New Age Techies

Firefox 3.5.1 Revisited...(Mandriva, Redhat 5)

2009-07-22T10:57:00.004+05:30

So you came across the latest Firefox and planned to run it on your machine.
You downloaded the latest version and you try to run it and an you face with this error...

./firefox-bin: error while loading shared libraries: libdbus-glib-1.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

To avoid that just run the following copy command.

#cp /usr/lib/libdbus-glib-1.so.0 libdbus-glib-1.so.2

After that when u run it again it will show the following error:

./firefox-bin: error while loading shared libraries: libdbus-1.so.3: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

So you have copy that file too, just run the following command.

#cp /usr/lib/libdbus-1.so.0 libdbus-1.so.3

now run your Firefox....
Happy browsing..
If you face any error you know very well where to comment...

SCORM - demystified

2009-05-13T12:22:00.004+05:30

First Part

SCORM:
Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL) introduced SCORM(Sharable Content Object Reference Model), which is a collection of standards and specifications for web-based e-learning. It defines communications between client side content and LMS. SCORM also defines how content may be packaged into a transferable ZIP file.

A SCORM is a competitive edge conformance which helps the user to:

- use standardized packages of learning content.
- recognize individual students and collect info about their progress.
- use meta data

So now, your LMS can offer different feature sets, have different strengths, and be very different in look and feel but as long as they follow SCORM, the courses work pretty well.

Among SCORM goals are to enable interoperability, accessibility and reusability of web-based learning content for industry, government, and academia.

SCORM Versions:
SCORM 1.0, SCORM 1.1, SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004(1.3)- Latest

SCORM Conformance:
A SCORM-conformant content package can be delivered via SCORM-conformant learning management systems, and SCORM-conformant learning management systems can deliver SCORM-conformant content packages.

Content is generally compatible with SCORM if:
# It can be delivered via a web browser
# It can be self-contained (i.e. packaged with all dependencies wholly in a ZIP file)
# It does NOT depend on server-side scripting languages (such as JSP, ASP, and PHP)
# It does NOT depend on external files or external URLs
# It does NOT depend on downloadable components that must be installed by an administrator

SCORM Content Packages:
A SCORM content package is a self-contained ZIP file containing certain contents defined by the SCORM standard. The file is known as a Package Interchange File (PIF) and it contains all files needed to deliver the content package via a SCORM run-time environment and/or learning management system (LMS).

Mandatory Content Package contents:
• XML manifest file (imsmanifest.xml)
• All schema/definition (.xsd and .dtd) files referenced by the manifest file
• All resource files used by the content package and its learning activities

SCORM content packages contain an XML manifest file that describes the package and its contents. The manifest file is a structured inventory of the content of the package. The name of the manifest file is always imsmanifest.xml and it must appear in the root of the content package.

Basic Tween animation in AS3

2009-04-24T14:01:00.010+05:30

This is a basic tutorial to create a tween animation via programming in actionscript 3.0.

To start with,
1) Open a new Flash Document(AS3)
2) Click on a key frame and paste the following actionscript 3.0 code
3) Publish the movie to see the animation

// Importing classes from fl package must be done explicitly

import fl.transitions.Tween;
import fl.transitions.easing.*;

// Declare variables for the tween movement. These could just as easily be local below.

var moveBackX:Tween;
var moveBackY:Tween;
var moveRound:Tween;

// Create a holder and a draggable box

var dragger:Sprite = new Sprite();
var holder:Sprite = new Sprite();

//draw the rectangle which is to be dragged

dragger.graphics.lineStyle(1,0);
dragger.graphics.beginFill(0xCC0033);
dragger.graphics.drawRoundRect(-50,-25,100,50,15,15);
dragger.graphics.endFill();
dragger.x = 300;
dragger.y = 150;

//draw the holder for drag object

holder.graphics.lineStyle(1,0)
holder.graphics.beginFill(0xFFFFFF);
holder.graphics.drawRoundRect(-51,-26,100,50,15,15);
holder.graphics.endFill();
holder.x = 300;
holder.y = 150;

//Display the graphics on the stage

stage.addChild(holder)
stage.addChild(dragger)

/*
Add listeners so that a "mouse down" on the box starts the drag but a "mouse up" anywhere
stops the dragging.
*/

dragger.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN,goDrag)
stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP,goBack)

// Functions
// goDrag

function goDrag(evt:MouseEvent):void{

dragger.startDrag();
dragger.filters = [new DropShadowFilter()];
}

// goBack

function goBack(evt:MouseEvent):void {
dragger.stopDrag()
dragger.filters = []

moveBackX = new Tween(dragger, "x", Strong.easeOut, dragger.x, holder.x, 0.5, true);
moveBackY = new Tween(dragger, "y", Strong.easeOut, dragger.y, holder.y, 0.5, true);
moveRound = new Tween(dragger, "rotation", Strong.easeIn, 0, 180, 0.5, true);
}

Begin with Flash AS3

2009-04-23T13:22:00.003+05:30

A video tutorial for Flash AS3 beginners

SCORM 2.1 and SCORM 2004 standards

2009-04-23T13:05:00.003+05:30

The Learning Management system conforms to the SCORM 2.1 & SCORM 2004 standard, at the following levels:

SCORM 2.1 Run-Time Environment Conformant—Minimum with Some Optional Data Model Elements

All except the following optional data model elements are supported:

cmi.comments
cmi.comments_from_lms
cmi.objectives._children
cmi.objectives._count
cmi.interactions._children
cmi.interactions._count

The LMS provides the full set of functions to comply with the SCORM 2004 standard, so the ones available to a SCO [Sharable Content Object] are:

• Initialize(“”)

• GetValue(parameter)

• SetValue(parameter, value)

• Commit(“”)

• GetLastError()

• GetErrorString()

• GetDiagnostic()

• Terminate(“”)

Below is a summary of the parameters and data-types available within the GetValue and SetValue functions.

