Paul Watson - Professional Profile

Re: Sometimes it is hard, even for me

11 Jul '08 - 6:40

Testing sig. cheers, Paul M. Watson.
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What blogs do I read?

Saturday, May 8, 2004 10:19 AM by Paul Watson

Michael Dunn posted the blogs he reads and I thought it would be handy to follow suite.

I think the "blog" definition as people perceive it is a bit tight for this, so I am extending it to the RSS feeds I have in my RSS reader (FeedDemon if you want to know of a great reader). These range from blogs of friends to high profile news sites and technology feeds.

BookSlut: Great for keeping up on the world of books
Wanderlustress: A former high-flying banker now a Peace Corp member in Uzbekistan
PhotographyBlog: Keeping up with the digital photographic world
BlogDex: Keep track of the top memes each day
CSS Vault: Amazing new standards-based web-sites
Gizmodo: Keep up with new gadgets
Joel on Software: Keep up on Joel's latest
Scobleizer: Microsoft guy, interesting posts
Slashdot: The easy way to keep up with /. and avoid the inane discussions
Wired News: Still writes great tech articles

That was just a sampling of the feeds I monitor, here are OPML files (FD imports OPML very easily, most readers do) from the four main categories I have in my reader:

regards,
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
South Africa

Christopher Duncan quoted:
"...that would require my explaining Einstein's Fear of Relatives"

Crikey! ain't life grand?

XmlTransformer, my latest CP article.

Jonny Newman

22 Dec '03 - 3:33

You've lost it dude. Jonathan 'nonny' Newman blog.nonny.com [^]
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Re: Sometimes it is hard, even for me

peterchen

11 Feb '04 - 12:05

The Phone Agony. Flirt harder, I'm a Coder mlog \|\| Agile Programming \| doxygen
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Re: Sometimes it is hard, even for me

Jörgen Sigvardsson

3 Mar '04 - 11:28

Argh, the agony. I'm sorry. -- Unser Tanz ist so wild! Ein neuer böser Tanz. Alle gegen Alle!
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Media: Photos: Travel: Greece 2003

Saturday, August 30, 2003 3:29 PM by Paul Watson

FYI: Greece 2003 photos Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa Crikey! ain't life grand?
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Re: Media: Photos: Travel: Greece 2003

Rickard Andersson¹⁸

3 Sep '03 - 22:14

Greece!! I want to visit that again after about 7 years now. Rickard Andersson Here is my card, contact me later! UIN: 50302279 Sonork: 37318 Interests: C++, ADO, SQL, Winsock, 0s and 1s
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Re: Media: Photos: Travel: Greece 2003

23 Oct '03 - 2:56

Happy Birthday Bud. Regards, Brian Dela http://www.briandela.com[^] IE 6 required. MFC.NET Application Wizard[^] Mix .NET and MFC easily.
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Photography: Madness Part Due!

Sunday, March 2, 2003 7:50 AM by Paul Watson

It is mid-summer yet I am sitting here freezing cold. Why you ask? Because I took a tumble into the Atlantic ocean (the cold one) while trying to get some wave photos as the sun set. My shorts are soaked, my t-shirt see-thru and my shoes and socks waterlogged.

Ahhh, I love photography.

There was this handy rock jutting out in line with another rock that had waves breaking over it. My rock seemed safe, I watched it for awhile and notice the waves avoided it most of the time. So it made a good hide from the sun (so I would not get sun-flare on the lens) and a good solid object to rest on to keep the camera steady. I scrambled down and began lining up shot after shot as the sun bathed the rock and spray in amazing colours. Suddenly I am pitching backwards, water all around and my only thought is "f***, camera! Hold it up! Hold it up!" Landing arse first in a rock pool is no fun when your hands are occupied with saving your camera.

Then I realised I had lost my lens cap... shite! 10 minutes later, as a nearby fisherman watches on in great glee, I find the damned thing wedged between some rocks.

Now the sun is touching the horizon, the waves are getting bigger, the wind and cold water is making me shiver and... you guessed it... I go back to the rock and carry on taking photos.

