The reason I got into programming in the first place was to be able to build my own things. I had an itch to scratch and I went from there. I created something out of nothing with nothing more than my mind, a terminal, Sublime Text 2, and Heroku. Those of you who know how to program understand the feeling of being able to build any idea you can think of. For those of you just starting to learn, that feeling is waiting to come out and you just have to find it.

Programming — and the Web for that matter — is unique in that very few other forms of creation require zero raw materials. Want to build a house? You need wood, mortar, brick, tools, and so much more. Want to build a car? You need plastic, steel, glass, rubber, and so on. Want to build a smartphone? You need glass, metal, and many tiny parts. Want to paint a picture? You need a canvas, paint, brushes, and more. Programming is different. Programming requires only your ability to learn, stay persistent, and to be hungry to create something.

I guess that’s why I’ve always loved building things for the Web. In my mind it’s so much easier than building anything for the “real world”. The techniques are all fairly simple to learn, ideas are relatively easy to test, you don’t need any raw materials, and you can do it all with no additional costs other than your time.

When I go about thinking through an idea I want to program, it’s like starting to write. It’s all about getting the first words on the page. Getting into the flow. Creating something out of nothing can be scary. You can feel the weight of an empty “rails new” project and not know where to begin. But any experienced programmer will tell you that starting with an untouched project is often more exhilarating than working on legacy code. You get to start from nothing. You get to shape the foundation.

If you’re like me, when the next person asks you why you learned to program, tell them that you did it because you like making things, and the Web allows you to build whatever you can think of out of nothing. Then smile and tell them “no,” that doesn’t mean you want to build their next Big Idea.

The post Creating Something Out of Nothing appeared first on Treehouse Blog.

The RDFa Working Group has published a Proposed Recommendation for HTML+RDFa 1.1. This specification defines rules and guidelines for adapting the RDFa Core 1.1 and RDFa Lite 1.1 specifications for use in HTML5 and XHTML5. The rules defined in this specification not only apply to HTML5 documents in non-XML and XML mode, but also to HTML4 and XHTML documents interpreted through the HTML5 parsing rules.

The Working Group has also published two Proposed Edited Recommendations for RDFa Core 1.1 and XHTML+RDFa 1.1, folding in the errata reported by the community since their publication as Recommendations in June 2012; all changes are editorial.

Learn more about the Semantic Web Activity.

The CSS Working Group and SVG Working Group today jointly published a First Public Working Draft of Web Animations 1.0, which defines a model for synchronization and timing of changes to the presentation of a Web page. This specification also defines an application programming interface for interacting with this model and it is expected that further specifications will define declarative means for exposing these features. The Web Animations model aims at two broad areas of application: User interface effects, and Storytelling and visualisation.

The two groups also updated today Compositing and Blending Level 1. Compositing describes how shapes of different elements are combined into a single image.

When students have the scholarship support they need, they can do AMAZING things. And during the month of June, we’re working hard to help students do just that — make the most of their time at UMBC, and change the world for the better, with the aid of scholarships. Our aim? To raise enough money to award 30 scholarships of $1,000. It’s a big goal, but you can help us reach it, and when you do, you’ll be helping students in need.

Today we’re featuring 2013 valedictorian and scholarship recipient Asif Majid ’13, interdisciplinary studies, who this fall is bound for Georgetown University to study conflict resolution. While at UMBC, Asif (a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar) not only wrote a play about Moroccan social justice issues while studying abroad in Morocco, he also participated in Model UN and served as a hand drummer in UMBC’s improvisational world music band and principal timpanist for the UMBC Symphony Orchestra.

Q: What did it mean to you and your family to be able to rely on scholarship support during your time at UMBC?

A:  Coming out of high school, one of my main considerations in choosing a university to attend was financial.  Simultaneously, I was concerned with having a sense of community, as close-knit as possible, while at UMBC.  As a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar, the financial support that I received from the program and the community support I received from my fellow scholars were essential parts of my UMBC experience.

Q:  Why did you choose UMBC?

A:  Rather than me choosing UMBC, I think that UMBC chose me.  Before and during my high school years, my father taught in the Mechanical Engineering Department, my sister was a Meyerhoff Scholar and Interdisciplinary Studies major, and my mother volunteered with the Meyerhoff Parents’ Association.  UMBC has been a constant presence in my life, and it seemed a natural fit when it came time to choose an undergraduate institution.  Receiving financial support from the school only sweetened the deal.

Q:  We know that students who receive the support they need can do amazing things at UMBC. What are you most proud of accomplishing in your time at UMBC?

A:  Though UMBC has afforded me many opportunities and given me support to be successful in many arenas, I would say that I am most humbled and honored to have achieved excellence within the Interdisciplinary Studies Department (INDS).  Designing my own major, conducting independent research through my capstone and social justice theatre project, integrating a study abroad experience into my undergraduate career, and making history as the first valedictorian from INDS are simply my way of saying thank you to the exceptional department that has been my home for the past four years.

Q:  How did it feel to be able to address your classmates as valedictorian?

A:  It is an impossible task to speak for anyone else, let alone to represent the experiences of thousands of students at a university as diverse as UMBC.  Holding fast to the idea that any good valedictory address is not about the valedictorian but about the graduates as a whole, I chose to speak in terms of ideas and principles such as risk-taking and remembering our origins.  Each graduate has a unique experience that is theirs alone, and I wanted to acknowledge that journey.

Q:  I understand you’re planning on studying conflict resolution at Georgetown. Where do you hope your studies take you?

A:  I feel that my life lines up alongside the motto of The Honors College: “Learning for Living.”  Infused with such an idea after my time at UMBC, I aim for my studies to propel me in the direction of being a conflict transformation scholar-practitioner.  This will involve working in the intersections of the performing arts, experiential education, conflict transformation, and humanitarian emergencies while also thinking, teaching, and writing about how to improve the conditions of others in conflict zones.  For me, the convergence of learning and living is an exciting interstitial space that I believe will characterize my future.

The Web Cryptography Working Group has published a Working Draft of Web Cryptography API. This specification describes a JavaScript API for performing basic cryptographic operations in web applications, such as hashing, signature generation and verification, and encryption and decryption. Additionally, it describes an API for applications to generate and/or manage the keying material necessary to perform these operations. Uses for this API range from user or service authentication, document or code signing, and the confidentiality and integrity of communications. Learn more about the Security Activity.

Today W3C launched a new Digital Publishing Activity to make the Web a platform for the digital publishing industry, and to build the necessary bridges between the developers of the Open Web Platform and the publishing industry.

Today's eBook readers and tablets for electronic books, magazines, journals and educational resources use W3C technologies such as (X)HTML, CSS, SVG, SMIL, MathML, or various Web API-s. Commercial publishers also rely on W3C technologies in their back-end processing all the way from authoring through to delivering the printed or electronic product and beyond.The publishing industry is one of the largest consumers of W3C technology.

Work in this activity primarily takes place in the Digital Publishing Interest Group. That Interest Group is a forum for experts in the digital publishing ecosystem of electronic journals, magazines, news, or book publishing (authors, creators, publishers, news organizations, booksellers, accessibility and internationalization specialists, etc.) for technical discussions, gathering use cases and requirements to align the existing formats and technologies (e.g., for electronic books) with those used by the Open Web Platform.

The launch of this Activity follows two W3C Workshops this year so far: Great Expectations for Web Standards (February) and Richer Internationalization for eBooks (June). W3C is also holding a Workshop on publishing workflow in September in Paris.