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Lansing Web and Technology

If you are a web design or web development firm in Lansing, MI then talk to me personally about an even better version of this application. I’m offering it only to Lansing Web Design Companies because I believe in giving the Lansing Area a competitive advantage when it comes to technology. Feel free to contact me at the email in my header.

Find your strengths and excel above the rest

So many web developers claim to know all when it comes to web, but when put to the test someone that can write “hello world” doesn’t meet the standards the client expected when they said “Do you know PHP?” All developers whether primarily front-end or back-end, should know at least a C level amount in both. To be an awesome back-end developer you need to be able to structure your content in something other than tables or invalid HTML, and to be an awesome back-end developer, you should at least know how to make simple variables and includes to make your job quick and efficient, rather than copying/pasting your doctype and head information on each page. If you want to do well in the next few years, then succeed by being a GURU in at least two of the following:

• XHTML and CSS – with clean and valid markup that works in FF, Webkit, and IE7+
• Flex and ActionScript – flash/animation/design are a huge plus
• JavaScript – with and without frameworks, jQuery or MooTools knowledge a plus
• PHP – cakePHP or codeignitor frameworks will take you to the next level
• .NET – IIS and server administration a plus
• Ruby – Rails will take you to the next level
• JAVA – desktop publishing knowledge a plus

Learn new and trendy technologies

While following trends isn’t always a good idea, trends that have been around for more than just a year and have high demand are usually worth taking a second glance at. In the past 5 years, there are a few major trends that are really growing. I highly recommend picking one of the trends and learning as much as you can about the technology on the side of your current studies and work..

Rich Internet Applications (RIA)

Adobe Flash has always had a strong presence on the web, and that presence is only increasing along with other RIA platforms like Microsoft Silverlight, JavaFX, and the future HTML5. There are almost no major disadvantages to sites built entirely in Flash or other platforms now that search engines like Google are making more of an effort to index RIA content. To top that, Adobe has now adopted a markup language geared more towards developers called FLEX. Flex allows developers to markup their code in MXML while also using ActionScript for animation and then simply, with the click of a button plublish the application in either a SWF for web or as an AIR application for desktop. I strongly believe this is the future of not only the web, but future Operating Systems as well. Google and Ubuntu have already shown a heavy interest in using web applications on the desktop, and phone operating systems are following a similar pattern. While mobile and desktop development are entirely different from web development, learning FLEX is a great way for web developers to cross that threshold and succeed.

Agile Development and Object Oriented code

As the internet reaches the far corners of the Earth, boundaries and barriers are being broken for working remotely on projects. In fact there are many businesses that operate entirely on remote collaboration. This means you need to learn a versioning software and systems (CVS or SVN using Tortoise is a good place to start), how to organize your thoughts and communicate them quickly and effectively over IM or email, and most importantly how to comment and structure your code (for programmers OO principles are a must) so that others can quickly pickup where you left off.

Web Services and Cross-Platform Markup

UML, XML, JSON, REST and SOAP, just to name the most common languages, are becoming a must for nearly every developer. Almost every RIA and API use a language like this to communicate. Any site that is dynamic is probably using at least one of these technologies. I can’t specifically tell you which is more relevant or popular, as it varies per project, but I can tell you that they’re all fairly simple to learn, so I suggest doing your homework or ready a book on each to know at least base knowledge and markup for each of them.

Refine your Interpersonal Communication Skills

As you climb the corporate ladder, or step out into the world of business, it will become more and more important that your written and verbal communication skills are sharp and effective. The gap that used to exist between sales/consulting/design/IT is now closing, and more businesses are switching to an Agile model. This means from the start of a project or team, you may be communicating directly with a client, or with others that don’t know or understand the technology. You’ll need to learn how to explain things so that others can easily understand and relate, as well as sound professional and well educated. These skills are not easy to hone, and require a lot of time. I highly recommend actively getting involved in forums/blogging to improve written communication, perhaps join a local business group or Chamber of Commerce to learn how to communicate better in a professional business setting (another perk to this is the networking), and ask others to correct and help you identify bad habits and mistakes.

