• Don’t leave to-do lists within your code comments, especially if you’re delivering code to the client.  You think you’re going to remember to remove it…you wont.  Even if the to-do’s are above and beyond the spec, the client or developer that follows you have license to point at what you didn’t get done.
• Swearing in comments is unprofessional but I would never go so far as to say that you shouldn’t do so.  If changing this line will break the ENTIRE FUCKING app, swear away.  Hopefully it will scare someone away from doing something crazy.
• Use single-line comments whenever possible.  I always preferred multi-line comments but when you truly do need to comment out 50 lines, you’re stuck deleting a whole lot of multi-line comment endings.
• Do not over comment.  No one wants to read a novel about how “numItems” represents the number of items.
• If you are over-commenting, you’re probably naming your functions and variables poorly.
• Citing line numbers in your comments is not helpful, as they will very soon become wrong.
• Keep in mind that Google Code allows other developers to search your code, comments included.
• Develop a habit of formatting your code comments consistently.  That will allow for easier search and replace functionality in the future.
• Take the time to find good colors for your comments in your text editor of choice — it will help more than you know.
• Insulting other developers in your code?  In office:  hilarious.  Outside of work:  offensive.

Those are just a my initial thoughts about code commenting. Have some thoughts to add?  Share them!

Thoughts on Code Commenting is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

Integrity is simple as hell to use and gets results quickly.  The UI is simple so there’s no mistaking which links were good and which links were broken.  You can also direct Integrity to ignore querystrings, check for unique page titles, check external links, find broken images, and more.

You may be asking why I didn’t use a web service and the answer is simple:  I needed to check a website that was setup on my local Apache server.  Integrity flawlessly crawled my local app and found broken links I would have otherwise missed.

If you write medium to large sized web applications, this application is a must.  Go grab it and support its author, Shiela Dixon.

Integrity: Link Checker for Mac is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

Over the past months I’ve given away dozens of Google Wave invites via my Twitter feed. Selfless? Yes. Kind? Of course. Generous? Always. So far I’ve simply given them away but now we’re going to play a new game!

The Plot

I’m going to keep this post open and you are going to ask me for a Wave invite via the comments section. As I get new invites, I will simply send them randomly. There is, however, a catch: you must post a link to your favorite photo of Christina Ricci. You scratch my back, I scratch yours.

I currently have 10 available. Good luck!

Google Wave Invites Giveaway is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

I’d like to take a moment this Thanksgiving to thank some people that deserved to be.

• I’d like to thank the MooTools team for all of the support and hard work. I feel truly honored to be around such intelligent, driven group of individuals. I’d like to specifically thank Aaron Newton and Valerio Proietti for being great leaders and advisers. MooTools FTW.
• I’d like to thank members of the MooTools community for all of their hard work. Sometimes I don’t think we all realize just how much we’re changing the web. Keep up the good work MooToolers!
• I’d like to thank friends like Chris Coyier and Eric Wendelin for letting me bounce ideas off of them, however rubbish they may be.
• I’d like to thank Babel Fish for allowing me to easily translate senseless phrases to other languages so that I may send said messages to foreign members of the MooTools team.
• I’d like to thank Rey Bango for being my whipping boy whenever I need to talk smack to someone.
• I’d like to thank Twitter for creating a service that allows me to be riveting in 140 characters or less.
• I’d like to thank DirecTv for allowing to purchase not one but two soccer packages. I get to see EPL, SPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue, Russian League, and Champhions League. In turn I’d like to thank Darren Waddell for being patient with me as I ask questions and initially attempted to be a Chelsea fan. I’ve seen the errors of my ways: go Gunners!
• I’d like to thank Internet Explorer for continuing to encourage my creativity and making me think out each piece of my JavaScript code.
• I’d like to thank my advertisers who are unknowingly paying for the rock I just bought.
• I’d like to thank all of the crappy sites our there for giving me so many ideas for improvements.
• I’d like to thank the developers and designers that follow me here, provide encouragement and constructive criticism, and reach out to help with projects. You guys make all the time I spend on this blog worth it.

Thank you again!

What I’m Thankful For: 2009 Web Edition is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

Over the past two years I’ve run my Confessions of a Web Developer series.  Each one has been really popular and well-received.  It’s Friday and I’ve had a bad week so today I want you to confess your web development sins in the comment section below.  Purge your conscious at the end of the week and confess!

