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This is Karn's personal view on what is affecting WebKarnage in the world of web and here in the studio. Don't expect subtlety any time soon...
Coding Languages, How Many Do You Know?
Sun, May 30 2010 11:29
| javascript, weaving, PHP, web design, HTML, coding
| Permalink
Are you a heavy coding type? Do you happily write HTML and CSS? Maybe you take it further into programming style languages like javascript, PHP and ASP? This has become more of a point of consideration for us recently. As the coder in the team, it all falls to me to make the technology work for us the best I can. The big question I'm feeling is,
"By spreading yourself thinner (learning more languages) do you dilute your focus too much?"
Now I understand there are people out there who don't just design websites but take on the building process without much coding knowledge if any, and that's a contentious thing in itself. In a bigger team of people, your designer can work with others that have coding knowledge and there is little point in duplicating the skills the team already has access to, but how about the freelancer?
We've always felt that some knowledge is pretty much vital when taking on the website of someone else's business and accepting payment for doing the job. There are so many pitfalls that can be avoided from some knowledge particularly of the basic structure of an HTML document, and the contents of a CSS file. We are not stating that someone who can't hand-code a site can't build one, I've personally seen too many good sites put together by people who aren't proficient coders to say that, but those neglecting to understand what type of things the head of the document usually has in it and the like, are not taking their job seriously enough for my money.
For our thoughts, even that's not enough, and I am happy enough coding HTML in a text editor (Espresso on the Mac is our current favourite) and also CSS, but that's not the end of modern web pages is it? How many web pages out there, are built without any inclusion of javascript? Not exactly a high percentage. OK, so it is commonly said amongst developers that pages including javascript should function without the javascript running, so you could claim that it's not quite as deep in the 'core' of web pages, it's just additional 'behaviour', but is that just taking the easy way out?
I have been working on my javascript knowledge of late, and with how different this is as a language, I'm beginning to wonder what good I'm doing for myself. I have used many javascript 'plugins' without knowing any javascript code over a number of years, relying on plugins based on libraries like jQuery to give us the results needed by only understanding how to tie this into the HTML document. Does understanding the basic syntax of javascript really help here? Not so far to be honest. This ends up feeling like you're spending time knowing how to make a clock when all you want is to wind it up and tell the time.
This just sounds like wasting a little time perhaps, but by doing this are you trying to squash too much into your headspace and time? Are you going to weaken your focus on what you do really well? After all, no-one can be everything to everyone.
That's the concern here, and while I'll be pushing on with this for a little while yet, we're keeping aware of this as I go along. I am responsible for a lot of the visual design and layout we have to do (far less often photography and copywriting etc) and must make sure none of this focus suffers as I try and move forward in any other areas. We can't afford any weakening as a small outfit in what is working for us to add something that we can't see any benefit from as yet.
As the work into web programming languages deepens to PHP too, we will keep up to date on here as to what we feel the consequences are.
Please leave comments as to how you all feel about this, as I'm sure it's very different for different folks. While I'm far from worried about diving into coding, it's amazing how different languages feel like they do or don't work with your head/thinking, and HTML has always felt easy, and javascript really not here.
Best,
Karn @ WebKarnage
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Cross Browser Testing... Getting Easier?
Sat, Nov 15 2008 11:19
| weaving, Compatibility, Linux, IE7, Safari, RapidWeaving, Opera, IE6, Firefox
| Permalink
Hi one and all!
This is just a few thoughts on how the movements and growth in the internet might have an effect on the work we all do trying to get our pages to render as best we can on all platforms.
