How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app • Hacker News Board

Re: How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app

#11

Post by kyllo » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 7:13 PM UTC

king_magic wrote: post #2

"How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app" first sentence: "You need a solid knowledge of JavaScript, familiarity with Backbone, Ruby, HAML, SASS and CoffeeScript to find this writeup useful." Feels like an awful lot of prereqs for a starter. I don't expect to be spoon-fed JavaScript basics, but I feel like too many Backbone guides presume some understanding of Backbone before starting with something that…

AFAIK you don't necessarily need to use HAML, SASS, and CoffeeScript in order to use Backbone. They are tools that you can "plug in" to your web application to make you more productive, but I think they deserve separate treatment. And you need a server but it doesn't have to be Sinatra or anything written in Ruby. But Sinatra is as good a choice as any.

If you're going to study Backbone, it might be better to just study Backbone, using standard HTML/CSS/JS instead of HAML/SASS/Coffee. That would simplify the prereqs a bit and make it a little more accessible. But on the other hand, if you're at the point where you have a practical need to learn Backbone, it's sort of assumed that you're a web developer and should already be familiar with HAML, SASS, and Coffee. So I guess it's a judgement call by the author.

Re: How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app

#12

Post by marekmroz » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 7:16 PM UTC

I am currently reading Addy Osmani's "Developing Backbone.js Applications" and like how it begins with explaining the basic concepts. As a js mvc framework beginner I find it useful and would recommend it.

You can find it here: http://addyosmani.github.com/backbone-fundamentals/

For people who prefer learning from screencasts the material from TutsPlus is also good.

Re: How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app

#13

Post by pc86 » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 7:16 PM UTC

mihar wrote: post #3

king_magic wrote: post #2

"How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app" first sentence: "You need a solid knowledge of JavaScript, familiarity with Backbone, Ruby, HAML, SASS and CoffeeScript to find this writeup useful." Feels like an awful lot of prereqs for a starter. I don't expect to be spoon-fed JavaScript basics, but I feel like too many Backbone guides presume some understanding of Backbone before starting with something that…

Agree. But I doubt any beginner in web development will be touching Backbone.

I don't know a single tool in that list outside of tangential experience with Ruby. I've worked in some combination of Java, Objective C, C#/VB, PHP, Python and several types of SQL over the last decade. I would hardly call myself a beginner. It doesn't mean this tutorial isn't useful, just that it's only useful for the extremely small subset of developers who happen to use Ruby, HAML, SASS, and CoffeeScript.

Re: How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app

#14

Post by drivebyacct2 » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 7:17 PM UTC

God, there are a billion Todo and Skeleton apps and hardly any that give you the principles to build a serious Backbone.js app. It's great, minimal, flexible and incredibly easy to use in a backward and convoluted way if you don't have something good to guide you.

Also, throwing HAML, SASS, Coffeescript, autogeneration and more into this makes this just... that much less useful.

Re: How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app

#15

Post by jashkenas » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 7:17 PM UTC

tadruj wrote: post #10

jashkenas wrote: post #8

To echo other comments in this thread -- if you're a beginner just looking to get started with a Backbone app, this may not be the best "skeleton". If you look at the GitHub repo: https://github.com/mihar/backbone-skeleton/ ... you'll find a somewhat odd scaffold that doesn't give you much more than a raw Sinatra app with Backbone included on a page -- but will probably feel far more confusing, with the inclusion of…

Which would then be the best "skeleton" ?

If we're talking about a complete app, then it depends on what you're planning to use on the server side. Take whatever that is, and include Backbone (and appropriate dependencies) in your HTML. You're off to the races.

Saying what the best "skeleton" is would be like saying that there's a particular skeleton app you should always use when starting a project that involves jQuery.

Re: How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app

#16

Post by drivebyacct2 » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 7:18 PM UTC

blissofbeing wrote: post #6

I use AngularJS for everything now, I find it much easier to use and more convient than backbone.

I don't know why you got downvoted. I appreciate AngularJS a lot as well, after trying like hell to like Backbone and having given Knockout and Ember a quick try. I'm tempted to compare AngularJS to Dart's Web Components, but I think AngularJS may get some functionality that looks even more like that soon.

Re: How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app

#17

Post by salmanapk » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 7:20 PM UTC

blissofbeing wrote: post #6

I use AngularJS for everything now, I find it much easier to use and more convient than backbone.

Same. I also feel bad for the people stuck with Backbone.

Re: How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app

#18

Post by bjhoops1 » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 7:25 PM UTC

"One of the biggest mistakes I was making when starting out was trying to use Backbone constructs for everything." I had the same tendency. You really do have to figure out your own application structure and architecture.

If you don't trust your own architecting abilities very much, it might be worth checking out Derick Bailey's Marionette, which provides a basic architecture on top of Backbone.

Re: How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app

#19

Post by thisisdallas » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 7:27 PM UTC

marekmroz wrote: post #12

I am currently reading Addy Osmani's "Developing Backbone.js Applications" and like how it begins with explaining the basic concepts. As a js mvc framework beginner I find it useful and would recommend it. You can find it here: http://addyosmani.github.com/backbone-fundamentals/ For people who prefer learning from screencasts the material from TutsPlus is also good.

Thank you so much for this! I am trying to start learning Backbone and I am finding it difficult to find a lot of information for beginners. This looks like a great start.

Re: How to start with Backbone.js: A simple skeleton app

#20

Post by jakejake » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 7:29 PM UTC

Please excuse me pimping my own site, but if you use PHP & MySQL - this will generate a basic working app that uses backbone.js extensively. As an example backbone app, I think it may need a few improvements to go along with the latest release as far as view binding goes. But, I feel like I plowed my way through a few common web app needs that aren't so obvious with backbone collections (sorting, pagination, filtering, etc)

Feedback and contributions are welcome: http://phreeze.com/