p.arcc.cc

I've been working on the site p.arcc.cc for a while now as an exhibition space for processing sketches.

So far I've implemented a number of php scripts which control the content that goes on the page. There is a couple of small php scripts that read files out of a directory and draw them to canvas, and there is also an upload script, so that anyone can submit a sketch. The inputs of the php upload script are sanitised so that no-one can upload malicious code. It only accepts pde files.

I've also implemented a navigation bar that uses jQuery smoothscroll to navigate to different points on the page that are written using the php scripts. The navbar itself is populated by using a php script, so that it remains up to date.

Skrollr was also implemented to give parallax scrolling effect to the background.

I encountered a strange error concerning this when I was building the site. At a certain point (not the end of the page) the parallax effect would stop. The background would not scroll, it fixed itself.

So I did what any other web developer would do, check the web dev tools, however when I checked the tools, the background started behaving as it should. I could even close the inspector and it would still work. If I refreshed the page it would have the same problem as when I started.
I eventually found a solution to this though.

Joomla! and Our Social Lubricant

So,
An update on what exactly I've been doing for the past couple of weeks.
I've been becoming more acquainted with Joomla!
The learning curve was steep at first, but once I got the hang of it, I don't know what I would do without it.
Its so fast to do everything, set it all up and change it to meet the specifications. Theres almost always a module out there that will do anything.

The test site that I've been working with is the beginnings of a project with another student and a group of her friends called Our Social Lubricant. Its currently live at j.arcc.cc, I'm temporarily hosting it on my subdomain because its easier and I can easily share it with the clients.
Currently there is very little actual content on the site, its mostly just odds and ends and placeholders, however the frameworks are in place to deal with content once its actually a part of the site.

I've been developing my skills with CSS mainly but also working out stuff to do with how CMS systems work.

At this point almost everything on the site works (except for a few minor details that I'll get to over the next couple of days.

Ill edit this post later with an itemised list of the features/modules that I've been playing around with on this site so far.

More improvements to Arcc.cc, particularly the content loading on square and hexagon.

I used jquery to hide all the content first

$(document).ready(function(){
$('#video0, #video1, #video2').fadeTo(0,0)
$('#video, #video1, #video2').hide();

Then once the selection on the navbar is clicked (#intro0), hide the other content that may be active(#video1, #video2) and fade in the content.

$('#intro0').click(function(){
$('#video1,#video2').hide();
$('#video0').fadeTo("slow", 1);

Once the navigation has been clicked, bind to the 'ended' event, and when the even triggers fade out and return to frame 0. (this is not present in hexagon, as there is no end. The hover functions work all the time after the navigation has been clicked)

$("#video0").bind("ended", function() {
$('#video0').fadeTo("slow", 0);
this.currentTime = 0;

Hover functions: when the ended event has triggered enable hovering over the content so that it can be played again.

$('#video0').hover(function(){
$('#video0').fadeTo("slow", 1);},
function(){
$('#video0').fadeTo("slow", 0);}
);
});
});

This code is then just copied over with different entries, to hide the other content and show the correct content.

The only problem I have found with this code is that when the video has ended, and the hover function is run, if the video is restarted more than twice and ended, the hovering gets increasingly longer response times. I think i can fix this by stopping the hover function on ended before restarting it. I don't know how to do this yet, and the bug is low priority.

I was helped with this code with direction from Christopher Fulham, and actual jQuery help from <insert classmates name who I have shamefully forgotten here>.

More work done on hexagon page

So...
I'm back at uni and working hard again.
Today a bit more work was done on Arcc.cc, specifically the hexagon page (link for the lazy). It still has a couple of small pieces of code that need to be written (or rewritten) but overall its functionality is acceptable.

Breakdown of changes:
1. Switched from iframes to javascript.

• Removes the reliance on openprocessing.com.
• Faster load times.
• No java applet permission requests as it draws straight to canvas.

2. Changed from a straight up layout to request and interaction based, also changed the size of sketches.

• Gives a more clear place for viewing.
• No more confusion and scrolling.
• Borders to know that happens when you click a navigation button.
• Allows for more organisation and layout, and sets a set size for sketches.
• Con - the change of size of one sketch causes quite intensive load (this is due to the sketch itself as well as the fact that it is being drawn in a browser).

3. Implemented JQuery.

• Can modify content on the page much, much easier.
• Quickly implemented and can be quickly added to.

What I learned from today (in chronological order):

• My Web Development class is not nearly as fast paced and awesome as my Internet Art class.
• Hackertyper.net is good for trolling other students who aren't as computer literate as I am.
• JQuery is AWESOME! and can do all the things.
• Revere Occam's Razor. It is your god.

Another interesting method of drawing

This is a very interesting method of drawing on this site.

http://www.koalastothemax.com

Falling

http://www.fallingfalling.com

This site piqued my interest tonight mainly due to the sound. the frequency of it seems to be constantly falling. I think I'll investigate this phenomena in a project this year.

A wild website appears

www.Arcc.cc