This time I kept a firm stance and every time the waves came, now strangley not avoiding my rock, I would wait for them to hit the other rock, shoot and then as fast as I could pull the camera back and behind me so the spray would not cover it.

In my mind it became a battle between me wanting to take photos of the rock, and the ocean trying to stop me. I should know who won next week... Big Grin | :-D

So yeah, I am a nut.

For those who know the area it was on Noordhoek beach (Long beach to foreigners) on the Chapmans peak side. It was actually quite cool. I clambered up from the beach right up the cliff side to the actual Chapmans peak road. It was way beyond the cut-off point and the road is absolutely trashed. Big boulder sized holes in it and half the barricade walls are shot through. It was really quite nice strolling along Chapmans peak road, closed off for so long, all alone and the ocean far below.

Of course as any hiker will tell you getting up is easy, getting down with a camera, tripod and bag is not.

What a wonderful part of the world to live in though. Smile | :)

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er

DavidW wrote:
You are totally mad. Nice.

Congrats on 10K

Nishant S

22 Mar '03 - 11:38

I cant start a new thread here, so this is the best I can do No one else seems to have noticed it. You are #3 to do it on CP after CG and me. Congratulations Nish *Author of the romantic comedy* Summer Love and Some more Cricket [New Win] Review by Shog⁹ Click here for review[NW]
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Re: Congrats on 10K

Re: Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

23 Mar '03 - 6:02

Thanks Nish, I think So is this like the mile high club, just without the sex and sheilas? Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa Macbeth muttered: I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er DavidW wrote: You are totally mad. Nice.
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Re: Congrats on 10K

Nishant S

23 Mar '03 - 7:25

Paul Watson wrote: So is this like the mile high club, just without the sex and sheilas? You just joined CG and me in the list of people who have no life. Nish *Author of the romantic comedy* Summer Love and Some more Cricket [New Win] Review by Shog⁹ Click here for review[NW]
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Re: Congrats on 10K

Nick Parker

25 May '03 - 4:25

Nishant S wrote: You just joined CG and me in the list of people who have no life. So basically what you are saying is there are different levels on having no life? -Nick Parker
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Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

Tuesday, February 25, 2003 9:23 PM by Paul Watson

Ok so photography is a sickness. Worse than drugs and the love of small hedgehogs*.

Yesterday I went out and bought a piece of round glass that fits on the end of my lens and makes the sky bluer. They call it a polariser. Thing is that piece of round glass cost R345! I can get almost two tanks of petrol with that much money. It is three times more than my weekly grocery bill. Just for a piece of frikin glass.

But oh, oh how sweet it is. Yes, it rocks. Polarisers rock. Spent two hours on my back staring at the sky twirling the polariser around and around, watching the pale blue sky turn to a deep blue. Basically it polarises the incoming light. The effect is to cut out haze, saturate colours and provide more contrast in the sky. My Golden Lion photo is pretty cool IMO, but the sky is totally burnt out and has no colour, detracting from the photo as a whole. However with a polariser I can get in the golden colours of the landscape AND saturate the sky rendering a nice deep blue. Can't wait for the results.

The cool thing about a polariser also is that you can see the change right through your lens. The strongest effect of the polariser comes when it is 90degrees to the sun. As you turn the circular glass you can actually see the sky going from pale blue to deep blue and then back again. Kiff!

Oh and the other madness was buying four rolls of film (Fuji Sensia 100 and 200) and the total coming to R295. Holy crap.

* Are hedgehogs ever not small? I mean, is there a Giant Lesser Spotted Hedgehog of New Thumberland or something?

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er

Want a job?

