May 2012

Volume 27 Number 05

Editor's Note - MSDN Magazine Welcomes ScriptJunkie

By Michael Desmond | May 2012

Michael DesmondUnless you’ve been living under a rock the past two years, you’ve noticed that Microsoft has gotten behind HTML5-based application development in a big way. And it’s no surprise—we’ve been busy producing a steady diet of features, columns and Web articles focused on HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3.

This month includes another installment in our ongoing HTML5 feature series by Brandon Satrom, “Using HTML5 to Create Mobile Experiences.” He explores two pillars of responsive Web design—fluid grids and flexible images. Also in this issue you’ll find Colin Eberhardt’s feature on developing native HTML5 applications for Windows Phone, using the open source Apache Cordova mobile development framework.

In February we launched the Client Insight column specifically to address growing interest in rich client frameworks and technologies, including HTML5 and XAML-based Silverlight and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). Written by John Papa, the column this month digs deeper into the JsRender JavaScript library and explores scenarios such as rendering external templates, changing context with the {{for}} tag and using complex expressions.

Yes, there’s plenty of HTML5 and related coverage in each issue of MSDN Magazine. And there’s more of that to be found on the MSDN Magazine Web site, including Rachel Appel’s popular Web Dev Report column. Her latest piece offers helpful tips for working with CSS, and comes after a pair of articles focused on HTML5 forms.

Welcome Script Junkie

We’ve taken our efforts a big step further, welcoming the popular Microsoft Script Junkie site into the MSDN Magazine fold earlier this spring. Previously hosted on msdn.microsoft.com, Script Junkie has been helping Web developers work with HTML, CSS and JavaScript since 2009. Now Script Junkie’s how-to and tutorial content will appear in its own section on the MSDN Magazine Web site. You can find the Script Junkie homepage at msdn.microsoft.com/ee729207. Or just look for the link on the MSDN Magazine homepage.

What does the transition mean for you? More than anything, it ensures that developers will continue to enjoy access to timely how-to articles from respected and established Script Junkie authors like Tim Kulp, Emily Lewis and Addy Osmani. What’s more, the move helps introduce Script Junkie to the larger community of MSDN Magazine subscribers and site visitors. Our Web metrics have shown strong reader interest in HTML5-themed features and columns, and we expect Script Junkie will be valued by MSDN Magazine readers who are anxious to explore new topics and challenges in script-based Web development.

Are there specific topics or issues you’d like to see covered at Script Junkie? E-mail me at mmeditor@microsoft.com.

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

No, the dolphins aren’t leaving the planet (at least, not yet). But I’m sad to say that MSDN Magazine Editorial Director Kit George has moved on, assuming a new role with the Bing team that he described as “too good to refuse.”

Kit’s had a hand in a lot of the changes you’ve seen in the magazine—and especially the Web site—over the past year and a half. He campaigned for the addition of unique online editorial content, which you see today in the form of monthly features and online columns such as Web Dev Report and Bruno Terkaly’s Azure Insider. And it was Kit who jumped at the chance to bring Script Junkie under the MSDN Magazine banner.

Kit has moved MSDN Magazine forward in important ways, but the thing we’ll miss most is his tenacity. He worked tirelessly to win the participation of key Microsoft product teams in the pages of MSDN Magazine and pushed hard to expand the boundaries of the publication. Good luck with the Bing team, Kit.


Michael Desmond is editor-in-chief of MSDN Magazine.