The common stereotype for programmers is this: nerdy, pocket-protector wielding, and very, very boring. One doesn’t typically link a programmer as a creative individual. However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Working with code is one of the most creative jobs one can have. Programmers have to balance two very different worlds: a world of structure and a world of imagination. They create abstract concepts using very structured programming languages (like PHP or Java). It’s not an easy task. Programming is actually a great exercise in creativity. Here are a couple reasons why:
- Programming gives ultimate control. Creating something from nothing is possibly the best example of creativity. The ultimate control over software or web site that a programmer has is perfect for taking the application to any direction that they wish.
- Many ways to do one thing. Programmers have to essentially build a framework for the web site. They’re laying the foundation for something that, up until that point, is just an idea. The programmer uses a wide palate of tools and methods to find
Programmers are a great example of thinking outside the box because programmers can actually create the box. Here are 14 ways to Learn From Creative Programmers.
1. Learn a new language
2. Start from the ground up
3. Question everything
4. Do it for fun
5. Never stop testing ideas
6. Find a passion
7. Master your tools
8. Start making abstract associations
9. Think of structure as a tool, not a limitation
10. Don’t rule anything out until you try it.
11. Always look for a simpler and more elegant solution.
12. Don’t be afraid to build off the code of others.
13. Don’t be afraid to collaborate.
14. From the very basic, create the beautiful.
Source: 14 Ways to Learn From Creative Programmers
ShiftSpace is an open source layer above any website. It seeks to expand the creative possibilities currently provided through the web. ShiftSpace provides tools for artists, designers, architects, activists, developers, students, researchers, and hobbyists to create online contexts built in and on top of websites.
By pressing the [shift] + [space] keys, a ShiftSpace user can invoke a new meta layer above any web page to browse and create additional interpretations, contextualizations and interventions – which we call Shifts. Users can choose between several authoring tools we’re working to develop – which we call Spaces. Some are utilitarian (like Notes and Highlights) and some are more interventionist (like ImageSwap and SourceShift). Users will be invited to map these shifts into Trails. These trails can be used for collaborative research, curating netart exhibitions or as platforms for context-based public debates.
Notes is a Space that allows a ShiftSpace user to leave post-it annotations on websites. Highlights is one we’re still developing, which would allow a user to highlight text on the page. Some Spaces lead more naturally to an interventionist usage. Two such Spaces that we have implemented are ImageSwap, which allows a user to grab any image on the web and swap it in place of other image, and SourceShift, which allows users to freely edit a page’s HTML code.
When a user visits a modified (’Shifted’) webpage, the small ShiftSpace icon (§) pops up in the bottom left side of the screen. Pressing the [shift] + [space] keys reveals the ShiftSpace console. From the console, the user can browse through existing Shifts, choosing to enable those that might be of interest. Holding down the [shift] key shows a small contextual menu, allowing the user to create Shifts of her own. The user can then choose whether to share her Shifts or to keep them private.
Source: http://www.shiftspace.org/
Soundsnap is a nice platform to find and share free sound effects and loops- legally. It is a collection of original sounds made or recorded by its users, and not songs or sound FX found on commercial libraries or sample CD’s.
It was originally started by a small group of sound people from all over the world. Their common belief is that sounds and samples should be free for everyone to use in their projects, commercial or not.
Their users are a diverse mix of sound designers, sound artists, web game developers, filmmakers and music producers. Hobbyists and home video makers are welcome too. They encourage everyone to upload high quality sound FX and samples, helping them make every kind of sound available on Soundsnap.
Requirements: –
Demo: http://www.soundsnap.com/
License: License Free
Facelift Image Replacement (or FLIR, pronounced fleer) is an image replacement script that dynamically generates image representations of text on your web page in fonts that otherwise might not be visible to your visitors. It is similar to sIFR which accomplishes this by using a combination of javascript, CSS, and Flash. FLIR generated image will be automatically inserted into your web page via Javascript and visible to all modern browsers. Any element with text can be replaced: from headers (<h1>, <h2>, etc.) to <span> elements and everything in between.
