Archives for 2011

December 26, 2011

Aptana Studio 3

I finally took the plunge and downloaded Aptana Studio 3. Aptana is an open-source IDE or integrated development environment for web developers. The IDE supports all the latest web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Ruby, Rails, PHP and Python.

It’s impressive despite having only a couple of hours playing with it. I really like the ‘code assist’ feature that comes with the IDE. I haven’t use all the features yet, but the deployment wizard, git integration, and the built-in terminal, sounds very, very inviting.

The learning curve isn’t steep. It’s just the right level for someone who may be tempted to try using an IDE. Aptana reminds me of Eclipse and a little bit of Textmate. The program does require Java, which my Ubuntu desktop already has installed.

Some people had issues with Git commits and some complaints about the program being resource hungry. I can’t comment on those yet since I’ve only been using it for a couple of hours. My first impression of Aptana Studio 3 is very good.

December 25, 2011

Str_replace

The str_replace function in PHP, is similar to the find and replace function that you’ll find in most text editors. Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Notepad, WordPad, Gedit, and a gaggle of other text editors, all have the find and replace function. It’s a very neat feature that comes in very handy when doing wholesale changes to a document.

In PHP, I use the str_replace function mostly to filter unwanted characters, like commas, quotes, etc from a certain string. The string can originate from a form or database. It doesn’t really matter. In this example, I have a string called $a. I will use the str_replace function to search for a word ‘foo’ and replace it with the word ‘bar.’

Replace Foo With Bar

$a = 'foo, is a great word.';
$b = str_replace('foo', 'bar', $a);
echo $b;

The result: ‘bar, is a great word.’

Remove Commas

$a = 'foo, is a great word.';
echo $b = str_replace(',', ' ', $a);

The result: ‘foo is a great word.’

Notice I used a shortcut to echo the string $b, while assigning to it the str_replace function. You can use str_replace to filter and replace a character, a word or a group of words from within a string.

December 21, 2011

FIFA 12

Last night, I finally received in the mail, FIFA 12 for the Xbox 360. I ordered it through Amazon since it was $10 cheaper. Shipping was free, but I have to wait 5-7 days for it. It was worth it. I think.

One the reasons I bought this game was, because EA turned off the online servers for FIFA 10. I can no longer play online games, which takes the fun out of it. So, on to the next release, or two.

I went with FIFA 12. I never considered buying FIFA 11, because I think it nuts to buy the same game every year. Plus the older games are usually supported for a minimum of 2 years.

I probably missed out on all the fun with FIFA 11, but I’m all caught up now. I think. FIFA 12 needs some serious relearning on my part. Playing defense is an entirely different game. You can no longer call for help on defense as much with FIFA 10.

The animation is great. The players moves are more realistic than previous versions. The wild celebrations after a goal is a little overdone. Rooney keeps on getting caught up inside the goal netting, like a shark caught in a fisherman’s net.

Overall, I like the game. It will take a little use to get better with this game. Playing online will come later, when I get better.