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Testing Adobe AIR applications with QUnit

Jonathan Lister — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:29:17 +0000

I’d like to say I always write tests before I write any JavaScript code… Those times when I do write tests, I use the QUnit framework, which is used to test jQuery, so pretty well-tested itself.

I’ve recently been putting together an Adobe AIR application using HTML, CSS and JavaScript (aka Web Standards), which is very empowering and everything, but turned out to be a little tricky to write tests for. All the interesting stuff I wanted to do through AIR’s window.runtime object, such as opening native windows and messing with dock icons, is missing from the browser if you’re trying to test the JavaScript components in isolation. The ideal would be able to run your QUnit tests within the AIR runtime itself.

Fortunately, it’s straightforward to create a test app that wraps the QUnit test runner in the AIR runtime and exercises your code. Here’s how I got going:

Setting up the file structure

The folder structure I am using for the AIR app is like this:

/myApp
   myApp.html
   myApp-app.xml
   /js
      myApp.js
   /css
      styles.css

The myApp-app.xml file is the “application descriptor” that AIR uses to create the .air package when you build the app.

I added two folders at the same level as /myApp, to contain the test framework and test code; the complete structure looks like:

/myApp
   myApp.html
   myApp-app.xml
   /js
      myApp.js
      AIRAliases.js
      jquery-1.3.2.min.js
   /css
      styles.css

/myAppTests
   runner.html
   tests.js
   myAppTests-app.xml

/qunit
   testrunner.js
   testsuite.css

Configuring the test app

The application descriptor for myAppTests is not very different from the descriptor for myApp; here they are:

myApp-app.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<application xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/air/application/1.5">
    <id>examples.html.myApp</id>
    <version>0.1</version>
    <filename>myApp</filename>
    <initialWindow>
        <content>myApp.html</content>
        <visible>true</visible>
        <width>400</width>
        <height>800</height>
    </initialWindow>
</application>

myAppTests-app.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<application xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/air/application/1.5">
    <id>examples.html.myAppTests</id>
    <version>0.1</version>
    <filename>myAppTests</filename>
    <initialWindow>
        <content>myAppTests/runner.html</content>
        <visible>true</visible>
        <width>400</width>
        <height>800</height>
    </initialWindow>
</application>

The main structural difference is that myApp-app.xml has an initialWindow.content property set to myApp.html, whereas myAppTests-app.xml refers to the test runner from a directory above: myAppTests/runner.html. This is needed because the test app needs to have its working directory set to the top-level of the file structure, otherwise runner.html won’t be able to get at all the files it needs in other directories (more below).

Putting the correct files in runner.html

Here’s a runner.html that works with the folder structure described above:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
<html lang="en">
	<head>
		<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
		<title>Test Suite</title>
		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../qunit/testsuite.css">
		<script src="../myApp/js/AIRAliases.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
		<script src="../myApp/js/jquery-1.3.2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
		<script src="../qunit/testrunner.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
		<script src="../myApp/js/myApp.js"></script>
		<script src="tests.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
	</head>
	<body>
		<h2 id="banner"></h2>
		<h2 id="userAgent"></h2>
		<ol id="tests"></ol>
		<div id="main"></div>
	</body>
</html>

Running the test suite in debug mode

The easiest way to run the test suite is to use the built-in Adobe Debugger, which lets you test your app without having to build it into an AIR package:

adl myAppTests/myAppTests-app.xml .

Don’t forget the ‘.’ character on the end – this tells the debugger to run with the top-level directory as the working directory – without it, the default is the same directory as XML file.

my web standards

emileexanne — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:28:23 +0000

to summarize the reading, web standards are how the content is separate from the design on the website. the example I have become farmiliar with is content being written in XHTML/HTML and beautified with a CSS style sheet.
I think web standards are extremely important in web development. for instance let’s say a large business has a website with hundreds of pages and decides that a new site design is necessary. If web standards aren’t being used, each page will have to be changed manually. this would cost the money an astounding amount of money to pay a web design company, or even their own employees, to change the website. by keeping the content and design separate, the business could use a CSS style sheet and change the entire website in one place. the implications of this are that companies can save thousands of dollars, and the design process is immensely simplified.

