Ralph Whitbeck - Blog

Transparent PNG's and IE 6

Ralph Whitbeck — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:07:45 GMT

IE 6 doesn't have native support for the Alpha channel that make PNG's transparent. This can make PNG's look very ugly in IE6 when they are transparent.

Asking around the office today, I got a cool solution that uses IE's proprietary behavior css attribute to call a Compiled HTML document that applies filters to the PNG to behave correctly.

It's pretty easy to install:

How To Use
Follow these simple steps to add this to your page:
Copy and paste iepngfix.htc and blank.gif into your website folder.
Copy and paste this into your website's CSS or HTML:
<style type="text/css"> img, div { behavior: url(iepngfix.htc) } </style>
That CSS selector must include the tags/elements on which you want PNG support -- basically, give it a comma-separated list of tags you use. It must also include the correct path to the .HTC relative to the HTML document location (not relative to the CSS document!). For instance, yours may look like this:
<style type="text/css"> img, div, a, input { behavior: url(/css/resources/iepngfix.htc) } </style>
If your site uses subfolders, open the .HTC file in a text editor like Windows Notepad and change the blankImg variable to include a correct path to blank.gif like so:
var blankImg = '/images/blank.gif';
Again the path is relative to the HTML file. Otherwise, you will see a "broken image" graphic!

Selecting the fastest selector for jQuery using Firebug Profile

Ralph Whitbeck — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:47:07 GMT

Today I needed to select all the h3's within a div and set a margin-top property on all items in the returned set except the first.

I came up with a few ways to return the results I was looking for (here are some jQuery examples):

$("#div h3").slice(1);

$("#div h3:not(:first)");

$("#div h3:gt(0)");

I've been reading a lot about how your selection can be optimized based on how you structure your query. So I ran each query through Firebug Profile to see which selector query was the fastest. Load the page, click on the "Profile" button at the top, run your query in the console, click the "Profile" button again to stop the profile. You'll get the time it took to execute that statement. Here are the results for each:

$("#div h3").slice(1);3.305ms

$("#div h3:not(:first)");0.705ms

$("#div h3:gt(0)");2.347ms

It's clear from my testing that the second query is 2-3 times faster then the rest for my page and my specific uses. Your specific profile times may vary based on HTML structure and selector query. So it's always good practice to test the speed of your selector if there is more then one way to get your results so that you are using the most efficient selector for your situation.

Hidden C# Feature: Using Alias Directive

Ralph Whitbeck — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:41:54 GMT

You can create an alias to a long namespace or a type like so:

using Project = SolutionName.Data.Project;

Then you use the Alias in place of the namespace:

Project p = new Project();

I wish I would of known about this last summer, probably could of shaved a month off my project just from not having to type in the long namespaces to our data layer.

Related Links:

using Directive (C# Reference)
Hidden Features of C#

New Features of .NET 4.0

Ralph Whitbeck — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:19:48 GMT

Microsoft recently released Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 beta. I'd like to highlight some of the key new features available to .NET 4.0.

Web Forms

Developers can manage control IDs that affect rendered client ID
Remove ID bloat, and 'mangling'
CSS:

Ideally remove the need to use CSS adapters
Defer to CSS styles and bypass existing style properties

non-inline style attributes

Support non-table-based HTML rendering

URL-routing for web forms

Friendly url handling for web forms
configuration model for url routing

View state

Disable on the page, enable on specific controls - they will provide granular control of viewstate - today it is backwards
Disable on control, enable on child controls
GridView/ListView work better without viewstate

ASP.NET dynamic-data

Ajax

Continue ASP.NET Ajax innovation : RIA
Appeal to JavaScript Developers
Provide support for the page developer
jQuery including Intellisense
Templates and data binding

Client side handling, REST or Web Services
Covers page developer and component developer scenarios

DOM manipulation, selectors ...
Ajax higher-level components

Ajax Control Toolkit is a part of the strategy - they will make the toolkit part of the overall ASP.NET package
New controls

Centralized script libraries and break-up for performance

ASP.NET MVC

Appeal to those wanting separation of concerns, TDD, full control
Ruby on Rails, Django, PHP
Building on from ASP.NET MVC 1.0
ASP.NET MVC (Model View Controller)
Asynchronous controllers
Sub-controllers & Views
Declarative controls

ASP.NET Dynamic Data

Making building data-driven web apps easily
Attacking the Ruby on Rails crowd
Building on from FX3.5 SP1
Dynamic-data and MVC

