Saturday, May 31, 2008

Prototype & AJAX

Well last night I had to create an application for a client and I learned about Prototype... it's a framework for AJAX. Its really cool and useful because it eliminates 99% of the redundant code you have to use for AJAX. If you ever have time check it out here. Its really a nice tool when dealing with AJAX.

Zend PHP Certification

Well I just got my paycheck from Google and so I decided to buy Zend's guide on becoming certified. Hopefully it will help me get more high paying PHP jobs and maybe get me a position with a cool web start up company if they know I have a Zend Certification. I guess it teaches about their framework and different methods while using PHP. So it should be a good book. All in all it will benefit me, by getting it I would move from an intermediate PHP programmer to an expert programmer.

Other than that I have been learning AJAX tonight and the Prototype.js framework is really cool. It basically gets rid of having to deal with all the AJAX mandatory stuff and allows you to code what you really need to.

Also if you ever go to John Chows blog at http://www.johnchow.com it provides a lot of information on making money online and now John is showing that the Chinese aren't really any different than us in there daily lives by recording parts of his trip while he is there. Its a really good and interesting blog.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Getting Certified

Well today I went to Borders (bookstore) and I got an A+ certification quiz guide book. Why do I want to get A+ certified? Simple; so I can have more on my resume and so I can aim towards getting Network+ certified. Once I finish my degree in Network Engineering I will eliminate any other possible candidates from getting the job position I want if I have these 2 certifications under my belt and maybe some others. So if there is someone who walks into the same job interview I am in and tries to be egotistical, we'll see who gets the job if I have the certifications and he/she doesn't. Having more than the minimum requirement is always a good thing. Always teach yourself more than you need to know because in the end it can be used like a sword.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Teach Yourself

A lot of people think in order to learn you have to be taught by someone else. That simply isn't the truth. If you have ever been to high school or college I am sure you can relate that it's the people that want to learn that actually do learn. It's the self motivation they have that allows them to learn so much. Have you ever wanted to learn a new programming language or a graphics program? If you have the best way is to buy a book on the subject and read a chapter per night until the book is done, then take the book and go to your computer and try some of the examples and you should have the basic understanding of the language or program. Online tutorials are also a good source however they can cause errors because they may not be formatted well or the information that the person is trying to convey is wrong or outdated. Books also provide a good structure in learning a new programming language so the code is organized well. Just remember it is not impossible to learn a new trait or skill, it is just how motivated you are to learn it.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Take Advantage of GUI

If you are a programmer you know adding simple HTML controls and PHP controls or whatever-language-you-use controls are a pain and time consuming. About 2 months ago after I started using a GUI for college for developing Visual Basic .Net computer programs I found that it was a lot easier to just keep dragging the controls in instead of coding them. This saved me so much time that I decided to switch to a GUI for when I develop HTML templates for web pages. I do want one for PHP (Zend Studio) but right now its a little bit out-of-range for my budget (as a software developer I do not pirate because I know how it feels). GUI are like frameworks, they take common tasks and make them a lot more simple than they need be. So one of these days when you are programming or creating an HTML template for your site try a GUI.