Rajesh's Tech Blog

Sequence of execution of SQL querry

2011-12-18T21:38:00.000-08:00

Sequence of execution of SQL querry is discussed below which is so helpful to design a query if you are handling large DB results.

1. FROM
2. JOIN
3. ON
4. WHERE
5. GROUP BY
6. HAVING
7. SELECT
8. DISTINCT
9. ORDER BY
10. LIMIT (TOP)

Enjoy Programming!!!

PHP V6

2011-12-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

PHP V6 is currently available as a developer snapshot, so you can download and try out many of the features and changes listed in this article. Features that have been implemented in the current snapshot are discussed below:

Improved Unicode support

Much improved for PHP V6 is support for Unicode strings in many of the core functions. This new feature has a big impact because it will allow PHP to support a broader set of characters for international support. So, if you're a developer or architect using a different language, such as the Java™ programming language, because it has better internationalization (i18n) support than PHP, it'll be time to take another look at PHP when the support improves.Because you can download and use a developer's version of PHP V6 today, you will see some functions already supporting Unicode strings. For a list of functions that have been tested and verified to handle Unicode

Namespaces

Namespaces are a way of avoiding name collisions between functions and classes without using prefixes in naming conventions that make the names of your methods and classes unreadable. So by using namespaces, you can have class names that someone else might use, but now you don't have to worry about running into any problems. Listing 1 provides an example of a namespace in PHP.You won't have to update or change anything in your code because any PHP code you write that doesn't include namespaces will run just fine. Because the namespaces feature appears to be back-ported to V5.3 of PHP, when it becomes available, you can start to introduce namespaces into your own PHP applications.

Web 2.0 features

Depending on how you use PHP and what your scripts look like now, the language and syntax differences in PHP V6 may or may not affect you as much as the next features, which are those that directly allow you to introduce Web 2.0 features into your PHP application.

SOAP

SOAP is one of the protocols that Web services "speak" and is supported in quite a few other languages, such as the Java programming language and Microsoft® .NET. Although there are other ways to consume and expose Web services, such as Representational State Transfer (REST), SOAP remains a common way of allowing different platforms to have interoperability. In addition to SOAP modules in the PHP Extension and Application Repository (PEAR) library, a SOAP extension to PHP was introduced in V5. This extension wasn't enabled by default, so you have to enable the extension or hope your ISP did. In addition, PEAR packages are available that allow you to build SOAP clients and servers, such as the SOAP package.Unless you change the default, the SOAP extension will be enabled for you in V6. These extensions provide an easy way to implement SOAP clients and SOAP servers, allowing you to build PHP applications that consume and provide Web services.If SOAP extensions are on by default, that means you won't have to configure them in PHP. If you develop PHP applications and publish them to an ISP, you may need to check with your ISP to verify that SOAP extensions will be enabled for you when they upgrade.

As of PHP V5.1, XMLReader and XMLWriter have been part of the core of PHP, which makes it easier for you to work with XML in your PHP applications. Like the SOAP extensions, this can be good news if you use SOAP or XML because PHP V6 will be a better fit for you than V4 out of the box.The XMLWriter and XMLReader are stream-based object-oriented classes that allow you to read and write XML without having to worry about the XML details.

Things removed

In addition to having new features, PHP V6 will not have some other functions and features that have been in previous versions. Most of these things, such as register_globals and safe_mode, are widely considered "broken" in current PHP, as they may expose security risks. In an effort to clean up PHP, the functions and features listed in the next section will be removed, or deprecated, from PHP. Opponents of this removal will most likely cite issues with existing scripts breaking after ISPs or enterprises upgrade to PHP V6, but proponents of this cleanup effort will be happy that the PHP team is sewing up some holes and providing a cleaner, safer implementation.

Features that will be removed from the PHP version include:

magic_quotes
register_globals
register_long_arrays
safe_mode

Enjoy Programming!!!