(RO = Read only; RW = Read/Write)

cmi._version (characterstring, RO) Represents the version of the data model

cmi.comments_from_learner._children (comment,location.timestamp, RO) Listing of supported data model elements

cmi.comments_from_learner._count (non-negative integer, RO) Current number of learner comments

cmi.comments_from_learner.n.comment (localized_string_type (SPM: 4000), RW) Textual input

cmi.comments_from_learner.n.location (characterstring (SPM: 250), RW) Point in the SCO to which the comment applies

cmi.comments_from_learner.n.timestamp (time (second,10,0), RW) Point in time at which the comment was created or most recently changed

cmi.comments_from_lms._children (comment,location.timestamp, RO) Listing of supported data model elements

cmi.comments_from_lms._count (non-negative integer, RO) Current number of comments from the LMS

cmi.comments_from_lms.n.comment (localized_string_type (SPM: 4000), RO) Comments or annotations associated with a SCO

cmi.comments_from_lms.n.location (characterstring (SPM: 250), RO) Point in the SCO to which the comment applies

cmi.comments_from_lms.n.timestamp (time(second,10,0), RO) Point in time at which the comment was created or most recently changed

cmi.completion_status (state (completed, incomplete, not attempted, unknown), RW) Indicates whether the learner has completed the SCO

cmi.completion_threshold (real(10,7) range (0..1), RO) Used to determine whether the SCO should be considered complete

cmi.credit (state (credit, no_credit), RO) Indicates whether the learner will be credited for performance in the SCO

cmi.entry (state (ab_initio, resume, ""), RO) Asserts whether the learner has previously accessed the SCO

cmi.exit (state (timeout, suspend, logout, normal, ""), W) Indicates how or why the learner left the SCO

cmi.interactions._children (id,type,objectives,timestamp,correct_responses,weighting,learner_resposne,result,latency,description, RO) Listing of supported data model elements

cmi.interactions._count (non-negative integer, RO) Current number of interactions being stored by the LMS

cmi.interactions.n.id (long_identifier_type (SPM: 4000), RW) Unique label for the interaction

cmi.interactions.n.type (state (true_false, multiple_choice, fill_in, long_fill_in, matching, performance, sequencing, likert, numeric, other), RW) Which type of interaction is recorded

cmi.interactions.n.objectives._count (non-negative integer, RO) Current number of objectives (i.e., objective identifiers) being stored by the LMS for this interaction

cmi.interactions.n.objectives.n.id (long_identifier_type (SPM: 4000), RW) Label for objectives associated with the interaction

cmi.interactions.n.timestamp (time(second,10,0), RW) Point in time at which the interaction was first made available to the learner for learner interaction and response

cmi.interactions.n.correct_responses._count (non-negative integer, RO) Current number of correct responses being stored by the LMS for this interaction

cmi.interactions.n.correct_responses.n.pattern (format depends on interaction type, RW) One correct response pattern for the interaction

cmi.interactions.n.weighting (real (10,7), RW) Weight given to the interaction relative to other interactions

cmi.interactions.n.learner_response (format depends on interaction type, RW) Data generated when a learner responds to an interaction

cmi.interactions.n.result (state (correct, incorrect, unanticipated, neutral, real (10,7) ), RW) Judgment of the correctness of the learner response

cmi.interactions.n.latency (timeinterval (second,10,2), RW) Time elapsed between the time the interaction was made available to the learner for response and the time of the first response

cmi.interactions.n.description (localized_string_type (SPM: 250), RW) Brief informative description of the interaction

cmi.launch_data (characterstring (SPM: 4000), RO) Data provided to a SCO after launch, initialized from the dataFromLMS manifest element

cmi.learner_id (long_identifier_type (SPM: 4000), RO) Identifies the learner on behalf of whom the SCO was launched

cmi.learner_name (localized_string_type (SPM: 250), RO) Name provided for the learner by the LMS

cmi.learner_preference._children (audio_level,language,delivery_speed,audio_captioning, RO) Listing of supported data model elements

cmi.learner_preference.audio_level (real(10,7), range (0..*), RW) Specifies an intended change in perceived audio level

cmi.learner_preference.language (language_type (SPM 250), RW) The learner’s preferred language for SCOs with multilingual capability

cmi.learner_preference.delivery_speed (real(10,7), range (0..*), RW) The learner’s preferred relative speed of content delivery

cmi.learner_preference.audio_captioning (state (-1,0,1), RW) Specifies whether captioning text corresponding to audio is displayed

cmi.location (characterstring (SPM: 1000), RW) The learner's current location in the SCO

cmi.max_time_allowed (timeinterval (second,10,2), RO) Amount of accumulated time the learner is allowed to use a SCO

cmi.mode (state (browse, normal, review), RO) Identifies one of three possible modes in which the SCO may be presented to the learner

cmi.objectives._children (id,score,success_status,completion_status,description, RO) Listing of supported data model elements

cmi.objectives._count (non-negative integer, RO) Current number of objectives being stored by the LMS

cmi.objectives.n.id (long_identifier_type (SPM: 4000), RW) Unique label for the objective

cmi.objectives.n.score._children (scaled,raw,min,max, RO) Listing of supported data model elements

cmi.objectives.n.score.scaled (real (10,7) range (-1..1), RW) Number that reflects the performance of the learner for the objective

cmi.objectives.n.score.raw (real (10,7), RW) Number that reflects the performance of the learner, for the objective, relative to the range bounded by the values of min and max

cmi.objectives.n.score.min (real (10,7), RW) Minimum value, for the objective, in the range for the raw score

cmi.objectives.n.score.max (real (10,7), RW) Maximum value, for the objective, in the range for the raw score

cmi.objectives.n.success_status (state (passed, failed, unknown), RW) Indicates whether the learner has mastered the objective

cmi.objectives.n.completion_status (state (completed, incomplete, not attempted, unknown), RW) Indicates whether the learner has completed the associated objective

cmi.objectives.n.progress_measure (real (10,7) range (0..1), RW) Measure of the progress the learner has made toward completing the objective

cmi.objectives.n.description (localized_string_type (SPM: 250), RW) Provides a brief informative description of the objective

cmi.progress_measure (real (10,7) range (0..1), RW) Measure of the progress the learner has made toward completing the SCO

cmi.scaled_passing_score (real(10,7) range (-1 .. 1), RO) Scaled passing score required to master the SCO

cmi.score._children (scaled,raw,min,max, RO) Listing of supported data model elements

cmi.score.scaled (real (10,7) range (-1..1), RW) Number that reflects the performance of the learner

cmi.score.raw (real (10,7), RW) Number that reflects the performance of the learner relative to the range bounded by the values of min and max

cmi.score.min (real (10,7), RW) Minimum value in the range for the raw score

cmi.score.max (real (10,7), RW) Maximum value in the range for the raw score

cmi.session_time (timeinterval (second,10,2), WO) Amount of time that the learner has spent in the current learner session for this SCO

cmi.success_status (state (passed, failed, unknown), RW) Indicates whether the learner has mastered the SCO

cmi.suspend_data (characterstring (SPM: 64000), RW) Provides space to store and retrieve data between learner sessions

cmi.time_limit_action (state (exit,message, continue,message, exit,no message, continue,no message), RO) Indicates what the SCO should do when cmi.max_time_allowed is exceeded

cmi.total_time (timeinterval (second,10,2), RO) Sum of all of the learner’s session times accumulated in the current learner attempt

adl.nav.request (request(continue, previous, choice, exit, exitAll, abandon, abandonAll, _none_), RW) Navigation request to be processed immediately following Terminate()

adl.nav.request_valid.continue (state (true, false, unknown), RO) Used by a SCO to determine if a Continue navigation request will succeed.

adl.nav.request_valid.previous (state (true, false, unknown), RO) Used by a SCO to determine if a Previous navigation request will succeed.

adl.nav.request_valid.choice (state (true, false, unknown), RO) Used by a SCO to determine if a Choice navigation request for a particular activity will succeed.

