Step 1. Go get SlideShowPro (what are you waiting for)

Step 2. Create a slideshow in flash (or use the stand alone) set your xml file to http://yoursite.com/gallery/slideshow.xml

Step 3. Crete a template group called gallery in EE  and create a template called slideshow.xml

Step 4. Add this to your template and save it:

{assign_variable:gallery_name="gallery"}
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<gallery>
<?php if (!isset($_GET['category_id'])) { ?>    
 {exp:gallery:categories gallery="{gallery_name}"}
 {category_row}
 {row}
 <album title="{category}" category_id="{category_id}">
 {embed="gallery/slideshow_embed" gallery_name="{gallery_name}" category_id_number="{category_id}"}
 </album>
 {/row}
 {/category_row}
 {/exp:gallery:categories}
 <?php } else {  ?>
 <album title="<?php if (isset($_GET['category'])) echo $_GET['category']; ?>" category_id="<?php echo $_GET['category_id']; ?>">
 {embed="gallery/slideshow_embed" gallery_name="{gallery_name}" category_id_number="<?php echo $_GET['category_id']; ?>"}
 </album>
 <?php } ?>
</gallery>

Step 5. Create the embed template call it slideshow_embed (paste this into that template)

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/swfobject/2.2/swfobject.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript">
 // swf finder
 function thisMovie(movieName) {
 if (navigator.appName.indexOf("Microsoft") != -1) {
 return window[movieName]
 } else {
 return document[movieName]
 }
 }

 // SWFObject embed
 var flashvars = {
//  if you are using the standalone  paramXMLPath: "/include/param.xml",
 initialURL: escape(document.location),
 useExternalInterface: "true"
 }
 var params = {
 base: ".",
 wmode: "transparent",
 bgcolor: "#FFFFFF",
 allowfullscreen: "true"
 }                
 var attributes = {
 id: "ssp"
 }
 swfobject.embedSWF("/include/slideshowpro.swf", "flashcontent", "470", "340", "9.0.115.0", false, flashvars, params, attributes);
</script>
<div id="flashcontentcontainer">
 <div id="flashcontent">In order to experience the photo gallery fully, you will need the latest Flash player.</div>
</div>

Step 6. Create an include folder in your directory and drop your slideshow.swf file there (if using standalone drop the param.xml file there as well.

Step  7. Use this embed in your templates to display your slideshow.

Step 8. Profit

Get Expression Engine
(if you have any improvements or suggestions hit me up in the comments)

From Wikipedia:
“A software framework, in computer programming, is an abstraction in which common code providing generic functionality can be selectively overridden or specialized by user code providing specific functionality. Frameworks are a special case of software libraries in that they are reusable abstractions of code wrapped in a well-defined API, yet they contain some key distinguishing features that separate them from normal libraries.”

That explains it? If you are like me then that was more confusion than an answer. For a long time this sort of lofty explanation was a road block to truly grasping the power frameworks contain. However, step forward a few years, and poof I got it. While learning to code from scratch was probably the best thing that could have happened, learning to use a framework (on top of that knowledge) made it all the better. So what is a framework in common terms?

To be concise a framework is a set of tools prefabricated to assist you in building your application. Imagine building a house if you had to create the hammer, mold nails, build a saw, etc. At one time this was how people lived, but progress brought the toolbox. The same is true with coding. Frameworks become our toolbox, and the API gives access to our tools. This makes us more efficient and saves time so we don’t have to re-invent the wheel (or class) every time we embark on a new project. Now we know what and why frameworks, lets get to the how.

For this discussion I’m going to limit it two two examples. The first is a PHP library that goes by the name of Codeigniter. I’m not saying Codeigniter is better than other libraries, that is a personal choice, I’m just using it as an example here. Codeigniter is a MVC framework (we’ll discuss MVC later) it enables the development of robust applications in a fraction of the time it takes to code traditionally. Codeigniter consists of a series of classes, libraries, helpers etc. that together make up a pretty nice toolset for developers. For instance say you need to run a database query, in the past this would require something like this:

$link = mysql_connect(‘localhost’, ‘mysql_user’, ‘mysql_password’);
if (!$link)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}
$query “SELECT Foo FROM Bar WHERE Foo = 1”;
$result = mysql_query($query) or die(mysql_error());

while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result){
echo $row['Foo'];
}

becomes this:

$result = $this->db->query(“SELECT Foo FROM Bar WHERE Foo = 1”);
if($result)
{
foreach($result as $value):
echo $value->Foo;
endforeach;
}

As you can see the code is a lot shorter and more streamlined. This is due to Codeigniter’s database class, one of the many tools you can use to speed up your workflow.

