Experiments
I do a lot of experiments when trying to learn something new or whenever I need to demonstrate something to a client. How many times have you looked at a problem and thought, “Yeah, I can do that, and it’ll be pretty simple,” only to be reminded that “simple” usually translates to “really fast” by the person who presented you with the problem? Unfortunately, simple does not always mean fast.
I learned several years ago that this is not a pleasant situation to be in, so I started to do some tests anytime I came across some new or popular technique, feature, or magic spell. I try to do them ahead of time, so I have a collection of code I can use and understand since I wrote (or modified) the code. Then when I need to, I can look up the appropriate test, make a few simple (and quick) changes, and have a demo ready to present.
Since I find myself doing this a lot these days, I thought I’d post my experiments for others to use, and maybe even and learn from them—even it’s just to learn what not to do! There’s no guarantee that the tests will be useful, but they will be short and sweet. That means a few quick notes, the test, and that’s about it. Unfortunately, I don’t usually have much time to post to this site, so these experiments are very WYSIWYG. No frills. Hopefully, none will be needed.
If you like what you see or find the tests useful, feel free to grab the javascript (experimentsLib.js) and CSS (experimentsLib.css). A link back to this site would be appriciated, but it’s not a requirement.