beyondbluetoo

Java script link

2005-07-25T11:49:00.000+10:00

Photoblogs

2005-07-14T15:40:00.000+10:00

Uploading Images

2005-07-14T15:28:00.000+10:00

It is now really easy to upload images to your blog from the creat post function which now allows you to select photos from your computer using the browse function. Great!

Xhtml and css templates

2005-07-14T15:03:00.000+10:00

Having a bit of a look over the designwebsites blog I came across this interesting article on xhtml and css templates and figure it would be a good place for me to start next semester. If I can use these as starting points for new websites, (and understand the various options), then I should have at least a working knowledge of CSS and XHTML. I figure if you use the same templates, (and perhaps add to them) they would speed up the process of create a site rather than reinventing the wheel each time. As the author says he found himself going back to old work to work out what and how he had done things before, (know that concept), but found it way easier to start from scatch with his own templates.

kinda almost

2005-06-05T12:51:00.000+10:00

Well, kinda almost got my accomadation website finished but after the talk by Russ Weakley I'll be interested to engage in a bit of deconstuction theropy and re jig my files so every thing, kinda almost, goes into my style sheets. Need to do a bit of work with parents and decendants and one day I'd like to finish my love affair with tables. Generally the quickest way is the best way for me so perhaps Michael can convince me that the css alternative is easier for laying out table type info? Managed to connect to my data base but could not run the query so be keen to see what is happening there on Monday.

php queries

2005-05-18T11:22:00.000+10:00

Well, think I have got at least a bit of a handle on the database. The main concept being to run a query to either put infomation into , INSERT INTO, or to get information out of, SELECT, from the db. Yes, sounds confusing that a query is actually associated with placing information as a query is generally something you do to get information but when has computers or coding ever have to make sense. Checked out the delicious site in class and will definately get back to that one as a good place for research. I think the term is 'social bookmarking' which allows you bookmarkings ranked in terms of popularity within that, hum geeky, community. Nevertheless, some users are very active and have done all the hard work of finding great sites in line with their interest which inturn can give you a real shortcut into some quality links without trawling the net.

2005-05-16T10:25:00.000+10:00

Well, managed to get most things done from last week. Investigated the online payment options and found it is simply too expensive to use a online credit card facility but have decided in the interim to do what most other accommodation providers use. Clients will book and send me their credit card details through a secure encrypted https connection and I will then process the transaction using the telephone. I am aiming for an automatic response to be generated using MySQL when clients make a booking. In regards to the image gallery I have not yet been able to decide whether to do this with flash or java script as b0th seem to have their pros and cons. I have started putting together a flash gallery but will also start coding one with java script and make the decision based on which I find more comfortable in using/creating and which satisfies my objectives best.

smarty temple broken

2005-05-12T20:38:00.000+10:00

Finally found my way through the various smarty username and password mazes to find the php myadmin section. Hopefully be able to make some progress with this on Monday

Php my arrrrrrh

2005-05-12T19:36:00.000+10:00

Managed to get on to my site admin dashboard with the username and password I use for FTP but need to supply another username and password to enter the php Myadmin area. ARRRRRHH. Emailed smarty so hope they get back to me soon. Tom

Php MyAdmin

2005-05-10T12:04:00.000+10:00

No time to rest as it is straight into MySql. Just starting to learn about five step database waltz. Step 1. Connect to database server using function mysql_connect. Step 2. Select database using function mysql_select_db. Step 3. Run Sql query using the INSERT INTO command, (that is assuming you want to insert info. Or, perhaps, Step 4. Process results if you want to access the information in the db using the mysql_fetch_array function. Finally, close the connection to the db using the mysql_close function. Michael also talked about the processing of information. Basically from the browser a form is sent to the server where it begins processing it. If it picks up and PHP it sends it off to the PHP processor which will either process the php and return the information as HTML to the server or first send/ request information to/from the db before returning the information as HTML to the server which then sends that on to the client side browser. Only trouble with asking the db for information is that it could send far too much in one sitting and bog the server so we need to put in some 'while' conditions. More about that next week.

2005-05-09T11:45:00.000+10:00

Ok, managed to get some two out of four tasks done. Firstly the php is complete on my form and it works as it should, including, importantly, the mail function which calls all the variables and sends it to me via email informing me of booking and query information. Also, my files have all been uploaded to my domain, but don't look there coz it's all a bit disjointed. I still have to check out my options on online transactions and an image gallery using style sheets and javascript. I have been putting together a gallery using rollover function in flash and am tempted to use that but am sure someone is going to tell me why javascript is a better option.
This week.
1. Online transaction options
2. Image gallery
3. Clean up domain

Week 2 term 2

2005-05-02T10:09:00.000+10:00

Well, not too much progress last week except the use of some javascript to check form validation. This week I want to:

Finish the PHP coding of form
work on a photo gallery using style sheets and check the cross browser compatibility
Ring bank to ascertain technical requirements/options for online payments.
upload files, and make visible draft site on smartyhost.