Another example is jQuery. jQuery is a javascript library containing predefined functions that allow you to harness the power of client side scripting without having to write
excessive amounts of code. Just as before I’m not saying jQuery is the best, there are others out there that are just as useful, I’m just using it for this example. jQuery allows us to create animations, load data, submit forms, interact with the DOM, and much more. Without jQuery (or a similar library) this would entail lines of code that may or may not work (in ie6 ). The beauty of jQuery in found not only in it’s simplicity, but in the ability to function in an expected fashion across browsers. This frees up time to focus on presentation as opposed to compatibility. jQuery also offers us the ability to interact with data in real time without having to reload the page creating a more desktop-esque experience within the confines of the browser. This brings us to where.

Now that we’ve discussed the How, what, and why you may be wondering where to learn more about all these wonderful tools, and so I bring to you the resources, a series of links to sites that I think are awesome.

http://codeigniter.com – the name says it all
http://jquery.com – the home of jQuery
http://nettuts.com – great tutorials and information on EVERY web subject
http://www.prototypejs.org/ – javascript framework
http://mootools.net/ – javascript framework
http://cakephp.org/ – PHP framework
http://www.alistapart.com/ for the purist and web standards guru
http://usejquery.com/ – a great resource for tutorials using jquery

This is just a few, if you have any favorites mention them in the comments.

http://shouldyougettheappletablet.com/

counties.sql

states.sql

Please share with the world, i know they care…

(side note) Steve Jobs is not human, he is really an alien that came from The Woz’s belly, If you’ve seen Woz lately you’ll take note that another is about to be birthed, should that creature make it out alive Jobs most certainly will be consumed. But I digress.

Anticipation, sweat beading upon my furrowed brow I wait wishing California wasn’t 2 hours behind. I mean they’re freaking ahead in everything else why not time for pete’s sake?

I know at this moment Jobs is toking some purple Krishna or whatever the docs prescribed for all those health problems, but what about me? What about us? Don’t we mater? I frikin live in Alabama and there is no legal way to calm my macintitus, there is no cure for this dis-ease. Still I pray, to the golden gods of aesthetic hardware, fulfill my deepest desire and bless me with this most hole-y device. Allow me to video conference in style, allow me to feel a sense of cool when I whip out a sleek slice of techno-bliss, allow me to feel better about myself knowing that the regular guy on the street oohs and ahhhhs at my very existence having one of these in my possession.

Yes, Mr. Jobs, give me a reason to keep on living.

Oh yeah and watch out for that beast by way of the Woz, it’s sure to consume your very creative existence.

Sincerely…

Disaster Relief Account Established for Victims of Haiti Earthquake

At BBVA Compass, we are passionate about our people, and we know that you in turn are passionate about helping those in need.  A special disaster relief account has been established to provide assistance to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.  Employees and customers of BBVA Compass may make donations at any branch between now and January 30.  BBVA Compass will match financial contributions up to $100,000 from the BBVA Compass Foundation.

Contributions can be made through any BBVA Compass banking center.  Checks and money orders should be made out to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund with “Haiti earthquake relief effort” written on the memo line.  Fees for money orders used to make a donation will be waived.  Canceled checks or money order receipts can serve as receipts for income tax purposes.

The BBVA Group is also participating in the relief effort.  Through an account established in Spain, BBVA has committed €1 million (more than $1.4 million U.S.) to be used toward rebuilding schools.  Groups in other areas of the BBVA footprint, including Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela, are also accepting donations and contributing to the cause in various ways.

We want to thank employees for the outpouring of concern you have already expressed in the wake of this tragedy.  Due to distribution issues caused by the massive damage to Haiti’s infrastructure, the only aid we are requesting at this time is in the form of monetary contributions.  We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide information about donating supplies and services if and when the Red Cross is ready to accept them.

