WebRTC Blueprints

good intro

As part of my exploration of WebRTC, I have been scouring the Internet for articles that explain the technology at both the 50,000 foot and one inch levels. While I have found plenty of good stuff that speaks about WebRTC at a high level, I have yet to find a really good nuts and bolts approach. Yes, there are a few attempts out there, but they are either poorly written, vague when they need to be specific, or just plain wrong. So, I was pleased when I stumbled upon Andrii Sergiienko’s book, WebRTC Blueprints. In its 160 pages, WB details everything from creating a simple point-to-point video call to WebRTC on mobile platforms. And when I say detail, I mean detail. Every chapter is chock-full of javascript and html to create and demonstrate every concept the book presents. I can’t say that I’ve had a chance to actually implement every example program in the book, but I did take the time to create, compile, and deploy all the code in Chapter One. This involved creating a WebRTC signaling server and a webpage that sends and receives video and chat. The fact that I had both the client and server sides to play with make this book unique amongst most other resources I’ve explored. As someone who wants to completely understand WebRTC, I want to work with all aspects and not just little bits and pieces. Now, like everything in life, WB has its pros and cons. Pros: 1. The example code explores all the important aspects of WebRTC. In addition to the point-to-point video application in Chapter One, you get examples of the WebRTC Data API, Media Streaming and Screen Casting Services, Security and Authentication, and Mobile Platforms. 2. There are deep dives into supplementary technology such as ICE, STUN, and TURN. Although I didn’t do this myself, Chapter Two has you installing an open source STUN server. 3. The code is documented section-by-section. 4. The book details how you would use third-party libraries and SDKs such as twilio (cloud) and voxeo (IVR). 5. Differences between WebRTC on Firefox and Chrome are presented. Cons: 1. You cannot approach this book as a WebRTC beginner. It gets down and dirty from the get-go. 2. The code could have been documented more completely. Although there is quite a bit of linear documentation throughout the examples, the author does not present flowcharts as to what the applications are supposed to do. For Chapter One, I created my own to understand exactly what was going on. 3. The book could do a better job of speaking directly to the WebRTC API outside the context of the examples. For instance, it would have been nice if the author explained function calls such as RTCIceCandidate. 4. The signaling server code is in a language called Erlang. Maybe it’s just me, but until I came upon this book, I was completely unfamiliar with Erlang. Many times, I wished that the author chose a more common language like java. Cons withstanding, I appreciate that this book exists. Granted, I had to work harder than I wanted to, but I can honestly say that I am much smarter about WebRTC now than I was prior to opening the book. It’s my hope that there is a second edition that addresses some of the cons. That would make this worthwhile book that much better.

Not a good book for JS developers. The content is simply a regurgitation of source listings that are inconsistent with the official webRTC developer site. Numerous typos. Then there is the choice of language for managing sessions - Erlang. Erlang??? Really??? Given that your target audience is the JS developer, the author should have used Java as the server session controller (even Python would have been more consistent). Don't waste you money here - head over the Alan B. Johnston's "bible" for a great book.

Nowadays more and more often is raised the question of security. After sensational leaks of secret information about methods of works of some security services companies, web services and usual users now increasingly think about safety of their private data. Now both commonly known and new channels of communication either cannot provide reliable security or demands a lot of expenses for their services. For sure if you are owner of big company that allocates annually thousands for additional security of information WebRTC technology maybe will not become the end point of your demands but it is good chance to save part of your budget. For those who looking for dependable tool which can trust this technology can provide maximal flexible possibility to establish secure communication channel for transfer video/audio/file data for internal and external requirements. This book will introduce you with WebRTC closer and provide maximally understandable and full instruction on how you can make own application based on WebRTC framework. First of all «WebRTC Blueprints» intended for wide range of readers. Of course you should have minimal basic knowledge nevertheless I think most part of people who associate themselves with the programming easily can deal with the building of their own applications. On the other hand this book can help experienced programmers easy create chat for support of customers or create secure video conference or file sharing service for corporate site. As I mentioned WebRTC framework it is free and safe alternative for famous connection services but moreover this technology is becoming more popular and also will be increasingly popular in the labor market programmers owning it. In my opinion this book is an example of simplicity and convenience of education material dedicated to web technologies. «WebRTC Blueprints» totally worth the money you spend on it as it will give you the opportunity to save money on costly communication channels without losing your data security, the time to resolve compatibility problems of different frameworks and additional knowledge that you can actively use in the future.

It's an excellent book on how to actually build your own WebRTC Server & Service from scratch. This book will put everything together if you have or have-not read any of the other WebRTC books. This book covers all of the required components to make it work. The best part is that everything is Open Source. I would re-arrange some of the chapters though. For example, the Introductory sections in Chapter 2, I believe, should be at the beginning of Chapter 1. The downside to this book is that the author assumes a certain level of Unix/Linux expertise. This book is definitely not for anyone at the beginner level. But, if you know what WebRTC or HTML5 is, then you should have some Unix experience under your belt. If its been awhile, then this is a good way to get reacquainted. I highly recommend this book. Again, it really does cover everything you'll need and how to do it. Depending on how much time you've got and your level of expertise, you could actually have a WebRTC Service up and running in a day to a week.

WebRTC Blueprints is a hard core guide for building upon previous knowledge of WebRTC. While it's not for newbies, it goes in depth to show you how to get started with your first implementation of WebRTC from the ground up. It gives you step by step instructions using each element of the WebRTC API, to help you bring it all together at the end. WebRTC Blueprints takes it one step further by including mobile into the mix. Mobile still has a long way to go but it a good starting point for those interested in building native applications using WebRTC. Overall, I am pleased with WebRTC Blueprints and recommend it as read after you are familiar with WebRTC. --Lantre Barr, Founder & CEO of Blacc Spot Media - A WebRTC Development Agency in Atlanta, Ga

This book throws you in the deep end from the get-go. At the end of the first chapter, you will have build a WebRTC application, something that is usually accomplished at the end of a book on WebRTC. The book uses Erlang, a language that only a percentage of web developers know about, to build its webRTC servers. So if you are only curious about webRTC, or only care about consuming webRTC on the client side, then this book is probably not right for you. If you don't know Erlang, you'd have to be comfortable with the language to know the server side. However for the concepts that the book explains, the content is very VERY thorough and does not keep any gaps in its explanation.

This book isn't for those who are new to WebRTC. It is intended for those who have been playing with it a bit, have the basics covered and have written their first "hello world" example with WebRTC already. It takes a brave approach and covers issues that other books dealing with WebRTC today shy away from. This takes it to the cutting edge, which sometimes means the information found in the book would be a bit outdated (WebRTC hasn't finalized its spec yet). That said, this is the only book that handles the installation, configuration and security implications of deploying TURN servers and the use of WebRTC's screen casting technology.