/ Web development

Google Charts API - dynamic generation of charts for your application

Google Chart API gives you the opportunity to build a URL that will dynamically create a chart for your needs.That API is actually and very easy for use, you can get how it works in a few minutes. There's almost no limit to the number of calls per day you can make to the API.

The Google Chart API returns an image in PNG-format.

http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?<par1>&<par2>&<parN>

Line charts

Sparklines

Barcharts

Pie charts

Maps

4 Ways to View Stored Web Browser Cookies

After the New Year’s Eve I am full of energy to do new things and hopefully to write more often in my web place. So this is my 2008 start :).

When you want to see the stored web browser cookies for a particular website how will you do it? I had in my mind three ways to do it. Now as I learned and one new tricky way, I would like to share it with you.

• Of course, the first way is to browse to the folder where your cookies are stored and to find there what you need. For instance, my cookies stay in "Documents and Settings/ MyCompName/ Local Settings/ Temporary Internet Files/". I do not recommend you that way, because you will be lost in a bunch of files.
  
• Number two. If you are a FireFox fan, as I am, you will find that Firefox browser has great capabilities when dealing with cookies. You can find your cookies at "Tools/ Options/ Privacy Tab/ Show Cookies". What you will see there is a list of the websites that set cookies to your computer recently. You are able and to search for a particular website.
• Number three. If you are a Web developer and you still do not have "Firefox  Web developer Extension", you should definitely try it. This tool is awesome. One of its features is connected with cookies. You can review the cookies for every separate website in a separate tab.  An example is shown in the image below:
• The last way is a very quick trick. First open any website. When the website is loaded, replace at the address bar the URL with  javascript:alert(document.cookie) and press Enter. What you should see is Javascript alert box with  all cookies  from the  particular  website.

Playing with AJAX

As I have more free time this month, I started to write Ajax tutorial with examples. As usual my idea is to learn how to handle with Ajax but and to share with everyone who is interested in Ajax. For now I have two short and simple examples.

Take a look... and stay tuned for more!

Lightbox - a Javascript image viewer

You can find below an implementation of Lightbox. I find this tool awesome. You should try it if you need to put a gallery with images on a web page. 

Lightbox is a Javascript image viewer that is very simple to implement, a very light script used to overlay images on the current page. It works on all modern browsers. It uses Mootools javascript framework.

Browser Compatibility
FireFox, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Opera, Safari.

See an example page at rayadeleva.com/@mix/lightbox/
Download example page: lightbox.rar

Plus sign and URL or "URL syntax for special characters"

While trying yesterday to add two plus signs (++)  in  <a href=""> tag, I realized that something is wrong and actually I cannot just write the second param with value EC++BDSE.