Re: Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

26 Feb '03 - 6:22

Want more pics... want more pics.. want more pics... Regards, Brian Dela Run naked in the snow until you're sweating like a stuck pig and can't seem to catch your breath. When the flu becomes pneumonia, they can cure that with a shot. - Roger Wright
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Re: Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

26 Feb '03 - 6:49

Brian Delahunty wrote: Want more pics... want more pics.. want more pics... Awwwww, my one and only fan. Thanks Brian Getting them developed today, should be ready this friday or so. Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa Macbeth muttered: I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er Want a job?
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Re: Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

26 Feb '03 - 7:53

Paul Watson wrote: Getting them developed today, should be ready this friday or so. Cool. Let me know when you get them online Regards, Brian Dela Run naked in the snow until you're sweating like a stuck pig and can't seem to catch your breath. When the flu becomes pneumonia, they can cure that with a shot. - Roger Wright
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Roger Wright

4 Apr '03 - 20:40

Paul Watson wrote:
my one and only fan.

Not at all!

I can't wait to get a polarizer for my Nikon - I had one years ago for my film cameras and the effects are magnificent. Around here I think a UV filter is probably a must, but I believe I can stack it with a polarizing filter without losing too much sensitivity.

BTW - What did you think of the latest tune download?

"Please don't put cigarette butts in the urinal. It makes them soggy and hard to light" - Sign in a Bullhead City, AZ Restroom

Re: Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

Re: Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

6 Apr '03 - 20:55

Roger Wright wrote: BTW - What did you think of the latest tune download? Going to download it this evening, it is a bit big for me to hog our pipe with during the day Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa Macbeth muttered: I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er Shog⁹: Paul "The human happy pill" Watson
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Megan Forbes

28 Feb '03 - 20:45

Paul Watson wrote:
Yesterday I went out and bought a piece of round glass that fits on the end of my lens and makes the sky bluer.

Congrats! A fantastic piece of kit. But Paul, please, shop on EBay (mine was £11,50). That way you will be able to buy 3 (yes, they sell brand new there) for the price of one (makes more sense if you consider my UV filter - 0 Haze cost me only £6,95) Smile | :)

Nice caterpillar shot BTW.

But I am fantastic in bed! And there are gorgeous women in all the houses I pass. And it would be wrong to leave them unsatisfied! So spam is the only way... - Paul Watson

Re: Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

Re: Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

1 Mar '03 - 0:52

Megan Forbes wrote:
Nice caterpillar shot BTW.

LOL thanks but one of my worst shots. I was just seeing what photoSIGers would think. They did not like it hehe. If it is not a sunset, a nude women or an art shot then it is never well recieved.

Went into the lab today to pick what slides I want saved to CD from my latest batch. Some awesome shots! Can't wait to get them up. In and around Hout bay. Slide film rocks, it is such a nice feeling to be leaning over the white-screen with a loupe peering into these amazingly luminescent photographs. Though I think some of the other customers in the lab thought I was a bit nuts Big Grin | :-D

Megan Forbes wrote:
But Paul, please, shop on EBay (mine was £11,50). That way you will be able to buy 3 (yes, they sell brand new there) for the price of one (makes more sense if you consider my UV filter - 0 Haze cost me only £6,95)

Ouch. Just saw a Hoya 58mm polariser for $48. Only a R100 more than what I bought and of a lot better quality.

Thanks and I promise, I will give eBay a bash next time. I just really am a bit weary of being burnt on eBay.

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er

DavidW wrote:
You are totally mad. Nice.

Megan Forbes

1 Mar '03 - 1:07

Paul Watson wrote:
If it is not a sunset, a nude women or an art shot then it is never well recieved.

Tell me about it. Wildlife shots should be on a site of their own. An American actually suggested I should have taken a couple of steps to the left on my leopard shot - to do that would have meant getting out of the car under the tree he was in (and turning myself into something on the menu). I think they believe all SA's live in a permanent zoo or something! Roll eyes | :rolleyes:

Speaking of new sites, my SQL tables are currently under design for my "easy photo site" (ok, I need a name!) ASP.Net web application. Wish me luck - starting from the Admin angle to make sure all the functions I want will integrate nicely.

Paul Watson wrote:
Some awesome shots! Can't wait to get them up.

