Posts about programming

  • Letter size comparison by Alexander Andrews @ Unsplash

    There are three main options for setting the size of text in the web using CSS. The font size can be set in “pixels”, in “EM”s or in ”REM”s. It can be a little difficult to understand where the differences lie, and which unit of measurement is correct.

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  • The user experience nicety of a legible date string.

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  • Four years after writing that BEM syntax in CSS indicates weak coding principles, it’s time for a retraction.

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  • A stripped-back, simple WordPress theme for my personal website, which I can begin extending as and when I have the time.

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  • There are many copy-and-paste examples of how to write your own functions and apply them through WordPress’ hooks and actions. But with a little simple knowledge of PHP’s namespace syntax, developers who regularly work on WordPress projects can make their lives a lot easier, whilst making their code much more robust, portable and secure. The first thing to […]

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  • Eleven years later, and Interlaken Town Council are still using the website I built for them. It may not be programmed for optimal use on mobile devices, pre-dating the iPhone by three years, but it still works flawlessly.

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  • Holy moly. What a discussion we’ve gotten into over on Twitter about CSS specificity, BEM, and inheritance. I wrote yesterday that the idea is flawed and tries to work around problems which aren’t actually problems at all, but part of the language of CSS. As Duncan noted: the problem is actually, “people write bad CSS”. Dirk from […]

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  • I came across the BEM (Block, Element, Modifier) technique for CSS coding today. On reading half a dozen basic introductions to the technique, I saw immediately that the concept is based on weak coding principles, not code simplicity and reusability.

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  • You start off with an idea, progress it to a concept, make a design, fiddle with it for too long, then turn it into a working prototype. If all goes well, then you’re in for a couple more rounds of revisions and improvements, then the site gets filled with content and you launch the site. […]

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  • Can I Use…?

    The most useful website I’ve found to use over the past year for front-end web development is “Can I Use” by Alexis Deveria.

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  • The term “responsive design” refers to the fact that a website is suitable for viewing on any device, from a smartphone to a super-sized t.v. screen. But is it actually important, nearly four years after the requirement became prevalent, that this term is still applied when selling a project to a client?

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  • If you’re like me, a web developer, and programme responsive web layouts using @media queries, you’ll often get lost knowing precisely which set of rules are currently applied to the page. Here’s a handy tip to make things easier.

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  • The Six Year Itch

    I have finally been able to completely re-build this website from the ground up, using responsive design principles and many new features. This first technical post summarizes the reasons behind the need for a new version.

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  • I re-discover the web technology podcast “Big Web Show” and look forward to hearing all of the back episodes.

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  • While my main hobby in my private life is photography, I earn my living through programming websites. Since moving to !frappant back in April last year – has it really been a year already?! – I’ve been striving to learn as many new techniques as possible. It’s been a particular goal to get out of […]

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  • Flexible by default

    One of the great things about being responsible for the technical direction of a team of developers is that you get to bring your ideas to a project and, in many instances, try out new techniques which would otherwise only be seen on a personal website or blog. I wrote at the beginning of the […]

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  • I wanted to make my first foray into HTML5, improve my dynamic scripting skills, and turn the WordPress knowledge I gained during the EMEA project for Burson-Marsteller to my own advantage at the end of 2010, so I re-designed and re-programmed my online portfolio using the most up-to-date techniques possible.

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  • After two and a half years with the Burson-Marsteller Crossmedia team in Bern, I’ve decided to return to my roots as a programmer and technical developer and I’m moving across town to work for web agency !frappant from 1st April 2011.

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  • My biggest work project in 2010 was the re-building of the wide network of websites for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region of Burson-Marsteller.

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  • Regular visitors will note that the new year saw two changes here at Permanent Tourist: namely, the reduction in size of images in articles and the re-naming of the section you’re in now to “Blog”.

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  • coll8, named as an abbreviation of the English word “collate”, allows users of the WordPress publishing software to provide website visitors with a page which collates all of their social media streams into one place: from Twitter and Flickr to Facebook, Vimeo, YouTube and Google Reader.

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