I hope to use these for a future post so make them juicy!

Confessions Friday is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

When Webmasters Attack!

Also, what kind of web designer doesn’t already know this? It’s called being organized. However, all that white-space is going to add-up and waste bandwidth, which makes this “beautiful code” (a self-serving, inaccurate, subjective description) not-so-perfect.

What kind of web designer doesn’t know how easy it is to GZIP content which compresses/eliminates all of the extra whitespace that makes code more maintainable?

I don’t think <?php .. is valid HTML 5 either.

This isn’t a “Hello Kitty” picture, Webmaster, so please don’t comment. This will get parsed by PHP and output as HTML.

I link to one stylesheet. It works on firefox, safari and ie8.
If you can’t be bothered to upgrade your browser, I can’t be bothered with you.
None of this If IE>blabla shit.
Oh, and spare me the “but i need IE6 to use some of the software at my office”. I DONT CARE! Use a more recent browser to surf the internet, and stop spreading viruses because you’re too lazy.

I was going to ask you, Webmaster, about your clients’ web visitors and the money they’d be losing by turning away persons with IE6 and IE7 browsers but then I realized I took them all from you. Apparently the order of importance goes: you, client, visitors. That’s completely backward.

…The irony of this article is that it’s one giant PNG image. Further proof that the most beautiful HTML is the nonexistent kind.

Apparently Chris should have used a JPEG?

Why I am not surprised to see a MacOS window?

Because you’re a psychic? WTF is that supposed to mean?

PHP in a .HTML file?
change the title to “What Beautiful HTML Code Looks Like [infoFAIL]“

As long as you’re going to ignore the main point of the post and be a smart ass about the PHP/HTML, I’ll point out that Chris added a .htaccess directive to parse .html files as PHP. Ouch, sick burn!

No title attributes in the anchor tags. Since when does that make for beautiful HTML?

The article isn’t called “What Beautiful SEO Looks Like”.

This page has a story, a sidebar, and a footer. ‘Real’ websites are far more dynamic than this, and by ‘real’ I mean ones that people will go to. Complex websites have complex markup. You shouldn’t be bragging just because you’ve passed your w3schools tests.

You’re right. What he should really brag about are the dozens of thousands of RSS followers and his status within the community.

I get it but to some point it gets stupid. Stop accommodating specific browsers. If the web page loads properly then good but if it doesnt and looks broken then that tells he consumer to upgrade their fucking browser! It should be that simple.

Another lazy, ignorant idiot that doesn’t understand that he isn’t important — his clients and their visitors are. This person clearly doesn’t get it.

In the end…

Thank you again, Webmaster, for reminding me why I should be so proud of the work I do. Without you I couldn’t pay for house, cars, and fine wine. Keep up the good work so I can keep up my fine life!

When Webmasters Attack! is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

1. I’m Allergic to the Sun

I’m not as hot as Kate Beckinsale but I’m just as allergic to the sun as she was in Underworld. The second I see the sun I sneeze. What’s odd is that I used to play outside endlessly as a child — it wasn’t until I became a programmer that I developed this strange allergy to the sun. Today my skin is very white — a monitor tan is the only tan I get these days.

2. I Get Nosebleeds Often

No true nerd gets their official credentials without proof of frequent nosebleeds. Unprovoked and unexplainable, my nosebleeds just appear out of thin air…literally. These pick up quite a bit during the winter. I’ve broken my nose three times but no way to confirm that being a contributing factor.

3. I Have No Immune System

Most of my “vacation days” (PTO) are used up by illnesses that range from migraine headaches to pneumonia to bronchitis. I have the sniffles 365 days a year. I’ll wake up with a sore throat in mid-June. My body has no desire to fight viruses. A perfect excuse to avoid manual labor and sit behind a monitor inside my condo.

4. I Have No “Real Life” Skills

You know how grown men are supposed to be able to change their oil, cook breakfast for their significant other, and do their own laundry? Yeah, not me. No joke — I tried making eggs a few months ago, messed something up, and my kitchen smelled funky for the rest of the day. I’m a complete train wreck when not located within three feet of a computer.

