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07/06/2014

Graceful (oolong) Degradation

You know you love your work when you find yourself applying its principles to your choice of beverage.

Summers in Nagoya, Japan are hot. To give an impression of how hot, spring brings temperatures over 86°F (30°C), easily. Step outside mid-August and the humidity hits you like a wall. So, I like to put an icy drink on my desk and slowly sip at it as I work.

two teas - arrow

If I want to load it up with ice, I face the simple problem of dilution. Enter Graceful Degradation. Graceful Degradation is the practice of planned imperfection. Every web browser and device is different. You can jump through hoops to ensure that your page will look and work exactly the same everywhere, but that’s not always practical (and it’s expensive). Instead, you can set things up to “break” gracefully, allowing a usable site that may not be as beautiful on the less supportive devices or browsers.

What does this have to do with oolong tea? Oolong tea is a Chinese variety of tea which basically tastes like really harsh water. I know that description doesn’t make it sound good, but I assure you, it is.

The other day I realised to myself, “oh, just load up a tall glass of oolong with a ton of ice! It’ll gracefully degrade into milder oolong!” Even when it dilutes almost completely to water, it doesn’t taste funky. Rather, it tastes like water with a little class. Juice won’t do that for you, no sir.

Filed Under: Web Development

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About the Author

I studied design in college, but I discovered what I really want to do when I started getting into web design and coding. The beautiful part about it is how you can study, practice, and learn every day; and you'll never reach the bottom of the well.

Every day working as a WordPress developer is challenging and fulfilling.

This is my personal site where I come to put down my thoughts and experiment with code ideas.

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