Scaffolding, templates and data validation

Support for abstract data layer

Removes need for specific DL (SQL, entities ...)
Allows scaffolding of objects

Support for many to many relationships
Dynamic data on MVC -- this is on codeplex today
Built around something called field templates
Enhanced filtering:

Auto-complete, search filters

ASP.NET Core

Address customer pain points
Improve scale and performance
Cache extensibility and performance:

Enable caching like Velocity

There's a couple of videos on Mircosoft's Channel 9 that talk specifically about the points mentioned above:

ASP.NET 4.0 Roadmap by Scott Hunter
New Features of ASP.NET 4.0 by Steven Walther

Caprica: DVD Review

Ralph Whitbeck — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:22:46 GMT

Caprica is the latest from Ronald D. Moore and is set in a Battlestar Galactica world 58 years before the fall (or when the miniseries starts). Caprica is a planned series that is to come to SyFy (aka SciFi) later this year. This DVD release is a preview release and I think it's very smart on the part of the producers. Give the fans something to hold onto and look forward to while the series finale is fresh in everyone's head. Additionally, they can gauge fan reaction and make adjustments before it airs.

Before I talk further about Caprica, let me take a step back and talk about the series finale of Battlestar Galactica. I think many of the scenes that are found in the last three hours of the finale is to help us transition into the world of Caprica. We saw Baltar and Six, Rosalyn, Bill, Helen and Saul living their life in Caprica. We see the dark side of Caprica with Bill, Helen and Saul at a unisex strip club, this is really the first time in the series that we see that Caprica isn't unlike our own society.

The final scenes are filled with images showing us how we maybe falling into the same pattern of advancing technology farther then it's meant to go. Very moving scenes that was meant for us to reflect on technology and how it will affect us in the future, arguably a sign of good science fiction.

In Caprica, we are given the view of Caprica 58 years before the Cylons surprise attack on the colonies that ultimately sent a rag-tag fleet across space in a desperate attempt to survive. We are taken back to the beginning of the end as it were. These are the events that eventually doomed the human race. Caprica isn't so much different then the world we live in today except for their technology which is obviously years ahead of where we are. But their society exhibit the same problems we are familiar with, corruption, greed, control for power and teenagers looking for their independence.

When the show starts we are instantly shown a world that is full of sin. Rampant sex orgies (w/ nudity), people shooting each other, a ceremony that involves a sacrifice of a virgin woman. But what we are seeing isn't Caprica but a virtual world that teenagers have created to escape reality and indulge in fantasies that are so far from reality. In essence we are seeing what a social networking site might look like in the future (a realistic Second-life) and see how it might devolve into a free-for-all of indulgence.

With in this world is were Zoe Graystone is working on making a avatar of herself that captures her thoughts, memories, personality and what she was feeling in the outside world. But Zoe's work is cut short when she is killed when a suicide bomber blows up the monorail she was on.

In the grieving process Zoe's father, Daniel Graystone, a computer scientist who is working on the AI programming for robotic soldiers, meets another man who lost both his wife and his daughter to the bombing, Joe Adama, father of Bill and grandfather of Lee Adama. The two work with each other driven by their passion of the the possibilities of being able to create their daughters again in real life.

If you remember from the third season finale of Battlestar Galactica during Baltars trial we learned a little bit about Joe Adama. We learned that he was a lawyer. We now see Joe being that lawyer but we learn that he is corrupt as he is heavily influenced by the Tauron Mob. It's this connection to the mob that makes it possible for Daniel to take what Zoe programmed in the virtual world and transplant it into the AI program that he is working with. It's such an ironic twist from the all mighty full of honor Bill Adama and can't be corrupt Lee Adama that we learned to trust and love in Battlestar Galactica. Ironic, that the Adama family is the cause of the fall and cause of the new beginning.

I'll be honest, my expectations about the series wasn't very high. I had thought that this can't be as good as Battlestar. But I was pleasantly surprised. There is enough tie into the Battlestar world that this is really fascinating and it's answers questions of the backstory of the Cylons creation and evolution. Seeing unfinished prototypes of the old style cylon models was great. We are even given a "By your command" line to make the true fan jump up and down in their seat.

I found myself trying to figure out the middle as I watched and more and more was revealed. Unfortunately, the story of the final five cylons from Battlestar Galactica can't be plotted together without some help from the show to piece that together.

