HTML5 Canvas offers developers the chance to create animated graphics in ordinary web browsers using common tools: HTML and JavaScript. Canvas is one of the most visible parts of HTML5, fueling demo after demo, game after game. It offers interactivity with great visuals, and provides tremendous freedom to do whatever you want in the browser window. However, it differs enough from typical JavaScript development (as well as Flash and Silverlight development) that it needs careful exploration!
No matter what platform or tools you use, the HTML5 revolution will soon change the way you build web applications, if it hasn't already. HTML5 is jam-packed with features, and there's a lot to learn. This book gets you started with the Canvas element, perhaps HTML5's most exciting feature. Learn how to build interactive multimedia applications using this element to draw, render text, manipulate images, and create animation.
Whether you currently use Flash, Silverlight, or just HTML and JavaScript, you'll quickly pick up the basics. Practical examples show you how to create various games and entertainment applications with Canvas as you learn. Gain valuable experience with HTML5, and discover why leading application developers rave about this specification as the future of truly innovative web development.
-
Create and modify 2D drawings, text, and bitmap images
-
Incorporate and manipulate video, and add audio
-
Build a basic framework for creating a variety of games on Canvas
-
Use bitmaps and tile sheets to develop animated game graphics
-
Go mobile: port Canvas applications to iPhone with PhoneGap
-
Explore ways to use Canvas for 3D and multiplayer game applications