Website Design

popularone — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:38:23 +0000

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Great Websites

popularone — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:36:54 +0000

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5 extremely basic things Internet Explorer is missing

Spen B — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:29:11 +0000

It really is sad how primitive Internet Explorer still is, compared to the other browsers. From its

Effective Website Design

popularone — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:35:39 +0000

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Lower Priced Flash Websites

popularone — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:04 +0000

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Flash or Html Websites

popularone — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:30:23 +0000

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Social Media Vale do Paraíba 2009

Flávio Araújo — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:30:40 +0000

Até que enfim algo com relevância no Vale do Paraíba – o Social Media Vale do Paraíba 2009. Es

"Call 'em out" The Indiana state website is using Microsoft crap and screwing over standards-compliant browsers

Ryan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:48:46 +0000

As many of you know, I begrudgingly use Windows:

That doesn’t mean that I love it, and I certainly hate Microsoft Internet Explorer. Seems that some sites still don’t get that IE is a turd and that it’s not what their visitors wish to use.

Well, I had to print out a license I hold from the Indiana State Department of Health yesterday and guess what came up?

Notice the “.aspx” extension? Means they’re using Microsoft ASS.NET, errrr….. ASP.NET. No wonder it breaks when you’re using Opera.

Not every ASS.NET page breaks in Opera, but nearly every page that does break in Opera is built with ASS.NET. (On a side note, Silverblight won’t work at all, but who cares?)

Maybe now that the FCC is making a landgrab for the internet under the veil of “network neutrality”, they can enforce real W3C standards on the assclowns that handle Indiana state websites.

Ecommerce Websites and Advertising

popularone — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:11:47 +0000

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Promote Your Small Business On The Web

popularone — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:23:44 +0000

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Homework Assignment #1

uifo — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:39:11 +0000

Wow, it is interesting that with the availbility of up-to-moment current information of the internet that there are still professional web designers and developers using the incorrect standard/format. So, everyone that poccesses web finesse may not have knowledge of the current standards which make web access easy and affordable. Who wouldn’t want clear and easy access to their sites? Who wouldn’t want their time and effort spent in gathering and creating documents to have long-term accessibility? Well, since I am new to this, I had no idea that there are many different standards available when creating a website or adding to its content. I am enjoying learning all of these neat, cool things.

With the internet being such an deeply integrated important part of our everyday lives it pays to get the right information, and to make that information easily accessible to all users. That is what web standards help web designers and developers do if they so choose. Yeah, it still cool that it’s voluntary, even though it seems like the best thing to do, it is up to you if you want the best format for your website. That is if you want people to have a good time while visiting your website, think that it is user friendly and easy to operate.

Homework assignment

rxcsege — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:16:20 +0000

The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) has tried to create some standards with commercial adds, and with emails to force the two competing web browser company to use a standard way of java script. A group of professionals have created the WaSP (Web Standards Project). Web standards are a way for every person creating a web page, to write the java script the same way. With the cooperation of the web browser companies, all web pages can be opened by all computer users. This allows businesses and individuals to post their web sites on the world wide web without the frustration of creating multiple pages for multiple web browsers. With standards, all those who surf the internet can do so with ease. With standards in place, even an individual can write a clean web page that works just as well as those written by computer professionals.

Website Design, Hosting, and Advertising

popularone — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:02:08 +0000

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Web Developement - unseen benefits of compliance

Jez D — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:04:11 +0000

Wanna know why my personal web developer site is so high when searching for ‘cheshire web developer’ in Google, Bing, Yahoo, plus many more?

No.1 on yahoo.com when searching for the generic term ‘web developer’ and selecting results ‘from the web’.

Probably not, but here goes:

When I decided to rebuild my site, I considered SEO right from the planning stages – even before deciding on a design.

I purchased a keyword rich domain & hosted in my target audience country
Developed the site structure using modern technologies (XHTML/CSS – tableless design)
Ensured all code is entirely standards compliant
Incorporated as many WCAG features as possible
Minimal use of flash
Small images
Transferred PageRank from previous domain
Made full use of Google Webmaster Tools
Textual content – used everything I’ve ever read about SEO

There are of course many more things that can be done, but this shows that sticking to the basics and getting them right, can really have a positive effect.

web developer

It's Just Good Web Practice

Lisa Sandy — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:32:46 +0000

“Why do web designers do that?” Well, there are a lot of reasons, but most of them are just accepted and never explained. Here’s a little look at why we do what we do in the web world.

