Could You? Should You?
Tuesday September 19, 2006 / 6 CommentsOne of my favorite quotes based on the proliferation of superfluous AJAX and DOM Scripting is simple, but oh so appropriate. It’s from the original Jurassic Park way back in 1993.
...your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.
So often, it’s easy to get caught up in what we’re capable of doing, we don’t always stop to think if it really is worth doing. This shouldn’t be limited AJAX or DOM Scripting. It’s just as prevalent with virtually any facet of web design and development.
So the next time you’re working on a real project, stop and ask yourself if that fancy widget or interaction is truly valuable or desirable, or if it just seems neat. You might be surprised how much time gets freed up to focus on items that truly add value to the experience.
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Anybody that can make Jurassic Park relevant to DOM scripting immediately gets added to my “Hero” list.
Dan MallI once saw an Ayrannosaurus Jax eat a DOMetron ;)
Matthew AndersonVery valid point. In all cases we should be talking icing on the cake, and not excluding users who prefer a serving with a little less sugar. It’s fine we’re finding a second / third way to achieve a basic task if it improves the quality of the interaction, but lets not do it if it involves busting our hump over it (I think I’ve picked the right American colloquialism)
There has to be a return on the effort for improving the quality of experience for some of your customers.
– Rob Rob KirtonI think the same applies to Flash….oooooo, yea, I said it. Flash is great, but has a NUMBER of drawbacks. Load time. No back button. Useablilty. etc etc.
Granted, it sure is pretty!
Neill HarmerBeing a big fan of simplicity I agree.
As a web developer this is a good point. As a musician also this is perhaps even more relevant to composition. The more elements and flash (no pun intended) added to a mix the more it relies on novelty. The last thing a mix needs is more when in doubt – what Brian Eno refers to as the ‘screwdriver mode’.
The old adage of less is more rings true across many mediums.
LukeIt’s actually quite supprising just how few situations in general web design genuinely benefit from Ajax. I’ve often seen people use Ajax when clearly simple DOM would do the job just as well, if not better.
People do it just for the sake of it sometimes, like the quote; just because they can.
Steve TuckerComments are closed for this entry.