I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer • Hacker News Board

Re: I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer

#11

Post by funkah » Sun, Dec 18, 2011, 6:39 AM UTC

That's funny. I used to do backend stuff in C# but about 1.5 years ago switched to front-end development. To me it's so much nicer. I really enjoy using JavaScript, even after C# got all that handy functional/dynamic stuff added to it.

Anyway, maybe it's just a shitty tutorial, there are a lot of those out there. Doesn't necessarily say anything about HTML.

Regarding the specific point about breakpoints -- yes, you can set them. That's really not an issue at all. Come on, it's almost 2012.

Re: I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer

#12

Post by trafnar » Sun, Dec 18, 2011, 6:39 AM UTC

andre3k1 wrote: post #3

off topic: Which is correct grammar -- "an HTML" or "a HTML" ? This question has always bugged me.

It is based on the first sound of the word. If it is a consonant sound use "a" if it is a vowel sound use "an".

That is what a professional copywriter told me.

Re: I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer

#13

Post by dangrossman » Sun, Dec 18, 2011, 6:41 AM UTC

andre3k1 wrote: post #3

off topic: Which is correct grammar -- "an HTML" or "a HTML" ? This question has always bugged me.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/591/1/

Re: I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer

#14

Post by andrewfelix » Sun, Dec 18, 2011, 6:42 AM UTC

> 'can you set break points in your code and do object introspection?'

Not sure about object introspection, but setting break points is pretty straight forward using console.trace()

Re: I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer

#15

Post by dangrossman » Sun, Dec 18, 2011, 6:43 AM UTC

magicalhobo wrote: post #5

vessenes wrote: post #2

From the article: "Flex/Air seem pretty solid [work venues] for the next three or four years at least." Not a good plan; then again, not a good general attitude from a technologist.

Why is using a solid platform not a good plan?

It may be technically solid but still a bad bet. Flex/Air are essentially deadend platforms as Adobe jumps on the HTML5 bandwagon with its toolset. If he puts his effort into developing his Flex/Air skills, he's targeting a shrinking install base and future market for jobs. If he puts it into HTML/JS/CSS instead, he's targeting a large and growing install base, for mobile, browser and Win8 desktop apps.

Re: I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer

#16

Post by vessenes » Sun, Dec 18, 2011, 6:50 AM UTC

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #9

Flash and Flex seem safe for 4 years? Are we putting money on this, eh?

He is, by choosing not to learn some new skills.

Re: I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer

#17

Post by Iv » Sun, Dec 18, 2011, 6:54 AM UTC

Actually, this criticism is true when you use HTML for what it was not intended to do : Make pretty renderings. The core functionality of HTML is to provide hyperlinked data. It does that concisely and efficiently. CSS and DIVs are a mere kludge added on top of a language that is supposed to transmit mainly semantical data.

I really wish xhtml would have won in place of HTML/CSS. This kind of things would have been far more easy

Re: I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer

#18

Post by phillco » Sun, Dec 18, 2011, 7:00 AM UTC

For me, web development seems like the exact opposite of desktop development.

In desktop development, you learn the underlying foundations first (the programming language, files, networking, graphics, GUIs, etc), then weave them together to build your application. It's slow, but worth it -- often the concepts are universal. How many times do you have to re-learn file IO?

In web development, it's really easy to build the finished application quickly but not understand any of the foundations. Look at how many "rapid development" frameworks there are out there; most of then are fast to install, and the result is usually awesome. And plugins! There are plugins for everything, and they work so well! But the foundations are intimidating -- especially because there are so many layers of abstraction piled on top of each other. Where would you start? The browser DOM? How JavaScript is interpreted? How your database implements transactions? The more web development I do, the more I realize how freakin' tall the stack is...and how little I really know about it. Kind of scary.

Re: I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer

#19

Post by funkah » Sun, Dec 18, 2011, 7:02 AM UTC

Iv wrote: post #17

Actually, this criticism is true when you use HTML for what it was not intended to do : Make pretty renderings. The core functionality of HTML is to provide hyperlinked data. It does that concisely and efficiently. CSS and DIVs are a mere kludge added on top of a language that is supposed to transmit mainly semantical data. I really wish xhtml would have won in place of HTML/CSS. This kind of things would have been f…

I believe that is the first time I have ever seen anyone say XHTML would make something easier. (Just one example: http://mathiasbynens.be/notes/minimal-html )

Re: I’m too lazy to be a HTML developer

#20

Post by algorithms » Sun, Dec 18, 2011, 7:02 AM UTC

Iv wrote: post #17

Actually, this criticism is true when you use HTML for what it was not intended to do : Make pretty renderings. The core functionality of HTML is to provide hyperlinked data. It does that concisely and efficiently. CSS and DIVs are a mere kludge added on top of a language that is supposed to transmit mainly semantical data. I really wish xhtml would have won in place of HTML/CSS. This kind of things would have been f…

Same here. I think the return to "do whatever you want and we try to interpret it correctly" was wrong. Code in XHTML is way more readable, maintainable and easier to learn (IMO).

I still write my HTML5 in correct XHTML Syntax.