Casa de Lewis

Dynamic Image Placement in Symphony

2008-07-02

Until recently I wasn’t using images in my journal entries or project entries. I haven’t really had a need until now and I also didn’t care for the workflow needed to insert images. Although still in beta, Symphony 2 has yet to provide an obvious way to manage images with posts efficiently. The solution is dynamic image placement using a section link and XSLT.

Symphony 2 allows you to link one section to another. Although it is possible to have a number of predefined image upload fields in an entry, it is not possible to associate metadata with those images. The ability to create a section link overcomes this limitation by creating an Images section that allows one to upload images and associate the necessary metadata. This also gets rid of limitation on the number of images that can be uploaded. For these reasons, a devoted section for images is preferred.

Social Networks You Love to Hate

2008-06-18

Every week I come across an article written by someone conveying their hatred for Facebook or MySpace or other social network. I don’t necessarily share the hatred for the social networks but I do see some problems.

The application is annoying and difficult to use.
The application abuses their trust and privacy.
The application becomes overwhelming in its ability to connect you to other people.

I experience these three key points most often. Applications that incorporate communities and social networks beyond their primary purpose may find that it backfires.

Change Default XSLT Namespace

2008-04-02

Much of the example XSLT on the web use an xsl prefix to indicate the XSLT namespace. The widely adopted prefix has much to do with the specification, but it’s not part of the specification.

This specification uses a prefix of xsl: for referring to elements in the XSLT namespace. However, XSLT stylesheets are free to use any prefix, provided that there is a namespace declaration that binds the prefix to the URI of the XSLT namespace.

The xsl prefix used across the web is helpful for web developers learning XSLT, however, it’s not necessary in practice. During a conversation with Allen Chang about Symphony and XSLT I mentioned my dissatisfaction in having to type out the three letter prefix, and he said, “why not change it?”

State of Casa de Lewis

2008-03-29

It has been awhile since my last journal entry so I feel a “State of Casa de Lewis” address is necessary. The house has been busy with work on four projects simultaneously. I will be talking about one of those projects next week when the site officially launches.

Symphony 2 has been in beta for the last couple of months and much has been happening. Work continues on the Symphony User Guide, but don’t expect anything soon; the beta period has been extremely productive squashing bugs and improving Symphony. My main goal of late has been the chapter on introducing XSLT as the templating engine for Symphony.

The journal will be quite active in the coming months. Stick around, pull up a chair, and don’t forget to remove your shoes at the door.

iTunes Gift Certificate Dilemma

2007-12-24

It’s December 24 and I’m still shopping for Christmas gifts. I saved one particular gift purchase until last minute because I knew I could easily get it online last-minute. So I thought.

I’m currently faced with two options and neither one is appealing. My first option is to purchase an iTunes gift certificate at one of my local stores that sells gift certificates by the rack. Alternatively, I could stay home and purchase my iTunes gift certificate online.

You’re probably thinking that purchasing the iTunes gift certificate online is the way to go. I thought this as well until I visited the online Apple store. Would you believe that for an online store that sells digital products, I am only given the option to purchase a gift certificate that is delivered to my snail’s mailbox.

Why must my gift certificate be tangible when its very nature is digital? I’m not an eco-geek but this just rubs me the wrong way. It seems like a waste.

Imagine going to a brick-and-mortar store, take goods to the checkout counter, and are told that they will be shipped to you within two business days. I don’t find this scenario very different from purchasing an iTunes gift certificate online.

I understand that they sever a purpose for those that wish to have something tangible to represent their gift, but it shouldn’t be the only option. I should be able to get the number that represents my gift certificate purchase and have it e-mailed to the recipient. It just makes sense.

CSS Formatting

2007-12-14

It’s common practice among good web designers to indent HTML. It’s easier to work on their code and it makes collaboration more efficient. As such, it’s amazing that CSS does not have a universal format. I’m currently aware of three popular formats when working with CSS. There appears to be more but many of them are a combination or a variant of these more widely used formats.

Single Line

body {font:76%/1.7 Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background:#fff;}
p {font-size:1.5em;}

The single line rule set was a result of trying to optimize the CSS file to load faster. It might be an easy format to follow initially, but I find it hard to edit and troubleshoot the CSS. Some argue that it decreases vertical scrolling, but often at the expense of horizontal scrolling.

Before Its Time

2007-12-05

A recent interview with one of my favorite online presences, Gary Vaynerchuk, reminded me how some industries capitalize on the Internet more than others. I believe this is a direct result of an industry’s people. Technical industries, by far, have flourished on the web from the beginning. Their users embrace the Internet and do not perceive barriers to its use.

There are many groups yet to take advantage of the Internet because their users are not generally tech savvy. I imagine it’s only a matter of time before these groups propagate their services online. But how will their first attempts turn out? Will the websites fail because they are before their time? The Apple Newton was one of the first PDAs on the market. Its failure in the market paved the way for the PDAs that we all use today

Online services share similar characteristics with products like the Newton. Like the Newton, services online will fail if they do not convince the necessity of their use to the consumer. Unlike traditional products and services, online services require their users to overcome technical barriers. This will be a challenge for online services that market themselves to non-technical users.

I’m currently working on a personal project that must overcome the technical barrier. I expect to spend a significant amount of my time educating and creating awareness among my potential user base. In this instance, it’s not just about selling a service, you also have to sell the Internet.

Technical Writing

2007-11-25

I recently started a discussion on Overture, a website for the Symphony community, asking for ideas and suggestions. There were many great ideas and one that was expected: improved documentation. I was asked early on to become part of the Overture Team, individuals to moderate and further community desires.

I’m not a technical writer by trade, and I’m a self proclaimed web designer, but this is a realm that I felt like dabbling in and learning about. I decided I would create the user guide for Symphony.

I feel that I am a good candidate for this project because my background is diverse. All too often, documentation is written by those that don’t understand the end-user. Although it may be clear to them, their technical writing lacks the ability to be understood by more than one audience. It fails to deliver to those that are unfamiliar with the technology.

A Different Take on Navigation

2007-11-06

In developing Casa de Lewis’ bare bone XHTML I decided to go against the common practice of using an unordered list for the site’s main navigation. Instead, I opted to utilize a short paragraph at the top of every page to inform the visitor of the site’s contents.

In the example below, which is currently used on this site, I entice the visitor to read my journal and check out the projects I’m working on.

Welcome to Casa de Lewis. Read the house journal covering all things related to projects by Mark Lewis.

As simple as these two sentences are, they are extremely powerful. They welcome the user and encourage participation. It tells the user to take an action, unlike the passive tone of most unordered list navigation. Also, the paragraph is twofold in that it defines the purpose of the site.

Personality and Design

2007-11-03

In high school foreign-language classes were part of the curriculum. I was nervous about the prospect of learning a foreign language. There was a consensus that learning Spanish was easier than other languages offered, and so began my love for culture.

Back then my appreciation for other cultures wasn’t evident to those around me, including my Spanish teacher. In fact, I enjoyed fueling the fire for discussions about English as the dominant world language. There’s nothing more arrogant, yet humorous, than questioning a teachers purpose. Of course, after having traveled around the world, I take it all back and now understand why my Spanish teacher took such joy in teaching us about his beloved culture.