building_pageless_apps_with_js_and_rails.txt

BUILDING PAGELESS APPS WITH RAILS AND BACKBONE.JS

benefits of pageless:
  * speed
  * no flash of white during a page reload

Pageless apps:
  * GMail

Users start to drop off when it takes more than 1 second for response time.  After 10 second wait, user is basically gone,

Do no harm to users:
  * don't take away forward and back buttons
  * allow bookmarking

Use hash in URL to do no harm.

backbone.js:
  * less than 4kb
  * readable source
  * 1000 lines of annotated source

sample app:
  * expand on pastie.org with more features

jammit:
  * a gem to manage js when you have too much js library files
  * auto minifies js during deploy
  * .jst extensions are compiled into a js function

javascript templates are your friend.  Use one that you like.

backbone.js
  * hints:
    * 'this' is for objects
    * use event.currentTarget
  * controllers:
    * watch the page fragment and do something when it changes
      Backbone.history.start();
    * routes page fragments to functions
  * views:
    * presentation and behavior
    * template, initialize, and render functions
    * a view can inherit another view
  * models:
    * js class
    * if it has an id attribute, it is saved.  No id means unsaved or new
  * collections:
    * uses underscore.js enumerable functions
    * 

Interlude:
  * function(){} === lambda{}