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There are many ‘cool’ things that can be done with web scripting (client side) but there are somethings that are just totally awesome. And awesome has to meet a few criteria:
- Firstly, it has to be cross-browser
- Secondly degrades well in older browsers
- Thirdly, accessible
This past weekend I found a few such things that are worth sharing and using!
A CSS Table Layout
Often it is difficult to do a table-perfect css layout. Here’s a script that allows you to write your divs, and then use javascript to display as a table layout. Visually a table, but the order can be set to be accessible. Awesome!! People who hate fixing css layouts are gonna love this.
http://glazkov.com/blog/archive/2005/05/02/476.aspx
Tab Widget – Tabtastic
Tabtastic is a basic tab widget using pure CSS and JavaScript. Switching between tabs is done via anchors (#internalLinks). Its a bit irritating that this causes the page to jump, but nonetheless awesome that an accessible and standards compliant widget has been created.
http://phrogz.net/JS/Tabtastic/index.html
Enhanced Form Widgets
Say goodbye to the old/ugly form elements and replace them with your own. Now it is possible to style radio buttons and check boxes as you want, and still have them degrade well. A must see – totally awesome.
http://www.jacobrask.net/blog/enhanced-form-widgets
http://www.flog.co.nz/2005/04/27/arc-adams-radiocheckbox-customisation/
Examples of this:
http://www.jacobrask.net/lab/efw/
http://www.flog.co.nz/lab/ARC/ARC.htm
A CSS Cheatsheet
Lastly, I found a good cheat sheet for CSS amongst others. Apart from being a good reference, the section of selectors is really informative. In case you don’t know: you haven’t tasted CSS till you’ve tasted CSS selectors. This is where the real power of CSS lies.
http://www.ilovejackdaniels.com/css/css-cheat-sheet/
Also check other cheatsheets at: http://www.ilovejackdaniels.com/cheat-sheets/
Last night we had a family dhikr, followed by an announcement many had some feeling of anticipation about, yet came as a surprise. My uncle Fareed and (fav) aunt Wasiela have made their intention to perform Hajj this year, Insha-Allah.
It is difficult to fully capture the moment into words. And ironically, prior to that, everyone was sporting their camera phones. But perhaps, the moment was too good to capture. Everyone, including the camera phone people were in awe. And in the end, a video wouldn’t have done justice to the Nur (spiritual light) that permeated the lounge.
Hajj in Cape Town is unique, and by Hajj I mean the theme and culture, not the practise which can, of course, only be performed in Makkah al-Mukarramah.
It must have been an intimate moment with their Creator when they took the decision together. Following that they inform the family. In Cape tradition, there’ll be a visit to the graves of the Saints who brought Islam to the Cape, and preserved it through the period of slavery.
The custom in Cape Town is to greet family and friends personally, request their forgiveness for any wrong that may have been committed, and request duah (prayers) for their well-being on this sacred journey. Not to forget, a kaartjie (invitation card) must be sent to the Muslim radio stations so that they can also announce it on-air for people who know them, but may have moved, or haven’t been in touch for years, school mates, etc.
In the weeks preceding their departure, family and friends come to the house to wish them well, share experiences on Hajj (and Sahuc and the agents… [hopefully not this year]). Distant family members see each other after time, so there’s catching up to do.
As for the family, they play a major part, unrequested, but true to the hospital nature of Muslims in Cape Town. Thinking ahead, there has to be a decision on who is going to look after the house (and kids), who is available and when to drive the couple around as they greet people. And of course, ladies start taking out their baking/cooking books to offer whatever they can. And youngsters – what techniques can they use to justifying getting that delicious cake… (only joking, and please, no references to my stomach!)
Hajj lasts for a few days, but in reality, takes a lifetime to prepare for. In Cape Town, with all its beautiful practices, Hajj has begun! Insha Allah, I hope to capture it in more details, including photos.
Lastly to Uncle Fareed and Aunty Wasiela – we are proud of you!! It resonates in me that Hajj is not about economics as people make it out to be. It is about will power. Allah has invited you. If you take small steps to Allah, Allah comes with bigger steps to you.
Further to my recent posting on Blogging as a Sadaqatul Jaariyah, I was glad to hear that Maulana Imran Nazar Hosein now has a website at http://www.imranhosein.org/. Maulana Imran was a student of the famous Maulana Fazul-Rahman Ansari of Pakistan.
On Maulana Imran’s last tour to South Africa, he clearly highlighted the problem of Riba (usury), and what could be done to overcome this starting at a micro level. Some of his proposals are being implemented in places such as Indonesia and Australia. Hopefully the website can be instrumental in this part.
Already the website covers some topical issues, such as the debate on Terri Schiavo, so the website is worth a visit (and bookmark).
For two projects that I’m busy with, I need to convert an Access database to MySQL. Its more the data that needs to be transferred thanthe structure.
Going through the web, I found a great tool for doing this, and best of all its freeware!
DB Converter by Zenwerx Custom Programming takes an Access database, and generates it into SQL compatible with MySQL and Oracle. Fab tool, andworks, and gets my thumbs up.
