Building web apps with Ember.js : write ambitious Javascript

If you’re a web developer interested in building scalable single-page applications—full-stack, browser-based apps that connect to a backend—this practical guide shows you how to use Ember.js, the popular javascript framework based on the model-view-controller (MVC) architectural pattern. Through the course of the book, you’ll learn how to build a prototype Ember application (a musician index called Rock’n’Roll Call), using routers, templates, models, controllers, and views. You’ll also understand how Ember’s convention over configuration approach helps you persist data, build backend technologies, and create widgets for developing production-capable applications that behave like desktop software. Set up workflow management and boilerplate code creation Learn how Ember’s “developer ergonomics” help you use less code Write templates for the book’s prototype with Handlebars.js Use routers to manage application states without reloading the page Connect controllers and views with events, and sync data with data-binding Build an Ember backend with a RESTful API or Ruby on Rails Use the Ember-Data library to persist data and talk to the backend Write reusable encapsulated widgets to extend your applications Table of Contents 5 Preface 9 Building Web Apps with Ember.js 9 More Than Just “Getting Started” 11 Navigating This Book 11 Conventions Used in This Book 12 Using Code Examples 13 Safari® Books Online 14 How to Contact Us 14 Acknowledgments 15 Chapter 1. Introducing Ember.js and Ambitious Web Applications 17 What Is an “Ambitious Web Application”? 17 Ambitious Web Applications Are Not Documents 18 Ambitious Web Applications Are Stateful 18 Ambitious Web Applications Are Long-Lived 20 Ambitious Web Applications Have Architecture 21 What Is Ember.js? 23 Why Choose Ember? 23 Developer Ergonomics? 24 What’s an ORM? 24 What Is Ruby on Rails? 25 What Is Node.js? 25 Express.js 25 Chapter 2. The Basics 27 Hello, World Wide Web 27 SimpleHTTPServer: Just Like It Says on the Tin 29 Data Binding 31 But Where’s All the Code? 32 Uh, What’s a Router? 33 Ember in Action 34 Wrapping Things Up 37 Chapter 3. Ember Boilerplate and Workflow 39 Git 41 What Is Yeoman? 42 Installing Yeoman 42 Using Yo’s Ember Application Generator 43 Installing Dependencies 43 Install the Generator 44 Running the Generator 45 Using Bower 49 Grunt 50 Build, Run, Test 51 Debugging with the Ember Inspector for Chrome and Firefox 54 Wrapping Things Up 59 Chapter 4. Building the RocknRollCall Prototype: Templates 61 Rock ‘n’ Roll 61 Starting with HTML 63 The Basics of Handlebars.js 64 Variables 67 Linking with the {{link-to}} Helper 68 Input with the {{input}} Helper 69 Lists with the {{each}} Helper 72 Conditionals with the {{if}} and {{else}} Helpers 74 Capturing User Interaction with the {{action}} Helper 75 Bound Attributes 76 Creating Custom Helpers 78 Wrapping Things Up 81 Chapter 5. Building the RocknRollCall Prototype: The Router, Routes, and Models 83 URLs : The Web :: “Saved Game Passwords” : The Nintendo Entertainment System 84 Routing 85 The Router 87 Dynamic Routes 91 Routes 92 Models 94 Promises, Promises 96 The model() Method 97 Wrapping Things Up 99 Chapter 6. Building the RocknRollCall Prototype: Controllers, Views, Data Binding, and Events 101 Controllers 101 Computed Properties 105 The Power of Promises and the model Method 106 Views 113 Wrapping Things Up 114 Chapter 7. Persisting Data 115 Not Rolling Our Own Ajax 115 There Must Be a Better Way 118 Ember Client-Side Persistence Libraries 118 Ember Data 118 Ember Model 118 Ember Restless 119 Ember Persistence Foundation 119 An Ember Data Deep Dive 119 Setting Up the Router and Activity View for the Activity State 119 Models 120 Persisting Records Based on User Interaction 122 Abstraction Layers: Store, Serializers, and Adapters 125 Ember Data Store 125 Serializer 126 Adapters 127 Wrapping Things Up 131 Chapter 8. Building an Ember Backend 133 RESTful Web Service APIs 134 Ember Data RESTAdapter 134 EAK (Ember App Kit) API Stubs with Express 134 Why Use Rails? 139 Managing Dependencies with RVM (Ruby Version Manager) and Bundler 139 Installing Rails 140 Generating the Initial Application 140 Updating the Gemfile 141 Removing TurboLinks 142 Understanding Rails MVC and the Single-Page Application 143 Running Tests 145 Adding Ember 146 Wrapping Things Up 152 Chapter 9. Ember Components 153 The Anatomy of an Ember Component 154 Create a Template 154 Extending Ember.Component 156 Building a Heat Map Visualization with D3 157 Wrapping Things Up 161 Chapter 10. Ember Testing 163 Ember Testing with Ember App Kit, Qunit, and Testem 164 Testem and QUnit Test Runners 166 Ember Client-Side Integration Testing 168 Helpers 169 Testing the Index Page 169 Testing the Activities Route 171 Ember Unit Testing 174 Using Ember-Qunit 176 Unit Testing Routes 177 Using Fixtures 178 Unit Testing Models 180 Wrapping Things Up 180 Index 181 About the Authors 186 If you’re a web developer interested in building scalable single-page applications—full-stack, browser-based apps that connect to a backend—this practical guide shows you how to use Ember.js, the popular JavaScript framework based on the model-view-controller (MVC) architectural pattern.Through the course of the book, you’ll learn how to build a prototype Ember application (a musician index called Rock’n’Roll Call), using routers, templates, models, controllers, and views. You’ll also understand how Ember’s convention over configuration approach helps you persist data, build backend technologies, and create widgets for developing production-capable applications that behave like desktop software.Set up workflow management and boilerplate code creationLearn how Ember’s “developer ergonomics” help you use less codeWrite templates for the book’s prototype with Handlebars.jsUse routers to manage application states without reloading the pageConnect controllers and views with events, and sync data with data-bindingBuild an Ember backend with a RESTful API or Ruby on RailsUse the Ember-Data library to persist data and talk to the backendWrite reusable encapsulated widgets to extend your applications Annotation If youre a web developer interested in building scalable single-page applicationsfull-stack, browser-based apps that connect to a backendthis practical guide shows you how to use Ember.js, the popular JavaScript framework based on the model-view-controller (MVC) architectural pattern. Through the course of the book, youll learn how to build a prototype Ember application (a musician index called RocknRoll Call), using routers, templates, models, controllers, and views. Youll also understand how Embers convention over configuration approach helps you persist data, build backend technologies, and create widgets for developing production-capable applications that behave like desktop software. Set up workflow management and boilerplate code creationLearn how Embers developer ergonomics help you use less codeWrite templates for the books prototype with Handlebars.jsUse routers to manage application states without reloading the pageConnect controllers and views with events, and sync data with data-bindingBuild an Ember backend with a RESTful API or Ruby on RailsUse the Ember-Data library to persist data and talk to the backendWrite reusable encapsulated widgets to extend your applications If you're a web developer interested in building scalable single-page applications - full-stack, browser-based apps that connect to a backend - this practical guide shows you how to use Ember.js, the popular JavaScript framework based on the model-view-controller (MVC) architectural pattern.