In this chapter, we have looked at how we can make some really simple but useful improvements to our framework, by utilizing other services and libraries and just adding a few lines of code to our system. The number of improvements we can make are endless; some options include:
Integrating graphs and charts into our administration area, using
Google charts
PHP chart libraries
JavaScript chart libraries
Bringing jQuery improvements to the design. jQuery is a great JavaScript library, which can enhance the user interface. It has a number of plugins and code snippets available, including:
autocomplete:
This plugin makes searching for products easier by auto-completing products in the database.uploadprogress:
When a customer uploads a file for a customizable product, this plugin would show the progress of the upload.Toggle images: For products where we have a number of photographs uploaded, we could use JavaScript to toggle between the different images, swapping a larger image with the larger version of a thumbnail image. This is a code snippet, which can be copied from http://www.michaelpeacock.co.uk/blog/entry/manual-photo-filmstrip-in-jQuery.