Drop #261 (2023-05-15): May `23 Quick Links Week Day #1

Baseline; Svelte Desktop; Things Go Better With AI?

Greetings, Programs.

Your friendly neighborhood hrbrmstr is in a bit of a DoS bind this week.

Monday is a travel day to the heart of corruption in the U.S. (a.k.a. the D.C. area, since that description could befit numerous regions) for a two-day $WORK offsite. Thursday and Friday, I get to spend working even more remotely from #2.1's abode, where we learned (this past Saturday) that #2.1 will be a big brother come January 2024! And, Saturday is a brutal travel day back to the sanity of rural Maine.

Suffice it to say, this will be a week that harkens back to December 2022 when I snuck in some daily “quick links” posts just to tide y’all over. This time ‘round, I'll also be digging into a few of the paywalled Bonus Drops to help provide some meatier interstitial content. If time and energy permit, I shall endeavour to go beyond “quick”; but — while I 💙 each and every one of ye — y'all ain't got nothin' on an 18-month-old grandkid.

Baseline

Moving forward, it should be much simpler to determine whether something you want to create will work across most user platforms.

The new Web Platform Baseline provides accurate details about which web platform characteristics are reliable for current project use. When scrutinizing an article or selecting a library for your project, if all the employed features are included in the Baseline, you can be confident about browser compatibility. Ensuring compliance with the Baseline should eliminate unexpected outcomes during your site's testing phase.

TL;DR: The Baseline simplifies the understanding of browser support for all stakeholders and team members.

In the project planning phase, instead of identifying specific browser versions, you can establish criteria to utilize features included in the Baseline. When releasing a library, you can assist potential users in comprehending the support of the used features (and consequently, if it's safe for their site) by stating compatibility with the Baseline. When crafting a tutorial, you can assure readers that everything covered is part of the Baseline, thereby informing them that this is a viable solution they can integrate into a project.

A feature is incorporated into the Baseline once it is supported by the current and preceding version of all major browsers, namely Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. Aiming for Baseline compatibility helps prevent your site's requirements from becoming obsolete. As new features become part of the Baseline, you can continue to introduce them while retaining the same level of support for your users.

Here are Baseline features you can use today, and keep an eye on MDN, since Baseline will be incorporated into what is now the “compatibility” notes.

Svelte Desktop

If you ever think “something cannot be done on the web” OR “Svelte can't do X”, think again (source).

Things Go Better With AI?

I cannot believe I'm linking to a mini-“behind the scenes” documentary about the making of a soft-drink advert, but I also didn't believe an orange tinted snake oil salesman could become POTUS, either.

One reason I am linking to it, is that it seems to be one of the good uses of modern AI tooling.

FIN

Happy Monday! ☮