DAT204: Application complete!

After 3 nights dedicating the whole weekend to the assignment, I have finally completed my semantic application. Since the proposal back in November, the project has come a long way, and with a design change occurring half-way, the result looks very promising, and does hold a lot of potential as to how this application can change the world.

The Introduction page is dominated with a profile picture and a brief introduction underneath it; the rest of the introduction is done in the Personal Profile. The content is marked up using XML in a polyglot environment (except for the addresses in the Contact page, where there is already a HTML5 semantic tag associated with it), and the content have CSS3 background transition effects to provide emphasis, which helps employers to easily read the content, especially in environments where processing of applications in a swift and timely fashion are required. The content box is styled natively using CSS3, as is the text in the AJAX tabs, and in terms of AJAX, it is used (with JQuery magic) to display the content in the same page from separate HTML files without having to go to another page.

Adding to the easy-to-use nature of the application, the content pages are formatted in a way that even the less-experienced users can easily populate the pages, provided that they have at least a plain-text editor and some knowledge of HTML (the custom XML tags are already provided for the user), because the main CSS file already provides the styling for the content, so whenever it appears unformatted in a WYSIWYG editor, the content becomes styled once it is loaded up in the application.

Overall, I've managed to produce an application that has a lot of potential, and even though I've already seen many examples of online portfolio websites, this semantic application has a lot of potential to impress employers in the professional world...

To view the application, click here: http://www.elnormo91.co.uk/semanticapp/semanticapp.html

DAT204: Evolution of the design

After trying to make the website work with the originally-proposed design, I've then decided to take a different approach. Whilst trying to implement as many CSS3 features as possible, I've then discovered something that can make the website very lightweight yet powerful; in addition to the existing polyglot markup approach, I've also discovered the wonders of JQuery and AJAX.

The JQuery will be used to make the Edit dialogue hidden until the user clicks on it, and the AJAX will be used to paste the content from separate HTML documents making up the pages into the same website, via the use of tabs, without having to go to a separate page, replacing the need to press backwards whenever the user wants to go back to the previous page.

In terms of interface, I've decided to change it to one that can relate to businesses very well, with the content of the eCV centralised, so then more emphasis can be placed on the content, and with the tabs linking to the different sections coloured in a rainbow-style scheme, in a similar fashion to how Filofaxes are sectioned by colour code, or how some documents are bookmarked, to make the sections easier to remember. The goal that was envisioned in my specifications was to create something similar to Zerply, with a more business-oriented interface and a standardised layout.

DAT204: Laying down the foundations and tightening up the ratchet...

So far, the foundations of the semantic application has been laid, and what was originally the empty shell of an app that has yet to see the light of the day has now started to progress. In terms of the app, I have chosen to include XML in harmony with HTML5. Despite it sounding like a rather uncanny marriage, the ability of using custom tags in HTML5 is still there, and even though XHTML was going to be the future, the clear direction was that HTML5 eventually emerged to become the winner.

However, the idea of 'XHTML5' still hasn't been put to the metaphorical bed yet, and as this application shows, the idea of XML semantics with the many features of the HTML5 platform can still be a good one.

As the Christmas holidays are starting to just come around the corner, the work still doesn't stop; the next part is to get the graphics sorted out and figure out a way of getting the content in whilst adding in the wonderful HTML5 features.

DAT204: Assignment 1: Semantic 'Killer' Application (20% of the module)

For our first project of DAT204, we have to create a 'killer' web application based on the latest web standards (HTML5 etc.) and semantics, that will be very useful for a given task (e.g. a portfolio that is easy to use, graphically attractive and descriptive, hence the usage of semantics).

Semantics are used to make data more descriptive, because, in contrast to humans, computers need to interpret the meaning of data, and in its plain form, the computer doesn't understand straight away. In HTML5, semantics are used to describe the elements and layout, and in contrast to past versions of HTML, HTML5 does not require certain attributes, such as declaring JavaScript in the <script> tag (as JavaScript, by default, is the standard scripting language in the HTML5 platform), and mentioning the XML namespace in the <html> tag.

My initial idea is to create a 'killer' portfolio platform that is very intuitive, simple and easy to use, yet at the same time, is powerful and graphically attractive. My portfolio application is going to be 'the ultimate CV', which will be integrating a workbook, a gallery of practical work, a personal profile and SEO to make the website the first destination for any potential employer, especially those that are in the creative industries, in which this application is aimed at.

Mock-up 1: the workbook page

Mock-up 2: the cover page (i.e. the first page the user sees before proceeding to other pages, as per Mock-up 1)

Although the idea of portfolio websites aren't new, and have already been done, my semantic application is going to take it one step further, and become the CV of a potential employee, replacing the traditional paper format, and also being optimised, so in case the employee is 'Googled', the SEO used in this 'killer' semantic application will be optimised, so then the problem of being faced with an unwarranted social media presence (where it would be bombarded with personal opinions and photographs that, depending on the situation, can make or break one's opportunities) will be eliminated, so then the more professional side of the person takes precedence over one's personal side, especially since, even with, for example, your Facebook profile is set to private, friends may not be bothered to set their profiles to private, and anything unwarranted (e.g. unusual photos of nights-out) tagged with your name can cause problems.