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Lay off W3Schools

sagegerard.com

21–30 of 102 posts

Re: Lay off W3Schools

#21
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://www.sagegerard.com/blog/lay-off-w3schools/ works. Edit mode in Concrete5 does not use pretty links.

considering you use this mess I'm not suprised you support w3schools: https://github.com/concrete5/concrete5/blob/master/web/concr...

Cool. I'm glad you care. You can clean it up. We done here?

Re: Lay off W3Schools

#22
post #14

To be fair, W3Schools is simpler, cleaner and more organized than the alternatives suggested by W3Fool. It is still the fastest way to start learning about a web technology. But perhaps it would be best if they wikify it.

Maybe, but I would be concerned about a future where W3School's increase in accuracy hurts it's clarity.

Re: Lay off W3Schools

#24

domain: w3fools.com created: 08-Jan-2011 http://whois.domaintools.com/w3fools.com

The age of what is being talked about does not determine the relevance of the conversation and what it entails.

Re: Lay off W3Schools

#25
> It is unrealistic to expect beginners to learn what good code is before what code is in the first place. Aspiring programmers do not yet understand the nuances of their trade, and often overlook security concerns and the importance of formal documentation.

That's no excuse for ignoring even the basics. Some of the w3schools tutorials are like starting a teenager's first driving lesson with "run down as many pedestrians as you want, we'll teach you how to not drive on sidewalks later".

Re: Lay off W3Schools

#26

> It is unrealistic to expect beginners to learn what good code is before what code is in the first place. Aspiring programmers do not yet understand the nuances of their trade, and often overlook security concerns and the importance of formal documentation. That's no excuse for ignoring even the basics. Some of the w3schools tutorials are like starting a teenager's first driving lesson with "run down as many pedestr…

No, they're not. Quit exaggerating and let beginners be beginners.

Re: Lay off W3Schools

#27
post #26

> It is unrealistic to expect beginners to learn what good code is before what code is in the first place. Aspiring programmers do not yet understand the nuances of their trade, and often overlook security concerns and the importance of formal documentation. That's no excuse for ignoring even the basics. Some of the w3schools tutorials are like starting a teenager's first driving lesson with "run down as many pedestr…

No, they're not. Quit exaggerating and let beginners be beginners.

C'mon. Their "PHP MySQL Insert Into" tutorial (http://w3schools.com/php/php_mysql_insert.asp) uses direct $_POST data with no escaping. No mention of security is made in the entire "PHP Database" section.

These tutorials need a massive red flashing warning saying "we've left critical stuff out, you will get your site defaced if you code like this".

Newbies don't need to be expected to know good code. That's no excuse for presenting actively dangerous examples to them with no warning.

Re: Lay off W3Schools

#28
post #6

Except w3schools isn't approachable and it isn't for beginners. It's jargon loaded and filled with a bunch of information that means nothing to beginners. Let's look the page for explaining 'div': http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_div.asp "The tag defines a division or a section in an HTML document. The tag is used to group block-elements to format them with styles." Oh, I get it. Its for grouping block-elements(??)…

> "Except w3schools isn't approachable and it isn't for beginners." My experience says the opposite. Sorry.

There's nothing to be 'sorry' about.

I made websites sporadically from '97-'03 and then started again in Dec '11. My criticism of w3schools is from my personal experience with the site over the last year.

I was surprised when I found out that w3schools actually intends to teach people html/css. Until recently, I thought it was universally acknowledged that they're a content farm.

Re: Lay off W3Schools

#29
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they're not. Quit exaggerating and let beginners be beginners.

C'mon. Their "PHP MySQL Insert Into" tutorial ( http://w3schools.com/php/php_mysql_insert.asp ) uses direct $_POST data with no escaping. No mention of security is made in the entire "PHP Database" section. These tutorials need a massive red flashing warning saying "we've left critical stuff out, you will get your site defaced if you code like this". Newbies don't need to be expected to know good code. That's no excu…

Good code makes crappy tutorials. If I was a moron, I don't care if the examples inadvertently summons swarms of locusts if I understand them quickly.

Now, I would be all for W3Schools making their disclaimer more noticeable. It is there, though.

Re: Lay off W3Schools

#30
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

C'mon. Their "PHP MySQL Insert Into" tutorial ( http://w3schools.com/php/php_mysql_insert.asp ) uses direct $_POST data with no escaping. No mention of security is made in the entire "PHP Database" section. These tutorials need a massive red flashing warning saying "we've left critical stuff out, you will get your site defaced if you code like this". Newbies don't need to be expected to know good code. That's no excu…

Good code makes crappy tutorials. If I was a moron, I don't care if the examples inadvertently summons swarms of locusts if I understand them quickly. Now, I would be all for W3Schools making their disclaimer more noticeable. It is there, though.

> Good code makes crappy tutorials.

Not necessarily, and bad code can make dangerous tutorials.

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