I am new to coding and wanted to get some hands on practice with a project I have in mind. Here it is:
Let's say you have blank page and on the side of a screen you have several items you can choose to draw on the blank page. For example the background can be mountains, the ocean, a forest etc. On top of that you can place a house, a church or another selectable element. Whatever you like.
It is like a picture editor where you can put together a picture with different pre-given elements. Or like in video games where you can create your own character.
What would I need to build a web application for that kind of thing?
This link should get you started but it won't be the complete answer to your question - http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2013/08/how-to-use-html5s-drag-and-drop/
Essentially, you can achieve your image dragging and dropping using similar techniques. It will require a bit of Spike work from yourself, and looking into how HTML5 can handle drag and drop. I discovered this resource fairly quickly and I think the solution you want isn't as complicated as you may think, it just requires a bit of know-how regarding drag and drop operations within HTML5 :-)
Also, there may already be some JavaScript based API's that do this sort of thing easier but I'm not too aware - I suppose starting this way could be a great introduction for you and you may wish to expand once you've done some work for it :-)
Hope this helps you and your coding journey!
Related
Before I get shot down on this one, I realize that the 'how' answer for this question might be slightly debatable, however I'm more interested in the 'what'.
In a nut shell I want to know which methods I can use to interact with a PC video game interface. I want to create a program that can extract data from a video game market interface.
My first initial thought was that I would need to programmatically take screen shots and then use some Optical Character Recognition software to extract the text. Then run whatever operation on the extracted text to derive my incites.
Then I was thinking it might just be easier to have a bunch of mini screen shots that I just use to find matches on certain sections of the screen. When a match is found, I would then know what the text is on the screen, without having to actually 'extract' it.
For those out there whom have done this, can you point me in one direction or the other? Perhaps there is a method that I am completely unaware of.
If its the case that this question is not suitable for this forum. It would be much appreciated if you could direct me elsewhere.
Edit: I should probably add that I'm not looking to spend a fortune on this project... so any free software would be the best. Perhaps that's a tall order.
I'm starting to think Sikuli is the direction I'm going to go. Open Source image recognition software, integrates with Python, Ruby, Java, JDBC, JavaScript and more.
-- Expanding on the question --
There are basically 3 categories of tools:
Recorder while you manually work along your workflow, a recorder tracks your mouse and keyboard actions. After stopping the recording, you might playback (autorun your worflow). The recordings can usually be edited and augmented with additional features.
GUI aware the tool allows to programmatically operate on GUI elements like buttons. This is based on the knowledge of internal structures and names of the GUI elements and their features. Some of these tools also have a recording feature.
Visually the tool “sees” images (usually retangular pixel areas) on the screen and allows to act on these images using mouse and keyboard simulation. There might be some recorder feture as well with such a tool.
SikuliX belongs to the 3rd category and currently does not have a recorder feature.
Answer in progress...
In games with moddable UIs, like many MMOs, you could create a mod that streams data through a series of black and white squares that could be read with optical sensors. From there, a microcontroller could deliver the data back to the PC via USB or wifi.
My approach as a noob. First determine if OCR 100% needed, I think this plays a role in speed.
if possible:
-run game in window (allows for trouble shooting and easy troubleshooting)
-is there a high contrast option for game? Will help Sikuli find things
then you plan out your scenarios:
You have to create different functions for different situations. A lot of gaming is "do you see this?" Then "do this" until that is gone.
Start with small parts you want to automate then build on them. Making sure your parts can scale in case small change need to happen, they will. For instance you want to open the menu if you see an object, lets say a tree.
Assume you have some sort of walking algorithm.
setROI(region1) #focus here for tree
if exists(tRee):
click(loCation) #you could hit the shortcut key to opening the menu
click(iTem) #if the item moves in the menu then you may need to scroll to find it first or you can change the ROI and start seeing if sikuli can differentiate your item from one you dont want to click.
You would get that to loop into other actions and proceed. Goodluck.
I'm a Graphic Designer.
I was wondering if it's possible for a programmer to code this website or I should redesign this?
Because I have doubts about how hard the header and footer are, and I think it's a really hard work for a programmer to code a website like this.
If it's not, please let me know then I will find a developer.
