In Webpack 2 - A Build Tool for Modern JavaScript Applications we start by creating a sample application containing some of the most common features of a web application, and then use Webpack to serve, cache and optimize the project assets. Each chapter works as a reference for a different topic, meaning the book can be read just as well in or out of order.

Amongst other things, in this guide we'll go through:

• The difference between module bundlers and task runners
• How to install Webpack and create our first configuration file
• How to use the Webpack Dev Server to serve, watch and refresh only the parts of the application that change without having to do a full page reload
• How to install Babel to be able to utilize ES6 functionality
• How to use Source Maps to aid in debugging
• How to split code into smaller bundles and lazy load them only when they're needed
• How to utilize tree shaking to remove any code that our project doesn't use
• How to create environment specific configuration so that we can harness the full power of Webpack in both our development and production environments

Although this guide is a complete guide for Webpack that goes from creating a basic configuration all the way to splitting configuration based on unique environment requirements, it is regularly updated with bonus chapters containing tutorials on new and interesting features and plugins as they come out. Some exciting chapters already in the works are:

• Loading and transpiling TypeScript files
• Loading and transpiling SASS/LESS stylesheets
• Creating and running tests with Karma
• Automatically linting code with JSLint
• Supporting multiple languages using internationalization
• Autoprefixing and removing unused styles in CSS
• Utilizing Web Workers
• Automatically installing NPM packages simply by requiring them in your code