Coding with clarity sets great developers apart from the rest. Brandon Gregory shares some principles for organizing objects and functions in JavaScript that will improve clarity, making your code easier to read, understand, and extend.
Topic: Code
Fixing Variable Scope Issues with ECMAScript 6
Variable scope in JavaScript has always had its problems. ECMAScript 6 has some features to help developers deal with this and give them more control over their variables. Brandon Gregory gives the low-down on these features and when to use them.
Webmentions: Enabling Better Communication on the Internet
The free exchange of information and ideas is one of the great beauties of the internet, so why is so much of that communication still trapped behind the walls of individual social silos? Enter Webmentions. They’re the new kids on the block determined to disrupt the status quo, break down barriers, and free up cross-platform communication across the internet like never before. With Webmentions rapidly gathering momentum, Chris Aldrich delivers a timely outline of the basics, how Webmentions work, and where you can go to get started. The walls are coming down …
The Cult of the Complex
’Tis a gift to be simple. ALA’s Zeldman bemoans our industry’s current fetish for the needlessly complicated over the straightforward. Escape the cult of the complex! Get back to improving lives, one interaction at a time.
The Slow Death of Internet Explorer and the Future of Progressive Enhancement
Should our development practices be hemmed in by the gaping chasm between Internet Explorer and every other major browser? Or should we dash into the future leaving IE users behind? Oliver Williams argues for a middle ground: We can make life easier for ourselves without breaking the backward compatibility of the web.
The Illusion of Control in Web Design
We think of our job as controlling the user’s experience. But the reality is, we control far less than we imagine. And that’s by design: it’s how the web, and the networks that serve it, are supposed to work. ALA’s Aaron Gustafson shows the many ways our medium conspires to break our carefully crafted experiences, and shares solid advice on what we can do about it.
Going Offline
With all modern browsers now supporting Service Workers, it’s important to take a look at how we can use this tool to improve our users’ experiences online (and off). Jeremy Keith provides a gentle, in-depth introduction in this excerpt from Chapter 1 of his new book, Going Offline.
Designing for Research
Image quality may be about striking the balance between speed and quality, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. What if, despite having methods to develop better and better image experiences for the web, the user disagrees? In a quest to find answers, Jeremy Wagner takes us through an image quality study that he designs, develops, and iterates on with user feedback. Asking “Why?” is no easy undertaking in research. His lossy is your gain.
We Write CSS Like We Did in the 90s, and Yes, It’s Silly
The tools web developers use to build websites have changed dramatically since the 1990s. But when it comes to the craft of writing CSS, Jens Meiert argues, it often seems that we haven’t learned anything over the past 20 years. Meiert discusses why that is and offers his thoughts on how spending more time thinking about the basics can bring the writing of CSS into the 21st century.
Owning the Role of the Front-End Developer
“The modern developer can’t hide behind a keyboard and expect the rest of the team to handle all of the important decisions that define our workflow,” writes front-end developer Ronald Méndez. Drawing on his decade of experience, he shares advice for going beyond code, sharing ideas, and fighting for a seat at the table.