Get Javascript

2005-04-26T10:01:00.000+10:00

After some work working through form validation with php it seems the best way to proceed is to use some simple java script to use a 'get element by id function' The main benifit here for me is that if any information is incomplete the client doesn't need to retype all the information again. Michael assures me that it is possible to work around this in php but that is a little way down the track. Nevertheless I will leave the php validation I have written as I would catch any problems with clients who might have java script disabled

forms and validation

2005-04-25T15:43:00.000+10:00

Managed to find some time over the holidays and dust off my PHP book. I have got my booking form fairly close to finished. Managed to work through the validation to ensure the various field are filled out and prompt the client to type in any missing information and for the form not to proceed until all this information in complete. I did however run into problems getting the values from the select options. I tried this /*
If (isset($book_type)) {
if ($book_type == 'Weeknights'){
echo '

You have booked a weeknight package

';
*/
but didn't get too far with it. I'll be interested to look at this tomorrow

Mixing up php and mysql

2005-04-06T12:25:00.000+10:00

Finally getting into the php and designing forms collecting variables and processing them with php to confirm details with the client. I have been pursuing two business ideas with this but now realise I have to take the next big leap and learn some databasing, mysql, to store certain variables. I am planning to use mysql initially on an accommodation site I am working on and want a client at the time of booking to confirm if the holiday rental is available or not available. I imagine this to be fairly simple in that the database simply needs to record confirmed bookings. One other function I wish to pursue in php is to work on rate variations depending on seasonal and other factors such as weekday and weekend bookings

First PHP

2005-03-14T12:54:00.000+11:00

Managed to get my first PHP file working on the server in my folder on s drive. Well, not too exciting getting two variables back, name and family name, but it worked and put it in a string and proved that you can in fact run a server from the S drive at TAFE. Need to finish off the form using more $_POST commands. Read the articule on Ray TweeK. Pitty I missed him but remember him as a teacher here 18 months ago and agree with the sentiments expressed

Blog for your life

2005-03-08T12:54:00.000+11:00

Melbourne Uni is doing a research project to study learning using blogging software. The study is called 'blog for your life' . It could be interesting to see what conclusions they come up with?

Nine msn blogspace

2005-03-08T09:56:00.000+11:00

Nine msn has now created their own blog space. The space allows you to build an online photo album, write a to-do list or copy a playlist from Windows Media Player.

A good feature is that you are able to choose the level of privacy for your blog, allowing only those in your MSN address book or Messenger list to have access to it. This is great if you only want to share stuff with just the people you know, family and friends. You'll need a Microsoft Hotmail account to register. Check out the nine nsm space

Flashers in Judes class

2005-03-02T11:34:00.000+11:00

Yep, Judes class has yet again become a haven for flashers. Thought I would create a post rather than leave a comment to her previous post as there isn't, (that I could see) an ability to leave a link from the comments section. Jude asked to leave a URL of some site with flash that look good and I kinda like the Jenonlan Caves site and particularly the roll over menu's on the side. The downside of flash however is that it can take awhile to download and not all browsers display it correctly or at all. Nevertheless, with IE sitting on about, what was it Michael, just below 90 percent (hooray), that is still not such a problem.

IE 7

2005-02-17T12:12:00.000+11:00

Interesting to see MS plans to release IE 7. The Mezzoblue article asks whether there will really be much of an improvement on IE 6 other than perhaps a 'mass fixing' of all outstanding bugs and improved css2 support. I hope that it will also recognise the jp2 image format? Research company, Webside Story claims that IE's usage has fallen for seven straight months. Perhaps people are voting with their feet, or should that be fingers, and choosing a better product like Firefox, or perhaps, like me, they are tried of a browser that is a constant security risk and the target of hackers.

Dealing with clients

2005-02-14T12:57:00.000+11:00

During our discussion this morning Michael directed us to the following site . It is basically a discussion about how to negotiate design and technical issues with clients who may have some concerns. Firstly the old adage that the 'client is always right' is just as applicable in web design as anywhere else. Designers who talk down to clients, take on a 'I know best attitude' or continue to baffle (bludgeon) their clients with 'computer speak' generally fail to do well in the industry regardless of the quality of their work ie. Costumer relations is just as important in IT as anywhere else. Nevertheless, it is also important to find strategies to deal with your clients concerns as quickly and effectively as possible. For example, if a client makes a statement that, 'I don't like the feel or look of it visually' it is probably worth asking them to try and be a little more specific rather than run out and totally redo the visuals. Ask questions like, 'do you like the text size and font', are the menu buttons down the side Ok or would you prefer them across the top and so on. I is important to work out which bits they don't like rather than start from scratch again as you need something tangible to work with. I may also be the case that the client is influenced more by their own sense of aesthetics rather than that of the intended user so you made need to work with your client to approach the design from the perspective of the indented user. You may also find that the client has many creative ideas of what they wish to include within the site however as always cost will generally be the main factor in what is possible and what is affordable so you may need to work of priorities what they wish to include with some thought of how they may see their site/business develop ie, concerntrating on the short to medium goals rather than the grand plan.

