Posted by Jacob Wright in CSS3, HTML5Jul 30th, 2010 | 2 Comments
I’m pretty happy with the great stuff CSS3 (and HTML5) brings. However, some care should be taken in balancing how many images you load versus the load you put on the CSS engine. And there are a lot of articles on the web encouraging use of the new CSS features such as gradients and shadows in order to optimize for images in your page. But that’s only half the story.
Image Optimization
CSS3 allows you to add drop shadows to your elements, gradients as their backgrounds, and rounded corners on their… corners. Using these few capabilities (you might throw in a couple more like custom...
Posted by Jacob Wright in GeneralJul 29th, 2010 | 1 Comment
I am finally getting around to sharing my memorial day adventure. I ran my first 10k here in Boulder (called the BolderBOULDER). It was pretty fun, considering I wasn’t in great shape for it. I outdid my expectations (I’m slow) with a 68 minute time. Our Jive team running the BolderBOULDER (voted best 10k in the country) planned out a sweet running uniform: jean cutoffs, wife-beater, Jive tattoo, fake mustache, and anything else that screamed “TRAILER PARK!”
UNFORTUNATELY, I was the ONLY one who really followed through on the whole outfit. Guess that means I’m totally...
Posted by Jacob Wright in GeneralJul 23rd, 2010 | 3 Comments
As developers, we like to put our heads in the sand. We’d be much more successful if we didn’t. Let me explain.
When I first learned about basic object oriented programming, I was suddenly disgusted with functions and code that wasn’t an object. I got over it.
When I learned about composition over inheritance, that became the standard by which I judged all code, mine included. It became my fixation. I got over it.
When I learned about design patterns, I wanted to apply them to every situation, and I wanted to do it right and apply them exactly the way prescribed in the pattern....
Posted by Jacob Wright in HTML5, Javascript, Simpli5Jul 21st, 2010 | 3 Comments
A More Usable Application
I decided to build my own version of a contextual hover menu to make my applications more usable. It is meant to appear when you select a piece of data and give you quick access to all the actions you might perform on it. Forget long toolbars and hidden right-click menus. I wanted something that a user didn't have to dig around to find, that wouldn't be hard to navigate, and that wasn't hidden (a right-click on the web is not common enough for users to rely on).
I'll walk you through the beginning process I took to create the HoverMenu component using Simpli5 and then...
Posted by Jacob Wright in HTML5Jul 16th, 2010 | No Comments
HTML5 is SOOOooooo much nicer to program for than previous versions of HTML. Here's why, but first a little context.
We're creating a power-user interface for the next version of our app using HTML5. It will be similar to tweet deck with multiple columns, and it needs to have all sorts of functionality crammed into the column views. This will require a lot of custom UI components and iterative work on UX. But it's not so daunting a task when you don't have to support really old browsers. Browsers which forcing you to compromise your user's experience.
I've been putting time into creating a Javascript...
Posted by Jacob Wright in MySQLJul 1st, 2010 | 1 Comment
Today I attended a class on Building Scalable, High Performance Applications put on by Percona, a bunch of guys who wrote MySQL and started their own consulting firm. There was only two people in the class which was quite surprising as these guys are the best in their space. But here are my notes from the class, for what it is worth. Some of the items are random tidbits that came up. The guy knew PHP so some of the stuff is about PHP.
Performance
Response, how long it takes, and throughput, how many users you can serve.
If a feature isn't core to the user's experience, it ought to be in another...
