Monday, March 9, 2009
Chapter 13
This chapter wasn't terribly exciting. It just went into more detail on the item templates in the view controls. This means that it tells you how to work with html forms that are auto-generated by the view controls. It goes into the logic behind how the controls work so that you can make use of the control's functionality much better. It didn't show how to do anything new, it just explained how and why things work the way that they do.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Chapter 12 * reference chapter * important for review when creating any page
Chapter 12 is a reference chapter. It discusses usability, accessibility, load speed and caching. It talks about, and references, many ways to set up a web page to adhere to different usability standards, such as for blind or other disabled users. It also has a section on how to set up page caching to increase server speed. There is also a section(s) on usability functions such as tabbing, default cursor locations and what not.
There was very little hands on practice involved in this section. It was put in, I believe, to give the user, me, a better understanding of how the previous, and probably the future, sections of the book should be fit together. It gives quick references to previous sections of note to help make the point. This chapter is the most important chapter I have encountered so far in that it raises many questions that you as a page designer need to keep in mind. These questions that the chapter raises should be asked during the initial design phase before you start coding anything. It should also be referenced once the site has been finished and you are doing the QA and error testing/functionality testing work.
There was very little hands on practice involved in this section. It was put in, I believe, to give the user, me, a better understanding of how the previous, and probably the future, sections of the book should be fit together. It gives quick references to previous sections of note to help make the point. This chapter is the most important chapter I have encountered so far in that it raises many questions that you as a page designer need to keep in mind. These questions that the chapter raises should be asked during the initial design phase before you start coding anything. It should also be referenced once the site has been finished and you are doing the QA and error testing/functionality testing work.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Chapter 11 * project* visual xml editor
Chapter 11 was very short, especially compared to the Linq chapters. It went into detail on how to use tree controls to create tree items for navigating your website. It also went into menu controls. Also it showed how to set up a master xml file for navigation, the web.sitemap xml file. This file is designed to store all site mapping data in xml format for use by your controls, if you wish. I don't understand why they can't use a different data form for this master file. There is no good xml editing tool with visual studio, if I use this file, which I will, im going to have to download a visual xml editor, as recommended by the book.
The coolest part was the breadcrumb control. Also, all of these controls are smart, the menu, tree and breadcrumb. You can style them, or set up a stylesheet for them, and do all the cool things we went over in chapter 10. The menu control is particularly smart in that it has primary nodes, with direct links to a main page, and sub menus that pop up when you mouse over the main link. These sub links inheret styles from the parent link, which is awesome, automatically and they can also be tweaked as you see fit.
These chapters are also good at putting things together because in practice you keep reusing tools you learned in previous chapters and build on their functionality. This means that all my other skills are being reinforced and this reinforcement makes using these advanced functions, as well as understanding them, quick and easy.
The coolest part was the breadcrumb control. Also, all of these controls are smart, the menu, tree and breadcrumb. You can style them, or set up a stylesheet for them, and do all the cool things we went over in chapter 10. The menu control is particularly smart in that it has primary nodes, with direct links to a main page, and sub menus that pop up when you mouse over the main link. These sub links inheret styles from the parent link, which is awesome, automatically and they can also be tweaked as you see fit.
These chapters are also good at putting things together because in practice you keep reusing tools you learned in previous chapters and build on their functionality. This means that all my other skills are being reinforced and this reinforcement makes using these advanced functions, as well as understanding them, quick and easy.
Chapter 10
So chapter 10 was quick and dirty, just like Dr. Piercy's javascript tutorials. It went into a brief overview of the html style uses. Then went into depth on how to use style sheets, which are awesome, master pages, and skins. Pretty incredible stuff for making a large site look coherent and is good for managing everything.
I don't like the skins idea, I don't see the point in using them anymore given how easy it is to use style sheets and the style sheets control. You can have as many style sheets as you want, or style classes defined in style sheets, organized in your style sheets folder, and apply whatever classes you want. You can also apply these elements to the master page and inheret the master page you want, having many master pages for different page designes, with each of your pages to have a very consistent easy to manage website.
I don't like the skins idea, I don't see the point in using them anymore given how easy it is to use style sheets and the style sheets control. You can have as many style sheets as you want, or style classes defined in style sheets, organized in your style sheets folder, and apply whatever classes you want. You can also apply these elements to the master page and inheret the master page you want, having many master pages for different page designes, with each of your pages to have a very consistent easy to manage website.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Chapter 9 * project ideas * and further research needed
Chapter 9 was interesting. It went into detail on how to pull in data from rss feeds to represent xml data. Then it showed a quick overview of xml and described, briefly, how xml works. Then i saw how to create some xml, its looks alot like html, and how to modify the xml data and turn it into html.
It then went into showing you how to incorporate webservices into your system. You can program your own web services and host them. Or you can call other web services so long as you have access to them. I think this is very cool especially having just finished the BPMN class that was all about service oriented architecture. Microsoft has its WCF, windows communication foundation, which itself is a service, which is a service that handles connecting to services. Its pretty cool, kinda like linq.
