Wowebmaster.com

Testing Your Design in IE6 & IE7

sguler — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:45:30 +0000

If you are a designer, then you know how it is complicated to code sites with cross-browser support. IE6 hacks, Safari support, CSS resets and so on… You keep trying to balance your website across all browsers. Half of pain is because of installing and testing all of the browsers at the same time. However you also know that you can’t install internet explorer 6 and internet explorer 7 at the same time to your computer.

Installing IE6 and IE7 Side by Side

With a few googles, i found out that you can actually install IE6 and IE7 in one computer. A few hacks to windows registry database, and a few file additions and deletions. Don’t be afraid, because someone has simplified it. Tredosoft is offering a software that supports Multiple IEs in one computer . Just download and run the file at this page and start testing your web designs in multiple internet explorer versions ( IE5, IE6 and IE7). Enjoy.

IE6 Negative Margin Problem

sguler — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:46:06 +0000

Designers should have faced with the problem of creating cross-browser designs. We have to serve to all of the visitors. Some may use Mozilla, some Internet Explorer 6 or IE7.

Usually, problem is related to IE6’s rendering engine. One of the most common problem with IE6 is that it doesn’t render the negative margins as IE7 and Mozilla does. Negative margins is rendered hidden out of the layer in IE6. Setting overflow to visible does not work and you go crazy.

The work around, making the negative margins visible, is so simple, it is even one of the simplest work arounds of the problems in IE6. Just add position:relative to your element with negative margins. This is it. Enjoy.

position:relative

Simple Rounded Corners with Javascript

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:12:35 +0000

Everyone knows it is so painful to handle rounded corners with extra divs, slices making alignments harder than ever, using CSS. Now I introduce, no not me actually, Christian Effenberger , a way to do rounded corner effect on images with javascript. It is really easy and fun, so i won’t go on talking, rather, I’m going to explain how to use it.

Visit this page and download “corner.zip”. In the zip file, there are few javascript files that you can have some other effects with, but if you just want rounded corners, copy justcorners.js and reference it inside your head tags.

[-]View Code HTML

...

Then, add a class into your image tag as it’s done in the following code.

[-]View Code HTML

Corner radius is set by the second class, which is “iradius12″ above. If you want greater radius, use highger values after “iradius”. e.g. iradius15, iradius25, iradius30…

See more examples at: http://www.netzgesta.de/corner/

Changing MySQL Database Character Set

admin — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:19:10 +0000

You have probably come across with the mysql character set problem, If you are trying to implement a database in a language other than English. You are inserting rows with your text in your language, but you see invalid characters on your database, phpmyadmin mostly.

This is mostly because of character set defined in your mysql database is not proper for your language. This is usually UTF-8 Unicode, and it is default.

Fix:

Changing the charecter set can be done via mysql command line. Just login to your server via SSH and bring your mysql command line on with following command.

[-]View Code BASH

 mysql -h <hostname>  -D <databasename>  -u <username>  -p

Now it will ask you password before giving access to mysql prompt.

[-]View Code BASH

ALTER DATABASE wowebmaster DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_turkish_ci \g

When you get access to mysql command line, type the above mysql command, it will change the character set of wowebmaster database to utf8_turkish_ci . That’s it. Replace the database name and the character set for your own modifications.

Auto Refreshing Iframes

sguler — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:46:42 +0000

Quoted from Wikipedia, “IFrame (from Inline Frame) is an HTML element which makes it possible to embed an HTML document inside another HTML document”.

If you are using iframes to serve frequently updated feeds on your site, such as a score board, news feed, then you should provide your visitors an iframe updating automaticaly while the page stays same. This is accomplished by a javascript function. You can easily set a time interval to refresh a specific iframe on your page by this way. As a result, your users don’t have to refresh the whole page every time to update the feed flow.

Put the following function inside head tags on your page.

