Latest Releases

  1. Learning C# Part 4: Classes and Objects :: This series aims to take a beginning programmer to an intermediate level in C#. Topics covered in Part 4 include: classes and objects, accessibility and scope, methods, constructors, static class members, namespaces, and XML commenting.
  2. Programming an HTML Downloader in C++ :: This program requests the source code (HTML) of a webpage and then gives the user multiple options for viewing the web server's response. We will use the Winsock API to manipulate sockets on the system, and create reusable code along the way.
  3. Learning C# Part 3: Control Structures :: This series aims to take a beginning programmer to an intermediate level in C#. Topics covered in Part 3 include: if/else statements, switch/case, and for, while, and do loops.
  4. Getting Groovy, Part III :: This tutorial is the third part of a series introducing the major features of Groovy, a dynamic scripting language for the Java Virtual Machine. We will be covering annotations, XML files, and file input/output.
  5. Creating a Multi-Language, Serverless Chat Program - Part 1: Protocol Design :: In order to explore how different languages approach GUI programming, network sockets, and object-oriented concepts, we will embark on a journey in creating a serverless chat protocol, and clients for it in many different languages. This is the first installment, where I describe the protocol and the project.

Most Popular

  1. Using Ajax Agent and PHP for Auto-Complete :: In this HOWTO I will explain how to use AjaxAgent and PHP to create an Ajax Auto-Complete box with a drill-down list of data. The UI is very simple. It consists of a TextBox to enter an Artists’ Name, a selectbox to display the Albums and an unordered list to display the songs on an album.
  2. :: This HOWTO will explain how to extend Building an Ajax & PHP RSS Reader using AjaxAgent Part 1 to include No-Refresh/No-Post-Back Form operations, database interaction as well as auto-complete functions that demonstrate some advanced Ajax/PHP operations. The end result will be an RSS Feed Reader that contains the typical Create, Read, Update and Delete database operations but using Ajax to perform these tasks.
  3. Getting Groovy, Part III :: This tutorial is the third part of a series introducing the major features of Groovy, a dynamic scripting language for the Java Virtual Machine. We will be covering annotations, XML files, and file input/output.
  4. Solving Soduku Using Backtracking :: We will use a simple backtracking algorithm to quickly solve a Soduku puzzle. This article will try to give a useful example in recursive programming and in backtracking algorithms in general.
  5. Getting Groovy Without The Bad Clothes :: This tutorial introduces you to Groovy, a dynamically-typed scripting language for the Java Virtual Machine, and runs you through creating your first script.

What's Going On Here

server upgrades tomorrow

- 10 Oct 2006 -

The server will be going down for a memory upgrade tomorrow night between the hours of 11 PM and 1 AM.

font size +2

- 05 Oct 2006 -

So I was reading through one of our articles today, and before I was done, I think my eyes were bleeding. As a small improvement, I increased the font size a couple pixels. Hopefully this will easy some pains until the redesign.

you're so money baby and you don't even know it

- 01 Oct 2006 -

So I'm not sure if you can consider a whole month "fashionably late", but the current contest details are finally posted. Sure, the ability to win money may not be creative, but I'm sure everyone can find a use for it.

grunt work finished

- 01 Oct 2006 -

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I got a bunch of the tedious stuff done on the site, plus a few time saving additions, so that I can start working on more meat and potatoes stuff.

The last couple of days I've been working on a few things, some visible, some behind the scenes. The articles should all look the same again: added previous page links, removed Amazon.com ads, changed the titlebar to display the name of the article before Scratch Projects, and finished adding syntax highlighting.

Behind the scenes I've moved the news from the mainpage to a database. So now I can give new updates without a codepush (this should have been done a long time ago). I also had the physical path for all my references hard coded, so those have been change to use $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']. The plan is to create an apache server here at my house for a dev environment, and start working on an article management system.

nintendo ds winner

- 08 Sep 2006 -

Congratulations to Nathan Baker for winning this month's contest for the first part of his series on Creating a Multi-Language, Serverless Chat Program. This is the beginning of the most ambitious project on Scratch Projects to date, and we can't wait to read the rest of it.

Thanks to everyone that contributed this month. I'm still trying to find a suitable prize option for the next contest, but don't let that stop you from sending stuff in. Once again the alternative prize will be a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate. Good luck!

forums down for maintenance sunday night

- 19 Aug 2006 -

This Sunday night (Aug 20) the forums will be down temporarily while I upgrade it to the latest version of phpBB. Thanks.

win a nintendo ds lite

- 18 Jul 2006 -

After much deliberation I've finally come up with a what I feel is a pretty nifty prize for the current contest, a Nintendo DS Lite. Also, for those that would rather pick their own stuff, the winner can pick a $100 Amazon gift card instead. Good luck and keep sending in those amazing programming tutorials.