For the month of June, I've completed the MDN web docs articles CSS values and units. and Sizing items in CSS.
This months helpful website is Converting Colors, a website which allows you to convert between 17 different color formats like RGB, CMYK, HSV, HSL, CIELab, Android, Decimal, and YUV.
And lastly, I've completed the Khan Academy's Pre-algebra course with a total score of 100%.
For the month of May, I've studied and completed the MDN web docs CSS Backgrounds and borders, Handling different text directions and Overflowing content lessons and articles. My class projects, task and versions of these lessons can be found on the Code Repository page of this website.
Spotlighting CSS Gradient which is a happy little website and free tool that lets you create a gradient background for websites. Besides being a css gradient generator, the site is also chock-full of colorful content about gradients from technical articles to real life gradient examples like Stripe and Instagram..
And a handy review/refresher reference for this month is the MDN web docs Reserved characters page.
I've finally completed the MDN Web Docs: The box model article and skills test. This learning article was fairly easy. Here is a link to my class project page of The Box Model. Also, all of my MDN tutorial class project pages can be found on the Code Repository page of this website.
In reference of all things CSS and more, here are a coupe of really helpful & interesting websites I've recently found working through these tutorials, *CSS-TRICKS & 30 seconds of code.
Lastly, a couple of refresher/reviews notes, which I'm hand typing in here for my benefit. Such as, "Relative length units are relative to something else, perhaps the size of the parent element's font, or the size of the viewport".
Unit em is the "Font size of the parent, in the case of typographical properties like font-size, and font size of the element itself, in the case of other properties like width". Reference CSS values and units: Lengths and font-size Ems.
CSS defines a large set of named colors, so that common colors can be written and read more easily. These named colors can be found here at W3C.
I've completed these MDN Web Docs CSS selectors articles:
Along with passing the "Test your skills: Selectors" assessment at 100%, finally!
I'm back at my MDN web docs studies after having to take a break for logistical reasons (a new house). I've just completed the MDN Web Docs Test your skills:Selectors assessment. After taking such a long break from these studies, I will need to do the CSS selectors chapters over again.
In other news, I created a Youtube playlist, DCS World Begins: Legacy of a Legend Cinematic Playlist, showcasing 10 years of DCS World cinematic's with hours of official and select 3rd party cinematic videos. To view all 200 plus videos, it will have to be watched from the YouTube site, a YouTube limitation.
I'm still working through the MDN web docs CSS selectors tutorials.
This month of October, I've wrote a script for exporting time data to a TCP socket. You can get the script here or on the DCS forums. This scripts outputs the current accumulated time the server has been running in one second intervals, as a whole number value. You can view this data with JaBoG32_Dirty's TCP-Server Console.
Also, I created a very functional CH Products HOTAS map and related DCS World Control profile files for the Su-25T. This zip file also contains installation instruction, and .pdf & .png map assignment layout images. You can install the .png layout images to your kneeboard using DCS Kneeboard Builder. You can download the zip file here from the Code Repository.
And as a bonus, I contracted the COVID-19 virus, which made me fairly ill for a couple of weeks, delaying my MDN web docs studies.
Next step, if someone would like to help me, is I want to import the data onto a html webpage file, use AJAX, and then format it into a 24hour time format. For example, if the mission starts at 0600, add the accumulated mission (120 seconds) time and display it on the html page as 06:02. Could anyone help me with such a JavaScript code?
CSS ARROW PLEASE! A cool site for creating and exporting CSS code for a custom box with an arrow extending out from the side. Great for tooltips, flyouts and the like. Click here for another working example (bottom of page).
Helpful info: There are a large number of CSS pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements, and it is useful to have a list to refer to.
Completed the MDN web docs CSS article Pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements.
I've accomplish the first goal of this project! Which is importing the mission time data into an html page, using the current time data exported from DCS World into a text file. For me, this is a important milestone, which I'm really happy about!
I'd like to give a shout out and thanks to @chrisdavidmills at the mozilla Learn discourse and the DCS Flighttraining YouTube channel for their invaluable help!
Here is the Rising Thunder Alpha Test "Curren Mission Time Data" html page link. Keep in mind when viewing this html page on the github server, the dcs-time.txt file is static and not being actively wrote onto, as if it would be on a active server with DCS World running. The github Rising Thunder Alpha Test website is just for demonstration purposes only. And the same for the time bar on the github Rising Thunder Alpha Test home page.
On a local computer hosting a MAMP web server for the Rising Thunder Alpha Test website, I successfully tested a DCS server/client, with the time bar on the Rising Thunder Alpha Test home page, and it functioned as inteneded, veiwed from a browser outside of my local network. By the way, MAMP is a really easy to use local web hosting app for testing your website projects.
