I have been a developer for nearly 20 years and a web developer for about 10 years. Over the years, I have considered creating a blog to share the things I have learned (and am learning) about web design and development, but I never seemed to have the time. When I began learning about web development using Ajax and Ajax Frameworks, I decided to take the time to create this blog.
My intention for this blog is to focus primarily on Ajax Frameworks, but since web development requires knowledge of many technologies, I will occasionally write about things such as CSS, Javascript, PHP, MySQL, Flash, etc.
Lately, I have been using JQuery as my primary Ajax tool. Although I have used other Ajax Frameworks in the past (Dojo Toolkit, Yahoo! User Interface Library, Scriptaculous/Prototype), JQuery has thus far been the easiest to learn. In my first few posts I will discuss some of the JQuery Plugins that I have created. Some of these include: a plugin for Google Maps (jquery.imGoogleMaps), Form validation and submission (jquery.imValidateForm), Page Populater (jquery.imPagePopulate), and a plugin to create lists (jquery.imList).
While I am still learning about some of the other Ajax Frameworks, I hope that what I have learned will be helpful to others. Just remember, “When you can pull the pebbles from my hand…”
When I upgraded my imGoogleMaps JQuery Plugin, I had to create a custom control button on the Google Map. The Control allows the user to add a Street View Overlay to the map. To create the control, I had to assign a prototype object to the instance of the GControl object.
I finally found the time to upgrade imGoogleMaps JQuery plugin. When I first began the upgrade, my plan was to only add the handful of items that were requested by a few users (and fix a few bugs). When the upgrade was complete, I had incorporated the GStreetviewPanorama object and Street View Overlay into the plugin. I also added the ability to plot multiple addresses ajaxally via a json object and add a business name to the infoWindow.
To create...