Sunday, January 30, 2005

Featured Tutorial Series - Client Side Tag Libs

Client Side Tag Libraries (CSTL) are a JavaScript based infrastructure that enables web developers and designers to employ custom tags into a (X)HTML page. Custom tags are mainly used to have easy access to sophisticated UI components. Underneath CSTLs are based on JavaScript classes that provide object oriented features like inheritance, polymorphism etc. and on top of that are easily distributable and redistributable across even across domains.

A TagLib enhanced (X)HTML document needs to loads the so called TagLibProcessor, as an external JavaScript file. The processor then looks for TagLibs registered in the <head> section of the document. After loading the TagLibs, the DOM is traversed finding and processing all custom tags – which should be XML namespaced.

A custom tag brings with it a convenient manner to create UI components in a JavaScript class, by either direct and eased DOM modification or even easier (X)HTML generation. Also you can bind variables to custom tag attributes that may refer to JavaScript variables, objects and functions, which are resolved into their real values behind on demand. Also every tag can be independently refreshed, either on a timed basis or in reaction to events, always serving you the current variable situation. This is the base for great flicker free user experiences.

<html>
  <head>
     <script type="text/javascript" src="cstl.js"></script>
     <cstl:taglib classPath="com.inspirationlabs.taglib.std.StdTagLib" ns="std"/>
     <script type="text/javascript">
        function date() {
           return new Date();
        }
     </script>
  </head>
  <body>
     <std:print var="${date}" refreshRate="1000">
        N/A
     </std:print>
  </body>
</html>

full article download files

Saturday, January 29, 2005

Browser Statistics

If you are looking for an easy way to get the latest statistics for usage. Have a look at the W3Schools Site of

Browser Statistics. This also includes current stats about OS used, resolution and the likes.

Amazon.de: Wishlist

Since people have been asking since my birthday is coming up in a month or so, here is my wishlist at amazon.de.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Linkin Park

I gotta say that in spite of people might be saying that new metal is mainstream, Linkin Park simply provides us with the best stuff in new metal around. Maybe I sound mainstream now but I dig the new double feature with Jay-Z.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

How those articles are coming

I was promising some articles and yes I didn't forget. In fact I am currently working hard on it. Just wanna make it sure that the example code behind the article is at least beta. Currently I am still working a little on the TagLibs as there are some small issues. Yesterday I had to completely rewrite my JavaScript class-building framework as I seem to have forgotten about static method inheritance.



But I have also started writing a good piece. The first article will be about the Client Side TagLibs (CSTL), which are probably the most "revolutionary" idea. After that I will probably get the JavaScript class-building framework (the base for it all) on the road. I hope that some of that will happen this week ;-)

Friday, January 07, 2005

Navicat - Desktop MySQL GUI

Navicat - the World's Best MySQL GUI for Windows, Linux & Mac OS X is a rather claimy title for a product like this. I don't know if it quite meets it's promises, but damn sure looks like it. You can do anything from stored procedures to views and table contraints if you MySQL Server installation allows it. Unfortunately this is not freeware or an open source product. But at least they give you a 30-day trial.



As I said, I did not test this thing throughoutly but it looks very promising to me at the moment. The only thing I am missing is the possibility to plan a database using ER diagramms to design databases.

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

New years eve

These are some pictures of that new years eve party we had. Everybody brought some food'n'drinks and "the guys" still thought they needed some pizza. Monstrous things if you ask me.

Besides that we played Tabu, table soccer and other shiz. 'round midnight when in Germany everybody starts up some fireworks we tried out giving develish lighting to a sewer lid (sadly no photographs were taken of this, because it looked really cool watching rockets going off in it.

Comparing programming languages

While A Very Quick Comparison of Popular Languages for Teaching Computer Programming compares a simple "Hello World" Programm in Basic, C, Java and Python listing pros and cons in a very humoristic way, there is also a site which compares the "99-bottles-of-beer-on-a-wall" algorithm in currently 621 programming languages and/or different styles.

The Evolution of a Programmer

The Evolution of a Programmer made me laugh my butt of. It actually shows the natural ways of life in which programmers tend to align the solution to a problem to their own skill and not to solve the problem the easiest way there is. This is simply a great piece of insider-humor...

Monday, January 03, 2005

flashAmp - The Flash MP3 Player

I stumbled over flashAmp - The Flash MP3 Player when I came from the site check of FLASHKIT.com. FlashAmp is a nicely skinned MP3 streaming player completely built in Flash. I have not tried it out but there is an instruction page with the free download which enables you to change the coloring and playlist of the player dynamically to fit your needs. However new skins are currently not possible (again they are against a small fee and an order to the designers). Anyhow. Someone should do this: create a fully WinAmp compliant Flash Player that is free of any charge.

Sunday, January 02, 2005

Road Runner

Road Runner is a Macromedia Flash based news portal from Time Warner Cable. While the content might not be interesting to all audiences, especially web designers, who want to broaden their horizons of usability and accessibilty.



The portal as a whole is very nicely integrated - which is mainly due to Macromedia Flash. The site is organized into highly customizable and personalizable pods. For a portal this makes good sense, especially since media is seamlessly integrated.



You also have some options on the appearence like font-size and contrast to aid accessibilty. Also the help-system ist nicely integrated into the site, playing movies that explain what to do on the site and how to do it.



On the downside I have yet not found any permanent URL links or ways to generate favorites... just have a look and judge for yourself.

Spamihilator - Anti-Spam-Filter

Spamihilator - Anti-Spam-Filter may be tool for all of you, who still have mail boxes without a explicit server sided spam-filter. The tool is free and compatible with about any POP3 Mail-Client Software. I just started using it... if it doesn't help me, I'll let you know.