What? My Program Works?

I gotta say, the ability to understand programming pays off. After getting fed up with the time I was wasting logging into Ta-Da List I decided to write my own listing program.

I like to look at it as a list management system.

I really didn't need to be super organized, such as organizing by day, week, etc. I created the list just how I would create my own sticky notes - random, jot some info down with a title and post it. The program works just the same - I have an idea, I click my bookmark, the web application comes up and I'm ready to go. Add a title, a little descriptive information and wah-la! It's posted. I can even edit the list if I screw something up and I can delete it once the task/list/whatever is completed.

I'm still thinking about releasing it once I complete the interface to meet my tastes. Will it be open source? Most likely!

PHP and MySQL are a great marriage. What are some of the applications some of you guys are building to meet your needs?

Aptana Reviewed

As I stated in an earlier post, I have come across an open source IDE known as Aptana. It is directed towards javascript and AJAX which has recently become a huge interest of mine and other developers.

I gotta say I was impressed from the initial startup of the program. Immediately (although it is cluttered) the program opens with a wide variety of tools and options to assist you in your project.

Not much is left to wonder as it has on screen modules/tools for:

• Validation
• IE & Firefox Preview
• Rails Support
  
• Code Assistance (major plus!!)
• File navigation
• DOM Navigation is amazing and very detailed
• On the fly updates when changes are made

The libraries included with Aptana are large and quite impressive to say the least. From what I see, there are plenty of tools for you to include in your projects, ranging from element fading effects to element positioning and even Flash related scripts.

Although I've only been using it for a day or so it has already shown that it is a powerful IDE. I have read that Aptana can be imported into Eclipse, which should provide a better base for JAVA and PHP programmers. Don't waste anytime, go to www.aptana.com and download this tool. It will definitely make your life a lot easier as a programmer.

Upcoming Open Source Reviews

Over the past few weeks I have downloaded Cake PHP, Scriptalicious, Aptana, and PHP Eclipse. Look for reviews and notes to be posted in the next few days!

15 Nifty Firefox Optimizations

I gotta say del.icio.us hooks me up all the time with awesome bookmarks.

Today I saw a link to an article on LifeHack regarding 15 cool Firefox tricks that people hardly use. I gotta say, I was delighted with a few of them as I had no idea they could be done.

Check it out now!!

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/
15-coolest-firefox-tricks-ever.html

Review OSS?

It dawned on me today that I probably download upwards of 5-10 different open source applications a day. It ranges from a variety of things - including frameworks, web development utilities, games, and much more.

Since I come across a lot of good and bad software, I have decided to actually blog about it. Look for a section coming soon about my endeavors (such as CodeIgniter, which I posted earlier this week).

CodeIgnitor Test Drive

As I posted last night, I downloaded CodeIgnitor, a PHP framework. I must say, so far I am very impressed.

After looking at some of the video tutorials to get a feel for how the framework is based (simple Hello World, Blog in 20 Minutes), I thought I would give it a try. I started by creating a few simple scripts, ranging from 'Hello World' to a basic string that would print variables and solutions to a math problem. From there I created my own blogging system in under 50 minutes, which isn't bad at all I think for just picking up the system.

Now it's time for the fun-run. The listing system I created a few weeks ago is taking shape but is far from where I wanted it. Currently it runs on close to, give or take, 8 files. After 35 minutes I have recreated the system with CodeIgnitor. All that is left is to add the delete function and it will be set to go.

All in all, I think this is a great resource for PHP developers and those that are just picking up the language. If you have programmed in Java, then you will definitely appreciate the libraries as it will make time more manageable in your PHP development.