As a student in an XML class I am learning a lot of things that the language can do. Something I thought was very interesting and easy to learn is using XSLT to transform an existing XML document into either another XML document, text file, or an html file.

I made a little screen cast to show how its done. There is no audio in this video. It is preferred you view the video in full screen (to see all the text and such).

Just as well, I added a “gallery” of the title screens just in case they went to fast for you, or you just wanted to review them.

View Title Screen Gallery

I have also linked the twitterTransform.xslt file for a reference. I did not add my RSS feed as you should be able to access your own very easily. I also did not link the output file as you will be generating your own with the transformation.

twitterTransform.xslt

In this tutorial I use:

XMLSpy (https://shop.altova.com/category.asp?category_name=XMLSPY)

You can use the trial and purchase if you like it as much as I do.

Introduction

First off, what is Microsoft surface? Surface is a new and forthcoming desktop computer, but it has so much more to offer than the desktop we know and use on a day to day basis. On first glance, it may look like a simple desk or table, but it is actually a computer, with an enormous touch screen for input. There is still more to it, it syncs with devices and items that are placed on the Surface. This opens up so many possibilities, not only for technology to advance, but for web designers to produce sites in a new and exhilarating way.

Design features

From a web designers stand point, Surface is appealing with a large touch screen to design upon. This opens up a whole new aspect to hand drawn design. Imagine, being able to sketch out a logo and add colors or textures with just a tap and stroke of a pen. Along with having the ability to grab and re-arrange certain aspects of the design, using just the touch capability.

From a developers view, Surface can offer many features that can make life easier. Security is a big issue that developers look at. What if, you could have a customer login using their signature? This also presents problems, forgery is possible. What if, you own a business, and you require employees to use a special card to login to their account on the site?

Client interaction can be addressed with Surface as well. A client walks in and you can throw together a rough sketch or render of what they want. Exchange contact information via placing your phones on the surface. Let’s say another meeting with the client; you are presenting a mock up of their new web site. The client says they don’t like a feature on the site; you can grab that part of the page and remove it. This would make a satisfied client to see what they want before final copy comes around.

Let’s talk e-commerce. You have made a site that has a downloadable software package. It requires you to pay for this package. Place your credit card on the Surface and pay for the software easy. This also presents the same security problems as above. Ways to work around this is to have a PIN number for the card per site. It would act as a unique password for that site and your card.

Conclusion

As technology is ever advancing, web design and how we design sites changes too. Though Surface isn’t ready for the main-stream public, the exciting possibility that we may be able to do to design is something to hope for. Progressing how we build the web will shape the web for a brighter and more flexible future. What do you think about Surface, how can you think of using it?

The very first and probably most important thing to do is separate the content from presentation. That is, XHTML from CSS. This not only makes the site load faster, it also makes it much easier to update the styles for every page linked to the style sheet, instead of having to through every page to update the same style.

A close second to the separating content and presentation is keeping your file structure organized. Having a directory specified for CSS that will contain all the CSS files you will use and the same for JavaScripts and images as well. This makes it easier to find things when you are looking for a certain file.

Naming IDs and classes with names that identify the content that will be in that element is a very good practice. This will help you when you go back through the code to change something or to modify the style of that element. Setting an images alt tag with a suitable and short, yet to the point message that will allow screen readers tell the user what the image is, and if the image file is improperly linked it will show as a place holder (in certain browsers).

I find a very important tool for long term code, is to use comments for everything. Comment a piece of CSS if it all refers to the entire page, or a certain section of the web site. Comment a portion of XHTML if there are several pieces like it in the document, to guarantee you know which piece you are dealing with.

If you should have an element inside of another element it is best to indent the next row down, such as
<div id=”first_box”>

<ul>This is second

<li>this is the third in the line</li>

</ul>

</div>

This shows the best way to deal with organizing the way things are nested. Open the next nested element tabbed over once, and close it out in the same manner.

In conclusion it is a good idea to make the most of the techniques I have offered. From commenting and naming every section of code, to organizing files and structure. I have found that over the years, this has been a very effective way to operate. Though this may not be the right way for you, I hope you can take from this post and apply it to your practice.

Today we are building a “plug-in” mainly for WordPress, but you we will show you how to use it on a regular site as well.

You will need to know a certain degree of how to make a website from scratch. It would be to your best advantage to know PHP, jQuery, CSS and XHTML to fully understand what is actually happening.

Things you will need to complete this plug-in:

The latest version of jQuery

You will need this file block.php (right-click / save-as)

The top graphic that.png

The content background this.png

Adding the scripts

First we must add the jquery script to the page

Now we must add the jquery that will take the elements and hide them, and give the function to show, hide and toggle

Adding the links to show the content

This step is fairly simple, all we need to do is make a simple link, but give it a couple of unique attributes. Let’s also place the links inside a div so it can be easily styled.

We added the id=”" which has the name of the link and the onclick=”" will hide the the div opposite of the one clicked.

Now lets add the block

The block, as i refer to it as, is the content that will be displayed when you click on one of the two links above. By now I hope you have downloaded block.php

Further details on the Block

In the block file, I have it coded to Work on WordPress. This will not work on anything else but wordpress. So to change that, we need to open up the block.php file and edit a few parts.

Inside the div “archiv”

Inside the div “recent”

Change that, which get your recent posts in WordPress, to whatever text/code you want.

Now to style it

Add this either to your stylesheet (.css), or to the local file between the <style> tags.

This will put the two links at the top of the page on top of the black button. And it will create the padding and margins for the rest of your content that you can add.

Wrapping up

So, this will create dynamic content on any site, and is a great little plug-in for WordPress. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comment field below. I hope you enjoyed it.

I am in the final stages of designing the new Division Overlay web site. Every day adds a little more to the design, and I feel it’s just about ready for you. After the design is done, it should only be a day or two for the code to be done. After the coding is done, starts the task of adding the content and testing the site with WordPress.

I am putting a bunch of new things on the site, and on the server. This will allow for more use out of Division Overlay. I hope to have the site up and live by the end of the month.

Thank you for your time, and patience.

When styling in CSS, I find it very useful to comment and format the way you code the sheet. If you have multiple IDs or classes with the similar names, or you have a style you normally don’t use, it’s a good idea to leave a little comment or two to remind yourself if, or when you go back to edit that sheet.

With formatting on the other hand, it can be an even greater process to utilize saving time in the long run. Deziner Folio has a great article about a new way to format CSS here. I have started formatting my style sheets this way, and it really does work.

JavaScript and other public programming scripts should ALWAYS contain comments. When working on a public program where many people may download your work to try out and use for them selves, it is necessary to add comments to nearly every line of code. This is so the people who download your work know what each piece of code means and how to implement the code into there own use.

I believe commenting is an important part of the creation of any website. The practical use of commenting and formatting of your CSS sheets and scripts is a echnique many do not employ. If utilized it will greatly affect the way you edit your scripts and styles, when you come back to the pages someday down the line to edit them.

Thank you for reading this entry. If you agree, disagree or just want to tell me what you think about commenting on code, please don’t hesitate to leave a reply. Have a good day.