HTMList.com, A Web Development Blog by Synapse Studios

The development for open source software is strong and growing. Open source software is software in which the source code is publicly available for examination or contribution. If you talk to a typical person or business you’ll usually find that their computers are all running Windows and have Microsoft Office installed. Some may even have more expensive software installed like the Adobe Creative Suite applications. By buying and using such high-priced software, it is easy to shell out two or three times as much money on software than on your computer system. There is a lot of money that can be saved by utilizing free and open source software.

Let’s look at a few of the free and open source applications that can save you money.

Maintaining state in multiple instances of a browser can cause unwanted side effects. The common solution is to rely on Ajax, but making use of Ajax requests in an environment with a flaky network creates further problems, all of which we address after the jump.

Edgar takes an up-close look at integrating zip codes into web applications. From data validation to location proximity and more, we *almost* make zip codes fun. Almost.

Coders like to code; coders don’t like to write. It’s no secret that thorough and approachable documentation is a rarity in the coding world. Despite its necessity for the adoptability of a given software package, finding good documentation is notoriously difficult. I’ve seen “documentation” consist of a simple phpDocumentor run (Magento anyone). Folks, this is NOT DOCUMENTATION!!! That is a reference guide! Learn what makes for great documentation with Brandon’s handy tips sheet.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to quickly and easily use single images and a bit of crafty CSS to create easy image rollovers. You can also use this technique to simplify browser caching of your images by storing multiple images in a single “meta image”, so to speak. (There are some reasons not to do this, though.)