this post would suggest that HN is/has turning/turned in a votebrigade-for-fire. It really should've been a "here is why head.js is awesome, you should go vote for it/star it".
But here is the reason you should star head.js:
Head JS loads JavaScript files like images without blocking the page. Your page will be faster even with a single combined file.
As our JS gets longer and longer and heavier and heavier, HeadJS will improve loading/time to render by an order of magnitude faster.
edit: post #28 asks people to stop commenting due to auto-notifications, but then people keep commenting.
I work on the Google libraries CDN in my 20% time. Meanwhile I'm also the developer of Modernizr which is one of the other highly-starred issues trying to get onto the CDN.
In order for us to consider adding a library to our API, that library must basically get tens of millions of loads per day across millions of websites. Due to the details of how browser caches work, hosting on our CDN really only benefits the web for libraries that are literally all over the place.
So while it's important that we see there is user demand for both Modernizr and Head.js (and jQuery Tools, Underscore, Mootools More), so please do star... the best chance for them to be added is if we see that they are wiiiidely in use across the web.
Is there any conversation about expanding the scope/purpose of Google CDN? It seems like it could "benefit the web" beyond simply increasing cache hits ratios.
Most obviously, it could speed the web up (a core goal of Google, as I understand), by placing files on CDN - regardless of cache hits/misses. I mean, even if head.js isn't cached in a browser, I'm going to guess that, on average, it'll download faster from Google CDN than from my server.
It can also act as a sort of javascript repository and legitimize those libraries that deserve to be legitimized. I see a chicken and egg thing here, to be on Google CDN you need millions of hits, yet being on Google CDN might help you reach that goal.
> I see a chicken and egg thing here, to be on Google CDN you need millions of hits, yet being on Google CDN might help you reach that goal.
I don't think that's legit.. If one of your primary criteria on whether to use a given javascript library is it's CDN availability.. you're probably not choosing your tools well.
At the same time, I know I prefer to grab a CDN hosted script when starting a project then the downloading rigamarole. But that is like just general development momentum issue rather than a tooling decision.
6 comments
[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 20.9 ms ] threadSuppose it's a good cause, and OP's post is successful at getting head.js added. Do we really want HN to turn into a votebrigade-for-hire?
But here is the reason you should star head.js: Head JS loads JavaScript files like images without blocking the page. Your page will be faster even with a single combined file.
As our JS gets longer and longer and heavier and heavier, HeadJS will improve loading/time to render by an order of magnitude faster.
edit: post #28 asks people to stop commenting due to auto-notifications, but then people keep commenting.
In order for us to consider adding a library to our API, that library must basically get tens of millions of loads per day across millions of websites. Due to the details of how browser caches work, hosting on our CDN really only benefits the web for libraries that are literally all over the place.
So while it's important that we see there is user demand for both Modernizr and Head.js (and jQuery Tools, Underscore, Mootools More), so please do star... the best chance for them to be added is if we see that they are wiiiidely in use across the web.
Thx, bros.
Most obviously, it could speed the web up (a core goal of Google, as I understand), by placing files on CDN - regardless of cache hits/misses. I mean, even if head.js isn't cached in a browser, I'm going to guess that, on average, it'll download faster from Google CDN than from my server.
It can also act as a sort of javascript repository and legitimize those libraries that deserve to be legitimized. I see a chicken and egg thing here, to be on Google CDN you need millions of hits, yet being on Google CDN might help you reach that goal.
Not really a safe assumption, it turns out.
http://zoompf.com/blog/2010/01/should-you-use-javascript-lib... has one of the best discussions of the topic.
> I see a chicken and egg thing here, to be on Google CDN you need millions of hits, yet being on Google CDN might help you reach that goal.
I don't think that's legit.. If one of your primary criteria on whether to use a given javascript library is it's CDN availability.. you're probably not choosing your tools well.
At the same time, I know I prefer to grab a CDN hosted script when starting a project then the downloading rigamarole. But that is like just general development momentum issue rather than a tooling decision.