New Book: “The Little Book of HTML/CSS Frameworks”
Published on Mar 4, 2015 (updated Feb 5, 2024), filed under books, development (feed). (Share this on Mastodon or Bluesky?)
This book, released in 2015, lives on in a lovingly updated and extended remake: Check out The Little Book of Little Books on Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, Leanpub, and Gumroad.
It’s out! My new book, The Little Book of HTML/CSS Frameworks, is now available. I myself have been surprised by the sudden release, and while I’m still unsure about how print copies can be obtained (the book is being printed), the book can now be downloaded for free at O’Reilly.
The book gives a quick introduction into web frameworks for both users and developers. As you could tell earlier, much emphasis is on quality and tailoring. Here are a few more facts.
| Format and price | Ebook, free |
|---|---|
| Paperback, currently not available | |
| Extras | Foreword by Eric A. Meyer |
| Length | 42 pages (PDF) |
| ISBN | 978-1-4919-2016-9 |
Description
With the speed of web development today, it’s little wonder that so many frameworks are available, since they come with a promise of saving development and design time. But using the wrong framework, or wrongly using the right framework, can be costly. This concise book shares higher-level ideas around web development frameworks that govern HTML and CSS code, whether you’re looking at an external option or planning to build your own.
Author Jens Meiert outlines various principles, methods, and practices that you can use to make sure your framework has the functionality you need without bloated code to slow you down.
- Choose a framework that can be tailored and extended.
- Stick to framework ground rules: follow the documentation and don’t overwrite framework code.
- Build a framework by means of a prototype: a static internal website that includes all the page types and elements you need.
- Focus on quality assurance during the development process, and quality control to find and fix framework issues.
- Diligently maintain and update your framework, whether it’s for internal or external use.
- Anchor your documentation right where development happens.
Jens Oliver Meiert is a former senior developer and tech lead at Google, Aperto, and GMX, where he architected internal frameworks that married fast development with high quality code.
❧ Special thanks go to Tony for his thorough first feedback, as well as Eric for his most kind introduction. But I thank more people, many times, in the book’s acknowledgments. I’m excited for I distilled most of my frameworks expertise into this book—and so I hope other fellow web developers can enjoy and take something out of it.
About Me
I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a web developer, manager, and author. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager for small and large enterprises, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.
I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)