Table of Contents

Meteor Cookbook

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

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Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Sections

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code

Downloading the color images of this book

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Optimizing Your Workflow

Introduction

Installing Meteor

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Finding documentation for Meteor

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Getting help with questions

How to do it…

How it works…

Stack Overflow

Meteor forums

The #meteor on IRC

There's more…

Setting up your project file structure

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

client/server

main/lib

public/private

both

There's more…

See also

Setting up your development environment

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using the web console

Getting ready

Safari

Firefox

Chrome

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Deploying a test app to Meteor

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Deploying to Meteor using a CNAME redirect

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Deploying to a custom hosted environment

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Deploying with Meteor Up (MUP)

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Using CoffeeScript

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Using CSS compilers

Getting ready

How to do it…

Using Stylus

Using Less

Using SCSS / SASS

How it works…

See also

2. Customizing with Packages

Introduction

Adding Meteor packages

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

Removing Meteor packages

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Discovering new packages with Atmosphere

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating a multipage application with Iron Router

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Building a custom package

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using npm modules

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Publishing custom packages to Atmosphere

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

3. Building Great User Interfaces

Introduction

Inserting templates with Spacebars

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

Inserting raw HTML using triple braces

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Creating dynamic lists

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Building a smooth interface with Bootstrap

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating customized global helpers

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating custom components

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using reactivity with HTML attributes

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Using dynamic templates

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Animating DOM elements

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works…

There's more…

See also

4. Creating Models

Introduction

Implementing a simple collection

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using the Session object

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Sorting with MongoDB queries

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Filtering with MongoDB queries

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating upsert MongoDB queries

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Implementing a partial collection

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

5. Implementing DDP

Introduction

Reading the DDP stream

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

Using client-only collections

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Implementing multiserver DDP

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Integrating DDP with other technologies

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

6. Mastering Reactivity

Introduction

Creating and consuming a reactive value

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

Using Ajax query results in ReactiveVar

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Making a custom library reactive

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Updating Blaze templates without Mongo

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Using inline data to modify UI elements reactively

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

Integrating a jQuery UI

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

7. Using Client Methods

Introduction

Creating dynamic graphs with SVG and Ajax

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using the HTML FileReader to upload images

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating a coloring book with the Canvas element

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

8. Integrating Third-party Libraries

Introduction

Using npm packages directly

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Building graphs with D3.js

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating cutting-edge UIs with Polymer

Getting ready

Creating your app and folders

Creating your files

Configuring Bower and installing Polymer

Adding helper Meteor packages

Configuring Meteor

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

9. Securing Your Application

Introduction

Basic safety – turning off autopublish

Getting ready

Project setup

Creating a basic template

Adding CSS styling

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Basic safety – removing insecure

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Securing data transactions with allow and deny

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

Hiding data with façades

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Protecting the client with browser-policy

Getting ready

Scaffolding setup

Add CDN-hosted bootstrap

Add inline and eval() scripts

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

10. Working with Accounts

Introduction

Implementing OAuth accounts packages

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

Customizing the accounts login

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

Performing two-factor authentication

Getting ready

Creating our baseline application

Signing up for the Twilio SMS service

Creating an SMS service on Twilio

Installing the twilio-node npm package

Creating and testing the sendTwilio() method

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

11. Leveraging Advanced Features

Introduction

Building custom server methods

Getting ready

Project setup

Creating a simple app

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

Creating custom EJSON objects

Getting ready

Declaring the Swatch object

Modifying Swatches.insert()

Changing Swatch colors

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Handling asynchronous events

Getting ready

Creating a baseline Meteor app

Obtaining your Twitter Access Tokens

Initializing twit

Creating the Tweets collection, and building a stream reader

Tracking and testing changes

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using asynchronous functions

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

12. Creating Useful Projects

Introduction

Creating RESTful web services

Getting ready

Creating the baseline application

Installing and configuring Postman

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

See also

Creating a complete app with Iron Router

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Deploying apps to mobile devices

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Adding social sharing

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Index

Meteor Cookbook

Meteor Cookbook

Copyright © 2015 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: May 2015

Production reference: 1220515

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

35 Livery Street

Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78328-029-2

www.packtpub.com

Credits

Author

Isaac Strack

Reviewers

Jebin B V

Ryan Wilcox

Commissioning Editor

Pramila Balan

Acquisition Editors

Vinay Argekar

Llewellyn Rozario

Content Development Editor

Shubhangi Dhamgaye

Technical Editor

Shivani Kiran Mistry

Copy Editors

Brandt D'Mello

Ulka Manjrekar

Gladson Monteiro

Stuti Srivastava

Project Coordinator

Harshal Ved

Proofreaders

Stephen Copestake

Safis Editing

Indexer

Monica Ajmera

Hemangini Bari

Graphics

Abhinash Sahu

Production Coordinator

Arvindkumar Gupta

Cover Work

Arvindkumar Gupta

About the Author

Isaac Strack is a speaker, author, inventor, technologist, and a strong advocate of STEM education. With over 15 years of experience in Management Information Systems (MIS) and web/mobile technologies, he enjoys discovering and applying new technologies to make our lives more enjoyable and productive.

