Web
Ashacache.com
Ashacache was a final project for a two year Web Technology degree I received from Ab-Tech. We were told to make a project that encompassed all our learning.
Since I was already in the field working, I didn’t want to create something boring that I usually did every day. I chose to work with the Ruby on Rails framework in order to expose my self to a new language. Ashacache is driven by Ruby on Rails and is currently running on a SliceHost server.
The site is a social network site that allows Geocache fans to create and search for hidden Geocache containers hidden all around Asheville. Members can create and edit hunts. They can upload pictures. They can comment on other hunts.
Interesting things I learned on this job.
- How to work with a MVC framework
- How to work with a SliceHost web server. I got good crash courses on plugins like Passenger, Rsync and various ROR plugins like Attachment_Fu.
- How to integrate the Google Maps API into each record so that Geo-coordinates could be fed into the page and a Google Map would display them.
- How to do complex conversions with Ruby on 2 different types of coordinate formats.
EventProStrategies.com
This site was conceptualized and designed by MGM Communications. I built the underlying code and functionality.
From a marketing standpoint, the client was happy because there are many photos of models and events throughout the site. From a coding perspective, this site was very hard to put together because of the constant threat of heavy graphics slowing download times.
Interesting things I learned on this job.
- I learned how to integrate Flash into HTML so that the pages could be indexed, yet still encompass the fancy graphics that the client wanted.
- I learned a way to integrate PHP together with Flash Actionscript so that the model photos could be loaded externally from Flash. There are several advantages to this:
- Instead of loading one heavy Flash file, only a lightweight Flash container is loaded. Thereafter, each image is loaded only as it’s needed.
- An administrator can change pictures on the fly by dragging and dropping to and from directories. No editing is needed for the Flash container to change pictures.
- Each time the page loads, a reading of the directory is made by PHP and then passed off to Flash so it knows what to load.
- I also learned how to use PHP query strings in conjunction with Flash so that one menu could be used site-wide. Each HTML page link would tell the menu which sub-menu to display and which button to leave depressed.
CabinCompanyNC.com
This site was conceptualized and designed by MGM Communications. I built the underlying code and functionality.
The client’s desire for this site was to be very “organic” with plenty of texture and homey feel to it. I found this challenging because I had to find ways to decrease image size while at the same time, making images intentionally crooked.
Interesting things I learned on this job.
- I had to figure out a way to build a “coupon request” form that would allow customers to download a coupon and be added to a newsletter list.
SeawardOfGrandBahama.com
This site was conceptualized and designed by MGM Communications. I built the underlying code and functionality.
This site was another “brochure-like” site that was challenging to assemble while keeping load times light. The client wanted a very “elegant” looking site that spoke of the sea-side living experience.
Interesting things I learned on this job.
- I learned how to do a lot of “Lightbox” integration that allows images to pop up larger without going to a new web page.
- I learned how to make the contact page display different contact information depending on what web page referred the site (several brokers were involved).
- I learned how to use tight “pixel math” to slice the background images and make them integrate with the “cinema style image” that changes on each page.
TierraDelSolJupiter
This site was conceptualized and designed by MGM Communications. I built the underlying code and functionality.
This site has changed hands since our design, so some thing do not appear to be right.
Tierra Del Sol was one of several real estates sites we did during the boom. This site was much like Seaward where an “elegant” look was desired, so my job as a coder was very tough. I had to do a lot of graphic cutting and “pixel math” to get things lined up.
Interesting things I learned on this job.
- I used a PHP “Collection” with this site to create object based records that could be re-purposed into a “printed page”. That gives you the advantage of not having to change data in more than one place at once.
- I learned to use quite a bit of Javascript to cram all the information about each floor plan into the tiny box that the client desired. This way, they could stay on the same page and not have to scroll as they toured the floor model. ( I don’t particularly agree with this type of design, but it’s what they wanted.)
AzContainers
This site was conceptualized and designed by MGM Communications. I built the underlying code and functionality.
This was another site that was designed not to scroll. The information is fairly light and does not change often. Thus, the design is not much of a hindrance.
Interesting things I learned on this job.
- I learned a neat trick on how to enter a fake field in the quote-request form that would trick spammers. Javascript would turn it off so the end user never saw it. I used PHP to examine the filed. If it was filled in, the message was marked as spam.
TheVillageOnLakerachard.com
This site was conceptualized and designed by MGM Communications. I built the underlying code and functionality.
The TVLR site was a good exericise in HTML, Flash, design and organizion. It was another site that featured a community with several floorplans to choose from.
Interesting things I learned on this job.
- The client requested that the floorplans be interactive. I was able to find a good use for Flash when solving this request. I made flash movies for the “Cottages” section that allowed a user to turn off and on various floor plan options. Using flash also allowed the floor plan to easily be enlarged and moved around in the window.