I recently read a Wired article where people achieved success losing weight because Weight Watchers is basically an RPG. One game/exercise that I often do is to see how many lines of code or components I can write without any errors. It’s hard to quantify but my record so far as about 200 lines of Javascript/AJAX code. It was kind of cheating because I was basically re-using Javascript and backend PHP code that had been thoroughly tested. Overall, this is a pretty good method to increase the amount of code you can hold in your head and attempts to reduce the relying of debugging tools in favor of self/mental debugging.
life, programming
ajax, coding, game, games, howto, javascript, php, programming, tip, tutorial
The good folks at jQuery just released a new version of UI library. For the uninitiated, jQuery UI is mostly a visual effects library that allows one to create AJAX-style user interfaces and interactions really quickly and easily.
I’ve used the older versions and they were pretty buggy and unstable. Since then, the jQuery team has received corporate backing and really improved the core jQuery library. If the new jQuery UI lives up to its billing, it might push Mootools out of being my favorite Javascript library
jquery, programming, web
ajax, javascript, jquery, jquery ui, mootools, programming
Today a co-worker of mine, Travis, made a really good remark which is the title of this post. Before AJAX, there were only two main components to the site: 1) dynamic server-side processing, and 2) static client-side elements. With AJAX, there is now a third layer that manipulates static elements to make them dynamic and is able to make requests from the server with or without user interaction. Client-side Javascript always has to account for the capabilities of the user’s browser and how certain browsers renders elements even though HTML/CSS also has to handle this. This added complexity, plus the regular bugs that always crop up while coding, makes debugging an AJAX application twice as hard. Despite the extra work for developers, the rich interaction that the Web2.0 era is built upon makes for a much better overall user experience.
internet, programming
, ajax, browser, css, debugging, developers, development, html, html/css, javascript, site, web, web2.0, website
I just discovered this really cool application called OpenLaszlo. They are an “open-source platform for the development and delivery of rich Internet applications on the World Wide Web.” One of their claims is “write once, run anywhere” (I think we’ve heard this before – Java).
To me, their syntax and coding style is very similar to Flex. What’s most impressive is that when you “compile” your page/site, you have the option of compiling to flash or DHTML. Working with HTML/CSS all day, they must have a pretty impressive algorithm to ensure browser compatibility, especially on the CSS side.
OpenLaszlo has a lot of promise and is really neat technology. If they really take off and become popular, they will effectively put me out of a job. In the end, they automated the entire process of building a Web2.0 AJAX-powered website and provides another way to produce flash applications in a way that makes sense to traditional web developers.
internet, programming
ajax, css, flash, flex, html, open laszlo, openlaszlo, programming, web, web development