[-]View Code JAVASCRIPT

<script language="javascript">
function reloadIt()
{
frm=document.getElementsByName("iframename")[0];//we get the iframe object named iframename
frm.src=frm.src;//or you can set the src to a new src.
setTimeout("reloadIt()",60000);//the function will run every 60000 miliseconds, or 60 seconds
}
script>

Also put an onload attribute for the body tag, similar to the following:

[-]View Code HTML

Finally, don’t forget to name your iframe as it is called in javascript function (”iframename” in this example).

An example using this function is a football live scores page.

Simple Php Cache System

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:26:35 +0000

Overload Problem

Server overloads are one of the headaches of webmasters, especially if a popular web site is what we are talking about. It is usually because of lots of queries sent by users to servers. Server can be overloaded with those queries and as a result, responses by server can be very slow.

One thing about this repeated user queries to php servers is that it’s usually same or similar. Think we have a news blog about economy, and it is updated weekly. Queries to index page is same whole week and the response is exactly same. It’s news. With every query, server responses the latest news. So why do we query our php server again again, if we know the response already. Why don’t we save server’s response as html and send it to user. After next query, we send the saved html file to user, instead of quering and compiling php page.

Solution: PHP Caching:
Given a time interval, php’s response can be saved into a directory named /cache/ with time information added. Our cache system, checks if there is a saved response of php file in given time interval when a new user sends a query to php page. If there is, no need to compile and translate php page again, our cache system sends the saved copy of the page (cache) to user. If our cached page is old enough, system saves the response of php page again for next queries.

So how do we do that?

First we create a directory named, cache to save all our cached pages. If you have a linux server, change it permissions to 755 which will give write permission to our cache system.

The next step is to form our cache system’s php code. First, create a php file, named cache.php.
In cache php, we will have two main functions, first will cache our php files and save it into /cache/ folder. Second function, is to display the cached page if there is one.

Caching Function

[-]View Code PHP

function getUrl () {
if (!isset($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'])) {
$url = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
} else {
$url = $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'];
$url .= (!empty($_SERVER['QUERY_STRING']))? '?' . $_SERVER[ 'QUERY_STRING' ] : '';
}
return $url;
}
 
//getUrl gets the queried page with query string
function cache ($buffer) { //page's content is $buffer
$url = getUrl();
$filename = md5($url) . '.cache';
$data = time() . '¦' . $buffer;
$filew = fopen("cache/" . $filename, 'w');
fwrite($filew, $data);
fclose($filew);
return $buffer;
}

getUrl function, is defined to get the queried url. This URL will be encrypted and be the name of cached page in cache folder. Cache function, calls the getUrl function to assign the web page’s address to $url. After encrypting it using md5 algorithm, time is added in front of the content. Then all the data (time and content) is saved into cache/, also returning the content to output.

Outputting Cache Function

[-]View Code PHP

function display () {
$url = getUrl();
$filename = md5($url) . '.cache';
if (!file_exists("cache/" . $filename)) {
return false;
}
$filer = fopen("cache/" . $filename, 'r');
$data = fread($filer, filesize("cache/" . $filename));
fclose($filer);
$content = explode('¦', $data, 2);
if (count($content)!= 2 OR!is_numeric($content['0'])) {
return false;
}
if (time()-(100) > $content['0']) {  // 100 is the cache time!!!
return false;
}
echo $content['1'];
die();
}

In the above code, again the url is encrypted using md5 since all the cache files’ names in cache directory are encrypted as well. Then, cache file is checked if it is in cache directory, if not function returns false. After confirming cache file’s existance, the time in cache file is checked whether cache is new enough to output. If yes, its content is returned.

