This full-color book will inspire you to start solving problems and creating cloud-based applications and games fast, even if you've never done it before. Not just friendly and easy, it's the first cloud development beginner's guide that puts you in control of your own learning, and empowers you to build unique programs to solve problems you care about. Microsoft and author Rob Miles have reinvented the introductory programmer's tutorial, reflecting deep research into how today's newcomers learn, and why other books fall short. This guide is packed with innovations, including its debugging challenges and library of examples that can form the basis of your own unique programs plus a comprehensive glossary that lets you build your knowledge. All example code is provided in GitHub repositories, and Rob's step by step ''Make Something Happen'' exercises are replicated as screencast videos, hosted on YouTube and linked directly from the book's pages. Author Rob Miles recognizes that learning to program is now just the first step in becoming a successful application developer. The next step is gaining a solid understanding of how modern applications are deployed and used from the cloud. The best way to do this to set up a strong solution-focused context and discover how elements hosted in the cloud are fitted together to make a working system.

Miles's approach helps you explore key cloud technologies as you learn to address key issues such as security, reliability, and scalability. Here's just some of what you'll do: Explore where the cloud came from, what it does, and how to use it safely Use Git and GitHub to manage and share your projects Build a web page, add JavaScript interactions to it, and host it in the cloud Use built-in browser developer tools and Visual Studio Code to debug JavaScript programs running in the browser and the server Create shared user experiences using code running in browser and cloud Design efficient workflows for an application project Configure and deploy cloud hosted applications that use powerful open-source libraries Design and deploy databases for use by cloud-based applications Create and manage browser-based user sessions Perform user authentication and role-based server access Create your own web server on an embedded device and connect it to Internet of Things peripherals for browser-based control Use websockets for direct browser to server connection Use MQTT (Message Queue Telemetry Transport) to remotely control devices from the cloud Get started with cloud game development Use practical, downloadable code samples to jumpstart your own projects.