CSS Editors (why you don’t need dreamweaver anymore)

It been a long time since I first started developing web sites. Before that, I developed interfaces for CD ROM applications. It took a long time for the web to be sophisticated enough to display interfaces of the caliber I was striving, and like everyone else – before there was a real support for standardized CSS I too used apps like, OMG, Pagemill and Dreamweaver.

But let’s not forget what those tools are. They are for designers, not programmers, to generate interfaces rapidly. Not serious tools for development. When I code, I like real editors like BB Edit, and now the standard Eclipse editors * specifically ZEND studio. I don’t want the bloat that is generated by the code there. It’s just not clean, not really. Like mamma said, just because its convenient – doesn’t mean its right for you!

Rapid CSS style sheet editing was possible with Dreamweaver, and I did keep it in the arsenal just for the purpose of using it to style rendered portions a site I was working on. Because until today, I didn’t see a way to edit stylesheets visually without it. Now my eyes are so open, and I will probably never use dreamweaver again!

Mac Rabbit makes the app, and you can find it here: Want this? I have downloaded the trial and decided in the first two moments that its going in the trick bag. Oh, yeah!

Login Script in Flex

Protected areas in flex apps can be achieved through state based navigation that requires login and password. Here is how, in basic terms.

1. establish php connection and implement an http request
2. set up states, one for the entry and one for the private area (and one for registering
3. insert a button and run some actionscript to handle the request

Sounds fairly simple. I am going to complete each phase and record a video of how this is accomplished. Beginning with the php connection. In order to do this, the MAMP or LAMP or WAMP should already be installed and functional on your test bed.

Change the cursor to show loading data

If you are pulling an HTTPRequest, it may take some time to grab the data you want from your database. Varies based on connection speed of the end user, as well. Here’s a handy little trick to make life easier. Simply add this tag:

showBusyCursor=”true”

to your request, and you will see the standard flex ‘busy’ cursor displaying until the data is loaded.

URL string encoding issue in Flex 3

I am pulling data from a mySQL source using a traditional httpService protocol, this time adding a specific filter value to the string. So it’s a string with multiple values encoded, and I am using the & symbol. This seemed like a straightforward proposition, and the test in the browser worked well. However, I had a very specific issue with URL encoding. The IDE was throwing a pretty descriptive error:

next character must be “;” terminating reference to entity “method”

The issue is that the MXML compiler hated the & symbol. I tried using the ascii symbol for ampersand, which is %26, but to no avail. the trick turned out to be grabbing the decimal value, and present it in HTML code. In this case that’s the ampersand – its #38; – and a handy little chart was very helpful – here at acsiitable.com

The service request worked perfectly!

mx:HTTPService id=”prodList”
url=”http://mysite.com/flexedOut/Products.php?filter=594&method=FindAll”
result=”myResultHandler(event)”

in case you can’t tell, the browser is rendering that ampersand perfectly so here it would be one space between characters: & # 38 ;

I found this fascinating quote today:

Few people are as gender neutral as Caster Semenya seems and this must simply offend some people’s sensibilities. But we can never know what we don’t know so just because we don’t understand or don’t have a complete picture of something we shouldn’t demonize it or ridicule it. Yes, South Africa, and all the rest of the world, too, there is such a thing as an intersexed person. How that is treated in the world of sports is a whole other, new learning experience.
huffingtonpost.com, Yin/Yang: An Intersexed South African Runner As Symbol Of The Universal, Sep 2009

You should read the whole article.

Devcon Renews Enthusiasm for Filemaker

For us, the highlight of Filemaker Devcon was 10 and script triggers. We are more motivated than ever to include FileMaker as a part of our development cycle.

We already use FileMaker in house for general housekeeping. I often write calculation scripts to handle the rapid production of elements used in a variety of locations.

The design documentor is one such tool. We use this tool for rapid development in house. Looking ahead, we are focused on releasing this app once we convert it to 10 and begin taking advantage of the new features available.

Small teams make better progress

Aeon was founded on a strong basis of experience in the corporate world, some positive and some not so positive. It is our opinion that red tape and bloated development teams throw a wrench in the productivity of a team and slow down a project. Break a group of people into the smallest group possible that contains all the talent and you will keep the cost down. Hire people who can do more than one task at a time and allow them to shine at what they do. Make sure the management has strong technical skills, so they can understand the team and actually lead them.

We carry out that process today in our projects in house and for external clients. Our goal is a powerful result, so we look for the core goals of each project, and align strengths of our resources. Most importantly, we place the people who are moved by the joy of the task on the task and we allow them to do their thing. This results in success because we know that when people are happy, they work better.

I liked this post from Brendan Dawes

Here is something fascinating. About communication

So – this reminds me of the fall of the roman empire. technology is a tool, we are not tools. time to take a step back and remember what is driving us, lest we become something less than what we are capable of being.

Data Centric Apps in Flex

This is a great article on Data Centric Apps in Flash Builder 4. This is worth the wait….