There is a forum that I visit every once in a while, a place where a lot of youngsters flock for sharing ideas and seeking help on technical topics. As would happen due to my strongly felt statements, I recently got into a flaming match. Fortunately this is being conducted via IMs and not on the public forum directly.
I am finding it noteworthy because a decade back or so, I would have taken the stand that I am currently speaking against. The topic at discussion here is what should one do if one wants to build great websites. As always, I have chosen function over form and gone for learning design patterns, frameworks, understanding how logic is written and how algorithms can make you code better.
The youth (I am assuming that he is one, since his language reflects the brazenness of a college brat), has a simple argument. Since the end point of all websites is HTML, one should learn HTML inside out (HTML, CSS, JS, validations, the works). In all probability, I would have chosen the same answer … but that’s what decades are for – telling us our past answers were wrong :-)
As I was trading IMs, I realized that perhaps there is more to this question than a simple answer –
- Form V/s Function: Firstly, there is the age old looks v/s functionality argument.
- You have the what makes a website great topic (Purpose, Usability, Functionality, what?)
- Then there is the Purpose of a website tangent
- And if that’s not all, you have the you cannot teach creativity argument
All the aforementioned approaches can enable one to make websites. They are tools. But first, do you have an idea as to what problem are you solving with your website?
Get an idea.
Why not form and function? Why does it have to be either or?
Ashish, very few people can take that stand. People who are analytical, cannot synthesize. People who create, cannot be destructive.