

Helping Beginners Get HTML Right - kevinburke
http://kev.inburke.com/kevin/helping-you-get-html-right/

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adamesque
It's easy to forget just how developed our pattern-matching abilities are as
seasoned programmers. The inability to recognize, find and fix transcription
errors is the single biggest challenge I see new folks struggle with. (A close
second might be the realization that, yes, every single character matters.)

I can't even remember how long it took me to develop those skills, but it's
interesting how far back I slide when working with a new language or toolkit.

~~~
DanBC
> A close second might be the realization that, yes, every single character
> matters.

And unfortunately because browsers are very generous with what they'll render
it's hard for new users to know that they've made an error, because it renders
correctly.

~~~
whichdan
Maybe we should start everyone off with XSL? /s

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btown
That link to the Turing-complete Rule 110 cellular automaton implemented
entirely in HTML and CSS (no Javascript!!!) is an incredible example of what
happens when programmers have too much time on their hands. Here's the full
repository:

<https://github.com/elitheeli/stupid-machines>

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yareally
Back in the mid 00s I learned HTML basically from trial and error. Write some
tags, save, refresh page and see how things look. That followed by verifying
how correct it was with the w3c validator with strict mode. Also lots of
changing css styles to *{border: 1px solid #000} to see how things were out of
wack. I'm sure there's a somewhat better way than just dealing with trial and
error and figuring out how css plays with html through the same manner &
validating, but for the patient, it works out.

Thankfully now, browsers come with good editing tools to see html elements
without crappy css hacks. I've always seen universities pushing GUI tools on
students to learn HTML, but I really don't think that's the best way to do it.
Showing them how the tags work, what they are for and using tools such as
firebug is a much better way imho.

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saym
I'm sure there are other utilities that behave like this, but yours seems very
aesthetically pleasing.

I'm going to try this with some friends that are struggling. I'll be sure to
report back with its effectiveness.

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evolve2k
Very cool. To make the code site even more beginner friendly for those peeps
who find this tool via google, I suggest you generate a github page for this
project. Just go project settings it seriously is pretty much auto generated
and takes 5 mins.

~~~
kevinburke
on the to do list!

<https://github.com/kevinburke/tecate/issues/10>

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Cryode
Might want to emphasize your lib's dependence on jQuery, especially since your
article says it can be installed in "just one line", the opposite of what the
Github README shows.

~~~
kevinburke
will do, thanks!

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twog
This is a great idea! I think as developers we take for granted just how
foreign html/css/js look to a beginner.

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thawt
Step 1. Don't go to college.

