Developing a Robust Build Process Using Phing
by drew on April 13, 2011
What is Phing?
Phing is a PHP build process that uses XML , ANT style syntax.
At some point in development, the choice is made to begin professional work. If more than 1 developer contributes to the effort, then an the easy mode of keeping in sync with that person and, in the future, others that may join the effort is required. Because not all developers are alike, and not all hosting providers are alike, you must have a solid build process of your code. The build process automates the routines that every developer must do, either daily, hourly, or with every code change as well as when code is pushed into client facing distributions. Phing is an XML to PHP build process that imitates the ANT build process that many development shops are used to. As a PHP developer, Phing is much easier for me to work with and get things done, as well as keeps things simple when needing to update the build process.
An SEO friendly way to remove index.php : Codeigniter 2
by drew on April 5, 2011
Something that has been around as long as Codeigniter, is the ability to modify its URLs and what they show up as in the ‘address bar’. However, sometimes, ‘pretty-urls’ are not the highest thing on your list, or you weren’t aware of them when you first started your website. If you follow the way codeigniter recommends you change and remove your index.php, you may actually cause more harm to your site than you realize. Code after the break.
Update – 4/6
Another nice approach is found in the comments, take a look!
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Box-Shadow will crash us all
by drew on April 3, 2011
In CSS3, some of the newest features can bite you. Recently, I discovered a serious issue with box-shadow and rendering. Box-shadow is a new feature that creates a shadow effect either outset (around a box) or inset (inside a box, like a glow). What I wanted to do, was create a soft glow on the inside of a website, using <body>, so that the entire site had an easy fade. The code that I used was currently use is:
body {
-moz-box-shadow: inset 0 0 8px rgba(0,0,0, 0.25);
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 8px rgba(0,0,0, 0.25);
}
This code actually workedworks, and I didn’t notice any issues. However, the 8px fade was too abrupt; I kicked it up ‘just a tad’ to 200px (I have large ‘tads’). Big mistake as all ‘advanced’ browsers were crumbling in my wake. If they support box-shadow, they failed. The page loaded, but scrolling was a complete and utter failure.
For now, I will have to avoid doing this, especially to the large <body> tag. I will chime back in on the topic once I get some solid evidence and facts about it.
The new Digg, V4: Quick Review
by drew on July 20, 2010
I’m a reader of Digg.com. What can I say? I like to hear the quirky stories sometimes and when I come across something intelligent, it makes me feel more like I’m learning. So when the new Digg was dropped into Beta testing, you bet that I was all over that. See some screen-shots after the jump.
Dropbox on Lucid: Missing GUI? Fix it now!
by drew on July 15, 2010
Dropbox is great and their support is phenomenal. Recently I have been having issues after upgrading to Lucid Lynx. It’s been a large bother on me because I use Dropbox a ton in my personal use. On my development server, I’m running Ubuntu 10.04 64 Desktop version, and I rely on Dropbox to keep my files in sync, including my programs that I write. However, after upgrading, I noticed that Dropbox was ‘missing’. It no longer appeared in the notification applet in the menu system. It was still in the Menu, but when I clicked it ‘nothing’ occurred! Well I solved the issue, with a little help from the Dropbox forums. Read the rest of this entry »
Advanced button theming on jQuery UI Dialog
by drew on June 10, 2010
There is a very annoying bugfeature that I have found when using jQueryUI. It’s not the themes, they work great, in fact, they are the best thing since sliced bread. But in a ‘Cupertino.esc’ way, they provide too much simplicity over the functionality that I require. This post aims to solve that in a progressive enhancement sorta way. I am using jQuery 1.4.2. with jQuery UI 1.8.2, it doesn’t matter what theme you use with this, but I prefer redmond. Read the rest of this entry »
Lost Answer and How it Happened.
by drew on May 23, 2010
First, no they did not die in the plane crash. You can cue that into the statement by Hurley at the end, something to Ben of you were a great number two, etc. They lived, the island WAS just what Jacob said it was, it mattered. It was the ‘plug’ in ‘hell’ and if the light were removed, the ‘plug’ would come unstuck and the real world would cease to exist. However, they each had such a profound effect on each other on the island, they waited for each other in their ‘flash sideways’ world, which was just an imagination of reality until they moved on. Kate, Sawyer, and the rest on the plane did get off the island and lead their new lives. Sure there are questions… like Aaron… never ‘born’. Walt, who is so special, and has no father or mother now. The list could go on. But, I think it somewhat makes more sense now.
jQuery UI Dialog Accessibility
by drew on February 25, 2010
jQuery UI is an amazing product. It’s not because it offers the best features, or that it offers the best solution, it’s that it offers a large degree of support for years to come. Which is saying a lot for something that is nothing more than JavaScript. It’s certainly something that many enterprises have begun to look at and look for in the development world. At my job at Coventry Healthcare, I’m responsible for the User Interfaces and generally the User Experience across some very highly visible web applications. One of the most recent developments in our line of business is the risk of not having an accessible site (we fall under Section 508 guidelines because of our Medicare/Medicaid users). jQuery UI has literally allowed me to very easily create and maintain large amounts of code so that I can spend more time making sure that it follows WCAG 2.0 and WARIA (which should cover us for S508). Read the rest of this entry »
Droid Rooted, here’s my take.
by drew on December 8, 2009
Before you root, you should probably upgrade to 2.01, as that will ‘break’ your new root access. You can get that download from here, if you have not already received it OTA (Over the Air). You need to follow the directions below, to apply the 2.01. The directions for each download it exactly the same, except for the ADB access.
This ‘root’ is strictly for developers. It’s not going to give you any ability to do anything to your phone yet, unless you really know your *nix commands well enough not to screw something up on your phone. So continue only if you really want this ability (the ability to really screw up your phone).
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Bulletproof @font-face
by drew on December 7, 2009
There is quite an interesting discussion going on at Jeffrey Zeldman’s blog concerning the @font-face syntax and how to make sure that it is working in all browsers. It’s interesting to see the different ‘hacks’ that are being put together for something that should be hashed out to work well in all major browsers. Why does this remind me of things like the wonky implementations being played out in html5?!