This book continues my exploration of HTML5. My approach in developing the projects was to combine features such as canvas and video, attempt more intricate drawing by using mathematics, and use standard programming techniques such as object-oriented programming and separation of content and logic.
I was also interested in building applications combining HTML5 and JavaScript with other technologies, including Google Maps.
Each chapter in the book is focused on an application or set of related applications.
This is because my experience as a teacher and a learner has shown that concepts and mechanics are best understood in the context of actual use.
The applications start off with drawing the HTML5 official logo. As you will find out in Chapter 1, the way I developed this application prompted use of coordinate transformations.
The project in Chapter 2, involving a family collage, was inspired by my growing family and the desire to teach about object-oriented programming. It is a good application for you to use as a foundation to create your own, with your own photos and objects of your own invention.
Chapter 3, which shows how to create a bouncing video, was built on other two-dimensional applications I have created, and features two different ways to combine canvas and video.
Chapters 4 and 5 demonstrate use of the Google Maps API (Application Programming Interface), a powerful facility that allows you to incorporate access to Google Maps as part of your own projects.
Chapter 4 presents a user interface combining map and canvas and includes a custom-designed cursor and the use of alpha (transparency) in drawing paths.
The map quiz in Chapter 5 demonstrates the use of mapping as a portal to media. The application shows you how to separate content and logic so you can scale up to various applications (e.g., a tour of a region or a geography quiz with many locations).
Chapter 6 features a game called Add to 15, which turned out to be an excellent example of arrays. It also demonstrated the necessity to prepare for bad behavior on the part of players.
In Chapter 7, I use the task of producing directions for origami to show how to combine line drawings, often using mathematical expressions, and video and photographs. You can use this as a model for your own set of directions for a task in which drawings, video, or images would be most appropriate.
Or you can let the reading refresh your memory for topics in algebra and geometry.
Chapter 8 features a jigsaw puzzle that is transformed into a video when it’s completed.
Chapter 9 is an educational game with questions on the states of the USA, and it includes the challenge of a jigsaw puzzle. The jigsaw puzzle includes the feature of saving the puzzle-in-progress using local Storage.
