[AccessD] Web Applications

Great review Ken, but again, without a super webdev IDE like Visual Studio
2008,
I challenge anyone to be proficient in all of the below with development via
text editor.

Also, the cross-browser issue is huge IMHO.
IE6 renders my most favorite CSS-heavy website with no problem.
Firefox cannot render it...at all.
Told them about it 5 months ago....still no solution.
Lack of standard rendering engine just makes for web developer and end-user
misery.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of
> Kenneth Ismert
> Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 5:51 PM
> To: accessd at databaseadvisors.com
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Web Applications
>
> Mark,
>
> Max gave a good outline of the skills needed to make a web
> application, and William provided good insight, too: you
> don't have to be an expert in all these categories to produce
> a good web site.
>
> A one word summary of this post would be "frameworks". For
> more words, read on. For references, go to the end.
>
> As far as the learning curve goes, I would say:
>
> 1) HTML - Easy
>    You are on the standards-compliant, table-less div-based
> layout bandwagon, aren't you? Advice: build your HTML/CSS in
> FireFox using the FireBug add-in, then fix compatibility
> issues that arise with other browsers. FireFox is far and
> away the best developer's web platform out there.
>
> 2) CSS - Difficult, but getting easier --
>    Mainly because of cross-browser compatibility issues
> *cough* IE6 *cough*.
> IE6 consumed almost 2/3 of my CSS consulting time on one
> large project I was on. Blessedly, IE6 is dying, and the
> worst cross-browser issues are dying with it. Use IE7 as your
> lowest common denominator when designing standards-compliant sites.
>    There is so much CSS documentation out there (a lot
> incomplete, some misleading or just plain wrong), that it can
> be hard to find the critical points you must grasp to make
> your style sheets work. Get a good book. See below.
>
> 3) Javascript/DHTML - Hard --
>    Javascript was a rushed project that instantly became the
> web client-scripting standard after it was launched, and it
> carries all the warts of its hurried design with it today.
> That means the web is awash with bad coding examples and
> confused advice on how to use it. Javascript is, at it's
> heart, Lisp with a C syntax. If you use it in a Lisp-like way
> (first-class functions, closures), you will get the highest value.
>   There are an enormous number of mature Javascript
> FRAMEWORKS out there that will perform AJAX/DHTML functions
> with ease. If you are doing anything non-trivial with
> Javascript, you must choose and use one.
>   Javascript is poised for a renaissance. All the significant
> browser players (MS is not a significant player) are building
> Javascript optimization technologies that will dramatically
> improve it's performance.
> Javascript will equal or exceed Silverlight's capabilities as
> an client-side web application platform.
>
> 4) Back-end database - In hand --
>    Members of this list will have no trouble building
> databases to support web apps.
>
> 5) Back-end business logic - Doable --
>    Sorry, but you can't use VBA. You'll have to use something
> newer, like PHP, Python, Ruby, or .NET. All modern web
> languages are vastly better than VBA -- once you learn one,
> VBA will strike you as limited and clumsy.
>    Don't build your site from scratch using just your chosen
> language -- that's so Web 1.0! The language is secondary to
> your real choice: what web FRAMEWORK to use in that language.
> Web frameworks are a philosophical and sometimes religious
> choice, but you can choose based on breadth of support and
> applicability to the type of application you are building.
>
> 6) Graphics - Use a Mac --
>    Or find someone who does. What I'm saying is, if it's not
> your cup of tea, get a designer. GIFs are out, PNG is in.
> Don't edit a Mac-made PNG on your PC -- you'll screw up the
> gamma, and your designer will complain.
>
> 7) Web architect - No one right way --
>    Once you've mastered a subset of these skills, putting it
> all together is one of the simplest things. If you can get it
> to work, you've done it right.
> If your site is successful, you will have plenty of time to
> fix your mistakes.
>
> Books:
> JavaScript: The Good Parts --
> http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517748/ -- Douglas
> Crockford Crockford, a curmudgeon and world's leading
> Javascript expert, tells you what to use in Javascript, and
> what to avoid, in a dense, slim volume.
>
> Stylin' with CSS -- http://www.stylinwithcss.com/ -- Charles
> Wyke-Smith Wyke-Smith gives a correct, fairly complete, and
> up-to-date tour of CSS, while avoiding common pitfalls.
>
> Links:
> The Browsers of 2009 -- http://css.dzone.com/news/browsers-2009
> A cost/benefit analysis of developing for the various browser
> platforms -- the IE6 comments bear out in my experience.
>
> CSS: Specificity Wars --
> http://www.stuffandnonsense.co.uk/archives/css_specificity_wars.html
> Andy Clarke gives by far the most approachable introduction
> to the CSS specificity that I've seen. If you don't
> understand specificity, you'll struggle endlessly trying to
> get your CSS to work.
>
> -Ken
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