Linkbait 43

Back from hiatus. I’m starting up serious planning and writing of “CSS for JavaScripters” so this is a CSS-heavy linkbait, mostly filled with reminders to myself.

• Every-layout.dev is easily the most important CSS resource to be unveiled in recent months. (In fact, it was unveiled at CSS Day, which was a nice touch.) Serious, in-depth, algorithmic discussion of several popular CSS layouts and how to construct them with care.
• The 2019 State of CSS survey results. Contains several interesting gems. The figure that really surprised me is that 85% of the respondents is male. I thought CSS had a slightly higher ratio of women. Then again, maybe it’s the marketing of the survey that caused the disparity. (I never heard of it until I saw the results.) Or my gender guesstimate is just wrong.
• The CSS mindset:

  [...] the declarative nature of CSS makes it particularly difficult to grasp, especially if you think about it in terms of a “traditional” programming language.

  Other programming languages often work in controlled environments, like servers. They expect certain conditions to be true at all times [...]

  CSS on the other hand works in a place that can never be fully controlled, so it has to be flexible by default. It’s less about “programming the appearance” and more about translating a design into a set of rules that communicate the intent behind it. Leave enough room, and the browser will do the heavy lifting for you.

  Interesting turn of phrase that echoes my own thoughts on the subject. Expect to find this in The Book.
• Excellent overview of render blocking in CSS and how to avoid it. It’s simple, really, but there will be countless CSS programmers who need this sort of tutorials. Will also go in The Book.
• An older article, but Harry Roberts’s Cyclomatic Complexity: Logic in CSS remains one cornerstone of CSS understanding, and teaching. This one is mostly meant to remind myself of its existence; you probably already read it.
• Facebook lost 20% of its usage (likes, shares, and such) since the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke.
  This sounds great in theory, but what if the people who are harder to dupe are the ones who stop using Facebook, while the more gullible people remain? The average Facebook user would become more stupid, and Facebook would become even better at influencing its users.
• Also, Facebook should be regulated. Not as a media company, but as a drug.
• We all know third-party scripts are among the worst offenders when it comes to website performance. But how bad is it actually, and who are the worst culprits? Third-party Web provides useful answers and treeviews.
• Excellent overview of WebViews, their purpose, their tricky bits, and their diversity. Required reading for all five people who care about the browser market.
• [In Dutch] List of websites closed on Sundays. In an ultimate meta-move this list is only available on Sundays.
  (And why are these websites closed? Because their proprietors subscribe to the strict Dutch Reformed view that Sundays are not for media enjoyment. See this article about the SGP political party for more background information.)
• You shouldn’t do thing with tool, you should do other thing
• Have a tip for the next Linkbait? Or a comment on this one? Let me know (or here or here).

from QuirksBlog http://bit.ly/2KCQxP4