We are now seeing the evolving world of browsers gathering pace, with Internet Explorer 8 (from now on referred to as IE8) gathering pace and looking like a significant improvement over IE7 (OK, we all know that's not the greatest challenge, but it is still progress), Firefox 3 curing some long standing anomalies of Firefox 2 along with great speed improvements. Although some issues with Flash 10 and Firefox 3 appear to be surfacing at the moment, I can't believe they will be long lived. Safari use is on the increase, particularly in the mobile sector with the success of the iPhone, and Opera is common place on mobile phones and even in consoles like the Nintendo Wii as well as a solid browser on both Mac and PC. Linux is now available easily as a pre-installed system on budget PCs with Konquerer providing the browsing power. The percentage of users still brandishing IE6 is dropping month on month so we are regularly informed. Could this be significant for those of us developing websites and tools for this job? Could our life be about to get easier?
The thing that strikes us, is do we know how much the actual numbers are changing? If the numbers of IE6 users remain fairly static, or at least not in fast decline, wouldn't we see this change in percentage due to sheer numbers of other internet users being on the increase anyway? Even those of us who have been on the internet for a number of years, if we compare the number of devices connecting to the internet in our homes now with 4 or 5 years ago, hasn't this changed dramatically? From one computer on the internet in my house, we have 3 computers regularly on it, one occasionally, 2 mobile phones that can (but rarely do to be fair) and even a games console with the ability. All these units fed by a wireless router. This in a household with 2 adults and a six year old. I don't know how typical this is in a worldwide sense, but it is typical of our wider family and friends. What other support do I have for this idea of fast growing numbers? How about the increased number of Apple Macs being sold, and the crazy uptake of the iPhone not managing to push the Safari user numbers to where those sales would suggest? That would suggest the numbers as a whole are growing strongly to compensate.
Despite the growing number of theme and application developers wishing to drop support for IE6, I have a strong sense we will be dealing with it for several years yet. Certainly more that we wish to believe anyway. Would that really be the end of our troubles of it did happen?? Not a chance! IE7 is here to stay for a long time yet, and with Microsoft never following standards too closely (after all, wouldn't do to admit they should have done it 10 years ago would it?) coupled to more and more competing scripts to fit into your webpages there will always be many a challenge to overcome.
We must try and keep a clear view of the reality of the situation, not try to make things fit how we wish them to be. Here, we think that reality will include IE6 for the foreseeable future, unless you wish to alienate a significant percentage of visitors.
WebKarnage.
This is just a few thoughts on how the movements and growth in the internet might have an effect on the work we all do trying to get our pages to render as best we can on all platforms.
We are now seeing the evolving world of browsers gathering pace, with Internet Explorer 8 (from now on referred to as IE8) gathering pace and looking like a significant improvement over IE7 (OK, we all know that's not the greatest challenge, but it is still progress), Firefox 3 curing some long standing anomalies of Firefox 2 along with great speed improvements. Although some issues with Flash 10 and Firefox 3 appear to be surfacing at the moment, I can't believe they will be long lived. Safari use is on the increase, particularly in the mobile sector with the success of the iPhone, and Opera is common place on mobile phones and even in consoles like the Nintendo Wii as well as a solid browser on both Mac and PC. Linux is now available easily as a pre-installed system on budget PCs with Konquerer providing the browsing power. The percentage of users still brandishing IE6 is dropping month on month so we are regularly informed. Could this be significant for those of us developing websites and tools for this job? Could our life be about to get easier?
The thing that strikes us, is do we know how much the actual numbers are changing? If the numbers of IE6 users remain fairly static, or at least not in fast decline, wouldn't we see this change in percentage due to sheer numbers of other internet users being on the increase anyway? Even those of us who have been on the internet for a number of years, if we compare the number of devices connecting to the internet in our homes now with 4 or 5 years ago, hasn't this changed dramatically? From one computer on the internet in my house, we have 3 computers regularly on it, one occasionally, 2 mobile phones that can (but rarely do to be fair) and even a games console with the ability. All these units fed by a wireless router. This in a household with 2 adults and a six year old. I don't know how typical this is in a worldwide sense, but it is typical of our wider family and friends. What other support do I have for this idea of fast growing numbers? How about the increased number of Apple Macs being sold, and the crazy uptake of the iPhone not managing to push the Safari user numbers to where those sales would suggest? That would suggest the numbers as a whole are growing strongly to compensate.