Why do you use san-serif fonts like Verdana and Arial for body copy?

San-serif fonts retain their appearance no matter how small their size and will read cleanly on any computer. They are also web standard because every computer automatically has them in their font folder.

Why do you mainly use jpg and gif for images?

Tiff files are usually big, having resolution of 300dpi or more, and take a longer time to load. They’re wonderful for print, but a computer screen only displays 72dpi anyway, so all that extra won’t show up even if it’s there. PNGs are wonderful with smooth transparency and a nice transition- but IE6 doesn’t display PNG transparency. (There is a hack for that if you really want it though.) In any case, jpg and gif images load faster and will display in all browsers.

Why do you need an alt tag on an image?

Alt tags are for when your image decides to go on holiday and doesn’t show up for work. A viewer will still be able to read the description of the image in the blank box where the image was supposed to appear. This way, they won’t have to guess at what was meant to show up. Alt tags also help the web readers that blind people use when they have a web page open. So remember to include an alt tag on your images!

Why do you use a grid to design a web page?

The eye reads things in a certain way. In order to create a clear path for the eye to follow, web designers use a grid to line up images and text. Just placing text wherever you like it makes it confusing for the reader. They won’t know which place you want them to look at next. Creating on a grid cleans up the page, creates an automatic hierarchy, and allows a better flow for readers.

Why do you use CSS instead of tables for design?

CSS helps design in a lot of ways. It is more flexible, makes faster changes across all pages, and multiple CSS can style the same page information in different ways for a variety of media. Tables cannot be layered, adjust to different screen sizes, or change their appearance readily over a succession of pages.

Example: Say you want to change a link color to red. CSS can do that for every page in the site with one line of code. With a table, you’ll have to go to every page and manually change the link color. It’s a lot of work, but by using CSS we can eliminate the tedium and save time.

Why are some designers so against Flash?

Flash is a useful tool, but if the same thing can be done with another script language most web designers will opt for that instead of Flash. Why? Because Flash is an application which must be installed on the computer trying to access the information. If Flash is not installed the viewer must download it- which takes them away from your page. Flash also doesn’t make content as accessible for people using alternative web browsing devices, such as the iPhone, or for search engines to pick up information.

Then why do some people use Flash?

Flash is a useful animation tool that provides a smoother movement than most scripts which require the browser rendering to keep up with their speed. Flash script is all internal and therefore must load before it plays. This allows Flash to become separate from the browser’s influence. Because of this, many use Flash for playing videos. It’s a good way to stream video content quickly and efficiently without worrying about what type of browser supports the video encoding.

What about music or sound effects on pages?

If you have to have music on your page- keep it optional. Let people be able to turn it off. In general, it’s not a good idea to have noise on a page since the people browsing might already be listening to their own music and will resent the jumbled sound of two audio waves at once.

Why are designers against flash intros?

Intros take up time that a viewer might not have. Also think about people who come to the site repeatedly. They will have to watch the intro every time they visit- which can get annoying no matter how good the intro looks. If you really want an intro- include the option to skip it. You’ll find that most people will skip.

Why include meta tags?

Meta tags are used by web search engines to help your page get noticed in the way you want. They provide keywords to what your website is all about and help the people searching for the information you have find your site.

Why do you test in different browsers?

Different browsers have different ways of reading code. IE and Firefox might display the same bit of CSS differently. It’s best to look at your website in all the main browsers (such as IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Chrome) before you unleash it upon the world. Also keep in mind with IE that different versions display differently. IE 6, 7, and 8 are very different. I would recommend downloading IE Tester to have a look at your site in all the versions.

With this I hope to have demystified at least a bit of why web designers do what they do. Remember, everything has its reasons- especially on the web!

W3C: World Wide Web Consortium

calidabarboza — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:46:50 +0000

http://www.w3.org/

Mission: “To lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web.” — From About the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

W3C has published more than 110 W3C Recommendations.