5. I Have No “Social” Skills; Computer > Human

I’m not what you’d consider a “people person.” I’d rather spend 20 minutes typing an email than 3 minutes on the phone. I simply don’t have that gene. When coworkers say hello to me at work I usually reply with “email me.” I’m charming via email, stone cold in person.

6. I Think I’m Much Smarter Than I Really Am

Like any good egotistical programmer, I feel I’m much smarter than I am. Yeah, I slang terms like “prototypal inheritance”, “event delegation”, and many other impressive programming terms, but can I make eggs? No. Doesn’t matter. Why? Because I can slang terms to people who aren’t computer savvy and help fix email problems. I think I belong in MENSA — most other things I belong in on a seat in the corner of the room with a coloring book and non-toxic crayons.

7. Fashion == null

I cannot stand “bros” that wear $200 jeans and $50 Hollister/Abercrombie/American Eagle T-Shirts. I see a Broseph walk down the sidewalk with white shades and a fro-hawk and choke on my own vomit…..yet I have no problem with wearing one of my 5 MooTools shirts to any event. Wedding? Yes…because MooTools has Class. So simple.

I’m a complete nerd for those scoring at home. The life of a programmer as a tough one…God only knows how I can get through each day.

7 Signs I Knew I Was Born To Be a Programmer is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

It’s been 3 solid months of having my MacBook Pro now and I wanted to give a quick overview of my thoughts:

• I loooooooove my MacBook Pro. Not one single regret about dropping $2,000 on it.
• I develop quite a bit faster using TextMate. Nothing against my first love, jEdit, but Textmate is more flexible, functional, and useful.
• The command line is a billion times more powerful thanks to Unix. I commend the efforts of Cygwin developers but there’s nothing like the real thing.
• I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve needed to Force-Quit an application (yes, I’m looking at YOU, iTunes). Seriously.
• Thanks to having this Unix-powered beast, I’ve become better with shell scripting and using command-line utilities and strategies.
• Everything just seems easier. EVERYTHING. Installing and updating applications especially.
• I still need to use a PC at work….and lets just say I’ve put in many requests for a Mac at work to increase my productivity.
• Dock > Start menu
• I enjoy that I don’t need to go through a bunch of shit just to upgrade my OS. No serial number, no online verification, no bull — just upgrade and move on with life.
• The user interface of Mac applications is 100 times better than any Windows application. Not even close.
• I will never, ever buy a PC again as a primary or secondary development machine.
• Programs I use religiously: Adium, Colloquy, Tweetie, TextMate, Photoshop, iTerm, and Transmit.
• Programs I use occasionally: AppFresh, Skitch, Transmission, GitX, VLC.
• I have Windows 7 on VirtualBox and it looks great….but why have that as your primary OS when you can put it on a measly virtual box?
• Although I was told by many to avoid MacPorts, I’ve found MacPorts to be extremely helpful.
• At one point checking my work on Macs was secondary — now checking PCs has become secondary.
• If someone were to ask me why I would choose Macs over PCs, I’d say: “Because things just work.”

I admit: I am a fanboy. I am smug. But I’m also productive, happy, and encouraged by this beast of a machine. MBP FTW!

MacBook Pro: Week 12 is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

I just got the worst news of my life:

Dear Yahoo! GeoCities customer,

We’re writing to let you know that Yahoo! GeoCities, our free web site building service and community, is closing on October 26, 2009.

On October 26, 2009, your GeoCities site will no longer appear on the Web, and you will no longer be able to access your GeoCities account and files.

Well…not the worst news in my life but Geocities was my first sandbox and I owe a lot of my HTML/CSS web growth to my free Geocities account. Too bad Yahoo! eventually bought it out and drove it into the ground. There will always be a need for free hosting providers for young web experimenters and GeoCities was just that for a lot of us.

Did you “grow up” on Geocities like I did? Share your experience!

Important Notice: GeoCities is Closing. is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

Lets say you don’t care about the favicon or don’t have a logo to use as a favicon. Since each browser looks for a “favicon.ico” file when no favicon is assigned, your server may throw off 404 errors on every site visit. What a bunch of wasted bandwidth and server strain!

The solution is to use a blank favicon file. It’s tiny in size, prevents the useless 404 error, and decreases load on the server. Don’t have a blank favicon file? I do. Click here to download it.

Quick Tip: FavIcons and 404 Errors is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.