Despite the growing number of theme and application developers wishing to drop support for IE6, I have a strong sense we will be dealing with it for several years yet. Certainly more that we wish to believe anyway. Would that really be the end of our troubles of it did happen?? Not a chance! IE7 is here to stay for a long time yet, and with Microsoft never following standards too closely (after all, wouldn't do to admit they should have done it 10 years ago would it?) coupled to more and more competing scripts to fit into your webpages there will always be many a challenge to overcome.
We must try and keep a clear view of the reality of the situation, not try to make things fit how we wish them to be. Here, we think that reality will include IE6 for the foreseeable future, unless you wish to alienate a significant percentage of visitors.
WebKarnage.
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Google Indexing Flash...
Hi Everyone!
Google has now stated it is crawling Flash content in their Blog HERE. There is still the same caveat, that it only reads text and not images. SWF files are read, but not FLV (like YouTube) files as they contain no text.
How will this change things for SEO? Not massively for most of us, but it will help to push the use of Flash forward. This will lead to some more interesting sites, but some more garish ones too! It will be intriguing for me to see if this changes how programs like BannerZest construct their code or not for our advantage. It will surely please Adobe, who have improved Flash considerably in the last few years.
Our other hope at WK, is that smaller useful applications creating Flash (like BannerZest) will be inspired to push their boundaries as their use base may well increase. This with the inevitable upward speeds of the internet itself, will keep us all on our toes to provide the websites our clients want.
WebKarnage
Google has now stated it is crawling Flash content in their Blog HERE. There is still the same caveat, that it only reads text and not images. SWF files are read, but not FLV (like YouTube) files as they contain no text.
How will this change things for SEO? Not massively for most of us, but it will help to push the use of Flash forward. This will lead to some more interesting sites, but some more garish ones too! It will be intriguing for me to see if this changes how programs like BannerZest construct their code or not for our advantage. It will surely please Adobe, who have improved Flash considerably in the last few years.
Our other hope at WK, is that smaller useful applications creating Flash (like BannerZest) will be inspired to push their boundaries as their use base may well increase. This with the inevitable upward speeds of the internet itself, will keep us all on our toes to provide the websites our clients want.
WebKarnage
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Kicking off the Madness...
Sun, May 18 2008 02:12
| weaving, RapidWeaver, music, websites, Derek Acorah
| Permalink
Alright, I give in, I'll try to write a blog a few times a week. Everyone else seems to be doing it, I just need to make sure it isn't full of rubbish!
My passions after the love for my family (hand round the bags..) are music and web weaving. I work on something to do with either one at least every day! Those of you familiar with the Realmac Forum will know of my mad postings on the subjects around RapidWeaver, my chosen weaving software. The rest of my work is music related, usually in the audio studio world, occasionally theatre and live work. Session playing, engineering, and even producing complete backing tracks! Great enjoyable work.
Some of you will know I can sometimes be seen at the shows of Derek Acorah in theatres around the UK, behind the sound desk. I have also engineered festivals, and other outdoor and indoor events.
But this blog will mainly be centered on my more recently added passion, weaving. I have been doing this for a few years, but have got far more serious recently. The technology we have available to us is astounding, I just feel it makes it easier than ever to loose touch with what makes an enjoyable, useable site. If we can't see what's going on inside 3 or 4 seconds, and we have done a search, we will return to the search to try somewhere else! People getting creative is fine, but too creative with the navigation in terms of where to find it and how to use it, and no-one will hang around long enough to learn it.
I recently got sent to site where clicking on 'About Us' took me to a page without a single word on it. I thought the site didn't like my favourite browser (Safari) so I tried FireFox. Nope. Just the same. Then I realised the subtle 'blobs' down the outside were links to different things about the company!!!! None of them gave me a clue as to where the webmaster had left their common sense though. Unbelievable.
I will go more into my feelings on this in the next few posts, and I would love some comments from all you guys on how you feel this does or doesn't work for you!
All the best,
WebKarnage.
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