This is not impossible. It just takes a moment to think it through.
The footer can be made as a background image of the three colour splats which wraps three separate divs (Projects, Products, Contact Us). The header is a series of images absolutely positioned within a relative parent.
This is actually a very simple layout.
The design is bit complex and unusual but not impossible.
It's possible to convert this design in code with use of some script and css hacks mainly position and z-index based hacks
I tried to sign up, but I was unable; perhaps a problem from my side. Hopefully I'll get an answer as anonymous.
I apologize for the grammar/syntax, but English isn't my native language.
Recently I lost my job, so I have enough spare time to try something fun. I decided to create a simple text RPG game for me and some friends. It will very close to the board games like Talisman, Dungeon Run, and HeroQuest, using dice and a simple attribute/skill system. So no 3d graphics. The only 2d element, if I decide to include it, will be a map
that will allow the hero to move between locations. Currently I'm using Windows XP SP3, for the game I use wxDev-C++, and although cross platform would be cool, I don't really care.
I have some experience in C++ (currently using wxDev-C++), but I'm far from being called an expert or even a great programmer. I was about to start writing parts of the code, but I decided to check if creating a GUI for the game is possible. In some forums, many suggested I use Qt, CEGUI or wxWidgets, but most examples I saw are grey boxes that are
indifferent at best, when I want something that fits better in a fantasy setting. I don't claim I would do better, but I want a GUI that is more fantasy related.
What I want from the GUI:
1. A "cool" Gui with decent graphics. I could even create an image to serve as a mask in Photoshop, but the GUI builder will have to support imported images.
2. A relatively large textbox in the middle (with a scrollbar) that will display die rolls, damage and options.
3. The ability to display dynamically values (like the change in the health after each action without requiring to refresh manually)
4. Display an icon or a small image of the character in the area where I display stats/abilities.
5. Open new windows created with tha same GUI builder to allocate points, buy/sell things and open a map.
About the map in the game: I decided to create a map in photoshop. When the hero decides to move to another location, a new window will open showing the map. I thought of 2 possible ways to move between locations: 1) Create hotspots on the image and select one by clicking on the name of the location.(I dare not think about the complexity of this so we
move to idea #2) and 2) Have the image as a backgroung to a grid with vertical and horizontal coordinates. When the hero selects a new area to visit, he clicks on the area, but what he really does is click on the grid, which returns the two values (x,y) of the location and informs the game about the area the hero wants to visit.
Yeah, yeah, I know it's too much, so what I'm most interested in are the 1-3. I know that even if they are possible, it will propably take forever, but as I said I have spare time, and I like learning new things. I apologize for the size of the post, but I decided to post as many info as possible so you know what I want.
If any of you has used Qt, CEGUI or wxWidgets could you tell which covers most of my criteria? I saw some great stuff build with CEGUI, but I don't know if it is too hard to learn?
Thank in advance.
I know my answer comes pretty late, I only recently started using stackoverflow fairly recently, but maybe this response will help anybody.
CEGUI fully supports skinning widgets using XML. Our CEED editor (WYSIWYG) fully supports layout editing, but the skinning editor (LNF editor) is not finished as of now (11.11.2014), the development version supports exchanging images however and changing sizes and proportions, but more advanced adjustments have to be done in XML.
CEGUI has an imageset editor, fully supported by the CEED editor. Creating imagesets (sets of named subimages, with position and dimension inside a big texture atlas) is supported there. Additionally there is a way to create imagesets from just a bunch of jpg/png/... files using a tool. You would have to ask for specifics in the forum though because it is not integrated into CEED yet.
So basically with CEGUI you are free to make whatever fantasy GUI you want. Skinning simple elements like buttons and progress bars isn't much work in XML anyways. Without the finished editor, some more advanced widgets are more work to skin, but many skins have already been created done this way and some of them are even publically available in the forum and in the CEGUI stock files.
StaticText widgets supports what you want, you can even use images in there or change fonts and colours in the text if you want. Scrollbars are supported too.
I am not sure what you mean by this. You have to specify this.
A simple "Generic/Image" widget is available in CEGUI for this purpose. You can use precreated images or even RTT textures.
You can create and destroy windows in CEGUI without issues.
