David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞. » Poll

Poll: Should Browsers Implement Lazy Loading?

David Walsh — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:38:03 +0000

Lazy loading is the process of delaying the load of a resource until it’s needed. Image a webpage that’s 2,000 pixels high (lots of scrolling). Why should the images toward the bottom of the page load if the user clicks the first link way up at the top of the page? Doesn’t make sense.

There are plugins for each JavaScript framework today that implement lazy loading for images and JavaScript files but the user only gets that load time advantage if the web developer implements lazy loading for them. Boooo. Browser vendors already off loads of features to enhance the web experience — why not lazy loading? I would go as far as to say that it’s the browser vendors’ responsibility to be provide lazy loading functionality…but that’s just me. Or is it?

What do you think? Vote below!

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Poll: Browser-Specific CSS Styles

David Walsh — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:02:01 +0000

The first time I remember seeing browser-specific CSS styles was when I went to a website and saw that the scrollbars were a different color than Windows’ usual grey colors. I thought it was pretty cool — not necessarily useful by definitely creative.

Fast forward to a year or two ago when I started to see Safari implementing its own CSS creations like CSS animations and rounded corner. I didn’t like these proprietary styles initially because I felt that the browsers were getting too different and that it would lead to Firefox and IE creating their own brand of CSS as well.

Today I’m still wary of browser-specific styles but I have embraced their “added bonus” purpose. I enjoy adding rounded corners for elements in Firefox and Safari. I also pray that the CSS standard body gets with the program and makes these standard so we don’t have 20 different rounded-corner directives.

I’d like to know how you feel about browser-specific CSS styles. Vote below and add your opinion in the comments below. This is a fun but important topic.

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Poll Follow Up: How Many Domains Do You Own?

David Walsh — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:58:51 +0000

It was interesting to see how many domains you all had. I’m a serial domain buyer. Ever since I bought my first domain, DWIZZLE.COM (which I stupidly let go), I loved the power that it gave. Apparently many of you agreed:

The Count

Number of Domains	Percentage	Votes
1-3	32%	143 votes
4-7	26%	118 votes
10-20	13%	56 votes
7-10	12%	55 votes
More Than 20	12%	53 votes
0	5%	22 votes

Here’s an honest rundown of my domains:

305JIVE.COM – I lived with friends at a house who’s address was 305. And we talk a lot of smack. So the 305 Jive it was.
ABROKENARROW.COM – An awesome Rod Stewart song.
BLUDICE.COM – This was my blog’s original domain.
CONCERT-FLASHING.COM – Not embarassed by this at all — I’ve been trying to sell it for a few years now and no one is biting.
DAVID-WALSH.COM – I’d like this to be my main domain but it’s too late.
DAVIDWALSH.NAME – You figure this out….
DEVGODS.COM – This was a bright idea that never took.
GETTINITSTARTED.COM – I used to have a portal for my friends here, but then this little startup called Facebook got popularity.
IFRAGGEDYOU.COM – I just love this one and what it stands for. I used to be a badass Call of Duty 2 hitman and I’d take screenshots of people I smoked.
MCFARLAND-FIRE.COM – My little bro’s soccer team’s website.
SCRIPTANDSTYLE.COM – Where you can become a better designer and developer.
WYNQ.COM – The domain for my freelance business, Wynq Web Labs.

A good domain name is golden. Too bad there are scores of domain squatters preventing some potentially huge sites from lifting off.

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Poll: How Many Domains Do You Own?

David Walsh — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:28:10 +0000

If you’re anything like me, you get hit with “great” ideas every 10 minutes. With the ecstatic feeling this new idea brings, you navigate to your domain registrar of choice to snatch up the clever domain that will surely make your “great” idea even more “great.” Exciting!

Fast forward to a week later and the so-called “great” idea was quite possibly the worst idea of your life. You look at yourself in the mirror and question all of the decisions you’ve made in your life, from breaking up with Jenna in high school, to taking Visual Basic instead of PHP back in college, to ordering a latte instead of a cappuccino at Starbucks that morning.

I want to know how many domains you own. Keep in mind that work-related domains don’t count in this poll. After you vote, share you story of false glory by saying how many you wish you hadn’t gotten!

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Poll Follow Up: What is Your Preferred Browser?

David Walsh — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:49:41 +0000

When I created the “preferred browser” poll I was interested in seeing if my assumption that Firefox would reign supreme was spot on or completely off. It turns out that I was right but I have a few other thoughts on the outcome.

