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I’m a web developer and can't make anymore the simplest web app

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Re: I’m a web developer and can't make anymore the simplest web app

#3
If the issue is really making the simplest web app, the principal of YAGNI should be applied liberally.

Complex dependencies that add up-front development burden should be added only if, and only when, there is an expected benefit justifying the cost.

Re: I’m a web developer and can't make anymore the simplest web app

#7

If the issue is really making the simplest web app, the principal of YAGNI should be applied liberally. Complex dependencies that add up-front development burden should be added only if, and only when, there is an expected benefit justifying the cost.

Amen! I wrote a handful of offline-cacheable HTML5 apps made simply with CSS, vanilla JS, and HTML. Nothing more! Don't write a single line or character you don't need in the final result.

I have 'app update fatigue' and often after I update an app I end up preferring previous versions I can no longer install or use again once they're 'updated away' and no longer current. My wants for what my phone or tablet can do are really simple, but I just don't want to have to wait to update anything I've already taken time to save to be sure I'd have when I needed it.

So I wrote the following apps and they all have manifests and icons. I have plenty more pages I use that aren't as polished (like http://staticresource.com/base64.html) but this whole exercise has made me feel like I have some control back over my phone.

Doesn't matter iOS or Android, I can always run my crappy little apps equally as crappy everywhere, and I know they'll never need updating, needlessly waste my battery, include malware that's tracking me or spying on me, and they do much of what I would use the device for anyway! If I've learned anything it's that building your own tools is VERY worth it, and I should invest more time in learning how to do this and doing it :)

Sketch

- View: http://staticresource.com/sketch.html

- Source: http://staticresource.com/inspect?/sketch.html

Sketch is a browser-based sketchbook! Draw with the mouse or your finger and export SVG by email or download.

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SpeedTest

- View: http://staticresource.com/speedtest.html

- Source: http://staticresource.com/inspect?/speedtest.html

SpeedTest is for responsive web testing. Load a URL into the input and press Go or hit 'enter' to load a page into the window below. Pressing the buttons (or keyboard keys 1-0) will resize the window allowing you to quickly test sites at a variety of widths on desktop, and allow you to test sites at widths other than your device width on mobile.

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Reminders

- View: http://staticresource.com/reminders.html

- Source: http://staticresource.com/inspect?/reminders.html

Reminders is a lightweight reminders app that uses localStorage. Helpful for grocery lists or to-do items.

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Encode/Decode

- View: http://staticresource.com/encode.html

- Source: http://staticresource.com/inspect?/encode.html

Encode text by shifting its unicode character range. Decode by reverting the text back to the regular character range.

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Clock

- View: http://staticresource.com/clock.html

- Source: http://staticresource.com/inspect?/clock.html

Analog clock made from JavaScript and CSS

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Snake

- View: http://staticresource.com/snake.html

- Source: http://staticresource.com/inspect?/snake.html

Move the mouse or touch the screen to draw a rainbow snake on the screen

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Shuffle

- View: http://staticresource.com/shuffle.html

- Source: http://staticresource.com/inspect?/shuffle.html

Tap the page to draw a new random card and roll a die (unlimited decks)

Virtual Deck of Cards

- View: http://staticresource.com/deck.html

- Source: http://staticresource.com/inspect?/deck.html

1 deck of cards, shuffled,flippable, no rules, no dealing. You can play solitaire, it's just like a real deck of cards you have to deal it yourself :)

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Calc

- View: http://staticresource.com/calc.html

- Source: http://staticresource.com/inspect?/calc.html

Calc is a very basic calculator to demonstrate how JavaScript can think about strings

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Piano

- View: http://staticresource.com/piano.html

- Source: http://staticresource.com/inspect?/piano.html

Piano is a small synth with a piano keyboard, capable of generating square waves on the piano scale to make noise for tuning things, or sketch out a melody, or just to jam around when bored.

I also have my own personal web-based 'command line interface' called JOE that end up being my most-used website and app on whatever device I'm using. I use this to check the weather and USD at least once daily, plus many more times for other things: http://staticresource.com/

Re: I’m a web developer and can't make anymore the simplest web app

#8

Here is a great link from today. "JavaScript fatigue fatigue" http://www.2ality.com/2016/02/js-fatigue-fatigue.html > Don’t try to know everything – it’s impossible in modern web development.

I didn't get this whole "JavaScript fatigue" thing...

When I started web development. There already was a bunch of different stuff and no one tried to learn it all.

Pearl, PHP, .Net, ColdFusion, Java and what not...

Re: I’m a web developer and can't make anymore the simplest web app

#9
I'm getting really tired of these sort of posts/comments on how hard it is to make a "simple website" these days. If you want to make a website the old way no one is stopping you. Tools exist because no one wants to do it the old way because the old way sucks.

Which combination of tools should you use? Ember if you have no idea where to start - otherwise thing about the problem you have with other tools and find tools that solve those problems.

Re: I’m a web developer and can't make anymore the simplest web app

#10
The title is misleading. Should be changed to "I'm a web developer and I realized that chasing after every new tech under the sun can be counterproductive".

I do agree that with the semi-recent "resurgence" of Javascript there's an abundance of frameworks and tools out there both for the client and server side making the selection of the "ecosystem" that would fit your needs challenging.

My take on this is stick to the basics until you realize that you need to look into something new. Client-side technology upgrades are reasonably simple as long as the client-server contract is defined up front (we doing old school gets/posts or ajax or wss etc?).

Server-side decisions are a little more tricky than that but once you commit to a definite decision on the server side tech, the specifics can be worked out down the road without affecting the client.

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