For my 2007 New Year’s Resolution, I vow to adopt and frequently use the Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI).
I learned about Yahoo’s YUI while reading 24 Ways over the holidays. Once I got over the disbelief of having not learned of YUI until now, I couldn’t wait to use it in an upcoming project.
Why YUI Will Change My Life in 2007
There are so many things to like about YUI. Here are the features that excite me the most.
YUI Grids CSS
Grids blows me away. In less than 2.5kb of CSS code, YUI Grids offers almost 200 preset layouts and a great deal of customizations. Grid layouts can be fixed or fluid and columns are source-order independent. It’s everything One True Layout hoped to be, but done so much better.
YUI CSS Grid Builder
Dav Glass built a tool that allows you to try out all 200 Grids wireframes in seconds. What a great time saver.
A Grade Browsers
Another great thing about YUI is that Yahoo’s developers are committed to making it’s code work for what they call A Grade Browsers. By focusing on progressive enhancement, Yahoo builds a rich experience on top of an accessible core, without compromising that core.
JavaScript Library
The heart of the Yahoo! User Interface (YUI) Library is really a robust JavaScript library. While I was already tinkering with other JavaScript libraries, the YUI Library is so well documented I can no longer resist.
Will others adopt YUI?
I’d really like to see MediaWiki skins and WordPress themes that are based on YUI CSS and JavaScript libraries. My first YUI sandbox project was to try to make my FratMan MediaWiki Skin adopt the YUI framework. While I ran out of time to complete the project during the holiday, YUI sure provides a more stable skin.
YUI has renewed my passion for good web design. It provides a very flexible — yet sturdy — foundation for me to construct all of the web development projects I’m bound to face in 2007.
Hi Jason, I have been inpsired by your article: keeping navigation current with PHP – I am however struggling to adapt the concept. My intention is to use it in a 2-col layout such that the when the list items on the nav bar (left col) are clicked, it opens a different content on the right col. I am using PHP as well and I suppose what I need is some code that can assign the $thisPage a variable based on the clicked item rather than compare the as in your great article. Is there a way to do this in PHP or would I need javascript? Could javascript and PHP possibly communicate to get this done. I would appreciate it if you could get back to me as soon as possible. Thanks
Hey Jason, I think I may have e-mailed you previously. I am currently serving in PC Suriname. I say cuurently losely because for the last six months I have no site due to the death of my counterpart along with all projects associated with him. Our post has experienced several CD changes and admin staff changes and I keep getting lost in “wait and see if something comes up for you”. So, I ultimately got fed up with the infant child treatment and have demanded interrupted service. But, the all knowing new CD who has been here for 1 week told me that PC has done everything possible to find me a site. Which is totally ridiculous. Anyway, the CD seems to think that IS isn’t warranted and that ET would be better. My question is after I sign the form for ET do I have any recourse that you know of? I’m sick and tired this groupthink that goes on in peace corps. They all seem to think that we are here so that they may have jobs. An organization that exists for the sole purpose of continuing to exist. Sorry for the rant just tired of being treated like a thrid class citizen.