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| Slot Framework developer preview release, photo take from SlotFramework.org |
After months of hard work we are here, and happy to announce the beta release of an idea that has become a reality. A Cross Side Web Framework that helps us reuse objects on Server Side and Client Side, and minimize the code you need to do.
Built on Node.js, we take advantage of the language that is really crossing the line between platforms and technologies. The nature of JavaScript has become it a language that is used today in many areas like databases (MongoDB for example), web browsers, and finally Node.js that is exploding the use of JavaScript from command line to -web servers, ftp servers and socket servers-.
The problem
As a web developers and Rich Internet Applications lovers, every time we want to build a -dynamic, fancy and responsive client side- we encounter a lot of obstacles that makes things hard and a little confused, for example we can find situations like the next ones:
The MVC Model is ready for consume on server side, but we need to replicate it to JavaScript if we are going to use it on AJAX.
ResultSets are fully usable on server side, but we can't scroll or manage it on client side.
If we want to re-render parts of the web page, we need to invoke server side to re-build a then render again on client. And so many things that we need defeat to accomplish our goals.
The main concern is that practically we need to take a lot of our server side stuff, then port and replicate it to JavaScript on the client side. That’s a very huge way and a waste of time and resources that can be used to improve other aspects of a web project.
The idea
Seamless the main goal in Slot is:
Generate a MVC layer for your project that reuse the same code on client and server side, taking your web design as a pattern.
But to make it happens, it's absolutely necessary stay clear with the three basic concepts to use Slot Framework.
Simple and Natural Web Oriented
Taking the premise that the native environment of a browser is compounded for HTML+CSS+JavaScript, and today's trending in web designs requires HTML5+CCS3 to guarantee responsive and functionality in a wide range of screen sizes.
We have built Slot Framework keeping this premises on mind, and we offers a way to use this technologies without necessity of server side controls. And maintaining the clean and pure use of HTML, saving the extra layers that server side controls wraps over native HTML+CSS.
That's why today's disruptive client side frameworks are the perfect option to work with Slot, we can accomplish excellent results and a plethora of screen sizes using; Bootstrap, Zurb Foundation, Yahoo UI, JQuery, JQuery UI and many others powerful JavaScript frameworks.
In conclusion, Slot is not a server side controls oriented framework, instead is intended to use HTML5 tools.
Design and Prototyping First Oriented
One of the most emphasis point we have done, is going to the rescue for the good practices and better methodologies, and that’s the case of Design Stage.
Many times building web sites, we have encountered situations in which the rush force us to dedicate a minimum time for the design stage, that is a very bad decision, and will impact the quality of final product. Furthermore, in many cases when we need to create a very functional prototype, we start creating a lite web page with a few data, and probably we need to do some server side code to accomplish the prototype.
Design stage is a precious time to detect and define the data-models we are going to use in the development stage, but really we don’t take advantage of this opportunity. It’s a perfect moment that can be used to link our data-models with the database structures. No matter what the situation we affront on design stage or prototyping, in the majority of cases we lost the time invested on, because we don’t get focused on reuse 100% of the output from this stage.
Slot put the focus on reuse every piece of work you have done on design/prototyping, that is why Slot provide a methodology to organize the page in fragments, and to define the data-models that fragments will be using. Finally based on those definitions, Slot generates a MVC layer ready to use on development stage, this layer can be used in server and client side too.
Want to know any more?
Slot is built in Node.js and deployed under Npm (Node Packaged Modules), with just a couple of command lines you can create your first hello world, just use the Slot Command Line to ease your work, but to take hands on it, please visit our Slot Documentation. Stay tuned with us, we are going to release new demos, tutorials, and Slot Themes as soon as possible.
Hope to see you soon, cheers..!!
Hope to see you soon, cheers..!!
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