For full details visit SCORM Run-Time Environment documentation.

Changing User To Super User(Linux)

2009-04-21T10:53:00.003+05:30

Something you would always want: a Root privilege...
Not many ways to do that...

When u install Linux it asks u to create an user account so as to not accidentally modify any system files..
You take that advice quite seriously forgetting that you are the root user...Quite a paradox I think..

Every time you try to install anything you from the user account you created you wud be shown a message "Permission Denied"..
Quite common, coz the user don't have the privileges to do anything in the root directories or system files.
Then you log in as root using "su" and then the password..
A simple way to do away with that..

Quite easy if you are the root and the user as well
Login as the root, open a terminal and open file /etc/passwd
using vi/vim editor.

You will find an entry for the user u created
Like this

xyz:x:500:500:xyz:/home/xyz:/bin/csh

where xyz is the user name u created..

Just change "500"(both) to "0" in that line....
save and exit..(500 or 501 whatever number u find there change that to ZERO)
Congrats you are the Super User....
Technically saying u have just changed the UID(User Id) and GID(Group Id) to root's UID and GID.
That makes you root when u log in from next time..

Caution: With great power comes greater responsibilities..
So dont mess up with the system file you dont know much about..
Little Knowledge is really very dangerous....specially when handling Linux Files.....

How to use JNI in Linux

2009-04-21T10:32:00.000+05:30

Java Native Interface allows you to call functions written in different programming languages from java code. For eg C, C++.
Steps involved:

Create your java class & declare the method to be called using JNI with the native keyword.
Compile the java program (javac FileName.java)
Create the C or C++ header (javah -jni FileName) , FileName.h is generated by the machine.
Write your C or C++ program and include the above generated header file.
Create the shared object file (.so) (gcc -path_where_jdk_is_located/jdk1.6/include -path_where_jdk_is_located/jdk1.6/include/linux FileName.c -shared -o filename.so)

Note : Be sure to specify the same "filename.so" in the java program as well...

JNI Example

2009-04-21T10:31:00.003+05:30

How to use JNI ?? Click here to find out.

NativeAdd.java
public class NativeAdd{
native int addNums(int a, int b);
static{
System.loadLibrary("Add");
}
public static void main(String args[]){
NativeAdd na = new NativeAdd();
System.out.println(""+na.addNums(1,2));
}
}

NativeAdd.h
/* DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE - it is machine generated */
#include
/* Header for class NativeAdd */

#ifndef _Included_NativeAdd
#define _Included_NativeAdd
#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif
/*
* Class: NativeAdd
* Method: addNums
* Signature: (II)I
*/
JNIEXPORT jint JNICALL Java_NativeAdd_addNums
(JNIEnv *, jobject, jint, jint);

#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif
#endif

NativeAdd.c
#include "jni.h"
#include "NativeAdd.h"
JNIEXPORT jint JNICALL Java_NativeAdd_addNums
(JNIEnv * jenv, jobject jobj, jint a, jint b){
int sum = 0;
sum = a + b;
return sum;
}

AICC code for e-learning courses

2009-04-21T10:21:00.001+05:30

I had searched a lot for AICC code and other useful information about AICC programming. But could not find anywhere in the net. I did not even come across good forums or blog posts about AICC. The only place where you can find loads of info about AICC programming and related stuff is: http://www.aicc.org/

This site gives you lots of info, including AICC sample lessons, Source codes for the samples, AICC test suits etc.

You need to fill in the online license agreement in order to download sample source code for PENS/AICC or to download the test suit. You can get both Flash and Authorware samples.

Elearning- tech terms demystified

2009-04-21T10:17:00.002+05:30

LMS Vs Web server:

LMS- Learning Management System is often heard when we deal with e-learning. How it is different from a web server?

Fig: Diagrammatic representation of web server and it working.

The above diagram shows the working of a web server in a very basic way.
a) You are typing a URL or clicking a link.
b) Your computer send the request to the server.
c) Server retrieves the page and send the data back to your machine.

What we need in web based e-learning?
1) Richer and reliable interactions
2) The instructor needs more control over the students.
3) Instructor needs to track the progress of specific students in multiple courses.
4) Need to track the score in the post assessments.
5) Deliver different kinds of courses and content in right way.

If we stick in to a normal web server for e-learning how can we achieve more control over the learner? So we need something more than a normal web server to deliver the e-learning content over internet.

This is where LMS comes to picture. In simple words an LMS is a server in which the instructor or admin has a control over his/ her learners.

Customized LMS

When companies understood that LMS can do a lot more for web based e-learning, they started building their own LMS, according to their needs and likes. Such LMS is termed Customized LMS, which could present any type of web content on any subject with many different design possibilities.

Fig: Diagramatic representation of a Customized LMS

But the customized LMS has its own weakness also. The main thing was 'the content must be specifically designed to fit with in a particular LMS in order to work properly'. That means, if I develop a course for an LMS called X it may not fit for LMS Y.

Now think about a standard, by following the standard you can ensure that your courses will fit into any LMS which follow the specific standard? This is where SCORM comes to picture.

What is a SCORM?

Fig: Diagramatic representation of SCORM

A SCORM is a competitive edge conformance which helps the user to :

- use standardized packages of learning content.
- recognize individual students and collect info about their progress.
- use meta data

So now, your LMS can offer different feature sets, have differerent strengths, and be very different in look and feel but as long as they follow SCORM, the courses work pretty well.

