I’ve been doing a bit of study this morning and came across this quote from 2018:

However, that was back in 2014. Things have changed a lot since then, and memorizing rules is all but useless in the ever-changing browser landscape. Always remember to do your own tests, especially when performance is concerned. - Front end performance by Bruno Skvorc, Craig Buckler, Maria Antonietta Perna and Ivan Curic

I feel this is so true. While some things on the Web are more constant than others:

  • standards, languages, technologies, techniques and user expectations are always evolving. It seems fair to say that the preferred way of doing something in 2022, might not be the way in 2023 (and almost certainly will not be by 2032). The preferred approach will likely have changed since you last looked.
  • front end development has long since passed the point where any one individual can have a firm grasp of the full, current landscape. The more you know, the more conscious you are of what you don’t know.

As things change so should our approach

I believe that accepting these and trying to identify how to best operate in this context is key to being effective as a front end developer.

How I approach this

My personal belief - which may very well be wrong but seems to work for me (so far, at least) - is that it is good for front end developers to:

  • Accept that proactive learning is part of the job. You need to make space for this in your life.
  • Focus your independent learning effort on understanding the fundamentals from authoritative sources. We all have limited time and keeping the signal to noise ratio working for you is crucial (and there’s a lot of noise)
  • When you have a development task, look before you leap, by which I mean:
    • Step back and look at the task through the lens of Web fundamentals
    • Consider, based on what you currently know, what seems to be the best way to act
    • Check that your sense is still current.
      • Ask around too and don’t be inhibited - no competent Web professional will think less of you. I could write a whole blog on how important it is for us all to be honest about the limitiations of our current knowledge.
    • Record what you’ve learned somewhere so you know when you last looked at the topic and what you learned.