Big Grin | :-D

I'll check out PhotoSig tonight (off into London to look for subjects now - damn, hope it doesn't rain!). BTW - could you please put a link here to your portfolio? Searching for your name each time to get to you is something I feel lazier about each time Blush | :O

Paul Watson wrote:
58mm

Didn't know you also had 58mm thread. Man, I love filters Big Grin | :-D

Paul Watson wrote:
I just really am a bit weary of being burnt on eBay

That sucks. Fortunately it's hasn't happened to me yet. I think their rating system is invaluable. If someone ever screws me around I will definitly flood them with negative feedback!

But I am fantastic in bed! And there are gorgeous women in all the houses I pass. And it would be wrong to leave them unsatisfied! So spam is the only way... - Paul Watson

Re: Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

Re: Photography: A Polariser and the Madness of King Paul

1 Mar '03 - 1:27

Megan Forbes wrote:
"easy photo site" (ok, I need a name!)

PhotoFast... oh wait, that's a name of a company already. Hmmm...

Photo Gallery Producer... oh wait that becomes PGP, doh...

If I think of anything I will tell you. Don't use photoProject though, that is my name for a website I am putting together Big Grin | :-D

Original huh? Can't hide my developer roots.

If you want any help on the app then just ask.

Megan Forbes wrote:
I'll check out PhotoSig tonight (off into London to look for subjects now - damn, hope it doesn't rain!). BTW - could you please put a link here to your portfolio?

Sometimes rain can be a good thing, but only if it clears up before sunset. Normally then you can get some dramatic cloud shots and also look out for good puddles with good light on them. Can get some nice reflection shots. Picadilly Circus lights seen through a puddle reflection would be pretty cool IMO. Though the cops might just lock you up in the loony bin if they see this young lady taking photographs of puddles... hehe

My portfolio on photoSIG I will put it in my bio here too, thanks for the idea.

Megan Forbes wrote:
An American actually suggested I should have taken a couple of steps to the left on my leopard shot - to do that would have meant getting out of the car under the tree he was in (and turning myself into something on the menu). I think they believe all SA's live in a permanent zoo or something!

LOL! Typical. One shot I took I was also advised to take it more to the right. Thing was I was already hanging onto a rock on Chapmans peak when I took it. Anymore to the right and I would be one with the rocks, 100 feet below! hehe.

But any advise is good IMO. I have also said to some photos on photoSIG to move to a different angle. If it is a wild animal shot or somewhere dangerous then I do acknowledge that it might have been impossible though.

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er

DavidW wrote:
You are totally mad. Nice.

Roger Wright

4 Apr '03 - 20:55

Paul Watson wrote:
Anymore to the right and I would be one with the rocks, 100 feet below!

Reminds me of a shot I took at Boy Scout camp. Rather, I set it up and had a ~~slave~~ Tenderfoot in my patrol (Troop 447 - Beaver Patrol, naturally) take the shot. My best friend, Scott, and me lying contorted on the rocks in the surf off Catalina Island, were featured in the shot from a cliff 120' above. We wanted to send it to our mothers with a note from the camp nurse informing them that we were having a great time, and were expected to recover completely. We were greatly disappointed to learn that developing services were not available at camp, so the prank never came off.

My all-time favorite, though, was a B&W shot I staged in my garage. In '73/74 the comet Kohoutek was the media darling of the year, touted to be the brightest display in the heavens in decades. Naturally, the celestial party pooper was a no show, and at its peak was barely visible. Not to be deterred, I set up my camera in the garage, piled magnesium turnings high on an upside down coffee can then ignited them. I switched on a fan adjacent to the actinic pyre but out of the frame, and snapped a series of shots of my "comet" using Tri-X and no flash. They turned out spectacular, but the newspaper declined to publish my exclusive report. Frown | :(

"Please don't put cigarette butts in the urinal. It makes them soggy and hard to light" - Sign in a Bullhead City, AZ Restroom

Paul van der Walt

30 Aug '03 - 8:07

Hey there

I was just checking out some of your photos - really cool stuff there Big Grin | :-D

I saw you wrote in one of the comments that Chapmans Peak drive is closed - why is that? Has it fallen into disrepair? Just interested because my parents actually went motorbiking on that road when they were younger Smile | :)

Paul

Garfield.Bark(); ---Configuration: garfield - Win32 Deworm--- C:\garfield.cpp(9) : error C2039: 'Bark' : is not a member of 'CCat'

Chapmans Peak Drive

Re: Photography: My website

30 Aug '03 - 8:16

About three years ago a man was killed by a rock that crushed his car on the drive. Another woman was crippled by a rock. There have been plenty of incidents like that before those two, but these two (or rather the family of the dead man) tried to sue the city of Cape Town.

