HTML + CSS + JavaScript

Let's Build the Web We Want

About

HTML CSS JavaScript is a notebook and commentary on web technology, platform architecture, and the evolving craft of building software for the open web. I’m Rob Larsen, the site’s creator and sole contributor.

About Me

I am an enterprise technology executive, systems architect, author, and open-source maintainer with more than twenty years of experience designing software and leading engineering organizations.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of emerging standards and production realities—from the early days of hand-rolled AJAX and the emergence of HTML5, to architecting high-throughput, enterprise-scale platforms, to establishing modern governance for AI-assisted code generation.

Today, I serve as Managing Director of Palatino Consulting, where I provide fractional CTO leadership, architectural modernization, and engineering governance to organizations navigating critical technical transitions.

Books & Publications

I have authored and co-authored five technical books on front-end architecture, web standards, and visual systems for O’Reilly Media, Wiley, and Packt:

  • The Uncertain Web (O’Reilly Media) — A deep dive into the shifting, fragile nature of building for the web and how to design resilient systems in an unpredictable browser landscape.
  • Mastering SVG (Packt) — Advanced techniques for scalable vector graphics, browser rendering, dynamic animation, and data visualization.
  • Beginning HTML and CSS (Wrox / Wiley) — A comprehensive ground-up guide to semantic markup and modern stylesheet architecture.
  • The HTML and CSS Workshop (Packt) — A hands-on, project-based curriculum for modern web development.
  • Professional jQuery (Wrox / Wiley) — Advanced scripting, plugin architecture, and performance patterns for the dominant DOM library of its era.

Open Source & Standards

I have been an active contributor to the open-source web ecosystem for nearly two decades:

  • Owner & Lead Maintainer: HTML5 Boilerplate and the broader H5BP organization, stewarding foundational web templates and developer interview frameworks relied upon by millions of developers over the last decade and a half.
  • Author & Creator: Assumptions & Constraints Manifest (ACM), an open-source RFC specification, schema, and CI/CD developer toolkit designed to eliminate hidden architectural debt in AI-generated code.
  • Code & Tools: You can explore my broader open-source projects, tools, and experiments on GitHub.

Speaking & Writing Archive

Over the years, I’ve spoken at conferences and meetups across the globe—including jQuery Conference, HTML5DevConf, Bocoup, WordCamp, and O’Reilly webcasts—and contributed technical pieces to IBM developerWorks and industry publications covering everything from the early DOM APIs to enterprise performance.

While the tooling continues to evolve, the core philosophy remains unchanged: Build things that are durable, maintainable, and respect the medium.

Connect

If you want to discuss technology strategy, platform architecture, or engineering advisory: