Book Review - HTML5: Up and Running

If you don't know about the new features available in HTML5, now's the time to find out.

Good introduction to core features of HTML5

Book starts with the history of HTML and then describes the details of the HTML5 specification for some of the more prominent features, and how you can use the new features to improve your website/webapps; New elements are introduced one by one - tags, canvas, video, geo-location, storage, offline web apps, new form features and microdata. Author Mark Pilgrim also introduces a nifty JavaScript library, Modernizr, used to check the HTML5 capabilities of the requesting browser (None of the mainstream browsers supports all features of HTML5, though all support some/many aspects of it). Most of the stuff in the book can be read independently, so, you can skip topics and then can always come back. A web version of this book is available at DiveIntoHTML5.org website maintained by the author and you can browse and explore it at the same time. The linked website is full of interesting illustrations. Both book and website compliments each other. Whether you buy the book or read it online, it’s the best introduction to the topic you’ll find.

The book is a good start for someone getting into HTML as well for someone who wants to increase his knowledge base.  If you are looking for a book to learn about core features of HTML5, this book might be of your interest.

Disclosure: I’m writing this post as part of O’Reilly’s blogger review program. While I’m not getting paid to review books, I sure am getting to read them for free.

HTML5: Up and Running by Mark Pilgrim

Book Review - Building Android Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

The idea behind the concept of Web Apps is quite simple and interesting - to allow to create apps without bothering to learn the mobile platform specific SDKs (iOS or Android usually).

 A mobile platform provides two ways to access applications - native apps and web apps. A native app can get at the special hardware in Android/iOS, uses the SDK and it can be sold in the app store. A web app, on the other hand, can't use the hardware, can't be sold in the app store but it is much easier to create.

The main focus of this book is to customize your website/apps to look good on an Android powered device. So, basically, you create the customized versions of the applications/websites for mobile from your knowledge  of basic page creation technologies i.e. HTML, CSS and Javascript. 

This book also shows the use of these along with jQuery and WebKit browser. There is an intrdouction to HTML5 (Local Storage and WebSQL database). 2 chapters are devoted to understanding and working with PhoneGap frmaework. You would enjoy working with PhoneGAp for using the accelerometer, making the phone buzz and using geolocation options.

If you know HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you already have the tools you need to develop Web Apps. There is a basic introduction to HTML, CSS and Javascript in book. However, this book would benefit those with a good working knowledge of these web technologies. If you are not comfortable at these, you may find yourself a handicap for creating web apps.

Building Android Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript By Jonathan Stark

Disclosure: I’m writing this post as part of O’Reilly’s blogger review program. While I’m not getting paid to review books, I sure am getting to read them for free.

Improving the usability of CodeIgniter applications using jQuery and other articles

• Discover how easy it is to improve the usability of your CodeIgniter applications using jQuery. By leveraging the power of CodeIgniter's MVC-based framework and jQuery's support for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax) interaction, learn how to quickly and efficiently create more effective UIs. 
• This article explains how to create and implement a custom filter that can guard against the various types of cross-site scripting attacks.
• The 3 laws of error handling (and everything in life)
• Has JDBC Kept up with Enterprise Requirements?
• With Selenium, Java developers can develop integration tests, export those tests as JUnit tests, and automate test execution.

Some good reading stuff and tools for the week

• Eloquent JavaScript - Aimed at the beginner JavaScript programmer, it is a digital book providing a comprehensive introduction to the JavaScript programming language. Apart from a bookful of text, it contains plenty of example programs, and an environment to try them out and play with them.
• The Beginner's 10-Minute Guide to Setting Up Ubuntu
• How to Make Ajax Applications Google-Crawlable
• Do Developers Make Good Testers?
• Microsoft FixIt Center beta fixes Windows 7 and Vista errors automatically
• The Great Car Debate: New, Used or Leased?
• A foreigner’s guide to traditional Indian dining etiquette

Good Reading Stuff

• Beautiful interactive overview of HTML5. Love HTML5 Games? Get Here.
• Checked exceptions are a good thing, learn to use them properly
• Get the original URL of tiny ones
• The self-repairing hard drive
• Test How Your Site Looks on the iPad. Sure, you can switch the user agent, but here is a simpler and more realistic way of doing it.
• Google's Innovation Factory (and how testing adapts)
• Selenium VS WatiJ

Any views on Smart City project by Amrapali?

I am exploring the possibility of purchasing an apartment in or around Delhi. One of my friend has pointed me to Amrapali Group's Smart City project. This project is located in Noida.
While doing my research on Amrapali Group, I could not find anything good or bad about the Group or the projects they have undertaken in the past.
If you have any information to share, plz do so in the comments.

P.S. - The apartment I am considering is 3 BR and is not for investment purpose.

The Best Jobs in America

Best Jobs in America

Anatomy of an open source cloud

M. Tim Jones at developerWorks has written an articles on the building blocks for infrastructure as a service.

The use of the cloud as an abstraction is quite common for the distributed system that is the Internet, but the past few years have seen this abstraction expanded to incorporate highly virtualized and scalable infrastructures that are easily provisioned as a service (either locally or remotely). This article forgoes an in-depth definition of cloud architecture and its benefits.

The article begins with an exploration of the cloud architectures and then moves beyond the building blocks to the more highly integrated solutions.

Link: Anatomy of an open source cloud

Windows Easter Egg: Administration and Configuration Utilities

There is a new Easter Egg found in Windows.

• Create a folder anywhere on the disk.
• Name it GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

The folder changes its name and icon to this:

Double clicking this new icon will result in giving shortcut access to the configuration and administration utilities in Windows.

Easter Eggs-Software Surprises[Amazon]

Java EE 6 one-week Online Codecamp

Javapassion.com is conducting a week long codecamp for Java EE6, starting Jan 12. The course is conducted online, and details are available here. Among other things, it covers Java EE6, GlassFish v3, JSF 2.0, EJB 3.1 and Servlet 3.0. The course sessions are scheduled between Jan 12 and Jan 20. If you finish and submit all the homeworks, you receive a certificate.

via

Rich Internet applications using ZK

ZK, an open source Asynchronous JavaScript + XML (Ajax) framework written in Java™ code, lets you write a Web 2.0-enabled, rich Internet application without writing a single line of JavaScript code. Typical Ajax frameworks like Dojo have JavaScript libraries that expose certain API's for making "Ajaxified" calls. ZK, on the other hand, uses a meta-definition based on XML to define the user interface. Translation to HTML code then occurs when this page is requested by the client. This article introduces you to ZK and gives you a real-world example of its use running on Apache Tomcat and connecting to a MySQL database.

developerWorks