Category: JavaScript Page 2 of 3

A framework is a standard way to build and deploy applications. It provides code libraries, tool sets, apis and more. JavaScript frameworks make it easier and fun for developers to write code.

Image by Alltechbuzz from Pixabay

If you build apps in JS, you have different frameworks to choose from. React, Vue and Angular are three popular choices. How do you choose? It depends. If you are working on a side project, you get to choose. When you work for a company, the choice may be made for you.

In the Ladybug Podcast entitled React, Vue && Angular, Oh My!, Kelly Vaughn, Ali Spitel and Emma Bostian share which frameworks they like and when to use them. For side projects, you may want to consider Vue or React. React is flexible and allows you to interact with other libraries and frameworks. When you need this type of flexibility, React is a good choice. If you are working on an Enterprise App with a team, Angular is the better choice.

If you have a framework that works for you, why switch to something else?

“Frameworks are not tools for organizing your code, they are tools for organizing your mind.” – Rich Harris

Building applications with Svelte

Svelte is a tool for building fast, small web applications using languages that you already know – HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It is similar to JavaScript frameworks like React and Vue. The difference is the type of code you write. Svelte converts your code into Vanilla JavaScript at build time instead of interpreting it at run time.

With Svelte, you can build an entire app or slowly add it to an existing codebase. Also, you can create components as standalone packages that work anywhere without depending on a conventional framework.

Rethinking Reactivity in JavaScript and Apps

Which framework is right for you? The one that works for you.

Image by Alltechbuzz from Pixabay

What is an API? An application programming interface acts as an intermediary between your application and the API’s server. You request information from the server and it gives you information that you requested. When you get the data that you need, you can build a front-end design to display the information in a readable format.

Photo by Flickr from Pexels

Find An API

You can use websites like Programmable Web, RapidAPI or API List. While you are evaluating APIs to use, consider whether or not you want to pay to use it. You can find free APIs for your projects.

Farmsense API

I found a free API on ProgrammableWeb called Farmsense. Farmsense provides three APIs to farmers: Day Lengths, Frost Dates and Moon Phases. I used the Moon Phases API to display the current phase of the moon.

Farmsense API uses the date to tell you what phase the moon is in, what percentage of full it is, how long the day is and more.

When I reviewed the AstroWidget, it shows way more information than I want. I wanted to display the current phase of the moon using HTML, JavaScript and CSS. First, I sketched out a design so that I would know what I wanted to build. Then, I read the API’s documentation. Farmsense API doesn’t require an API key. It does requires the current date.

I used JavaScript to get the current date and choose Milwaukee, WI as the location. Farmsense requires your location in longitude and latitude. To simplify, I decided to use one location.

Getting the Data From the API

How do you get data from the API? It returns the data in JSON. Instead of using the Astro-Widget’s method of retrieving the data, I used the JavaScript Fetch API to get it. The Fetch API made it simple and easy to retrieve the data and put it spots I wanted it.

The API doesn’t include images of the moon in each phase. I found icons of Moon Phases on Icons8. Then, I wrote a JavaScript function to determine the moon phase and displayed an icon image that closely matches the phase.

APIs let you work with data to create something more interesting. With HTML, CSS and JavaScript, you can create a simple user interface that retrieves data from an API. No database required for you to maintain. You can get start learning how to work with an API quickly. Have you built something fun with an API?

I was looking for a simple to get data from an API. When I found this tutorial using JavaScript Fetch and the Random User API. You use Fetch to send a simple GET request to the Random User API and provides you with JSON data of 10 random people.

Photo by Shopify Partners from Burst

Why manually type in code?

In Learn Ruby: The Hard Way, Zed A. Shaw, explains that you must type in the exercises by hand. It helps you to learn how to read, write and see code. By using copy and paste, you don’t learn how the code works.

How do I used this tutorial

This site is simple. I started with a simple HTML site. Then, I made some adjustments after I got the GET request working.

