What is your workflow for building a site?

I built sites a few years ago and am getting back into it. My traditional workflow would be to mock up a site in photoshop, slice it up, open the html file in Dreamweaver which would have the images put in a table, then do some editing, insert the rollovers for the nav bar, make that into a template and use it for other pages, etc. I realize that this process is now woefully out of date, so how does one go about doing a semi basic website the "right" way these days? I know a little bit about CSS but I've never used divs before.
Also, how wide are people designing sites these days? I used to make my sites around 760 pixels wide, considering people would have their screen resolution set to 800x600. Do people still use this width as a safety measure or are you designing for 1024x 768 these days?
Thanks.

It's not nessesary to learn all three, or any at all. There's thousands of open-source and commercial content management systems out there, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. They're just about all configurable to some degree or another, some are easy to "theme" (WordPress), while some can be a bit more challenging (Drupal).
Using WordPress as an example (which is the easiest in my opinion), you'd creat a custom theme by editing a selection of php template files:
header.php - This file contains just about everything you'd expect that goes into the top of a website. The doctype declaration, your opening and closing head tags, any javascript links you setup, etc.
page.php - This file is responsible for calling the appropriate content from the WordPress database that you setup. It also calls the sidebar and the footer.
sidebar.php - This file houses whatever you'd like to appear on the side of each page. It also summons a admin-configurable "widget" area, that you can manipulate through your dashboard.
footer.php - This file wraps up the document with your closing </body> and </html> tags, among other elements typically found in a footer (copyright info, etc).
Wordpress then wraps all of these files together, inserts the "content" that you enter in the admin section and displays the finished page to the user.
Here's a few sites you might have heard of that use Drupal:
The Grammy Awards (http://www.grammy.com/)
The Emmy Awards (http://emmys.com/)
Eric Clapton (http://www.ericclapton.com/)
Duke University (http://www.duke.edu/)
Rutgers University (http://rutgers.edu/)
Harvard Science & Engineering Department (http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/)
Reuters (http://labs.reuters.com/)
Mensa (http://www.mensa.org/)
Mattel (http://mattel.com/)
Zappos (http://about.zappos.com/)
Nokia Research (http://research.nokia.com/)
The Whitehouse (http://www.whitehouse.gov/)
Here's an article published last year that details almost 200 high-profile Drupal sites:
http://buytaert.net/tag/drupal-sites
How many sites total use Drupal? Estimated at over 7 million.
Here's a few WordPress sites:
ELLE Girl (http://ellegirl.elle.com/)
Tom Jones (http://www.tomjones.com/)
Sylvestor Stallone (http://sylvesterstallone.com/)
Ryan Seacrest (http://ryanseacrest.com/)
The Columbus Foundation (http://columbusfoundation.org/)
Wake Forrest University (http://www.wfu.edu/)
Kobe Bryant (http://kb24.com/)
TED Blog (http://blog.ted.com/)
TechCrunch.com (http://www.techcrunch.com/)
NASA.gov (http://www.nasa.gov)
Jive Records (Sony/BMG) (http://www.jiverecords.com/)
How many websites use WordPress? WP 3.0 was downloaded over 32 million times so far. It accounts for 11% of the webs 1,000,000 most popular websites. WordPress.com, the hosted version of WordPress, has over 17 million users.

Similar Messages

What is your solution for getting public transportation in map? Actually my iphone is useless for me because it hasn't a public transportation map.

what is your solution for getting public transportation in map? Actually my iphone is useless for me because it hasn't a public transportation map.