Requirements: Javascript Enabled
Demo: http://facelift.mawhorter.net/
License: GPL License
Do you have any products like CDs or DVDs for your readers? Sometimes, you would like your readers know the actual look of the CDs or DVDs. However, It takes quite a bit of time to desgin a CD or DVD case. You do not have to worry about it now, because some of the talented Photoshop designers have created some stunning CD / DVD case templates in PSD format for us. You can customize them easily. You can download them and use them for your products, however, a link back would be appreciated.
1. DVD Case Template by Manicho
2. DVD Plastic Case Template by Manicho
3. Jewel Case Template by LeMarquis
Requirements: –
Demo: http://manicho.deviantart.com/art/DVD-Case-Art-PSD-file-61443492
Demo: http://manicho.deviantart.com/art/dvd-Plastic-Case-PSD-file-86546288
Demo: http://lemarquis.deviantart.com/art/JEWEL-CASE-PSD-FILE-69316052
License: License Free or Creative Commons License
Perhaps you use rsync, Time Machine or similar backup software mirroring your files to external drives for your PCs on a regular basis. What about your remote web server? Webmoney has written an article – Back Up a Web Server, which taught us the ways you can backup the HTML files, stylesheets, application files and databases on your remote web host. The only thing you’ll need is a remote web hosting service allowing SSH connections to the remote shell. The followings are the main topics.
The Backup Tools
The first thing we’ll do is use tar and bzip2; two command lines tools for making compressed file copies, to back up HTML, CSS, Javascript or any other text files.
Automation
Now we have a couple of bash scripts we can invoke from our terminal prompt and backup our files. Great, but who wants to do it manually? Instead, let’s set them up to run automatically once a day.
Locking
Long-running scripts like backups started through cron have a common problem. A new one may get fired off before the previous one is complete. This problem can be solved using a simple lock file.
Logging
Automated scripts should keep a log of what they do in case things go awry. This is an example of writing to a log file, with a start and end time.
Fancier Automatic Backups
Want to get really fancy and have your home machine automatically log in to your server and download those backup files for safe, off-site keeping?
Finishing Touches
Now you should have a shell script set up and a way to log in to your remote server sans password (whether by the insecure method above or the ssh-agent method). The last step in our automation process is to create a cron job on our local machine.
Source: Back Up a Web Server
PrettyCheckboxes is for people who wants to have a consistent look for checkboxes across browser or those who simply want them to look better. By using this script you wont loose any of the regular inputs usability. It has been tested and is known to work in Firefox 2+, Opera 9.5, Safari 3.1.1 and Internet Explorer 6+. This script is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5. So you can use it in all you projects even commercial ones.
Requirements: jQuery Framework
Demo: http://www.no-margin-for-errors.com/projects/prettyCheckboxes/
License: Creative Commons 2.5 License
FlashGallery is a free, simple photo gallery built in Macromedia Flash 2004, that uses XML files to store the information about which images to display. The gallery is easy to configure and update since you need to change only the XML file. It supports Latin, Cyrilic, Chinese and any other language you can think of. Also, it is really lightweight with only 11KB. It may be used in any kinds of personal and or commercial projects.
Requirements:Flash 2004+
Demo: http://www.flashgallery.org/demo.html
License: License Free
Web Standards have never been easier to learn. Everything you need to know is condensed into short, helpful tutorials that inform and inspire. Opera’s Web Standards Curriculum can help you brush up on things you know and maybe even teach you something you didn’t.
Opera’s Web Standards Curriculum, released in association with the Yahoo! Developer Network, is a complete a course designed to give anyone a solid grounding in web design/development, including HTML, CSS, design principles and background theory, and JavaScript basics.
It is completely free to use, accessible, and assumes no previous knowledge. It already has support from many organizations (including Yahoo! and the Web Standards Project) and universities. The first 23 articles are currently available, with about 30 more to be published between now and late September.
Source: Opera Web Standards Curriculum
Sometimes when we are developing web applications, we would like to allow users using hotkeys to trigger some functions (e.g. Alt-d to delete a record). How can we achieve it easily? jQuery.Hotkeys plugin lets you easily add and remove handlers for keyboard events anywhere in your code supporting almost any key combination. It takes one line of code to bind/unbind a hot key combination. And it works with Safari, Opera, Firefox and IE.
Requirements:jQuery Framework
Demo: http://jshotkeys.googlepages.com/test-static.html
License: MIT License
