Chrome Extension – Status-bar Calculator v0.1.9
So I ported the Status-bar Calculator over to Chrome. It took me a little under 2 hours.
Chrome extensions are shaping up to be a gagillion times easier to create than FF extensions were back when I started doing them four years ago. I actually re-wrote the entire thing from scratch. It functions completely differently, relying entirely on the eval() function to do all of the math (where the FF version jumps through some crazy hoops).
The Chrome version has something I've wanted for a long time: history.
It's not persistent yet, but while you are in a "session" the equation history keeps building below the box so you can see where you've been if you are plugging away at a list and lose your place.
As with the FF version, it's MIT license. Steal it, or hack on it and contribute back to me (I'll definitely credit you and much appreciate it).
You can check out the source code here or on Etherpad here.
I'm looking forward to really fleshing this thing out and making it rock for whenever extensions make their public debut in Chrome. Oh, yeah, btw, you have to install the developer beta of Chrome to get extensions...
Status-bar Cloninator
So, I was a little dismayed to see that someone else had started a competing calculator extension for my Firefox calculator extension. Then, I realized they are my evil twin.
Let's start with the names of the extensions. Mine:
Status-bar Calculator
Theirs:
Status-bar Scientific Calculator
hrm...
Now lets look at the extensions:
Mine:
Theirs:
ok. Now let's evaluate the extension itself. Mine is a little calculator icon that sits in the browser. When you click it, it expands to reveal two textboxes that can be used for simple math and dec/hex/bin/oct conversions. Thiers is a little calculator icon that sits in the browser. When you click it, it expands to reveal one textbox that can be used to type in math equations and do dec/hex/bin/oct conversions.
Darn. Theirs is better. Crap.
Let's go ahead and add some insult to the injury. Here is the description for my extension:
It's a tiny calculator icon in the status bar. Click it, to expand it and use it. Click the '+' to change to '-', '/', or '*'. Click '=' to get the answer (output to the first textbox). Or, if you don't like to use the mouse, you can use the +, -, *, /, ^, =, and ENTER function keys to do the calculations instead (just like a calculator). Click the calcultor icon to shrink it to just the icon when not using it.
Here is the description for theirs:
It's a tiny calculator icon in the status bar. Click it, to expand it and use it. Enter the expression to calculate and hit enter to evaluate.
Wait... no... did they really just cut and paste my description??? Must have. There is no other possible explanation. Ok, so now let's look at our websites. Take a look at mine, and now take a look at my evil twin's. Notice anything? How about the big fat scrolling code in the background?!?
HE EVEN HAS THE SAME STUPID HAIRCUT AS ME!!!!
Why, Sunny, WHY???
Technorati
This is a test. Yes, I know, it looks like a brag blog, but it's a test. In fact, don't even read this post.
I signed up for google alerts on the words "chomperstomp", "status bar calculator" and "christopher mcculloh" just out of curiosity. I'm trying to figure out how it works, so I specifically put those phrases in here to see if Google lets me know that someone (me) posted about those phrases.
So far I've been surprised by what I found:
1. The Status Bar Calculator has been downloaded at least 30,000 times (wha??? Crap. I had really, really better get working on v2.0...)
2. I'm in Technorati for my math posts on the ball rolling game (which have actually been my most successful posts to date in terms of reader interest, again, what???)
So, the entire point of this post (other than to test my Google alerts) is that I have to put this tag in my blog in order to claim it as my own:
Done.
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