From the Ground Up

22 Feb 2018

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Programming frameworks are designed to provide a level of abstraction which is necessary for rapid development of code. My first experience with frameworks was with Semantic UI whose primary goal is to simplify and expedite the creation of eye pleasing web pages. Some of the website design layout which Semantic UI incorporates are containers, menus, buttons and input fields which hides the implementation behind an easy to use class. Further options can also be added to the class for adjustments such as alignment and sizing.

By adding a layer of abstraction to the coding, the programmer spends less time on the implementation and more time on the aesthetics and usability of the site. Like any library, frameworks do require some time to learn before it can be used effectively. Not all modifiers for instance can be used with any Semantic UI class. This can lead to some confusion as HTML and CSS files will partially function if there are errors in the code.

My personal experience with frameworks is a mixed bag. My programming background originated with hardware programming in C++ and I never needed to pick up front-end languages such as HTML or CSS. Due to my lack of front-end programming knowledge, I had to quickly teach myself the basics for my software engineering class. Semantic UI was used in the course and I started to use Sematic UI a little over a week after I coded my first HTML file. From the view point of a beginner, Semantic UI vastly improved my ability to quickly develop visually appealing webpages. Using Semantic UI did highlight some basics of HTML which I wasn’t aware of in my initial learning of the language. One such concept is that elements cannot escape their parent container. However, all things considered, by using programming frameworks, developers can rapidly create and deploy visually appealing websites.