What this book covers

Chapter 1, Getting Started with Underscore.js, introduces you to Underscore and explains the main problems addressed by the library together with a quick introduction to functional programming. This chapter describes some of the concepts and patterns that are used by Underscore or are helpful when using Underscore. The final part is a walkthrough to set up the development environment used throughout the book with a starter example.

Chapter 2, Using Underscore.js with Collections, explores the Underscore functionality for collections by example and explains some of the concepts related to these areas—scope resolution and execution context, map/reduce, and functional programming concepts.

Chapter 3, Using Underscore.js with Arrays, Objects, and Functions, looks at functionality for arrays, objects, and functions and builds upon the concepts and functions introduced in the previous chapter. In the functions section, you will learn how to manipulate function scopes and arguments and why this is an important aspect of JavaScript programming in general.

Chapter 4, Programming Paradigms with Underscore.js, expands on the concepts and practices of functional programming to solve common programming problems. The chapter starts with a differentiation between object-oriented programming and functional programming. It continues by exploring examples of functional programming with Underscore.

Chapter 5, Using Underscore.js in the Browser, on the Server, and with the Database, is about using Underscore in specific contexts, starting with the browser environment, closely followed by Node.js server-side applications or libraries. You will then learn how to use Underscore with databases such as MongoDB and PostgreSQL, which can execute JavaScript to query data.

Chapter 6, Related Underscore.js Libraries and ECMAScript Standards, discusses advanced topics such as the link between Underscore and JavaScript standards, libraries that augment or can even replace Underscore, with a focus on taking advantage of the new ECMAScript 2015 (ES6) features.

Chapter 7, Underscore.js Build Automation and Code Reusability, introduces a build automation solution together with strategies to reuse Underscore based code between different application hosts.