Aptana: The Web IDE

One of the things I do in my free-time, the little that I have these days is try to stay sharp with my developer skills, which is not easy since it's not my daily job anymore.

There are 4 things I do to stay sharp:

1. Read blogs, magazines and books
   
2. Continue to use my developer skills to make my job easier at work (built a whole PHP app to track work related info)
   
3. Maintain and developer "Scripting in a Box" which is available on SDN for download.
4. Try out everything new that I can get my hands on!

Now "Scripting in a Box" is what you call one of those things that just sort of happened and each time you think about it you say "hey good job" and give yourself a pat on the back. In fact I'm even working on a XML based update system to make life a bit easier for those who have downloaded it and are using it. More on that over on my SAP Blog.

I'm also on the lookout for nice plugins to add in to make things easier, and today I came across one on Ajaxian, about this new web based IDE called Aptana.

"Aptana is a robust, JavaScript-focused IDE for building dynamic web applications. Highlights include the following features:

* Code Assist on JavaScript, HTML, and CSS languages, including your own JavaScript functions
* Outliner that gives a snapshot view of your JavaScript, HTML, and CSS code structure
* Error and warning notification for your code
* Support for Aptana UI customization and extensions
* Cross-platform support
* Free and open source. (Source available soon)"

Now of course I'll need to contact them and see what they think about me adding it in, hopefully that will be a positive conversation.

Total downloads for "Scripting in a Box" are a bit sketchy but it's close to 3000 I believe, gonna have to reasearch it a bit. The new XML update feature will start to give me a better idea of usage. I do know it's being used in more than 3 large projects inside of SAP, what they are exactly I'm still working on but I know it's being used as the main development environment.

Speaking of books (up there #1 in the list), I'm working on 4 right now only one is development related and that of course is dealing with SAP technologies and "scripting", once I get a bit further along I'll try to post some of them here.

Getting started with PHP and SAP

I'm not sure I ever really mention it or not but I started a new blog specifically about PHP and SAP development, my SDN blog is so full with community evangelist related content my tech stuff sometimes gets lost and since I'm trying hard to spread the word about the excellent possibilities one has for using scripting languages with SAP I decided to start another one - actually ITtoolbox invited me but I was thinking of applying anyway - they just beat me to it.

The blog is called "PHP: A New Twist to SAP Development" and goes along with my book. The first post was the basic "Getting started with", actually the very first one was about me, the next one was "getting started".

"So you might be an experienced ABAPer or even an experienced PHPer, but do you know how to get the basic development environment setup to actually connect your PHP application to your SAP backend system?

This is actually one of the most confusing parts, simply because of the various version levels and pieces of the puzzle. I decided to jot down some notes on this setup and what better way to preserve my notes than by sharing them with others? Therefore here's the next blog in my series on discovering the flexibility of PHP together with SAP.
Now with the onset of web services within a SAP 6.20+ system it would be best to choose PHP5 due to the fact that it's quite easy to simply start using web services, as opposed to PHP4 where you needed to add in some extensions and modules. So we are going to need the following items:"

I've not had as much time as I want on it but I am slowly trying to get things moving with it...

Zohocrerator - Roadmap

A friend of mine just told me I was worse than a kid in a candy shop, "you have to leave the guys alone, they're giving you what you want - give them time", but hey like that kid in that candy shop I want more.

Thanks to Charles over at Zoho I now have the roadmap, but it's more of a todo list. This of course is also good but I'd like to see some dates, some thoughts - basically I want to know (and to steal a line from the 80's)...

"Where's the Beef?"

So I'm going to be watching the RSS feed of the app now very closely to see what is happening.

ccmehil - MyBlogLog Communities

Despite them NOT HAVING A PRIVACY POLICY and the fact they want you to load their script in your blog I went ahead the other day and I tried the service out.

It's been a day or two now and I've seen no ill effects but at the same time I have to admit, even with my comment over on James' blog about there is no privacy anymore, I'm getting aweful nervous about that script of theirs loading - so much so I've removed it from my SDN blog, and my this blog, I never did add it to my PHP Blog.

So guys over at MyBlogLog, get the privacy policy up or explain REALLY REALLY convincingly what's going on and maybe I'll add the script back in but otherwise, it's out of the question.

[Sits back and says ohhh feeling rather like a Noob...]

Zoho is focused!

Finally, OK it only took a few days from the start to the finish, but hey they have it up and online and I'm one truely happy person!

"The question about “Focus” for Zoho has been raised recently ( Competitors differentiates with Zoho by pointing the Focus angle ). To show you how focused we are, I am just giving the statistics of updates ( new features, bug fixes etc., ) we have been doing in each service. I have only taken the 4 services ( whole office suite + Zoho Creator ) as sample here to show our focus & commitment."