Steps to publish the mobile application in Flash Builder 4.5

2011-09-02T00:03:00.000-07:00

iPhone/iPad

1) Certificate file having extension “.p12”
2) MOBILEPROVISION File (Provisioning file)

Android

1) Certificate file having extension “.p12”

Steps to release the build for iPhone/iPad:

1) Select the target in Export Release Build screen.
2) Let we choose only Apple iOS, press next button after browsed the 'Export to Folder' path.
3) Now, we have to browse the 'Certification' to publish the application and with respect to this certificate, we have to browse the 'provisioning file'.
4) Now, we have to enter the password for the 'Certification' that has been given with the Certificate.

Note: We have to aware about that in the mobile-app.xml and provisioning file the 'PRODUCT ID' should be same.

After released, there are some steps to put the application into iPhone/iPad from MAC, detail as given below:

1) When you are done with release, you will get the file .ipa extension and transfer to MAC.
2) Right click on the file and achieve the file. Finally, you will get the .app file that will be compatible for iPhone/iPad.
3) Now, using iTune you can transfer the file into iPhone/iPad.
4) Enjoy the application in iPhone/iPad.

Steps to release the build for Android:

1) Select the target in Export Release Build screen.
2) Let we choose only Google Android, press next button after browsed the 'Export to Folder' path.
3) Now, we have to browse the 'Certification' i.e. “.p12” extension.
4) Now, we have to enter the password for the 'Certification' that has been given with the Certificate.

Note: You can also create your own certificate for Android by click on 'Create' button given with the 'Browse' button.

After released, there are some steps to put the application into Android, detail as given below:

1) When you are done with release, you will get the file .apk extension.
2) Now, using Android interface or Android Market you can transfer the file into Android Phone.
3) Enjoy the application in Android.

References:

i. http://www.adobe.com/products/flash-builder/features.html
ii. http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/mobile-development-flex-flashbuilder.html

Enjoy Programming!!!

The Sprint Meetings

2011-08-29T04:22:00.000-07:00

The sprint is the heartbeat of the Scrum cycle. It is bookmarked by sprint planning at
the start and by the sprint review and sprint retrospective at the end. The length of the
sprint is fixed and is never extended. Most Scrum teams choose two, three or four
weeks as their sprint duration. Each day during the sprint the team holds a daily
Scrum meeting. Every meeting in Scrum is strictly time-boxed. This means that is has
a maximum duration. It does not means that it needs to occupy this full time. For a 30
day (or four week) sprint the time boxes for planning 1 & 2, review and retrospective
are set at four hours each. For shorter sprints they should be adjusted in proportion to
the sprint length.
Some key attributes of the meetings are described in the following sections. First,
though, I have collected a few experiences I think are worth sharing.

I find two-week sprints a good length to start with. After three sprints, let the
team re-assess the sprint length.
Teams need three sprints to grasp the new concepts, break down old habits
and start to gel as a team.
Never do sprint planning on a Monday morning. The team is not yet at its
best and it is the most common day for holidays and sickness. Never hold
reviews or retrospectives on a Friday afternoon. The team is tired and
thinking about the weekend. Therefore choose sprint boundaries on
Tuesdays to Thursdays.
Teams running two-week sprints might be tempted to hold all sprint
boundary meetings in one day. In other words, start the day with the review,
then the retrospective; after lunch do sprint planning parts 1 and 2. The
thinking is to get all the meetings out of the way and have 9 full days to do
the work. In my experience there are two problems with this approach:
- The team does not get that these meetings are part of the work—in fact
  the most important part to get right!
- During the last part of the day—sprint planning 2—the team is brain-dead.
  
  Yet, as always, let the team try it out if they so wish!

Sprint Planning - Part 1
Part 1 of sprint planning (SP1) is really a detailed requirements workshop. The product
owner presents the set of features he would like and the team asks questions to
understand the requirements in sufficient detail to enable them to commit to delivering
the feature during the sprint. The team alone decides what it can deliver in the sprint,
taking into account the sprint duration, the size and current capabilities of its
members, its definition of DONE, any known holidays or leave days and any actions it
committed to during the retrospective held just prior this meeting.
The product owner must be present during this meeting to lead the team in the right
direction and to answer questions—and they will have many. The ScrumMaster must
ensure that any other stakeholder needed to help the team understand the
requirements is present or on call.
Any new backlog items for inclusion in the current sprint and not previously estimated
will be sized immediately during this meeting. This not, however, an excuse to avoid
grooming the backlog—see below!
At the end of SP1 the team commits to the Product Owner what they believe they can
deliver in the form of running tested features. An experienced team may use historic
velocity as a predictor ('yesterday's weather'). This is known as velocity-based
planning. My recommendation to most teams is to do commitment-based planning.
The backlog items the team has committed to is called the selected product backlog.