What is a JavaScript Library

JavaScript Libraries were born as demands for JavaScript rose to create more interactive and dynamic websites. Some developers wanted more movement and animation in their applications to enhance the user experience, and others wanted a library focused around quicker and easier XMLHttpRequests (coined AJAX) to make their applications faster and more responsive.

A JavaScript Library is a library of pre-written JavaScript code, such as functions and classes, which allow for more efficient development of JavaScript-based applications.

Some of the first libraries to emerge to meet these needs were Prototype, developed by Sam Stephenson, and Scriptaculous by Thomas Fuchs. In later years, JavaScript libraries such as jQuery, MooTools, and MochiKit and JavaScript widget libraries such as Ext JS and Dojo Toolkit have emerged, each meeting a specific developer need and specializing in meeting that need in a unique way.

Following this trend, major companies have developed their own libraries to meet their specific needs. Some of the more popular ones are the Google Web Toolkit (GWT), Yahoo User Interface Library (YUI), and ASP.NET AJAX.

What are JavaScript Libraries for

JavaScript Libraries allow for easier development between JavaScript and other languages, such as CSS, PHP, Python and Java. This allows not only for a developer to read and write code in a style that they are more familiar with, but it also helps in developing seamless applications across different languages and environments.

JavaScript Libraries in Front-End Web Development

While there may be arguments for different libraries and different advantages and disadvantages of each, I’m am going to focus on these libraries from MY perspective which is in Front-end development across many platforms, applications and programs, and my views are bias to my experience in those settings. If you have an opinion or contribution of your own feel free to add them in the comments in a constructive and informative manner please!

jQuery

My absolute favorite library is jQuery. JQuery is a very lightweight and modular JavaScript Framework that weighs in at only 15k for the compressed core. Some of the great features of jquery for front-end web developers are its ease of use and learning. The library targets the Document Object Model (DOM) in the same way that CSS does, using selectors such as ID’s and classes as well as the standard nodes (element, text, and attribute). I also like that the framework is modular, which means you can get down and dirty with the core with little bandwidth eaten up, but extend it as far as needed with plug-ins.

YUI

YUI is another really lightweight library that separates its modules so that you can simply use the utilities needed without bloated code. While there are probably better candidates for this second slot as far as extensibility and compression (many would probably argue that MooTools belongs here), what I particularly like about Yahoo’s library is their documentation for it. When you get deep into code and complex structures, you test the limits of your framework. When your code breaks the framework (and it WILL at some point), it’s good to be able to reference well documented and explained code that way you can identify the problem and work towards a solution. That’s my reason for replacing MooTools with YUI in my faves.

Prototype & Scriptaculous

I used to love these frameworks, but as jQuery has grown and become more efficient, I’ve moved away from the bloated code that was once a part of my utility belt. I would like to hear anyone’s feedback that still primarily uses these libraries and see if there are any advantages that these veterans have over the new ones.

Here’s the JQ

$(document).ready(function(){
	$("li.child:visible").hide();
	$("li.parent").click(function(){
		if ($(this).children().hasClass("selected")) {
			$(this).children().removeClass('selected');
			$(this).next().toggle("slow");
			return false;
		}
		else {
			$(this).children().addClass('selected');
			$(this).next().load($(this).children().attr("href")).toggle("medium");
			return false;
		}
 
	});
});

Here’s the PHP

if ($handle = opendir('./'))
{
	while (false !== ($file = readdir ($handle)))
	{
		if ( preg_match("/^\_/", $file) )
		{
			$filename = preg_replace('/\_/', ' ', $file);
			echo "
	<li class="\&quot;parent\&quot;"><a href="\">" . $filename ."</a></li>
\n
	<li class="\&quot;child\&quot;"></li>
";
		}
	}
	closedir($handle);
}