Web Development × Engineering Management × Philosophy (6)
Articles and books on the craft of web development (with a focus on HTML/CSS optimization and maintainability), engineering management, and philosophy.
The Web Development Glossary (More Than 2,000 Key Terms for Developers)
What is a BHO? Goanna? Hooking? How about a principal box? Or the Ten-Second Rule? Covering more than 2,000 terms ranging from A11Y to Zsh, and including explanations from Wikipedia and the MDN Web Docs, I’m very happy to release the The Web Development Glossary.
#425 · · books, development
The Frameworks Paradox
The more complex a website, the bigger the need for a framework, the less effective an external framework. This is not new, and not even a paradox because an internal—homemade—HTML/CSS framework is always an option. However—
#424 · · development, frameworks
On the Responsibility That Comes With Good JavaScript Support
According to our data, the classic idea of making sure websites and apps work without JavaScript being enabled is dead; when we look only at support requirements, this was the end of the story. It’s not, however, when we employ a broader look at JavaScript and its misuses.
#423 · · development, javascript
Highlights From “The Crowd” (Gustave Le Bon)
“Crowds are only cognisant of simple and extreme sentiments; the opinions, ideas, and beliefs suggested to them are accepted or rejected as a whole, and considered as absolute truths or as not less absolute errors.”
#422 · · misc
Highlights From “An Introduction to Psychology” (Wilhelm Wundt)
“There cannot be the least contradiction in the idea that physical and psychical phenomena follow different laws, as long as these laws are not irreconcilable with the actual unity of the psycho-physical individual.”
#421 · · philosophy, misc
Round Table
I was late to discover Round Table, but joining this fine service association was one of the greatest decisions and experiences I’ve made in my life. Here’s my story co-founding and accompanying a new table, RT 233 Alster-Milchstraße, for almost four years.
#420 · · misc
Professional Agile Leadership (PAL) Reminders and Resources
Notes, refreshers, as well as an alternative overview over Scrum.org resources for PAL certification.
#419 · · management
HTML and CSS and the 2019 Web Almanac
The HTTP Archive’s Web Almanac is fantastic because it provides us with data about how we build what kinds of websites. While the release of the 2019 Almanac has been accompanied by some analysis, I had found it interesting to interpret the data, too.
#418 · · development, html, css
If It Can Be Done Using an HTTP Header, Use an HTTP Header
The following is a (slightly modified) chapter from Upgrade Your HTML, which is “all about picking examples of HTML in the wild, and explaining how to make that code better.”
#417 · · development, maintainability
How Running Your Own Website Is Much Better for You Than You Think
The typical reason for why professionals don’t have their own websites is that they don’t want to make the commitment, and yet that misses how the disadvantages people see are actually advantages. Renewed thoughts on how running your own website is an asset.
#416 · · development, design
2019
Another year, another retrospective. Factoids and data on life and work.
#415 · · misc
An HTML Optimizer’s Config for html-minifier
Jad Joubran asked me about my configuration for html-minifier the other week, and in a hurry I pointed him to the config I had worked out for sum.cumo. In my own projects, however, I work with a different, more ambitious setup.
#414 · · development, html, performance, optimization
On Codes of Conduct
On the idea, the wish, the vision of us treating each other well.
#413 · · misc
When to Open Links in a New Tab
Always open links in the same tab unless doing so could 1) disrupt a process, 2) risk data loss, or 3) confuse users.
#412 · · design, usability, development
On Leadership
Leadership is important, and it can be learned.
#411 · · management
CSS: When to Use Logical Properties
Logical properties are great and long overdue. They are great because they solve an ugly problem of international, multi-directional web development in that directionality does not need to affect your writing and managing of CSS anymore…
#410 · · development, css
Website Optimization Measures, Part IX
Random improvements and notes around compression and caching, content security and feature policies, IndieWeb markup, protocols in links, entity references, image formats, and ISBNs in URL paths.