Sprint Planning - Part 2
If part 1 is a requirements workshop, part 2 of sprint planning (SP2) is a design
workshop. In this session the team collaborates to create a high-level design of the
features it has committed to deliver. An outcome of this session is the sprint backlog,
or the list of tasks that the team collectively needs to execute in order to turn the items
in the selected product backlog into running tested features. This set of tasks is called
the sprint backlog and is most often represented on a physical task board.
During SP2 the team may have additional questions regarding the requirements. The
ScrumMaster must ensure that the Product Owner and, if necessary, other
stakeholders are on call to answer them.
Design, as everything else in Agile, is emergent. Also, the meeting is time-boxed. So it
is normal that the team won’t get the design perfectly done in this session and will
discover more tasks during the sprint. This is not a sign that something is wrong. They
will simply grab a post-it note and pen and create more tasks whenever necessary
during the sprint.
You will know that SP2 is working when the team is gathered together
around the white board discussing noisily or even arguing about the 'best' or
'right' way to implement a feature.

(Do Better Scrum)

Enjoy Programming!!!

Roles Introduction (SCRUM)

2011-08-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

The scrum process constitutes various roles and are discussed below:

Roles Introduction
There is no Project Manager role in Scrum. The responsibilities of the traditional project
manager are divided over the three roles in the Scrum Team:

The Product Owner manages the product (and return on investment)
The ScrumMaster manages the process
The team manages itself.

This is challenging to individuals who currently fulfil this role and to managers in
organisations in which they work. Michele Sliger and Stacia Broderick have written a
helpful guide to the transition from Project Manager to Agile Coach [Sliger and
Broderick 2008].
There are no appointed leaders of the Scrum Team beyond the Product Owner and
ScrumMaster; none is required. The need for line managers is reduced, as teams
manage themselves to a great extent. It is not uncommon for 50 team members to
report directly to a single line manager in an organisation that has made the transition
to Agile.

Self-organisation
Self-organisation does not at all imply a laissez-faire approach; on the contrary, selforganised
teams are highly disciplined. They are given full autonomy and carry
correspondingly greater responsibility for delivery accordance with their own
commitments. They are encouraged to take reasonable risks and to learn through
failure and self-reflection. High trust and high commitment is an automatic outcome of
truly self-organising teams.
Teams new to Scrum will require some encouragement to explore their new, broader
boundaries and to take ownership. They frequently need to overcome strong ‘muscle
memory’ of the poor ways in which they were managed and worked, sometimes for
years.
Self-organisation is not an option in Scrum; it is a core principle. Without this, highperforming
teams will not happen. Caveat emptor!

Product Owner
The responsibilities of the Product Owner role are:

Working on a shared vision
Gathering requirements
Managing and prioritising the Product Backlog
Accepting the software at the end of each iteration
Managing the release plan
The profitability of the project (ROI)

Metaphor: The Product Owner is a CEO.

ScrumMaster
The responsibilities of the ScrumMaster role are:

Empowering and shepherding the team
Removing impediments
Keeping the process moving
Socializing Scrum to the greater organisation

Metaphor: The Scrum Master is a facilitator, coach, mentor and bulldozer!

Team
The responsibilities of the Team or Team Member role are:

Estimating size of backlog items
Committing to increments of deliverable software and delivering it
Tracking own progress
Is self-organising—but accountable to the Product Owner for delivering as
promised

Enjoy Programming!!!

Online Escrow Payment Flow Algorithm (Instructions Set)

2011-08-04T03:24:00.000-07:00

On the basis of analysis to implement Escrow Payments, below is the generic algorithm:

Online Escrow Payment Flow Algorithm (Instructions Set)

State – 1: Buyer requests for the service* and pay the amount through any payment gateway. There should be commission and/or transaction fees included in the amount, then
Total Amount = Amount to seller + Commission and/or Transaction Fees.
At this moment, the status of escrow process will be "0"(zero).