Combining Cache and Display Functions

[-]View Code PHP

function getUrl () {
if (!isset($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'])) {
$url = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
} else {
$url = $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'];
$url .= (!empty($_SERVER['QUERY_STRING']))? '?' . $_SERVER[ 'QUERY_STRING' ] : '';
 
}
return $url;
}
 
//getUrl gets the queried page with query string
function cache ($buffer) { //page's content is $buffer
$url = getUrl();
$filename = md5($url) . '.cache';
$data = time() . '¦' . $buffer;
$filew = fopen("cache/" . $filename, 'w');
fwrite($filew, $data);
fclose($filew);
return $buffer;
}
 
function display () {
$url = getUrl();
$filename = md5($url) . '.cache';
if (!file_exists(cache_dir . $filename)) {
return false;
}
$filer = fopen("cache/" . $filename, 'r');
$data = fread($filer, filesize("cache/" . $filename));
fclose($filer);
$content = explode('¦', $data, 2);
if (count($content)!= 2 OR !is_numeric($content['0'])) {
return false;
}
if (time()-(100) > $content['0']) { // 100 is the cache time here!!!
return false;
}
echo $content['1'];
die();
}
 
// Display cache (if any)
display();  // if it is displayed, die function will end the program here.
 
// if no cache, callback cache
ob_start ('cache');

Display function is called after defined, it checks if an appropriate cache file exists, if yes, it outputs its content and end the program, if not, cache function is called with ob_start function to store the cache in cache directory.

Google Adwords Promotion Coupons for New Sign Ups

admin — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:15:37 +0000

Google Adwords Promo Codes
If you aren’t new to advertising world, you must have heard of Google Adwords probably. If you do think to promote your business online, you should sign-up for Google Adwords and start marketing your online business. However, before signing up, you may want to know Google’s promotion codes which will save you some money.

Google has been offering $50 valued promotion codes to new sign ups to promote Google Adwords among new business owners. This is known for a while, but the problem is that Google give those coupons to its big marketers and partners to hand out. This means you have to purchase service/item from a web hosting firm or some other partner of Google to get those $50 promotion coupons.

The good thing is we have found some direct links to those promotion pages. It’s give away of yahoo small business.

Sign-up with a new e-mail address using this link.

For new promotion codes or broken links, please share your comments using below form.

Basic Bash Commands in Linux

admin — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 11:56:43 +0000

This reference is prepared for webmasters to provide basic knowledge of bash linux commands. You should know these if you are thinking to move to a dedicated server or have already one.

Mkdir - Make directories:

* Options

-m, mode=MODE set permission mode (as in chmod), not rwxrwxrwx - umask
-p, parents no error if existing, make parent directories as needed
-v, verbose print a message for each created directory
-help display this help and exit
-version output version information and exit

* Usage
mkdir -m 777 folder1

Above code would create a directory named folder1 which can be read, executed and written by all kind of users. The first digit represents the owner, the second represents the group and the third represents other users. The number 7 represents all three types of permission ( read, write and execute), 6 stands for read and write only, 5 stands for read and execute, 4 is read only, 3 is write and execute, 2 is write only, 1 is execute only and 0 is no permissions.

Cd - Change Directories:

* Usage

cd folder1
The above command would change the current directory to directory named folder1.

cd ..
The above command would go to parent directory of current directory.

cd /
The above command would go to root directory regardless which directory you are in.

Mv - Move or Rename Directories & Files:

* Usage

move testfolder newfolder
This command would move/rename testfolder to newfolder.

move * /newdir/
The above command moves all files and directories in the current directory, including all the contents of those directories, from the current directory to the directory /newdir/ .

Pwd - Print Working Directory:
It shows you the full path to the directory you are currently in.

* Usage

pwd
It would print the following line:
/home/server/mywebsite.com/

Rm - Remove Directories:

* Usage

rm install
Cannot Remove DIRECTORY Is A Directory
If you are getting this error, just force it with this command.

rm -rf install
The above command would remove the whole directory with files and directories in.

