2019

Another year, another retrospective. Factoids and data on life and work.

Post from December 29, 2019, filed under Everything Else.

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.

Post from December 20, 2019, filed under Web Development.

When to Open Links in a New Tab

Always open links in the same tab unless doing so 1) could disrupt a process, 2) could risk data loss, or 3) could confuse the user.

Post from December 9, 2019, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.

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…

Post from November 22, 2019, filed under Web Development.

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.

Post from November 14, 2019, filed under Web Development.

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.

Post from November 4, 2019, filed under Web Development.

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.

Post from October 16, 2019, filed under Web Development.

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.

Post from October 1, 2019, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.

Definition of Web Developer

Web developer, n.: A person who—

Post from September 24, 2019, filed under Web 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”?

Post from September 5, 2019, filed under Web Development.

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.

Post from August 20, 2019, filed under Web Development.

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.

Post from August 13, 2019, filed under Everything Else.

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.

Post from July 17, 2019, filed under Web Development.

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.

Post from July 8, 2019, filed under Everything Else.

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.

Post from June 24, 2019, filed under Web Development.

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).

Post from June 19, 2019, filed under Web Development.

3 Reasons Against Ad Blockers

Ad blockers are popular. Yet, they also appear to be a problem. They appear to be a problem that can be broken into three sub-problems, sub-problems that may speak not only against the use of ad blockers but their very existence.

Post from May 31, 2019, filed under Everything Else.

Understanding Image Compression: Tooling and Context

Image compression plays an important role for performance optimization. It seems straight-forward 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.

Post from May 22, 2019, filed under Web Development.

A Crime Called Favicon

16×16, 30×30, 32×32, 48×48, 57×57, 60×60, 64×64, 70×70, 72×72, 76×76, 90×90, 96×96, 114×114, 120×120, 128×128, 144×144, 150×150, 152×152, 160×160, 167×167, 180×180, 192×192, 195×195, 196×196, 228×228, 256×256, 270×270, 310×310, 558×558.

Post from May 9, 2019, filed under Web 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.

Post from April 24, 2019, filed under Web Development.

Counter the Happiness Assumption

It may be rather clear that life is not all about being happy.

Post from April 16, 2019, filed under 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.

Post from April 9, 2019, filed under Art and Design and Everything Else.

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.

Post from April 5, 2019, filed under Web Development and Art and 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.

Post from March 21, 2019, filed under Web Development.

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.”

Post from March 15, 2019, filed under Philosophy.