For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on the KnowledgeTree Office Add-In implemented in ExtJS. Though famed for its clean, professional-looking widgets, ExtJS does also offer a painful learning curve. In my case, I also had to adapt into an existing ExtJS project with somewhat established rules and patterns.
After two weeks, I can definitely say: It’s been worth the effort!
Not only does ExtJS offer the opportunity to create impressive web applications, its collaboration with Adobe AIR, will also make it possible to easily create desktop applications.
What then can I share with anyone looking to learn ExtJS?
1) Get the right tools – especially for debugging
Aptana Studio is becoming the preferred editor, though I stuck with my reliable Komodo Edit.
Firebug and the Web Developer extensions for Firefox do wonders for debugging. In Firebug, also learn how to log messages and watch objects.
2) Get a copy of the offline documentation
Nothing can be more irritating than looking for possible parameters of a class, only to find the internet down or slow. The Ext JS 2.2 API Documentation is available for offline use, and can be downloaded at: http://extjs.com/products/extjs/download.php
3) Mind-map your way through ExtJS
I found it extremely helpful to take notes whilst learning ExtJS in Freemind. Having to dive through into an existing project, my first step was to map out the various files and folders, what they do and provide, and how they relate to each other.
The one I created was very specific to the project, but provides me with a handy visual guide anytime I need a refresher.
4) Small Victories a.k.a snippets
Though there’s always a rush to learn ExtJS (heck it’s javascript, how difficult is that?), one needs to accept that learning takes time, there’ll be success and also quite a lot of failures. In the beginning, the victories come small, so save the snippets that DO work, as it can teach a lot how ExtJS operates.
I’ve done this with Delicious. Any webpage that offered a semblance of usefulness was bookmarked. Feel free to browse my list at: http://delicious.com/tohirsolomons/extjs
Learning Ext JS
December 29, 2008 - 10:28pm — Steve 'Cutter' Blades (not verified)Yeah, I love this library. You can do so many amazing things with web applications that we never would have thought of just a few short years ago. The capabilities with Adobe AIR are phenomonal, but we could only scratch the surface with it at the time we wrote 'Learning Ext JS'. Hopefully we can really expand on those capabilities in the 2nd Edition (whenever that may be).
I look forward to seeing more of your progress.