After seeing this I am left wanting more. This will definitely be a series that will be on my DVR and I'll be first in line to get the DVD Season when released. You'll definitely need to be familiar with the Battlestar series before seeing this as there are alot of events that tie together. If you are coming into this cold I think it can stand on it's own but you won't enjoy it as much. Ron Moore is a genius when it comes to science fiction, he has a great knack for relating the sci fi world to reality. He did it masterfully in Battlestar and he does it here is Caprica.

Some of the DVD extras explain the shooting style of the show. It's shot completely different then Battlestar was shot. Battlestar was shot with shoulder cameras to give that in your face chaotic feel that you were right there with them. Caprica is shot on rolling carts and has the feel that everything is peaceful and calm because we are seeing Caprica during a peaceful time.

If you are a fan of Battlestar Galactica then I highly recommend that you see Caprica. If you haven't seen Battlestar Galactica or haven't yet finished the series yet (what are you waiting for?) Caprica is a prequel and won't ruin the ending of Battlestar for you, but I would at least have watched the miniseries before starting on Caprica.

Kids can do amazing things with Social Networks

Ralph Whitbeck — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:32:15 GMT

Last night my 14 year old asks me in if we can make a web site. For what, I ask. For his XBox 360 gaming clan. Oh, hmm. Well I am not going to make one from scratch for you, I tell him.

I give it a little thought. And I suggest to him that he can make a site on Ning. But he has to figure it out on his own. He says ok. I give him the address.

After he asks a few questions of me that I refuse to answer he has a site up in a matter of 10 minutes. He continued tinkering with it last night and I checked it this morning. I was somewhat blown away with what he came up with.

I know it's probably just themes and such but I am still pretty impressed with what he was able to come up with in a couple of hours last night. I will be supervision him (if he knows it or not, although after his incident on MySpace I am sure he now knows that everything he does under our roof is monitored) as he runs this site on his own. Should be a good learning experience for him.

Here's the site if you'd like to see it.

O3D: Google releases 3D API in a Browser Plugin

Ralph Whitbeck — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:25:28 GMT

Google released O3D a 3D API in a browser plugin. See video of rendering demo:

If the future of computing isn't in the browser then this is all a waste of time. Pretty impressive. Check out Ajaxians post on the topic.

Is jQuery safe?

Ralph Whitbeck — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:51:05 GMT

A post on the jQuery-English Google Group this morning asked is jQuery safe, was it infected with a virus? This seemed like an odd question. I brought it up with the jQuery team and Rey Bango, part of the jQuery Evangelism team , offered some sound advice for making sure that jQuery is safe for you to use.

1) Virus Scanner Reported Something: In some instances, anti-virus programs have reported a false positive on packed versions of various libraries in jQuery. It's definitely a false positive and not a virus in any way.

2) The jQuery downloads are basically text files that we manage & the project has been active for 3 years now. We have a tremendous number of large scale users leveraging jQuery so you can rest assured you're in good company. You can see a list of them here:

http://docs.jquery.com/Sites_Using_jQuery

One way to ensure that jQuery is safe is to download the library from a trusted source like the jquery.com servers. But if that's not enough level of trust you can also download/link to the library from Googles AJAX Libraries API's site where Google hosts jQuery, jQuery UI, prototype, mootools and others. Google independently inspects each release before releasing it to it's users.

Rey continues with official places to download jQuery:

Please only download jQuery from the official site or use the version hosted on Google's CDN. Here are the official site links:

http://jquery.com/
http://code.google.com/p/jqueryjs/
http://jqueryui.com/ (for the jQuery UI library)
http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxlibs/

Downloading jQuery from any site other than the ones listed above is not recommended as we can't guarantee the validity of the code.

I hope this post will confirm to those questioning if jQuery is safe to use that it is indeed safe for use and how to ensure your experience is enjoyable.

Update:Rey posted a similar blog post on his site as well.

What Was Apple Thinking?

Ralph Whitbeck — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:21:30 GMT

This morning Apple released the third generation iPod Shuffle.

