For many years, Drupal’s backend PHP business logic has been tightly coupled with the front end user interface which is heavily dependent on the current theme layer. This paradigm is rapidly changing in both the Drupal and web world as current development is rapidly moving toward a fully RESTful architecture where the core business logic is exposed by nothing more than well designed web Services. This architecture can already be achieved today with the help of the amazing Services module for both Drupal 6 and Drupal 7. However, as Drupal core moves into a RESTful architecture, the need for a well structured JavaScript API Library to interact with those Services is becoming more apparent.

In this session, Travis will offer a solid foundation for building a JavaScript API library that can be implemented in legacy sites, new sites, and the future RESTful Drupal core. His approach, which he is currently using on the popular AllPlayers.com site, offers an Object Oriented approach to wrap up any Services architecture in an Object Oriented, highly maintainable JavaScript API Library. In addition, Travis will go over how to easily maintain your library by utilizing make files to perform everything from JSLint, generating documentation using Doxygen, unit testing, and compression with Google Closure all within a continuous integration environment.

In this session we will answer the following questions…

• How do I use Object Oriented JavaScript to build an API wrapper around my Service oriented website?
• Does the future RESTful Drupal core need a solid JavaScript API?
• How do I use make files to easily maintain my JavaScript library with continuous integration?
• How do I utilizing popular tools such as JSLint, Google Closure, Unit Testing, and Doxygen to create a highly maintainable and portable API?