I would say this is a case where blogging help drive progress! However this is only the first baby step to making sure everyone knows what is what!

We will create a roadmap application in ZohoCreator itselef and let you know soon.

Get us that roadmap and we'll be REALLY happy!

MyBlogLog - what?

I was reading James' blog last night after getting home from a nightmare of a journy on the German Bahn and couldn't sleep, anyway I saw this entry for MyBlogLog, I've seen it a few other places and based on what James wrote I of course had to take a look.

No privacy statement - scary but at the same time are any of use really private anymore on the web? Especially bloggers? Bloggers do the proverbal "hanging the dirty laundry, and clean laundry and the naughty stuff out on the line" everyday so I figured what the hell I'll try out the service.

I've got 5 blogs really and I'm signed up on things all over the place. So I really liked the idea I could see everything all at once, although I get that at Feedburner for my blogs already?

Anyway here's my page: http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/ccmehil/

I'll keep an eye on it and see if anything really "big" comes out of it, good or bad.

How do you do the daily work thing?

I was reading over on Lifehacker, again yes I tend to read there quite a bit but I still haven't been invited to comment just yet, anyway Geek to Live: Quick-log your work day by Gina Trapani,

Keeping track of how you spend your work day isn't easy, but it has many benefits. Last week's article, Map your time, covered how to create your ideal schedule, and then compare it to reality. But how do you keep track of everything you do in one day? You can use a desk diary or paper log, but if you don't want to stop and write every time you switch tasks, I've got a simple script that will log your day's activities in a keystroke.

This has been a topic for my team at work lately, in fact last night we discussed the very thing and how best to do this. Here is my take on keeping track of my daily work and upcoming work:

We are part of a pilot for a new Wiki at work so we're trying to focus our work around it as our main communication tool. I like the idea of using the wiki this way, it's flexible and easy to use and it doesn't fill up my inbox!

1. In my "home space" I create a daily log where I enter details of my day - snippets really plus a count of my email read, sent, how many IM chats I have with our users and how many telephone calls I have with our users
   
2. I like to my calendar which is imported (busy times) into Google Calendar
   
3. I use the "news" area to talk about major projects and work updates both in my "home" space as well as our "team" space
   
4. I send mails when needed or as FYI's but more and more I go to the Wiki.
   

In the past I tried programs, even using a another tip from Lifehacker on a plain text file. So far the use of this Wiki has been the best, perhaps it's because it's new I don't know I don't really think all the other ways were bad but this one seems the best because it's instantly available to my whole team, and of course anyone else bored enough to read it!

Another goal I set each day and so far I've been living up to it (4 months now) is that at the end of the day I have 0 mails in my inbox, hard to believe I know but it's true. When I get a mail I read it and then I immediately do something with it.

• Create a ToDo task based on the mail (mail goes to archive)
  
• Respond (mail goes to archive)
  
• Read it (mail goes to archive)
  
• Schedule a meeting (mail goes to archive)
  

My meetings tend to increase and my ToDo list but since my ToDo reminds me what to do on each day, and my meetings show up each day I'm then able to use an "Agenda" view of my day and I've noticed I'm a lot more efficient.

Hack Attack: Desktop-integrated internet office - Lifehacker

Now this is something that's been missing I think from my collection of web based tools, now I don't actually have anything on my desktop, in fact for the most part my desktop is actually my browser in full screen mode with my Google Desktop loaded and using my custom made Quick Launch bar.

For those of you coming into the middle of this I'm referring to my attempt at living the "Office 2.0" life.

Over on Lifehacker.com I came across the following post where they actually made it possible to integrate (somewhat) their real desktop with their web based applications. Personally though I ignore my "real" desktop and use only my web desktop but I can really see the merit in this. They've done it using AutoHotKey and they've got a complete write up on it and downloads and everything.

Perhaps things are getting a step closer with all the latest advancements to the online services...

Zohocreator - partial roadmap is available!

Last one, at least for now then I'll let the folks over at Zohocreator get back to work. In my last post I received the following comment from Suganya,

Zoho Creator already supports fetching data from other forms but in addition to that you also wanted to update a field leftover with the fetched data. It is not possible to update data from deluge script now. Read mode about fetching form data. The feature you wanted is already in our priority list and will be supported soon. And other features that we plan to support include, but not limited to

Groupby in view
Bulk edit
Auto increment field in form
Iterating rows in a form (Deluge script)
Updating data in deluge script
Integrating a scheduler - So you will be able to create a reminder service or a project tracker.

And we also give priority to feature requests from users.

