Building Polyfills - Web Platform APIs for the Present and Future

Add custom features to browsers old and new by writing polyfill libraries, JavaScript plugins that take browsers beyond their native capabilities. In this practical fieldbook, author Brandon Satrom introduces principles and guidelines for polyfill development, and then walks you through the steps for building a complex, real-world HTML5 polyfill.
You'll also explore the future of polyfilling - or prollyfilling - that will enable you to test and work with emerging concepts, often ahead of browser vendors. By the time you finish this book, you'll have the tools and hands-on experience you need to build reliable polyfills for today's and tomorrow's Web. Learn the current state of polyfills, including shims, opt-ins, and drop-ins Use principles and practices to build responsible polyfills that benefit the entire web development community Build out several features for an HTML5 Forms polyfill library Configure a build environment and run automated cross-browser testing Optimize performance, handle edge cases, and fine-tune the speed of your polyfill Get examples of prollyfilling libraries that push the boundaries of the Web Write a sample prollyfill and compare it to current polyfill builds

List of contents

Preface;
Who This Book Is For;
How This Book Is Organized;
Conventions Used in This Book;
Using Code Examples;
Safari® Books Online;
How to Contact Us;
Acknowledgments;
Foreword;
Building Polyfills;
Chapter 1: The Current State of Web Polyfills;
1.1 Polyfilling: Past, Present, and Future;
1.2 What Is a Polyfill (and What Is It Not)?;
1.3 Types of Polyfills;
1.4 Why Polyfills Still Matter;
Chapter 2: Principles and Practices of Polyfill Development;
2.1 Building Responsible Polyfills;
2.2 Principles of Responsible Polyfill Development;
Chapter 3: Building Your First Polyfill, Part 1: Getting Started;
3.1 The HTML5 Forms Polyfill;
3.2 Setting Up Your Polyfill Project;
3.3 Specifying the API;
3.4 Deciding What to Build;
3.5 Adding Basic Features;
3.6 Beefing Up Your Polyfill with Additional Features;
3.7 Building Utility Polyfills;
3.8 Polyfilling Visual Features With CSS;
3.9 Testing Your Work Across Browsers;
Chapter 4: Building Your First Polyfill, Part 2: Build Workflows and Cross-Browser Testing;
4.1 Setting Up Your Project Workflow;
4.2 Jump-Starting Your Workflow;
4.3 Adding Unit Tests to Your Polyfill;
4.4 Automating Cross-Browser Polyfill Testing;
4.5 Configuring Cross-Browser Tests with Karma;
4.6 The Bottom Line: Use What Works for You!;
Chapter 5: Building Your First Polyfill, Part 3: Performance and Edge-Case Testing;
5.1 Building for Performance;
5.2 Dealing with Browser-Specific Edge Cases;
5.3 Mobile-Specific Considerations;
Prollyfilling and the Future of the Web Platform;
Chapter 6: The Future of Polyfilling;
6.1 Polyfilling: Not Just For Older Browsers;
6.2 Prollyfilling: Extending the Web Forward;
6.3 Prollyfills In Action: Prollyfilling CSS;
6.4 Prollyfills in Action: ServiceWorker;
6.5 Prollyfills in Action: Web Components;
6.6 Strategies for Polyfilling Experimental APIs;
Chapter 7: Building Your First Prollyfill;
7.1 Prollyfills vs. Polyfills: What's the Difference?;
7.2 The Resource Priorities Prollyfill;
7.3 Specifying the API and Deciding What to Build;
7.4 Setting Up Your Prollyfill Project;
7.5 Adding Prollyfill Features;
7.6 What's Next?;
Colophon;

About the author

Brandon Satrom has been a web developer for close to fifteen years and have worked with countless web technologies and browsers during that time. He's worked as a Microsoft Web Evangelist, and currently serves as the Lead Program Manager for Telerik's Cross-Platform Tools and Services, which includes Kendo UI, a library for building rich, interactive web and hybrid mobile applications with HTML, JavaScript and CSS. He co-wrote Building Windows 8 Applications with JavaScript, which was published in January of 2013.

Summary

In this practical fieldbook, author Brandon Satrom introduces principles and guidelines for polyfill development, and then walks you through the steps for building a complex, real-world HTML5 polyfill. You'll also explore the future of polyfilling - or prollyfilling - that will enable you to test and work with emerging concepts.

Product details

• Authors: Brandon Satrom, Satrom Brandon
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.03.2014
• EAN: 9781449370732
• ISBN: 978-1-4493-7073-2
• No. of pages: 170
• Dimensions: 177 mm x 235 mm x 9 mm
• Weight: 294 g
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > IT, data processing > Data communication, networks; Web programming, COMPUTERS / Internet / Web Programming