This has been a huge problem for me too. I was actually late to work yesterday and wanted to throw my phone out the window of the bus that I finally was able to find. I'm new to Portland, so this suddenly missing feature is particularly problematic. It really is so hard to avoid getting angry, I just can't believe they would eliminate a feature that people rely on so heavily. But anger doesn't do any good so I'm trying my hardest to stay calm and figure out an acceptable solution while Apple works to restore this feature - at least I pray to God that that's what they aim to do. Here are the apps that I've been trying, I'll try to explain how they work and maybe they will work for you. This is going to be a long post, but I'm hoping some people will find it helpful.
I'll start with the most obvious of all - adding Google Maps to your homescreen. Every time you launch the app you will get a diaologue prompting you to allow Google Mpas to use your location, and then you will be in an environment that looks similiar to what we are used to. It does not integrate with your contact list, so one workaround I've been using is going to my contacts and holding my finger on an address to copy it to the clipboard. Be aware that leaving this web app will lose whatever you're looking at and go back to the start, so best to do this before you launch it. You'll notice some strange behavior - for instance the drop down menu of suggested locations will apear and then quickly disaprear, so just ignore this. Often it will often unexpectadly scroll to the top for some reason when you're trying to do something towards the bottom. Haven't figured out a fix except for trying to not get flustered and doing things slowly and deliberately. It's not as quick as we're used to anyway so this is not hard to do. If you'd like to see any of the suggested routes on a map you can do this by clicking the small 'Map View' link. Just be aware that you can only do this once or you will have to type in your starting an ending points again, as there is no way to go back to the list you were just looking at once you are in map view. One thing that I have found helpful about the Google maps method is when looking at a route, whether in list or map view, you can see the stop ID right there, which is helpful if your city has a way to check real-time arrivals. For instance here in Portland you can text this stop ID to a certain number and immediately receive real-time arrivals.
The app I've been using most is called 'Transit'. It's pretty beautiful aesthetically, and the UI is simpler than anything else I've come across, which is convenient for a task that you want to accomplish as quickly as possible so you can put away your phone and be on your way. When you first launch it you're presented with three bus routes that stop near your current location. It tells you which direction the route is headed and in how many minutes the next bus is scheduled to arrive. This is helpful if you are familiar with that particular busline, otherwise there's no indication of where the line will take you. Upon clicking a line, you're presented with three buttons (again, loving the simplicity). One reverses the direction of that same busline. One expands the list of times so you can quicly see all the arrival times for that bus route at that particular stop for the entire day. The other takes you to map view and quickly displays the location of this stop. And here's the best feature of all (!!), it shows you the busline as a blue line and every single stop is marked with a circle. You can click on a circle and it displays the expected arrival time at that stop. This is all very helpful in some circumstances, but of course it does not let you type in a destination and have it build a route for you, and if you'll be transferring to another line this will not help you at all. To accomplish this you press the arrow in the lower left where you can type in a starting point, ending point, and an arrival/departure time. And this DOES reference your contact list. It will then allow you to quickly switch between three routes that it selects. It also searches Maps (actually it says 'Powered by Foursquare' for landmarks/establishments. For instance if I type in 'sushi', I'm presented with a handful of sushi joints in my area. There is a bug in this app where sometimes the 'Route' button is missing and you can only resolve this by leaving the app and quitting the process in the multitasking trail. When it builds your route, you can click on any point of transfer and it will tell you what time that bus/train is leaving. There is no list view, but personally I never found list view very helpful anyway. I know some people will disagree though.
Now I'll talk about HopStop. This is a kind of clunky interface unfortunately, and also has ads which I can't stand. It is able to reference your contact list. My least favorite thing about this app is the list it gives you is so excessively long-winded it's hilarious. Every single stop along the route is listed in this list view, so you'll be scrolling through literally dozens of pages of useless information like 'Pass such-and-such - 1 min. Pass such-and-such - 1 min. Pass such and such - 2 min.' Oh well. The good news is on this insanely long list, it indicates when you are supposed to do something other than sit patiently in your seat by having an icon to the left of that instruction - either a person walking or a bus number. When you switch to list view unfortunately it no longer displays departure times, so you'll have to be switching betwen maps and list view. One great feature of this app is it lets you save routes to your favorite list. It also lets you find bus stops and quickly see what bus lines hit those stops. I can't stand the flashing advertisements, so I avoid using this at all costs.
On to 'City Maps'. Again, the first thing you will see is a short list of bus lines that hit the stop nearest to you. Tap on one and it shows you the next three departures in either direction, as well as the distance between your current location and the stop in question. This app also searches for restaurants and such, but takes this feature on step further. Here when I type in 'sushi' and select a restaurant, I'm brought to a page that links to the Yelp, Foursquare, and Facebook pages associated with it - even has a link that takes you directly to the menu if Foursquare has it. Awesome feature, right?? Tap on 'Map' and it immediately displays the location and an option to build a few routes. It always displays the walking route below the bus lines to give you a sense of how long it would take (even if it's a two hour walk). Clicking on a bus route on this list takes you to list view. Unfortunately this also displays a deluge of pointess turns that only the bus driver need worry about, but it's not as bad as HopStop. There's an optional feature where it can display Google Street View images right in this list view, if you think that could be helpful. With one tap it quickly switches to a very aesthetically pleasig map view. There's an update button that lets you immediately refresh directions, edit starting/ending points, or give it new directions altogether.
I'm sure in just a moment someone will come along and say something insulting about how we're blowing things out of proportion. I guess that's just the nature of trolls - a lot of people find being angry on forums while hiding behind their screen names cathartic for obvious reasons. Let's all of us just do our best to ignore these people and keep this discussion diplomatic and oriented towards helpful solutions. I know none of us want to give up our beloved iPhones, I'm only considering it as a last resort.

