DEV Community: Rene Zorzi

Web design does not need Paid Software

Rene Zorzi — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 08:34:25 +0000

Introduction

In this post I am going to discuss what are some options for designing Wireframes/UIs using free tools for self-growth and knowledge improvement. Before proceeding, I would like to note that not all software in here is free for commercial purposes, but for individualistic improvements it is a great start.

In order to proceed, let us make some considerations:

tools have to be free or freemium providing a huge amount of features or some extended storage in the platform or website;
there has to be no installation process
the output wireframe/UI can be downloaded and edited easily

Now that we have setup some basic consideration to proceed on how to assess the tools, I will categorize the post in Online tools, and offline tools.

ONLINE TOOLS

In this category I am going to share the tools that I see as powerful for creating designs on the web. There are many wireframe tools, although none of them are highly customizable or very restrictive.

Canva.com

Canva is definitely one of the biggest players in the online design for website or for other type of formats. In one of my recent videos on Youtube I made a point showcasing that it is possible to design wireframes in Canva by using properties such as shapes and grouping items for the scenario. Here I share my video again:

If you have watched my video, you may see that it is possible to create great wireframes for web design related material. You can also use multiple pages in canva allowing to both do wireframes as well as convert to a design interface with styled items and portions of the site.

An online paint website

In this type of website I am referring to all cloud hostings like google drawings or its alternatives for designing wireframes and UI design. These tools allow users to create great wireframes, unfortunately for ui designs is very bad. Either normally users need to install on their account some stock photos to use for templates or use urls and embed them.

Secondly depending on the tool, there may be some restrictions on file size, cloud size and projects number.
Many website outweigh the benefits from the disadvantages, therefore I added them on this list

OFFLINE TOOLS

There are many offline tool available by default, here are some suggestions by categories.

A writing software

Some writing software allow to write and create sketches from within the application. this is great for wireframes and documenting the purpose or goal of the interface or annotate the components.

An offline Sketching tool

This tools are similar to the online versions such as the Paint, paint3D on Windows or Notes app in macOS/iOS. They are downloaded by default in the operating systems since they are developed by the operating systems companies and have powerful drawing features. For designing the website this is though a limitation and it is probably best to invest into an online tool.

Which Programming language to Learn?

Rene Zorzi — Sun, 05 Jul 2020 10:01:25 +0000

I have recently come across many programming question in the various discussion sites ( Facebook groups, Reddits, etc...) in which people ask questions such as these ones:

should I learn Python or C++;
should I learn Java or Python?
should I learn C++ or Rust?

While these questions seem to be beneficial, they actually miss one key aspect that is the most important one and individualistically determined: the field of interest.

So what is the field of Interest?

The field of interest is simply the area that a programmer/ developer wants to focus. Examples include AI (Artificial Intelligence), Data Science, Web development, Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, etc...
This is the most relevant aspect because depending on the area, certain languages are best suited, while others are not. Someone in AI may be of interest studying R for statistical analysis, but for cybersecurity R may not be necessary.

So, now that I have explained briefly this, let me answer how a first programming language should be treated.

So what should I learn in a first programming language?

It is best for begineers that the first language is taken generally by focusing on programming principles. In other words:

data types, class building
conditions/ loops/ logic
arrays
storing information on some files, variables
developing a gui with Object-oriented principles
language difficulties
how to transfer all previous information into a new language (language design)

So, how to transfer a language learned information into a new one?

First, to tranfer the knowledge it is important to read the docs and check what is similar to the first language, then for the main differences it may be a good option to do some hands-on programming related and understand the key differences between the first and the second language codes.

Second, do projects in both languages. Try to answer the following:

How is the design of a language project related to the other language?
What hierarchy of code does the language support?
How GUIs differ between the languages?

Learn to write the minimum code possible

While this is not a requirement, sometimes a language gives users shortcuts on how to implement a particular code, how to minimize the program lines and how to make sure that the code works still properly.

Challenge yourself and try to minimize the lines of code.

Consider other factors (this is only a starting point questions) :

if you need to use form information will the code still validate correctly or are there bugs? If yes, are they critical? If no, are there side effects due to the new code, for example if a class has been changed how does this impact the other classes and main code?

NOTE TO CONSIDER

This is only an opinion, a thought-oriented discussion on such questions. If you feel, I missed key aspects or key ideas on a first language to learn, please write it in the comments, and I will edit it in the blog post.