Coder's Challenge
Like all other sites we build, we have taken great care in creating robertleigh.com. The code used in this site has not been created using web development packages such as Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver, which we find writes sloppy code. We have chosen to write the code ourselves, which is analogous to creating the site by hand (our code) rather than having it machine-built (pre-packaged code).
Our personal view is that packages such as FrontPage and Dreamweaver may perform an adequate job for simply, non-commercial sites. However, as described in 'Reasons behind site design & development' such packages employ old code, which could cause errors in some browsers; they write code in a disorganised manner, which is not logical to us and so difficult to maintain and change. For these reasons, amongst others, we feel the job they perform in creating pages is not up to a professional standard that is suitable to pass onto our customers.
The challenge
We are so proud of our code in comparison to code written by FrontPage et al. that we would like to challenge the code written by these packages against ours used in robertleigh.com. The criteria by which code will be judged are listed below. If anyone can find an improvement written exclusively in any popular web development package we'll like to hear from you (contact form).
Page weight: The amount of code required to get a browser to display a page.
Page weight: The amount of code required to get a browser to display a page.
The larger the page weight the longer a page will download. So if a page is created using superficial code (common in FrontPage et al.) it will appear later than our streamline code.
Code compatibility: How well the code has been written to display pages in all browsers (such as Netscape and Internet Explorer) and platforms (such as Windows and Mac), with good consideration for any compromises.
New browsers appear on the market every year, which support new coding features. However most users still use old browsers. There can also be differences in the way in code is interpreted in different operating systems (such as Microsoft Windows and Mac OS). So in order to ensure pages are compatible with all browsers and platforms (including forthcoming ones) code needs to be written which is universally understood. Well-judged compromises can be made if necessary.
Coding structure: How well the code has been laid out to facilitate easy maintenance, integration and understanding.
Code can be written in a way that helps explain what function it performs. The practice of adding commands (such as where a table begins) and structuring (such as indentation of code) helps new people to become quickly acquainted with the code and helps coders easily become familiar again with code they have written a long time in the past. This adds up to a reduction in the time required to make alterations to the site. Adding features such as comments and structuring code is not a common feature in web development programs. However we ensure that our code is always laid out intuitively and with helpful comment tags.
