Web Design Melbourne | Web Development Melbourne| Melbourne, Fitzroy, Northcote, Collingwood, Carlton, Brunswick

30 Jan

2008

The Ikalator 3000

Learning Javascript is so far the hardest thing I have taken on since starting here at Acorn. Somehow the HTML and CSS all kind of made sense to my designer brain. Even though I didn't know any of it when I came here it didn't take much to start learning what limits I could push with them. But to step into programming land is to stop thinking as an artist would, think like computer.

The first step of the adventure

My own javascript based Image Gallery. It combines HTML, CSS, Javascript and Smarty PHP. It generates its own thumbnails based on the Photo's used and animates to the photo of each thumbnail when clicked on. It uses no Flash animation whatsoever. It works with the CMS. It can be re-skinned to suit the style of any website and it is my pride and joy! I have to admit here most of the Javascript in it is from Stuart's colossal brain. Far beyond my current understanding. I could do all the other bits and I can comprehend what the Javascript needed and how it works. I just have trouble with the logic of it.

Maybe better to start with the basics.

The Ikalator 3000. My first javascript based Calculator. Aesthetically ugly, it could display when requested, add, subtract, multiply and divide, then disappear again when done. It took me a whole day and it could do everything required bar the addition. Javascript uses the plus symbol to display the two inputs next to each other; say i wanted 5+6 it would write 56, when all I wanted was 11. Stuart kindly solved the dilemma with some parseFloat thingy.

In bits and pieces.

So we decided the more little bits I do, like when a clients site has something that slides down, or pops up or updates from somewhere else. This is how I will learn. Start small. Learn slowly. The complete opposite of how I learnt the rest of it. The CSS and HTML was always start big, learn fast! But I'll get there. I'll be invincible!

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