Week commencing Monday 27th. April '08

It has I'm afraid been a month since I have updated my diary which isn't like me - but things have been so hectic I haven't had time to do it. I am glad to report my FYP prototype is complete and is ready for my Presentation which happens on Monday 28th. at 5pm.

To complete my blog diary I have attached a few screen shots of some of the completed pages.

Week commencing 24th. March 08

Week 2 of Easter Holidays and its going really fast!!! Time is running out and so much yet to do.



Spent some time on the History section of my Web project as it needed some more work & was missing a couple of images – so gave this a little time


Still researching how to get my customised Flash button to call a jsp in Dreamweaver – proving very difficult.

Week commencing 17th. March 08

On Easter Holidays -

The kids are off too so will find it difficult to manage time for project and minding the kids. Have a work plan mapped out with different tasks set out for each day over the holidays – just hope I can complete my tasks.

Well, its Saturday now and I have managed to complete some of the following aspects for my FYP in the last week –




Case Study Page - Made the decision to keep all the information displayed without using a scrolling page, used a link that calls the next page instead so that more images could be displayed instead of using a scrolling page which proved to difficult for me as it kept breaking up my page layout.







Vision Page – this page took a lot of thought as I need to be able to display a lot of information and without scrolling the page decided once more to create it in Flash – took a couple of days but completed same – happy with the outcome.



Completed my video content within Flash – this took a bit of time as I had to do a bit of research on same, but I am happy with same.


Some of the buttons within my Flash page also need some attention so got them to work.


Back in Dreamweaver – had to do some more work here as a lot of my page were not linking – so busy creating rollovers and getting them to link.


Cannot devote all next week to FYP as Have to tackle my java project which I am dreading – don’t know where to start with that!!!!!


Writing up my blog.

Week commencing 10th. March 08

Monday 10th. March 08

Arranged to meet Mike today to look at the servlet & the jsp pages – maybe he could see what I am doing wrong?
Met Mike at 3 o’ clock and spent an hour looking at the pages in question, tried numerous alterations but to no avail. Getting worried now as have Review tomorrow and will be unable to display these pages.

Tuesday 11th. March 08
Figured it out - The path I was giving to my jsp pages was incorrect as I was displaying the full path i.e.
‘C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\webapps\ROOT\FYP\Local_root_folder\history17.jsp’

The default directory in Tomcat in ROOT & I was calling this twice – the path should be –
‘http://localhost:8080/FYP\Local_root_folder\history17.jsp’

and to call the Servlet it should be –

http://localhost:8080/FYPServlet"

Had Review meeting with Pat & Seamus – it went fine.

Wednesday 12th. March 08
Met with Mike today, and showed him the solution to the problem I had encountered over the last number of days. Also went through my plan for the Easter Break. As I am having difficulty with the Message Board Page – will leave this page until we meet again after Easter.

Friday 14th. March 08
Scanned some old images that I thought I might need for my Case study page.

Sunday 15th. March 08
Started setting up the Contact Page – wanted to create a small Flash file for this page, followed the flash tutorial, but an hour & half later could not get it to work. Set up the page will worry about the image that I would like to use later. Linking all the pages I have to the new contact page.

Week commencing 3rd. March 08

Monday 3rd. March 08
Researching how to create a blog on my site

Monday 4th. March 08
Spoke to Seamus today regarding the blog section of my website and asked if I could read previous reports from students who had undertaken this task to see if I could find some direction on how it was done. Also asked about using phpbb for the blog – Seamus to enquire about using phpbb on our local server

Liz unable to meet with me, so arranged to meet her Thursday morning.

Wednesday 5th. March 08
Met Mike today – had some questions for him
Creating a hot spot to show an image and making it dynamic – need to look at my jsp for this.
The blog!!!
Supposed to meet Nick today to look at database, but had to rearrange for next week.

Thursday 6th. March 08
Researching the blog aspect of my website & got some links on which might help me.

o http://webdesign.about.com/od/javascriptandcgi/a/aa092200b.htm

o Installing a Guestbook - Build Your Own

Install a Guestbook on Your Own Server

Will talk to Mike next week about same.

Met with Liz and started my Servlet in a test folder – Will work on it over the weekend on my FYP folder.


Friday 7th. . March 08
Made a small video clip of Limerick in Premier to take into my Flash file.

Saturday 8th. March 08
Working on the Servlet for my FYP – cannot find the jsp page on my local server – the path I think is incorrect.
Put my FYP into Tomcat instead of working from my own folder and started my local server but when I call my jsp pages – I get a message telling me it cannot find the pages - none of my jsp pages are working now!!! The path is incorrect & I don’t know how to fix it.

Sunday 9th. March 08
Writing up my blog.

Week commencing 25th. February 2008

Monday 25th. February 2008
Trying to get Tomcat to work on my own laptop but with no success. Need to talk to Liz about it tomorrow to see what I am doing wrong.

Tuesday 26th. February 2008
Spoke to Liz about Tomcat but still not working!!! Liz to look into it for me.
Working on “Partners” area of website

Wednesday 27th. February 2008
Met with Mike today & he detected the problem – for some reason Tomcat needs to be installed on the C:\ drive and not in C:\program files – it works – great!!! Thanks Mike.
Discussed the blog aspect of my site with him, as I want to work on this section now.