Hi Apple! My iphone 4g has restored and I can't retrieve the account. I have tried the password renewal that will be send on my mail but unfortunately my mail has been deactivated also.what is your solution for this kind of cases? This is so unfair.

Hi Apple! My iphone 4g has restored and I can't retrieve the account. I have tried the password renewal that will be send on my mail but unfortunately my mail has been deactivated also.what is your solution for this kind of cases? This is so unfair.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5312
If you established a rescue email address, there will be a link on the "Passwords & Security" page of id.apple.com. Clicking the link will send the reset to your rescue email address (NOTE: This is not the same address as your Apple ID email)
If there is no link on the page, then you didn't establish a rescue email address. Contact AppleCare at 800.694.7466, and ask for account security. You will need to answer some questions to verify your identity, AND you will need access to a computer to generate a temporary support pin.
HTH

Hello, I would like to know what is your policy for higher educational institutes or with whom should I be in touch with? Thanks

I would like to know what is your policy for higher educational institutes or with whom should I be in touch with?
Thanks a lot for your help,

Apple HED has no published email addresses, and since Apple does not sell their products directly in Israel, you will probably need to work through local distributors or dealers in any case. I would suggest contacting Apple's authorized distributor, iConGroup:
http://www.icongroup.co.il
Regards.

What is the workflow for creating Flash Builder 4.7 Applications?

Now that Design View has been removed from Flash Builder 4.7 I was wondering what the proposed workflow is for creating software?
What is the suggested flow? How can a developer layout a screen visually? Or is it true that this is just no longer possible?

Moved from the Creative Cloud to the Flash Builder forum. They will be able to help you here.

What is the workflow for creating templates in full FrameMaker and pushing them to XML Author?

Hi All,
I'm working for a large organization (3000+) that is subdivided into 60+ business units. I'm trying to figure out the workflow for using full FrameMaker to create a template that I can provide my business units to fill in via XML Author, send back to me, and then I can publish into a number of products using the Tech. Comm. Suite. I am somewhat new to XML so I am not sure how to get my structure and format to translate.
Can anybody clarify what the general workflow would be for this process? All I have been able to find is the flowchart showing full FM to XML to XML Author and back to full FM. From my test driving of the Tech Comm Suite though it has not appeared that easy.
---Corey---