State – 2: The amount that buyer paid will go to the Escrow* (Admin) account using any specific payment gateway.

State – 3: Both the parties (buyer and seller) will be informed (through email and/or any other mean) after successful payment with all required details. The status of this escrow process will be set to "1" i.e amount has been paid by the buyer.

State – 4: If the payment was not successful, then buyer will be informed about it and escrow status will be set to "-1". Seller may be informed about the initiation of this process and this will depend on the type of service.

State – 5: Service will be provided to "Buyer" by the service provider which should follow necessary set terms and conditions which will depend on the type of service.

State – 6: The required time slap will be provider to "Buyer" to raise dispute against the payment paid for the service. If dispute arises then this would be the duty of Escrow (Admin) to resolve that dispute and there should be set parameters which will be used to resolve dispute. In this condition "Dispute" status will set to "1" from "0" and payment will be blocked, "dispute resolution time" will be added to the "Escrow Complete" time.
This whole process will depend on the type of service and several different service specific approaches will come handy.

State – 7: If resolution of dispute goes in the favor of buyer then "Dispute" status will be set to "2" else
it will be set to "3".

State – 8: Dispute should be resolved in the set interval of time i.e “dispute resolution time”. After this set interval of time, check “Dispute status”. If its value is “2”, then transfer amount back to buyer account after deducting commission and/or transaction fees else transfer set amount to the account of service provider.
Now set escrow process status to “2” i.e Escrow complete.

State – 9: If all goes well and there is no any dispute, after completion of “Escrow Complete” time, transfer set amount to the account of seller and set escrow process status to “2” i.e Escrow complete.

(Rajesh Bhatia)

Enjoy Programming!!!

Manifesto for Agile Software Development

2011-07-22T03:16:00.000-07:00

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others
do it. Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left
more.

Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery
of valuable software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes
harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.
3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months,
with a preference to the shorter timescale.
4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and
support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a
development team is face-to-face conversation.
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and
users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
10. Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing
teams.
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes
and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Highsmith (2001)

Enjoy Programming!!!

Key points if you are following Agile Software Development

2011-04-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

Key points if you are following Agile Software Development

“More working hours” doesn't necessarily mean "more effective work".
Be adaptable to new changes (if they are billable :)) and let positive energy flow with your blood i.e "Don't worry be happy".

Enjoy Programming!!!

Case Study on the optimization of server set up for Magento

2011-01-06T05:04:00.001-08:00

Hello All:

I just found really nice pdf document on the optimization of server set up for Magento which can be downloaded using URL http://www.magentocommerce.com/whitepaper/.

Enjoy Programming!!!

Note on Magento Cache

2011-01-06T03:12:00.000-08:00

It may be required to disable the built-in Magento cache (that is
enabled after installation by default) during active development, but please make sure that
caching is enabled on production sites as disabled cache makes the store frontend 5-6 times
slower and less responsive under load.

On the use of php accelerator:

The APC cache backend improves the results, which are 2-3 times better than the
default filesystem cache backend. The memcached cache backend shows 10-15% better results
than APC. And from the tests of Magento team, the eAccelerator cache backend shows the best results which are
5-10% faster than memcached.

Enjoy Programming!!!

Magento MVC Architecture

2010-11-26T03:30:00.000-08:00

Installation of mysql, required php libraries and phpmyadmin at centOS

2010-11-17T03:44:00.000-08:00

Here are the steps which I have followed:

/*************************************************commands***************************/
yum install mysql-server mysql
To start mysql server type the following command:
chkconfig mysqld on
/etc/init.d/mysqld start
Type the following command to setup a password for root user:
mysqladmin -u root password NEWPASSWORD
Test mysql connectivity

Type the following command to connect to MySQL server:
$ mysql -u root -p
/************************************************* end commands***************************/

