Accurately Detecting Browsers in Javascript
Another little post to illustrate something that I came across during the 9 to 5. As us technophiles probably know, there is an overwhelming difference in interpretation of web standards between browsers hence a vast range of different visual output from the same codebase. This is annoying for the user they won’t understand why the same page is fine in Firefox but screwy in IE. And for us coders it is a major headache trying to write code that is good everywhere!
Conditional Concatenation in MySQL
I have come across another gem of a problem (and a resulting solution) during my endeavors at work. Essentially an SQL statement was needed that had to take several values from a table and join (concatenate) them together into one large string for use in a drop down box joomla style. But of course the plot thickens…
Using jQuery to Set the Default Option in a Select Box
Today at work I came across a situation where we needed to set the
default value of a <select> box on a form, normally this would be a
perfectly simply operation. If it were a straight php form I would have
simply echoed an <option selected...></option>. But we are working
with Joomla in a fully MVC context so all is not quite so simple. In
wades jQuery with a deserved look of achievement on its face…
A Critical Evaluation of Abobe AIR
The
Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) is a cross platform runtime that
encapsulates existing web technologies. AIR allows web developers to
create desktop applications without the need to learn new skills. This
encapsulation allows for easier development and a wider range of skill
sets. However it does overcomplicate certain aspects of development; it
could be regarded as a double-edged sword. This critical evaluation was
written for a University module geared towards the evaluation and usage
of 3rd party APIs.
Developing with DirectX Part 2
This is part two of my post, summarising my experiences of working with Microsoft DirectX. I worked with it during a University module geared towards developing applications using 3D APIs. In the first post I talked about the module in general, the game that I developed, the structure of the program code and the idea of performance vs good practice. This follow up will be looking at the starting point for development, evaluation of the product and some screenshots of the final game.