Web Development

The tile may have been a wee bit confusing, partially intended. PHP.JS is one of the most useful tools I’ve seen around, and boy did they do a good job. So, what is it, specifically?

PHP.JS is a Javascript library that has converted pretty much the entire PHP library into Javascript. This is their description:

“PHP.JS is an open source project in which we try to port PHP functions to JavaScript. By including the PHP.JS library in your own projects, you can use your favorite PHP functions client-side.”

It’s completely free (thank you, open source) and can help enormously.

The main question that was on my mind was, “Do I have to download the whole thing?” After all, something that comprehensive is probably pretty hefty.

The answer, thankfully, is no! They have every function broken out into pieces and the ability to download a wide variety of packages, and each package can be modified to add or subtract individual functions.

Well, that’s it for today! If you can’t think of many uses, let me know, because I can think of a plethora of uses.

Have a great day!

-Kerry

I am fully aware that ‘Web 3.0′ isn’t really defined, other than it’s a step in the direction of a new age in web browsing. I believe jQuery is a large part/start in that direction.

So, what is jQuery?

“jQuery is a fast and concise JavaScript Library that simplifies HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development. jQuery is designed to change the way that you write JavaScript.”

That just sounds like a new way of writing Javascript, and not all that new and exciting. Essentially, it is just that, but what it brings about can yield spectacular results. It gives you complete control over Javascript and makes you able to change everything with ease.

Recently I had a project that I wanted everything to be on one page. With jQuery I was able to setup a Split-Pane Divider (like the ones you see in an explorer window), a sortable table that you could change the widths of the columns (by dragging), made my own accordion menu that when clicking on an item, dynamically populated the sortable table.

On top of all that, I used ThickBox to make it even more dynamic.

There’s more functionality that I’m not going into here (Calendar Control, etc.), but I ended up with a fully functional page that used multiple database tables and completely functional like a regular web page, without any refreshing, with animated effects (according menu slides down, other fields faded in and out). This is the result of jQuery.

From what I’ve gathered there are four main Javascript libraries, jQuery, Prototype, Dojo and Mootools. From the reviews I’ve read, jQuery is on the top, though some people prefer the others. Dojo might have a little bit more funtionality. All of them have their own plugins, hundreds of things to make your site more functional and increase it’s design with javascript animated effects.

jQuery has full documentation as well as premade visual plugins in their jQuery UI pack.

I’m completely sold and have been using it for a while. If you need tutorials, they have them too.

I posted two rants yesterday, all about bad software and websites.

I was working on SendArticles.com, a new service that Studio98 just launched, and I decided I wanted a support system better than the ghetto contact form we had installed. So, I searched for “open source ticket system”.

The second listing appealed more than the first, and it was osTicket. I had no idea what to expect. I have never worked with the back end of a ticket system before, and never anything to do with installation.

So, I was almost immediately sold with their presentation of the product. I downloaded, installed, and voila, it was up and working!

I did have to go to their Wiki for a couple questions, but that was easy enough. I setup an email pipe system (never done that before), and it worked immediately.

The next step was integrating it. I have integrated many open source systems before. Never has it been this easy. I copied and pasted my header and footer includes to replace the ones they had, and voila, it all fit in like magic!

It still worked, and after messing with the system I had a fully functional support system that just took a few hours to install, customize and implement. All from scratch, with no prior experience.

5 stars to osTicket!