How well do you know Arrays? 👽
Hi, *|USERNAME|*!
There is no shortage of libraries and frameworks that you as a web developer can choose from. You have your really popular ones that everybody talks about, and you have the more esoteric ones that many sites you rely on use. Picking the right framework (or combination of frameworks) is one of the most important things you can do. Your choice will impact:
Your development team. Nobody likes working on a complicated and clunky code base. A good framework has the power to kick your development team's productivity and happiness up into the stratosphere!
Your end users. Frameworks are not cheap. Many clock in at hundreds of KB's in initial download size. Some frameworks optimize different parts of the user experience: performance, page load, smooth animations, easy navigation, and more. You want to ensure your users get some (or a lot!) of benefit from dealing with whatever framework you chose.
You may be hoping that I would now tell you which framework you should use. I really want to! But I can't. The reason is that every app's requirement is different. Every development team (or just you if you are a one-man/woman army) is different as well. There is no one-size fits all solution, but there is a general approach that can help you decide on what to do. Take a look at the following model:
The two constraints you need to optimize for are developer experience and user experience. When we throw some colors into the mix, the solution you need to employ would ideally be in the top-right darker green shaded region:
Getting to the ideal solution is going to require a fair amount of research and up-front work on your end. Often, ideal just isn't possible. In those cases, always optimize for user experience (aka the bottom-right lightly green region) even if it makes your development life more difficult. Remember, your users don't care about how your app was built nor the struggles it took to get it out the door. All they want is for your app to work well. They want your app to solve whatever problem they were hoping it would solve. The better it can do that, the happier your users would be. You'll never regret making the right choices on behalf of your users!
TILL NEXT TIME!
Hopefully this helped you better approach the problem of which framework to use. Pair this up with my compilation of platforms and devices your app could potentially run on to look at additional ways of building the right app. This might mean you complement your web-based solution with something more native. That isn't as scary as it sounds, and in the future we'll look at how you can make that a pleasant experience!
As always, before I leave you to it, I would love to hear from you on what you think about this. Drop by the forum topic for this and chime in, or ping me via Twitter.
Cheers,
Kirupa :-)
Hi, *|USERNAME|*!
I think somebody really wise (probably Confucius) once said the following: The best time to learn JavaScript was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. That statement was true thousands of years ago, and it is even more true today where creating even the simplest thing on the web requires writing a healthy dose of JavaScript. Simply knowing HTML and CSS is no longer enough.
This brings us to right now. Whether you are a seasoned JavaScript veteran or someone who is just getting started, the resources in this newsletter are sure to help you out. In the following sections, you'll find easy-to-follow articles (especially if you are a visual learner!), videos, and even a book that will help you become really comfortable with JavaScript and all the cool things you can do with it.
Enjoy!
WATCH: INTRODUCTION
Get an overview of what JavaScript is and why you can't go far on the web (or in life!) without running into it.
LEARN: JAVASCRIPT
JavaScript is hard. Learning it doesn't have to be - especially if you start with the following sweet articles:
Once you've familiarized yourself with the above topics, you are just getting started. The real action starts with the following (more advanced, more fun!) categories:
Now, this is just a short sampling of all of the JavaScript content you have on the site. The easiest way to find exactly what you are looking for is to just search for it. Go ahead. Searching works...most of the time!
BOOK : JavaScript Absolute Beginner's Guide
If you want to learn JavaScript using a beautifully illustrated and easy-to-follow book written by yours truly, look no further. In case that isn't reason enough, this book has been edited by the awesomely talented Kyle Murray (Krilnon) and Trevor McCauley (Senocular).
View on Amazon.com
FROM AROUND THE WEB
To wrap things up with our JavaScript theme, here are some fun things from around the web that you might enjoy:
Road Block (Animated GIF)
Hello!! Animation (JS Animation)
Simple 3D Particle Distribution System (Canvas Example!)
JavaScript Quirks (Handy guide)
Prism Code Highlighter (Free library)
What's so bad about JavaScript? (reddit)
TILL NEXT TIME!
As always, before I leave you to it, I would love to hear from you on things I can do better, topics you'd like me to write about, and more. Don't be shy! The easiest way to contact me is via Twitter, Facebook, or by posting on the forums (just like the good old days when you'd spend hours finding the perfect avatar)!
Cheers,
Kirupa :-)