/************** required commands for phpmyadmin**************************/
rpm --import http://apt.sw.be/RPM-GPG-KEY.dag.txt
cd /tmp
wget http://packages.sw.be/rpmforge-release/rpmforge-release-0.5.1-1.el5.rf.x86_64.rpm
rpm -ivh rpmforge-release-0.5.1-1.el5.rf.x86_64.rpm
yum install php-mysql php-mbstring php-mcrypt phpmyadmin
/************** required commands**************************/
/**** changess to access phpmyadmin from not just localhost***/
Run command "mysql_secure_installation"
vi /etc/httpd/conf.d/phpmyadmin.conf
Comment as:
#
# Web application to manage MySQL
#

#<Directory "/usr/share/phpmyadmin">
# Order Deny,Allow
# Deny from all
# Allow from 127.0.0.1
#</Directory>

Alias /phpmyadmin /usr/share/phpmyadmin
Alias /phpMyAdmin /usr/share/phpmyadmin
Alias /mysqladmin /usr/share/phpmyadmin

Edit phpmyadmin config
vi /usr/share/phpmyadmin/config.inc.php
/* Authentication type */
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['auth_type'] = 'http';
Then we create the system startup links for Apache and start it:

chkconfig --levels 235 httpd on
/etc/init.d/httpd start

/**** end changess to access phpmyadmin from not just localhost***/

Enjoy Programming!!!

Printing selected portion of the page

2010-10-15T03:51:00.000-07:00

Jquery plugin:
// Create a jquery plugin that prints the given element.
jQuery.fn.print = function(sitePath,titleUsed){
// NOTE: We are trimming the jQuery collection down to the
// first element in the collection.
if (this.size() > 1){
this.eq( 0 ).print();
return;
} else if (!this.size()){
return;
}

// ASSERT: At this point, we know that the current jQuery
// collection (as defined by THIS), contains only one
// printable element.

// Create a random name for the print frame.
var strFrameName = ("printer-" + (new Date()).getTime());

// Create an iFrame with the new name.
var jFrame = $( "<iframe name='" + strFrameName + "'>" );

// Hide the frame (sort of) and attach to the body.
jFrame
.css( "width", "1px" )
.css( "height", "1px" )
.css( "position", "absolute" )
.css( "left", "-9999px" )
.appendTo( $( "body:first" ) )
;

// Get a FRAMES reference to the new frame.
var objFrame = window.frames[ strFrameName ];

// Get a reference to the DOM in the new frame.
var objDoc = objFrame.document;

// Grab all the style tags and copy to the new
// document so that we capture look and feel of
// the current document.

// Create a temp document DIV to hold the style tags.
// This is the only way I could find to get the style
var cssLink = '<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="'+sitePath+'jprint.css" media="print"/>';

// Write the HTML for the document. In this, we will
// write out the HTML of the current element.
objDoc.open();
objDoc.write( "<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN\" \"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd\">" );
objDoc.write( "<html>" );
objDoc.write( "<body>" );
objDoc.write( "<head>" );
objDoc.write( "<title>" );
objDoc.write(titleUsed);
objDoc.write( "</title>" );
objDoc.write(cssLink);
objDoc.write( "</head>" );
alert(this.html());
objDoc.write( this.html() );
objDoc.write( "</body>" );
objDoc.write( "</html>" );
objDoc.close();

// Print the document.
objFrame.focus();
objFrame.print();

// Have the frame remove itself in about a minute so that
// we don't build up too many of these frames.
setTimeout(
function(){
jFrame.remove();
},
(60 * 1000)
);
}
/********************************************************************/
jprint.css

body{
padding:0px;
margin:0px;
font:normal 12pt Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
background: #FFFFFF;
color: #000000;
}

.printable {
padding: 10px 10px 10px 10px ;
}
img{
background-color: #E0E0E0 ;
border: 1px solid #666666 ;
padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px ;
}
table{
width:99%;
border:#9e9e9e solid 1px;
margin:0 0 5px 0;
font:normal 13px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
}

table th{
padding:10px 8px 12px 8px;
text-align:left;
background-color:#FAFAFA;

