Jan 27 - The new kids on the JS framework block

What? No .NET talks this month? No. Not this time. We're going all client side on your [donkey|ass] this month. We'll go server side next month, m'kay? K!

So, what do we have for you then? Well, now that dust has settled from learning that Angular 1.3 is soooo last week, and with no new Angular shaped bandwagon for everyone to climb on board for some time yet, what's a web developer to do? Why, look at all the other options of course! So this month, we're doing just that and bringing you two talks covering React and Polymer, with talks from those using these frameworks in a live-fire environment. Cool!

React – two DOM’s for the price of one
- Aaron Powell (@slace)

Another week and another JavaScript framework is released (well, it’s been out longer than a week). React from Facebook has the claim to fame that it has a virtual DOM which it updates, diffs and then applies to the real DOM. It also has a scary syntax where you write HTML-like code in JavaScript!
So what do you need to know about React? What makes it different to the other JavaScript UI frameworks? And what’s it like to actually use on a project?

UPDATE: The recording of this is now available for you to enjoy

Introducing Polymer and Web Components
- Mohamad Meligy (@meligy)

If you ever used a JavaScript framework like AngularJS to be able to use HTML templates and pulled from individual files as needed, and be able to data bind them to your JavaScript objects, these features are all now getting native support with Web Components!

Similar to custom server controls in ASP .NET Webforms (which might be the one feature people miss from that framework), Web Components allow you to create custom elements that come bundled with their JavaScript, and completely independent CSS all in a single HTML import.

This is becoming a reality with browser support starting to take place already, and frameworks like Polymer building on top of web components, extending their data binding and providing essential components to get you up to speed.

In this talk, Meligy walks us the first steps into explaining how Web Components and Polymer actually work, and how they affect current JavaScript development framework like AngularJS.

*Meligy runs the AngularJS group in Sydney

Enjoy your Australia Day and getting Monday off work. Spend that extra time with the family well, and then trade the brownie points you earn for being such a family person for a night out on Tuesday with us! Grab a free ticket so we know you're coming, and we'll see you then. Sweet!