“In order for the Web to reach its full potential, the most fundamental Web technologies must be compatible with one another and allow any hardware and software used to access the Web to work together. W3C refers to this goal as “Web interoperability.” By publishing open (non-proprietary) standards for Web languages and protocols, W3C seeks to avoid market fragmentation and thus Web fragmentation.” — From About the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

The Web Standards Project (WaSP)

calidabarboza — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:36:33 +0000

http://www.webstandards.org/

“Founded in 1998, The Web Standards Project (WaSP) fights for standards that reduce the cost and complexity of development while increasing the accessibility and long-term viability of any site published on the Web. We work with browser companies, authoring tool makers, and our peers to deliver the true power of standards to this medium.” — From The Web Standards Project About page

A Google Gears

djdarkman — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:08:42 +0000

A tegnap nagyon rákaptam a Google Gears-re, rendkívül érdekes és véleményem szerint fontos technológia, aki nem ismerné a Gears az egy Google által fejlesztett böngésző bővítmény ami arra hivatott hogy pótolja azt ami manapság hiányzik a HTML standardokból, többek között az alábbi funkciókkal fegyverzi fel a böngészőt:

- lokális tároló

- lokális SQLite adatbázis

- desktop integrációk

- Javascript háttérben való futtatása

és még sok más rendkívül hasznos lehetőség.

A Gears egy nyílt forráskódú projekt, hogy ezt érzékeltesse a Google, önkéntesen elhagyta a Google-t a Google Gears-ből és így lett csak Gears a projekt neve. Gyakorlatilag a Gears egy ugyanolyan böngésző kiegészítő mint a Flash(csak más a célja), legalább is ugyanolyan egyszerű telepíteni(viszont nem olyan dög lassú futás közben). Egy weblap nagyon könnyen és egyértelmüen tudja ellenőrizni, hogy a felhasználónak van-e telepítve Gears vagy sem illetve könnyen tud olyan weblapot csinálni ami tud élni Gears-el vagy anélkül.

A Gears ellentétben sok más kiegészítővel próbál a lehető legjobban igazodni a web standardokhoz, a Gears fejlesztői együtt dolgoznak a W3C csoporttal és világosan kijelentették, hogy eszük ágában sincs még egy standardot csinálni illetve megpróbálni irányítani a webet, saját elmondásuk szerint a web a természet egy megfékezhetetlen ereje. Maguk a Gears fejlesztők egy része web fejlesztő volt a böngésző háborúk idején, saját elmondásuk szerint mélyen érzik a standardok fontosságát.

Tehát a Gears célja, hogy felgyorsítsa a web fejlődését, hogy megoldja azt a problémát, hogy kell várjunk míg az Internet Explorer végre méltóztat egy számunkra kedves funkcionalitást implementálni, illetve amíg a drága rendszer gazdáknak meg kalózoknak eszükbe jut frissíteni.

A Gears nem csak papíron egy hasznos dolog és ezt nagyon jól illusztrálja, hogy a legtöbb Google alkalmazás előszeretettel használja, amik közül talán a GMail, Google Docs illetve Google Reader használja ki leghatékonyabban. A GMail gyakorlatilag egy teljes értékű levelező kliens a Gears segítségével, internet nélkül is pont úgy működik(levélküldés kivételével) mint internet nélkül, tehát ugyanúgy lehet használni mint például a Thunderbird vagy KMail-t.

Természetesen a Gears se egy tökéletes golyó álló technológia, a legnagyobb hátránya talán az, hogy amíg egyes dolgok nevetségesen könnyűek rajta, mint például offline tárolás meg adatbázis, más egyszerűbbnek megszokott dolgok min például fájl feltöltés viszonylag nehéz és természetesen azt se szabad elfelejteni hogy egyes felhasználók lehet inkább élnének egy lassúbb és butább web applikációval mint hogy hajlandóak legyenek telepíteni a Gears-t.

Véleményem szerint a Gears egy olyan technológia, amire érdemes odafigyelni, mert segítségével olyan dolgokat lehet(web applikációkban) csinálni, amiket eddig nem lehetett, aki nem hiszi próbálja ki.