Regarding the map: I m not sure what you mean, but getting the position of a click in respect to an image (representing the map) is possible in CEGUI.
CEGUI is not particularly hard to learn. There is always the forums and the chat if you got questions. For an Open Source project it is quite well documented so if you read all of the API docu, and look at the supplied samples in the sample browser, you should already get quite far. And for everything additional there is the forum (search), the IRC chat and a community wiki (mind the targeted versions of an article there though)
For a project like yours, CEGUI seems perfectly suited (this is what it was created for in the first place). Qt is not really optimal for games for numerous reasons. wxWidgets I have never used.
my friend is holding a charity quiz night and I was wondering if there was any software that would be good to create an application where the user can choose from two categories and then see a question from that category, then move on to the next two categories and so on.
I thought of Powerpoint or Keynotes for this but they have a very linear slideshow structure is it possible to link to different slideshow from buttons maybe like macros?
Or is there any better software out there that would be a better tool for the job? Bearing in mind it needs to be able to be shown on a projector and without internet access.
Any help would be really great as Im not sure whats the best way to go about this?
Thankyou.
You could use a series of powerpoint slides with buttons for each option. You can splice in a little bit of VBScript to have to buttons keep track of the choises a user made, so that you can present the results in the end.
However with only a trivial bit of searching you could find out that there are dozens of quiz maker applications. I'm not sure which ones are good or bad. But try this query string. To find apps like "Multiple Choise" which looks pretty much like what you are looking for.
I'm going to be going to be meeting with a number of programmers and custom software companies to get bids on creating a website for a company that I'm involved with. My question is this: What should I prepare for the programmers so that they can give me an accurate bid, timetable, etc. for the development of the website? I have a clear picture of how I would like the site to work and the features that I would like to have included.
I'd suggest using something like balsamiq to put some simple sketches together as suggested elsewhere.
Quite often the act of putting your requirements down on paper in a way that represents the actual site will flush out all manner of issues you hadn't considered before, and will give you a much clearer understanding of what you're after.
Also consider the sources of the data you're displaying. From a functional spec aspect, simply saying something like 'show this figure here' is easy. From a programming point of view, coming up with the figure in the first place is often the hard bit.
The best you can do is to put the end-user's hat on and describe what you'd like the system to look like / work.
Imagine all pages and create a new frame for each one. Make as many annotations as you can so all bidders know exactly what you are expecting.
I'd also add at the end if it's likely the site's requirements to change during development, so everybody's warned in advance.
Details Details Details.
You might think you have a clear picture, you don't. You need to write every single step down no matter how trivial. You will see there are things you haven't thought of.
Try to write down as much information as you can think of. Go through all the scenarios a user would when using your site. Use steps such as
1) User clicks on Buy Button
2) Screen shows up with 4 items, Link to details, price, quantity and a 32x32 thumbnail.
2a) If User clicks on thumbnail full resolution image i s displayed
etc etc.
Don't try to gloss over the "simple" stuff and you will get the most accurate bid possible!
Basically draw out what you want (ie textboxes, drop down lists, controls, etc) in very simple manner. Then add little numbers around each area that has some functionality. In the margins or on another sheet, describe each point you numbered on the controls with simple instructions on how that functionality should work.
Think of it as a skeleton to describe the application you want.
Not a complete list, but here a couple of thoughts:
Do not forget the back button.
Back button behaviour is an issue on every site I've ever worked on. Specify exactly what you want to happen on every page if the user gets to that page by hitting the back button. Often it's easy, but sometimes it is not at all trivial.
Security:
Do people need to log on, how, how do you create accounts, reset passwords etc. What pages need you to be logged on, what happens if you hit those pages without being logged on.
You could read Joel Spolsky's Painless Functional Specifications for ideas, but I've just tried to summarise what that means for web software too.
I usually do this in 3 stages:
a list of contents, under the headings they'll appear on the site. Get this firmly agreed by all parties before doing any wireframes;
a greyscale functional wireframe in plain HTML/CSS, using examples of real-world content and dummy static pages for dymanic content, with everything where it should be. This is the first thing programmers want to see;
a purely visual graphic mockup of each type of page - this is the next thing programmers like to see, as in 'show me how you want it to look and I'll make it happen'.