[andreas_g4]

I am really wondering whether Apple's web design is something very advanced, or whether I am just in the Apple-RDF.

As someone with little to no programming knowledge, it all looks very elaborate to me. It is just so smooth on the surface that I suspect it is a hell to program. Is that correct? Or is it more or less "standard high-end" HTML 5 and AJAX and all that new stuff?

Just wondering.

[IceEnclosure]

I just know the whole store comes down when there's a mispeling.

[0157988944]

Originally Posted by IceEnclosure 

I just know the whole store comes down when there's a mispeling.

Intentional?

[Chuckit]

The design is a different question from the actual coding. It's a very nice site design, of course. There's nothing all that interesting about the code of most of the pages on Apple's site. It's pretty well-written, but nothing groundbreaking or particularly difficult.

[IceEnclosure]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

Intentional?

Most defenitely.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by andreas_g4 

I am really wondering whether Apple's web design is something very advanced, or whether I am just in the Apple-RDF.

As someone with little to no programming knowledge, it all looks very elaborate to me. It is just so smooth on the surface that I suspect it is a hell to program. Is that correct? Or is it more or less "standard high-end" HTML 5 and AJAX and all that new stuff?

Just wondering.

There's nothing particularly special about Apple's website. They probably have a CMS of some sort on the back end, either something commercial or something custom developed in-house.

The "smooth surface" is all on the design side - which has nothing to do with the development itself, except a little JavaScript action for the horizontal scrolly thing in the online store section.

[Oneota]

From the conversations I've had with Apple people at past WWDCs, the Apple Store code is completely separate from the rest of the site (naturally) and is written using WebObjects, which was pretty friggin' sweet back in the late 90s but which is basically irrelevant today. The way the Store is written, adding/removing an object to the live store can't be done while the site itself is live -- it's a serious design problem that frustrates and annoys even the people in charge of running it.

The rest of Apple.com is bitchin' kick-ass modern-day buzzword-compliant HTML-y goodness.

[besson3c]

Not a whole lot of AJAX that I've seen, just Prototype/Scriptaculous Javascript stuff, and very nice graphics. As others have said, the visuals are outstanding, programing is fairly straight forward.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by Oneota 

From the conversations I've had with Apple people at past WWDCs, the Apple Store code is completely separate from the rest of the site (naturally) and is written using WebObjects, which was pretty friggin' sweet back in the late 90s but which is basically irrelevant today. The way the Store is written, adding/removing an object to the live store can't be done while the site itself is live -- it's a serious design problem that frustrates and annoys even the people in charge of running it.

The rest of Apple.com is bitchin' kick-ass modern-day buzzword-compliant HTML-y goodness.

Huh. I always figured Apple took down the online store just to generate a bunch of publicity before releasing something new.

You would think they'd have updated code by now that would allow updating the store a tad more easily.

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Not a whole lot of AJAX that I've seen, just Prototype/Scriptaculous Javascript stuff, and very nice graphics. As others have said, the visuals are outstanding, programing is fairly straight forward.

People tend to equate "JavaScript framework" with "AJAX". Even though they're not really synonymous with each other, the terminology has kind of gone that route.

[besson3c]

Yeah, a minor peeve of mine is the lazy techno shorthand that the general public adopts. Stuff like "Powerpoint" to mean presentation, "texting", "log on to" a website (I hate that one , backslashes in reading off URLs, etc.

I'm slightly anal that way I guess

[besson3c]

I also doubt that Apple is using HTML 5 yet, there is still a lot of IE 6 usage out there.

[- - e r i k - -]

Apple make use of lots of advanced JavaScript frameworks, most notably Sproutcore. There's also a lot of in-house developed code, ie. custom versions of Prototype.

Apple is indeed utilising HTML5 for some things, like Flash-less audio preview.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

I also doubt that Apple is using HTML 5 yet, there is still a lot of IE 6 usage out there.

They are.

BTW, I still don't understand the difference between a section and a div. Or a header and an h#.

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

Huh. I always figured Apple took down the online store just to generate a bunch of publicity before releasing something new.

You would think they'd have updated code by now that would allow updating the store a tad more easily.

You know, I probably wouldn't be surprised if what was once a technical limitation turned into a 'marketing event' for just that very reason. It's not like they don't have the cash on-hand to upgrade/rebuild their store, but I'm betting the free buzz they get whenever they bring the store down outweighs (in the minds of the marketing execs) the internal benefits of being able to update the store while it's still live.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by -Q- 

You know, I probably wouldn't be surprised if what was once a technical limitation turned into a 'marketing event' for just that very reason. It's not like they don't have the cash on-hand to upgrade/rebuild their store, but I'm betting the free buzz they get whenever they bring the store down outweighs (in the minds of the marketing execs) the internal benefits of being able to update the store while it's still live.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: A few quickly forgotten posts on a handful of forums do not amount to "marketing buzz."

[ghporter]

And doesn't "the Apple Store is downzors!!!1!!!" sort of tip Apple's hand for exactly when they're changing products? It's only a few hours of advance notice, but it would still tip people off. People who wait breathlessly for the next speed bump in MacBooks, that is...

[imitchellg5]

Obviously they don't update the Store because they like seeing "OMFG TEH APPLE STOARZ IS TEH DOWNSZZZ" threads all over the 'nets.

[besson3c]

I agree with Chuckit. The rest of world outside of the extremely tiny population of people that go apeshit in anticipation and excitement whenever Apple takes their store down are not buzzed by these antics.

What WebObjects does on the positive side that makes this temporary loss of business for them worthwhile is beyond me. It would be interesting to know how much business is actually lost when they do that. There are a lot of impulsive shoppers out there.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Or a header and an h#.

h♯ is the same as i♭.

[Salty]

It's good coding combined with great design. As opposed to Google which tends to be OK design tied to amazing coding.

Apple.com is a beast that has grown slowly over time. Back in the day when it was one welcome graphic and four sub graphics, it was mainly static pages that didn't do much. Now most of the pages are still pretty static they just have more graphics, moving things, and the odd mouse over change here or there. It's all rather tasteful most of the time, it's all about simplicity and elegance while still being cool.

[andreas_g4]

Originally Posted by Salty 

It's good coding combined with great design. As opposed to Google which tends to be OK design tied to amazing coding.

That sounds like the best description, and mostly like what I thought but failed to articulate…

[TheoCryst]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

h♯ is the same as i♭.

[besson3c]

That joke was very besson3cian!