Queue Portrait: Nicholas Zakas
Queue · 2013
Front end engineering and web development used to be scoffed at by back-end engineers. However, working in the front end of a Web application is so much more than just HTML & CSS these days. Many Web applications can have a whole MVC inside the view, and understanding the client is paramount to delivering expected performance and app-like interaction. Nicholas Zakas takes us through his journey working on the client side, explains the evolution of front-end engineering, and answers questions like "when should you use jQuery?" Nicholas currently works at Box, and was previously the front-end tech lead for the Yahoo! homepage and a contributor to the YUI library. He is also a keynote speaker, and author of 4 books: Maintainable JavaScript, Professional JavaScript for Web Developers, High Performance JavaScript, and Professional Ajax.