Yet More Changes: CodeStore Joins Weight Watchers
Notice anything different today? Codestore lost weight over night. I finally got round to doing what I've been meaning to do for years now and cleaned up the HTML:
Before
The boxes that used to be on the right-hand-side of the page were marked-up like this:
<div style="border:1px solid #666;"> <div id="comments-latest"> <span class="title">Latest Comments</span> </div> <div style="padding:8px;"> <p>Jake on this entry</p> <p>Jake on this entry</p> </div> </div>
After
Now they're marked up like this. Not only is it lighter it has semantic meaning. Remove CSS from the equation and the HTML markup still gives the content its context.
<h4>Latest Comments</h4> <ul> <li>Jake on this entry</li> <li>Jake on this entry</li> </ul>
At the same time I managed to reduce the 12k of CSS down to 8k. That means nothing in the world of broadband but it makes me happy to think it's now "clean".
At the same time I made some other tweaks (notice the avatars next to the latest comments on the homepage?) and hopefully now it looks a lot cleaner and more professional.
Looking Forward
Next I'm going to tidy up the backend design elements. Changes you won't see. The database is over ten years old and is a mess. Before I can take it any further I want to make sure it's at a point where it represents where I'm at now with Domino design methodologies. Then I can build on top of that.
Looking Back
As I'm, rather ambitiously, calling what you're looking at "release 7" I thought it a good time to update the "memory lane" blog entry and also made an archive copy of R6 so you can remember what it looked like for the past 4 years.
It all makes me feel quite nostalgic and just a tad sad. Flogging a dead horse? It feels a bit like it.
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Takes me back going through the archive as I think I've followed you on codestore since the blogathon in 2002. Good work on the new site changes, they look good.
So that's what you look like Kieren. I'm starting to like this avatar addition. Means I get to see who I'm talking to.
It's always nice to reduce the size of files, and tidy up markup. We should all do more of this, and also think about it more when we produce the markup in the first place. Not everyone is on Broadband, but we often forget this...
Good changes as always Jake.
Agreed Jon.
Another set of changes I want to make is aimed at mobile devices (of which I'm now an avid user). Any weight-saving you can make has got to be good for 3G users.
Jake - looks excellent. Surprised you mention flogging a dead horse - this is a brilliant and inspirational site.
What on earth do you mean?!?!?!?!
BTW - this is particularly relevant to me - launching a blog myself - so I nearly jumped out of the window when I read that!!!
Feel free to pop over to www.bssuk.net/blog to pop in a comment or say hello - NOTE - we all got to start somewhere!!!!
Thanks
Chris
Ooh, I've just created a Gravatar! Now where can I use it? Aha!
Got myself a gravatar - the dangers of webcams!!
Weightwatchers here we come!
The new comments style with gravatars looks great, but beware of doing things just because you can.
The boxes on the right looked better before, when they were bordered....More defined.
Your readers can all afford a wee bit of overhead to accomodate your styling.
When you are done, do you intend to release a new blog template?
I still use your last release from about 2002 I think.
Us old codestore hands are very faithfull!!!
Jake, you might want to install this addon and use it while you update the site: https://addons.mozilla.org/es-ES/firefox/addon/249 (HTML Validator)
I use it, and always like it when I see the green icon telling me that my HTML is valid :)
Looks good so far!
@ChrisC. Just me feeling sorry for myself and wondering whether the glory days are over. Ignore me. Now, how about another photo, but with the lights on?
@Tyron. That's not the imageof my paying clients that I want portraid on here ;o)
@Nick. Because you think it looks better doesn't mean everybody else does. There's no way to please all so I have to just go with pleasing myself. I may well give the template away when I'm done tidying it up.
@Salva. Try again. Green ticks all round!
You are flogging an old horse not a dead one. Lotus Notes is as dead as it was in 2002. Next to me sits a PHP developer. He is really getting some of the more interesting stuff nowadays but he also has less income than me. Why? Because there are many people that could do his job while mine is the area of grey haired people.
What I am sometimes missing is fun stuff. Much of what I do today is routine and so quite boring. The short version probably is. I am just getting old.
Oh and I very much like your new site design.
DUDE... I have broadband but it used to open a little slow. Tonight it is blazing fast. Love the changes, they all look good.
Heinz-brother as you see by Jake's examples here on Codestore, Notes can still be fun and very functional. Maybe upper management or whoever assigns projects at your company just needs to be educated on what kind of Notes apps that they can have. Just a thought, that's what I had done with my old corporate job.
Peace!!