1. Added style to the website
I started with a simple HTML website that didn’t have much style to it. First, I added CSS code to style the images. Then, I added a header and footer to the site. I decided to stick with a black and white color scheme.

2. Changed how the API displays the data
When I first created the site, the API returns the user’s name in all lower case letters. I wanted the name to follow the format of first letter upper case and the rest lowercase for both first and last name. I modified the JavaScript to capitalize the first letter.

function capitalizeFirstLetter(string) {
    return string.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + string.slice(1);
}

The API returns the email address as text only. I wrote an additional function to change email to be an actually email link.

function createEmailAddress(string) {
    return "<a href=mailto:" + string + ">" + string + "</>";
}

3. Changed the size of the photos
In the tutorial, the photos are on the small size. I wanted them to be bigger. To learn how to do that, I went to the Random User API documentation and read how to get bigger photos. It was a simple change.

See more about learning JSON by building a simple website.

JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation, which is a format for sharing data. As the name suggests, JSON is derived from JavaScript. Other languages like PHP, Python, Java, C# and Ruby can use it.

Photo By: Image by xresch on Pixabay

Why use it?

JSON is readable and light weight. It requires less formatting than XML. JSON’s structure is a key-value pair format that is rendered in curly braces. You can choose to use it in a file (*.json), a string or as an object.

How do I create a JSON object?

• Use curly braces to define the beginning and ending of the object
• Put data in key/value pairs
• Use a colon to separate the key from the value
• Keys are strings
• Values can numbers, strings, objects, arrays, booleans or null
• Use a comma to separate each key/value pair

{
	"name" :  "Isaac",
	"age" : 50,
	"job" : "writer",
	"car" : null
}

Build a simple website with JSON

The key/value pair makes it easy to share data in web applications. You’ll need a language like JavaScript to display the data. The Mozilla Developer Network walks you through a simple example in their tutorial using JSON on a website. You build a one page website that lists 3 superheroes.

Modifying the website

The superhero website is a bit plain without images. I downloaded three images from Pixabay and updated the superhero.json file. I added a key/value pair for each image like “imageUrl”: “images/molecule-man.png”. Then, I modified the JavaScript to display the image.

I tweaked the CSS to put a border on each superhero member to make it look a little more card-like.

Where can I learn more?

• JSON Introduction
• An Introduction to JSON
• JSON and JavaScript

Vanilla JavaScript or plain JS means you write it without using a framework or library. You don’t use a framework like jQuery, Node or AngularJS to code. With Vanilla JS, you can accomplish the same thing without the framework. You can build a lot of things for the web with JavaScript. Knowing and understanding its core engineering principles help you to make better programming decisions and write better code.

Photo by Bruno Glätsch

If you know some JavaScript or feel that you depend on a framework or library too much, start learning JavaScript. You can get started by reading the You Don’t Know JS book series. While you are learning, you can use one or more of the resources below to help you learn JavaScript.

Plain JS

PlainJS is a collection of functions, plugins and code snippets. This resource is maintained by Pixabay.

Vanilla JS Toolkit

A collection of JavaScript code snippets, functions, plugins and learning resources maintained by Chris Ferdinani. He creates paid resources like pocket guides and mini-courses to help you learn more in depth about JavaScript.

Must Watch JavaScript Talks

Must Watch JavaScript Talks is a collection of the best JavaScript talks. You’ll find talks on JavaScript, ES6, mobile apps, frameworks and more.

JS: The Right Way

A guide to help you learn JavaScript and its best practices. This guide contains a collection of tips and tricks from top developers.

JavaScript 30

A 30 Day course on JavaScript. In this course, you will build 30 different things with JavaScript. Each day you get an email and a video explaining how to build the project for the day.

With these tools, you can learn how to write JavaScript without depending on a framework. Web development and JavaScript are constantly changing. These tools can help you to build coding skills that you can use whether or not you use a JS framework in your projects.