Lets Not Reinvent the Wheel
23 Feb 2022My Very First Framework
Prior to taking Software Engineering (ICS 314), I have never incorporated a UI framework such as Semantic UI. It really is eye-opening to realize that most, if not all the things that I have made in HTML and CSS can be easily done with a few framework class calls. The simplicity and convenient design of a well-made framework can speed up the process of making just about anything I want. I really can start off by saying that Semantic UI is awesome!
Semantic VS Raw HTML/CSS
So, what’s the difference between a website incorporating a UI framework compared to a website using just raw HTML and CSS? The result is almost day and night.
The differences are very noticeable between these two web pages. With semantic UI I am able to make a navbar with the call of a few classes assigned to my div tags. The same navbar that was created in raw HTML & CSS can be done better and in fewer lines of code. It also looks more pleasing to the eyes than the site built in raw HTML & CSS which is displayed as the first image shown. By creating the site without a framework, our creation is very limited to what it can look like.
Advantages
As said in my title, we should not have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to UI design since a lot has already been built for us through amazing and free frameworks. Need a nice menu? Semantic has it. What about a button with a heart icon in the center? You do not need to know how to make it with raw HTML & CSS because the Semantic framework also has it under its various libraries. With Semantic the possibilities are endless. The features of Semantic is well documented and I was able to find just about everything I need to create an amazing-looking webpage with a little amount of coding in HTML and CSS. I believe that with enough time and effort given to learn a framework such as Semantic UI, the returns it will provide will be much greater in the short and long term.
Disadvantages
You may finish whatever work you may have a little too fast. If you’re getting paid by the hour, this may be the only downside that I see. Other than that, in my opinion there are no disadvantages to using a framework such as Semantic.