20050630

Taking the dirt away V

Back button is one of the most criticized lacks in AJAX's new technology. Tons of posts explaining the need for the user to be able to use the back button's browser to navigate.
That was kind of a strange request for M. I'm not the kind of visitor who uses the back button, because I understand web-site must provide enough links to navigate around apart from the browser possibilities. Maybe its because I belong to the Flash generation, who knows.

The solution has appeared. Real hackers had been last weeks trying to solve this inconvenient making suitable the profits of Ajax tech.

You must have a look at this:

First Step

function PageLocator(propertyToUse, dividingCharacter) {
this.propertyToUse = propertyToUse;
this.defaultQS = 1;
this.dividingCharacter = dividingCharacter;
}
PageLocator.prototype.getLocation = function() {
return eval(this.propertyToUse);
}
PageLocator.prototype.getHash = function() {
var url = this.getLocation();
if(url.indexOf(this.dividingCharacter)>-1) {
var url_elements = url.split(this.dividingCharacter);
return url_elements[url_elements.length-1];
} else {
return this.defaultQS;
}
}
PageLocator.prototype.getHref = function() {
var url = this.getLocation();
var url_elements = url.split(this.dividingCharacter);
return url_elements[0];
}
PageLocator.prototype.makeNewLocation = function(new_qs) {
return this.getHref() + this.dividingCharacter + new_qs;
}

Second step


function setContent(new_content) {
if(!document.getElementById ||
=> !document.getElementsByTagName) return;
var container = document.getElementById("content");
container.innerHTML = new_content;
}

Next steps



Okay, you get me. code is not mine. I borrowed - as always - from Mike Stenhouse. He does not know me, but who cares.

Being honest, let me say you something. Make click and visit this place where he explains easily and clear his solution to this hypothetic headache.

Not forgetting Robert Penner get the solution years ago concerning ActionScript and Flash apps.

Take care.

20050628

Double-break switch

Maybe you need a server in your pen-stick for some purposes. Who knows.

Here you can learn how to install Apache/MySQL/PHP formerly known as AMP in a USB 32mb. The point of this article by the way is to provide a portable system with no hard-coding of drive paths.

Something to do when you are bored in this lonely planet.

Accessibility is process

Title is not mine. Belongs in its origin to Matt May.
Mr. May explains in a clearway why the next draft of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 probably will not require HTML content that conforms at Level A to be fully valid.

Oh, Messiahs from the accessibility! You've lost your arguments to pick up more money. What will you say to your clients from now on?. Accessibility does no matter?

If accessibility has to do something with the WWW is that is a process, and not a product. You can not sell accessibility, you must provide it developing a clean code, not convincing your client, and, overall be honest with yourself and with your work.

If you read On Notation everyday, maybe you can remember I posted something about this matter a couple ago.
Introducing the new SEGONQUART face for Spring. It validates, but, honestly I think it should not. I know what I am talking about.

Because I did it.

Say welcome to this new purpose and let's make a good use of the Web.

20050627

Zero means zero

Lesson one: "Si el codificador juntalineas su siente en su salsa con la chapuza diaria, el hombre abstracto detesta las reuniones con cliente porque cada nuevo requisito arruina la belleza del diseño y obliga a una refactorización de código."

Ok, you want to learn spanish and trip to Ibiza this summer for a holidays in the sun.

Then, let me recommend you this article by a spaniard dude.

The man in Version Cero, writes well. And thinks before to do it. I like the attribute he uses: codificador juntalineas. Rocks. That picture of him, sadly, scares.

20050625

Ninety percent

Mr. Jeffrey Zeldman wrote once: " 90% of the websites are bad designed ". That was years ago, and still today the web looks the same.

It happens to me to spare time visiting e-commerce sites. Pages written and published by professionals formed in the area of marketing. It's hard to imagine what color of underwear those people prefer to wear, but if you ask me I will say you: grey. A blurred, stoned grey. Like their taste.

Ninenty percent of the websites made in the cyberworld lack of form. Specially those that speak abount content, those made by marketers for their own's profit. Yes, I know you will say to me: "Content is the thing".

And content, I would answer, is like the bright of your eyes. You can wear glasses, but your eyes speak for you. They can be brown, blue, green or whatever. You can move your hands, you can wear a brand new suit with a Pertegaz' tie. I do, sometimes, it's not that bad.

But as soon as I put my eyes upon yours, I feel that all your discourse reaches the non-sense area. They don't look at me honestly.

I had the feeling also, that you just want to take my cash. That's not bad. If you belong to that mole of ninety percent people without charm. Steel does not mean to steal, honey.
Next time, try to sell me something cute, if you are able to. Sure I'll willingly pay for it.

Music: The The - I saw the light

20050624

Sonatina

Switch Off, the website, has been kindly mentioned in Pixelsurgeon by Mr. Jason Arber. True.

Jason Arber is a strong skilled professional who also shows a fine sense of humor through his works. Jason Arber is also the Edit-in-chief publisher of PixelSurgeon.

As Senior Designer at Now Wash Your Hands, design company from London (UK), Jason Arber knows what he talks about. I never had yet the chance to know Mr. Arber in person. Thus adds more value to his mention.

