₦airaland Forum

@javalove
VERY well said. Like so many nigerians in so many fields, SayoMarvel is interested in getting recognition and respect. It may fuel individual growth, but not facilitate our overall evolution. If you have a cooperative/collaborative mindset, we all benefit, and you get the recognition and respect in a much more lasting way. Anyhow sha.

So, idea for a simple app:

Simple Contact Manager

Features
1) Basic CRUD (Create / Read / Update / Delete)
2) Contact info:
- FirstName
- LastName
- Address
- Home Phone
- Office Phone
- Email address
3) Contact search (implement however you want : either search by firstname , lastname, all fields, keyword search, etc)
4) Sortable List view of contacts (imagine a table that lists a contact on each row, that you can sort by column)
5) Detailed view of individual contact (clicking on one of the contacts in the list should open a detailed view)

And that's it. A VERY VERY simple app that we can build over time.
We can make this a monthly thing and add new features as we go.
Maybe v2.0 we take our individual apps and add contact import, IM integration, etc etc,

Questions:
1 - What platform are you building for (mac/win/mobile (which mobile os?))
2 - What language are you using?

(my answers
1) mac and windows, deployed on AIR.
2) Using Actionscript, C++, and Flex

"We decide on what to build, and how long to take to build it."
Key word being 'we'. I suggested a contact manager. No one else has made a suggestion.
Why don't you? Oh thats right, you don't see the reason in competing across platforms, and mentioned you won't even participate.

Funny chap

I think its a great idea, Helping people to get rid of bad coding habits will get us all at best practices sooner than later. The only thing I see in the way of achieving that goal is that a lot of people don't write their own code: they use WYSIWYG editors or, at best, copy and paste code from other sites.

@my2: long story my brother, will tell u offline. Sched'd for april/may.

Here's a challenge, how about we have competition?
We decide on what to build, and how long to take to build it.
and we all review eachother's finished product.

Can be something very simple like a contact manager.

You may not want to hear it, but yes, SEARCH THE NET.
They are all over the place. You probably arent searching for the right thing. Click here:
http://www.google.com/search?q=j2me+pdf

Here's the first link off of googleww
http://www.digilife.be/quickreferences/PT/J2ME%20Step%20by%20step.pdf

You guys are FUNNY!
Thanks for the laughs, I needed that this morning.

Sorry oh my brother,

http://www.adobe.com/products/flex/
http://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/en/flex/

@kazey

Thats not exactly the case,

I hear you, but dont spend your money on server side flex compilation my brother. Those are old docs for Flex v1.0.
When we launched Flex 1.0, we offered server side compilation as an alternative to dev time compilation, but that's been a thing of the past for close to 2 years. Flex is at 3.0 now.

Since Flex 2.0, we've eliminated the server side compilation, and enabled developers to create a deployable SWF file from their MXML/AS3 code, similar to the way one would deploy a JPeg or HTML file, as plain content. This removes the burden of server side compilation and runtime dependencies.

The same way johnny animator deploys his funky flash animation is the same way Ebenezeer developer deploys his flex UI (of course with the supporting middleware and back end in place).

I am trying hard to create better awareness at home of the technology, Seun has seen my failed attempts at spreadin the word, so I am keeping it to one topic like he said, ad also starting a blog. check it out next week, it will have content. http://blogs.adobe.com/ekz

This is a wonderful breakdown of the features of AIR, both for the consumer and developer, and for Both Flash/Flex developers, and AJaX developers.
Click on any of the features to display a brief video explaining that feature.

Ajax Developers:
http://www.adobe.com/products/air/develop/ajax/features/

Flash Developers
http://www.adobe.com/products/air/develop/flash/features/

Flex Developers
http://www.adobe.com/products/air/develop/flex/features/

Enjoy.

Neptune: It's for students and faculty. Are you one or the other? I'm sure you can get an ID, or a letter from your educational institution. If not, drop me an email (you still have my address, bah?)

Kazey: Good to hear, but you know it doesnt require any server counterpart? Hosting a flex app is the same as hosting an html page. Or am I misunderstanding?

Yes, Flex Builder (for building Flex Applications)
Yes, FREE.

All you need is proof of eligibility, any one of the following will do:
1. a student ID showing current enrollment,
2. a Faculty ID showing current employment
3. a Letter on an educational institution letterhead stating that you are either a current student or a current faculty member of the institution.

More information here:
http://www.flexregistration.com/

Some of you know how great this is, and one day, the rest of you will.

Hope all is well.

#2 is less favorable design.

