Rustic Ajax
29th December 2006, Ajax, Trends0 Comments
I took some time out these holidays to get to know JSON, MooTools & Dojo better. What i realised quite quickly is that despite the enormous hype these things are receiving, like Prototype, apart from the draggable effects stuff, most of it I’d already rolled out in apps using my simple knowledge of javascript and browser DOMs. Clumsier no doubt, and not particularly easily reusable, but it worked and was quick, as i’d only written code I needed, instead of downloading an entire library of functions and severly under utilising it.
Its like making a homemade pie, rather than buying that Sarah Lee. So in true Web2.0 style, i’m coming out quick and coining a trendy new phrase: Rustic Ajax. Not perfect, a little burnt around the edges but satisfying when it comes out the oven and tastes far better for it.
Explorer 7 gets pushy
20th December 2006, CSS, Technology0 Comments
So those wonderfully obtrusive auto-updates from Microsoft have gotten on to Internet Explorer 7 now. Don’t get me wrong, IE7 is way better than IE6, but in reality, all it means to me is yet another permutation of browser for me to test my code against. sigh.
So thankgod TredoSoft has sorted out a way to install IE6 and IE7 together otherwise I’d be jumping from one machine to another just to see if that CSS has done what I thought it should.
Thanks guys.
Firebug
15th December 2006, CSS, Javascript, Technology0 Comments
I don’t normally prop up other sites, but this little add-on for Firefox is excellent, mostly due to it being good for coders and the curious alike. Firebug is an easy install (as are all add-ons, you watching M$?) and it then breaks down the code, and even highlights, wonderful.
I know a few budding web-code curious friends that this could teach a thing or two…
HSBC Payment Processing
7th December 2006, PHP, Technology3 Comments
So, finally, we’ve launched our holiday home site Independent Escapes roughly a month after we’d signed off all the code apart from the payment processing.
Why a month? The sheer lack of information coming from HSBC. It was bad enough just getting the merchant account sorted out, but then came the wonder that is a pdf document easily in excess of 200 pages that manages to not help you one single bit. It didn’t even document the HSBC payment server address for you to post details to. We’re talking fundamental stuff here.
On top of that, HSBC offer two forms of payment CPI & API. CPI routes through to a HSBC branded page for payment - if we’d wanted that we could have used paypal. So onto the other method - API - a ludicrous acronym to use confusing one of the most used programming acronyms out there. Who designed this stuff? (more…)