I own a second generation shuffle and when I saw the third generation I immediately thought it was a step back for Apple. Here is what I don't like about the third-gen:

You now need a headset with the remote control function on the cord. The standard set from Apple is $29.99 to replace if you lose them. They are also ear buds. I dumped ear buds a lot time ago due always having to shove them back in and the eventually hurt your ears. There is no easy choice for the consumer in which headset
Still no display. They try to solve this by adding a voice to tell you what you're listening to when you want to know (Clicking and holding the center button). I would assume this would be somewhat annoying and not 100% accurate.
In my opinion, and this is probably a matter of personal taste then anything else. I think the design is ugly and clumsy. If you think of what the new shuffle will look like on a person listening to music it'll look clumsy. Headphones that go to a small faceless block that has no interface.
Finally, the usability of the device is pretty bad. My parents bought a shuffle for Christmas and they wouldn't touch it until I showed them how to use it. I can't imagine trying to show them how to use this version. Looking at the documentation online it looks like a nightmare. Double-click and hold to fast forward, Triple-click and hold to rewind? How is anyone going to remember that? More importantly how are you going to know if you clicked it two times or three as it's be hard to figure out when the sound is skipping by. Here's an interesting comment from Ernie Bello :

I’ll agree that moving all of the playback functions on the face of the previous shuffle to one button on the headset of the new one is not as discoverable. However, I’d argue that once the new functions are learned, they are more usable.

Unfortunately anything you learn is going to be more usable. That does not make the usability of the device good.

So how could have Apple made this work? I'd like to see one set of headphones with the iPod integrated into the frame of the headphones. Sort of like the Monster iFreePlay Headphones for the Second Generation iPod:

Now if Apple could take this and integrate the electronics of the shuffle into the back of the headphones in one fluid piece not an add on like shown above and provide the controls on the ear pieces you'd have a cool iPod shuffle.

If you think pushing your finger up to your ear is dumb, think about how many times you push the ear buds back into your ear. If you don't like the design well then think of it as functional. I've heard many examples how the iPod shuffle is for when people exercise. If you've ever tried to run with a pair of ear buds in your ears you'll understand it when I say that you'll tire out faster maintaining the buds in your ears before you tire out while running.

I think Apple went too far to the right in simplicity on this design. In the end though I am not the target buyer for this device. I have a Touch and a second generation shuffle and there is no need for something this simplistic.

It makes you wonder though, will the next generation iMacs come with a buttonless remote? You control it by flicking it due to it's accelerometer? Double-flick to fast-forward triple-flick to rewind?

The Future of Programming Languages is Now

Ralph Whitbeck — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:06:33 GMT

As I was commuting home from work tonight I was listening to StackOverflow #44 where Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky were discussing how the future of programming languages will gradually get smaller and more precise in their function. Jeff explains:

"I see the future of languages as a lot of small languages that are good in specific things. And you'd switch between them in a fluid way, to when you are like "Oh, this is a set-based problem" or "Oh, this is a database problem" or "Oh, this is a text manipulation problem" and you sort of drop in a language that is good in that thing."

That statement resonated with me for a little while and I got to thinking the future of languages that Jeff perceives is already here. Let me share what I mean from my experiences in programming during my career.

Let's first take a step back and look at programming languages back when I first started in 1996. For me there was HTML and that was it. For me PHP really hadn't taken off, classic ASP was just coming out and so everything was HTML even the formatting was done within the HTML *shudder*.

Move a head some to 1999 and I got into Classic ASP. Still a language that was self contained. You could hook it up to a database either Access or SQL Server being the popular choices but SQL statements were done inline in the spaghetti code mess. In one ASP file you had the dynamic code the presentation and the data integration.

Let's move now to 2003, ASP.NET 1.0 is prevalant. SQL Server 2000 is out and you could now separate your data integration into stored procedures with T-SQL on your SQL Server. You would use ASP.NET to separate your busniess logic and your presentation. CSS was making headway as the way to separate your presentation code from your markup code.

In 2006 I feel is the start of segmenting ASP.NET out further. Why? jQuery was released to the world. And as the world grew more and more used to working with jQuery we were able to hand off some of the tasks that ASP.NET would of handled dynamically, like form validation, DOM manipulation and page interactions. So we now have CSS to handle presentation, jQuery to handle DOM manipulation, ASP.NET to handle business logic, HTML to handle page structure and finally T-SQL to handle data manipulation and retrival.

Seems to me that we've made it to the future. I would hate becoming a web developer today. You need to learn at least 5 languages to be able to create a respectable web page. It's also my experience that colleges aren't teaching students all these languages. They either learn them on their own or they learn on the job.

Look at what Microsoft is doing to ASP.NET. .NET 2.0 is the core which then 3.0 and 3.5 are loaded on top. These versions of .NET include smaller subsets of the language that you may or may not use WFS, Silverlight, WCF, MVC, Dynamic Data, etc. The burden on the programmer to keep up is ridiculous.

The question I have, does the future continue to segment languages even further as Jeff predicts or will there be a time where we start merging languages together and come back to one super language? When does the segmentation of languages start to hinder us instead of help us?