UI frameworks, and why they are useful
04 Oct 2023
Frameworks explained
It is often said that to achieve big things it is important to stand on the shoulders of the Giants. It is hardly possible to get through a single computer science course without talking about layers of abstraction, and In essence, these frameworks are just one layer of abstraction away from the base-level CSS selectors. One of the beautiful things however is that with the framework model Developers still have access to the raw CSS, thereby allowing websites to be pixel-perfect to the designer’s vision. This is to say that the plumbing of Bootstrap is the raw css that developers know and are accustomed to. In addition to this, this means that there is a minimal learning curve for adopting or transitioning to new frameworks; learn the naming convention and some key features, and you are on your way.
Why use frameworks like Bootstrap?
Along these lines, In the case of Bootstrap 5 two examples that represent how frameworks are useful include position management and responsiveness. Before bootstrap It was an arduous task to get things where you wanted them on the screen, and even harder to custom tailor for each screen size or device type. Individual style rules were required for each scenario and they were largely crafted by hand. Bootstrap allows developers out of the box easy screen size responsiveness, and positioning utility, and you don’t need to leave your html file to access it.
But how does it look?
Lastly, The laws of aesthetics do not change that much. Although highly customizable bootstraps’ fundamental aesthetic was designed by people way smarter than me to look good out of the box. Using this system, as a developer, you needn’t concern yourself with the golden ratio, the 1/3 principle, or any other core design tenets. Bootstrap was designed with style in mind, and all of these ratios and tenants are baked into its system of grids, and tags.
To sum it all up
Frameworks help blur the line between Art, design, and development In the sense that they allow any developer to quickly create a product that looks decent despite their lack of artistic prowess. It does this by allowing developers to stand on the shoulders of giants in the sense that the gory implementation details have already been created for you to leverage. Whether you use Bootstrap or some other framework, unleash your full developing potential with confidence that you will have something aesthetic.