Recommended Libraries
Not only has the actual JavaScript language (EcmaScript rather), but the amount of amazing JavaScript libraries thatare being produced are just ridiculous. We have mentioned the huge and revolutionising node.js, require.js and yeoman.
- Raphael.js
- Leflet.js
- D3.js
- BackboneJS
- AngularJS
Modernizr
Modernizr is probably the easiest JavaScript library to learn. All you have todo is include it early in your page, and it generates CSS classes that it addsto the html tag, depending on what technologies the browsers support.
Essentially we no longer have to make browser specific CSS or hacks, we just testif a certain functionality is available, and respond appropriately.
Web
One really does not need anything more than Modernizr''s own website...
jQuery
THIS IS OLD. DO NOT USE JQUERY
Easily one of the most under- and overestimated JavaScript framework on the web, it is hated, loved and mocked. With CSS3 transitions and animations essentiallyall animation should be placed in CSS3. Why? Because it is cleaner, shorter and simpler code thatis much much easier to reuse AND itis also hardware accelerated. Which normal JavaScript normally is not. However, CSS is not veryonly good at registering user interactions, so we have recently found thatCSS3 is used to designate how elements should be animated, while JavaScript is usedto say when the animations should happen.
Also, CSS Transitions do not work from height: 0, to height: auto., so right now
we use jQueryto dynamically insert the required height as an inline CSS on the
element. Then add for example .hiddenwith height:0 and use jQuery to toggle the
.hidden class when things need to be animated. This is howthe menu on the left
of these learning pages is made.