Fun with CSS – In whole new way!

Hi friends,

You know that how much messy (not that difficult though) CSS is when it comes to write/edit the code for it. Without any tools, it simply a pain to use CSS, but it’s strengths cannot be neglected and it’s use is guaranteed if a good web page is to be made. Hence, good CSS tools comes in to the picture.

Today I’ll tell you some online tools to help you through various CSS related works tad easily. Just go through these tools and use that suits your needs.

1. CSS Load: It’s simple tool that creates custom CSS spinners and bars for AJAX and JQuery. Quite useful if you want to display these kind of animations in your web page as it just takes few seconds to create very good spinners/bar. It’s completely WYSIWYG interface and you just have to select type of spinner, their colors, width/height and animation speed and a visual output displays the output right away. Once you’re satisfied with your code, just click Get Code and use it any way you want. Simple!

2. WebPutty: If you want more control over CSS files and want to store the output over the cloud as well, then CSS Load is not a sufficient tool. You need more powerful tool that can handle more than just simple CSS animations. Welcome WebPutty! It’s great tool which uses your Gmail as login and provides yo with handful of features. It’s a 2-pane window, with code on right and output on left. Just modify the code and the output can be seen right away. It’s requires more skill than CSS Load is it’s not completely WYSIWYG but still it’s quite powerful and it supports HTML5 as well. An example page is thrown in so that you can learn before creating your own pages. Very good tool for professionals!

3. XEO CSS Editor: Now it’s the tool which charms newbies and professionals alike! It’s not just very good CSS/HTML editor but it’s very good learning tool as well. The User Interface is quite intuitive and provides you with lots of features. The output page is displayed in main interface, left to which is all CSS tags applied to the page. The top contains various sections like CSS editor, HTML editor, CSS code (the output file), and preview (the main interface that opens up when you load the page first time). Though HTML editor is not a WYSIWYG but it’s not it’s purpose as well. CSS Editor is WYSIWYG and it gets the job done very well. You can create a new page here or open existing file which contains HTML and CSS in it, or just HTML file. Now you can apply CSS the way you like and the get the output CSS right away or alternatively you can save your work which requires a (free) registration.

Just choose any of the CSS tool as per your liking, and enjoy CSS like never before!

Learn to Code, the Fun way!!

Hi guys,

Most of us know coding, or at least few bits and pieces of it. But what about learning a bit more, especially when it’s quite fun to code rather than horrendous way you’re used to in the past?

Well, if you’re in then let me tell you a couple of the very good places to start with. Depending on your taste and expertise level, you can pick any (or both) of the website and start coding right away.

1. Codecademy: It’s a very decent site which help you learn the codes and the best practices used. It’s easy to learn but still decently paced and never goes cumbersome as it contains help for each chapter it covers. Also, there is a point and achievement system in place which not only keeps track of your progress but also motivates you to finish the chapters quickly and earn more trophies. Nice way to inspire, isn’t it?

I used this website for few hours and found it quite engaging. For me, most of the part are easy (or already known in other words) but I never got bored, thanks to achievements and trophies in place. Finishing a chapter definitely gives you sense of achievement. Also, the hole interface of the website is well formed. In fact, before even logging in, it can throw you write there in coding. A must try for refreshment of coding skills.

2. CodeChef: Another cool website is Codechef. It’s for beginner and advanced alike. It contains a lot more resources than Codecademy, but it doesn’t stop there. Apart from general learning section, it also contains discussion forums but it shines in Compete section. Here, you can compete with others in solving the problem. more’s below.

First thing I must say, CodeChef’s interface is not as intuitive as Codecademy, but this is the only place where it falls short. Learn section is really huge and you’ve to spend days to learn everything, even if you’re a pro programmer. Also, the questions are based on real world problems, unlike generic question in Codecademy. If you need to know more, head over to Discuss tab, which contains wiki, forums and blogs. A lot can be learnt from there as well. Now coming to most exiting part of the website – The Compete section. Here, you’ll find of the (kind of) very tough questions and in given time frame you’ve to solve it. As all the programmers on it, it’s not just the fastest but the best response what is accepted. Quite an effort is needed and is a guaranteed place to learn a lot. If not for anything else, I must say go to CodeChef at least once for it’s Compete section.

So, buckle up guys and get yourself into a coding world you always wanted to be!