Xtremax - Web Design

Fill in the blanks – where to start and how to do them
1. Entry Point
The entry point of each component is standard:
[COMPONENT_NAME].php
and for backend modules, it is also possible to use
admin.[COMPONENT_NAME].php
to be the entry point.
The purpose of the entry point is very simple, initiate the correct controller and execute the task. See below for [...]

Well, Tweety asked me a question.  An administrator component like Media had many layouts.  How can we know which layout just based on the url?
http://xtremax.com/itemacpherson/administrator/index.php?option=com_media&view=mediaList&tmpl=component&folder=
I looked at the url.. and no.. there is no way.  Internally, there are some codes which have actually set the layout, but it is not based on the core joomla [...]

Special Episode : How the magic is done (requested by james)
It is some times quite confusing to use Joomla MVC, as we are quite often not sure where are the related files are included and how the respective controller/ model/ view are found and invoked. This post is trying to answer that [...]

Well, I never had to build such a big system in Joomla so I have never bothered about infrastructure plumbing codes like logging.
Logging is one of the most important aspects of application development.  It allows the developers to track errors that have occurred without needing to reproduce them.  Theoretically, we should be able to figure [...]

I was looking through the Joomla jimport.  It sure reminded me of the way java did its packaging.  Hmm. after some digging through, i find it pretty innovative.  Joomla actually have some kind of delayed loading mechanism, so that they only load the file when the Class has actually been called. 
This is best illustrated [...]

Adobe Photoshop shortcuts I find it cool and also learned a lot through this Photoshop Secret Shortcuts. Just want to tell that the doing with lots of clicks is much easier and timesaving then using the keyboard shortcuts keys. Basically working with Photoshop can be very time consuming for both interns and experts. Key board [...]

MVC architecture is one of the most common and popular architectures for software developments today, especially for web applications.
Then I come across the Joomla MVC architecture, the way Joomla use MVC is a little bit different from what I used to have in JAVA, and the most difficult part is there are some hidden “Magical” [...]

If you have experience in Java, you will be familiar with the myriad of logging frameworks.  One of the important things about logging is that it allows you to actually trace errors that have occurred in your absence.  Without logging, it will be like a crime committed without any trails to investigate.  Logging creates trails [...]

I recently speed up my participation with the social networking sites. May be this is because of the increasing influence of these sites over the web. Second and more valid reason is social networking being a tool for Search Engine Marketing. There are many web sites available to support your appetite. Friendfeed already have 62 [...]

Well, after playing with it a little bit more, just enhanced it a little to be displayed in a configurable widget.  Of course.. .this is only the beginning… haha.. more fun things are coming up!
Stay tuned!
http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/singapore-maps