Hi Corey...
Here's a rough outline of what is needed.
1) First, you'll need to define the data model that your documents are using. This could be some existing model like DITA or a new custom model. Depending on the complexity of your document's needs, this may drive that decision.
2) Once you've got a model, you'll need to create a structure application (in full FM). This structure application defines the model and appearance of documents. This will provide the fundamental structure of the "template" as well as placeholder text for the elements where you want people to provide information.
3) Then you have to install the structure application on each of the XML Author installations. This involves copying the structure application definitions file (structapps.fm) onto the client systems as well as the structure application files (into the proper location as indicated in the structure application definition). The structure application definition may reference these files at a network location, which might simplify the deployment, but would require that each person is connected to that network in order to create the files (pros/cons with this approach).
Once that's set up, your XML Author users should (in theory) be able to create a new document using the new structure application, then send you the resulting files. Lots of hand waving here .. but that's the general idea.
Cheers,
Scott Prentice
Leximation, Inc.
www.leximation.com

What do I need to build this site?

hi,
i want to build a site like www.amazon.com (but not for books :) )
there are forms that the user fills, then , I validate the form's fields , produce dynamic pages depending on the user's request , these dynamic pages include the products information and images which have been got from an oracle database.
i think of using JSP or Japplets or servlets
but I'm not sure about the difference between them and which one is the best for my site.
Waiting for your help and any other suggestions :)

If internet-wide accessability is important, it would probably be a mistake to use anything other than JSP/Servlets to generate simple HTML forms. To date, this has been the formula for success for every significant effort at web-based business. The large majority of clients are using older machines on dial-up connections: conditions that tend to make fancy client interfaces difficult to implement, even in a homogenous environment.
Hope this helps...
hi,
i want to build a site like www.amazon.com (but not
for books :) )
there are forms that the user fills, then , I validate
the form's fields , produce dynamic pages depending on
the user's request , these dynamic pages include the
products information and images which have been got
from an oracle database.
i think of using JSP or Japplets or servlets
but I'm not sure about the difference between them and
which one is the best for my site.
Waiting for your help and any other suggestions :)

Workflow for building Photo book Page in Photoshop & Lightroom

I am working on publishing a Photo Book using MyPublisher and will be laying out each page in Photoshop rather than using their templates.
I need advice on the best workflow for accomplishing this task--here are some details:
1. Images are Imported to Lightroom, are Flagged, and adjusted with Develop settings (Cropping, Basic Panel, Paintbrush etc.)
2. I do add some capture sharepening to the image in Lightroom (not much).
3. Use the EDIT IN Photoshop CS6 with 1 or more images from Lightroom as SMART OBJECTS.
4. In Photoshop, I am changing the Image Size (sometimes upsizing for full page spreads) and resolution (everything goes to 300 DPI).
5. Doing more intense Creative Sharpening for each image.
6. I am using a variety of custom actions to layout pages with 1, 2, or 3 images plus text. I create a new document that is sized for the entire page (11.08 x 14.08 @ 300dpi for Deluxe Hardcover). I fill the background page with a custom pattern simulating textured paper and then layout the images for either a Left or Right Hand page.
7. Saving page as a Photoshop File and re-importing into Lightroom
8. Publishing the Photoshop Files as JPEGS with Medium Sharpening for Glossy Paper
9. Importing the JPEG of the Page into My Publisher as a single image the sive of the entire page.

I often use Photoshop to set photos in iPhoto books. I am not sure how Apple does the trimming of its books, but I have had no problems with edge trimming of pages whose photographs to go to the edge. There is no white to be seen. I haven't closely compared the original 11" x 8.5" photo with the one in the book, but generally the results look right.
In terms of working out the gutter for two page spreads for a 11" x 8.5" book size. I measured an existing book and found the physical page width to be 11" exactly. I measured the gutter to be 0.25". So that means using Photoshop to create the image size of 10.75" x 8.5". It seems to work okay.
Just interested if you have set a gutter, and if so, to what specification?

