Reminiscing Web Development

It's been a long time since I last did any web development, and I kind of miss it.

The Flashback

• My experience with web development started out with designing websites using WYSIWYG editors.
• Eventually, I learned HTML from a Dummies book my sister gave me as a Christmas gift way back when I was in high school.
• I learned CSS, some Javascript here and there, web design concepts and some graphic design by self-study, application and learning by example.
• I learned some PHP from self-study and took an elective in college because I wanted to learn more.
• I learned some Java web development but never got to use or apply it for a long time so it's not really my forte.
• I used to design and create websites as a hobby.

The Discovery

I decided to write about this because I discovered something today. I was browsing through Stack Overflow, which I think is really cool site, and noticed something under the discussions for CSS and HTML. A lot of answers or responses kept referring to a website called JsFiddle and were providing links along with their solutions or answers. Being the curious cat that I am I clicked on one of the links to see what the website was about.

So, the website loads and I see a bunch of boxes, some buttons on the top, and some combo boxes on the left. For a few minutes me and my lazy brain were thinking "Okay, so what's the big deal?" and then BAM! it hit me and I was all "THIS IS SO COOL!"

In the JsFiddle's documentation it says:

JsFiddle is a playground for web developers, a tool which may be used in many ways. One can use it as an online editor for snippets build from HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The code can then be shared with others, embedded on a blog, etc.

It's a playground for web developers. A PLAYGROUND. How awesome is that? You can even make use of a Javascript framework like Mootools and Prototype. JsFiddle offers the opportunity of trying an idea or a theoretical solution out first before going on a full-blown solution build. You can share ideas and solutions with other developers online without going through the trouble of uploading code and taking screenshots. I think it's really awesome.

I find my reaction to this discovery a bit funny, though. It's the first time I've seen anything like it that's why I'm so impressed. Also, since it has been a while since I've done any web development discovering this kind of tool really feels like a big jump from the tools that I used to use. In short, I feel so old, haha.

But, seriously, finding out about JsFiddle has rekindled my interest in web development. I feel like coding something.

SQL Developer Quirk

I've been using Oracle SQL Developer ever since I started working in my current company. It's simple and easy to use as long as you're just doing basic database stuff. I was able to use TOAD in my previous company and it was pretty okay, but it's so loaded with features that weren't all that useful for me as a simple developer. Don't get me wrong, the extra features on TOAD are awesome, but since I don't have much use for them I'd rather stick to something with a simpler interface.

Lately, I've been having problems with my SQL Developer. It started with just the inability to use my "cut" keyboard shortcut (Ctrl + X). I could "copy" and "paste" but not "cut". It was odd, but it wasn't a big deal, so just lived with it for a month or so.

Suddenly, this morning, I was typing up a simple Select query and then-WHUT! My backspace key wasn't working anymore, and neither was the Delete key. I couldn't navigate my cursor up, down, left, and right either. I couldn't execute my statement with the F9. I couldn't Select All (Ctrl + A) or highlight text without  using the mouse. What the heck was happening?! I closed/exited SQL Developer, hoping that it would resolve the problem, but IT DIDN'T. I asked my colleague, who is a data modeler, if he has ever encountered the same problem and he said he usually just restarts the program and the problem goes away. Nope, no luck with that. So, I turn to the next best thing: Google.