Chmod - Change File Access Permissions

* Options
-c, –changes: like verbose but report only when a change is made
–no-preserve-root: do not treat `/’ specially (the default)
–preserve-root: fail to operate recursively on `/’
-f, –silent, –quiet: suppress most error messages
-v, verbose: output a diagnostic for every file processed
–reference=RFILE: use RFILE’s mode instead of MODE values
-R, –recursive: change files and directories recursively
–help: display this help and exit
–version: output version information and exit

* Usage

chmod 644 index.htm
The above command gives the file read/write by the owner and only read by everyone else.

Some Numerical Mod Presentations
600 read and write by owner
400 read by owner
040 read by group
004 read by anybody (other)
200 write by owner
020 write by group
002 write by anybody
100 execute by owner
010 execute by group
001 execute by anybody

Ls - Short Listing of Directories & Files:

* Options
-al: detailed listing of files and directories, showing permissions, ownership, size, and time and date stamp.

Just type ls on the command line, and you get the list of files and directories within your current directory.

Cp - Copy Files:

* Options
-i: with this option, you will be prompted before overwriting the file.
-dpr: copy preserving links (-d option), file attributes (-p option), and copy recursively (-r option)

* Usage

cp -dpr folder1 folder2/
The above code would copy the directory folder1 with its contents, to the directory under folder2.

folder2 has now:

anotherfile.html
folder1

Tar & Bzip2 - Archive Compression & Extraction

* Usage
tar -c folder/ | bzip2 > folder.tar.bz2
The above command compresses folder directory and the following command extracts the compressed archive.

bzip2 -dc folder.tar.bz2 | tar -x

Gpg - Encryption & Decryption of Files in Linux

* Usage
To encrypt and decrypt files you can use the following command:
gpg -c file
gpg file.gpg

Wget - Download Files from Web

* Options
-r: downloads the whole directory
-c: continues the previous download
-b: goes to background execution
-p: path to place the downloaded files

* Usage
The following command, downloads the whole directory, going to background after starting the download.
wget -r -b http://www.somedomain.com/files/

Slocate - Search & Locate files
This command builds the slocate database. It will take several minutes to complete this command.This command must be used before searching for files, however cron runs this command periodically on most systems.locate whereis Lists all files whose names contain the string “whereis”. directory.

Cat - Contents of Files
Sends file contents to standard output. This is a way to list the contents of short files to the screen.

Whereis
Report all known instances of a command.

Wc
Print byte, word, and line counts

Bg
Places the current job (or, by using the alternative form, the specified jobs) in the background, suspending its execution so that a new user prompt appears immediately. Use the jobs command to discover the identities of background jobs.

Cal - month year
Prints a calendar for the specified month of the specified year.

Clear
Clears the terminal screen.

Dmesg
Prints the messages resulting from the most recent system boot.

Fg
Brings the current job (or the specified jobs) to the foreground.

File
Determines and prints a description of the type of each specified file.

Free
Displays the amount of used and free system memory.

Ftp
Opens an FTP connection to the specified host, allowing files to be transferred. The FTP program provides subcommands for accomplishing file transfers.

* Usage
ftp hostname

Head
Prints the first several lines of each specified file.

Kill process_ids
Kills the specified processes, sends the specified processes the specified signal (given as a number or name), or prints a list of available signals.

* Usage
kill - signal process_ids kill -l killall program killall - signal program

Mail
Launches a simple mail client that permits sending and receiving email messages.

Ping host
Sends an echo request via TCP/IP to the specified host. A response confirms that the host is operational.

Reboot
Reboots the system.

Shutdown
Shuts down the system after the specified number of minutes elapses (requires root privileges). The -r option causes the system to be rebooted once it has shut down.

shutdown -r minutes

Telnet
Opens a login session on the specified host.

telnet host

Top - System Resources
Prints a display of system processes that’s continually updated until the user presses the q key.

Traceroute
Uses echo requests to determine and print a network path to the host.

traceroute 1.1.1.1

Uptime
Prints the system uptime.

W
Prints the current system users.