Introduction to BootstrapCDN

Bootstrap Tutorial San Francisco

Getting started with BootstrapCDN can seem intimidating to new users, but the system is built to be intuitive. BootstrapCDN has become the most popular framework around the world for building effective mobile-first sites. Thankfully, there are a number of great tutorials and coding bootcamps available to help you learn the newest version of the framework, Bootstrap 4. These make it easy for beginners to hit the ground running and start developing web projects quickly.

The advent of BootstrapCDN has made the process of creating top-notch mobile-first sites easier than ever before. With this framework, users can load images, JavaScript and CSS remotely from the platform’s servers, drastically reducing the time spent on accomplishing tasks and finishing projects.

BootstrapCDN presents a variety of advantages for developers and users alike. Because it has become an incredibly important web development tool that is poised to continue growing in the coming years, it’s important to get comfortable with Bootstrap’s features and components as you start learning to code.

If you need to quickly get familiar with the basics of Bootstrap, its features and how to use them, this brief Bootstrap 4 tutorial will help you hit the ground running. Bootstrap 4 is relatively intuitive, so your previous knowledge will come in handy quickly. And, if you are enrolled in a coding bootcamp, this tutorial can serve as a handy reference to come back to. 

What is BootstrapCDN?

BootstrapCDN is a content delivery network designed for web developers, especially those focused on mobile-first site creation. Content delivery networks like Bootstrap are made up of data centers and proxy servers that make high-quality, high-speed data distribution and storage more achievable. Bootstrap has several increasingly important benefits that drive its continuing growth.

Bootstrap is perhaps the most popular and well-known CDN currently in use; it is easily downloadable and is provided by MaxCDN. BootstrapCDN uses NPM scripts in its build system and comes with convenient tools to help make working with the framework even simpler. These tools include a variety of tests you can run, code compilers, etc. BootstrapCDN’s various features provide unique functions that help developers build and customize web content more easily. 

Getting Started With BootstrapCDN

Getting started using BootstrapCDN is simple. Download the precompiled BootstrapCDN file and unzip the compressed folder. You should see something identical or very similar to the following:

Copy

bootstrap/

├── css/

│   ├── bootstrap.css

│   ├── bootstrap.css.map

│   ├── bootstrap.min.css

│   ├── bootstrap.min.css.map

│   ├── bootstrap-grid.css

│   ├── bootstrap-grid.css.map

│   ├── bootstrap-grid.min.css

│   ├── bootstrap-grid.min.css.map

│   ├── bootstrap-reboot.css

│   ├── bootstrap-reboot.css.map

│   ├── bootstrap-reboot.min.css

│   └── bootstrap-reboot.min.css.map

└── js/

    ├── bootstrap.bundle.js

    ├── bootstrap.bundle.min.js

    ├── bootstrap.js

    └── bootstrap.min.js

This is BootstrapCDN’s basic setup. It contains precompiled files that allow for quick drop-in use for pretty much any web development project. BootstrapCDN provides compiled JS (bootstrap.*) and CSS. Not only that, it also provides compiled as well as minified JS (bootstrap.min*) and CSS. It provides CSS source maps (bootstrap.*.map) for you to use with developer tools provided by certain browsers. Bundled JS files (bootstrap.bundle.js and bootstrap.bundle.min.js) include Popper but do not include jQuery.

How to Run Documentation Locally in BootstrapCDN

To run documentation locally in BootstrapCDN, you need to use Jekyll. Jekyll is a static site generator that includes Markdown-based files and templates. You can install Jekyll and Ruby dependencies at the same time using the bundle install. Just go to the command line and run npm run docs-serve and then go to your browser and open http://localhost:9001

You will also need BootstrapCDN’s source files and Node when running documentation locally. Just download and install Node.js. Node.js manages BootstrapCDN’s dependencies. From here, you can navigate to your root /bootstrap directory. 

To install local dependencies that are listed in package.json, run the NPM installation. Next, you will want to install Ruby and Bundler with the gem install bundle. Run a bundle install to set up Ruby dependencies, like Jekyll, and various plugins. Once you are finished, you can run commands from the command line.

The package.json comes with several tasks and commands. For example, the npm run dist command creates a /dist directory with compiled files that uses Autoprefixer, Sass and UglifyJS. Npm test does the same but also runs tests locally. 

Npm run docs builds JavaScript and CSS for docs, letting you run documentation locally using npm run docs-serve. You can also use run npm run to see all the NPM scripts you have available.

Example BootstrapCDN Template

Your pages need to be set up with the very latest development and design standards in mind. For this reason, you should use an HTML5 doctype. Make sure to include a viewport meta tag so you get the right behaviors. Once you bring all the elements together, your pages should resemble the following:

Bootstrap uses a few global settings and styles you should familiarize yourself with when getting started — this will make using the platform much simpler. Almost all the settings are designed to make cross-browser styles easy to implement. This is especially important, since making your content browser-friendly is increasingly crucial, especially as mobile browsing continues to grow.

Without an HTML5 doctype, Bootstrap will not perform properly. Instead, you will end up with incomplete styles.

Because BootstrapCDN is a mobile-first platform, the code is optimized for mobile devices and then scaled up for other devices using CSS media queries. You will need to add responsive viewport meta tags to your <head> for rendering and touch zooming to work properly across devices.

BootstrapCDN also uses border-box instead of content-box for global box-sizing. This keeps padding from affecting the width of elements. However, it can cause some issues with certain third-party software platforms. Platforms like Google Custom Search Engine and Google Maps are among the ones that most often experience these difficulties. If you ever need to override box-sizing, just use something similar to:

Using CSS and JS

As mentioned, BootstrapCDN uses both CSS and JS. Using them is quite simple. 

You can paste the stylesheet <link> into <head> before the other stylesheets. This loads the Bootstrap CSS. Just enter:

Lots of BootstrapCDN’s components need JavaScript to work correctly. JavaScript components use Popper.js, jQuery and Bootstrap’s JavaScript plugins. Before your closing </body> tag, enable <script> somewhere near the end of your pages to enable them. You need to place jQuery first with Popper.js following after, then Bootstrap’s JavaScript plugins. The full version of jQuery is supported, but you can just use the slim build, too.

Autoprefixer

Autoprefixer is now included in Bootstrap’s build process. This lets the CDN automatically add vendor prefixes to CSS properties. This saves time and code since it lets developers write key portions of CSS once and eliminates the need for vendor mix-ins in previous versions. You can check in /package.son to see which browsers are currently supported through Autoprefixer.

Bootstrap Community

BootstrapCDN is equipped with a devoted community that is constantly working together to improve the platform. If you run into any problems, you can connect with the community for troubleshooting very easily: follow @getbootstrap on Twitter, read the official Bootstrap blog or get insights from other Bootstrap users through the official Slack community or IRC. The Bootstrap community tries to make finding solutions and new ideas easy and accessible. 

You can also learn more about this program by enrolling in a coding bootcamp or checking out Bootstrap 4 tutorials.


*Please note, these articles are for educational purposes and the topics covered may not be representative of the curriculum covered in our boot camp. Explore our curriculum to see what you’ll learn in our program.

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