Now that I am finally getting the hang of web desingering and CSS, is HTML 5 and CSS3 going to come along and make my knowledge irrelevant?
January 11, 2012 1:03 PM Subscribe
Now that I am finally getting the hang of web desingering and CSS, is HTML 5 and CSS3 going to come along and make my knowledge irrelevant?
I was admittedly very late to the web design game and am now wondering how much of my knowledge if any is about to become irrelevant with the advent of HTML5 and CSS3.
Expert help?
I was admittedly very late to the web design game and am now wondering how much of my knowledge if any is about to become irrelevant with the advent of HTML5 and CSS3.
Expert help?
It will not become irrelevant. There will be some new things to learn.
posted by millipede at 1:15 PM on January 11, 2012
posted by millipede at 1:15 PM on January 11, 2012
I forgot to mention JavaScript libraries such as jQuery that are pretty much mandatory to know about. Basically they act as an abstraction layer that take care of tedious "low level" code, cross platform compatibility, etc. Amazing time savers, these are.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:21 PM on January 11, 2012
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:21 PM on January 11, 2012
None of that knowledge will become irrelevant, but you need to accept that technologies evolve and that there is no point at which you can say that you know it all. Everyone is a different distance from the bleeding edge. As long as you keep using the skills you've learned, and keep on learning a little bit here and there, you'll be in great shape.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 1:52 PM on January 11, 2012
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 1:52 PM on January 11, 2012
Response by poster: accept that technologies evolve and that there is no point at which you can say that you know it all.
Oh its not that. Its just that I just now finally got my grasp on it and still have a way to go til its second nature.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 2:02 PM on January 11, 2012
Oh its not that. Its just that I just now finally got my grasp on it and still have a way to go til its second nature.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 2:02 PM on January 11, 2012
As other people have mentioned, your skills (and any HTML4/XHTML1.1 sites that you may have created) are not immediately redundant. You should just learn some of the new tools available to you, so that you can do things faster and in a better way.
At the very least, you should be using the HTML5 doctype now.
Read Dive Into HTML5.
The HTML5 flowchart is a fun little guide towards when to use the HTML5 elements.
Feel free to use something like CSS3Please to help you out with CSS3, but do try to learn them yourself too.
posted by Magnakai at 3:25 PM on January 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
At the very least, you should be using the HTML5 doctype now.
Read Dive Into HTML5.
The HTML5 flowchart is a fun little guide towards when to use the HTML5 elements.
Feel free to use something like CSS3Please to help you out with CSS3, but do try to learn them yourself too.
posted by Magnakai at 3:25 PM on January 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Although it's been answered pretty well, I'll be a little more specific:
The first thing to know is that support for HTML5/CSS3 is slow in coming. Look at the compatibility tables on CanIUse.com to see what support is out there.
The next thing is that, for the most part, it just builds on what was there before. Support for CSS1/2 and older versions of HTML aren't going away. They will be around for a very very long time.
HTML -> HTML5: A few things change for HTML5, like the
CSS -> CSS3: Nothing you know about CSS changes with CSS3. CSS3 adds a bunch of new features, but they are sneaking out slowly and in batches. The CSS3 specification is also ongoing, but unlike HTML5, they're releasing it in sections. You'll see CSS definition like
In short, you potentially just have a much larger vocabulary, but the grammer is exactly the same. However most HTML5/CSS3 features are not well supported in general use. Yet...
posted by Ookseer at 5:08 PM on January 11, 2012
The first thing to know is that support for HTML5/CSS3 is slow in coming. Look at the compatibility tables on CanIUse.com to see what support is out there.
The next thing is that, for the most part, it just builds on what was there before. Support for CSS1/2 and older versions of HTML aren't going away. They will be around for a very very long time.
HTML -> HTML5: A few things change for HTML5, like the
html tag is simplified, as are a few other tags. Otherwise it just adds some new tags, but doesn't get rid of any olds ones. Keep in mind that the HTML5 specification is still in development and will not be finalized for several years. At least. CSS -> CSS3: Nothing you know about CSS changes with CSS3. CSS3 adds a bunch of new features, but they are sneaking out slowly and in batches. The CSS3 specification is also ongoing, but unlike HTML5, they're releasing it in sections. You'll see CSS definition like
.rotate-45 {-webkit-transform: rotate(-45deg); -moz-transform: rotate(-45deg);} The -webkit and -moz prefix indicates that it's suggested but still not ratified yet. When it's official it will drop the prefix. (-moz = Firefox, -webkit: Safari and Chrome, etc.)In short, you potentially just have a much larger vocabulary, but the grammer is exactly the same. However most HTML5/CSS3 features are not well supported in general use. Yet...
posted by Ookseer at 5:08 PM on January 11, 2012
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The major change is JavaScript and how it's going to replace Flash and other technologies for interactive stuff, even heavy duty omg-i-thought-we-needed-desktop-apps-to-do-this stuff. Then there's server-side JavaScript and stuff like node.js where things really start to get awesome.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:15 PM on January 11, 2012 [1 favorite]