HTML/CSS/JS ... some observations
Thursday, February 22, 2024
I retired from ASP, CMS, HTML, CSS and JavaScript coding in 2019. But I keep my hand in handling small jobs and learning new ways to make things work.One of the fascinating things to watch is the development of HTML/CSS/JS. In my mind, HTML is a simpler and more direct way to build web pages.You didn't need complicated languages or compilers or indepth programming knowledge. It is straight forward logic.
It takes just 4 lines to write "Hello, World".
<html>
<head></head>
<body>Hello, World!</body>
</html>
Along came Classic ASP, which is now about 20+ years old. I learned to code and debug in Classic ASP using notepad and then Textpad. Amazing how much faster you learn, when you have to fix your own coding mistakes.
Then programmers got involved
The next generation was ASP.net. For me, ASP.net was not as friendly. You couldn't code in a simple editor. You had to learn Visual Studio and set up an entire structure. It just felt like programmers taking over a simple project and making it more complicated.Mind you, my late husband was a skilled programmer -- assembly, SAS, shell, C, C++, Java -- picking up languages as they evolved. He also understood hardware. In my line of work, I was the conduit who interpreted what the programmers did, coding it to work for the customer. That is a level of expertise on its own.
And they dummied it down
My current and only hosting provider, Network Solutions, still supports Classic ASP, which is considered a "relic" by its support people. I started searching other hosting sites, all of which seem to be pushing user-friendly web building packages. Hosting for the masses. Nothing wrong with that and quite profitable, I suspect.You choose a pre-designed template page with limited customization of text, images and pre-set styling. I find false limitations frustrating. Why can't I add my own stylesheet, tweak the size or move that object 40 pixels to the right. These are the abilities I look for from a host.
I shoud probably interject here ... good software has almost no limitations. It's the marketing guys and accountants, who want to break capabilities into things they can monetize. You only get 4 headline styles; the rest cost more. False limitations.
But HTML is fighting back ... oh, joy!
Meanwhile, the advent of CSS has brought a new force allowing elegant page effects without complicated coding. Fast forward and HTML is talking about web components, reusable HTML templates and custom elements. We can define the headers & footers in a single javascript, put <divs> on the pages and then use Javascript to populate the divs using the innerHTML construct. No Classic ASP, no ASP.net, no java, no C++, no compiles. Just some HTML and JavaScript.Check out the Introduction to Web Components by Caleb Williams over at CSS-Tricks.com.
What are the top web building packages? Can I add customized HTML, CSS, JS codes?
USA Today's Pick on Best Webbuilders.
What are the top programming languages for 2030-2024". What should I learn? Where is my time best utilized?IEEE Spectrum: "The Top Programming Languages of 2023".
