Learning Javascript - environments and pathways I've taken

Aptana (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most of the languages I've been learning have all had a slew of integrated development environments(IDEs) to pick from. Ok, maybe a handful of core ones which are highly popular.

For open source, free IDE's there's one name which is almost synonymous with Java - Eclipse. Now I've mentioned Eclipse for Java numerous times. It comes in various flavours, namely for various environments for any one language, depending on industry or related application to different languages altogether.

Until now, I've been using Eclipse Java IDE for refreshing my Java knowledge on the quest to gain Oracle certification, learning Android Application development and a PHP variant to learn, surprise surprise - PHP/MySQL.

For JavaScript however, I felt like I was meandering at best even with a good book. True I could just use notepad and a browser but the wonders of IDE were not quite apparent till I started my quest to enter any-which way and with any sacrifice into the wonderful world of programming and the rewards it must ensue.

Yet I had still failed to find any. Luckily I managed to find viable resources which also provided browser based engines to write and test the code huzzah. I've mentioned them in my previous posts. One is CodeAcademy and Jqfundamentals.com. I've primarily been on Codeacademy and have made progress and have yet to use Jqfundamentals.

On CodeAcademy I've completed the Javascript route and yet feel somewhat green under the gills. I've started jQuery, but would love to continue with pure Javascript. Surely jqfundamentals would be ideal to round up any deficiencies in knowledge but I also found a great book - Head First HTML 5. It delves into Javascript quite nicely.

Now after all this preambling rambling, I will come to the point, which I've slightly traipsed around already - I'd prefer some decent IDE to learn HTML5/CSS/Javascript with.

The answer comes from the good people at Aptana, although I think they were bought up by Appcelerator. It's open source and used for web application development including HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, Ruby, Rails, PHP and Python*. Aptana Studio 3 comes as a standalone IDE or as a plugin for Eclipse. I didn't want to further complicate my Eclipse with yet another programming system so chose the standalone instead.

So go forth and be bountiful in your programmatic tresses. 


*http://www.aptana.com/products/studio3

Samsung, then and now: Change

Being a design student in one of my former existences, I have more than a passing interest in design and packaging. After all I would have ended up in package design had I not been more drawn towards web and I.T. (Not of Stephen King fame).

Also, being that one of the key tenets of this blog is product/design review I figure this post would be ideal. To that end I chanced upon packaging for two Samsung products,

Galaxy S2 Plus

& Samsung's vanguard wonder product of the year, the inimitable

Galaxy S4.

They were chosen due to the fact they are available to me and no other reason.  

The Galaxy S2 Plus was released nearly two years prior to the Galaxy S4, so it would be interesting in terms of how far technology has traversed in that period. So firstly let's start with the specifications:

 

Samsung Galaxy S Plus specifications

Samsung Galaxy S4 specifications

Processor & Memory

Purely from what's on the packaging information, The S2 touted a 1.4 Ghz single core architecture with 512 MB RAM, while the S4 boasts 1.9 Ghz Quad Core processor with 2 GB RAM.

The S Plus had variants of 8 - 16 GB internal memory with expandable micoSD slot of upto 32 GB. The S4 on the other hand has 16, 32, and 54 GB internal memory variants with microSD expansion of upto 64 GB. Why anyone would want that much memory I don't know. As Bill Gates may or may not have said, more than 640k of memory? Where we're going we won't need roads Marty.

Connectivity

The S2 is 3G (HSPA+) capable with fallback to the, then typical, 2.5G(GPRS) and 2.75G(EDGE), for mobile data connections. This translates roughly to average real world throughput, based on availability, terrain,  number of users etcetra, of 168Mbits/22Mbits for HSPA+, 135kbps for EDGE, and 35kbps for GPRS.
The S4 is heir to the much awaited 4G LTE with claims of 300Mbits downlink and 75Mbits uplink. Support for 4G networks is tenuous to non-existent at the moment.

Screen

The S Plus employs a Super AMOLED (pronounce Ammo- LEAD; not Amoo-leed, or anything else silly like that)  4"  WVGA screen. Not entirely certain, but with 480x 800 pixels, I think it pretty much beat the screen resolution on my first IBM PC clone circa 1994.

The S4 has the same technology behind its screen but is full HD capable. Its 5" screen boasts a whopping 1080 x 1920 resolution. Thats impressive considering the Iphone 5 has only a 1136 x 640 pixel screen resolution.

Both phones feature capacitive touchscreens.The S4's 441 ppi is nearly twice the pixel density of the S Plus's 233 ppi. The Iphone 5 comes around 326 ppi, but owing to its smaller screen and coating seems to maintain better clarity and saturation from personal experience.

Sizewise, both the Galaxy S Plus and Iphone 5 are 4". The leap from 4" to 5" barely seems to provide additional bulk as might be suspected. At the same time it does not provide, visually, more in terms of screen real estate. This purely from viewing PDF ebooks, which is my screenbane of most devices at present. For most consumer usages, I expect the screen to be more than adequate.

Camera

The Galaxy S Plus has a 5 megapixel camera and VGA (0.3 megapixel) front facing camera. It can also record HD video.

The Galaxy S4 has a 13 megapixel camera and a 2 megapixel front facing camera. It has full HD (1080p) video recording. A video made of a street band on a busy thoroughfare produced sharp fluid video. The audio was high quality without harsh noise or tinniness found in most mobile phone recordings.

Battery

The S Plus has a 1650mAh battery to the S4's 2600mAh. But the higher processor count and OS features of the S4 translates to higher consumption of energy. As such, the higher ampere rating might not necessarily enable stark increases in battery life.

Packaging

Without going into contents, the package alone has transformed from the classic tech offering expounding the various features and capabilities to a more subdued and minimalist attitude.

Samsung Galaxy S Plus

Samsung Galaxy S4

Gone are the neutral grays and whites of the traditional tech offerings and instead ensconced in pseudo symbolic organics to reflect the sustainable efforts of the company and to further the notion of the Galaxy S4 as a natural extension of a person's life than just another must have.

Samsung Galaxy S4

MMmm Soy based ink.