DEV Community

Discussion on: The Great Divide is Real, But You Get to Choose Your Side

Collapse
 
oenonono profile image
Junk

I think my point is that you should try to see things from a perspective you no longer have. I could list a bunch of things, but you wouldn't agree unless you thought of them yourself.

Because those coders should not need to solve those problems. It's clear that you're no longer a designer. You are a programmer. But not everyone in the world should be a programmer. That's the behind the design of those languages. They're inclusive for non-programmers.

And people are absolutely suggesting browsers prioritize programmers and JS as first class over non-programmers and HTML and CSS. Every single day someone suggests getting rid of HTML and CSS on Twitter. People as high profile as Kyle Simpson suggest HTML will go away over the next few years. People as high profile as Dan Abramov suggest WYSIWYGs which only allow designers to use already-created components are exactly what designers need.

Remember the browser wars and realize we're in framework and WYSIWYGs wars today. But few are speaking up for standards or languages that invite the participation of non-programmers. Many are circumventing the web platform's inclusive, resilient, better performing foundations as much because it pleases their egos as because it solves a problem. And many more are simply following along without the least thought to the impact.

How would the web platform's inclusiveness survive this intact if few are caring for it?

Thread Thread
 
sirtimbly profile image
Tim Bendt

That's a good point, I no longer have the perspective that got me into this whole web development thing. I listen to a lot of podcasts which feature developers who have started in the last few years though, so I try to stay as in-touch as I can.

You are right, HTML and CSS are easier to teach and learn than JS. I agree that people who would hasten the demise of those technologies should be questioned about the inclusivity of their replacements.

I still don't see the harm in building apps and experiences for my customers and users that circumvent HTML and CSS authoring. I'm not creating it for the users to examine on that level. If they need to learn how to do something there will be other resources and examples of how to create parts of what I've created in my interface.

WYSIWYG development tools have always been an option that helps some people get into programming and which eventually impede and annoy those who have mastered the underlying technologies. I wanted a good WYSIWYG tool when I was starting, I loved flash for that reason. But every WYSIWYG tool I've worked with has had a "hood" you can "pop" to see what's going on, and override the instructions the tool thought you intended - I doubt future iterations will abandon that and make everything be perfectly shrink-wrapped at the browser level.

Thread Thread
 
oenonono profile image
Junk

I don't think they're all bad either. And I hope that popping the hood does stick around! In fact, I hope that interaction evolves and proliferates--it's not really that far from what view source used to accomplish for beginners and what dev tool inspectors do better now with their ability to live edit. Just targeted toward creation of certain things. I kinda wish a browser vendor would take a real go at those use cases as built in dev tools. Make the browser truly both an IDE and design tool.

I'm being only as alarmist about it as I have direct reason to be, though. Coincidentally, a few weeks ago I was chatting with a developer working on a design tool project like I mentioned. I and another dev who identified himself as a designer who codes agreed much like you and I have that there's inherent value in a WYSIWYGs, but that all designers don't need to be isolated from code, that there is a virtuous cycle sort of effect in synergy between code and a GUI, and that we thought there was a lot of room for useful innovation in exploring it and bringing more people into contact with code when they have the interest. Which more people naturally will when they find it a rewarding experience because it helps them do things they want (like design) and aren't scoffed at as innately unsuited to do it. The developer involved in building this new tool argued with us for days that in no way should designers touch code. He even argued that designers weren't qualified to design new UI patterns without a front end developer like him holding their hands.

I suppose he's entitled to his opinion, but I think he's very wrong. And it's not the first time I've heard it, not even close. Like you, I've wandered from my design entry point. But due to how I've specialized I've stayed in close contact and being primarily a coder while still not an insider has given me the opportunity to catch a lot of flak.