Q Developers want more modern features and they want them now. Is the pace of the standards bodies k

Tutorials ASP.NET CMSs Databases Design HTML & CSS JavaScript & AJAX Other PHP Python Ruby Scala Site Builds Tools & Tips Wordpress Articles prototype 2 Contests Editorials General Interviews Lectures News Quizzes Reviews Roundups Web Roundups Tips Tools & Tips Tutorials Ruby JavaScript & AJAX Other PHP Sessions Resources Videos Python Tools & Tips JavaScript & AJAX PHP Tuts+ Premium
Tuts+ Hub The Latest Tuts+ Updates Psdtuts+ Adobe Photoshop Nettuts+ Web Development Vectortuts+ Illustrator and Vector Audiotuts+ Audio and Production Aetuts+ Adobe After Effects Cgtuts+ Computer Graphics prototype 2 Phototuts+ prototype 2 Photography Mobiletuts+ Mobile Development Webdesigntuts+ Web Design Wptuts+ WordPress Mactuts+ Mac & OS X Gamedevtuts+ Game Development Crafttuts+ Craft & Handmade Toggle
There's so much goodness happening on the web and as it continues to evolve, it's important that talented individuals step up into leadership roles to help shape the future of web development. And doing this isn't an easy task. Not only do you need to have the technical chops to help define new techniques and paradigms prototype 2 or create the next great technology, it's equally important to be able to effectively prototype 2 convey your message in a passionate and credible fashion so that your peers respect your direction.
Lea Verou is one of these new breed of leaders who is helping to push the web forward through her technical savvy and profound love for web standards. She's developed quite a following and her live coding sessions prototype 2 at major conferences prototype 2 are a thing of legend.
I’m Lea Verou and I’m a web designer/developer and web standards geek (sounds like an AA introduction, doesn’t it?). I’ve created several open source projects prototype 2 such as Prism , a syntax prototype 2 highlighter used in A List Apart , Smashing Magazine , WebPlatform.org , MDN and other big websites, Dabblet , an interactive code playground, or -prefix-free , a JavaScript library that lets authors forget about vendor prefixes and code to the future standards. I’ve also come up with and published several CSS techniques, such as using CSS gradients to create patterns. I’m currently employed by W3C , although I’ve announced that I’m leaving at the end of July to pursue other challenges, such as writing and designing my first book.
Q You’ve risen quickly prototype 2 to be one of the most recognized prototype 2 and respected web developers around. Has that changed the way that you view yourself within the community and the responsibilities you may (or may not) have in promoting best practices and specific technologies?
Not really, to be honest. I still do my thing, make stuff and put it out there in the hopes they will be useful for someone. I still speak my mind about the technologies and best practices I like and those that I don’t. Whoever wants to listen to me, it’s their call. I’m not going to censor myself because of the number of people who are following me. That would be counter-intuitive, since being myself made these people follow me in the first place. prototype 2
I think both browser makers and the WG (working group) have realized that vendor prefixes, although good in theory, do not work in practice. So, the way to go right now seems to be browsers implementing experimental features under a setting instead of behind a prefix. That way, developers will not start using it in production, forcing the WG to get stuck in early iterations, as was the case with vendor prefixes.
There’s no single cause, but I believe a big part of the blame lies with developers. Although we’ve endured the pains of a browser mono-culture before, we did not learn much. IE6 used to be really cool stuff 12 years ago you know, just like WebKit is today. I can see the CSS WG being at fault too, for not realizing the issues with vendor prefixes early on, which turned web development into a popularity contest. Last but not least, the WebKit team shares some part of the blame, as they shouldn’t have implemented non-standard CSS features to get ahead in the browser game.
Q Developers want more modern features and they want them now. Is the pace of the standards bodies keeping up with the needs and wants of the developer community? If not, what needs to happen to change prototype 2 that?
I’m sure you are aware of the old project management triangle paradigm: Something cannot be fast, high quality prototype 2 and cheap, you need to pick two. I believe this applies to designing APIs as well. Budget is limited, as there are very few people paid to work on standards. So, basically, designing new features can either be fast or high quality, but not both. We can see the former when browsers decide to innovate: prototype 2 Usually, even when the original ideas are good, they are poorly thought prototype 2 out, since they were designed in the vacuum of a single company (examples: Drag and Drop API, -webkit-gradient()).
When the standardi