So the drive was closed and they have now spent millions of Rand and many years fixing it. The road was fine, but the cliffs above it needed to be stabilised.

They are re-opening in in February 2004 actually Big Grin | :-D

Unfortuanatley to pay for the repairs and ongoing maintenance it will be a toll road now.

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Crikey! ain't life grand?

Re: Chapmans Peak Drive

Paul van der Walt

30 Aug '03 - 8:24

Dankie vir die informasie Smile | :)

Paul Watson wrote:
About three years ago ...

Pretty tragic that Frown | :(

A bit silly of the family to try and sue the town council, but I suppose I can understand their pain Cry | :((

Paul Watson wrote:
it will be a toll road now

That definitely seems to be the fashion in SA lately Hmmm | :|

Paul Watson wrote:
re-opening in February 2004

Cool | :cool:

Paul

Garfield.Bark(); ---Configuration: garfield - Win32 Deworm--- C:\garfield.cpp(9) : error C2039: 'Bark' : is not a member of 'CCat'

Photography: My website

Wednesday, February 19, 2003 4:06 AM by Paul Watson

My website is finally up, and of course it revolves around photography. Image files are really big, but then it is all about the images init?

About page is naff, but best I can do for now. Want to write it for me?

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Marshall wrote: (on Jap to Engrish)
The web translator said:
"For success one must aquire one's self"
My translation based on the code:
"If the copy of the this pointer is valid, return true.

David Wulff

24 Feb '03 - 4:23

Paul Watson wrote: About page is naff I quite liked it, it had a light side to it that kept me reading. David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
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Re: Photography: My website

Re: Photography: My website

25 Feb '03 - 21:11

David Wulff wrote:
I quite liked it, it had a light side to it that kept me reading.

Thanks Smile | :)

And the rest of the site? I know you cannot talk to me directly anymore but just relay to Mini David wether you thought the site in general was good. Navigation? Content? Load times? Usability? Was the dark grey heading text on the dark grey background too hard too read? It is a minimalist site because after all it is about the photographs not how much cool HTML sh*t I can thrown in Smile | :)

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er

Want a job?

Roger Wright

13 Feb '04 - 6:19

Imagine that - nearly a year now since the website went active. Are you planning a major refit for the anniversary? Something with a I'm # 1! theme, in honor of passing Nish as the top poster? Only a couple hundred posts to go! Heard in Bullhead City - "You haven't lost your girl - you've just lost your turn..." [sigh] So true...
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Photography: Film: Fuji Sensia ISO100 and ISO200

Monday, February 3, 2003 3:40 AM by Paul Watson

Great slide film, and cheaper than Fuji Velvia. Processed my first slide film the other day and it looks fab. It is excellent for colours, very rich and saturated. Not good for people though, skin tone comes out reddish, especially when using a Flash. Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa Roger Wright wrote: Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
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Photography

Monday, January 6, 2003 11:07 PM by Paul Watson

I took the plunge and bought a Canon EOS 300v with a Canon 28-90mm II lens. For the first few weeks I have been using Fuji Superia 200 film, consumer grade film while I learn the ropes. I have just bought some Fuji Sensia 100 slide film, which I am a bit nervous to actually use Big Grin | :-D

As I take roll after roll I will upload the best ones, mainly for my sake but if you like them, then wonderful.

Currently I have 11 photos on Photo.net, but I have recently found PhotoSIG.com which IMO is a better site with a better community. The only problem is they only let you upload one photo ever 3 days (for good reason) so it will take some time before I get all my photos up on that site.

Photo.net portfolio.

