Javascript is taking over
the World.
- UI Engineer at RetailMeNot
- Unrepentant JS Addict
- Austin-ite
- Also GIF addict
About Me
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JS is an unavoidable part of web development
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In The Beginning...
Then, about a decade later, AJAX
- Suddenly, JS > Presentation
- Ushered in an era of JS Frameworks/Libraries
-
Still, there weren't really any 'JS Developers'
Enter V8
V8 and its compatriots did (and still work to) make JS quick enough to be considered a performant language by all but the pickiest standards
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Today, Browsers can do a ton
- Audio/Video
- Offline Capabilities
- Back-End as a Service
- (This Slideshow)
Not to mention asm.js
Node.js
The advent of Node.js was a catalyst for
the already explosive growth of the JS community
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Why it Worked
Web developers already spoke not only JS, but async.
The community works to make it accessible to all.
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A Quick Demonstration
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I'm going to stand up an API, with Mongoose and Restify, in around 10 minutes. It'll allow me to add and get a resource
That's cool and all, but it's still software.
Node-Serialport
- Written by the father of NodeBots, Chris Williams
- Allows Node to communicate with Serial (USB)
- Launched quietly, but laid the foundation for most node hardware
Johnny-Five
Ubiquitous with NodeBots
Control Arduino with Node
Built on Node-Serialport
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Johnny-Five Demo
2 Servos, controlled by rotating potentiometers
All written in JS
Tiny Computers
The next advance in JS Hardware: Small, Cheap, ARM-based Linux systems.
- Run Node directly on the hardware
- Don't need to tether via USB
- 2 top contenders: Raspberry Pi/BeagleBone Black
BeagleBone Demo
We'll see how the integrated cloud9 IDE works, and light up an RGB LED.
Even more Applications
- NodeCopters
- node-gamepad
- Many more
JS Directly on Hardware
There are applications of JS on hardware that use an interpreter directly instead of going through Node.
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Firefox OS
Firefox OS is a phone/tablet OS
You write apps for it in the web tech you already know.
(They even recently released an Android Bundler!)
Just HTML, CSS, and JS.
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Espruino
Kickstart-ered last year
Runs JS on the microprocessor
A little unstable, but getting there.
Meant for full-on development!
The JS community
The awesome
Open-Source as a default
NPM/Bower/Central Package Directories
Modules > Systems
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The Not-So-Awesome
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We have a serious fanaticism Problem.
Proof:
Come find me and let me know if you disagree with the following:
I don't like large frameworks like Ember, Angular, Rails, or Express- I feel smaller frameworks and networks of modules tend to work out better.
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But Don't Panic
We just need to remember to use the right tool for the job, and be willing to try new things.
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How You can get involved
Write the Docs.
The Google Principle!
Mentor others.
Questions?
Come talk to me!
@kassandra_perch
kassandra@kassandraperch.com
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