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The Beginner's Guide to Meteor

The Beginner’s Guide to Meteor

Meteor is a web application platform that provides a simple and efficient way to develop both client and server-side code using JavaScript. It is suitable for both beginners and experts, offering an easy starting point and a vast library ecosystem to leverage.

JavaScript

Meteor allows developers to write code in JavaScript for both the client and server side, seamlessly integrating the two. This makes it easy to create isomorphic applications that can run on multiple platforms.

Real-time

Meteor is known for its real-time features, making it an ideal choice for applications that require immediate updates based on user actions or external events. It provides the necessary tools to create chat apps, internal communication apps, and more.

Feels fast

One of Meteor’s key features is latency compensation, which makes the interface feel fast and responsive even when there is a delay in communication with the server. This feature is automatically implemented in Meteor, requiring no extra effort from developers.

Open Source

Meteor is an open-source platform, allowing developers to contribute to its development and take advantage of the vast community of contributors. This ensures continuous improvement and innovation.

It’s simple

Meteor prioritizes simplicity, providing a clean and intuitive API that makes development easier and reduces the chances of bugs or complex problems. Its functionality is easy to understand and build upon.

A great package system

With Meteor, developers can create packages that work seamlessly on both the frontend and backend. This integration allows for simplified code management and the ability to add full user management with just a single line of code.

How Meteor can improve your life

Meteor offers a full-stack platform that includes both the client-side framework and the server-side framework, eliminating the need to integrate different languages, frameworks, and codebases. This is especially beneficial for independent developers, small startups, and organizations looking to streamline development processes.

When Meteor might not be the best fit for you

Meteor may not be the best choice for static content websites that require minimal interactivity. In such cases, a static site generator would be more suitable. Additionally, Meteor does not currently support SQL databases, which may be necessary for certain projects. However, custom procedures can be implemented to work with SQL data.

The 7 Meteor Principles

Meteor is built upon seven fundamental principles:

  1. Data on the Wire: Meteor sends data instead of HTML over the network, allowing the client to render the data received from the server.
  2. One Language: Meteor enables developers to write both client and server code in JavaScript.
  3. Database Everywhere: Meteor provides a unified approach to accessing the database from both the client and server.
  4. Latency Compensation: On the client, Meteor prefetches data and simulates models to simulate instant server method calls.
  5. Full Stack Reactivity: Meteor embraces real-time updates, automatically updating all layers of the application when necessary.
  6. Embrace the Ecosystem: Meteor integrates with existing open-source tools and frameworks, leveraging the wider JavaScript ecosystem.
  7. Simplicity Equals Productivity: Meteor employs clean and intuitive APIs to ensure simplicity and productivity.

Installation procedure

To install Meteor on macOS or Linux, simply run the following command in your terminal:

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curl https://install.meteor.com/ | sh

For Windows, you can use the official installer provided by Meteor.

First steps with Meteor

To create your first Meteor app, navigate to your desired directory in the terminal and run the following command:

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meteor create hello-world

This will create a new Meteor app in the “hello-world” directory. Navigate into the directory and start the Meteor web server by running the command:

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meteor

You can now access your Meteor app in your browser by visiting http://localhost:3000.

Code walk-through

The code structure of a Meteor app typically includes the following files:

client/main.html

The client/main.html file contains the HTML template code for the app:

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<head>
  <title>hello-world</title>
</head>

<body>
  <h1>Welcome to Meteor!</h1>

  {{> hello}}
  {{> info}}
</body>

<template name="hello">
  <button>Click Me</button>
  <p>You've pressed the button {{counter}} times.</p>
</template>

<template name="info">
  <h2>Learn Meteor!</h2>
  <ul>
    ...
  </ul>
</template>

Meteor recognizes the <head> and <body> tags and includes them in the correct places. The {{> hello}} and {{> info}} syntax introduces templates into the main HTML file.

client/main.js

The client/main.js file contains the JavaScript code for the client side of the app:

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import { Template } from 'meteor/templating';
import { ReactiveVar } from 'meteor/reactive-var';

import './main.html';

Template.hello.onCreated(function helloOnCreated() {
  // counter starts at 0
  this.counter = new ReactiveVar(0);
});

Template.hello.helpers({
  counter() {
    return Template.instance().counter.get();
  },
});

Template.hello.events({
  'click button'(event, instance) {
    // increment the counter when button is clicked
    instance.counter.set(instance.counter.get() + 1);
  },
});

This code sets up a reactive variable counter using the ReactiveVar class from the meteor/reactive-var package. The value of the counter is displayed in the HTML template using the {{counter}} syntax, which calls the counter() template helper function.

The click event on the button increment the counter value using the set() method of the reactive variable.

The Meteor CLI

Meteor comes with a command-line interface (CLI) that provides useful commands for managing Meteor projects. Here are some of the most commonly used commands:

meteor

The meteor command is used to start the Meteor app in a directory. For example, running meteor in a directory with a valid Meteor project will start the Meteor web server and allow you to access the app in your browser.

meteor create

The meteor create command is used to create a new Meteor project. For example, running meteor create my_app_name will create a new Meteor project in a subfolder named my_app_name.

meteor add

The meteor add command is used to add packages to a Meteor project. For example, running meteor add package_name will add the specified package to the project.

meteor remove

The meteor remove command is used to remove packages from a Meteor project. For example, running meteor remove package_name will remove the specified package from the project.

Isomorphic

Meteor is an isomorphic framework, meaning that the same code can run on both the client and server sides. This allows for easier development and reduces the need for separate codebases for each side. Meteor provides Meteor.isServer and Meteor.isClient variables to determine the current execution context and run code accordingly.

Session variables and template helpers

Meteor provides session variables and template helpers to facilitate reactive programming. Session variables are reactive data sources that can be used to store temporary client-side data. Template helpers allow for easy manipulation of data within HTML templates.

Reactive programming

Reactive programming is a programming paradigm that allows for automatic refreshing and recalculation of values and functions when dependent data changes. Meteor provides several reactive sources, such as reactive variables, database subscriptions, and session variables, to enable reactive programming in your app. Reactive computations can be defined with Tracker.autorun() to ensure they are recalculated whenever necessary.

Meteor Publications

Meteor provides a publish-subscribe model for managing data between the server and client. The server publishes specific data sets, and the client can subscribe to those publications to receive the data. This allows for efficient data synchronization between the server and client.

Minimongo

Minimongo is a client-side implementation of MongoDB that allows for querying and manipulating data on the client. It is used by Meteor to sync data between the server and client and enables faster and more responsive applications.

Latency Compensation

Latency compensation is a feature of Meteor that simulates instant server method calls on the client by prefetching data and simulating models. This gives the illusion of immediate updates and improves the overall user experience.

Meteor Collections

Meteor collections are used to manage and store data in a Meteor app. Collections can be created using the new Mongo.Collection() syntax and are accessible on both the client and server sides. Data can be inserted, updated, and queried using the collection’s methods. Collections are automatically synchronized between the server and client, ensuring data consistency.

By adopting Meteor as your web application platform, you can leverage its powerful features and simplify the development process. It provides a modern and efficient way to build real-time, reactive applications with ease.

tags: [“meteor”, “web development”, “JavaScript”, “isomorphic”, “real-time”]