Modern Programming Techniques
CakePHP
CakePHP is an opensource php framework based on the idea of ruby on rails. It's fully mvc styled (Model View Controller). Cake PHP enables, a more flexible and much faster way of developing large web applications. An example of cake php in use can be seen on our prestigeway.com.au prestige vehicle platform. Further information about CakePHP can be found on the official CakePHP website or on Wikipedia.
PHP
PHP is the most used server side programming language for websites. In general the operating process of the web applications are built in PHP. It also holds the connection to the databases like MySql or other datasources such as XML. The current version of PHP is PHP5, PHP 6 is still in development. Further information about PHP can be found in Wikipedia or on the official PHP website.
MySql
MySql is the most used database for web design, web hosting companies and programming. MySql is the Data storage and logical representation for dynamic websites (Web Applications). It stores the required data in tables and links them with foreign keys so that the referred data can be retrieved. Very popular web applications like wordpress blog system, Joomla! content management system, XT Commerce - online store system, Wikipedia the famous online encyclopedia is also built using MySql. Further information can be found on the official MySql website or on Wikipedia.
XHTML
XHTML is the next level of HTML. It includes the current abilities of HTML, however, XHTML is now a web standard recommended as part of the W3C (The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web for more information on W3C the official website is www.w3.org The use of XHTML 1.1, XHTML 1.0, and HTML 4.01 for web design is recommended highly as a programming language for websites. We use XHTML as a part of search engine optimisation, SEO. XHTML is a valid and well structured web design language which ensures that the source code of the web design is very readable by the search engines. For more information on XHTML go to wikipedia.
XML
Extensible markup language XML in general is a web standard language for delivering structured data to different platforms and applications. XML is a standard not just for websites but also in applications such as Itunes and Microsoft Office documents. XML is recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium as a markup language. Many websites are deploying their data in XML formats or also offering remote webservices (For example the Prestigeway prestige vehicle platform or rss feeds) via XML. For more information about XML please go to Wikipedia.
Webservices
Webservices allows the reuse or access of remotely stored data like news feeds on prestigeway or rss. In general webservices are coded in server side languages such as PHP and retrieving the data from databases such as MySql and delivering them in a common output format like XML, XHTML, or pure text. For more information on Webservices go to wikipedia.
Adobe Flash
Flash developed by macromedia in the early 1990's has now been bought out by adobe systems and is commonly used to create rich animations, online advertisements that grab attention, various moving web page animations and sounds, to integrate video into web pages and more recently to develop rich web applications. Flash is also used to create content for mobile phones and other embedded devices. In order to view rich internet content you will need to have the Flash Pluggin, the Flash Pluggin is extremely widely used these days with more than 95% of users being able to view flash content. For further information go to wikipedia or the official adobe flash website.
Adobe Flex
Flex applications take advantage of Addobe Flash Player 9, enabling web developers to seamlessly extend the capabilities of the internet browser and deliver richer, more responsive client side web applications as well as a more robust integration with server side functionality and service oriented architectures.
CSS
Cascading style sheets CSS, is a style sheet language often used in combination with XHTML to define the design and behavior of website elements such as fonts, font styles, font weights and alignments of page elements. The use of CSS enables to define different outputs for different mediums, like web browsers, printers, projectors, and mobile phone/iphone content using the same content file. By using CSS it reduces the amount of code in a web design and enables search engine bots and crawlers to find and read your site easier, this is extremely important in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). The W3C now considers the advantages of CSS for defining all aspects of the presentation of HTML web pages to be superior to other methods. More information on CSS can be found at Wikipedia and the official CSS site www.w3.org.
AJAX
AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is not a new technology, it's a combination of a number of existing technologies including XHTML, CSS, DOM Document Object Model, XML, XSLT, XMLHttpRequest and Javascript. In combination this technique creates interactive web applications that have increased responsiveness, speed, functionality and usability. Types of applications currently using AJAX include Google Maps maps.google.com, facebook, and YouTube. More information on AJAX can be found at Wikipedia.