Monday project meeting

2005-02-14T11:20:00.000+11:00

Meet this morning for our first project meeting. We discussed where we were up to with our projects and set objectives for the week ahead. I am going to do a fairly simple website for an accommodation house, Acacia Rest. It will probably be of only about six to eight pages with a queries form and a secure online payment form. Over the next week I will put together a paper mock up and diagram. From this I will begin to consider the best way to code the site and how much of it I can put into style sheets. I will also consider the design elements and report back next Monday

a link for me

2005-02-14T10:32:00.000+11:00

http://www.cookwood.com/html5ed/extras/

Audio Blogs

2005-02-13T18:15:00.000+11:00

Got excited about audio blogging and checked it out but apparently you can only access it from a telephone and only from the US. There are a few interesting links to listern to of people on the road. Pity it is not possible to upload MP3 files at the very least.

http://www.blogger.com/knowledge/2004/06/on-road-with-audioblogger.pyra

2005-02-10T21:11:00.000+11:00

A1 and A2
I am sure everyone is already getting excited about the the APEC forum being held in Sydney in 2007. I can't wait to hear from the various leaders in dark suits discussing how to get everyone to work harder and longer and exploit more of the resources of our region. Luckily though there are some who have turned their attention to the important issue of the event. Namely, just what shirt will the leaders be wearing when they come here. We can probably all remember Paul Keating and John Howard dressed in batik shirts and there is certainly nothing wrong with a good batik, anything that uses wax and candles has got to be good, but just what have the aussies got to offer? Stubbies and tshirt? Maybe we could get the leaders to dress like the Wiggles? Now there's an idea. After some consideration I thought what better than these leaders dresses in PJ's. You might even be able to get Condeleeza Rice to be Jamima if she is not busy squeezing the flesh in the Middle East or not still making apologies in Europe in 2007. Of course John Howard would have to be A1, it's only fair, but maybe they others could draw straws for the other numbers. We are a democrasy after all. Are you thinking what I'm thinking A1?

Standardisation

2005-02-10T21:05:00.000+11:00

Today we sat down and pondered the concept of standardisation in the web coders world. There is a push on for a greater standardisation among web designers & developers who are interested in web standards in HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, XSLT etc. and best practices. Although this may all sound rather anal there are many benifits. We discussed the need for standards within different industries and the protections they provide the consumer and industry. Michael discussed how television manufactures need a standardised broadcast to recieve a universal signal. Another example could be the fax machine. With so many manufactures of fax machines they had to develop a standard code to send down the line so that the various brands, sharp, samsung etc work seemlessly with each other. They had to develop a transmission so that what was put in one machine came out 'exactly' the same at the other end regardless of type. However, on the web to date there is no such committment to broadcast/transmission standard or perhaps, if you follow Michaels enthusiasm, there is now a growing number of individuals and groups such as the Web Standards Group http://webstandardsgroup.org/ and those from the Web Standards Project http://webstandards.org/ who seem to have nothing better to do than cajole others into sharing their belief that this stuff really is important. They go on and on about the need for cross browser compatibility, accessibility and the like. They have a belief the having a visually appealing site is not good enough if the coding out the back looks like a dogs breakfast but then who goes there anyway except poor coders and they get what they deserve don't they? Anyway, they started to win me over when they started talking about time saving and simplicity. If you tell me you should put content in the HTML and format in the style sheets I don't get too excited but tell me it will make my work a whole lot easier than that's another thing. As an enty point to this brave new world of coding repeat the mantra , 'I will never put a bold or font or any other fomat tag in the HTML again. These are BAD tags!" End

More for Jude

2005-02-08T13:54:00.000+11:00

Point 5

Try not to strain the eyes. Perhaps work at a lower screen resolution if possible or magnify your work. If your eyes start of get sore this should be a prompt to stop working at the computer for awhile.

Keeping Jude happy with OHS

2005-02-08T13:42:00.000+11:00

1. Do what Jude says coz there is dangers if you don't

2. Eurgonomics. Get the chair height, posture, distance from the screen thing happening.

3. Don't work at the computer for more than an hour

4. Know evacuation plan

Photo upload

2005-02-08T13:26:00.000+11:00

Hey Michael,

Managed to upload some photos with 'hello'. Need to delete a couple of the Colo shots, I mean, I like the Colo and all but not that much.

Good boy, !

2005-02-08T11:29:00.000+11:00

Checked out the site www.htmldog.com and thought it was well laid out and well structured for those coming into html and css for the first time or for those wanting to resfresh there skills. I liked the way the file paths are displayed at the top of the pages and are actually active links. I liked this coz it lets me know where I am in the document. Apparently they are called web page crumbs.

Monday TAFE Blues

2005-02-08T11:00:00.000+11:00

Hey, what am I doing here again in C106. Someone told me we had moved? Anyway. I had a sausage on a roll when I first got here, $3.00. Later I had a muffin, apple and cinnaman, $2.00. Oh, busted the budget. Whether fine, light breeze approximately 22 c.

Still here

2005-02-07T11:18:00.000+11:00

Well, surprise surprise, I am still here at TAFE and just finish my morning blog, that's blog OK