#409 · · development, optimization
Upgrade Your HTML (the Booklet)
I’ve written a very short book on improving HTML code: Upgrade Your HTML. Upgrade Your HTML is about one thing: Picking examples of HTML in the wild, and explaining how to make that code better. Kindly. Constructively. Thoroughly, as finding a balance between detail and brevity permits.
#408 · · books, development, html, minimalism, optimization
On Writing Better Markup
As HTML is so important and yet also so easy, everyone writes HTML, and everyone says they can write HTML. And with that they don’t just mean they are able to write HTML, but that they write good HTML, where “good” means “high quality.” That would be great news.
#407 · · development, html, quality
The Developer’s Fallacy of Close Collaboration With Designers
Working closely with designers makes sense and is awesome, notably for mutual understanding and efficiency. And yet there are also good reasons not to work closely with designers. For developers it’s important, for otherwise foolish, to be aware.
#406 · · development, design
Definition of Web Developer
Web developer, n.: A person who—
#405 · · development
“Must Work Without JavaScript”
That websites should work without JavaScript has a long professional tradition, and for apps much the same has been asked for. Yet with the success and ubiquity of scripting, how relevant is it to make sure sites and apps “work without JavaScript”?
#404 · · development, javascript
Optional HTML: Everything You Need to Know
Optional HTML can be left out to improve performance, to guide code comprehension, and to hone the craft. An overview over all optional tags, rules around quotes for attribute values, and omissible attribute value defaults, as well as notes on pitfalls and tools.
#403 · · development, html, performance
Sources 2019
In 2014, for idealistic transparency and enthusiastic link love, I’ve shared the feed sources I was following at the time. I’m still a huge believer in and user of feeds. As I also still like to be transparent I thought to share an update.
#402 · · misc
When to Use “img,” “img@srcset,” and “picture” and “source”
I’ve disliked srcset and the whole family of ideas around it from the start because doing the same thing for the same purpose several times has usually looked like too much DX cost for too little UX gain to me. Two angles at what to use when.
#401 · · development, html
13 Leadership Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
We’ve all seen approaches to team management and leadership that work, and others that don’t. A brief and scrappy list of the mistakes I’ve witnessed (or committed), together with thoughts on how not to make them.
#400 · · management
Image Compression: How to Super-Easily Set Up Automated Base Optimization
Setting up image compression tooling is easy—and for those who want to err on the safe side automatically employing lossless compression, it’s even easier with a solution from sum.cumo: Merlin.
#399 · · development, performance, optimization
The Problem With Web Development Checklists, or: The Frontend Checklist, Revised
Checklists are a great way to make sure nothing gets forgotten, yet they are problematic when they contain items that aren’t important. A few general thoughts and a very specific review of The Frontend Checklist—of which 33 guidelines appear useful, and 41 not (yet).
#398 · · development, html, css, javascript
3 Reasons Against Ad Blockers
Ad blockers are popular. Yet, they’re also a problem. They’re a problem that can be broken into three sub-problems, sub-problems that speak not only against the use of ad blockers but argue against their existence.
#397 · · misc
Understanding Image Compression: Tooling and Context
Image compression plays an important role in performance optimization. It seems straightforward but is a little deceptive, however, because it consists not of one but two parts—and it’s usually lack of understanding of one part that causes problems.
#396 · · development, performance, optimization
A Crime Called Favicon
16Ă—16, 30Ă—30, 32Ă—32, 48Ă—48, 57Ă—57, 60Ă—60, 64Ă—64, 70Ă—70, 72Ă—72, 76Ă—76, 90Ă—90, 96Ă—96, 114Ă—114, 120Ă—120, 128Ă—128, 144Ă—144, 150Ă—150, 152Ă—152, 160Ă—160, 167Ă—167, 180Ă—180, 192Ă—192, 195Ă—195, 196Ă—196, 228Ă—228, 256Ă—256, 270Ă—270, 310Ă—310, 558Ă—558.
#395 · · development
How Can We Make Website Maintenance Work More Visible?
