The Meaning Of 'Hand-Coded'
Posted on January 20th, 2010
The term "hand-coded" in the context of web development simply refers to any code or markup written without the use of aided software such as a WYSIWYG editor or helper program like Dreamweaver or FrontPage[1]. Typically, these types of programs are held in disregard by most developers as a source of bad practices and laziness. Individuals who hand-code write all of their code in a simple text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit. A person who engages in the practice of hand-coding usually shows more aptitude as he or she does not require a set of tools to generate, structure, or validate his or her work thus requiring a higher level of knowledge and experience[2].
I'm Kind of a Big Deal. People Know Me.
I am very proud to say that I have always hand-coded my projects. I write all of my PHP, Javascript, (X)HTML, CSS, etc. in either Notepad 2 for Windows or Text Wrangler for Mac. Both programs color-code languages to help better identify syntax. Other than that, it's all me[3]. Of course I still use a variety of tools to QC and test my work (I would be lost without the amazing FireFox extension that is Firebug or the magic of a good runtime debug tool like Eclipse).
No, Your Nephew Who Works At Kinkos Does NOT Make Awesome Websites. Trust Me.
I know you mean well, but you probably didn't build your house or engineer you car, so please don't try to create your own website. Leave it to the professionals.
As a general rule, I tend to despise programs like Dreamweaver because they can help a person with no knowledge of web development crank out a site - which in and of itself is not a bad thing. The problem comes from the fact that said person is not inspired to learn best practices[4]. A lot more goes into making a website than meets the eye. Without knowing a lick of web standards, it is virtually guaranteed that they will not write valid, semantic, accessible markup using lists, header tags (in proper ascending sequence), p tags, alt attributes, non-bloated css, etc. in a way that is cross-browser compatible, does not impair usability for the disabled, and can be properly spidered by search engines. This hurts the web.
Put In Some Effort. You'll Thank Yourself Later.
I believe the entry barrier to the web is already rather low, so if a person is at all interested in building a site correctly they might as well plop down, crack open a good building with web standards book (or surf on over to w3c schools) and start hand-coding his or her first true site. Poorly written helper programs and deprecated WYSIWYG editors caused a lot of growing pains during the browser wars of the past. We've come a long way and I think we can do even better. Start hand-coding today!
-Your Friendly Neighborhood Hand-Coder, Simon Willems
1We are in the Good Year of Our Lord, 2010. If I see one more sliced website with a "spacer.gif", I'm killing someone. Get with the times. Broadband is fantastic.
3Yes, I am accepting cookies.
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