the singularity of being and nothingness
Archive for December, 2008
Dynamically Loading JavaScript…with Spry!
Dec 23rd
I've written a couple of articles in the last few months about my adventures in JavaScript. While I certainly don't claim to be even proficient, I am getting better day by day. As I pick up tricks and tips, I try to pass them on to help others out (hopefully!).
Recently, we ran into an issue at work. We're constantly adding JavaScript functionality to our company intranet. While adding references to JavaScript files in the master pages that drive the templates is easy to do, there is a process that all master page changes have to go through, and this can limit the desirability of future changes. What we needed was a way to dynamically load JavaScript files when needed, so that only the core init.js file that is loaded with every page request needs to be referenced on the master pages.
I've never done this kind of thing before, so I did a little snooping around. There are apparently alot of solutions out there, some of them better and more robust than others. After studying what they do, I decided to try my hand at building a simple JS loader in Spry, given that the core files I need are More >
What You See Is What You Get…Unless You Can't See
Dec 23rd
If you use one or more of the billion and seven content managment systems out there, you're probably more than familiar with a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) text editor. These *fun* little textareas allow users to mimic, with decent accuracy, the styles and organization that they would normally apply in word-processing documents.
The original intention of WYSIWYGs, of course, was to put control of text styling and organzation for web-based content into the hands of the people managing the content, so that every bit of text-editing doesn't have to go through the web developer. The result, however, is a disaster.
Why a disaster? Well, before discussing the reasons why, try this little experiment. The next time you're around a web designer/developer, say nothing to them. Simply shift your eyes, turn your head, and randomly blurt out "WYSIWYG!!!". They will either 1.) punch you in the mouth out of built up frustration or 2.) cower in a corner as they are reminded of how they are abused by WYSIWYGs on a daily basis.
So what's the big deal?
Well, to begin, most content managers have no business even thinking the word "design," much less actively participate in it. Giving them the reigns to "make the More >
ColdFusion 9…Here I Come!
Dec 8th
Oh yeah! I just received email confirmation today that I have been accepted to participate in the Centaur (ColdFusion 9) alpha release! Additionally, I am going to be able to beta Bolt, a new Eclipse-based IDE being developed by Adobe to be used in conjunction with ColdFusion.
This is going to be fun 🙂
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