Quoted from an O’Reilly email to me on Thu Jun 1 12:10:59 2006.
"Build Tag Clouds in Perl and PHP by Jim Bumgardner
First popularized by the web sites Flickr, Technorati, and del.icio.us, these amorphous clumps of words now appear on a slew of web sites as visual evidence of their membership in the elite corps of "Web 2.0." This PDF analyzes what is and isn't a tag cloud, offers design tips for using them effectively, and then shows how to collect tags and display them in the tag cloud format. Scripts are provided in Perl and PHP. ISBN: 0-596-52794-2, 46 pages, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/tagclouds/ ”
Everything is true in the quote above. A number of the learning issues end up being explained in a series of historical contexts. I think it is important to develop knowledge and logic based on a few of the historical twists and turns. Some of the most important lessons learned in this book are the ones that let you know this is a fad and we need to learn it as a fad that might go out of style in a hurry if we do not find good use[s] for tag clouds, the ‘real merits’ Mr. Bumgardner writes about in this PDF.
My experience agreed with everything Mr. Bumgardner wrote. I question the real merit of using a copy that is stored “of the word as it first appears” [pg 19]. Since there will be a link to the word, what happens when the word has more than one meaning: bow, bow, bow wow? Are there three links? Does the user go to one link thinking the word meant something else? If a tag cloud is a weighted list, then having one spelling with more than one meaning might throw the ‘real merits’ of the tag cloud off or at least cloud the user experience.
Some of the topics covered include the introduction to tag clouds as a possible fad, lists that are weighted, a brief history, some tips for designing and building, and then two sets of identical examples in PERL and PHP before the conclusion. Design Tips is probably the best chapter starting on page 13. The rest of the book needs to be clearly understood before you get to Making Tag Clouds [either one or both of the examples]. The chapters are written clearly, if briefly. I like that about this book. No long winded explanations of useless trivia here. Get to the point and stay there with good, clear code.
I thought the discriminations made between two examples were all straightforward and well defined without going overboard. Get the right tool for the job, not the only tool you know. This is very valuable knowledge worth your time to read.
The book is in PDF format. I like that feature. You can buy this online through the O’Reilly shopping cart and then download it.
The 45+ pages were easy to read and understand. I read it in one evening. The book is for someone who is a beginner but more experienced people should look it over to make sure they are up to speed with an expert.
I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend this book for everyone starting with beginners and moving through the rest of the ranks of experience. Since it is such a quick and easy read, you might be missing something unless you check your knowledge against this expert.
Frederick J Eccher Jr June 27, 2006
MBA
M.S. Management of Information Systems
A.B. Psychology
B.A. Biology
President, Board of Directors, Saint Louis Visual Basic Users Group
rick@stlvbug.net
|
