[thelist] Hand Coding (was Dreamweaver Codewriting)

Chris Kaminski chris at setmajer.com
Mon Jun 17 01:07:00 CDT 2002


Sorry to jump in the in the middle, but there are a few misconceptions here
I might be able to clear up, specifically:

Thus spake Martin Tsachev:

> Then you haven't yet learnt to hand code. Besides visual feedback *is
> misleading* - it's not print it's the web, the same code may look
> completely different on different browsers/platforms.

Misleading, yes, but for some folks seeing the way the page lays out is very
important. Not everyone thinks alike. For visual thinkers, seeing the page
develop is a major boon. A pixel here or ten there is rather beside the
point. They can just work much faster with a visual representation of the
page in front of them, regardless of whether it is perfectly accurate.

Personally, I prefer to think in terms of abstract structure while
authoring, and monkeying about with buttons and palettes and clicks'n'drags
gets in my way. For some folks doing so w/o a visual aid really slows them
down.

I think that's part of the reason this debate keeps cropping up: people who
prefer hand coding find visual editors cumbersome and intrusive, and can't
imagine how anyone can be productive with them (I know I do), while people
who prefer visual editors find hand coding vague and unwieldy and can't
imagine how anyone can be productive /that/ way. There's a fundamental
cognitive difference there, and neither really has an overall advantage.

> Actually typing it yourself is *faster* than having to move your hand
> to the mouse click a button, then move back your hand to the keyboard
> then type something and again...

Not necessarily. I don't have the exact URL, but Bruce Tognazzini has done
tests on mousing vs. keyboarding, and mousing is generally faster even than
keyboard shortcuts because mousing is unconscious; even experienced
operators think for a brief instant about the keyboard shortcut, slowing
them down. According to Tog, the reason mousing /feels/ slower is that you
don't think about it, and so aren't distracted and you notice the time. When
using the keyboard shortcut, you think just for a millisecond about the
keystroke, which occupies your mind so you don't notice the time.

I'm not so sure that I'm particularly slower with keyboard shortcuts than
with a mouse, but Tog says he's done tests on it. You should be able to find
his discussion of the topic at <http://www.asktog.com>.

> Tell me please how can you expect a web page to look the same on a 21"
> monitor and an average PDA with a black on white display? PostScript
> is a completely different story and yes I won't hand write it if I had
> to **PRINT**.

Yeah, the PostScript argument is as flawed as any other analogy.

Still and all, I don't see any reason to evangelize one method of working or
the other. They're both effective, and the most important thing is probably
to get familiar with both and then stick with whichever is most comfortable.


chris.kaminski == ( design | code | analysis )

------------------------------------------------------------
    By giving us the opinions of the
    uneducated, [journalism] keeps us
    in touch with the ignorance of
    the community.
    ---------------------------------------<< Oscar Wilde >>




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