Thursday 28th. February 2008
Spoke to Denise about adding customized sound to my photography slide show - to my delight she has pointed me in the right direction – Hopefully will dry to add sound to a button in Flash at the weekend.

Friday 29th. February 2008
Looking for a sound button tutorial on the web.

Saturday 1st. March 2008
Started writing my Servlet today but need to talk to Liz about this aspect, as I’m confused!! Will arrange to meet her on Tuesday hopefully.

Sunday 2nd. March 2008
Writing up my blog

Week commencing 18th. February 2008

Monday 18th. February 2008
Working on images for database. Took adjusted images into Database.
Adjusting buttons in my html pages, and also making rollovers in these pages.


Tuesday 19th. February 2008
Spoke to Liz about my customized button which needs to call a jsp.
Working on the history section of my web pages.

Wednesday 20th. February 2008
Met with Mike today and he afforded some good advice on the history section –
Include a map of limerick
Look into enlarging the images.

Thursday 21st. February 2008
Started work on the Partners page
Spoke to Denise about having a scrollable page in Dreamweaver.

Friday 22nd. February 2008
Working on the Partners page in Photoshop
Researching how to create my blog page.

Saturday 23rd. February 2008
Took the introduction page for Partners into Dreamweaver.
















Sunday 24th. February 2008
Writing up my blog

Week commencing 11th. February 2008

Rag Week – Have classes on Monday & Tuesday only this week – That gives me one free day on Wednesday until 2.30 to devote to my project as Sarah & William have a mid-term on Thursday & Friday so I won’t get a lot done on those days!!!



Monday 11th. February 2008
Spoke to Denise about my project as needed to clarify how to set up a background in one of my pages in Dreamweaver – done.

Tuesday 12th. February 2008
Met with Mike today from 2-3pm to discuss the database connection for my project.

Wednesday 13th. February 2008
Met with Mike again today from 12-1pm to go through the database connection set-up for my project. Need to do some more work on it myself but at least we are off to a good start.
Went through the files in my site and deleted unwanted gif’s – that took a bit of time

Thursday 14th. February 2008
Working on the layout for my jsp page

Saturday 16th. February 2008
Looking for photos from my collection that I can use in my Database – need to take some more images for architectural buildings I am using in my Database.
Started creating a button in Flash that I can use in Dreamweaver, need to research how to do this aspect i.e. bring a flash button into Dreamweaver and code it that it will call a jsp!!!
Started work on the Introduction page.

Sunday 17th. February 2008
Took some extra photos of historical buildings for my Database this morning.

Wrote my blog for the week.

Week commencing 4th. February 2008

Can’t believe its February already – its scary we have so much work to do & so little time!!

Met up with Mike my supervisor regarding the problem I had with the new version of Tomcat. He sorted it for me & now I can test very simple jsp files loaded into the jsp directory in Tomcat 6 – which is great. Still can not get my servelt to work with this version of Tomcat & the newer version of JCreator so I spoke to Liz & she advised me to uninstall the new versions & reload the old version of Tomcat & JCreator – it’s never easy!!!
Need to start working on my history database & jsp’s


Tuesday 5th. February 2008
Rang about my graphics card today as it never arrived in the post to find it hasn’t even been sent out yet as they were unable to read the receipt showing proof of purchase - & they never bothered to phone me about same. It’s sorted now & hopefully after today it will be put in the post & I’ll get my old pc back in working order as I miss it. Little things on this laptop are slowing me down even tho’ I would be lost without it!!

Project review - spoke to Pat & Seamus, - need to make minor adjustments on my history page
Got the zoomify button working.

Phoned Murray O’Laoire today on the off chance that I might get the information I am waiting on – Spoke to receptionist & told her I had sent an email yesterday with the link to my blog diary, I also told her would drop in a copy of my PowerPoint Presentation in the hope it might help my case!!


Wednesday 6th. February 2008
Kate from Murray O’Laoire emailed me to say she had received my information & would talk to Hugh regarding same – hopefully I will be sorted soon!!
Met with Mike today - working on the database connection code area & the jsp. Will meet with Mike again next week to sort out the problems I encounter in this area over the weekend.

Friday 8th. February 2008
Spoke to Liz about connecting to the Database – How do I use a customized button in Dreamweaver – Liz suggested making a button in Flash & importing it into Dreamweaver – need to check this out

Saturday 9th. February 2008
Editing buttons in my homepage & history pages as different fonts had been used on both pages
Setting up layout of history jsp page
Updating my blog

Week commencing 28th. January 2008

Dropped my PC into MicroIreland for repairs – will know in the morning what the problem is. Spoke to Pat and she very kindly has offered me the loan of her laptop if I need it.


Tuesday 29th. January 2008
The good news is that I don’t have a virus but my graphic card has died, & that’s why my screen went blank. Need to check out if my PC is under guarantee & hopefully get a new graphics card.


Wednesday 30th. January 2008
My PC is still under guarantee but it’s going to take a couple of weeks before I’m up and running again so I have borrowed Pat’s laptop to carry me through the next two week.


