Sessions at Open Source Bridge 2009 about JavaScript

Wednesday 17th June 2009

• Agile JavaScript Testing

  by Scott Becker

  h3. Intro
  * Test Driven Development - What is it, why do it, what are the advantages?
  * Challenges of web applications - browser quirks, asynchronous ajax, dynamic-ness of JavaScript language
  * Future VMs will run JS faster, making "bigger", more processing intensive apps possible within a browser
  * Traditionally web applications have most business logic running server side.
  * Testing for server-side web applications has matured over the past few years
  * AJAX applications have large amounts of code executing in the browser in JavaScript
  * This creates a growing need for testing at the browser level, but this area is still young and not as widely practiced

  h3. What do we gain?
  * Stable development - iterate without fear of breaking existing features
  * Easier refactoring - rewrite the guts of your app and be confident it continues to work
  * Speed - stop refreshing and clicking through your app to verify things are working, thats what computers are for
  * Automation - repeatable tests help you do the right thing every time, without having to think about it

  h3. Getting Started
  * What libraries and methodologies exist for JavaScript testing?
  * A simple example - a client-side form validation library and a suite of tests for verifying it works as expected

  h3. Going further
  * A complex example - integration testing, scripting user stories
  * Testing across multiple browsers
  * Incorporating JS tests into a larger development workflow with server-side tests
  * Continous integration - running tests automatically, every time you commit

  • Agile
  • JavaScript
  • Testing
  • Web
  • Web Applications

  At 11:20am to 12:05pm, Wednesday 17th June

  Coverage note

• Building Open-Source Desktop Apps with the Titanium Platform

  by Marshall Culpepper and Martin Robinson

  Titanium is a truly open-source alternative to Adobe AIR, allowing developers to use their existing knowledge of rich web application technologies – JavaScript, Python, Ruby, HTML and CSS – to build desktop applications.

  In this presentation, we will:

  • introduce the Titanium platform and the technology/people behind it
  • demonstrate the power and features of the Titanium API
  • look at WebKit's power with CSS3 transformations, slick canvas support, and built-in vector graphics
  • show the inherit reusability of code by combining JavaScript, Python, Ruby
  • go through creation of a simple desktop application from start to finish

  Attendees should have a decent understanding of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Knowledge of Python and Ruby are optional. We will leverage a number of open source web libraries, mainly at high levels to demonstrate the best of breed technologies that are reusable in Titanium.

  • CSS
  • HTML
  • JavaScript
  • Titanium
  • WebKit

  At 1:45pm to 3:30pm, Wednesday 17th June

  Coverage note

Thursday 18th June 2009

• Firefox Switchblade

  by dietrich ayala

  So, you've made a Firefox add-on. You've modified web page content, or added a button to the toolbar. But where to go next? What APIs and technologies are available to help your application or add-on surprise and inspire? And once you've got a great idea, how can you make the implementation fast, responsive and respectful of system resource constraints?

  I'll talk about tips, tricks and best practices for extending Firefox to the edge:

  • Create multimedia extravaganzas with the audio, video and canvas tags
  • Tight and polite integration of internet services into the browsing experience
  • Writing lean and performant code
  • Interacting with the host operating system
  • Busting out of the browser with standalone applications
  • Browsers
  • Firefox
  • JavaScript
  • Mozilla
  • XUL

  At 10:00am to 10:45am, Thursday 18th June

  Coverage note

• Web Testing with Windmill

  by Mikeal

  h2[=approaches]. Web Testing Approaches

  Separating Concerns, Isolating Components
  Unittesting vs Functional Testing
  Full Monty (blurring the lines between unittesting and funcitonal testing)

  h2[=toolsAndTech]. Tools and Technologies

  Browserless tools (HTTP tools, Browser simulation, DOMless JavaScript Interpreters)
  Browser tools (Watir, Selenium, Windmill)

  h2[=writingTest]. Writing Windmill Tests

  Starting Windmill
  The Windmill IDE
  Using the recorder
  Adding actions and assertions
  Using the Inspector
  Serializing your test (Python vs JavaScript Tests)

  h2[=debuggingTests]. Debugging Windmill Tests

  Running tests
  Debugging Failed Actions
  Firebug and Firebug Lite
  Using the Lookup object

  h2[=runningTests]. Running Tests Continuously

  Command Line Features
  Hudson Plugin
  Getting Windmill running in hosted environments like EC2

  h2[=extra]. And now for something completely different

  Dynamic testing (Windmill's eval APIs)
  Testing Firefox Extensions (MozMill)

  • JavaScript
  • Python
  • Testing
  • Web

  At 5:00pm to 5:45pm, Thursday 18th June

  Coverage note