Beginning Backbone.js

Beginning Backbone.js is your step-by-step guide to learning and using the Backbone.js library in your web projects. Backbone.js is one of the most popular JavaScript libraries among web developers, used to create modular, single-page web apps. This book takes you from downloading Backbone.js and its dependencies all the way to using more advanced libraries to structure your application architecture, and everything in between.

With a real-world, practical approach, you will learn how you can integrate Backbone.js into the center of your JavaScript stack, and create scalable applications. James Sugrue shows you how to implement all aspects of templating, work efficiently with RequireJS, and fully understand Grunt and all its plug-ins. Armed with this knowledge you’ll be able to architect a continuous integration system that is key to real-world applications.

With the explosion of JavaScript-based applications on the web, the need for more structured approaches to code management is more important than ever.  Backbone.js helps create applications that separate models from views, enabling developers to avoid spaghetti code. Beginning Backbone.js will gently guide you into this amazingly powerful library, and help you ramp up to building professional applications. Integrate Backbone.js into your work today with this indispensable book.

What you’ll learn

• Learn the importance of MVC approaches in software development
• Learn why Backbone.js is so popular and how to integrate it into your JavaScript stack
• Understand core Backbone.js concepts such as models, views, routers, and events
• Test your application using the latest JavaScript testing tools
• Create build scripts using Grunt.js to simplify your build and deployment workflow
• Use additional libraries to build on the power of Backbone.js
• Avoid common beginner errors and code using best practices

Who this book is for

Beginning Backbone.js is for the web developer who is already confident with JavaScript, but who is keen to build larger, single-page web apps. If you want to introduce more structure, quality, and process to your web application using Backbone.js, and other leading JavaScript technologies, this is the book for you.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: An Introduction to Backbone.js
Chapter 2: Getting Object-Oriented
Chapter 3: Backbone Models and Collections
Chapter 4: Backbone View and Templating Libraries
Chapter 5: Routers and Events
Chapter 6: From Start to Finish: A Complete App Example
Chapter 7: The Backbone Ecosystem
Chapter 8: Testing Your Backbone.js Application
Chapter 9: Using Grunt for Your Build Process
Chapter 10: Extending Backbone with Marionette and Thorax
Chapter 11: Best Practices with Backbone
Chapter 12: Creating a Manageable JavaScript Code Base