Blog Post 201
Describe one thing that you’re learning in class today.
This whole week has been dedicated to JavaScript. Mostly just trying to figure out how the heck to make everything on the screen do what I want. Mostly, I’ve learned that I tend to make a lot of typos when I’m typing quickly. JavaScript doesn’t seem to like typos. This may be a recurring problem.
What is the difference between == and ===?
As far as I can tell, == is checking if two values are equal to each other, the type of data doesn’t matter, as long as the values match up. Three equals signs (===) on the other hand, make sure that the values are equal and that the data types match up.
What is the vale of foo? var foo = 10 + ‘20’;
Since ‘20’ in the question is a string, the 10 and the 20 will be added straight onto the end of the 10. Instead of adding them, the computer writes it as ‘1020’.
Describe what a terminal application is.
Looks like a terminal application is just that. It’s an application that can run in the terminal of a text editor. To be entirely honest, I still barely have any idea about how these work. Never seem to want to work for me. This will be an area of study that I’m going to need to go over again.
What is the ternary operator?
Ternary operators are a shorthand way to write comparing statements. They look goofy and I agree with Keith, I don’t like them. Writing an if or if/else statement really seems to basically take the same amount of work and is way easier to read.
What are some ways to ensure that your website design or web application is accessible and user-friendly?
Making sure to use the correct HTML tags is important for accessibility, as well as limiting the chances for error. Instead of having users type inputs, giving them choices to select from can vastly reduce the amount of human error one might find.
What are your favorite features of HTML5, and how have you implemented them in your front-end development projects?
I had to go and google a bit for this. I’ve only ever learned HTML5, so I wasn’t entirely sure what was different between it and its four older and less attractive siblings.
The first couple of things that I’m thankful for is being able to just type <!DOCTYPE html> Whatever had to be done before this came out looks like a nightmare.
Not having to mess with flash players and being able to plug audio and video straight into an html document also seems pretty nice.
How do you structure your CSS and JavaScript to make it easier for other developers to work with?
I’ve recently been trying to add more comments. I’m sure this is something that I’m going to be asked to do quite a bit once I actually get into the industry.
What’s your process for addressing browser-specific rendering problems? Do you find that a certain browser is more challenging to work with than others?
Honestly, I just hop back and forth between a couple of browsers to see the changes. Firefox and Chrome are my two most likely suspects. Each of them have tools that the other might not, so sometimes it is nice to see what works on each browser. Chrome is probably the easiest to work with, as it seems that Firefox has some special tags that need to be used specifically with it, and… I really just don’t know them yet.