Alex Venture Project

I’ve built a collection of useful class libraries while working on ZRECommerce. One of which is simply called, “Cart”.

As its name implies, it provides a class library upon which to create a “Cart”. This library is abstract and object-oriented. It makes use of an “adapter” based model, so as to allow any developer the ability to expand upon the base library, and create any kind of cart …such as a nursery cart, or an auction cart, or whatever kind of cart you need.

the ‘Cart’ (and, additionally, the ‘Checkout’) library can be found in the SVN repository of ZRECommerce under http://svn.zrecommerce.com/library/

…Needless to say, i’ve been busy hacking away at the ZRECommerce project for a few months. Its really bare-bone, but is functional (mostly). Bugs are being squished, and the interfaces improved. Stay tuned.

Enjoy.

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I’d like to announce that there is a new e-commerce web application under development that is to be made available to the general public.

I’ve called it “ZRECommerce” (copyrights 2009 A.Albino) and it will be available under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

What makes this e-commerce web application different from existing ones? Its code base, and its simplicity.

Not only is it based on the Zend Framework and the Zend MVC, it implements an easy to learn back-end that developers can figure out with little to no effort.

The CMS implements “joomla!”-ish tags so that editors can insert tag plugins. These plugins can be used to display anything from weather, to product inventory. Best of all, plugins can be developed and put into the correct directory in order to install. No extra configuration is necessary.

The cart and order-processing engines have been built to be incredibly scalable and simple. Current work involves making the cart and order processing engine abstract and versatile …You can run anything from an on-line antique shop, to an online auction, to an online plant nursery, …heck, even a wine shop.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR, PLEASE SEND YOUR RESUME WITH A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF WHO YOU ARE.

Currently, developers with Zend Framework and Zend MVC experience, along with strong OOP skills are encouraged to apply.

You can apply by leaving a comment on this post with your e-mail.

More details soon…

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Download ye-old-checkers.zip

Well folks, I finally got around to posting what I have so far regarding the Checkers game I was talking about.

It doesn’t have network multiplay, or A.I. Players (yet), …but if you are so inclined, you can add that yourself!

At the moment, you *are* able to play turn-by-turn, and change colors and stuff.

I have attached the .Zip folder containing the Visual Basic .NET project for your enjoyement. So… Enjoy!

(NOTE: This software is provided to you as is, with no guarantee of any kind, expressed or implied. Having said that… It’s a friggin checkers program! Just go with the flow! )

Download ye-old-checkers.zip

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A few years back, in the days of VB 6, I gained a real interest in programming. It was the most enjoyable hobby ever invented. Then .Net came around. That, my fellow readers, sent me an a lot of other VB 6 programmers into one heck of a pickle. We had to learn the new programming, and fast, if we were to continue being up to date.

Well, I gave it a whirl. It was a bit of a learning curve at first, but I eventually got the hang of it. However, when I began to encounter more and more hickups that required work-arounds, I became sick and tired of the VB.Net language. I said “I hate this…forget it, I’m trying something else”

I tried a few other languages, including one of my favorites, PHP. I ended up leaving the .Net framework for a very long time.

Fast forward to 2008, and it just occured to me that maybe things are different with .Net now a days. It’s at .Net 3.5, and MS provides a free IDE for it!

So, I downloaded the IDE …cracked that sucker open…and was instantly impressed by all the neat stuff included in the IDE. I began working on a simple checkers demo that utilizes the GDI+ libraries and the .Net 3.5 framework to see how easy it would be.

I must admit, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, and the .Net 3.5 framework have come a long way. I found it very easy to program and design my GUI. Sure, I found another hickup, but it’s not as bad as what had discouraged me before.

When I finish my checkers program, I’ll share it here on this blog.

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I’ve been using XBOX live on my xbox 360 to view some of my favorite TV programs and Movies in HD via the XBOX 360 Live Marketplace… and I gotta say, this is way better than wasting your time and resources driving to a Lackluster movie shop, and worrying about late return fees.

Best of all, most of those videos can be viewed in HD if your xbox/tv is properly set to do so, without the need of an HD/Blu-ray player.

Way. Cool. Dude.

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I like Ubuntu. It is definitly a good alternative to the Windows operating system everyone is so used to. It gets you online, runs great, and is built much more securly. Better yet, you can test drive it off a CD or DVD without having to install it! (This is called a Live CD)

I used it for a whole year, and I must say I was impressed. I especially liked the plethora of developer tools that were available to me via their Package Managers. Believe me, It feels way more organized to browse supported software via the Package Manager and install/uninstall that way, that running an installer and hoping you get an uninstall option somewhere down the line.

Of course, some of the many things I like about the Ubuntu operating system are the funny nicknames they give it. “Hoary Hedghog”, and “Dapper Drake” are all very funny to me (especially because I don’t know what a Dapper, nor a Drake, are).

The makers of Ubuntu, Cannonical, have shown brilliance once again with their new Ubuntu MID edition, which aims to be an OS of the mobile device. It looks promising indeed. It features a lot of the goodies in the standard distribution, and comes with a sleek, and sexy design made for screens with limited real estate.

Ubuntu, you get a ++ in my book.

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A few weeks ago, my XBOX 360 succumbed to the forces of thermal inductance…and subsequently, it died.

I laughed, I cried, I played hours of video games on it, and now it was dead.

So, after mopping up the tears, I registered my 360 with XBOX.com, and submitted a repair request.

The whole thing was still under warranty, so I didn’t pay a dime. However, the whole process took a very long 3 weeks or so.

Happily, I can now report that even though my once-l33t-skills on Halo 3 have been hampered, I can continue my multi-player snipe sprees and get back to playing. Now with 1 month free gold xbox live membership, complements of Microsoft.

Woot!

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Well here’s something I haven’t done in a while. I got up before 7am PST ….on my own!

Of course, I must know what this means. I can’t possibly be that oblivious to the obvious…

McDonalds Breakfast, here I come!!!! Wohoo!

Man…This morning is a rare moment in history indeed.

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Well, as I’m certain every web developer can relate … I’m having one of those days where I just don’t feel like programming. I’ve got a wordpress template to build for a client from my current place of work, and I just don’t feel like doing it.

I simply can’t..get…myself…to..do…it.

I fear a previous project totally drained my programming mojo for the week. (Ever build an XHTML DOM handler class in PHP in 3 days?)

If someone’s got a really good idea on how to get over these kinda “burned out” episodes, i’d be more that happy to listen.

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Hey people. How’s it hangin’

You can find news about stuff i’m working on here, along with general blah blah blah I just happen to ramble about.

Usually, i’m working on stuff that uses PHP, XML, XHTML, AJAX, and all kinds of exiting technology a web developer loves. (But doesn’t tell it how he feels, ’cause it will probably stop talking to him if he says how he feels)

So, welcome to my Dojo. Please leave your shoes at the front door. And don’t break nothin’

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