So needless to say I have my roadmap now (how about a web version sometime so I can check on it?) and I'm a happy person because I see they are not only quick to respond but willing to give out the information I'm asking for!

Keep up the great work Zoho!

Zohocreator - progress and moving forward.

Some of you may be thinking I am a "one tracked minded" person right now but HEY! I'm ranting here ;-)

Seriously though, ZOHO Creator, I have to admit that this is the first time I've blogged about a service, used the service, had a problem with a service to have those who make the service respond so quickly to me! Therefore I think it's only fair to send out a thank you to them, let them know I appreciate it and they've just found themselves another loyal user.

Yesterday I posted twice about this topic, making a total of 3 posts about Zohocreator. My original post was simply a "hey look over here", my second post was about creating an actual app inside of 10 mins, the third was related to the Zoho team being truely focused and dedicated. Today's post will be confirming that they really are.

Two things happened yesterday to confirm to me that they are dedicated. I had sent a trackback ping over to the Zoho blog because my third post was related, this of course alerted them that I was writing about them - the result was a comment to my blog.

Craig,
We appreciate your comments. We do have independent teams working on each Zoho service, and in general, if something is not coming fast, it is not due to lack of people, but more likely due to inherent complexity.

We will do our best to meet your expectation.

Sridhar

Followed up with a response to my one open question in their forums, the one about an advanced feature to access data across multiple forms.

This of course was at first what appeared to be "lip service", but then I gave it some more thought and I realized "who am I" to ask them? They gave me an honest answer - "we're working on it" - can I expect more? At this point I realized I don't actually know that much about the whole Zohocreator service, only what I read over on Ismael's blog, the great one dealing with "Office 2.0". So I figured it's time I take a closer look at what Zohocreator is about.

• Blog
  
• Demo
  
• Mainsite
  
• Forums
  
• Deluge
  
• FAQ
  
• Latest Updates
  

I'm just missing one item, perhaps it's there and I just didn't find it? I'm missing a roadmap, something to let me know what they are planning. If I had an idea then maybe I wouldn't waste their time with my requests, or better yet I could give them feedback on what features they are wanting to implement?

Ismael seems to be really excited about DabbleDB, and to be honest with the feedback he's getting I can understand. Well I want to be this excited about Zohocreator and I think with the responses I'm starting to get I'm on the way to that point...

What a Cowinkidink...

Today around lunch time I posted a blog about Zohocreator and this afternoon I found a post on the Zoho blog that was somewhat related. No of course the fact that my blog has been hit about 20 times in 3 hours DOES not mean I had anything to do with the post, just a Cowinkidink ("Coincidence"), but it is cool to think I might have started a chain reaction - but highly doubtful. Anyway, I posted about:

the more advanced things I would like to try as in dynamically updating the value in a field based on a check box being selected when the user submits is one of those items they are working on. The other item, "accessing multiple form values" I've not heard anything yet, but I'm sure I'll get an answer pretty soon.

The blog I came across was written by Hyther in response to some comments made by DabbleDB’s founder Andrew in DabbleDB's forums.

Basically it's all about how Zoho is commited to Zohocreator and how they view each of their services as their own little startup,

We have extremely focused independant teams working on each zoho service - in Paul Graham words, each zoho service is a startup, and each product manager is the chief executive for the respective service.

So on one side I'm pretty happy to hear that they are focused on the whole project, but the other side I do have to wonder HOW many of them are focused and how quickly will I see some of those advanced features I am wanting?

I guess time will tell, for now I'm just generally impressed with what they have accomplished and I look forward to more from them in the near future!

Zohocreator - the 10 minute app!

I posted about this awhile back when I first came across it, at that time I simply did a little click click and tried things out a bit.

Recently I got that whole "bug" to drop a few pounds/kilos, OK a lot of them but hey it's the curse of the "developer's butt." What you've not heard of the "developer's butt?"

developer's butt - when your backside grows to the width of your current chair, however this seems to be a one way process and will only increase, similiar to and endless loop consuming memory.

My chair is rather comfy but also big, so it was time to do something. Being a developer this means that I just had to a write up a little program so I could keep track of it. My first thought was to open up my "Scripting in a Box" and have at it using PHP. Then I considered the effort involved, the uploading to my host, the testing, the "tweaking" and I thought that will end sooner than me being able to get into a smaller chair. So I needed a quick turn around and that made me think of ZOHO, who have several cool services, mainly my thoughts were for their ZOHO Creator which I bloged about already.

So I went in and took a peek around, I looked at one or two of the "Popular Apps" and then decided to just go ahead and "create" my own from scratch. They have a nifty little scripting language attached to this which is how they define and create the apps called "Deluge". I have to admit though I didn't actually use the scripting language itself I did the whole point and click deal.