Features of SCROM:

- Accessibility
- Adaptability
- Affordability
- Durability
- Interoperobility
- Reusability

Sending emails from Flash using PHP

2009-04-20T15:00:00.001+05:30

This is a small tutorial which sends out mail from your flash file(AS2). This works similar to 'email to friend' options in websites or 'comments' in blogs. This is a basic tutorial which will help you to send emails to a particular email ID.

Step 1: In the Flash IDE create 3 input text fields. One to enter the Name , second to enter Email ID of the sender, third one to type message.

Step 2: Assign instance names for the input text fields as follows. 'userName' for Name text field, 'userEmail' for Email ID text field, and 'msgText' for message text field.

Step 3: Create a button say 'GO' and assign the instance name as 'submitBtn'.

Step 4: Now create a new layer and rename it as 'action'. Press F9. Here you need to right your program.

Copy paste below given code to actions layer.

Selection.setFocus(_root.userName)//This sets the cursor focus into the Name text box.
stop(); // This stops the movieclip.

// -----Here comes the form-----

var gatherForm:LoadVars = new LoadVars();

function sendForm() {
// The mail ID to which the mail has to be sent.
gatherForm.email_to = "recepient@domain.com";
// Catching the inputted value in the user name field
gatherForm.visitor_name = _root.userName.text;
// Catching the inputted value in the user Email ID field
gatherForm.visitor_email = _root.userEmail.text;
// Catching the inputted value in the message bo
gatherForm.visitor_message = _root.msgText.text;
//this points to the script posted below
gatherForm.sendAndLoad("email.php", gatherForm, "POST");
}

Step 5: Trace the action from Go button

_root.submitBtn.onRelease = function() {

if (_root.userName.text == "") {
_root.msgText.text = "There seems to be an error, Please check that you have filled out the form correctly.";
} else {
sendForm();

_root.msgText.text = "Thank you. You will receive a confirmation e-mail from us here at wherever.";
/
}
};

Step 6: Now create a PHP file with following code and keep it it your main directory. Save the file as email.php.

//******?php
$sendTo = "recepient@domain.com";
$subject = "My comments";
$headers .= "Reply-To: " . $_POST["visitor_email"] . "\r\n";
$headers .= "Return-Path: " . $_POST["visitor_email"];
$message = $_POST["visitor_message"];

mail($sendTo, $subject, $message, $headers);

?>****/

Explanation:

////?php This indicates the the beginning of the PHP code. This tells the server that we are gonna write a PHP code!!!
//mail() ---> It is a great PHP in built function which allows you to sends out mail. It is worth noting that the mail() function is not suitable for larger volumes of email in a loop. The syntax for mail function is as follows:
mail (recipient, subject, message, other headers);
//$sendTo = "recepient@domain.com " ---> Replace this code with the email address you wish your form to send to.
//$subject ---> In PHP '$' denotes a variable. Thus this is the variable called subject. The values here is the text you assigned. The same will appear on the subject line of the mail.
//$message ---> The variable message. This will have the value inputted by the sender through your flash file.

//$_POST ---> This is for retrieving values from the variables that Flash sent. Since Flash sent the variables using post, we would use $_POST to get them into variables of our own. $_POST is a special global variable in a PHP script that contains all of the posted variables sent to that script as an associative array. Using brackets ([]) and a variable name, you can then retrieve those variables. For those variables sent by this particular example, you would obtain their value in PHP using $_POST["visitor_name"], $_POST["visitor_email "], and $_POST["visitor_message"].

?> ---> Indicates that the PHP code ends here.

Please note that this program will work for LINUX based server which supports PHP and with SMTP enabled.

Disabling the print screen option in flash

2009-04-20T14:58:00.001+05:30

You want to disable the print screen option in your flash file(actionscript 2.0), so that the user will not be able to take the screen shot of the information presented?

Here is the code:

// Use System.setClipboard function, and set the clipboard to something you want.

this.onEnterFrame = function (){
if (Key.isDown(44)) {
System.setClipboard("YOU CAN NOT COPY- PASTE ME!");
}
}

Firbug: To Learn and edit CSS easily

2009-04-20T13:10:00.003+05:30

Have you ever faced this scenario?

You are browsing for website designs and came across many with amazing designs, and with look and feel you would like to have for your site. You refresh your CSS knowledge and break your head in imitating similar kind of design. You may spent days and nights experimenting, to achieve similar kind of design.

Firebug marks an end for such long experimenting and designing on CSS. Now you can view and change the CSS locally for your favorite websites and you can even copy paste the styles.

Firebug is a Mozilla Firefox plugin which looks at the underling CSS, HTML, and Javascript structure and shows you where in the code individual elements are. It finds the HTML elements buried deep in the page very easily and also lets you edit the HTML live. Suppose you came across a website and you would like to see the same website in a different background color, you can easily edit the back ground color by going into your firebug tool. Within seconds you will see the website updated with new color. Don't worry, it is just a local editing, it will not change the look and feel of the actual site.

All you need to do is:
1) Install Firebug using your mozilla firefox.
2) Go to the website you wanna see the underling design.
3) Select Firebug from Tools in your firefox browser.(Or click on the 'bug' icon at the bottom right corner of your browser. You will see a window opened at the bottom of your browser.

4) Enjoy learning and editing the website design through CSS files!

Listen to Joe's video here

Joe Hewitt: "Welcome to Firebug 1.0" @ Yahoo! Video

Why CSS is better than HTML tables?

2009-04-20T12:45:00.006+05:30

Ever since the growth of the world wide web, professionals of the industry have sought ways on how to make their websites visually appealing and to increase the efficiency and effectiveness. Style sheet languages such as CSS have perfected this need and became the universal language for designers and developers alike.
So what are the reasons why CSS is much more useful than the tables in the HTML?
Several advantages has been cited on the use of CSS in web design. Let’s have a quick analysis on some of them.

1) Faster loading of the webpages.

Loading time for tabular structures is much greater than css based templates. This is usually caused by using too much markup tags in one HTML file such as "td align", "td width", "bgcolor", "width", "height", "br", etc along with the content of the HTML. CSS separates the content of the web page which is text and images into the HTML file and the visual presentation such as the web design, positioning, and text sizes into a CSS file. In a CSS-based layout, table tags or markups are replaced by using its own language such as "div".

Using tables make your page bulky with presentational data scattered here and there. Every time your visitor has to view a new page, he/she has to download the data for your page afresh.

Less code means faster download times.

2) Efficient and easy redesign, and consistency

CSS is much easy to use when you have to redesign your webpage. As the CSS file separates the content from layout, redesign is much quicker, easier and efficient. Suppose you have to change the design of a table-designed website, what you will have to do is rebuild all your pages again. But with a css powered design, you will only need to modify your style sheet and the job is done.