- On the web, there are high application abandonment rates.
-Because of this you should assume that 60% of the site's users will complete #1, and drop off before completion.
-This will undoubtedly lead to extra rows in what could be an otherwise clean database
-This in turn would slow down DB operations which, even if by milliseconds, is not desirable

In general, you want to limit DB traffic, and make calls only when necessary. Having the over head of an extra call is not desirable from a user experience point of view (longer page load, even if slight), and performance (high DB concurrency -with lots of users- will lead to a drop in overall performance)

Even if you foresee the site having only 20 visitors a year, good architecture has scalability in mind.


Question: Why are you concerned with the image upload? Sending the image alone versus sending the image+form text over the wire will have negligible difference ( plain text is a light load ).

Here's a fun analogy, If you're carrying a heavy box from the house to the car, it makes little difference if you put some books on top.

New Google Analytics Reporting Suite is built in AIR.
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?event=extensionDetail&loc=en_us&extid=1282521

We just released AIR 1.0, and I'm telling you it's a very exciting time for web developers, because they can now use their skills to build Desktop apps. Some of you know I've been talking about Flex, and AIR (formerly apollo) on Nairaland for a while, but my old posts were deleted so ask any questions here in response to this thread.

http://www.adobe.com/products/air/
The Adobe® AIR™ runtime lets developers use proven web technologies to build rich Internet applications that deploy to the desktop and run across operating systems.

http://www.adobe.com/products/flex/
Flex is a highly productive, free open source framework for building and maintaining expressive web applications that deploy consistently on all major browsers, desktops, and operating systems.

See a Flex app being built:
http://www.adobe.com/products/flex/media/flexapp/

Sample Flex apps:
http://flex.org/showcase/

mambenanje, thanks for the interest.

My point was that insideRIA.com covers a range of FRONT END ria technologies. What makes an RIA differet is the user experience, which is dictated by the technology implemented on the front end.

I've contributed to Kirupa and as.org for years, and they cater mostly to the flash and flex community (after all, its called actionscript.org). I am a big supporter of macromedia (now adobe) technology, and I love those sites, but Inside RIA .com covers more. It aims to cover all front end RIA technology, not just flash/flex, but also Silverlight, Laszlo, JavaFX, etc (notice i am listing frontend/UI technology, not asp, php, and other middle tier technology).

I didnt say insideria.com is not for developers, i said it does not require in depth technical knowledge. This means that any developer that doesnt know technical details about these front end languages can still pick it up.

Does anyone know of any companies using Flex in Nigeria? If so, which?
I am putting together a list to put on the Adobe User Group Nigeria page (http://www.augng.com)

Hi mambenanje, thanks for the follow up.

Kirupa and the rest are definitely great sites for people interested in building Flash/Flex RIAs, but InsideRIA covers a wider scope of technologies.

That aside, most of their articles require no in-depth technical knowledge, they are mostly for high level education.

Bookmark www.InsideRIA.com

What's "RIA" ?
I've mentioned it on Nairaland before, but RIA stands for 'Rich Internet Application'. These types of applications are typically identified by the user experience they offer. Most of the time, they are web applications that have the features/functionality of traditional desktop applications, and/or are noted to break paradigms and achieve new heights in the level of engagement for the user. They are not restricted to one technology or platform, and can be built with DHTML/AJax, Silverlight, Flash, Ruby, Google Gears, HTML, Flex, Java, OpenLaszlo, and can be deployed on Desktops, Mobile Devices, and via the Web. (I foresee a strong breakthrough on mobile devices in Nigeria in a matter of years)

Some examples of RIAs are:
- Google Maps
- Youtube
- GMail
- PickNik ( http://www.picnik.com/app )
- BuzzWord ( www.buzzword.com )
- The New Yahoo Mail
- FaceBook
- Many more here: http://flex.org/showcase/ (flex specifically)


What is InsideRIA.com ?
InsideRIA.com is an online community developed by O’Reilly and sponsored by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Our goal is to create an invaluable resource for information on the ever-changing state of design and development of rich Internet applications (RIAs).

InsideRIA brings some of the leading members of the RIA community together, where you can engage with them in an ongoing narrative about where RIA technology is headed. We hope InsideRIA will become your first-stop resource to stay on top of news, events, opinions, and learning. The site and the community will evolve over time, and you’ll see a healthy amount of tweaking (based on your feedback) in the coming months.