Here's a saved copy of my script, which creates a 4 tabbed application for data input of users, daily progress and weekly progress. Daily_Tracker.ds, feel free to try it out. Normally I could also mark the application public and imbed the different forms and views in my website letting multiple people use it as well or make a copy and modify their own copy, both ways work quite well.



The thing literally only took me 10 minutes to have up and running, the more advanced things I would like to try as in dynamically updating the value in a field based on a check box being selected when the user submits is one of those items they are working on. The other item, "accessing multiple form values" I've not heard anything yet, but I'm sure I'll get an answer pretty soon.

You can also export the data or get the data via a RSS or JSON feed - this I plan to do and maybe add the RSS feed to a chart or something so I have a more "graphical" display of my progress.

All in all I would say - very cool!

Back to the Tech Podcasting

I finally got back to the Tech podcasting, the WM2006 is over so it's time to get back to buisness.


powered by ODEO

[Podcast Info]

Ajaxload - Ajax loading gif generator

Just the other day I realized as I was adding in quite a bit to a new PHP/AJAX app I've been working on to make my life at work easier that sometimes as the data grew so did the wait.

So I figured I needed some sort of a "busy" or "please wait" type message and of course what better than an icone or animated graphic, a small one that stands out and says - "don't click again it's doing something".

So in my searching I came across this website, Ajaxload - Ajax loading gif generator I found it through the studiowhiz blog. It's a very cool little website where you basically dynamically generate these types of "loading" graphics. It took me about 10 minutes to go through each of the types they have in list before I decided on this one:



Needless to say this is one of those "must bookmark" sites!

As for the work application, I'll update that after the weekend and I might even blog about what I am doing with it, not sure yet...

Hello World

Being a developer for awhile now and having worked with multiple languages, the "Hello World" application is as familiar as it is sicking but at the same time you just gotta love it and in fact I've made several of these myself for things like BSP over the years.

So when I saw this post over on studiowhiz I of course had to sit back and take a trip down memory lane.

I think Mr K says it best,

Every single time you take a course to pick up a new langauge, the first thing they get you to do is write out "Hello World".

Have you ever wonderd how many version of "Hello World" are out there? Well I discovered a collection today (which is probably not every sngle one) that includes so many I lost count, ADA, LISP, XUL and everything in between.

Fascinating how different each one is, some are short, some are ... long!

The collection is quite extensive and brought back some memories of the old days! It's like a museum trip for the geek in all of us.

My Skype Phone

My Shredder
Originally uploaded by Craig & Nicole Cmehil.

I was down south in "the office" the last two days and when I got home I had two surprises waiting for me.

The first surprise was a shredder, OK, for those of who you don't know the joys of shredding then I just can't explain I just recommend you go out and buy one and try it for awhile (if nothing else you are cleaning house). My new shredder which I just gotta try out here soon (oh will the work day ever come to an end? then again I am working in my 75th hour for this week so OK work week is over!)

Ok yeah the shredder, it'll do credit cards, paper and CD's and I've got stacks and stacks of old CD's with bits and pieces on them from numerous and multiple backups (prior to my online pc that is).

I gotta talk to her about "powered" shredders and I don't mean by my own hand like this one is - but hey I can SHRED again!

My Skype Phone
Originally uploaded by Craig & Nicole Cmehil.

OK, the next surprise (gotta love it when the wife spends money and it's on gadgets!) was my new USB Phone that I can use with Skype! I've already tried it out and it worked beautifully. Now I have a headset/mic combo that I normally use but this is just so much cooler as I can hook up my normal speakers again and not have to worry about the thing rining in the middle of the night anymore and waking up Jason.

So now how do I convince her that this phone is of course a better choice? I mean I can't win it with SDN anymore as I work there so I'm no longer eligible - other employees are of course but not those of us working for SDN itself.

Who knows though maybe my boss, Mark, will be nice and give me one to "review" for SDN before SAP TechEd?

Ahhh but one can dream! For now I will be happy with this really cool USB phone and maybe I'll even go and record a new Podcast via the phone? How cool is the world we live in right now?

ChatCreator.com: Make your own chat room!

This cool website allows one to easily create and share a web-based chatroom. It's based on Lace, which happens to be what I use on my family website also happens to be what I created an extension for Vanilla, so all around I'm a happy person!

I like the design and they did a cool job with creating the multiple chat rooms - one of those features Lace is adding in soon themselves which will be cool I can then modify my extension to not only auto login the user but put them into a chat room based on the role they have or maybe a category of forum. That I will have to give some thought too.

All in good time, I just upgrade the extension today to handle v1 of Vanilla.