PROGRAMMING HELP, PROGRAMMING TIPS, PROGRAMMING TUTORIALS

Okay, so you have a respectable handle on syntax, and you are proud of yourself for getting that far. And, truth be told, you should be. But, knowing syntax is not the same as mastering syntax in such a way that builds quick, efficient web software. This article takes a look at not just writing software, but writing quality software.

What happens when the effectiveness of your favorite search engine turns against you, when it becomes almost too effective to be useful, giving you so much information that you're not sure where to start?... Well, my overworked friend, you're in luck. Today, I'll be covering the holy grail of information gathering: asking people... In the process, I will also show you some of the better locations to begin your searches and give you a few pointers in getting the most out of your queries.

Writers hate coding, and developers hate writing. And never thetwain shall meet...except, perhaps, in a functional specification. More,inside.

In this concluding article, read about the specific things to bekept in mind when creating interface text for menus, windows, buttons,fields and application messages, and also find out how to design interfacetext for easy internationalization of your application.

The words that a user sees on your application's menus and labelsare often as important as the code that drives the application. Using thewrong word, or a term that is ambiguous or hard to understand, can oftenmake the difference between an application that is easy and fun to use, andone that is just plain irritating. This article discusses the importance ofinterface text and offers tips and advice to help you create clear, usableand easily comprehensible text for your application's user interface.

With the groundwork out of the way, this concluding partexamines the standard components of a technical reference manual,explaining what goes into each section and why. It also discusses theprocess by which such a manual should be reviewed and vetted prior todelivery to a customer.

For most developers, writing code is the easy part - it'sexplaining it to a customer that's the tough bit. In case you need tocreate a technical manual explaining how your software works, take alook at our handy two-part cheat sheet, which should help make theprocess a little less intimidating.

In this concluding article, take a look at a sample table ofcontents for a user manual, understand the importance of having yourwork reviewed by peers, and find out how to handle document versionmanagement.

Need to write a user manual, but don't know where to start?Our handy two-part guide takes you through the process, explaining theimportance of proper planning in the early stages and demonstrating howto build a consistent and usable stylesheet for document formatting.

So you think releasing a software product is the end of theroad? Not by a long shot! In this final article, find out what goes intothe post-release phase of the software development cycle...and how youcan use it to make both your customer and your accountants happy.

Just writing code isn't enough - you also need to test itthoroughly before you release it to a customer. This article discussesthe testing phase of the software development cycle, providing you withan overview of test cases and testing processes, together with adiscussion of how to go about documenting your software in a clear andconcise user manual.

With the design out of the way, it's time to finally sit downand write some code. This article discusses the implementation phase ofthe software cycle, outlining some ideas and techniques that should helpyou deliver cleaner, faster and more maintainable code. Miss it at yourperil!

In the first part of this article, you got a crash course inrequirements analysis. Now that you've figured out what your customerneeds, it's time to design it - easily the most challenging and creativephase of the project cycle. Find out more, inside.

Wondering why your software projects are always late, buggyand over budget? Well, this might come as a surprise to you, butprofessional software development involves a lot more than just writingcode. Over the course of this five-part tutorial on software developmentprocesses and practices, find out what you've been missing, and how youcan streamline your development to be more efficient and effective. Thisintroductory article discusses the analysis and documentation ofcustomer requirements.