Semantic What Now?
04 Oct 2018
First Impressions
Website design with HTML and CSS was pretty new to me at first. With the introduction of a UI Framework like Semantic UI however, it seems alot more structured. HTML already has it’s own quirks but Semantic UI presents HTML coding in a way that makes it much easier to understand. The different abbreviations in HTML such as ‘li’ for lists often made it difficult for me to figure out which tags to use to write my webpages. Overall, I was excited to jump into a UI Framework, despite the three hour learning course it took.
Semantic UI for You and I
Semantic UI for me was almost like learning another programming language at first. The different syntaxes and different uses of div classes made it extremely versatile however. Simply typing in “borderless top menu” for it to create a menubar at the top of a webpages cuts down design time by outrageous amounts. Taking the time to learn this framework thoroughly through the resources provided can save so much more time designing websites whether it’s in a Computer Science course or for a job later on down the line. After all, the idea of athletic software engineering is to complete tasks in the most functional and efficient manner within a reasonable amount of time anyway.
In English, Please
Coding can sometimes sound robotic and almost weird to look at especially if you’re only looking at the syntax for a particular code for the first time. Raw HTML and CSS is almost no different in this sense. With the introduction of Semantic UI as a UI framework, designing websites is almost as simple as typing in what you want created and displayed, and the framework will do all of the work for you. The simplicity and formulation of certain classes and formats make it easy to parse through code and develop webpages in minutes. The use of this eliminates the time taken to figure out and search for the proper syntax and wording for certain classes because it almost becomes common sense.
Wrap Up
Overall, all this boils down to simplicity for the user and the developer. A framework like Semantic UI really optimizes the experience for both parties in a sense. Without the need to focus on syntactially correct code, the developer can focus and really dial into the design aspect of their page. While it does take time to learn frameworks, it’s an extremely effective skill to apply with webpage design. Being a Computer Science major, I can only predict that the list of coding languages that I will have to end up learning and will gain exposure to will only grow as I progress towards completing my major. Since it’s inevitable to spend time in really anything that you’re trying to learn and improve in, it’s beneficial to make good use of that time to maximize the amount you can learn. After all, with a framework that has so much potential to increase efficiency, I believe that it’s certainly worth it.