First up at #AEASF is @adactio about declarative design! (Yes, I'm back to my live-tweeting thing!)
He's starting off with music - there's Mozart writing every note down, then there's Miles Davis doing improv. All sorts of ways to compose music, and both are considered genius!
He's starting off with music - there's Mozart writing every note down, then there's Miles Davis doing improv. All sorts of ways to compose music, and both are considered genius!
@adactio Same thing in programming too - imperative programming gives the computer step by steps. Then there's declarative programming (like SQL), where you tell the computer the result you want. @adactio #AEASF
.@timberners_lee created the World Wide Web with the "principle of least power" - use the most efficient way to parse information. Both HTML and CSS are declarative, fault-tolerant languages. They ignore what they don't understand. @adactio #AEASF
@adactio CSS is thought of as declarative, but it's actually more suggestive. It's more of a conversation between the end users, browser, and the author. @adactio #AEASF
@adactio Re: web technologies, there's JavaScript, which is an imperative language. It's more powerful, but it's more fragile. If it doesn't understand a direction, it throws an error. @adactio #AEASF
@adactio You can use imperative and declarative languages together - use declarative approach first, then use imperative to be more specific. Ex: inputs. Defaults to text field, but you can specify email, telephone, etc. @adactio #AEASF
@adactio Using a simpler solution lower in the tech stack means the solution is more robust.
"JS should only do what only JS can do." Don't write dozens of lines of code when you can use <button>! But many programmers want the kind of control imperative langs give. @adactio #AEASF
"JS should only do what only JS can do." Don't write dozens of lines of code when you can use <button>! But many programmers want the kind of control imperative langs give. @adactio #AEASF
@adactio Imperative mindset = working off of a lot of assumptions. Using a declarative mindset gets you thinking about what the browser might be doing by default and adjusting. (Ex: padding-left = the start of a line assumes your user will be reading left to right.) @adactio #AEASF
@adactio Other things that the browser can (and should) calculate, not humans! "Be the browser's mentor, not its micromanager" according to buildexcellentwebsit.es @adactio #AEASF
@adactio We even have imperative and declarative approaches to management! Imperative management = micromanaging, declarative management = trust to get to an outcome. It depends on the culture. @adactio #AEASF
@adactio .@adactio says that design systems make clear the culture. It's "the way we do things around here." You can take an imperative and declarative approaches to design systems too. #AEASF
@adactio You can have imperative and declarative thinking. Analytical thinking is imperative = v. exact, great for zooming in, not great for people. Systems thinking is declarative thinking = about relationships.
Design systems are often imperative, thus fragile. @adactio #AEASF
Design systems are often imperative, thus fragile. @adactio #AEASF
@adactio Instead of using hex codes to define colors, how about using relationships? Ex: the fill should be 10% lighter than the border. You can use CSS to get the browser to calculate that. @adactio #AEASF
@adactio HAH @adactio totally calls me out - as a classically trained pianist, sight-reading (aka imperative) is indeed my superpower. But I CANNOT improv or play by ear to save my life. 😅 #AEASF
@adactio Remember that the tools we use start to change the way we work. The way we design right now (including Figma prototyping) is VERY imperative. @adactio quotes @danmall: "Let's not design in the browser, let's decide in the browser." #AEASF
@adactio It always depends! The imperative approach works for print and native apps, but doesn't work so well for the web. We're trying to control something we can't actually control. "Fighting for control on the web is a losing battle." @adactio #AEASF
@adactio CSS is an incredible powerful tool, let's lean into letting go of that control! @adactio #AEASF
@adactio .@adactio says it's possible to use too much ARIA. Use native HTML if you can. When it comes to accessibility, use the principle of least power. #AEASF
To specify, we use ARIA as a fill. We use it until we don't need to use it anymore. If you overuse ARIA, you're trying to exert control over the browser. @adactio #AEASF
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