We’ve started with general topic areas on Design, Development, and Standards, which will feature blog posts and multimedia content. InsideRIA will also feature articles each month on a variety of RIA-centric topics. Community involvement is extremely important to the success of InsideRIA, and you and other members of the community can participate by sharing your ideas through feedback on articles, videos, tutorials and other features. We’re hoping some of you will even join us as guest bloggers.


Our first group of featured articles include:

ActionScript 3.0: Is It Hard or Not?
by Colin Moock

Anatomy of an Enterprise Flex RIA Part 1: The Tools You’ll Want
by Tony Hillerson

What is RIA?
by a combination of InsideRIA experts and RIA community members.


If you're serious about web development, and being part of the next generation of web applications, you will bookmark www.InsideRIA.com .

What is the future of software? Not Nigerian software, not American software, but SOFTWARE, period.
It's a broad question, because my intention is to get a broad range of answers, based on perspective.

[list]
[li]Do you see all software becoming subscription/licensed based?
[/li]
[li]Do you see a mass shift to SaaS deployment? (software as a service)
[/li]
[li]Is the quality of software going to depreciate because everyone and their uncle's donkey will be building apps?[/li]
[li]Are the next generation of applications going to be flashy and interactive, like Buzzword?
[/li]
[li]Is mobile soon to be the only platform for deploying software? (soon being 10-20 yrs from now)[/li]
[li]How will the future apps be influenced by hardware advances? Think about multi-touch pads like that on IPhone , macBook AIR, and Microsoft Surface. [/li]
[/list]

I have my sights set on interactive software with engaging user experiences (among other things), but I wonder what you guys see when you look to the future, all feedback welcome, from programmers and non programmers

My Broda, I dey like daylight, Man still dey push Naija moves, but so much is going on at work sha.
Havent had a breathing moment in about 4 months. We'll see what comes soon though,

Adobe AIR and Flex 3 are launching VERY soon, and there's sooooo much buzz. When I have time I'll post links for a lot of articles.
I dey tell you oh, big things are coming in the area of application development. It's gonna be all Rich Applications from here on out, whether its Browser, Phone, Desktop , etc,

;-)

New version of the popular CMS has reached stability
http://www.joomla.org

Update: Found even more additional design patterns and interface guidelines here:
http://www.cpluv.com/www/feeditem/5046

Enjoy

Ui Patterns help in answering questions like:
- When do you use a side menu instead of a top menu?
- When do you use a fly out menu instead of an icon menu?
- Do I really need a news ticker?
- I like accordion navigation, but are they necessary for my site

A UI pattern, just like a coding pattern, is a description of an optimal solution to a common problem within a specific context.

A pattern has four components
a title
a problem
a context
a solution


Example?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We use the concept of patterns everyday in the real world. EG. Here's a pattern concerning eating:

Title :
Refridgerator Cooling

Problem :
Food is too hot to eat

Context (or when to use this) :
When the eater is impatient, but has access to a refridgerator, and nepa is behaving.

Solution :
Place your food in a plate, and put it in the refridgerator, towards the top shelf so as to have minimal impact on other food in the fridge, and so it will not cool at a fast rate.

And there you have it, I've just written a pattern called 'Cooling' Silly example, but a simple concept, right?


So?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you've continued reading up to this point, here's why it was worth it: there are dozens of proven UI patterns for interaction design.
Martijn van Welie, (Ph.D. Human Interaction design), is a long time contributor to the topic of UI patterns, and is respected by designers worldwide, including many experience designers at Adobe. The best part, his findings are publicly available on his website.

Have look, and enjoy:
http://www.welie.com/patterns/index.php

Also, see Yahoo's design pattern library:
http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/index.php

Hopefully some of you will understand and apply what you learn, and watch, over time, how much more effective your websites become.

Thermo is the code name for an Adobe product in development that makes it easy for designers to create rich engaging Internet applications. The workflow is smiple: you create a design comp with Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, etc, and then import the saved file into thermo. You can then transform that stagnant artwork into a working interactive web site or desktop application, without having to write a line of code.

In the link below, Adobe Product Manager Steven Heintz and Senior Principal Scientist Mark Anders provide a video sneak peek.

http://www.adobe.com/newsletters/edge/december2007/video/index.html

Personally, I would design the ui in Flash.
what technology is it built with?
If it's one of the ms flavors, you can build the ui in flash, and
have your customized flash / flex components talk to the
underlying functionality

Haha, no be so o.
No story sha, some things just evolve on their own, heh heh.

Which is the current and which is the old design? :

http://www.srevir.com/male.php
http://www.srevir.com/men.php

they're quite different