An early adopter of Meteor, Isaac is the author of Getting Started With Meteor.js JavaScript Framework, Packt Publishing, and the recently released video series Learning Meteor Application Development, Packt Publishing.

He currently serves on the board of directors for the Wasatch Institute of Technology (http://wasatchinstitute.net), one of Utah's newest and most innovative high schools, employing a project-based, agile teaching methodology known as Next Generation Education.

When he isn't poking around new JavaScript frameworks, advocating more and better STEM education in the state of Utah, or playing a mean game of mediocre middle-aged soccer, Isaac is at home with his amazing wife, Kirsten, and his four daughters, one of whom will most certainly rule the world (our money is on the youngest).

I'd like to thank all of the folks at Packt Publishing (especially Shubhangi Dhamgaye) for their patience, diligence, and kindness. I'd also like to thank my most excellent managers, Tim Plumer and Lynn Grillo at Adobe Systems, for never being anything but my personal champions. I'd like to thank Reza Jalili for sharing his enthusiasm and for turning what could have been a burden into a joyful experience. Thanks and love go out to my family. We've been through so much this last year. It's a miracle and a blessing to have each other and to need each other. I can't imagine life without all of you. Lastly, I'd like to thank my Heavenly Father and my Savior. Our hearts and minds are prone to wander. Grace, it seems, is the sweetest, most powerful call home.

About the Reviewers

Jebin B V is a young frontend developer by profession and a full-stack developer by experience. He has been into web development for the past 4 years and has a good command of the design and development of commercial web applications. He also has a very good sense of design, interaction, and UX when it comes to web development.

He has developed applications for real-time messaging, big data management, visualization, network shopping management, CMS, social networking, and so on. He has great interest in Javascript, so anything that is from a Javascript background excites him. He also has experience in PHP and Java.

He possesses a very good notion of application-level design when it comes to building frontend applications. He has a nonstop habit of learning on an everyday basis. He spends a great deal of time updating himself with new avenues coming up in frontend technologies. He loves to learn, teach, master, and lead in his field of expertise.

Ryan Wilcox has been programming desktop and web applications for the last 15 years using a wide variety of technologies, from C++ to Objective-C, and Python to Ruby and Javascript development, both server and client side. He's also spent the last 2 years working with Node on various-sized projects and is excited about how Meteor solves the client/server dichotomy present in other Javascript web application solutions.

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Preface

Stop and think for just a minute about the last time you were delighted.

I'd bet good money that whatever that delightful experience was, it had nothing to do with a new JavaScript framework. Well, that is about to change.

Meteor is not just another JavaScript framework that you'll forget the name of a few weeks from now. It was created—and is continuously improved upon—by legit computer scientists driven by a vision of how software development should be. Their mantra is that programming should be fun and as you go through this list of Meteor recipes, you will see exactly how much fun it really is to develop applications using Meteor.

Meteor is modular and declarative, supports data-on-the-wire, is well supported by a thriving development community, and implements full-stack reactivity. This sounds like a bunch of meaningless buzzwords, until you fully grasp their impact on your day-to-day development efforts.

Because Meteor is modular and well supported, it works easily with all of your favorite JavaScript frameworks. You can use the entire Meteor stack, or you can mix and match it with community packages to complement your existing infrastructure / skill set.

Meteor supports data-on-the-wire through the Distributed Data Protocol (DDP). This innovation is significant in that it allows you to create elegant, powerful client applications responsible for their own rendering. You no longer have to rely on complex, outdated server technology rife with state and rendering problems that (frankly) should have been solved years ago. DDP is not unique to Meteor or even to JavaScript. DDP clients are available in nearly every major programming language! This opens up many elegant, powerful integration possibilities, allowing you to build upon existing platforms and infrastructures.

Combining DDP with full-stack reactivity opens up an entirely new way of developing frontend applications. Templates, database transactions, and view/controller logic are vastly simplified, allowing you to write clean, concise, declarative code. Your frontend development efforts will go from weeks to hours as you stop worrying about tedious state and CRUD operations and focus on rapid, elegant prototyping.

The more acquainted you become with Meteor, the more effective and prolific you will become as a developer. Programming with the Meteor framework is truly an enjoyable experience. The recipes found in this book will get you well on your way to being delighted by each project you complete and will serve as an indispensable reference for many projects to come.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Optimizing Your Workflow, walks you through all the aspects of the Meteor development workflow. It includes best practices for repeatable, consistent project templates; for customizing your Meteor development environment; and for deploying your completed projects.