Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
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Don’t Reinvent the Wheel Zach Boerger February 2012
description
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel. Zach Boerger February 2012. Leverage What Already Exists. What’s out there?. APIs jQuery Libraries Frameworks Templates. AP-what?. API = Application Programming Interface Give developers access to the feature set of an existing product. Top APIs. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel Zach BoergerFebruary 2012
Leverage What Already Exists
What’s out there?
• APIs
• jQuery Libraries
• Frameworks
• Templates
AP-what?
• API = Application Programming Interface
• Give developers access to the feature set of an existing product
Top APIs
• Facebook + Twitter
• Google Maps
• Foursquare
• Twilio
Before you build a “cool” feature, Google
it
Open-source is your friend
Other Examples
• Auto-save user input on your forms
• Create bar graphs on the fly (client-side)
• Anything else you can build!
Frameworks
Popular Ones
• Ruby on Rails
• Django + Python
• PHP + CodeIgniter
Reasoning
• Logical, consistent layout for projects
• Eliminates up-front “setup” time
• Take advantage of what’s already included
Templates & Boilerplates
Twitter Bootstrap
HTML5 + Mobile Boilerplate
Conclusion
• To quickly test an idea, leverage what’s already out there
• Go back and re-design later if needed
• Don’t waste time on stuff that’s already been done