I have also accomplished a successful test for a local MAMP web server, DCS server and client, SimpleRadio Standalone server and client, with all servers and clients running on the same computer.
This month I've completed all the articles in the MDN web docs: JavaScript first steps module, and successfully accomplished the Assessment: Silly story generator on the first attempt, which I thought was a fairly good feat.
In our first JavaScript module, we first answer some fundamental questions such as "what is JavaScript?", "what does it look like?", and "what can it do?", before moving on to taking you through your first practical experience of writing JavaScript. After that, we discuss some key JavaScript features in detail, such as variables, strings, numbers and arrays.
I'm still slowly plugging away at this project, which for the time presents means I'm still working on learing javascript. I've completed the MDN Web Docs Arrays module, after doing the module and it's "Active learning" examples over several times. When I do these modules and the associtated example exercises, it's not enough to just read the module and reference back to the study materials for completing the test examples and assessments for me. I want to be able to do these test excerises and assessments from memory muscle so to speak, fully understanding each line of code. Untill July's update, DE out.
The month of May unfortunately has given little time for studies and the Rising Thunder Alpha Test Project. A health issue, and working, however, even-so, I'm really blessed to still have a very good employment in these times, for sure.
While I do know how to export the current mission time from DCS, I still do not know how to inport and configure this data onto a webpage. If anyone would like to help me with this project please send me a message!
As with most of the World, I've been distracted by the Coved-19 virus, which has interfered with my work on the Rising Thunder Server and my studies to see this project come to a reality. Hope all the reader of this blog stay safe and well. May Gods mercies be on all of us.
With this said, should any readers of this blog like to help me out with this project, please message me via a DCS private message.
Thanks to chrisdavidmills over at MDN web docs for helping me out with this project. Linked here is an example of javascript that will inport DCS time data to a html webpage as expected.
The next goal is, I’d like to be able to change how the writeData, lastStamp output values are displayed, for example, I’ve set the lua script to write to the “time-log.txt” file every 6 seconds. As the accumulated time changes to minutes, I'd like for the values to change as displayed, from seconds, to minutes:seconds, to hours:minutes:seconds format as time accumulates.
Another helpful link. MDN web docs quick Reference table of selectors!
Another helpful link. A chart comparing font styles.
I'm starting the MDN javascript tutorials now, here is a helpful link for a beginner: Add External JavaScript Example - How to add a img?
I've completed the MDN web docs tutorials "Sending form data", "Client-side form validation, and "Styling web forms"! Check out my class project as it were, Input Forms, Javaforms, and a cool custom postcard form, for examples of the learning exerices you can do also. These lession should be helpul in building the Rising Thunder MOG. Additionally, I've completed the MDN web docs Advanced form styling, How to build custom form controls and the Sending forms through JavaScript chapters. This completes the MDN web docs HTML tutorials!
In the course of doing the MDN web docs, "Styling web forms" tutorial I was directed to a really cool website for some really cool free fonts, Font Squirrel! This site will certainly come in useful! Another website found while doing these MDN web doc tutorials, which could come in useful, is CSS-Tricks.
"JaBoG32_Dirty" has posted some helpfull examples of Export.lua files and a very basic TCP Server that receives data from DCS-World on his Github repo here. Thanks!
Helpful tip to remember: Get used to searching for mdn css-feature-name
in your favourite search engine whenever you need to find out more information about a CSS feature.
The logos to the right link to addition helpful websites in this endevor to create a carrier level DCS server...
After a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, I'm still working through the MDN web docs chapter Sending form data. In doing so I found the php server app Wampsever and this video "Installing, Troubleshooting and Configuring WAMP server for Windows 10" which was very helpful for quickly setting up a local php server for a beginner.
In the subsection "Example: Raw PHP" of the above chapter "Sending form data", in the ending subsection note box, two php server apps, are listed, AMPPS and MAMP. However, I found AMPPS to be too much for my beginning level, and the free version of MAMP, I could not get to work unless installing the time limited PRO version. Once the time limited pro version is expired, then the free version will not work again.
Update to the above: to get the "free" MAMP working with it's contained Apache Server, go to the MAMPS > Preferences > PHP > and set "Standard Version:" to "7.2.14". That simple, but if you don't know, you don't know.
In working through the MDN web docs tutorials, I have discovered that site, Miro Video Converter. This could be helpfull later. I Completed and passed the Mozilla Splash page assessment at 100%!
Completed the MDN Web docs HTML Tables Chapter with a score of 82%, barely passing, however, I recognized the bug I introduced in the Planet Data assessment, so I'm moving on.
Fixed the revision footer error of the only page being updated (the main index page), by creating a separate js file for the site revision footers.
