Posts Tagged ‘widgets’

Huge Performance Improvements In Latest Translate This Button

October 21st, 2010

Huge Performance Improvements In Latest Translate This Button

A few days ago I released a new version of the Translate This Button, a free JavaScript translation widget. Of the sites I tested, the translation operation now runs an average of 70% faster. This performance increase adds to several layers of speed improvements made in previous versions.

Additionally, this release includes other enhancements, such as a reduction in HTTP requests and the preservation of DOM-based JavaScript events. Let’s walk through the changes I made; hopefully some of the optimization techniques can be reused in other projects.

Reducing Calls To The Language API

When a translation occurs, the TranslateThis Button parses the DOM, and passes the data to the Google Language API. Google’s JavaScript API imposes a limit of 500 characters per call, so previously the widget chunked out portions of the DOM that were under this limit, then passed them to Google asynchronously.

Although fairly … Read more…

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Posted in performance | 6 Comments

TranslateThis – A Javascript Translation Widget for Noobs and Nerds Alike

December 8th, 2009

TranslateThis – A Javascript Translation Widget for Noobs and Nerds Alike

TranslateThis is a new Javascript widget that provides 52 languages of translation by leveraging the Google Language API.

Installing TranslateThis couldn’t be easier—simply copy and paste the widget code anywhere on your website, you don’t have to upload any files or change any settings.

Besides being easy to use, TranslateThis also provides many attractive features for developers. First off, requests to the Language API run in Javascript, so the translation is pretty fast. Additionally, the script is lightweight, weighing in at just over 11kb with another 7kb of imagery. And since it doesn’t depend on any Javascript library, TranslateThis can be implemented on any website without additional overhead. Finally, TranslateThis has been tested in all modern browsers and its user interface is designed to be straightforward and seamless.

What can you customize in TranslateThis?

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Posted in front-end, webdev | 3 Comments

QuickFlip jQuery Plugin

October 20th, 2008

Quickflip Plugin for jQuery

QuickFlip is a jQuery plugin I wrote that uses a CSS trick to cause a div, paragraph or any other piece of HTML markup to flip like a card. With a result similar to the UI animation on the iPhone, this jQuery plugin is easily integrated into your webpage to make any portion appear to flip and show its back.

When a flip occurs, the front panel is split in half with Javascript. The right and left halves slide into one another, and afterwards the opposite occurs with the back panel. While it's not as smooth as some Flash animation, it all happens so quickly that it really looks like the panel is flipping over (more…)

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Posted in front-end | 37 Comments

Dashalytics: Google Analytics for Mac OSX

April 7th, 2008

Dashalytics: Google Analytics for Mac OSX

If you’re anything like me you open up Google Analytics with your morning coffee, check your email, then reload Analytics, just in case the cache has refreshed. There’s a new version of an OSX dashboard widget, Dashalytics, that will revolutionize the amount of time you can spend obsessing over minute statistics. Dashalytics puts Google Analytics at your fingertips, providing a quick access point to some of the most used Analytics reports, directly from the dashboard in Mac OSX.

How to use Dashalytics

Configuring Dashalytics is simple, just enter your Google Analytics account information; it even supports multiple Analytics accounts through the keychain on OSX. After logging in, you are able to access the three most used tabs: visitors, content, and traffic sources. Within each of these tabs, there are three different reports, but these sub-reports are essentially only the overview of each tab.

Additionally, Dashalytics provides common … Read more…

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Posted in general web | 1 Comment