostly for philosophical reasons. I am sure Ember
is just as good, it just doesn't work as well for me. [1]

2) SQLite is good for personal projects, as far as I know. It's a little too
accepting of faults in your code, but when you want to get up and running as
soon and painlessly as possible, it does the job. Otherwise use Postgres.

3) Angular has a list of good video tutorials at [2], though other than this
and the official site, I have yet to find any good documentation. Which might
either be my lack of Google-fu or a genuine need.

4) If you understand what MVC is and if you have coded with Javascript before,
it should be easy to pick up. Pay attention to file structure, the scope, best
practices, as especially with Javascript being a permissive language it's very
easy to get away with low quality code that'll hurt you badly later. Have test
coverage.

[1] <http://blog.wekeroad.com/2013/03/06/ember-confuses-me>

[2] <http://egghead.io>

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LAMike
"Journey Through The JavaScript MVC Jungle"

[http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2012/07/27/journey-
throug...](http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2012/07/27/journey-through-the-
javascript-mvc-jungle/)

An open source Backbone book:

<https://github.com/addyosmani/backbone-fundamentals>

And a free lesson in Backbone from Code School after signing up for
Coderbits... (usually $30)

<https://coderwall.com/p/dwqwvw>

Addy Osmani also has a great site that does the same todo list app in many
different MV*'s:

<https://github.com/addyosmani/todomvc>

That should be a good start!

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deckyt
I've been reading "JavaScript Web Applications" by Alex MacCaw and it provides
a great introduction to MVC and a number of popular client-side frameworks. It
also contains a ton of best practice advice for general JavaScript
development. Definitely worth checking out.

<http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920018421.do>

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indubitably
FWIW, I‘ve seen several recommendations for “Essential ActionScript 2.0” by
Colin Moock, which has a chapter on MVC. ActionScript is of course a useless
language nowadays, but the explanation looks pretty useful so far (I haven’t
finished going through it).

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davidjnelson
angular is amazing. way less code needed.