3) SEO friendliness

CSS based layouts are more search engine friendly than table-based ones. This is because the pages loads faster and having very less mark up tags will make the search engines to crawl through the website content very easily.

4) Accessibility

A website should be accessible to anyone and everyone. Tabular structures reduce accessibility for viewers with disabilities even if the designs may look fine on screen.

You must take into account that your website is not viewed only on computers, but also on mobile phones and PDAs. These devices will have a very easy to use website if you use a well written CSS. As a result of the separation of design (CSS) and structure (HTML), it is also possible to provide different layouts for different devices, e.g. handhelds, mobile phones, etc.

5) Usability

By combining CSS with the functionality of a Content Management System, a considerable amount of flexibility can be programmed into content submission forms. This allows a contributor, who may not be familiar or able to understand or edit CSS or HTML code to select the layout of an article or other page they are submitting on-the-fly, in the same form.

6) Maintainability

By use of CSS, virtually all of the layout information resides in one place. Because the layout information is centralized, these changes can be made quickly and globally by default.

7) Sophisticated Layouts and Designs

SS offers absolute positioning of elements paired with the z-index property allows CSS-based designs to position elements on top of one another, allowing for more unique, complex, and beautiful layouts.

8) Bandwidth Efficiency

CSS file is downloaded just once by your visitor's browser and re-used for different pages on a web site. This optimizes your websites download for your visitor and also the bandwidth used.

How to create effective GUI in JAVA

2009-04-16T13:36:00.001+05:30

Steps involved in creating a effective GUI (Graphical User Interfaces) in Java

1. Design the GUI on paper.

2. Get feedback from users.

3. Decide if the class that will display the GUI extends a Container, or has references to a Container.

( This choice will effect to some extend the flexibility of the class. If the purpose of a class is to be a GUI then extend from a Container.)

4. Create references to all components used in the GUI as attributes of the class.

5. Implement a contructor that creates instances of all the components used.

6. Select a layout manager fo each of the containers.

7. Assemble the components in a window or a frame.

8. Set the size of the container.

9. Make the container visible.

How to create a simple applet

2009-04-16T13:28:00.001+05:30

Steps in creating an Applet
(An applet is a java program that runs in the web browser)

1. The java.applet package must be included.

2. The class must extend from the Applet class.

3. Writing and compiling the Java code.

4. Writing a HTML code that will run the applet.

A Simple Applet

import java.applet.*;
public class MyApplet extends Applet{}
HTML Code

<html>

<body>
<title>Applet Test Page</title>
<h1>Applet Test Page</h1>
<applet code="MyApplet.class" width=250 height=250 name="MyApplet">
</applet>

</body>
</html>

Life cycle of an applet

2009-04-16T13:18:00.001+05:30

Invoking a .exe from Java code

2009-04-16T13:15:00.001+05:30

Invoking a .exe file from Java

pass the .exe file path as a command line argument

import java.io.*;
public class InvokeExe
{
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException
{
if (args.length <= 0)
{
System.err.println("Need command to run");
System.exit(-1);
}
Runtime runtime = Runtime.getRuntime();
Process process = runtime.exec(args);
System.exit(0);
}

}

Using the last_insert_id() function

2009-04-16T13:09:00.001+05:30

Using the last_insert_id() function

NOTE

This function does'nt work when used with AIR applications... It always returns zero..

mysql> USE test;
Database changed
mysql> CREATE TABLE t (
-> id INT AUTO_INCREMENT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
-> name VARCHAR(10) NOT NULL
-> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.09 sec)

mysql> INSERT INTO t VALUES (NULL, 'Bob');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)

mysql> SELECT * FROM t;
+----+------+
| id | name |
+----+------+
| 1 | Bob |
+----+------+
1 row in set (0.01 sec)

mysql> SELECT LAST_INSERT_ID();
+------------------+
| LAST_INSERT_ID() |
+------------------+
| 1 |
+------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> INSERT INTO t VALUES
-> (NULL, 'Mary'), (NULL, 'Jane'), (NULL, 'Lisa');
Query OK, 3 rows affected (0.00 sec)
Records: 3 Duplicates: 0 Warnings: 0

mysql> SELECT * FROM t;
+----+------+
| id | name |
+----+------+
| 1 | Bob |
| 2 | Mary |
| 3 | Jane |
| 4 | Lisa |
+----+------+
4 rows in set (0.01 sec)

mysql> SELECT LAST_INSERT_ID();
+------------------+
| LAST_INSERT_ID() |
+------------------+
| 2 |
+------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

Storing user input into a database using PHP

2009-04-16T13:03:00.001+05:30

TABLE CREATION

CREATE TABLE `employee` (
`id` int(10) default NULL,
`name` varchar(20) default NULL,
`salary` int(10) default NULL
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;

HTML CODE

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<title>Untitled Document</title>
<style type="text/css">

</style>
</head>

<body>
<form action="insert.php" method="post" name="form1" target="_self" id="form1">
<label></label>
<p>
<label></label>
<label></label><label></label>
<span class="style1">Employee Details</span></p>
<table width="323" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tr>
<td width="146"><label>ID</label></td>
<td width="171"><input type="text" name="idval" id="idval" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Name</td>
<td><input type="text" name="nameval" id="nameval" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Salary</td>
<td><input type="text" name="salval" id="salval" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center"><input type="submit" name="submitbutton" id="submitbutton" value="Submit Details" /></td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
</body>
</html>

PHP CODE (insert.php)

<?php
$con=mysql_connect("localhost","root","");
mysql_select_db("employee",$con);
$idval=$_POST['idval'];
$nameval=$_POST["nameval"];
$salval=$_POST["salval"];
$query="insert into employee values($idval,'$nameval',$salval)";
mysql_query($query);
mysql_close($con);
include ("show.php");
?>

PHP CODE (show.php)

<?php

$con = mysql_connect("localhost", "root","");
mysql_select_db("employee",$con);
$query="select * from employee";
$result=mysql_query($query);
echo '<table border="1" align="center">';
while($row=mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
echo "<tr>";
echo "<td>".$row["id"]."</td>";
echo "<td>".$row["name"]."</td>";
echo "<td>".$row["salary"]."</td>";
echo "</tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
mysql_close($con);

?>

Database insert operation using PHP

2009-04-16T12:57:00.001+05:30

TABLE STRUCTURE

Product
id integer primary key auto_increment,name varchar(50),price decimal(10,2),category_id integer,imagepath varchar(100),updateDay date
PHP CODE