I now have some questions. I want to be able to do asp.net with java, I think i can hax my program to make it possible, i don't see why I shouldn't be able to. It uses html, so I should be able to javascript and have java files that my stuff can use for calling objects. If it can't do it inherently, I should be able to hax it just like I did with the ajax controls. That means bring in third party controls to make it doable. This way I can program in Netbeans, import those java files and use them in my .net applications. I will have to research this a bit.
I also don't see how I can take an excel spreadsheet, parse the information via linq, and then save that data as a new entry into a database. I may have to custom code that, but it seems that it should be a function of LINQ. If not I can just parse the data by fields, create an empty database with the tables set up to handle the data then create a few functions to fill in each column at a time based on the data in the array that LINQ creates.... Maybe. I think that will be part of my project.
It then went into showing you how to incorporate webservices into your system. You can program your own web services and host them. Or you can call other web services so long as you have access to them. I think this is very cool especially having just finished the BPMN class that was all about service oriented architecture. Microsoft has its WCF, windows communication foundation, which itself is a service, which is a service that handles connecting to services. Its pretty cool, kinda like linq.
I now have some questions. I want to be able to do asp.net with java, I think i can hax my program to make it possible, i don't see why I shouldn't be able to. It uses html, so I should be able to javascript and have java files that my stuff can use for calling objects. If it can't do it inherently, I should be able to hax it just like I did with the ajax controls. That means bring in third party controls to make it doable. This way I can program in Netbeans, import those java files and use them in my .net applications. I will have to research this a bit.
I also don't see how I can take an excel spreadsheet, parse the information via linq, and then save that data as a new entry into a database. I may have to custom code that, but it seems that it should be a function of LINQ. If not I can just parse the data by fields, create an empty database with the tables set up to handle the data then create a few functions to fill in each column at a time based on the data in the array that LINQ creates.... Maybe. I think that will be part of my project.
Linq
Language Integrated Query
My original post referencing linq was apparently quite accurate. Here is the source information about linq, everything you want to know written by the people that made it.
Summary: LINQ to SQL provides a runtime infrastructure for managing relational data as objects without losing the ability to query. Your application is free to manipulate the objects while LINQ to SQL stays in the background tracking your changes automatically.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/hi-in/library/bb425822(en-us).aspx
Thanks,
Alex
My original post referencing linq was apparently quite accurate. Here is the source information about linq, everything you want to know written by the people that made it.
Summary: LINQ to SQL provides a runtime infrastructure for managing relational data as objects without losing the ability to query. Your application is free to manipulate the objects while LINQ to SQL stays in the background tracking your changes automatically.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/hi-in/library/bb425822(en-us).aspx
Thanks,
Alex
Friday, February 13, 2009
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 was a pain in my ass. The book didn't explain that I had to import System.Linq into my aspx.vb file as well as reference System.Linq in my project. Without the System.Linq my aspx.vb files can't query the data.
After long hours of web searching and trying to figure out what was going on, I fixed the problem.
This chapter works with lots of VB scripting. I believe I have finally obtained a strong understanding of VB syntax. I can read written code very well, now, but I am not sure that I can code it without referencing existing code. This, however, isn't a problem. I learn to code by referencing examples then playing with the syntax.
This chapter was almost exactly like the last chapter, but more focused on the SQL side of Linq. This was most apparent with the VB code where you create a variable to act as a Database holder, i suppose is how it works, based on the data that I put into my project from the database I connected to it, and then call methods associated with the database object that act as insert and delete, update and what not variables. You then take those variables and do a SubmitChanges() that takes all the floating variable associated with whatever database object you are working with, such as db.SubmitChanges() and actually updates the database.
Its kinda a mind screw having to think about initializing a database as an object just to pull the data out and work with it. Then having the SQL commands be handles as variables which i guess are more like objects that inherit from the database object and have values that you provide when you create them. Its very similar to having to learn to transpose music when you sight read, you go little weird in the head until you understand it.
After long hours of web searching and trying to figure out what was going on, I fixed the problem.
This chapter works with lots of VB scripting. I believe I have finally obtained a strong understanding of VB syntax. I can read written code very well, now, but I am not sure that I can code it without referencing existing code. This, however, isn't a problem. I learn to code by referencing examples then playing with the syntax.
This chapter was almost exactly like the last chapter, but more focused on the SQL side of Linq. This was most apparent with the VB code where you create a variable to act as a Database holder, i suppose is how it works, based on the data that I put into my project from the database I connected to it, and then call methods associated with the database object that act as insert and delete, update and what not variables. You then take those variables and do a SubmitChanges() that takes all the floating variable associated with whatever database object you are working with, such as db.SubmitChanges() and actually updates the database.
Its kinda a mind screw having to think about initializing a database as an object just to pull the data out and work with it. Then having the SQL commands be handles as variables which i guess are more like objects that inherit from the database object and have values that you provide when you create them. Its very similar to having to learn to transpose music when you sight read, you go little weird in the head until you understand it.
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