Experiencing Semantic UI, I thought it was very challenging at first. The first couple of practice WODs were really tough. Seeing the code not being executed got really frustrating at times. For me it took a while to get used to, because I really had no experience with HTML/CSS. I found the idea of using “containers” to be very confusing at first. One of the problems I had was trying to put icons and text in the right positions. The reason was because I was unfamilliar with creating classes in the style sheet. The problem was that I would get confused because I was mixing classes and didn’t know how to fix the borders or align the text so that it would appear in a column. I really had to practice to get comfortable with that aspect of HTML.
The semester has come to and end so it is time to reflect on what a semester it has been. It seems that two months ago my feeling towards Semantic UI was that it was incredibly difficult. It is truly incredible how fast times have changed. Not only did my opinion of Semantic UI take a complete turn, I’ve actually grown quite comfortable using UI frameworks. Who would’ve known? I wish I could go back to see myself 3 months ago and tell him that things are gonna get easier. I remember those days when I would just stare at my screen trying to familiarize myself with divs and all the different classes you could use. I also remember struggling to try to finish the Island Snow Experience. Now that I’ve gone through the days of React and Meteor, I realized how simplistic Semantic UI really was. The more time I invested into figuring out Semantic UI, the easier it became. Doing work in react and meteor made me realize how simplistic Semantic UI Frameworks were. The class names are real simple to follow such as “column” or “ui centered image”. I could also see the differences when comparing Semantic UI to just plain HTML/CSS. On a personal level, the language was much easier to understand and it really provided a basis of what was to come in future modules. To be quite honest, those were some tough times. Semantic UI was sort of a reality check for me. I learned that if I want something I have to put the work in.
Honestly, what was tough for me was trying to learn the language. At the time, I had no exposure to Semantic UI, so during that time, I was behind the 8-ball. I couldn’t really find any formidable solutions online so I really had to take the time to learn this new language. When I first saw an index.html page everything was so new to me. It was a mix of emotions from “I’m really excited to learn this new language” to worrying about how I’m going to do on the WOD. I definitely learned some lessons working with Semantic UI that really helped me as the semester went along.