What is best workflow for D200 in light of no new news

I have been shooting my D200 with JPEG and still switching between it and my D100 back. With ACR and Aperture still not reading D200 raw (the Nikon plugin is not that appealing)I have downloaded Bibble 4.5. Does a nice job, but do I need PRO? I would manual/batch into an aperture folder with an import folder action.
I want to create WB adjusted files, I suppose 16bit TIFFs would be best(??), and then manage the rest in Aperture with occasional heavy editing or compositing being done in CS2.
Are there other ideas?
Thank you.
Michael

<...>
I want to create WB adjusted files, I suppose 16bit
TIFFs would be best(??), and then manage the rest in
Aperture with occasional heavy editing or compositing
being done in CS2.
<...>
That is exactly what I do, only I simply do a batch export in auto mode from my raw converter and then use Aperture to tweak white balance as needed. It works quite well. SO really anything you can throw D200 RAW files at and get a 16-bit TIFF out with good quality of detail will work well.
I don't have a D200 but your workflow should be the same.

What is the workflow for embedding FLV into website?

I have a client that I created FLV files for. Now his "web guy" is asking me how
to create SWF files so he can embed them onto his web pages. I
explained that Premiere only creates FLV and F4V files. My understanding is that he needs Flash
Pro CS5 to create the SWF files. Is this correct? I have been all over the web looking for t
he workflow for embedding video files like they do on you tube. I'm a videographer dammit, not a web designer!!
thanks for your time,
Stuart

There is really no need for him to get Flash if he doesn't already have it, he can use the embedding method in DreamWeaver or better yet, use a third party video player like
JW Player:
http://www.longtailvideo.com/players/jw-flv-player/
or Flow Player:
http://flowplayer.org/
just to name two.
Adninjastrator

What's best workflow for adding subtitle to existing dvd?

We have been requested to add a foreign language subtitle to an existing dvd. It was authored in DVDSP so we have the original files. The translators are requesting a QT or dvd with window dub of the timecode for timing. How would I do that if the assets are already encoded and in the DVDSP timeline?
Also, the project is setup on 5 tracks, many short chapters in each. Because the cost for translation is per file, it means we pay the minimum charge for each track which ends up being double than if we would have kept all the files on a single track. Other than re-authoring the dvd is there another way to do this and save the money. If I get a stl or son file of a long video stream can that file be broken into separate files for each of the tracks? Also looking for a better workflow for the future.

rshellhammer wrote:
...we have the original files. The translators are requesting a QT or dvd with window dub of the timecode for timing.
Take the file you used in Compressor to make the mpeg and make a mov file h.264 I believe will maintain the timecode.
Also, the project is setup on 5 tracks, many short chapters in each. Because the cost for translation is per file, it means we pay the minimum charge for each track which ends up being double than if we would have kept all the files on a single track. Other than re-authoring the dvd is there another way to do this and save the money.
No.
If I get a stl or son file of a long video stream can that file be broken into separate files for each of the tracks?
Not without a lot of work.
o| TonyTony |o

Adobe: WHAT IS YOUR PLAN FOR DPS/ACROBAT/DISTRIBUTION?

Based on Matthew's post in this thread:
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/898426?tstart=0
I'm frankly concerned about investing any more time and resources into DPS without SOME SORT OF OUTLINED PLAN from Adobe. Hinting that you may 'limit' functionality of the acrobat.com distribution method (which could mean anything, really) - but providing no further details - is simply not responsible.
DPS is no longer beta. It's a product with an accepted workflow that accommodates those who want to publish magazine content via the Pro/Enterprise plans, and those who wish to distribute via acrobat.com. There's been endless posts on this subject, and I would hope that Adobe has some sort of roadmap to giving it's customers continued support and options. Instead, we get a cryptic message about how the acrobat.com distribution method is blowing up your servers.
Adobe, I'm asking for some clarification here and a clear outline of what you intend with this product. Letting us travel down a course of building great material using DPS, and then possibly pulling the rug out from under us, is truly a concern.
Remember, it's not just your issues that are at stake. Some of us are promoting/pitching/praising this new software and process to our companies and clients, and getting solid support. We need to know that you've got some sort of solid foundation and plan going. I cannot keep pitching/using this stuff, only to later tell the people that are paying the bills that 'oops, Adobe changed their minds.'.
Tnx