This month I'm currently working through the MDN web docs "Sending form data" chapter. I hope all have a very Merry Christmas. I'm planning on posting my annual Christmas wish list to the DCS fourms next week.
I'm still working through the mozilla MDN web docs Multimedia and embedding tutorials, or to be more accurate, reworking through. In doing these tutorials, I’m setting a high critical standard for my objective learning experience, and if I fail an assessment, I rework that section, in order for me to make sure I’ve got a good understanding of the lesson subject matter. In working through this the second time I've also created a new media page.
The first time through the Mozilla slash page assessment, I forgot to write in the “400px” as the image “version that should be used otherwise” sizes attribute for the responsive images task, giving myself a score of 57%. The second time through the assessment, I realized I didn’t understand that this same attribute variable should have the value of the larger image, consequently giving myself a score of 60%. Also, in the first assessment attempt I didn’t optimize the images, mostly out of laziness, not knowing this was a “scoring task” in the Mozilla splash page assessment. So as of this date, I will be doing the MDN web docs Multimedia and embedding tutorials again!
In working through the MDM web docs tutorials, learned of this site tinypng for image optimization which could come in handy.
And lastly, I filed a Resolution switching: Same size, different resolutions - Article Error or Clarification, if anyone actually ever reads this, and can respond would it be appreciated!
As of this date, I've completed all the Mozilla Web Docs "HTML-Structuring the Web / Introduction to HTML" chapters, and passed the "Marking up a letter Assessment" at 86%, and the "Structuring a page of content Assessment" at 100%!
Additionaly, in the process of working through this course I discovered this cool website, Game-icons.net which could be helpfull in the future.
To the right in this blog are a couple of videos I've embedded as a practice exercise for the Mozilla Web Docs "Video an audio content" chapter. The top video is set to autoplay, loop, and has the sound muted for the default loading. The bottom video is shamelessly ripped from the DCS youtube site for my own educational purposes of creating this site. However, I'll remove it if asked. I resized the video (smaller), added an .vtt caption attribute, and rehosted it here on github.
Additionall I've completed the MDN web docs "Adding vector graphics to the Web" chapter.
In todays idiot's blog chronicling the learning steps of how to create a DCS server and associated website, I'm continuing working through the Mozilla MDN Docs Guides and Tutorials, and currently starting the "HTML — Structuring the Web, Introduction to HTML, Advanced text formatting" chapter. This Rising Thunder Alfa Test website is becoming a little more "developed?", with a small number of useless and dysfunctional features, but features, none the less.
Thanks to a video by DCS Flighttraining on YouTube, "Basics of exporting data out of DCS World via Export.lua", I've learned how to export the current mission time from DCS to a txt file. When the "LoGetModelTime()" function is inserted into the Saved Games/DCS/Scripts/Export.lua file, it will generate a "living" data.txt file, the last line being the current DCS mission time. Of course, I still do not know how to export this data from the text file into a HTML file.
For my next step of this idiots guide quest, I've completed the Mozilla "Getting started with the Web" course, an introduction to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In the process of working through this introductory course, I created my own simple exercise webpage as suggested by the author, instead of just cutting and pasting the giving examples of code, and I did some experimental customization, geared towards a DCS Server theme, of course. My next step in this quest is to work through the Mozilla "Learning HTML: Guides and tutorials" course.
First, I'm very new, and an "idiot" at setting up servers and webpages. However, I do have a dedicated DCS server successfully running on my local machine, using the default DCS server ports. Additionaly I have successfully installed Slmod, and it seams to work, using basic -help commands, and etc.
For a beginners practice and learning exercise, and for the motivation of success, or the agony of defeat, I would like learn how to simply export just the following data;
Into a local webpage/html file, in a standard 24 hour digital output/readout, and having the current missions time displayed as a running digita output and horizontal bar-graph.
For example;
Mission Start --- Current Map Time --- End Time
0600 ------------ 0900 --------------- 1400
[_______________|_________________]
Can this be done using just a local html file, and opened with a browser (Firefox), or must I install something like a Python's "SimpleHTTPServer" module? [EDIT] Yes, Python SimpleHTTPSever or simular will be needed. Will I need any other "app"? How do I export the data, and "link" it to the webpage (or app, if needed). [EDIT] To export time data from the DCS server see our Code Repository. I still do not know how it import the time data into a html file.
If anyone would like to take the time to write a idiot guide, or post in how to accomplish this basic feat, it would be greatly appreciated.
I'm thinking this exercise will be a great help in explaining and showing the basics of setting up a DCS Server, with an associated webpage. Also I'm assuming the basic concepts of this exercise will apply to most other planned functions going forward.
Beware of the Hornet