The SitePoint network has had spawned numerous sites over the years. For the keen server-side devs, we launched PHPMaster and RubySource. DesignFestival came about because we figured it was time all you talented designers had a destination of your own. Likewise, BuildMobile for those of you with smartphone smarts. And CloudSpring hove into view as AWS, Java EE and their ilk grew in popularity and use.
So it’s with great pride I’d like to announce the birth of our brand new baby, JSPro — a site dedicated to all things JavaScript.
JavaScript has been around for a while now. It’s always been a nifty arrow in any dev’s quiver — who hasn’t gone through the process of marking up basic web pages in HTML, styling them in CSS, then learning to inject interactivity inside those <script> tags? Remember your first if/else statement? Generating one of those alert windows guaranteed to annoy your user? Making Christmas trees out of asterisks with for loops? Sure you do.
OK, so JavaScript is so much more than that! And now, we’ve seen a massive resurgence in the popularity of this great scripting language, particularly due to its application in web storage, its symbiosis with HTML5, and the explosion of cool frameworks, engines, libraries and tools that underpin it. JavaScript is back … some might argue it never went away.
For those of you who are keen to explore the world of JavaScript, JSPro is just for you. Whether you’re a beginner keen to dip your toes in the JavaScript ocean, a skilled developer who wants to learn more about node.js, or a seasoned pro who wants to master the art of jQuery plugin creation, you’ll want to immerse yourself in JSPro. Every week we’ll bring you articles, tutorials, news, and resources that will help you master any aspect of JavaScript you’re keen to investigate. And if it’s not on JSPro, let us know: we want you to tell us the kinds of posts we should be publishing.
Whether it’s jQuery, CoffeeScript, gaming engines, Backbone.js, or just good old raw JavaScript, JSPro will have it covered, .first() and .foremost() (ok, that’s not a function, but it should be). Head over there now, check out some of the articles, sign up for the newsletter, and leave some feedback.
On a personal note, I’d like to give massive big-ups to Harley Alexander for his work on this site. Harley put tonnes of love into JSPro, wireframing, designing, integrating, testing and debugging it. It’s responsive (mobile and tablet-friendly!), it’s awesomely dynamic, and most of all, it looks fantastic. I’d also like to thank Colin Ihrig, JSPro’s managing editor, for his hard work sourcing and curating content for the site.
I’m excited about where we’re going to head with this latest addition to the SitePoint family — and I hope you enjoy being a part of the JSPro community.
Tom is the online managing editor at SitePoint. His working day consists of arming himself with an assembly line of long blacks and overseeing the curation of content and flow of traffic across the SitePoint network. His passions include bargain vinyl bins, yoga, juggling sci-fi novels with classic literature, and axolotls. He's currently wading into the world of Android development and HTML5 gaming.