<?php
$con=mysql_connect("localhost","root","");
mysql_select_db("phpDB",$con);
$nameVal="DVD";
$priceVal="25";
$imagepathVal="c:/image.jpg";
$updateDayVal="2008-09-10";
$categoryIdVal="156";
$query='insert into product(name,price,imagepath,updateDay,category_id)
values("'.$nameVal.'",'.$priceVal.',"'.
$imagepathVal.'","'.$updateDayVal.'",'
.$categoryIdVal.")";
mysql_query($query);
$query="commit";
mysql_query($query);
mysql_close($con);
?>

Reading table contents into an XML file

2009-04-16T12:49:00.001+05:30

TABLE STRUCTURE

Product
id integer primary key auto_increment,name varchar(50),price decimal(10,2),category_id integer,imagepath varchar(100),updateDay date

PHP CODE

<?php
$con=mysql_connect("localhost","root","");
if (!$con)
{
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
else
{

mysql_select_db("phpDB",$con);
$query="select * from product";
$result=mysql_query($query,$con);
if (!$file=fopen("report.xml","w+"))
{
echo "Cannot open file";
exit;
}
else
{

$toBeWritten=''."\n\n"."<productinfo>"."\n\n";
while($row=mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
$toBeWritten.="\t<product>"."\n\n".
"\t\t<id>".$row["id"]."</id>"."\n\n".
"\t\t<name>".$row["name"]."</name>"."\n\n".
"\t\t<price>".$row["price"]."</price>"."\n\n".
"\t\t<imagepath>".$row["imagepath"]."</imagepath>"."\n\n".
"\t\t<updateday>".$row["updateDay"]."</updateday>"."\n\n".
"\t\t<category_id>".$row["category_id"]."</category_id>"."\n\n".
"\t</product>"."\n\n";
}
$toBeWritten.="</productinfo>"."\n\n";
if (fwrite($file, $toBeWritten) === FALSE)
{
echo "Cannot write to file";
exit;
}

fclose($file);
$query="commit";
mysql_query($query);
mysql_close($con);
}
}

?>

Database delete operation using PHP

2009-04-16T12:46:00.001+05:30

TABLE STRUCTURE

Product

id integer primary key auto_increment,name varchar(50),price decimal(10,2),category_id integer,imagepath varchar(100),updateDay date

PHP CODE

<?php
$idStr=$_POST["idStrVal"];
$idVal=strtok($idStr,'|');
$con=mysql_connect("localhost","root","");
mysql_select_db("phpDB",$con);
while($idVal!==FALSE)
{
mysql_query("delete from product where id=".$idVal);
$idVal=strtok("|");
}
mysql_query("commit");
mysql_close($con);
?>

Database select operation using PHP

2009-04-16T12:41:00.001+05:30

Using Remote Object with LCDS

2009-04-16T12:37:00.001+05:30

Download the .class file below and copy it to lcds\jrun4\servers\default\samples\WEB-INF\classes

Add the following lines of code to your source code



<mx:RemoteObject id="sqlObj" destination="mysqladmin">
<mx:method name="executeSQL">
</mx:method>
</mx:RemoteObject>

Edit the following files

1. lcds\jrun4\servers\default\samples\WEB-INF\flex\services-config.xml
Add the following entry

<channel-definition id="my-amf" class="mx.messaging.channels.AMFChannel">
<endpoint url="http://static IP:8700/samples/messagebroker/amf" class="flex.messaging.endpoints.AMFEndpoint"/>
<properties>
<polling-enabled>false</polling-enabled>
</properties>
</channel-definition>

2. lcds\jrun4\servers\default\samples\WEB-INF\flex\remoting-config.xml
Add the following entry
<destination id="mysqladmin">
<properties>
<source>MySQLAdmin</source>
</properties>
</destination>

NOTE

1. LCDS server must be running
2. A static IP is required for LCDS to be used with AIR Applications

Using PHP with Flex

2009-04-16T12:31:00.001+05:30

TABLE STRUCTURE

Product

id integer primary key auto_increment,name varchar(50),price decimal(10,2),category_id integer,imagepath varchar(100),updateDay date

FLEX CODE

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:WindowedApplication xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute" creationComplete="{this.nativeWindow.maximize()}">
<mx:Script source="assets/dbUpdaterscript.as"/>
<mx:Panel width="589" height="610" layout="absolute" title="Product Details" horizontalCenter="3" verticalCenter="15">
<mx:Grid width="506.5" height="376" horizontalCenter="0" verticalCenter="-60">
<mx:GridRow width="100%" height="100%">
<mx:GridItem width="141" height="100%" verticalAlign="middle">
<mx:Label text="Product Name"/>
</mx:GridItem>
<mx:GridItem width="100%" height="100%" verticalAlign="middle" horizontalAlign="left">
<mx:TextInput id="nameTB" width="247"/>
</mx:GridItem>
</mx:GridRow>
<mx:GridRow width="100%" height="100%">
<mx:GridItem width="100%" height="100%" verticalAlign="middle">
<mx:Label text="Product Price"/>
</mx:GridItem>
<mx:GridItem width="100%" height="100%" verticalAlign="middle" horizontalAlign="left">
<mx:TextInput id="priceTB" width="247"/>
</mx:GridItem>
</mx:GridRow>
<mx:GridRow width="100%" height="100%">
<mx:GridItem width="100%" height="100%" verticalAlign="middle">
<mx:Label text="Product Category"/>
</mx:GridItem>
<mx:GridItem width="100%" height="100%" verticalAlign="middle" horizontalAlign="left">
<mx:TextInput id="categoryIdTB" width="247"/>
</mx:GridItem>
</mx:GridRow>
<mx:GridRow width="100%" height="100%">
<mx:GridItem width="100%" height="100%" verticalAlign="middle">
<mx:Label text="Last Updated"/>
</mx:GridItem>
<mx:GridItem width="100%" height="100%" verticalAlign="middle" horizontalAlign="left">
<mx:DateField showToday="true" id="dateSelecter" width="247" formatString="YYYY-MM-DD" change="onDateChange(event)"/>
</mx:GridItem>
</mx:GridRow>
<mx:GridRow width="100%" height="100%">
<mx:GridItem width="100%" height="100%" verticalAlign="middle">
<mx:Label text="Product Image"/>
</mx:GridItem>
<mx:GridItem width="100%" height="100%" verticalAlign="middle">
<mx:TextInput id="imagePathTB" width="165"/>
<mx:Button label="Browse" id="browseButton" click="browseForFile(event)" width="74"/>
</mx:GridItem>
</mx:GridRow>
</mx:Grid>
<mx:Button x="233" y="443" label="SUBMIT INFO" click="submitData(event)"/>
</mx:Panel>
</mx:WindowedApplication>