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Photographs

SimonS

9 Jan '03 - 2:38

I can give you some space on my server if you want. Only caveat, I can't give out the FTP credentials so I'll have to do the uploading for you. Want it? Cheers, Simon "The day I swan around in expensive suits is the day I hope someone puts a bullet in my head.", Chris Carter. my svg article
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9 Jan '03 - 2:47

SimonS wrote:
I can give you some space on my server if you want.

Really appreciate the offer, thanks Simon. But I have plenty of space on our hosting server (if you ever need photo space, with your own FTP account, then just ask and I will set one up for you.)

What I meant was that for photosig.com itself one can only upload 1 photo every three days (at the begining, as your ratings go up so does the number of photos you submit, good system.) It makes one choose the best photos very carefully. The reason I want them on photosig.com is because the community gives good critiques on your photos. So people can help me learn to take better photographs Smile | :)

How is this for co-incidence. I took that Camps Bay fire film to be developed at the Kodak in Cavendish Square (I am trying every photo lab I can until I find a good one... this Kodak was not) and when I came to collect the CD the girl who did the developing rushed up and pointed out that she was in one of the photographs! She also went up to take photos. Had a good chuckle over that, amazing thing co-incidence Smile | :)

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Photographs

9 Jan '03 - 7:45

Woot! Just repeating it here for prosterior... err I mean prosperity... err yeah. Photo used on News24[^] Not bad for a wannabe hack photographer Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa My humble photographic tribute to our world[^]
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benjymous

15 Jan '03 - 3:31

Out of interest, did you just send the pic unsolicited, or do they have some kind of standard process asking people to submit suitable photos? -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
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15 Jan '03 - 4:14

benjymous wrote:
Out of interest, did you just send the pic unsolicited, or do they have some kind of standard process asking people to submit suitable photos?

I just sent it unsolicited to editor@news24.co.za (the email I got from the site)

Most newspapers though would probably reject it or only give you a few seconds to make your case. They generally only accept from known photographers.

In this case though it was a major event and they had no photos for it. It was also a dramatic event which lends itself well to photos, so that helped.

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

My photoSIG portfolio[^]

Signature Test

Monday, December 2, 2002 7:44 AM by Paul Watson

Testing signature in here so that if it is too big it does not nuke other forums Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa Christopher Duncan wrote: Which explains why when Santa asked, "And what do you want for Christmas, little boy?" I said, "A life." (Something no programmer should be without. Accessories sold separat
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Re: Signature Test

2 Dec '02 - 7:46

First time was not a success, take two Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa Christopher Duncan wrote: Which explains why when Santa asked, "And what do you want for Christmas, little boy?" I said, "A life." (Accesories sold separately)
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Re: Signature Test

18 Dec '02 - 5:09

looks fine now. Regards, Brian Dela
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Re: Signature Test

DHTML Menu using just UL, LI, CSS and JavaScript

19 Dec '02 - 21:22

test Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa Paul Watson wrote: "The Labia [cinema]... ...was opened by Princess Labia in May 1949..." Christian Graus wrote: See, I told you it was a nice name for a girl...
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Web Development

Wednesday, October 23, 2002 5:41 AM by Paul Watson

Any ideas, concepts, eurekas etc. related to web development. Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
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23 Oct '02 - 6:29

(IE6 only at this point, but possible to get working perfectly well in Mozilla 1.0 and other web standards supporting browsers)

Live Demo (can't do a demo here as JavaScript is nullified)

Summary
A DHTML menu which strictly seperates content from presentation from logic/function. The content/structure is pure HTML with no inline CSS, inline Javascript events or any such lark. Therefore it can be rendered to virtually any device and be viewed as intended. It will degrade functionally and visually gracefully.
The CSS is all in a seperate CSS file and applied using child parent selectors.
The functionality (JavaScript) is in a seperate file and is attached to the UL structure on body load of document.

