Foundation HTML5 Canvas:
For Games and Entertainment

By Jeff Fulton, Steve Fulton

Foundation HTML5 Canvas gives you the tools you need to create fantastic games, animations, and interactive user interfaces natively within the browser using the Canvas tag. This tag, new to HTML5, gives standard, open HTML the power to create functionality that previously was only possible using plug-ins such as Flash or Silverlight. You don't need to buy any expensive software tools to use it, and because it is standard HTML, whatever you create with the Canvas tag will be viewable on all devices—from Android to the iPad.

The book starts with the absolute basics, giving you a primer on HTML5 and JavaScript, and then teaches you how to draw directly to an HTML page. You'll then learn how to animate, create interaction, add video and audio, and much more. Skills are learned through example applications, so by the end of the book you'll have complete, fully-working code that you can take away and use in your own applications. We will also look at some of the JavaScript frameworks and libraries that you can use to create complex applications without needing to code everything yourself from scratch.

HTML5 is the future of the Web, and it should be your future as a Web developer.

What you'll learn

• The basics of HTML and JavaScript
• The best free tools for development
• Draw onto a Web page using the Canvas tag
• Create animations in HTML
• Create text, draw, and manipulate images
• React to user input
• Create several interactive games
• Add audio and video in HTML5 and the Canvas
• Which JavaScript libraries and frameworks are available to you, and how to use them

Who this book is for

This book is for anybody who wants to start coding with the Canvas tag in HTML5. Absolute beginners can pick up the book and create applications using the code provided, while more experienced JavaScript or HTML developers will learn the ins and outs of the new HTML5 features and how they can be used effectively. Flash and Silverlight developers wanting to broaden their reach across the web and mobile devices will also benefit from the information in this book and will learn how they can transfer their existing skills across onto HTML5.

This book is part of friends of ED's 'Foundation' series

The Foundation series is perfect for beginners to a technology, because it doesn't assume any previous knowledge. Each book in the series takes you step by step through your chosen technology, starting with the absolute fundamentals and working through all aspects of the technology, ultimately providing you with a firm grasp of the basics that will enable you to create your own applications or web sites. You will learn by following complete examples at every stage of your journey, often by extended case studies that you will build upon throughout the book. The Foundation series will give you the broad and solid base you need in order to progress to a higher level of expertise.