Javascript coding guide with test driven development

Question

I'm migrating from server side development (java, php) to client side - HTML, CSS, javascript.

Though I technically understand (mostly) how javascript works, I have not found a good guide to creating an application - particularly with regards to how to organise functions and objects and setting up a solid test framework for them.

I'm currently half way through the Ruby on Rails tutorial http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ which is excellent - I now feel confident in understanding the standard structure for arranging all the code in an application, and setup good testing practices as I go. Plus, the integration with heroku and git make for a really tangible real world example, making for a complete understanding of how to develop and deploy a rails app.

Can anyone recommend a similar kind of guide for JS/AJAX development?

Joseph · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-07 03:56:16Z

1

One good way to write JavaScript is to do it in a modular fashion. For dependency loading, you would also need module loaders like RequireJS. As for structure, there are a lots of frameworks out there, I suggest you give BackboneJS a try. You would also want to make your JS scalable so that you won't ever have to worry about expanding. Here's more videos about it as well.

There are a lot of frameworks to choose in JS. Test them all out and create a stack which you feel comfortable playing with.

answered May 7, 2012 at 3:56

Joseph

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ChrisJ Over a year ago

Well, yes, it's good to write most code in a modular fashion - the trouble with javascript is there seems to be half a dozen different ways to define objects and so it's hard to pin down a best practice way of doing it. Thanks both for suggesting Backbone - that was the clue I needed. Searching with that I've found This Rails + Backbone tute and This TDD tute which seem to be the tutorials I was looking for.

aliz_bazar · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-07 08:47:06Z

I don't think you'll find a similar tutorial as on Ruby on Rails about Javascript, because Rails is a framework and Javascript is just a language that has hundreds of different frameworks built around it. I don't know what kind of applications are you willing to develop, but Backbone.js is an MVC framework for frontend development and you could search some tutorials on it.

However, if you're just starting out with JS, you probably want to learn first on the basics of JS. Good source for that is for ex. MDN JS guide: https://developer.mozilla.org/en/JavaScript/Guide

Then you might want to check out guide on JS design patterns for learning how to structure your code: http://www.addyosmani.com/resources/essentialjsdesignpatterns/book/#designpatternsjavascript

Hope these will help!

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