RE: On Attention To Details (was Re: Props to the Digg developers)

[elfs]

I was going to respond to this on genehack, but recovering my password proved to be onerous, and besides, the issue is an important one worth discussing.  John SJ Anderson wrote:

Elf digs into some Javascript on a particular high-traffic site. In the same way that some people love reading about high-performance cars or bikes they’re never going

Comments

[anonymous]

Oh, I disagree about it not being about traffic levels. That sort of javascript customization is nifty, but it carries a cost in terms of complexity and maintainability. I don't think he was saying that that sort of thing eases the load on the server, but rather that it's not worth doing unless you have a high-traffic site where a sufficient number of people will benefit from your extra work. It's a cost/benefit question, not a performance issue.

Number 127

[elfs]

True. If you're using a modern CMS or Appserver, though, it ought to be trivial to isolate the HTML, CSS, and Javascript into components. In that case, it makes sense to put the ready() trigger at the bottom of the HTML component, rather than fret about adding it to the global ready(). A disciplined developer should be doing this as a matter of course.

Of course, if you don't want to become a high-traffic site...