Learning JavaScript: A Hands-On Guide to the Fundamentals of Modern JavaScript

1. Progressive Enhancement

As much as we’d like to think that people visit our sites to look at the majestically created intricate graphics, slick CSS animations, and semantic HTML, I can confidently tell you that, unfortunately, that is not true. I certainly visit some sites because of that—you may even do it as well—and it’s possible that it’s a topic of conversation over drinks after work, but real Internet users (we’re not real users; we’re developers and designers—we’re “edge cases”) don’t notice that stuff. All they care about is how efficiently they can do what they need to do, whether it’s checking email and the weather, downloading a song, or watching a movie. But that’s the point: We’re supposed to be designing things so well that the ...