}
table td{
padding:8px;
text-align:left;
}

table tr{
background-color:#f2f2f2;
}

table tr.alternet{
background-color:#e0e0e0;
}

table td.Heading{
height:35px;
padding:0px 0 0 10px;
border-bottom:#9e9e9e solid 1px;
font:normal 15px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
color:#fff;
}
a:link, a:visited {
color: #000000;
background: transparent;
font-weight: bold;
text-decoration: none;
}

/****************************************************************/
Usage

$(document).ready(function(){

// When the document is ready, initialize the link so
// that when it is clicked, the printable area of the
// page will print.
$(function(){
// Hook up the print link.
$( "a#print_icon" )
.attr( "href", "javascript:void( 0 )" )
.click(
function(){
// Print the DIV.
//@param1 - site URL
//@param2 - Title of the page
$( ".printable" ).print('<?php echo SITE_HTTP_URL;?>','Invoices');
// Cancel click event.
return( false );
}
);
});
});

PHP – Oracle

2010-10-15T03:50:00.000-07:00

Initial requirement:
OCI8 module must be installed to use oracle database
Client to access database:
1. “Toad for Oracle” is the best option to access oracle database with “11.2.0” oracle client. You will need to install oracle client first from the oracle distribution CD and then Toad software will automatically detect oracle client.
2. Another option is default SQL*Plus

FFMPEG installation for Fedora11 and useful information to dive in video streaming using PHP

2010-06-18T00:41:00.000-07:00

FFMPEG installation for Fedora11 and useful information to dive in video streaming using PHP:
1. Open the command prompt (terminal) window
2. Run the Su command if not log in as admin (root)
I. Su (Enter)
II. Enter root password
3. Run the command: yum install ffmpeg ffmpeg-devel
4. To check what audio/video formats are supported
I. Run the command: ffmpeg -formats > ffmpeg-format.txt
II. Open the ffmpeg-formats.txt to see the ooutput
D means decode
E means encode
V means video
A means audio
T = Truncated
5. Install FFMPEG-PHP Extension
I. FFmpeg-php is a very good extension and wrapper for PHP which can pull useful information about video through API interface. Inorder to install it you will need to download the source file and then compile and install extension in your server. You can download the source tarball : http://ffmpeg-php.sourceforge.net/
II. tar -xjf ffmpeg-php-X.x.x.tbz2
III. cd ffmpeg-php-X.x.x/
IV. phpize
Common Errors
I. If you get command not found error for phpize, then you will need to do yum install php-devel
II. If you get error like "ffmpeg headers not found" while configuring the source.
configure: error: ffmpeg headers not found. Make sure ffmpeg is compiled as shared libraries using the --enable-shared option
then it means you need to copy libraries to ffmpeg folder itself.
To Fix:
V. cp /usr/include/ffmpeg/lib*/* /usr/include/ffmpeg/
VI. ./configure
VII. make
VIII. make install
6. Editing php.ini (For me, path is etc/php.ini)
Put the below two lines at the end of the php.ini file
[ffmpeg]
extension=ffmpeg.so
7. You can check the installation by running php script
phpinfo();
?>

Reference Links:
1. http://www.mysql-apache-php.com/ffmpeg-install.htm
2. http://ffmpeg-php.sourceforge.net/
3. http://www.lampadmins.com/f9/ffmpeg-shared-libraries-header-files-663/
Useful Links:
1. http://vexxhost.com/blog/2006/12/20/what-ffmpeg-php-can-do-and-how-to-use-the-most-out-of-it/
2. http://www.phpclasses.org/package/3747-PHP-Manipulate-and-convert-videos-with-ffmpeg-program.html
3. http://howto-pages.org/ffmpeg/

Enjoy Programming !!!

Flex Data Services and PHP

2010-04-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

I really find this article helpful to start flex with PHP.

Have a look into it:

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/flex_php_architecture.html

Enjoy Programming!!

Comparing floating point numbers

2010-04-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

How to compare floating point numbers.

I found this URL really nice if we are in need to compare floating point numbers:

http://www.cygnus-software.com/papers/comparingfloats/comparingfloats.htm

Enjoy Programming !!

