Every now and then, on nairaland, we encounter a request of the "review this site" type. For the most part, I always give the same pointers. In my personal experience, I have always relied on web resources for my information. One of such places is the yahoo design pattern library - a resource that identifies best-case scenarios for your designs.

For those of you who are unaware of the site, check it out at http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/index.php and conform as much as possible to these best practices as opposed to getting pretty much the same answers from the same pple on the same issues

Enjoy!!

Hmm -- my2cents, can you remember we had a discussion about standards and all that once?

I think every developer should have his own design standards. In creating yours, it would be nice to review that f various proven devloper communities. I have reviewed Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, etc etc and picked things I thought were best about their patterns.

That way, I feel a sense of pride in knowing that I have Design Patterns that were created by me -- it's easier tow ork that way. That's my two cents

Weell,

It depends. In the real world, we are advised to live by 2, similar concepts - DRY and DITY: Don't Repeat Yourself and Don't Re-invent The Wheel, respectively.

So while coming up with you own designs is cool, if someone else already took the time to do it, why bother doing yours. Again, as I said it depends. Honestly though, I haven't written anything orginal in about at least 1 year

So the people that change design patterns nko? Why don't Microsoft, Oracle, Yahoo, Google etc use the same patterns?

I don't know -- but using something I'm comfortable with is my own preference -- and that's my two cents.

_{Is this plagiarism?}

Again,

These are patterns that they recommend you follow and use, not a decree, punishable by death squad

In the end, there are many ways to skin a cat,

prodgalson, thanks for the lecture, but my2cents understands me perfectly. I'm not talking of visual stuff here -- I'm talking of code as you are.

ignore prodgalson. He has an agenda that's not straightforward.

I must put in my remaining 1cent of objection,  ever since my2cents started leaning strongly on guys who did not stick to standards; i have been very uncomfortable, why,  because most of it is true and you sort of feel either angry because someone told you or guilty because you know it is true.

I started out as a VB interface developer for a stockbroking company back in 1997, I would cause the coders severe fever and hypertension by making a single interface that handled 90% of everything the application had to do, which  meant using a single button in at least 10 different context (changing its name color and position etc)

Until one barely computer-literate user called me out of frustration "Why can't it be as easy as winzip" I literally banned him from using the computer until he upgraded his skills to the level where he realised winzip is a utility, i was building applications. One day i came upon an interface I had built a year back,  I could not use it, I cursed whoever designed it and took it to the drawing board for re-design.

Right there and then i realised what my problem was, I was an artist who loved his own style and would not stick with successful design patterns that are known to work. From that point on,  I started looking at the Windows interface closely and modelled my designs after that. Voila,  users were impressed, work got done a lot quicker and things became so logical that i hardly have to do a manual to users on how to use my applications.

so the

DRY and DITY: Don't Repeat Yourself and Don't Re-invent The Wheel

is in order.

By saying I pick things accross all spectra, I mean I look up popular design patterns and integrate them. This isn't about re-invention but integration -- simple.

I have yet another acronym for you: KISS - Keep It Smart and Simple.

Note to Zahymaka: If you must respond to this, keep it +vely constructive and less "antagonistic"

my2cents, I haven't been antagonistic . I was just saying that it helps to pick from many, not just Yahoo Design Patterns.