ACTIONSCRIPT CODE (databaseupdaterscript.as)

// ActionScript file
import flash.events.Event;
import flash.filesystem.File;
import flash.net.FileFilter;

import mx.rpc.http.HTTPService;
private var dayStr:String;
private var monthStr:String;
private var yearStr:String;
[Bindable]
private var dateStr:String;
private var file:File;
private var fileFilter:FileFilter;
private var phpInvoker:HTTPService=new HTTPService();
public function browseForFile(e:Event):void
{
file=new File();
fileFilter=new FileFilter("Image","*.jpg;*.png;*.tiff;*.gif;");
file.browse([fileFilter]);
file.addEventListener(Event.SELECT,fileSelectHandler);
}
private function fileSelectHandler(e:Event):void
{
imagePathTB.text=file.url.substr(8,file.url.length);
}
public function onDateChange(e:Event):void
{
yearStr=e.currentTarget.selectedDate.getFullYear();
dayStr=e.currentTarget.selectedDate.getDate();
monthStr=(e.currentTarget.selectedDate.getMonth()+1);
dateStr=yearStr+"/"+monthStr+"/"+dayStr;
}
public function submitData(e:Event):void
{
var postData:Object={nameVal:nameTB.text,priceVal:priceTB.text,imagepathVal:imagePathTB.text
,updateDayVal:dateStr,categoryIdVal:categoryIdTB.text}
phpInvoker.url="http://localhost/test/dbUpdater.php";
phpInvoker.method="POST";
phpInvoker.send(postData);

}

PHP CODE (dbupdater.php)

<?php
include("../database/db.php");
$nameVal=$_POST["nameVal"];
$categoryVal=$_POST["categoryVal"];
$priceLevel0=$_POST["priceLevel0"];
$priceLevel1=$_POST["priceLevel1"];
$priceLevel2=$_POST["priceLevel2"];
$imagepathVal=$_POST["imagepathVal"];
$descriptionVal=$_POST["descriptionTxt"];
$today=date("Y-m-d");

$query="select category_id from category where category_name='$categoryVal'";
$result=mysql_query($query,$db);
if($row=mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
$categoryVal=$row['category_id'];
}
$query ="insert into product(`product_name`, `category_id`, `price_level0`, `price_level1`, `price_level2`, `product_image`,
`update_date`, `description`) values('$nameVal',$categoryVal,$priceLevel0,$priceLevel1,$priceLevel2,'$imagepathVal','$today','$descriptionVal')";
echo "OK";
mysql_query($query,$db);
$query="commit";
mysql_query($query,$db);
mysql_close($db);
?>

Using HttpService to read the contents of an external file

2009-04-16T12:30:00.001+05:30

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:WindowedApplication xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute" creationComplete="getMenuData.send()">
<mx:HTTPService id="getMenuData" url="menudata.txt" resultFormat="flashvars"/>
<mx:ComboBox x="269" y="134" dataProvider="{getMenuData.lastResult.currencies.split('|')}"></mx:ComboBox>
</mx:WindowedApplication>

The menudata.txt file

label=currency&currencies=Dollar|Rupee|Dinar|Pound|Sterling

Creating a custom context menu

2009-04-16T12:26:00.001+05:30

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:WindowedApplication xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute" creationComplete="initApp()">
   <mx:DataGrid x="231" y="45" id="sampleGrid" dataProvider="{sampleXML.person}">
        <mx:columns>
            <mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Name" dataField="name"/>
            <mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Age" dataField="age"/>
        </mx:columns>
    </mx:DataGrid>
   
   <mx:XML xmlns="" id="sampleXML" format="e4x">
       <people>
           <person>
               <name>John</name>
               <age>20</age>
           </person>
           <person>
               <name>Sean</name>
               <age>22</age>
           </person>
           <person>
               <name>Max</name>
               <age>25</age>
           </person>
       </people>
   </mx:XML>
   
    <mx:XML format="e4x" id="menuData">
        <root>
            <menuitem label="Menu Item 1"/>
            <menuitem label="Menu Item 2"/>
         </root>
    </mx:XML>
    <mx:Script>
       <![CDATA[
           import mx.controls.FlexNativeMenu;
           import mx.events.FlexNativeMenuEvent;
           import mx.controls.Alert;
           private var dgContextMenu:FlexNativeMenu;
           public function initApp():void
           {
               dgContextMenu=new FlexNativeMenu();
               createContextMenu();
           }
           private function createContextMenu():void
           {
               dgContextMenu.dataProvider=menuData;
                dgContextMenu.labelField="@label";
                dgContextMenu.showRoot=false;
                dgContextMenu.setContextMenu(sampleGrid);
                dgContextMenu.addEventListener(FlexNativeMenuEvent.ITEM_CLICK,onItemClick);
           }
           private function onItemClick(e:FlexNativeMenuEvent):void
           {
               switch(e.index)
               {
                   case 0:
                           Alert.show("You clicked Menu Item 1");
                           break;
                   case 1:
                           Alert.show("You clicked Menu Item 2");
                           break;
               }
           }
       ]]>
    </mx:Script>
</mx:WindowedApplication>

Displaying XML contents in a datagrid

2009-04-16T12:24:00.001+05:30

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:WindowedApplication xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute">
<mx:DataGrid x="114" y="92" dataProvider="{sampleXML.product}">
<mx:columns>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="NAME" dataField="name"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="PRICE" dataField="price"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="AVAILABILITY" dataField="availability"/>
</mx:columns>
</mx:DataGrid>
<mx:XML xmlns="" id="sampleXML" format="e4x">
<items>
<product>
<name>A</name>
<price>1234</price>
<availability>Yes</availability>
</product>
<product>
<name>B</name>
<price>5678</price>
<availability>Yes</availability>
</product>
<product>
<name>C</name>
<price>910</price>
<availability>NO</availability>
</product>
</items>
</mx:XML>
</mx:WindowedApplication>

