Instead of:

sfHover = function() {
	var sfEls = document.getElementById("nav").getElementsByTagName("LI");
	for (var i=0; i
		sfEls[i].onmouseover=function() {
			this.className+=" sfhover";
		}
		sfEls[i].onmouseout=function() {
			this.className=this.className.replace(new RegExp(" sfhover\\b"), "");
		}
	}
}
if (window.attachEvent) window.attachEvent("onload", sfHover);

You only need to write:

$('#nav li').mouseover(function(){
 	$(this).addClass('sfhover');
 }).mouseout(function(){
 	$(this).removeClass('sfhover');
 });

Such is the beauty of using css-style selectors to build an array of affected elements. Of course, you must make sure the code is wrapped in $(document).ready(function(){…});, but there is no need to modify the window.onload event in this example. Otherwise, refer to the code provided in the above examples to get your markup and formatting styles in place.

Coupled with Subclipse for Subversion source control, Eclipse is my one stop shop for all things web development.

My only problem is that I know I haven’t much scratched the surface of what it can do, or how it can help to simplify my workflow. I discovered the plugin library at EasyEclipse, but only experimented with a few of them; the HTML Tidy and webDAV + FTP plugins. I know that there are keywords and shorthand commands that can be entered to cut down on the entry of raw text, but I can’t seem to find a good resource for them.

If you use and love Eclipse, post a comment and share your resources about how it improves your workflow.

This is where Firebug comes in, allowing you to not only inspect an element with one click to reveal all of its defined and inherited styles and attributes, but also to edit the properties in the browser without having to make changes to the source documents.

With the most recent version of Firefox, I had issues with viewing the attributes and styles of the A element, but I found that an upgrade to beta version 1.1 solved the problem.

And for testing in Safari, Opera or dreaded Internet Explorer, they offer Firebug Lite that can be implemented via Javascript file to take advantage of the console object, which can be very useful for debugging JavaScript. I plan to write in further detail later about the wonder and majesty of this feature, so stay tuned.

If you enjoy the inspection aspect of Firebug, there is another cross-browser tool available called pi.debugger. It does not work with Safari (at least not version 3) but performs like a champ on IE, Camino and Flock. The script can be downloaded to your workspace or linked to from the Google source page in the link.

Given the number of options and resources available, the task of finding that one property that is throwing your whole layout off should be made that much easier. Happy hunting!

I don’t think of myself as on who frequently uses trendy catchphrases or jargon excessively (and I can’t stand those people who use the word “blog” like the Smurfs use “smurf”) but I hope that through this channel I can accomplish the following things:

1. Improve my own style, grammar and vocabulary through writing on a more regular basis, though I will try to avoid too many obscure esoteric references
2. Provide interesting links and useful resources to others in the web development field
3. Rant/vent about things in life unrelated to my workplace or personal relationships (I can’t exactly be anonymous about these things people)

So, with this in mind, stay tuned and feel free to comment or contact me if you have suggestions. (or complaints!)

Tracy and I even decided to present a topic — Program Like It’s 1999. We hoped that it would be a satirical look at how web design has changed in the last 10 years. Originally the plan was to create a horrific table-based template to distribute to the participants and create something that we could all laugh at. UNFORTUNATELY the wireless kept dropping out and we were unable to make much headway. Because of this things turned more into a discussion of standards-based design and sharing CSS tips.

Beyond the sessions and networking, I managed to improve my personal website. Recently I learned about object-oriented PHP and discovered the value of implementing scalable solutions. After a bit of trial-and-error, I created a class specifically for connecting to MySQL databases and returning resources or boolean values. Hopefully as things progress I will be able to add to and refine the object.

After dinner, there were a few more sessions but I opted not to stay for the overnight.

“A 32 hour anti-conference about the intersection of art technology and culture.”

I don’t think I can express enough how insanely great an idea this is. In practice, it might end up being a complete and total disorganized disaster, but I genuinely hope not. Imagine it — mac and windows and linux users, php and asp.net and java developers, meeting to discuss common interests and share resources.

The programs listed on the site for examples seem varied in their goals and aspirations. What I’d like to take away from this experience would be increasing my network, learning about new technologies and techniques, and maybe even presenting a program. If I feel brave.

I hope to use this forum to share resources and links about web design, programming, and general geekery, as well as to talk about things going on in my life (sorry no sex or violence here). I will try to keep this regularly updated, and we’ll see where this all leads!