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Wanted to say thanks to those who have helped. — Parallax Forums

Wanted to say thanks to those who have helped.

highplainsbubbahighplainsbubba Posts: 34
edited 2011-12-19 10:48 in General Discussion
I just spent around 10 hours trying to do something as simple as toggle the visibility on an HTML page. It was frustrating and tedious and involved a lot of time googling. The w3schools website was a big help. My brain felt like it just had a Thanksgiving dinner and it was time to sit back and loosen my head band. That simple task should have taken an hour at most. My problem, as it turned out, was in the syntax of a Java script. Although it was a major headache, I know that I am a beginner and on these days that things go wrong, are the days that I learn the most. I have found that the people on the forums are always more than willing to help and I want to express my appreciation for all your efforts. That being said, I will do my best to solve my own problems before asking for someones help. I realize that the time you guys/gals spend helping me, could be used for your own pursuits. Once again, thanks.

Comments

  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-12-17 18:39
    My brain felt like it just had a Thanksgiving dinner and it was time to sit back and loosen my head band.
    If this forum had a voting system, I'd upvote, just for that excellent simile!

    Never be afraid to post questions here, even if they seem trivial. Seeking and giving assistance is the main reason this forum exists.

    -Phil
  • eagletalontimeagletalontim Posts: 1,399
    edited 2011-12-17 20:52
    If you ever have website programming problems, feel free to send me a PM. I have been doing web programming for 11 years now :) I know how it feels to spend hours on trying to fix something and find it is either a misspelled word, missing punctuation, or any other simple mistake. It SUCKS! :)
  • highplainsbubbahighplainsbubba Posts: 34
    edited 2011-12-18 05:51
    Yes, It does really suck. But it feels so good to finally get it right. Thanks for the offer of help eagleontim. Its good to know there is somewhere to go for help. Like I said, I will do so only as a last resort.

    I have been trying to get the Spinneret Webserver Up and running as an interface for a home automation project. There is no way I could have programmed it from square one but I have been following Mike G's servebeer tutorials and that has been a lifesaver. It would still be sitting in the box if not for that. I just wish I had an interest in this kind of thing years ago, but then again, this stuff didn't exist years ago. I can still remeber when TV was broadcast only at night. That should tell you how old I am.
  • Mike GMike G Posts: 2,702
    edited 2011-12-18 07:38
    @highplainsbubba, JavaScript can be challenging to debug. Use the FireFox Error console to pinpoint JavaScript Error, Warnings, and Messages. I also used the FireBug plugin for FireFox.

    Another handy approach is it use the Alert() method or document.write() to print variables and verify program flow.

    Please do not PM or email your problem, publish your issue in a public forum like this. Someone else might have the same problem. When posting source code, post all the source code. It's very common to see snippets of code or no code at all from folks asking for help. On this forum our language is source code and schematics. If the source is not complete we have to infer meaning. I - for one - tend to infer incorrectly.
  • highplainsbubbahighplainsbubba Posts: 34
    edited 2011-12-18 10:28
    Mike,
    I saw the Alert()method in one of the ajax files you had posted on the tutorial (it was commented out) so I looked it up and used it.The error I had was in defining the variable so I couldn't look at something I hadn't defined correctly. Sometimes it would show up and others it wouldn't. I downloaded Firebug and played with, it but I will need to go through some tutorials before I can use it. Found a good one here http://michaelsync.net/2007/09/30/firebug-tutorial-script-tab-javascript-debugging which seems to cover what I need. Theres more on how to use Firebug here also. http://getfirebug.com/wiki/index.php/Firebug_Links It's amazing that we live in a world where the answer to almost every question is only a mouse click away. With all this free education on the internet, its sad to see todays kids wasting time on World of Warcraft.

    Thanks for pointing out these tools. Tools are to men, what shoes are to women, you can never have too many.
  • highplainsbubbahighplainsbubba Posts: 34
    edited 2011-12-19 10:48
    Went through the Firebug tutorial. That really took the blinders off. I will be using Firebug religiously. I had a problem initially. I kept getting the info message that said something to the effect that it couldnt remember website in browser private mode. I figured out how to turn off private mode in the Firefox options panel. Loaded up the Servebeer Ajax files and was able to follow the code a lot better. Onward and upward !
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