The Count

Browser	Percentage	Votes
Mozilla Firefox	74%	557 votes
Apple Safari	8%	60 votes
Google Chrome	7%	54 votes
Opera	6%	46 votes
Internet Explorer	4%	29 votes
Other	1%	5 votes

The Analysis

Firefox won by the margin expected. Why? Development tools. Firebug. Web Developer Toolbar. YSlow. Other browsers: learn from this.
I think if you win the favor of developers, you slowly win the future of the web. If it’s easy to program for Firefox and a pain to program for IE, developers will eventually start to program mostly for Firefox and users will follow.
I wish I would’ve separated “Safari – Mac” and “Safari – Windows.” I have to assume that 95+% of those that answered Safari are Mac users…
…although I may as well consider Chrome “Safari – Windows.”
Webkit’s speed is what makes Safari and Chrome contenders.
Opera’s tiny 6% is concerning. If Opera only gets 6% of front-end devs in this poll (I realize that this poll is very small in scale), what hope does it have for non-devs? What role does Opera play?
I don’t see non-frequent web users moving to Firefox…but I do see them moving to Chrome. Why? Because Google is likely their homepage and Google can promote Chrome.
If this post when to people 18-35 that weren’t web developers, how many do you think would vote for a mobile device (iPhone)? How about a year from now?
I think it would be interesting to run a poll on a user’s SECOND preferred browser.
I applaud those honest enough to vote for Internet Explorer.

What are your thoughts on the results?

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Poll: What’s Your Preferred Browser?

David Walsh — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:46:24 +0000

A developer’s preferred browser is almost as sacred as a developer’s text editor of choice. Getting to know a browser allows the developer to program more efficiently, find resources more quickly, and enjoy the web more than the average user. I’d like to know which browser you prefer and, more importantly, why? Please vote and explain your preference in the comments section below.

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Poll: What is Your Preferred Server-Side Language?

David Walsh — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:50:43 +0000

While we all enjoy the shock and awe that comes with AJAX and our preferred JavaScript framework, it’s really the server-side language that makes everything happen. From content management systems, to multimedia-driven websites, to eCommerce goldmines, the backend is the real power behind a success website.

I’d like to know which server-side language you prefer. Which do you work in every day? Are you forced to use one at work and another for personal programming? Why do you prefer one language over the others? Share!

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I look forward to seeing your responses and will share my preference after I see what you have to say!

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Poll Follow Up: What is Your Preferred JavaScript Framework?

David Walsh — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:02:28 +0000

A few weeks and 450 votes ago I posted a poll: What is Your Preferred JavaScript Framework? After reviewing the results, I’d like to share with you the statistics and a few thoughts that have come to mind.

The Count

Framework	Percentage	Votes
jQuery	50%	226 votes
MooTools	45%	201 votes
Prototype / Script.aculo.us	2%	9 votes
YUI	1%	5 votes
Other	1%	5 votes
Dojo	0%	2 votes
MochiKit	0%	1 vote

The Analysis

I anticipated a higher-than-average percentage of votes for MooTools and that’s exactly what I got…
But what I didn’t anticipate was that the number of votes for jQuery would surpass MooTools. I understand jQuery’s popularity surpasses Moo’s but since I rarely write about jQuery, I asked myself “Why are all these jQuery coders frequent readers?” I may have to try to write a bit more jQuery.
Only 9 votes for Prototype/Script.aculo.us, which is what I had anticipated. What’s funny is that I very, very rarely see an article about either. It makes me question what Google Trends tells us about the JavaScript libraries.
Only 2.x% percent was achieved by frameworks other than the three mentioned above. I wonder if this is a reflection of my audience or of the web in general. AJAXian authored the last “big” survey that I’m aware of but they left off Moo which slightly invalidates it.
I think one thing that works against Moo is that, as their website states, Moo is targeted toward the intermediate to advanced JavaScript coder while jQuery is said to be more beginner-friendly. If I were a beginner and I got to know jQuery well, why wouldn’t I stick with it? What motivation do I have to switch? Just a thought.
I think that if I ran this poll a year from now, the ration of each framework would be exactly the same. And that’s speaking well for Moo, as I believe its userbase will keep up with jQuery’s in 2009.
What would be very interesting to find out is how many people started with one and switched to another and for what reason.

Did you start with one framework and switch to another? Which and why? Please share!

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Poll: What is Your Preferred JavaScript Framework?

David Walsh — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:52:19 +0000

As different as the JavaScript frameworks can be, they all do just about the same thing. Still, a developer’s choice of JavaScript framework is a very personal decision. When choosing a framework, a developer must consider:

component modularity
file size
community support
code efficiency
project needs (on a project by project basis)

What framework do you prefer? Make your vote and share your reasoning in the comments.

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