Deleting Datagrid contents

2009-04-16T12:22:00.001+05:30

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:WindowedApplication xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute">
<mx:DataGrid id="studentDetails" x="216" y="41" dataProvider="{listCollection}" itemClick="onItemClick(event)">
<mx:columns>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Name" dataField="name"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Age" dataField="age"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Sex" dataField="sex"/>
</mx:columns>
</mx:DataGrid>
<mx:Button x="311" y="237" label="Delete Student" click="onClick(event)" id="deleteButton" enabled="false"/>
<mx:XML id="sampleXML" format="e4x" xmlns="">
<students>
<student>
<name>Michael</name>
<age>12</age>
<sex>Male</sex>
</student>
<student>
<name>Jesse</name>
<age>15</age>
<sex>Female</sex>
</student>
<student>
<name>Ben</name>
<age>10</age>
<sex>Male</sex>
</student>
</students>
</mx:XML>
<mx:XMLListCollection id="listCollection" source="{sampleXML.student}"/>
<mx:Script>
<![CDATA[
import mx.events.ListEvent;
import mx.controls.Alert;
public function onItemClick(e:ListEvent):void
{
deleteButtonEnableToggle(true);
}
public function onClick(e:Event):void
{
deleteButtonEnableToggle(false);
listCollection.removeItemAt(studentDetails.selectedIndex);
listCollection.refresh();
}
public function deleteButtonEnableToggle(val:Boolean):void
{
deleteButton.enabled=val;
}
]]>
</mx:Script>
</mx:WindowedApplication>

2009-04-16T12:08:00.003+05:30

The next culprit that you will need to fully utilise the so called installed firefox on ur system...

It is for sure that when u visit some most visited sites like youtube it will show you that

"Either your javascript is disabled or Additional plugins are required".

Don worry abt the javascript..all you need to do is install latest flash player but ..........

Flash Player 10 will not be supported by most Linux Platforms coz they will ask for

glibc2.4. And guess what this is the file which you shouldn't be messing around with

coz it is required by the Kernel and you need to update ur kernel to get glibc2.4.

So the best alternative is that you don't touch it coz we don't think you wud be interested in kernel side debugging...
So what can you do....Nothing!!!!

No you can use the previous version of Flash Player to be precise Flash Player9
Its hard to find that version nowadays but don worry we have done that for you already..
All you have to do is to right click and save the link below .. and as was in our previous article just follow the steps...

Download This File:
Flash Player 9

Open terminal and go to the folder where you downloaded Flash Player 9:
then run the following commands..

1) tar -xvzf flash_player_9_linux_dev.tar.gz

2) cd flash_player_9_linux_dev/plugin/debugger/

3) tar -xvzf libflashplayer.so.tar.gz

U will get a libflashplayer.so file when you untar it.

4)Copy that file to firefox/plugins/ directory.

Now you can visit any sites without being asked for any installations..

Hope after these gruesome steps you would have enjoyed the full fledged services of Firefox 3+..
Do write in your problems and comments..

The Curious Case of Firefox 3+ on LINUX...

2009-04-13T11:58:00.000+05:30

This might be the most googled topic nowadays...

"How to install Firefox 3+ on Red hat/Mandriva/Linux"

Even after googling for hours and checking out the results one by one U will never find the appropriate solution. And when you find nothing..You will feel the pinch....Our case was was no different...

Every forum that we checked had replies like

"Its better to stick with the existing version"

"Switch to windows to install Firefox 3+"

and the most awesome but nagging was
"Click here to install Firefox !!!!"

At that point in time we even thought of clicking it!!!

Such was our desperation to install it !!!
But one thing was common in all those links n forums

"Linux Sucks and Windows Rocks"

We were about to quit but these statements made us think twice...So we decided to find a way to breathe some oxygen to latest Firefox starved Linux...

But one thing is for sure

U ought to have PATIENCE !!!

We will try to make things better for you by trying to put as many solutions on this page as possible....Hope you don't have to move out of this page

So without wasting precious time...lets solve the mystery...step by step....
10 steps to be specific!!
First you need to create a folder name "gtk" in the /opt directory...(You can give any name but do replace the name "gtk" in all the future references)

Now here starts the process:

Be patient,

A journey to a 1000 miles begins with a single step...

so here you begin.. And step by step you can reach there..

1) Download Firefox 3 + (it will be in tar.bz2 format.)

2) Extract Firefox now by using the command

tar - xvjf firefox-3.0.8.tar.bz2

So here you go, the worst part of the installation will start now..

#include <patience.h> !!!

Hope you haven't lost your cool...

3) Firefox needs the following 7 dependencies to be installed to run..
Download the tar files to /opt/gtk/ directory.

U can find all the necessary source files from the following link : http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/

Or you can Right Click and Save the following links...
(Choose Save link As / Save target As)....

4) After downloading extract the files in /opt/gtk/ using

tar -xvzf (name of tar file)

After extracting do keep in mind the above specified order.
(If you do not follow the order you will have to start all over again)

5) Change directory to pkgconfig-0.18
>cd pkgconfig-0.18

Execute the following commands in the given sequence. (You might need a root login if you dont have permissions)

>./configure --prefix=/opt/gtk/
>make
>make install

This will install pkgconfig.

So remember these three commands. Every time you need to install anything you have to run these commands in the given order.

6) After that change directory to pixman-0.12.0 and install it

7) Setting up the environment variables.
Run the following commands to set the variables then only you should proceed to install the rest of the packages.(5 more left)

>export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/gtk/lib/pkgconfig/:/usr/lib/pkgconfig/:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH

>export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/gtk/lib/:/usr/local/lib/:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

>export PATH=/opt/gtk/bin/:$PATH

8) Now install other packages too with the same set of installation commands.

cairo-1.8.6
glib-2.18.4
pango-1.20.5
atk-1.25.2
gtk+-2.14.7

9) While configuring gtk+-2.14.7 remember to change the ./configure command as:

./configure --prefix=/opt/gtk/ --without-libjasper

10) Once all the packages are installed (without any error, u can neglect warnings) you need to let Firefox know where these files are.
For that you have to make changes in your .bashrc file

>vi ~/.bashrc
then insert the following lines into the file

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/gtk/lib/pkgconfig/:/usr/lib/pkgconfig/:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/gtk/lib/:/usr/local/lib/:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

export PATH=/opt/gtk/bin/:$PATH

Save and Exit.

Now you can run Firefox from the Firefox folder you unzipped (The first step, remember ???)
First change your directory to Firefox and then:

>sh firefox

That will do it...
Congrats if Firefox comes up nicely..
If not post us your errors or doubts..

And here we have all the ears and brains working to sort that things out so as to make it easier for you to use Firefox....