Web skills wish list for 2007
So 2006 is drawing to a close and I’m thinking about what I’d like to learn in 2007. At this point in my career, I have a good foundation in the skills that I use every day: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, and PHP. I also do pretty well from the Linux command line, I sort of know my way around Photoshop, and I dabble a bit in SEO. Not too shabby, but there’s definitely room for improvement.
Given that, I plan to spend most of 2007 improving the skills I already have. Excellent books and articles come around all the time, so there will never be a shortage of new tricks to teach old dogs like me. I’d like to get up-to-date on the latest CSS tricks, learn more about object-oriented PHP, and even deepen my understanding of SQL. I’ll probably see what all the hoopla over MVC frameworks is about too.
However, my main focus will be on JavaScript and Ajax. My JavaScript skills have come a long way since I dismissed it as mostly useless about three years ago, but I’m still just scratching the surface of what is possible. The rise of object-oriented JavaScript, Ajax techniques, and a raft of free code libraries (Prototype, Dojo, jQuery, mooTools, etc.) have dramatically altered the JavaScript landscape. Developers ignore all of these changes at their own peril.
Anybody else planning to learn something next year?
Sphere: Related ContentFirefox unofficially passes the Acid2 test
Following a massive trunk check-in by David Baron that has been two years in the making, the latest trunk nightlies of Firefox finally pass the Acid2 test. Most people will not see this until late next year when Firefox 3 is released. The nightly trunk builds are code-named Minefield and that should give you an idea of what to expect from them. Nonetheless this is great news for people like me who believe in the importance of Web standards to advance our craft into the future.
In a related note, the first alpha of what will become Firefox 3 was released a few days ago. This one is code named Gran Paradiso. Confused yet? Here is the Announcement on Mozilla DevNews and an article on CNet.
As for Microsoft, they’re apparently working on something called IE.next. I wouldn’t hold my breath for it to pass Acid2, but they are soliciting recommendations for changes that should be made. That’s certainly a step in the right direction.
Sphere: Related ContentMaybe I’ll get that Ph.D. after all
Computational linguistics didn’t work out, but I could always settle for a Doctor of Web Science. What do you think?
Sphere: Related ContentTo blog or not to blog
Yes, that is the question. I’ll spare you my half-baked paraphrase including “the slings and arrows of outrageous spam”. You can thank me later. According to the good people at Akismet, spam now accounts for 93% of all blog comments. I don’t know about you, but I find that discouraging. On this blog so far, I have 37 legitimate comments and 946 attempted spam comments (Akismet blocks them all thankfully). So my spam percentage is actually a little higher than 96% (946 / 983). Hooray…
I have to wonder which comes first… the audience or the blog? It’s not quite as memorable as the whole chicken and egg debate, but it is something that all bloggers face. I read recently that the readership of the average blog is one. Yes, you read that correctly… one person. Probably whoever the blogger happens to be. I guess I should find solace in the fact that at least three people read this blog. Hooray again…
No, I’m not going to give it up… at least not now. I’ll reassess the situation in a few months, but I still feel that I have some worthwhile things to say and this is probably the only blog in existence to focus on “Web development, open source, linguistics, Africa, and more”. I’d hate to disappoint my readers by throwing in the towel. Neither one of them would be very happy about that…
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