Happy new year! I hope you had a good start and can feel positive about what 2017 might bring. As mentioned in the last edition of the past year, I don’t like New Year’s resolutions too much, but I’d like to point you to something that Marc Thiele wishes for this year:
“So my wish then also is, that you reflect and ask yourself, if you want to post the text or maybe even just have another, a second look on the text you are about to post. Maybe you decide, that you don’t post it. Maybe this helps, that less negative posts and emotions are spread.”
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You’ve probably heard about ECMAScript 6 (or ES6) already. It’s the next version of JavaScript, and it has some great new features. The features have varying degrees of complexity and are useful in both simple scripts and complex applications.
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In this article I’ll be taking a look at how to build a simple yet robust workflow for developing sites that require PHP and MySQL. I’ll show you how to use Vagrant to create and run a web server on your own computer, with the version of PHP your live site runs. I also demonstrate a process for using a hosted service to deploy files in a robust way to your live server.
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Mobile back end as a service (MBaaS) aims at giving app developers the ability to create seamlessly new feature-complete cross-platform native and web applications. In the first part of this series, I walked through a messaging application demo powered by the Kinvey application. We explored how to leverage user management, file storage and the data store.
To complete the demo, we need to leverage two key pieces of Kinvey functionality: the permissions provided by the data store, and push notifications, which are enabled through the business logic functionality.
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In a previous article I introduced mobile back end as a service (MBaaS) which aims at giving app developers the ability to create seamlessly new feature-complete cross-platform native and web applications.
The next step is implementing a complete demo application using those ideas. Through this real working application, you will be able to see the areas in which MBaaS provides value. This first part will walk you through a messaging application demo powered by the Kinvey application and explore how to leverage user management, file storage and the data store.
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Hardly any line of my code comes out perfect the first time I write it. Well, most of the time… Some of the time… Um, hardly ever. The truth is that I spend more time chasing down my own stupid programming errors than I’d like to admit. That’s why I use static analyzers in every JavaScript file I write.
Static analyzers look at code and find problems before you run it. They do simple checks, like enforcing syntax (for example, tabs instead of spaces), and more holistic checks, like making sure your functions aren’t too complex. Static analyzers also find errors that you can’t find with testing, like instances of == when you meant ===.
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We’re all resigned to it: launching a browser reloads every tab you previously had open, blasting a cacophonous mix of sound and video. While browsers have made it easier to control this experience with tab icons and extensions like MuteTab, for most people this behavior presents a confusing and disorienting experience. As developers and designers it’s our job to make the web welcoming, not overwhelming.
Doesn’t it make sense that sites should only be active when they are the primary focused tab? Why are we burning up batteries and processor cycles with animation that can’t be seen?
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What if you could create an entire back end for your mobile applications that was feature-complete in data synchronization, push-notification support, user management and file-handling before you even started building the mobile experience? What if it was architected in such a way that you could easily create new cross-platform native and web applications seamlessly on this back end?
While this might sound like a fairy tale, it is exactly what providers of mobile back end as a service (MBaaS) are aiming to give app developers. It is up to you to determine whether that is true for the experiences you are creating.
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So, your designers and developers have created a fantastic front-end design, which the client is delighted with, and your job now is to test it. Your heart begins to sink: Think of all the browsers, all the devices and all of these web pages you’ve got to test, not to mention the iterations and bug fixes. You need a front-end testing plan.
This article shows you what to consider when creating a front-end testing plan and how to test efficiently accross browsers, devices and web pages.
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brand new Smashing Books #3 and #3⅓ have been released last month and we’re sincerely grateful for the tremendous feedback, reviews and photos submitted by our truly smashing readers across the world.
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