Let me recommend you to visit Pixelsurgeon Creative Consultants Ltd, one of the most relevant publications about contemporary culture, new media, and creativity written and published in the World Wide Web. In their own words, PixelSurgeon is : "a community site that was broader in scope than other design portals, that looked at art, technology, culture, music, games and movies" which success had raised "global recognition and acclaim from such venerable institutions as Wired magazine and the BBC".


Besides this, in a minor level, a honorific mention from visualdesigner, a design portal, about the website has been done also this week.

Not pretending to, but being arrogant I say, we all knew a website is ninety-nine percent content and one percent technical skills. Content, in Switch off the website, is like a diamond. Being me the mentioned jeweler. Thank you very much. You all made me blush.

20050618

Taking the dirt away IV

Ajax mistakes through someone who knows.

We knew it, Javascript had asynchronous messages that they can be quite confusing when they are pop in unexpectedly.
And...

20050615

Common Practices

Visitors of this blog may have noticed from today there is a new sticker in the main right menu.
This logotipe belongs to Creative Commons. To me, being affiliated to Creative Commons means to me that I let my work published here free of copyright in a traditional sense, but letting visitors what they have to do with my work.
As it is said:"Creative Commons is a nonprofit that offers a flexible copyright for creative work."
So feel free to use this content, and be honest in the terms of use.
You know it know.

20050612

Never is a long time

The switch to Intel will be not a hard transition for MAC OS X developers. Porting Cocoa applications will mean to compile them and take three or four weeks of work porting them to another CPU architecture.

RealBasic is a multi-platform language being used since the beginning of OS X and some of us get used to it when we met in the apple download area. Remember?

The war now is between RealBasic and Cocoa. And UNIX stands by.

20050611

Taking the dirt away III

AJAX enables faster, more responsive Web applications through a combination of asynchronous JavaScript, the Document Object Model (DOM), and XMLhttpRequest.

We all know that.

Back to 1998, we were habitué to frames ,iframes and other tricks intended to avoid the "blank moment", looking for a visual continuity in published documents.

Later, we learned this resource could be problematic if someone decided to bookmark, for example, a certain document.

Then ActionScript founded its regency thanks to its possibilities and the simils this language shared with JavaScript. Was an easy way to flavour the client needs.

However, due to the lacks supporting standards it was recommended to minimize the use of Flash. The war started.

Standards came here to stay and we welcomed its appearance. Thus, helping ActionScript development to reach new milestones and become...less naïve.

With AJAX, just about any element defined with the DOM can be dynamic and data can be loaded in the background without user action making it readily available if needed. What it means that we avoid the refreshing moments pages in the Web had had.

AJAX-based updates affect only a portion of your document thanks to an adequated use of DOM. So the visitor can interact as he expects. From a behaviourist point of view: Ajax it's also practical to communicate pro-actively and let them know what response their action will trigger.

The recent marriage between asynchronous JavaScript and DOM contributes extending the way Internet was conceived and opens new roads in Rich Internet Applications, formerly known as RIA. We can drive now in the same level FlashPlayer did years ago; adding values like accessibility and interoperability to HTML documents.

What is very good for all of us.

Who needs a succesful blog?

Yep, not me.

20050609

Athens in Summer

Apaga y Vamonos had won in Athens.
More Tomorrow. Congratulations, to you.

20050606

Hard mentioned

I know it's hard. A political documentary. A classical film made in 35 mm. Could arise with difficulties the grace of the mob. You told me it was a commercial suicide, but listen: I still believe in art. How could I...? No one is perfect, beleive me.

Now, in the best of times, in the worst of all epochs, I must recognize something was wrong, being unable to understand what was it. Just posing, of course.

Still, a few brave portals have the honor to consider Apaga y Vamonos a piece that can stand upon the podium of the nominates.

Here:

Music:
Paul Haig I surrender

20050605

Learning to cope with covardice I

When you give delivery dates, don’t give them based on a calendar. Give them based on when you receive prerequisite materials from the client.

Harmful limits

Sending XHTML as text/html Considered Harmful is a must-to-read article written by Hixie, a well respected person into this net-world community passionated by standards.

Some of them, trying to be purist as purist will be not, try to convince me about the obvious necessity of writing in perfect structured (X)HTML.
Well, listen to this article's author explaining "The worst problem, and the main reason (I suspect) for most of the REALLY invalid XHTML pages out there, is that authors who have no clue about XHTML simply copy and pasted their DOCTYPE from another document".

Huh, that's a hard blame.

I will still use XHTML for the benefits of the future. Faster than blaster. Since seventeen, an attraction for the limits of language took residence inside my soul, so I grew up believing that soup tags are a perfect example from those who have an attraction to reach languages' limits. Is to say, not a choice between good use or bad use. A focus upon the real use.

One should have in mind the mentioned article. Even for its title. And give to it the appropiate consideration that deserves.

20050604

Without effort

Lazy people like me, unable to run Terminal and watch the processes weekly, have a good allied in Main Menu.
Currently in development, Main Menu helps you to repair disk permissions, clear browser caches and optimize tasks without effort. Or at least, that's what the author(s) says.
It's been three weeks since I put this app in my computer, and because can be run in a non-administrator account, and it's free, you little Uncle Scrooge, sure it's a good app for you.

20050602

What a pose

Yes, it's true.