Thanks to Christopher Schmitt for the passes to the online summit – looks to be a great day, with some of your favorite JSMag contributors presenting there as well!

Are you not registered yet?  Visit http://www.jsmag.com/sampler to register for your free PDF sampler and enter to win a pass to the Web Optimization Summit!

The Web Optimization Summit is an online event bringing together some of the top names in web optimization techniques, including JSMag contributors like Kyle Simpson, Stoyan Stefanov and Tom Hughes-Croucher.

Fine print

You don’t need to make a purchase, but do need to have a valid email account on file with JSMag by 8am GMT -500 on May 5, 2010.  Winners will be notified by email, and will need to respond by May 6 in order to claim the pass.  If we don’t hear back from the selected winners, new winners be will drawn and contacted.

If you’re in the region – anywhere from Atlanta, Charlotte, Richmond, Norfolk, Wilmington, DC – I’d suggest making the trip if you can.  If you’re anywhere in the area that week, extend your trip and stay for a great jQuery Camp.

JSMag December 2009 Issue

GRAPHICS PROGRAMMING WITH CANVAS

Ben Dowling shows how to take advantage of this new imaging functionality.

JAVASCRIPT GAMES – JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT

Learn how to build your dream game with JavaScript and a little help from Kyle Simpson.

SHOWING STATISTICS USING DATATABLE AND CHART

Christian Tiberg demonstrates YUI’s powerful components.

webOS: PALM’S GAME-CHANGING MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEM

Frank Zammetti’s back and shows you why Palm’s webOS deserves the hype it’s been getting – part 1 of 2

JAVASCRIPT PATTERNS – MORE REUSE

Stoyan Stefanov continues his look at JavaScript patterns.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Catch up on the latest from the world of JavaScript with Matt Henry.

Learn more or purchase today!

• Upload your photo to flickr.com and tag it as ‘jsmag’.
• Photos should be black and white.
• Photos should be high resolution (approximately 2400 px across in most cases)

That’s it! Previous entries can be seen at flickr.com.

If you’re having trouble submitting to flickr.com, you can email your entries to editor@jsmag.com.

Cross-Domain AJAX with Pure JavaScript – Frank Zammetti shows you just how it’s done.

Events, the Marco-Polo of JavaScript – Join Shea Frederick as he takes a closer look at event
handling in JavaScript and just what it’s good for.

The Yahoo! Query Language and Browser MVC – Jonathan LeBlanc shows off the power of the YQL and querying data from around the web.

Developing Plugins for ExtJS – Learn how to bend ExtJS to your every bidding with
custom plugins in this piece from Jay Garcia.

Mobile Applications with the Dojo Toolkit – Nikolai Onken demonstrates how to get the most out of Dojo when building mobile apps.

The Opera Developer Community – Chris Mills outlines a number of great resources
for JavaScript developers targeting the Opera platform.

Community news – Catch up with the latest JavaScript news with Matt Henry.

JSMag: When did you first get in to web development? How long have you been using JavaScript?

Gilmore: I’ve been a professional Web developer for more than a decade, having started using PHP way back in 1998 while living overseas when I found myself  doing some work for an Italian ISP. Since then I’ve built Web applications for a variety of clientele, and have spent a great deal of time advising small businesses on a variety of technology-related matters. Over the years I’ve dabbled with other technologies, including ASP.NET and Rails, however there’s just something about PHP that keeps me interested.

As far as when I started using JavaScript, like most Web developers it almost immediately played some small role early on in my career. Back in the late 90’s though it really seemed like a necessary evil more than anything else. In fact, around 2004 I really started to feel like the Web had stagnated a bit, kind of like we were in a weird funk where sure, things were happening but truly interesting progress wasn’t being made. However it wasn’t too long before Ajax paradigm really started to capture the attention of Web developers, and with truly fantastic technologies such as the Google Maps API rising shortly thereafter my attention was once again kindled and I haven’t looked back since.

JSMag: Working with Google Maps, what was harder than you initially expected?  What was easier?

Gilmore: It was unquestionably easier, a sentiment which I think is shared by countless other developers given the proliferation of countless Google Maps-driven websites created since the initial API release back in 2006. The API team seems to have an uncanny ability to meet developer expectations while somehow managing to avoid falling into the common trap of feature creep due to the misinterpretation of future expectations. The result is an API which can do exactly what you believe it should do, and no more.

JSMag: What prompted the Google Maps Marker article for  JSMag?

Gilmore: While the Google Maps API documentation is great, and fantastic online tutorials for beginners are numerous, there seems to be little attention paid to what a developer should be thinking about after his Google Maps API-driven website begins to grow in size and popularity. How can you effectively display 200 markers on a map? For that matter, how can you effectively display 1,000 markers on a map? How can you customize marker icons to improve usability? These are the questions I try to answer in this article.

JSMag: What advice would you give to someone wanting to get started in web development these days?

Gilmore: As the saying goes, “If I had a dollar every time somebody asked me this question…”. As the author of several books, I’d love to tell this individual that reading tutorials or a book is going to suddenly turn him into an expert developer, but the reality is, you will only become proficient by constantly reading, writing and revising code. Use tutorials and books for ideas, and then attempt to implement and even improve upon what you’ve just learned. In this business, those who are able to absorb information like a sponge thrive, so be ready to devote the time necessary to learn as much as you possibly can. After 10 years, not a day goes by where I begin to wonder whether I’ve learned anything at all in this business, and that’s not a bad feeling to have.

JSMag: What are some web development resources you’d recommend?  What resources do you use on a regular basis?

Gilmore: We’re clearly experiencing a phenomenon where bite-sized information is all the rage, and I do think the ability to “sip from the waterhose” is an advantage in our field, however in the end there’s nothing like immersing oneself in a particular topic. When I feel compelled to learn something new, I’ll buy two and often three of the most respected books on the topic, and pick-and-choose from the best parts of each. Chances are I’ll never read through any of the books, however the density of information clearly provides the greatest ROI. Beyond that, I tend to concentrate on the technology’s documentation, in addition to video tutorials, reference cards, and anything else which can help me absorb information as quickly as possible.

JSMag: What are you working on these days?

Gilmore: I’d like to think my background as a developer, book author, and Apress’ open source editorial director has provided me with some rather unique insight into the future of IT publishing. I made the difficult decision to leave Apress in December, 2007, and after some time off decided to see if my intuitions were correct. My first effort is a book titled “Easy PHP Websites with the Zend Framework”, which is available in both print and DRM-free PDF format via www.easyphpwebsites.com. Every purchase includes almost five hours of access to online video supplements, regular updates to the book, and access to a restricted reader forum. The response has been tremendous, and in fact the book’s second edition is due out imminently, with a book on jQuery and the Google Maps API due out in the near future.

I’ve also recently begun my part in organizing CodeMash 2010 (http://www.codemash.org), a conference several of us came together to found back in 2007. The response has been phenomenal since the first event, with each year somehow seeming to outdo the previous. Of course, holding the event in the nation’s largest indoor waterpark might play some small role in the event’s popularity. I hope to see you there!

JSMag: We’ll be there – it’s one of my favorite tech conferences of the year!

If you’re interested in purchasing the book, InformIT.com is offering a 35% discount for JSMag readers, as well as including free shipping for customers withing the US.  Simply enter the code “jsmag09″ at checkout to receive your discount.  Visit the publisher’s site for more information about the book or to purchase.