Posts about graphics and-interactive-applications
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- Dec 12 2013
Effective Unit Testing with AMD
AMD (short for Asynchronous Module Definition) is a JavaScript API specification for structuring modular code. The web abounds with blog posts illustrating its use in front-end application development (and there’s plenty of healthy debate around its necessity, too). The topic of unit testing (despite being integral to the process of software development) does not receive […]
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Effective Unit Testing with AMD- Tagged in:
- performance,
- testing
- Jun 18 2013
Information Hiding in JavaScript
Why would Bocoup, a company whose charge is to “move the open web forward,” be publishing an article on something so nefarious-sounding as “information hiding”? An article titled “Free Love & Information in JavaScript” would seem much more apt for this blog. Trust me: if information hiding were an inherently immoral practice, I wouldn’t know […]
Continue ReadingInformation Hiding in JavaScript - May 28 2013
Exploring Reusability with D3.js
The D3.js JavaScript library frequently comes up across our adventures in data visualization. Those who read the tutorials or spend time on the mailing list will likely notice frequent use of the term “reusable” when it comes to creating visualizations with the library. There’s a lot of meaning packed into that word, so we wanted […]
Continue ReadingExploring Reusability with D3.js - May 02 2013
Open Peer and the Frontiers of WebRTC
At Bocoup, we love working on the latest problems in front-end development such as parallel processing, best practices in web application development, and media-rich experiences. This is why we consider the folks at HookFlash kindred spirits; they have made browser-based peer-to-peer communication their “thing”. We recently had the privilege of working with the HookFlash team, […]
Continue ReadingOpen Peer and the Frontiers of WebRTC- Tagged in:
- open source,
- web standards
- Mar 04 2013
Learn CSS Layout
Learn CSS Layout is a new learning and reference site I made in my open source time here at Bocoup. Although there are lots of resources on the web for learning CSS layout techniques, we’ve had trouble finding ones we’re comfortable recommending. Learnlayout.com is an enlightening and accessible look at modern techniques for beginners, while […]
Continue ReadingLearn CSS Layout - Jan 14 2013
Realtime Node.js App: Building a Server
This post is the third in a three-part series describing our investigations into scalability for a second screen application we built for PBS. You can read the series introduction here. Being familiar with the stress testing procedure is all well-and-good, but that knowledge won’t really help you unless you have a server to test. In […]
Continue ReadingRealtime Node.js App: Building a Server - Jan 03 2013
Realtime Node.js App: Stress Testing Procedure
This post is the second in a three-part series describing our investigations into scalability for a second screen application we built for PBS. You can read the introduction here. This guide assumes you have a production server up and running. If you need help getting there, check out the final post in the series for […]
Continue ReadingRealtime Node.js App: Stress Testing Procedure - Dec 18 2012
Realtime Node.js App: A Stress Testing Story
This post is the first in a three-part series describing our investigations into scalability for a second screen application we built with PBS. You can read more about the project in the series introduction here. Some Background We built the Map Center second-screen application in Node.js with the help of a number of open-source libraries. […]
Continue ReadingRealtime Node.js App: A Stress Testing Story - Dec 14 2012
Bocoup & PBS: Building and Scaling a Realtime Node.js Application
This summer, Bocoup worked with Mozilla and PBS to build an open source, real-time web application for the 2012 US Presidential election. When we began, PBS (specifically, the folks at News Hour) had already completed a client-side application called “Map Center“. Map Center enabled users to view US demographic data and experiment with electoral college […]
Continue ReadingBocoup & PBS: Building and Scaling a Realtime Node.js Application - Aug 22 2012
REST API Documentation Best Practices
Building a back-end API layer introduces a whole new layer of coordination between server and client code. While there are many aspects to this delicate dance of communication, one key ingredient to minimizing back-and-forth-confusion-about what-call-does-what, is consistently communicating about your API endpoints. This is by no means rocket science, but over time I’ve created a […]
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