Server migration of Magento

2010-03-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

1. Take the back of backup of old database (backup/data.sql).
2. Take the backup of your Themes/Templates (app/design/frontend), Skins, Images (media), local.xml (app/etc/loca.xml) and Custom Modules folders.
3. Change your current directory to magento ((/var/www/html/magento).
4. Change permissions for some of the directories of magento folder.
i. mv php.ini.sample php.ini
ii. chmod o+w var var/.htaccess app/etc
iii. chmod -R o+w media
5. Place the backup of old database (backup/data.sql).
6. mysql -hDBHOST -uDBUSER -pDBPASS DBNAME < backup/data.sql
7. Run magento installer and follow the installation steps.

8. Replace the backup of Themes/Templates (app/design/frontend), Skins, Images (media) and Custom Modules folders.

9. Update
You need to edit a few things in the database if your changing domain names or if you’re using a test server that’s just an IP address. Using PHPMyAdmin, Navicat or something similar, connect to the database. Table core_config_data has rows that need to be changed and updated with the new url. For a single store installation you need to just update:
path: value:
web/unsecure/base_url http://[you_domain_here]/
web/secure/base_url https://[your_secure_domain_here]/
With multiple stores you need also change:
path: value:
web/unsecure/base_url http://[you_domain_here]/
web/secure/base_url https://[your_secure_domain_here]/
web/unsecure/base_link_url http://[your_domain_here]/
web/unsecure/base_skin_url http://[your_domain_here]/skin/
web/unsecure/base_media_url http://[your_domain_here]/media/
web/unsecure/base_js_url http://[your_domain_here]/js/
web/secure/base_link_url https://[your_secure_domain_here]/
web/secure/base_skin_url https://[your_secure_domain_here]/skin/
web/secure/base_media_url https://[your_secure_domain_here]/media/
web/secure/base_js_url https://[your_secure_domain_here]/js/

Enjoy Programming!!

WAP Redirect

2010-03-17T11:24:00.000-07:00

Recently I add a new class for WAP redirection in php classes . It's link is http://www.phpclasses.org/browse/package/6060.html.

This class can be used to redirect mobile phone users.

It can check the user agent string sent by the user browser and redirect to different URLs depending on the type of device that is use to access the current page.

Currently it can redirect to different URLs depending on whether the user device is an iPhone, a PlayStation or another device that supports WML.

Enjoy Programming!!!

QR (Quick Response) Code

2010-02-17T10:44:00.000-08:00

Abstract from the Wikipedia

"A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The "QR" is derived from "Quick Response", as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

QR Codes are common in Japan, where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional codes. Moreover, most current Japanese mobile phones can read this code with their camera."

As a web developer, I see it's heavily use in implementations of the cloud systems.
Recently, I used this for one of my client from US. I expect it's support shortly in India too.

Enjoy Programming!!!

How to write UTF-8 data in csv

2010-01-21T08:09:00.000-08:00

I was facing problem in writing UTF-8 data (Espanol) in CSV.
Below is the solution in PHP:

$data = "Plan du site,jusqu'à 80 %,économiser";
$data = mb_convert_encoding( $data, 'UTF-16LE', 'UTF-8');
$filename = "data.csv";
//and then add a couple of extra magic bytes before the data:
$data = chr(255).chr(254).$data;
//Then send your headers and the data. $filename should be something meaningful ending in .csv. I suggest including a random number or timestamp to defeat caching.
$size = strlen($data);
header("Content-type: application/vnd.ms-excel; charset=UTF-16LE");
header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=\"$filename\"");
header("Content-Length: $size");
echo $data;

Enjoy Programming!!!

How will you extract text from PDF

2009-11-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

Option 1:
The best solution AFAIK is to use xpdf :
http://www.foolabs.com/xpdf/download.html

under linux just do :
apt-get install xpdf-utils
command line : pdftotext

Then in php you execute the command and get back the text.

Option 2:
http://www.pdflib.com/products/tet/

It has a compiled library that you call within your PHP code which eliminates the need to call command line executables and parse the result.

Option 3:

Use Zend Framework

Enjoy Programming !!!

Easiest way to make new theme for Wordpress

2009-10-31T23:53:00.000-07:00

The easiest way I found to make a new theme for Wordpres is by using theme sandbox .

