No More Tools
summary
Argument: tool bloat often adds more overhead than it saves; claim is that autoprefixer, svgo and imageoptim actually cut wasted work while gulp/grunt or simple npm scripts or make plus building-static-server work better than piling wrappers. Evidence: use of csslint, uncss/Helium, perfmap and pesticide finds real regressions; minified assets cause merge conflicts so minification must run pre-deploy by CI/ops. The &yet setup uses a make + building-static-server pipeline and it succeeds at reducing developer friction.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (30)
- 0:00Intro
- 1:03We have a plethora of tools that are bound to make our lives easier and tasks completed faster.
- 1:27Creatives aren't good at their art because of their tools; their talent stems from the skills and knowledge they've acquired while using their tools.
- 3:09We live in superabundance of information and the most crucial skill isn't multi-tasking but single-threading our attention.
- 4:07The strive for simplicity is superficial.
- 4:50Complexity is a fact of the world, simplicity is in the mind.
- 5:44TESLER'S LAW OF CONSERVATION OF SIMPLICITY
- 7:47We need to automate tasks to stay productive and focus on problem-solving that simply cannot be delegated.
- 8:01AUTOPREFIXER Worry-free vendor prefixing.
- 8:47LINTING Checking for bad patterns
- 9:17MEDIA OPTIMISATION Strip unnecessary bytes
- 9:51MINIFICATION Strip unnecessary characters
- 10:16CODE BLOAT Search and remove unused declarations
- 11:04TESTING PERFORMANCE Find specific elements hindering performance
- 11:58TESTING PERFORMANCE Yslow, Chrome Developer Tools Audit, Google Page Speed
- 12:20DEBUGGING LAYOUT ISSUES Find problems with the box model
- 12:50GUIS FOR AUTOMATION
- 14:08npm provides a native ecosystem for task automation.
- 14:56start": "npm run watch-styles & npm run watch- jade & npr run server
- 15:41bit.ly/leveldb-example bit.ly/npm-task-automation
- 16:01GULP & GRUNT
- 18:47bit.ly/building-static
- 20:15COLLABORATION
- 21:10Every single person joins a team with their own set of biases, predispositions and preferences.
- 22:53Breaking down data in modules makes it more digestible and controllable.
- 23:39Good tools, especially command line based, don't fail nor succeed silently.
- 24:31The aim to build bullet-proof software is profound but almost impossible to achieve.
- 25:12It's relatively easy to build overcomplicated solutions but it's hard to maintain them.
- 25:56It's easy to introduce unnecessary complexity by adding tools that manage other tools.
- 27:28The right set of tools or lack thereof sets apart a craftsman from an operator.