1. Define 'limited' for the Free acrobat.com account.
2. With either the Basic or Plus acrobat.com subscriptions, define 'limited'.
3. What is the max number of folios that can be hosted with Basic or Plus subscriptions?
4. If I create a folio and do NOT use the Share method, but simply give out a username and password to download the folio, define 'limited'.
All this remains very unclear.
Tnx

About what can i do for building exchange server

hi ,
i want to know any thing about building new exchange server in my comapny and i want to know some issues about this
- if i build this server in my company and buy server hardware how much of the exchange licence that support 50000 users
and also what meant by " this plane support 1 to 100 mailbox ?? " this means it support from 1 to 100 users ????
- and also what is the best brand of servers that can i use it in my company
50000 user will be in the future not now but i want to know the licence that support this number of user
and i want every user is maximum 2 GB mailbox
also i want to know what the bandwidth should i use for this issues from internet service providers ???
i wand to know general information also with links for each questions that i asked not detailed information
and prerequisites software needed to build this system ??and also prices
thank you and goodbye

what meant by " this plane support 1 to 100 mailbox ?? " this means it support from 1 to 100 users
Call volume licensing expert at Microsoft to help you figuring out this...
Volume License Site: http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/
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Get Your Exchange Powershell Tip of the Day from here

What is your strategy for form validation when using MVC pattern?

This is more of a general discussion topic and will not necessarily have a correct answer. I'm using some of the Flex validator components in order to do form validation, but it seems I'm always coming back to the same issue, which is that in the world of Flex, validation needs to be put in the view components since in order to show error messages you need to set the source property of the validator to an instance of a view component. This again in my case seems to lead to me duplicating the code for setting up my Validators into several views. But, in terms of the MVC pattern, I always thought that data validation should happen in the model, since whether or not a piece of data is valid might be depending on business rules, which again should be stored in the model. Also, this way you'd only need to write the validation rules once for all fields that contain the same type of information in your application.
So my question is, what strategies do you use when validating data and using an MVC framework? Do you create all the validators in the views and just duplicate the validator if the exact same rules are needed in some other view, or do you store the validators in the model and somehow reference them from the views, changing the source properties as needed? Or do you use some completely different strategy for validating forms and showing error messages to the user?

Thanks for your answer, JoshBeall. Just to clarify, you would basically create a subclass of e.g. TextInput and add the validation rules to that? Then you'd use your subclass when you need a textinput with validation?
Anyway, I ended up building sort of my own validation framework. Because the other issue I had with the standard validation was that it relies on inheritance instead of composition. Say I needed a TextInput to both check that it doesn't contain an empty string or just space characters, is between 4 and 100 characters long, and follows a certain pattern (e.g. allows only alphanumerical characters). With the Flex built in validators I would have to create a subclass or my own validator in order to meet all the requirements and if at some point I need another configuration (say just a length and pattern restriction) I would have to create another subclass which duplicates most of the rules, or I would have to build a lot of flags and conditional statements into that one subclass. With the framework I created I can just string together different rules using composition, and the filter classes themselves can be kept very simple since they only need to handle a single condition (check the string length for instance). E.g. below is the rule for my username:
library["user_name"] = new EmptyStringFilter( new StringLengthFilter(4,255, new RegExpFilter(/^[a-z0-9\-@\._]+$/i) ) );
<code>library</code> is a Dictionary that contains all my validation rules, and which resides in the model in a ValidationManager class. The framework calls a method <code>validate</code> on the stored filter references which goes through all the filters, the first filter to fail returns an error message and the validation fails:
(library["user_name"] as IValidationFilter).validate("testuser");
I only need to setup the rule once for each property I want to validate, regardless where in the app the validation needs to happen. The biggest plus of course that I can be sure the same rules are applied every time I need to validate e.g. a username.
The second part of the framework basically relies on Chris Callendar's great ErrorTipManager class and a custom subclass of spark.components.Panel (in my case it seemed like the reasonable place to put the code needed, although perhaps extending Form would be even better). ErrorTipManager allows you to force open a error tooltip on a target component easily. The subclass I've created basically allows me to just extend the class whenever I need a form and pass in an array of inputs that I want to validate in the creationComplete handler:
validatableInputs = [{source:productName, validateAs:"product_name"},
                     {source:unitWeight, validateAs:"unit_weight", dataField:"value"},
               {source:unitsPerBox, validateAs:"units_per_box", dataField:"value"},
                    {source:producer, validateAs:"producer"}];
The final step is to add a focusOut handler on the inputs that I want to validate if I want the validation to happen right away. The handler just calls a validateForm method, which in turn iterates through each of the inputs in the validatableInputs array, passing a reference of the input to a suitable validation rule in the model (a reference to the model has been injected into the view for this).
Having written this down I could probably improve the View side of things a bit, remove the dependency on the Panel component and make the API easier (have the framework wire up more of the boilerplate like adding listeners etc). But for now the code does what it needs to.