HTML (view complete source in the Live Demo link above)

...
<body onload="initialiseMenu();">
        <h1>DMenu: Sample Simple</h1>
        <ul id="mainmenu">
            <li><a href="about/">About Us</a></li>
            <li><a href="about/">Articles</a>
                <ul>
                    <li><a href="articles/">C#</a>
                        <ul>
                            <li><a href="articles/">C# Reference</a></li>
                            <li><a href="articles/">Tutorials</a></li>
                            <li><a href="articles/">Samples</a></li>
                            <li><a href="articles/">FAQ</a></li>
                        </ul>
                    </li>
                    <li><a href="articles/">.NET</a>
                        <ul>
                            <li><a href="articles/">.NET Reference</a></li>
                            <li><a href="articles/">Tutorials</a></li>
                            <li><a href="articles/">Samples</a></li>
                            <li><a href="articles/">FAQ</a>
                                <ul>
                                    <li><a href="articles/">Windows Forms</a></li>
                                    <li><a href="articles/">Web Forms</a></li>
                                    <li><a href="articles/">XML</a></li>
                                    <li><a href="articles/">ADO.NET</a></li>
                                </ul>
                            </li>
                        </ul>
                    </li>
                    <li><a href="articles/">ASP.NET</a></li>
                    <li><a href="articles/">MC++</a>
                        <ul>
                            <li><a href="articles/">MC++ Reference</a></li>
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...

As you can see pure HTML, no CSS, no JavaScript events etc.

JavaScript (view complete source)

...
function initialiseMenu(){    
    var cTag = document.body.getElementsByTagName("LI");    
    for(var i=0; i < cTag.length; i++){
        tcTag = cTag[i];                        
        if (tcTag.children.length == 2)
        {            
            tcTag.onmouseover=showSubMenu;
            tcTag.onmouseout=hideSubMenu;
            tcTag.children[0].className = "hassubmenu";
        }                                
    }
}
...

Basically it gets all LI children of the BODY element. It then loops through this collection and checks to see if the LI element has two children. Two children indicates a sub menu (it always has 1 child which is the A element.) One detected it then assigns the onmouseover and onmouseout events to that LI element.

The showSubMenu and hideSubMenu functions take in a this parameter (invisibly, i.e. no need for you to actually pass it) and then shows any UL child of the this element.

Nifty huh? Smile | :)

CSS (view complete source)

...
ul, li
{
	font-size: small;
	margin-top: 0px;
	margin-right: 0px;
	margin-bottom: 0px;
	display: block;
}
 
ul
{
	width: 130px;
	border: solid 1px #333333;
	border-top: solid 5px #333333;
	border-right: solid 2px #333333;
}
 
ul li ul
{
	display: none;
	position: absolute;
}
 
li a
{
	padding: 2px;
	text-decoration: none;
	color: #000000;
	background-color: #ffffee;
	width: 100%;
	display: block;
	border-bottom: dashed 1px #333333;
	text-indent: 2px;
	font-size: small;
}
 
li a:hover
{
	background-color: #ffcc00;
	font-weight: bold;
	border-bottom: solid 1px #333333;
}
 
li
{
	float: left;
}
 
a.hassubmenu
{
	background-image: url(../img/lay_dmnuhassub.gif);
	background-repeat: no-repeat;
	background-position: 120px 7px;
}
 
#mainmenu
{
	margin: 10px;	
	margin-left: 5px;	
	float: left;
	border-bottom: solid 2px #333333;
	margin-bottom: 100%;	
}...

As you can see the CSS uses child parent selectors (e.g. ul li ul means a UL element which is a child of an LI element which is a child of an UL element.)

Be sure NOT to place any margins around the A element or the onmouseout event will be fired before you mouseover the next menu item, found that out the hard way Big Grin | :-D

Also notice that no positioning is done on the submenuitems. This is because the UL/LI/UL/LI structure imposes positiong itself, which is great because it does it well Smile | :)

Enjoy

Improvements

Get to work in Mozilla 1.0 (and therefore Netscape 6.x/7.x as well)
Pre-load "has sub menu" arrow graphic

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Demo link = 404 :( leppie 5 Nov '02 - 6:18

Hi Paul Have you got another link perhaps? Its sure does look interesting Cheers "There are no stupid question's, just stupid people."
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Re: Demo link = 404 :(