Testing....
I was able to get this news box inside the outer box by using negative margins. It's not the best solution but as I am completely stumped as to why it's not going to the right when I tell it to float right, I decided to use it.
To make the outer box stretch all the way below the left navigation bar, I used a bottom margin of the news box because for some reason, it ignores the left navigation but yet sticks the outer box to the news box.
First and foremost, it's Sara's birthday... and I didn't get her anything. Anyways, moving on. I put in the "My Page" image on the top-right. Hopefully, it'll replace the "Home" text which is on the top left currently. However I have to use GIMP to create it, which means it'll have to wait until I have time at home to make it.
I aso combined the .newsbox and .planbox together under the division .right.
I was absent on the 15th due to the AP Chemistry exam. Anyways, moving along. I'm going to test the <marquee> command.
Edited page for Tech. Created new navigation bar at the top of the page.
Continued to write down my own instructions for creating the 1945 game. For more information, go here.
Absent all week due to back issues.
Returned to find out that the 1975 plane game project is NOT necessary since all that was needed was an older version of Game Maker (v6). Worked with Casey to improve the game. We had issues getting the health bar just to appear.
My final project for Tech was learning more about how CSS works. I discovered a variety of issues when working with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). First and foremost, I realized how poorly Internet Explorer (even all the way up to Version 7) handle and display CSS. The W3C sets very clear definitions on how browsers should handle CSS. However, since Internet Explorer has always (and will most likely continue to be) the most popular browser out there, Microsoft thinks that they can change the standards to their liking. That is not to say that they aren't getting better. The new Internet Explorer 7 fixes a lot of bugs from IE6 and even handles CSS closer to how the W3c specified.
Enough of putting the blame on Microsoft; on to how CSS actually works. CSS does not, in anyway, replace HTML. The HTML is and for a long time will always be necessary. What CSS does do however is modify the way the HTML looks. For example, you could put a simple border around a picture or any other object with CSS. Another example would be hovering; when you put your mouse over a certain object and watch it change, that is [most of the time] CSS at work right there. Now while CSS does not replace HTML, they do overlap in a few cases. With HTML, you CAN change the background but you can also do that with CSS. All the cool/good looking websites use CSS, and no, that's not really even an overstatement. CSS allows developers to give websites a much more visual GUI (graphical user interface) for the user to use. And, as in most cases, visual is good because it makes navigation a lot easier.
Now that you know what CSS does, time to explain some of the problems. As mentioned before, Internet Explorer is to blame for the majority of the problems; however, who to blame isn't what we're here to talk about. So how does one fix these "problems"? Well first off, let's define what I mean when I say problems. A problem can be something simple as in the image you set in the CSS isn't showing up in the right place. That alone is not a major problem at all because you can just change the settings you have so that it DOES appear in the right place. But wait! You can't just do that. Why? Because if you change it so it appears in the right place for the browser you are using, chance are, it won't appear in the right place with other browsers. This is where "hacks" come in handy. Now when most of us think "hacks" we tend to think of malicious software programming. That isn't necessarily the case here. "Hacks" in CSS are just some twisted lines of code that only certain browsers can actually use because of the way they work. For example, say you want to set the width for a page but have it different in Firefox. All you have to do is have two width settings. The second width setting just needs to have "wi/dth" because Firefox (but not Internet Explorer) can just ignore that "/". So when Internet Explorer comes along and sees that dash, it automatically just ignores it because it doesn't know how to handle it. That is, of course, just one of the most simple "hacks". There are plenty more in use around the Web.
My advice to whoever wants to try to learn CSS is to know HTML very well first. Since CSS is only an addition, in essence, to HTML; it's very important to know the base of it all. The actual coding of CSS is very easy to catch on once you get the hang of it. And yes, it is possible to learn CSS by yourself (of course with the aide of the internet).
Is there anything I would change about this class? The answer in short is yes. However, the only thing that I think needs to be changed is the SONGS that are played daily. Other than that, I think this class does a fine job doing what it's supposed to do (allow students to study whatever they want... for the most part). It all comes down to whether or not the student will take advantage of the opportunities given.