The maintenance and maintainability of websites is a much neglected topic. This is problematic because: We cannot not maintain. Yet primarily we may deal with a visibility problem that we could explore more options for.
#394 · · development, maintainability
Counter the Happiness Assumption
It may be rather clear that life is not all about being happy.
#393 · · philosophy
199 Love Haiku (the Book)
In 2016, I wrote 1,000 short poems, haiku-style. I wrote those poems to challenge myself as a writer. I launched a website for the haiku and I shared the story. Today, I’ve published the 199 haiku that a few friends and I liked the most as a book.
#392 · · books, design, misc
Print Styling, the 3 Basics
Many sites are not prepared for print, and yet our users print, and they save through print. Therefore: Have a print style sheet, and be it a negative one. Hide what’s not usable or useful. Always test, and tweak when you want better.
#391 · · development, css, design
Optional “@lang”
The lang attribute is one of HTML’s global attributes. If one doesn’t simply take it for granted, it begs a number of questions—and these suggest to drop W3C requirements around it, and to demand software to do the job.
#390 · · development, html, accessibility
Highlights From “Free Thought and Official Propaganda” (Bertrand Russell)
“Our system of education turns young people out of the schools able to read, but for the most part unable to weigh evidence or to form an independent opinion.”
#389 · · philosophy
What Happened on Google+, the Web Development Archives
Following a few philosophy posts to be archived, here are past entries related to web development. Nothing more, nothing less.
#388 · · development, html, css, design
What Happened on Google+, the Philosophy Archives
Google+ is shutting down, pulling everything with it. I’ve used Google+. And although I’ve changed and would put a few things differently now, I decided to archive a few of the somewhat philosophical Google+ posts.
#387 · · philosophy, misc
HTML and Performance: Leave Out Optional Tags and Quotes
As experts we should know what code is optional and leave it out, and our production systems should do a better job assisting us with that. After all the years of neglecting basic HTML optimization, let’s think about taking the next step and not ship optional HTML markup.
#386 · · development, html, performance, minimalism
Google Lighthouse and PWA
A review of Lighthouse’s PWA audits and the PWA category as a whole. Just in time to see it be superseded by Lighthouse 4, the major update that solves some (unfortunately not all) of those issues.
#385 · · development
2018
A retrospective.
#384 · · misc
Survival of the Primitive
Is ours a highly evolved culture?
#383 · · philosophy, misc
7 Questions for Jens Oliver Meiert About the GDE and Chrome Dev Summits 2018
#382 · · interviews, development
On Visions for Performance, or: Performance Optimization Is a Process
It’s smart to have a vision for what one wishes to achieve for the performance of a site or app. Yet even the soundest approaches to performance visions have their problems, and in them we recognize that performance, or performance optimization, is indeed a process.
#381 · · development, performance, optimization
Should Designers Code
Arguments for a “no” to a recurring question: Why we may want to give designers all freedom in the world, not to be limited in what they’re trained to do best.
#380 · · design, development
Highlights From “Flatland” (Edwin Abbott Abbott)
“Yet I exist in the hope that these memoirs, in some manner, I know not how, may find their way to the minds of humanity in Some Dimension, and may stir up a race of rebels who shall refuse to be confined to limited Dimensionality.”
#379 · · design, philosophy
Performance Rule #1: Do What You Need to Do—But Not More
Web Performance has over the age of the Web not only turned into a discipline by itself, but also a complex one at that. While important much less so for revenue but for user experience and accessibility reasons, there’s a particular angle at performance that makes the matter very simple: the pragmatic angle.
#378 · · development, performance
How to Configure Lighthouse for Balanced Quality Websites
Google’s Lighthouse is a great tool even though it has some issues. Fortunately, it’s possible to configure Lighthouse to one’s own views on what matters. Here’s the config that I like to use.
#377 · · development, quality
The One Thing We May Really Want to Research
My back-burner philosophical work revolves around one idea: that what creates and makes for our reality, in quite practical terms, is what we believe. That idea is profound and requires more: research.
#376 · · philosophy