September 30, 2011
by admin
0 comments
Say goodbye to ajaxload, and say a big hello to spin.js.
Check out these features:
- No images, no external CSS
- No dependencies (jQuery is supported, but not required)
- Highly configurable
- Resolution independent
- Uses VML as fallback in old IEs
- Uses @keyframe animations, falling back to setTimeout()
- Works in all major browsers, including IE6
- MIT License
September 29, 2010
by shane
1 Comment
About a year ago, it was jQuery. Now it seems to be HTML5 that’s getting everybody excited. Unfortunately, HTML5 has become something of an umbrella term for all sorts of technologies that are no part of it. No matter – there are books to help us discern the fluff from the substance.
Not long ago, I reviewed A Book Apart’s HTML5 for Web Designers; another HTML book that’s getting people excited is Introducing HTML5, co-authored by Bruce Lawson and Remy Sharp. In my review of HTML5 for Web Designers, I was probably a little too polite. Whilst I enjoyed reading it, it was too thin and didn’t cover anything in any great detail. Lawson and Sharp’s effort suggests an introduction, but is much more what you’d expect from a book on the subject.
The diplomatic view on the two books is that they reach out to different audiences, and that the abridged format of HTML5 for Web Designers is appropriate for designers wishing to get the facts without the technical detail. I’m going to stick my neck on the line here and say that Introducing HTML5 is the better book, but since I thrive on technical detail, that will come as no surprise.
The book’s dedicated website has a Chapter listing for the book, which is listed here to give you an idea of what’s covered:
The website also contains a list of companion links for the book, which is a great source of information and inspiration.
The book’s aimed primarily at developers with a working knowledge of HTML and JavaScript, but I don’t see why designers shouldn’t give it a shot. The book’s well written by two authors who are both conversant with their subject matter, but also deliver it in a fun and flowing way that makes it a worthwhile purchase for anybody interested in working on a new generation of web apps.
Continue reading
March 23, 2010
by shane
9 Comments
Using screenr, I’ve just recorded a new sub-five minute screencast detailing a web scraping example using YQL, jQuery and JSONP.
In the video, I quickly introduce YQL‘s web scraping capability by returning a the contents of an HTML element on the JustGiving website. The data is obtained using jQuery’s getJSON method via JSONP for a cross-domain request. It’s short, but simple, and aims to give a brief example of what’s possible using YQL and jQuery. Continue reading
February 19, 2010
by shane
0 comments
Unless they’ve been living in a cave for the last couple of years, web developers will be familiar with jQuery. Due to its speed, power and ubiquity, it’s become the de facto JavaScript library for anybody wishing to create cross-browser behaviour.
jQuery version 1.4 was released on January 14, 2009, and hot on the heels of that release is the accompanying ‘jQuery 1.4 Reference Guide‘ book from Packt. The book is nudging at 300 pages in length, and covers the API in a similar way to the excellent online documentation. This isn’t the book for readers with no JavaScript experience, but should be easy to pick up with somebody with at least a limited knowledge. Continue reading
September 30, 2009
by shane
0 comments
Hey everyone – I’ve just recorded my first ever screencast over at screenr.com. I talk about a jQuery popup keyboard plugin that I wrote a while back.
If you haven’t already checked out screenr, be sure to head over and check it out – it’s a fantastic way to record screencasts up to 5 minutes in length and requires no extra software or faffing about. Recording a screencast is definitely a skill in itself, and since this is my first, I hope you’ll excuse the odd ‘um’ and ‘ah’, but I hope I get the general message across. Five minutes seems like a generous amount of time, but it really does go quickly when you’re recording!
Some points that I didn’t have time to go into on the screencast:
You can download a copy of the screencast project (ZIP file, 8k) shown to have a look in greater detail.