I Have Made my Choice!

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In the world of UI or Front End Engineering you have so many different camps.  The standards based camp (HTML, JS, CSS), and the Flash camp.  I have been using these technologies for so long that I just can’t see ditching any one of them for another.

HTML was my first love, it’s what got me into software development back in 1995.  HTML was my gateway drug.  By 1999 I was into JavaScript and then I got into the heavier stuff.  By 2001 I was a full blown Flash junkie, that still had an HTML habit.

As time went on I drifted between the standards world and the Flash world.  I never felt like I was cheating on one technology with another, well until everyone started freaking out.

You see 2010 was the year of the irrational UI layer freakout.  It happened just a few years after the initial RIA wave hit, but boy did it create some headaches.  The 2010 UI Freak Out pitted HTML5 (now just HTML) against Flash, and it was done in an agressive tone.  The whole thing stunk of rhetoric and propaganda from self serving companies and uneducated developers.

Well now it seems to be over, and I could not be happier with my choice.  You see, I chose “All of the Above!”  That’s right, I am not giving up my Flex and Flash, and I will not be embarrassed that I can write CSS, HTML, and JavaScript six ways to Sunday.  And if I feel like using Air I will.  I am going to use the right tool for the job. You are not going to make me feel lesser because I didn’t chose your side.  In the words of Howard Beale : “Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad!… You’ve got to say, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!’”

I chose “All of the Above!”

PS – when you meet someone who puts down something and won’t listen to reason or see value in something, walk away.

Accepted to Present at cfObjective()

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I just found out that I was accepted to present at cfObjective() in May.  I am very excited about this opportunity and I am looking forward to meeting a whole new set up people.

I will be doing a double session, deep dive, on building HTML (aka HTML5) standalone and mobile applications.  So it will be heavy on all the new features of HTML5 and CSS3, as well as some JavaScript. I’ll sneak some Flex in there as well.

This will not be the typical “this is what this does” talk, but rather building an actual application that standalone and could be synched to a server platform.

If you have any application ideas that you would like to see worked out then tweet me up @adrianpomilio

I hope to see you there!

My Ruby and Rails Journey – Part 1

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DISCLAIMER –  I want to clarify the title that I will be using for this series of posts.  I know what Ruby on Rails is, but I am taking a different approach.  I am learning Ruby, the language, while also working with Rails, the framework.  So I am digging through the famous Pickaxe book to learn about the language of Ruby and I am also working through Rails3 in Action. This is the story of my journey.

Most of my “career” as a developer has been focused on the frontend (e.g. JavaScript, CSS, HTML, ActionScript and Flex).  But I have also been working with many different backend technologies (e.g. Coldfusion, PHP, Java, Groovy/Grails).  The reason I am always looking at backend technologies is to improve my efficiency in proving out frontend solutions.  After all, a UI with no backend is about as useful as a Powerpoint or Photoshop file, which makes it hard to drive technical change with decision makers.  Trust me, if you are a frontend developer or designer, and all you ever do is create pictures and never implement; no one will care about your technical opinion.  You will fail.  Time to get on with the post..

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