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QuirksMode.org is the personal site of Peter-Paul Koch, freelance web developer and JavaScript guru in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
It's a rather large site that contains the following sections:
QuirksMode.org is a free website that gives browser compatibility information and rather a lot of copy-pastable scripts. I will not charge you for the use of this website in any way; no fees, no advertisements, no hidden costs.
I've always strongly believed in free information as a cornerstone of the Web. Anyone can view any bit of code by doing a simple View Source, so the information is already there. If I take about half an hour to not only post a script, but also explain why I wrote the script in this particular way, budding web developers will more quickly make the step from simple copy-pasting to copy-tweaking, and from there on to a real understanding of JavaScript and CSS.
In addition, some fundamental principles, like object detection, are so important that I'm honour-bound to explain them as clearly as I can.
Finally, this site serves to convince potential clients that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to CSS and JavaScript. This activity is quite succesful: in 2005 I earned about 60% of my income from clients who found me through this site, and that percentage is steadily rising. Therefore QuirksMode.org effectively pays for itself and I don't need advertisements and stuff.
QuirksMode.org is a well visited site that scores extremely high on specific JavaScript queries on Google and other search engines. Chances are you found it because you wanted some specific JavaScript information.
When I started creating websites in 1998 I quickly found out about browser incompatibilities. In addition I discovered that I could write simpler scripts than many of the people who posted on JavaScript sites. All this led to the JavaScript Section, which is the precursor of this site. I steadily expanded my site, added a few CSS2 tests back in the days that CSS2 was largely unknown teritory, and mentioned these sites on mailing list whenever they contained an answer to a question. My readership grew.
When I became a freelancer I decided to rework my sites, partly because they had become unmanageable and partly because I wanted to make clear that I knew a lot about JavaScript and CSS and am for hire. This resulted in the first version of QuirksMode.org (2003).
In 2006 I commissioned a new design and did a major restructuring of the site. The result is QuirksMode.org as you see it now.
My name is Peter-Paul Koch (with the dash, please) and I have lived in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, all my life. I am a freelance web developer — which means you can hire me — specializing in client side programming — HTML, CSS, JavaScript, with emphasis on the latter. In addition I write rather a lot, I dabble in recruitment (Dutch market only), teach CSS and JavaScript courses whenever I can, and do some national and international speaking.
Originally I was educated in ancient history (Greeks and Romans) and as a teacher. I couldn't find work, though, and although I busied myself for two years with research into ancient Germanic sagas, especially the Thidrekssaga, I wanted to get a real job to earn some real money.
Therefore I switched to the Internet at the tail end of 1997, when I started on a (very bad) course that would make me "Internet Advisor", whatever that may be. I took the opportunity to delve deeper into the practical issues that confronted anyone who wants to create web sites.
I started working as a professional web developer in 1998, first as an intern at Inizio Design, then for three years at Netlinq Framfab, where I quickly became Head of Client Side Programming. After half a year at Valkieser Web Solutions I became a freelancer in September 2002. See also my CV.
In addition to this site I published a book, ppk on JavaScript, and several articles for other sites, most notably A List Apart, Digital Web Magazine, and Naar Voren for the Dutch language area.
See my Publications page for a complete overview.
In addition to web development I'm interested in history, with an emphasis on Western Europe. I've always been known for my excellent factual knowledge of history; ask me who was king of France or England in 1205 and I'll give you a detailed breakdown of their personalities and politics.
I also play bass guitar in a band of friends that has existed for fifteen years. It's a hobby band, and we mainly play at weddings and other parties of friends, but maybe one day we'll get a bit more serious. I consider myself a fan of Jack Bruce and Ziggy Marley, and my musical attention is rather evenly divided between the great sixties bands and roots reggae.
| Freelance web developer | I'm a freelance web developer. Read more about my skills and work. |
| CV | My CV. |
| Publications | All my publications, including non-web-development stuff. |
| Frequently Asked Questions | As it says. |
| Copyright | This site is largely, but not entirely, free of copyright. Read about the exceptions. |
| Colophon | Who created this site and with what sofware? |
| Portfolio overview | A few sites I created from 2000 until now. |