Have a look at: http://www.zenwerx.com/products.php?id=2
The download is available at: http://www.zenwerx.com/dbc_1.5.2_install.zip
As a web developer, one of the biggest difficulties is trying to get client to provide decent content. At first I thought it was ‘laziness’ on their part, only to find out, with experience, that it seems to be endemic.
Having developed the website for the Islamic College of Southern Africa (ICOSA), and now busy with the one for the International Peace University of South Africa (IPSA), I’ve always tried to encourage the lecturing staff to allow their research to be published on the web.
But in general, we need to ask how many Muslim scholars have blogs, and can we encourage them to go into blogging. It doesn’t have to be ‘academic’, just valuable interesting ideas that they have to share.
For one, I’ve learnt how much better it is to write down things, and enormous thanks goes to the Blogger.com and Google teams for facilitating this, and giving me the freedom to express myself in a way that is comfortable.
Another thought and perhaps reason for Muslim Scholars to start blogging.
Whatever gets written in the blog remains, the ideas may change over time, they may be criticised, or hardly read. But perchance, the writings can help someone. A blog remains a legacy in a similar way to that of a book. The blog will become a Sadaqah al-Jariyah, a perpetual charity, a gift from yourself to others, many of whom you may never meet, benefitting humanity, even after you have passed on.
Here in Cape Town and the Western Cape (South Africa), we are experiencing water shortages, and proudly, Muslims are playing a leading role in spreading the message. In fact, the councillor in charge ofwater management is a Muslim, viz. Councillor Saleem Mowser.
Nonetheless, I was amazed when an Imam recently used Classical Fiqh to offer ways & means to play a part in water conservation.
In Islam, there are various categories of water, to attempt a transliteration:
- Maa Tahir Mutahhir – Clean water that can be used to purify other things
- Maa Tahir – clean water, but does not have the purifying capacity
- Maa Najis – unclean, filthy water
In this perspective, water that is saved from showering (as an example) changes from Maa Tahir Mutahhir to Maa Tahir and could then be used for the garden or the car.
It was this analysis and statement from the Imam that amazed me. How often is it that when we are faced with a ‘modern’ day problem, we tendto run away from the ‘classical’ teachings.
There are many examples of water conservation practices in the time of the Holy Prophet. To quote one:
Ibn Majah reports that a person was making Wudu and he was using too much water. The Prophet -peace be upon him- said, “What is this waste?” The man said, “Is there a waste in Wudu also, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet -peace be upon him- said, “Yes, even if you were near a flowing river.” (Ibn Majah, Hadith no. 419)
http://www.pakistanlink.com/religion/99/06-04.html
Add to this the practice of Tayammum, perhaps there is still alot to be explored in this field, and highlights the urgent need for knowledge management as a reminder. A great shukran to the Imam for doing exactly this.
A bit of a late thought. In the past weeks there was the death of Pope John Paul II, followed by the rare occurrence of the conclave to elect a new pope. All the cardinals summoned to the Vatican, distinct election process, etc.
Here’s a thought that passed by…
How would Muslims go about electing a Khalifah? Similar process? Same feelings of anticipation?
Sadly, the Khilafah doesn’t exist at present, but just the thought. Perhaps we could focus then on Imams, Muftis, Grand Shaykhs, and how they get elected, all of which, should be significant events, given their influence.
Reading this article on IOL, perhaps there is an explanation for this, which wouldn’t go well with the Indian government.
Perhaps if you stopped letting your troops RAPE women of your opponents, this disease will stop spreading. Yes, its true. You surround tribes, separate men from the women, and then begin a session of mass-rape, in particular of Kashmiris! Try denying that!
So, the story doesn’t come as a surprise. Also, you have a wonderful law that soldiers that can’t be held accountable for actions whilst on duty. In reality, we will all be accountable for actions of the Day of Judgement in front of the Almighty.
But who knows. It seems that the liberation of Kashmir may come sooner than later, becaused the Indian Army is screwing itself (pun intended).
Yesterday I registered at http://www.sareunited.com/ – its a website that tries to reunite high school classmates. Was kind of sceptical atfirst, will Rylands High Matriculants in 1996 actually sign up to this?
Yes, there was: Fathima Khan (aka bombnose), Mumtaaz Parker, Rehana Hamid.
So South Africans, sign up to SA Reunited. You’ll be surprised how many class mates you’ll meet.
Last night I attended Moulood-un-Nabi celebrations at Masjidul Quds, Gatesville (Cape Town). The speaker, Hafith Mahmood Khatieb, gave anexcellent talk, and there is one point which made me really think.
Muslims believe that all other prophets came to inform their people of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Jesus told his followers, and so didMoses.
According the speaker, the presence of Jews in Medina is indicative of this knowledge that they knew where the Holy Prophet (PBUH) would reside. Plausible?
I'm a Web Developer living in Cape Town, South Africa. Interests include: PHP, JQuery, ExtJS, Adobe AIR, Linux, Ubuntu, WordPress, Human Rights, Usability, Multimedia