Parta, Innovation Workshop, team Web front end engineer

Nicholas C. Zakas talk about how to be a good front-end engineer:

Yesterday, I was responsible for the Yahoo! Company organization of an interview activity, the feeling is very deep is one of the candidates question link. I have to say that I am quite disappointed with most of the questions that the candidates have raised. I'd like to hear some of that on Yahoo! Work full of passionate questions. In yesterday's candidate, only one person's problem is I think the best, the person asked me: "How do you think you can become a good front-end engineer?" "I think it's necessary to take this question out of the interview room and discuss it.

First, front-end engineers have to master HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You have to be familiar with all these languages if you know only one or two of them. It's not that you have to be proficient in all these languages, but at least you have to be able to use them to do most of the tasks without having to ask for help frequently.

Excellent front-end engineers should have fast learning ability. The technology that drives web development is not static, right? I can even say that these technologies are changing almost every day, and without the ability to learn quickly, you can't keep up with the pace of web development. You must constantly improve yourself, learn new technologies and models, and just rely on today's knowledge to not adapt to the future. There will be a difference between the future of the web and today, and your job is to figure out how to manifest this change through your own Web application.

Many of the branches below the computer science category are actually science in the eyes of people. But what we call the front end is not science, but art. The artist should not only master the technology of earning a living, but also know how to use it. A solution to the same problem applies in this case and may not be applicable in another case. For the front end of a Web application, there are often many scenarios for solving the same problem. None of the options are wrong, but some of them are more appropriate. Good front-end engineers should know under what circumstances to use which option is more appropriate, and under what circumstances should be re-selected.

Excellent front-end engineers need to have good communication skills, because your work is closely related to the work of many people. In any case, front-end engineers must meet the needs of at least the following four categories of customers.

1. Product Manager -These are the people who are responsible for planning the application. They can imagine how to use the application to meet user needs and how to make money through the patterns they design (hopefully). In general, these people pursue a wealth of functions.
2. UI Designer -These people are responsible for visual design and interactive simulation of the application. They are concerned about what the user is sensitive to, the consistency of the interaction, and the overall usability. They are passionate about a smooth, but not easy-to-implement user interface.
3. Project Manager -These people are responsible for actually running and maintaining the application. The main focus of project management is no more than uptime (uptime)-the time, performance, and expiration dates at which applications are always available. The goal of the project manager is often to keep things simple and not to introduce new issues when upgrading updates.
4. End user -the main consumer of the application, of course. Although we don't often deal with end-users, their feedback is critical; apps that no one wants to use are worthless. What the end user demands most is the functionality that is useful to the individual, as well as the capabilities of the competitive product.

So, what should the front-end engineers care about most? The answer is all of these four categories of people. A good front-end engineer must know how to balance the needs and expectations of these four categories of people and then come up with the best solution on that basis. Because front-end engineers are at the intersection with these four types of people, the importance of their ability to communicate is self-evident. If a very cool new feature will affect the front end performance, must Shanfanjiujian, how do you explain to the product manager? For example, how can you convince a UI designer if a design does not change back to the original scheme and can adversely affect the application? As a front-end engineer, you must understand where each category of people's ideas comes from and must be able to come up with solutions that all parties can accept. In a sense, a good front-end engineer is like an ambassador who needs to be a diplomat at all times to cope with every day's work.

I warn the new front-end engineer that the most important thing is not to accept a task without making an assessment. You must always keep in mind that it is important to understand what other people want you to do and not simply accept the approximate of "This function is problematic". Also, you need to know exactly what this feature or design is really about. A task like "Add a button" doesn't always mean you'll end up with a button. It may also mean that you will be looking for a product manager, ask what the button is for, and then find a UI designer to discuss whether the button is the best way to interact. To be a good front-end engineer, this communication is essential.

In any case, I think front-end engineers are one of the most complex jobs in the field of computer science. The vast majority of traditional programming ideas have not been applied, in order to use in a variety of platforms, a variety of technologies have borrowed a lot of soft science knowledge and ideas. The expertise required to be a good front-end engineer involves a wide and complex field that becomes more complicated by the involvement of all the parties that you end up having to serve. Expertise may lead you into the door to being a front-end engineer, but only the applications you create with the technology and the ability to work side by shoulder with others will really make you good.

Parta, Innovation Workshop, team Web front end engineer