Front-end Web Development

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Front-end Web Development

A free, weekly class on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript taught by Jeffrey Carl Faden

What

Learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript - and put them to good use! This free class is aimed at beginners who are interested in web development, as well as seasoned professionals looking to brush up on the latest and greatest.

Front-end web development is all about making code that runs in the browser (versus code that runs on the server). This class focuses on writing interactive web applications, taking designs and turning them into code, and much more.

Who

This class is for everyone! Computer users unacquainted with programming, as well as experienced developers, are welcome at any time. If you're new to the class, consider coming to the lecture at 7:30 for a recap.

The space and the class are entirely free to attend. You do not have to be a Noisebridge member. Upon arriving at Noisebridge, state that you're here for the class and you'll be allowed in as a guest.

If you appreciate this class and the space that enables it to be taught, please consider donating to Noisebridge.

Please bring any kind of laptop.

When

Lectures start promptly at 8pm on Mondays and go for up to two hours. There is a half-hour recap starting at 7:30pm. Please try to arrive early as physical space is limited.

Labs start at 7pm on Thursdays and end two hours later.

This class runs in a weekly series, and the curriculum takes about 6 months from start to finish. Don't let it discourage you if you're starting from the middle - attend recaps and labs and you should be able to catch up!

Where

Noisebridge, 2169 Mission St., San Francisco, 94114 (at 18th St., near 16th St. BART station). Getting Here

The lecture is held in the Church classroom, which is in the back of the space.

The lab is held in the Turing classroom, the room past the wood shop.

Read up on getting in to the space. Again, you do not need to be a member!

New Series

January 4

Remember that you can start coming to class at any time during the series! You can catch up by watching videos from previous classes, doing assignments, or attending lab.

Keep Informed

Join one of the above lists to be notified of upcoming classes via email.

If you can't make it, subscribe to a mailing list to be notified when you can watch a live stream of the lecture! If you missed it, previous lecture streams are available for viewing on the Previous Classes page!

Get Set Up

  1. Get a web browser

    Most web browsers keep themselves up to date. You'll have to take extra steps with the built-in browsers.

  2. Get a text editor

    There are a number of great free (or free to use) text editors that include helpful features like syntax highlighting and code completion.

    • Atom
    • Brackets
    • Sublime Text
    • GNU/Linux users: Text Editor (gedit), Kate, vim, emacs, etc...
    • Windows: don't use Notepad or WordPad
    • OS X: don't use TextEdit
  3. Get Git

    In order to save your work and put it on the web, you'll need to set up Git, a version control system.

    • OS X: Open Terminal and type git to begin installation
    • Windows: Install Git for Windows with all default options
    • Sign up for a GitHub account
  4. Get the class materials

    The lectures and labs have some materials and assignments, all of which can be found in the fwd repository.

    • Run git clone https://github.com/JeffreyATW/fwd.git in your terminal
      • Windows: use Git Bash as your terminal
    • Create a separate folder in which to do your own work

Lecture

Weekly classroom-style presentation on HTML/CSS/JS. The lecture starts every Monday at 8pm. We also have a recap starting at 7:30pm, where we'll cover last week's material.

Class for 2015-12-14: back-end web development

This class is all about the seedy underbelly of web development: the backend!

I know we already have a Rails class here at Noisebridge, but this one is tailored toward front-end developers wanting to get a taste of how things come together. We'll talk about PHP, then Express.js, then Rails.

During the recap period, we will set up your computers. But it's best to do this before arriving if possible. Here are the steps used for class preparation:


THE EASIEST WAY

Come to the class in person and get the USB stick from Jeffrey. Then follow the below "easy" steps without having to download anything.

THE EASY WAY

If you would like to follow along, the easiest option is to run a virtual machine.

THE HARDER WAY

If you don't want to use a virtual machine, or would like to set your computer up for further work on your own.

On Linux, you'll need to follow these steps:

  • Run:
    • Install required packages: sudo apt-get install nodejs nodejs-legacy npm lamp-server ruby ruby-dev zlib1g-dev libsqlite3-dev
    • Install Express: sudo npm install -g express-generator
    • Install Rails: sudo gem install rails
    • Change ownership of Apache's public root to your user: sudo chown -R front-end:front-end /var/www/html

On OS X:

  • Upgrade to at least OS X 10.9, preferably the latest (currently 10.11 El Capitan).
  • Install the Xcode developer tools:
    • xcode-select --install
  • For Node.JS:
  • To install Rails, run:
    • sudo gem install rails
  • For PHP, install MAMP: http://www.mamp.info/en/index.html

On Windows: (I recommend sticking with the aforementioned virtual machine setup, or installing a Linux partition, as it is somewhat difficult to set things up on Windows.) In all cases where there is a choice, choose 64-bit (x64).

THE HARDEST WAY

Install Node.JS, NPM, Apache, PHP, RVM, Ruby, and Rails individually. Good luck!

Join the Google+ Event to watch the video livestream.

Intro presentation

Previous Classes

Lab

We also meet for a weekly lab/workshop where we work on an assignment that covers the material learned in the lecture earlier in the week. Those working on their own personal projects are also more than welcome to come and solicit help. Every Thursday at 7pm in the Turing classroom.

Assignment for 2015-12-10 (CSS backgrounds)

Previous Assignments