What's your strategy for learning Java technologies?

Or, in other words, how do YOU acquire knowledge that is necessary for implementing Java technologies?
After having spent one-and-a-half years developing an enterprise app, I've gained lots of knowledge about Java and some surface knowledge about its related technologies (JBoss, Hibernate, Ant, XDoclet, NetBeans and probably some others I can't think of at the moment).
I'm now realizing that -- although the standalone prototype version of my program is growing mature -- I've still got lots to learn for refactoring it to a web platform. For example, I 've done small test projects using Servlets, but haven't done any work with JSP (or HTML for that matter) yet.
Now, I'm sure I can learn JSP etc., but the questions I ask myself are: how long will it take?
It's a rhetorical question of course (I don't expect an answer from you, the reader) However, it's an important issue because the months or years I spend fumbling around learning these new technologies, are time I could otherwise spend on the business logic and functionality of my program.
So, how do you guys acquire knowledge of technologies? Official training perhaps? Or do you simply experiment until it works? Or do you rely on your company's knowledge base (e.g. someone in your company knows how it works)? Or do you get prototypes built from someone who already knows how it works?
I�m really curious about this and would appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks in advance,
P

Well, it seems like most of you simply read the
various texts and try the vendors' examples. I'm
surprised that no one mentioned ever having bought a
prototype application from the onset. "bought"? What's that mean? You don't buy prototypes. You download evaluation versions, maybe.
I try to find sample code and tweak it to see the effects. Otherwise, I start writing small sample code an build on that.
I consider myself a reasonably competent core Java
programmer, but I had serious difficulty configuring
and merging its related technologies. There were so
many disjointed pieces of instructional information
that the additional research time really hurt our
budget severely. Not an uncommon thing, I'm sure. There's a lot of stuff. But don't bother learning all of it. Not in detail, at least. It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the names of packages/libraries and what they do. But only really learn what you need to learn for what you need to do. The next project you will probably need other things, so you learn them then.
bsampieri,
I've setup Tomcat and tried the examples--in fact, I
normally follow tutorials for all products I hope to
use. Problem is, the examples and tutorials never
address my specific needs. So, I usually inch toward
my goal by spending weeks or months in forums to
continue where the tutorials leave off. Anything complex is going to not be there.... the trick is to identify pieces that you can pull out to build more complex apps. And the fact that JSP/servlets have the issue of being compounded by all the HTML/CSS/JS and HTTP protocol ... I don't want to say limitiations, exactly... Well, it just makes things more complex and harder to know what you need.
Perhaps you guys are much faster and smarter than
I...or you have a much bigger budget :)Probably not... on either account.

What is your workflow for building a site?

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