Archive for November, 2009

Creating input forms for websites – the shortest guide for web developers

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Designers working for EleganceIT believe that usability is an important aspect of website development. It is important to make pages more simple and user-friendly. Numerous studies on various aspects of website design and user interface help us to create products in compliance with usability standards. Let’s begin from the very first thing you see entering most of sites. We mean input forms.

It’s better to put left-aligned labels above input fields

The UX Matters web magazine has conducted a comprehensive study to find out look-and-feel of an ideal login / registration form. According to the results, the best way is to put labels above form fields. You definitely have noticed that many forms in the Internet have labels placed on the left side, creating a layout with two columns. It looks not bad, but it is not the easiest layout to use. Why? Because users enter information using top-down approach. It will be easier for them to read labels placed just before fields, rather than look for them on the left side.

input form
For example, Tumblr has a simple and elegant registration form, which is consistent with the recommendations of UX Matter.

Labels on the left side create the following dilemma for website application developers: how to align these labels? A left-align label creates good looking layout, but at the same time it separates the label from your form, so it will be difficult to see what label relates to every field. And a right-align label makes the opposite thing: a user-friendly form with wry layout. :( While labels above input fields will be convenient in most cases. The study also has showed that labels should not use < b > (bold) tags, but this recommendation is not so obligatory.

Why should I use PHP for web development?

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Looking for a proper web programming language focus your special attention on PHP. Why? Here we have listed some reasons for such a decision:

1. Start, learn and develop PHP-applications FREE OF CHARGE
Members of more than thousand communities will be glad to help you with php. Great number of PHP forums and web projects provide all the necessary information, be sure that you’ll find answers for some standard questions even before you will have time to ask them.
Of course, you will pay nothing starting your work with php (unlike Microsoft’s aspx language and others). No paid php software is needed; open source editing tools allow to develop web applications based on php without any investments.

2. Hundreds of php code examples and frameworks
You will find great number of php code examples, that will help you to learn this language and use it for successful web development. Frameworks will save your time and will allow to do the most of repetitive programming tasks. Just use Google to get some more new php code examples and frameworks.

3. The best choice for web 2.0 applications and hosting companies
Create with PHP web 2.0 applications with rich user interfaces and impressive functionality. Remember that php works with javascripts!
Also web hosting based on Linux or Windows will be glad to take care of your php web site. :)

4. The most of content management systems use PHP
Joomla, Drupal and Wordpress, some of the most popular open source CMS, written in php. It means that your php web development will be based on the following formula: free CMS + site functionality based on php + usability + qualitative design.
how-php-works

Behold! New Google Android 2.0 ‘Eclair’ SDK

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Google has released the new SDK version (package for mobile application development) – Android 2.0 (Eclair).

Android 2.0 is the major platform for Android gadgets. Producers plan to put phones based on this OS on sale in November. Release includes new features for Android developers and users. For developers the platform is available as a downloadable component for Android SDK. SDK includes fully compatible Android libraries and image system, and also a set of skins for an emulator. The platform requires no third-party libraries.



Changes in the SDK:

Bluetooth — turn on / off, connection to a remote device using RFCOMM.
Account Manager — Centralized Account Manager allows secure storage and access to tokens and passwords.
Others — new theme systems and wallpaper manager.

List of changes in Android 2.0:
Accounts — several user accounts can be added to synchronize contacts.
Accounts_1
Mail — Exchange support
Mail_2
Bluetooth — bluetooth 2.1, new BT profiles — OPP, PBAP (Object Push Profile and Phone Book Access Profile).
Media — upgraded graphics architecture improves performance and ensures hardware acceleration.
Calendar — endless scrolling in an agenda mode, statuses for each guest invited for user events.
Browser — updated user interface, bookmarks with web-pages thumbnails, double tap zoom, HTML5 support, client databases using SQL, tags in full screen mode, Geolocation API information showing device location.
Camera — flash bulb, digital zoom, white balance control, macro mode, color effects.
Camera_3
Virtual Keyboard — an improved layout increases typing speed and reduce errors. Multi-touch support allows you to be sure that nothing will be missed while typing with two hands.

The year 2010 will be the year of Android

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Not so long ago smartphones and communicators were niche products that simple users didn’t even pay attention to. But the operating systems has been developing and at present such phones offer a wide range of options for business–users as well as for usual users who prefer exchange SMS or visit social networks.

According to the research company In-Stat, the competition in the OS market is shifting from software basic capabilities to functionality and ‘user’s experience’ which the phone can provide.  Smartphones and communicators will develop not only at the programming level but also at the hardware level – sensor screens with high resolution, high-quality cameras, communication tools.

In-Stat supposes that the next year will pass under the Android sign. According to the research statistics, in 2014 more than 400 mln smartphones will be sold in the world and more than 300 mln of them will have a built-in MACEK accelerometer. Today about 52% of the device production costs go to a touch screen, a processor, software, license fees and communication modules (2G, 3G).

The present leader in the market of smartphone platforms Symbian will lose its position taking the pressure from the side of Maemoplatforms, Android apps, BlackBerry application developmetn and iPhone mobile development.

Professionals from EleganceIT have more than ten years of experience in the sphere of Android, BlackBerry and iPhone software development. If you want your project to be done in due time, within the agreed budget and of high quality, you have to trust it to EleganceIT mobile application programming company.