Thursday 31st. January 2008
Got the programs I need to work on my project onto the laptop


Saturday 2nd. February 2008
Tried to get Tomcat server working on the laptop so I can test my project when I’m ready, but I’m having difficulty, the desktop shortcut is working but I’m unable to get the jsp pages to appear!!
Working on the History pages of my project.

Week commencing Monday 21st. January 2008

Week commencing Monday 21st. January 2008

Looking for tutorials on line to help me resolve the issue of increasing a thumbnail image in Dreamweaver – limited with space and the fact that I have a Flash file imported into a table beside the thumbnail.

Tuesday 22nd. January 2008

Reviewed my home page with Pat – it works!!! Now I can take it into Dreamweaver once more.
Suggestions:
Make the legend into little buttons instead of increasing the legend image (which was I could not get to work)

Wednesday 23rd. January 2008
Progress meeting with Mike. Went thro’ design layout I set up in Photoshop needed to display history page in web site – now need to take it into Dreamweaver and work on code.

Saturday 26th. January 2008
Working on homepage in Photoshop - getting it ready to take it into Dreamweaver & took it into Dreamweaver successfully. Also started working on history pages in Photoshop & Dreamweaver.

Sunday 27th. January 2008.
Linked my homepage to the history page in Dreamweaver.
My pc has just died & I haven't saved todays work onto my external drive !!!
Major disaster, the screen on my pc at home died - not sure if it’s a virus or a problem with the pc. I’m in a state of panic – I backed up my work onto my external drive last night but if I had a virus on my pc all I afraid of is that the virus has traveled to my external drive destroying all my work to date. Emailed my supervisors on my predicament as I can not work without my pc and I am very worried incase all my files are gone. Unable to function now!!!

My photography gallery

Since taking up photography 5 years ago I have been busy building up a collection of my favourite images - the following are a few of them, some of which I hope to use in my final year project.

January 2008 - Home Page design layout progress

It has been a long a slow process but hopefully it was worth all the effort!

The following shows the progression of the Home Page Design layout -

I have reached my destination - the last image on the right is my final layout!!!

Week commencing Monday 14th. January 2008

Tuesday 15th. January 2008



Progress review with Patricia - Worked on home page over the weekend – the top buttons still need more work



Review meeting with Mike on Wednesday 16th. January:
To Do List for next week:
Work on layout to be used in Dreamweaver for History database page.



Thursday 17th. January 2008
Worked on home page again. Designed different buttons and a legend – thumbnail & large.



Saturday 19th. January 2008
Worked on legend for home page. Tried to show large image of legend when clicked on thumbnail legend.

New & hopefully final home page layout

Week commencing 7th. January 2008

Reviewed my progress on project with Denise, Patrica & Seamus who gave me good advise on the work done in Dreamweaver and the home page layout to date. Have kept memo of same - I have to do a lot of minor changes to make to the home page!!!

Christmas Period 2007

Worked on different aspects of my project over the festive period. The Flash content and Dreamweaver were high on my priority, as they required some time for setting up without any interruptions so these were the first two areas I tackled and with some success.


Dreamweaver
Set up some of my pages in Dreamweaver even though the homepage had not been finally approved by my supervisors.



Flash

Commenced work on the flash file - just the beginning of it so that I could see it embedded in a table in Dreamweaver.

Architectural Firms
Made contact once more with Healy & Partners and Murray O’Laoire and was successful in obtaining information from Healy & Partners.
Still awaiting information from Murray O’Laoire.

Content for web pages
Had been collecting information from various media sources such as the web, newspaper articles etc. and started to compile this information into a word document, so that it can easily be taken into Dreamweaver when these pages are set up. The areas I worked with are “Vision”, & “Partners”
Note – this section is still in working progress.

Video Content
I initially said I would like to interview a well know Limerick figure on the revitalization of Limerick – should this idea not come to fruition I intend to shoot some video footage of “Live Limerick” depicting sites showing the new Limerick including the building of Thomond Park.
As I felt out of practice with Adobe Premier I decided to use my own video camera – “Traveler CV 5070” to shoot some video footage over the festive period. I encountered a major problem when importing my file (which was an .asf file) into Adobe Premier. Adobe Premier did not recognize the file.I spent two days sorting out this problem on the Internet and located a converter which allowed me to convert the .asf file to an .avi/.mpg file which works perfectly in Premier

I also spent a little time familiarizing myself with Premier.


Photography
Took some shots in the city over the Christmas break – need to look at same to see if they are useful for my project.

Why this project motivates me

It combines my architectural experience and photography passion together to create a web site housing both aspects. I love to view architectural and photography sites on the web and the idea of having my own web site using my design and my photographs keeps me focused and helps me to reach my destination. Also having made contact with people who will supply me with information I feel obliged to produce a good end product.

I love to take photographs of buildings and other interests, and will be able to use some of those images in this project to help show off my native city to its best

I will be able to give an architectural feel to the web site by using an architectural style layout on the web page, which I hope will attract architectural inclined individuals. The following is an example of architectural drawings that could be used transparently as a background housed in the web page -