JSConf Background
- Focus on Social Interaction / Engagement
- Blend of Experienced and New Speakers
- Three Tracks: Keynote, Attendee Speakers, and Training
- 7 years old, launched Node.JS at JSConf.eu, React, etc
- Three Days of Talks
- Day 1: Talks 9-7
- Day 2: Activities (Bots, Boats, Copters, Rockets, Golf, etc)
- Day 3: Talks 9-7
- Lots of chances to engage, talk, and network
Bottom Line: ++ Would Go Again.
Time to JS.
Learnings
Reactive Frameworks are Rad
- LOTS of talks involving React and Virtual DOMS
- ZERO talks mentioning / using AngularJS
- Tungsten.JS Framework modular reactive framework launched
- Virtual DOM, performance, and ES6 baked-in at compile time are huge differentiators for the community
- New Frameworks including Paperclip.js and Ember Glimmer pre-renders discussed
- If DOM your key, try out DBMonster to Test
Accessibility is Awesome
- Don't forget about a huge portion of your users - make your app work for all
- Hearing, Sight & Physical issues + More
- New automated tools are available to bake into your test suites
- a11y automated suite (based on Chrome Dev Tools)
- Tenon API
- tota11y Browser Plugin from Kahn Academy
- ARIA Tags work for JS transitions and can call out entry / exit of elements
- If you're not using these tests for your apps, you should be.
Simon built that Cold War Simulator
- He flew from Australia to present
- He renders thousands of DOM elements and animates them using Canvas in an epic project
- His presentation style was compelling, interesting, and should be emulated
- Watch the video when it comes out
(math == art && art == code)
- Talk given by @thisisjohnbrown
- Experimentation with Code is often how you learn the most
- Side projects, hacks, etc are the way you dig deep into figuring out how things work
- You should try out some art. He gave homework! Try it!
- Homework: Make something with Uncontext
Sometimes Web + Native is Best Solution
- Talk by @k88hudson (Kate Hudson)
- Easy to create Android Top Level Header with Web View
- Web layer then has access to native Java APIs and can pass strings(!!)
- We need to keep thinking of creative ways to make native / web work better
- "Really good engineering is finding adequate solutions to problems that matter"
Vagrant and Development Boxes
- @GordTanner
- Critical to get new team members up and running FAST - it's the measure of your organization
- Use Vagrant liberally
- Don't make users SSH into the box - issue commands from Bash using --command and the $* operator
- Try adding NFS for better file performance
- Script all the things including pre-check updates
- Auto-reload for Grunt. Just do it.
ES6 And Beyond
- It's time to start writing and learning in ES6
- Babel is a great way to transpile to ES5 and do that
- @sebmck (creator of Babel) presented
- "Babel does great things, but it's not a substitute for understanding the language / trade-offs"
- Not everything in ES6 Works Well in ES5. Know when to use it.
- @ag_dubs - JS Community needs to think about why their language has taken off, and keep learning at the heart of the language in future
ES7 Improvements
- @naveedi from Mozilla Engineering
- ES7 Bringing Shared Memory between web / native
- Huge improvements in WebGL, etc possible with multiple cores
- Insane graphics performance in his demo
- Unreal Engine in the Browser, etc
- ES7 Brings us closer to native performance
New Frameworks and Tools to Check Out
- KNEX.js / Bookshelf.JS Node Frameworks
- a11y / Google Chrome A11y Tools
- Paperclip.js / Tungsten.JS
- Polymer
- Relay (React / Flux GraphQL Addon)
- Johnny Five (not new, but AWESOME
- BitHound.io Static Code Inspector
Hardware... is Amazing
Node Boats
- Hardware: Spark Core w/ Wifi
- Servos, Motors, and Wires
- Johnny Five Node-based System
- We built a boat, and Control Software
Why Hardware Was Unexpectedly Great
- Great chance to hack together with people you don't know and form a great bond
- Solve problems in new and different ways
- Learn JavaScript from another viewpoint / perspective
- Create Atoms.
- That feeling when you get your Arduino to "Breath" for the first time
In Conclusion:
- Great Conference.
- Learned a lot and met great people (including potential recruits and business leads!)
- Conference + Meals Together + Beach = My favorite.
THE END
BY Seph Coster / github.com/sephcoster