A web engineer’s blog
2 Jul
CSS, DHTML and Javascript work really good together. In fact, I tend to use the combination to replace Flash whenever it’s appropriate (usually, most of the time!).
Javascript ‘building’ is a technique where you dynamically add original nodes to your DOM, usually based on existing content.
Speaking in (sort of) plain english, this means you can create a slideshow from an unordered list, a tabbed or sliding control set from a group of divs, an image viewer from a link (everyone now knows Lightbox v2 by Lokesh Dhakar).
For the sake of simplifying this article, the examples will be done using the Prototype and the Scriptaculous Javascript libraries. However these are not needed to produce these results, and you can do everything without them, or with other libraries (JQuery or Moo.Fx to name some).
2 Jul
Part of creative process during web programming and design involves streamlining and optimizing the workflow.
That means trying to make things done faster, in less time.
One tool I find really valuable is Firebug.
Download and install this javascript console and debugger for Firefox, and a new icon appears in the lower side corner of the browser.
In fact, Firebug is usually deactivated, until you click this icon and tell it to start to process the website you are seeing (you can also tell it to stay in an always active mode, but this burns cpu cycles pretty fast).
If Firebug is active, it’s capable of making you peek under the hood of the live page you are seeing, showing precisely what you want to know about the engine running. This means less trials and errors.
2 Jul
Have you ever used the Google Maps API and found out that you don’t really know the right position where to place the markers? As you know, to do so requires entering in javascript the exact marker’s coordinates, so you go in a trial-and-error loop to try to correct the numbers until you find the right spot, browse for various so called google maps builders hoping that one of them actually gives you the coordinates you need to nail the right place, or modify your code so that outputs in some way the coordinates, find the marker’s position, jot it down, then restore the old script and add the numbers.
During this phase the client calls saying the marker isn’t in the right place, it’s "more to the sea", or "a bit more to the left". You also have the problem that modifying the javascript code makes the map go into the debug mode (outputting coordinates) as long as the right numbers have been found out, even web site readers see them.
Solve the problem one time for all by adding this few lines to your javascript code that uses the Google Maps API (I assume the google map object name is "map", change as needed):
2 Jul
Hi, and welcome to my blog. It’s about web engineering.
If you want to find more, please see the about page.
Today I’ll talk about a problem of many graphic designers:
Build a good color palette for your design works.
The situation is: you need to produce a logo, create a new company image or build a website.
The design floats in your head, but you simply can’t grasp the "right" colors it needs.
For my introduction in the blog’s world as a writer, I’ve chosen to share what I think is the top ten of colour choosing.