Entries Tagged 'Web Development' ↓
February 23rd, 2008 — Web Development
Please note, the site will look funky between Saturday Feb 23rd 6pm Eastern – Sunday Feb 24th 6pm. During this time we will keep the content legible, but the navigation system maybe be shaky. Please comment to help out!
Changes are going to revolve around overall legibility and typography, smarter advertisements, more contrasting color scheme, usability, 1024 screen design, and a big SEO package.
With the last DCE 0.9 design we averaged 900-1000 hits on a 30 days rotation. In the next 30 Days I will post the numbers back on this Page.
February 8th, 2008 — JavaScript, MySQL, PHP, Web Development
Wrote this function to check email addresses already in a database, so I dont have to change pages, and check with javascript. Problem: it exposes your whole email list to the public in the source code, and the source code can become a monster length. So it isnt practical, but it works. (I’m not using it to check emails)
The script proves useful to do other things with javascript and spawn arrays to manipulate data… etc.
function jarray
(){
$sql = "SELECT * FROM <strong>table_name</strong> LIMIT 0, 100000000";
$jarray = "var <strong>your_array</strong> = new Array();\n\t\t";
$i = 0;
$q = mysql_query($sql);
while($object = mysql_fetch_object($q)){
$jarray = $jarray."<strong>your_array</strong>[{$i}] = \"{$object-><strong>field_name</strong>}\";\n\t\t";
$i++;
}
print $jarray."\n";
}
Put your own info where the Text is bold
February 8th, 2008 — Javascipt, JavaScript, Web Development
I’ve used many before, this is the cleanest without too much code. It features a nice onfocus clear value bonus. When the email is incorrect after click the alert box when the email is invalid, it will clear the mail input field value and bring the cursor directly to the the email input box. The email validation does not check is the email actually works, just is it appears valid, excellent for javascript!
Javascript Email Input Validation Script
January 29th, 2008 — Web Development
Wii Zapper
and Link Shooter is cool, much fun. I’d be very pissed if the white piece of 10 cent plastic that holds the Wii motes cost 25 bucks without a game. Right now there are a select few games that work with the Wii Zapper.
Compatible games:
By Accident I purchased Resident Evil 4: Wii Version along with the Zapper. Had meant to get umbrella chronicles but I’m screw up. After playing RE4 for 10 minutes with the Wii Zapper I found myself frustrated and kept getting owned by zombies when I wanted to kick them in the face or close combat knifing. Since I’ve played through the Gamecube RE4 (which I highly recommend to anyone) the Wii version is going on Amazon since it’s not made for the Wii Zapper.
December 17th, 2007 — Web Development, Wordpress Functions
No plugin needed, you can list however many recent posts by title using the wp_get_archives function. Insert this code into your sidebar.php
<ul> <?php wp_get_archives(’type=postbypost&limit=10′); ?> </ul>
The limit can be adjust to any number of posts.
December 16th, 2007 — CSS, Javascipt, JavaScript, Mac, Web Development
The letter-spacing is treated differently on OSX than Windows XP. This can cause problems if you basing a design off text-based CSS. This fix works perfectly if you using a simple dropdown menu that uses absolute positions and auto margins, so its not a child of the initial menu you made, an example can be seen here: www.cmcri.org
A simple javascript code can detect a MAC platform with an IF statement, IF it is MAC then write to document a style. This code must be inserted after your initial call for your style sheet so it overwrites the original CSS code.
if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf(‘Mac’) != -1)
{document.write (‘<style type=”text/css”>#header ul li a{letter-spacing:.025em;}</style>’);}
Easy fix!
December 4th, 2007 — section 508, Web Development
“Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect”
—Tim Berners Lee of W3C
President Clinton passed the Rehabilitation Act Amendments in 1998. The newly amended acts holds Section 508, which refers to the web. Section 508 stated that in 2001 those with disabilities must be able to access all federal electronic documents and information. The amended law effectively limits the options and tools used by designers and programmers when designing websites. The law has its pros and cons, but positively forces the web to be accessible to those with blindness, color blindness, or motor skill disabilities. The law currently applies to only federal or federal supported websites. Section 508 enforcement cross web is inevitable in years to come. We as designers should be aware of the negative and positive affects that spawn from this law. Understanding ways to satisfy this law will prepare us for the future and help those the law was intended for.
The law focuses on making content understandable and navigable, assigning alternate text to describe images, functioning resizable text, and providing content that can be presented to the user as audibly or visually. Satisfying these parameters takes a bit of know how and organization. HTML markup must be error free and hierarchically correct. This means denoting headers before paragraphs and using objects like lists and blockquotes appropriately. Along with HTML, CSS must be properly marked. There are software, browser add-ons, and websites that can be used to check both HTML and CSS code for errors and warnings. All images can be Section 508 compliant
by adding a description of the image in the alt attribute in the image tag. Using an image map for navigation is poor technique, but can be used in conjunction with CSS or a secondary text based navigation. Technology like Adobe Flash or Javascript can create great visual enhancements but do not satisfy Section 508 Standards. When using these technologies be careful to properly tag your Flash document to explain its purpose and do not rely on Javascript to create your main navigation. If a site is all flash, there should be an optional text-based version of that site to satisfy Section 508. Sitemaps are a great way to provide alternate navigation with titles. There are free sitemap generators that will scan your site and create a list of links by page titles in a neat Section 508 compliant XML based code. Most validation and web tools are free; web sources are located in the left column.
Having a site that is Section 508 compliant makes it easier to find for indexing services like Google or Yahoo. Indexing services use coded robots that are programmed to search the web for new links or content. Like the individuals Section 508 accompanies too, the robots cannot process animated flash, sound, video, or images. By properly tagging these objects your site will be easier to find and navigate for both parties. Better SEO page rankings awarded to Section 508 compliant sites with proper valid markup, a bonus reward for the extra work done and a great selling point to clients.
Guidelines from WC3
Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content
Don’t rely on color alone
Use markup and style sheets and do so properly
Clarify natural language usage
Create tables that transform gracefully
Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully
Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes
Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces
Design for device-independence
Use interim solutions
Use W3C technologies and guidelines
Provide context and orientation information
Provide clear navigation mechanisms
Ensure that documents are clear and simple
Developer Resources
Web Developer Tool Bar
http://chrispederick.com
Google Sitemap Crawler
http://gsitecrawler.com
Web Content Accessibility Validation Tool
http://www.cynthiasays.com
Web HTML and CSS Validation
http://validator.w3.org
Content Sources
Cohen, Daniel J., and Roy Rosenzweig. Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. p. 137-40
“Section 508: The Road to Accessibility.” Section508.gov 27 Nov 2007
“W3C’s Section 508 and UAAG Requirements Mapping Suite.” W3.org 27 Nov 2007
“Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.” W3.org 5 May 1999