The first session I attended was “Jumping into WordPress Plugin Programming” led by Dougal Campbell, one of the first to work on the wordpress platform. The room was packed, to the point there were folks sitting on the floor for lack of chairs, nevertheless, the cheerful group listened attentively to Dougal talk about the vast back end/plugin architecture offered to developers. I came to this session with a basic understanding of plugin/dev; I left the session feeling like I had SO much more to learn. Wordpress didn’t just create a robust application, they created a platform that allows developers to make it even more so. Since we were limited on time, Dougal was only able to scratch the surface on the topic, but it was enough of a scratch to pique my interest and push me in the right direction. The next session I attended was Essential SEO and Analytics for WordPress, led by Jeremy Flint.

Flint’s session was divided in two parts, one for SEO tools/plugins to assist the developer in site optimization. The second part was about analytics tools/plugins that make tracing and measuring your site’s success a breeze. I came into the session thinking all I needed to do was add my Google tracking code to the bottom of the page, I mean it can’t get much better than that right? Wrong! Jeremy pointed us to a plugin called Google Analyticator.

Short Description:
Google Analyticator adds the necessary JavaScript code to enable Google Analytics logging on any WordPress blog. This eliminates the need to edit your template code to begin logging. Google Analyticator also includes several widgets for displaying Analytics data in the admin and on your blog.

As you can see this takes it one step further allowing you to compartmentalize information within the wp-admin. Jeremy also showed us several SEO tips and tricks that I had previously built into the template. It turns out there are tools/plugins out there to handle SEO for you so you can focus on great design. Now it was time for lunch and our first keynote led by, Matt Mullenweg, @photomatt.

Matt as some may know is the man behind wordpress as we know it. Rather than spending his keynote telling us about how wonderful his product is, he actually spent the time speaking to the audience, answering questions, and just being awesome. I was/am so impressed with the keynote approach. While Matt spoke we had Dreamland BBQ, thanks Andre @acnatta and the rest of the organizers, the food was wonderful, wait everything was wonderful, okay maybe not the wifi but that is another story. Now for the most informative session I attended, Mitch Canter / @studionashvegas ‘s session on “Beyond the Blog: Setting up a Full Dynamic site with WordPress”

Mitch opened my eyes to several tools that make wordpress so much better. One of my favorite tools we discussed was flutter. Mitch was introduced to flutter by @tammyhart another AMAZING theme developer. Flutter takes content creation to a new level by allowing you to enter different sections of content in custom fields. You can then create new page templates within your theme to display the content however you want. Prior you had a typical wysiwyg editor and you had to fit all the formatting in to that box. With flutter a new world of content creation and styling overtakes the placid seas of WP. Mitch also spoke of using wp-query in your page templates which enables you to push several different pages of content onto the same WP page template. This session alone was worth the price of admission.

The rest of the day, or until the final keynote, I spent time networking, meeting  tweeps, and just having some great conversations. I think my favorite part of wcbhm09 was the offline interaction. I am so encouraged by the people I got the chance to meet, the community spirit that made up the conference was phenomenal.

The last keynote was given by @mideastyouth there is no way I could possibly give her justice merely appending my thoughts to this post, therefore, I’m going to write about what an amazing session it was later on.

Saturday night a few of us went to dinner, where we continued in thought provoking conversation. If you don’t know John Garrett then you need to. follow him here: @garrett98, @reversechurch, and @microfit. I need to give a big sh0ut-out to @microfit for covering the cost of @mideastyouth’s travel, truly an awesome company with a heart of gold. After dinner I met up with some other attendees where to my surprise I got to meet and hangout with @photomatt, he is completely down to earth, extremely smart, and a pleasure to spend time with.

Well gotta get to work, more to come…

Check out the pictures here: Flickr Photo Pool

The wordcamp site here: http://wordcampbirmingham.org

Follow wordcamp here: http://twitter.com/wordcampbham

Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/wordcampbham

Slideshare with presentations here: http://bit.ly/14vykJ

In closing, to everyone that made #wcbhm09 such a success, thanks, I can’t wait till next year.