HELLOSKI!

I'm done with "Hello World".

It's just so soggy and uninspired. Whenever you see output from a new test program, you should be happy. Huzzah, something is working! But all "Hello World" makes me think of is a sad, wrinkled turtle, peering out of his shell, looking around timidly before speaking. If there's one fundamental principle of software engineering we can all agree on, it should be this: whatever your program outputs on success, it should never be something that you could imagine being warbled by a turtle.

Just the other day, I installed Apache2 on my home machine via MacPorts fired it up, and the test page said, "It works!" Sweet! Now that's what I'm talking about.

"It works!" is pretty good, but I think we can do even better. I hereby declare that starting today, the official replacement for "Hello World" is... "HELLOSKI". When you see "HELLOSKI", you think of — a cheerful Russian! Who is going to slap you on the back and buy you a drink! Because you are writing awesome, revolutionary software!

Seriously, try it for yourself. The next time you're writing a "Hello World" program, make it say "HELLOSKI" instead. (If you're in a web context, be sure to add H1s for full effect.) You'll be glad you did.

Comments

I approve this message.

Posted by Andrei on May. 21, 2010 at 10:24 AM [#]
I very much thought you would.

Posted by Evan on May. 21, 2010 at 10:37 AM [#]
Helloski sounds a lot like the punchline to a Polish joke, but loads better than “Hello World”

Posted by Sharon_McC on May. 21, 2010 at 11:54 AM [#]
Quite right, we’re saving valuable bytes here!

Posted by Evan on May. 21, 2010 at 4:36 PM [#]
Thats why I come to this site, the practical everyday advice we can all get behind. That and the snarky commentaries.

Posted by Sam on May. 22, 2010 at 11:12 AM [#]
Evan, thank you so much for the HTML section you have been kind enough to include in this site. I am trying to build my own blog (if you check it out, you’ll see that it is very primitive. But, your instructions have already proven to be a big help. At some point, could you also instruct us in how to use CSS? Thanks again. — Carter

Posted by Carter Clews on May. 24, 2010 at 5:15 AM [#]
Hello Carter,

Really glad to hear that you’re enjoying the HTML tutorial. The tutorial does include some basic CSS concepts, but those concepts are interwoven with the rest of the material. For example, see http://www.goer.org/HTML/intermediate/style_sheets/ and related sections.

Posted by Evan Goer on May. 24, 2010 at 6:44 AM [#]
Thanks for the response. I’ll check out the link you recommended. Thanks again for all of your help.

Posted by Carter Clews on May. 24, 2010 at 8:09 AM [#]
Evan, I posted a message in my blog footer, and it is all in caps. GoDaddy tells me the only way to change that is through HTML. What part of your guide should I go to in order to learn how to make the letters in my message lower case? Thanks.

Posted by Carter Clews on May. 26, 2010 at 3:02 PM [#]
Oh my god, your writing is fantabulous. This means something because I read books with pictures almost exclusively (…as I am a comic book artist). You should have seen me reading! I probably got through, like, 5 or 6 pages of your word-blog without batting an eye.

:)

Evan, it’s been too long. Your writing has only become better with time. I’m so happy to read that you’re kicking heinies and taking name-skis in the world of technical writing AND keeping up this really useful and entertaining site.

Write (email) me when you have a chance. It’d be great to catch up.

P.S. I live in Michigan now.

Ryan Claytor

Owner/Artist/Flyboy

Elephant Eater Comics

http://www.ElephantEater.com

Posted by Ryan Claytor on Jun. 03, 2010 at 5:51 PM [#]
Oh wow Ryan, how the heck have you been! Email on its way. :)

Posted by Evan on Jun. 03, 2010 at 11:43 PM [#]

HELLOSKI!

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