Simply install this theme, and customize it according to your requirement, use your css and make changes in template files.

Enjoy Programming !!!

Checkout PHP6

2009-08-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

Willing to taste PHP6,

Checkout this link

http://www.linux-mag.com/cache/7433/1.html

Enjoy Programming !!!

MySql storage requirements

2009-08-19T00:06:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

Recently I needed to understand the storage requirements for the data types available in Mysql for Social Networking Site.
I found this link really useful....

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/storage-requirements.html

Enjoy Programming !!!

PHPBB3 Integration

2009-08-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Hello friends

I have just worked on PHPBB3 integration for the social networking site. I used the oops for this and build a single class which contains all functions needed for integration.

I have posted that class file and an example file in "phpclasses.org". Below is the link:

http://www.phpclasses.org/browse/package/5472.html

Enjoy Programming !!!

Remove accents(replace special entites with normalized characters)

2009-06-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

function removeaccents($string)
{
return strtr($string,
"ŠŒŽšœžŸ¥µÀÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏÐÑÒÓÔÕÖØÙÚÛÜÝß
àáâãäåæçèéêëìíîïðñòóôõöøùúûüýÿ",
"SOZsozYYuAAAAAAACEEEEIIIIDNOOOOOOUUUUYsaaaaaaaceeeeiiiionoooooouuuuyy");
}

Enjoy Programming !!!

Multilingual Site using PEAR

2009-05-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends
Below is the link to an article where you you can learn to create Multilingual site using PEAR
http://devzone.zend.com/article/4469-Adding-Multi-Language-Support-to-Web-Applications-with-PHP-and-PEAR

Enjoy Programming !!!

Date(Age calculations) using SQL(MySql)

2009-03-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends

Below is the link to the URL which contains nice calculations for getting date:

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/date-calculations.html

Enjoy Programming !!!

Addinng new elements in form at run time using DOM

2009-03-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends

I was stuck with the problem for adding form elements at run time which needed to submit content without using AJAX

Then I read an article from the following link
Its really a nice article, if you wish to play with the code or wanna to learn how to write beautiful code in javascript, go through this article.

http://www.dustindiaz.com/add-remove-elements-reprise/

Enjoy Programming !!!

PHP Development tool for Linux

2009-02-25T08:51:00.000-08:00

From last some months I was looking for better PHP Development tool for Linux. Then I come to know about "Eclipse PHP Development Tools" from the Zend's monthly newsletter. Its really a good tool to hang out with programming in PHP.
Link for this tool on Zend is http://www.zend.com/en/community/pdt

Enjoy Programming !!!

Open source

2009-02-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

Some words I read from the magento guy(his name is Moshe) "I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code."
Enjoy programming !!!

Kick Start to Flex

2008-12-21T10:28:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends

We programmers love to play with the logic, but before we need to learn "ABC" to produce "Rocket Science" :), below are some links to give kick start to flex.

1. Video Training
2. Tour De Flex and help
3. AJAX( For those who love to think in javascript(AJAX))

Enjoy Programming

Cross Browser AJAX Request

2008-11-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

As we know IE8 will use new object for AJAX, below I am defining the new function for AJAX request, its helpful for me. May be for you also.........

function ajaxRequest(){
var activexmodes=["Msxml2.XMLHTTP", "Microsoft.XMLHTTP"] //activeX versions to check for in IE
if(window.XDomainRequest){// for ie8+
try{
return new XDomainRequest();
}
catch(e){
//suppress error
}

}
else if (window.ActiveXObject){ //Test for support for ActiveXObject in IE first (as XMLHttpRequest in IE7 is broken)
for (var i=0; i<activexmodes.length; i++){
try{
return new ActiveXObject(activexmodes[i])
}
catch(e){
//suppress error
}
}
}
else if (window.XMLHttpRequest) // if Mozilla, Safari etc
return new XMLHttpRequest()
else
return false
}

Another Example with MDB2

2008-09-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

First I would like to suggest about the use of this package . That would be useful only when you are developing application from start. Its all about your journey of programming from your first step to the last step. Recently I came to the use of database other than MySql with PHP.
How many databases you know?
What else, every database have different way for connection, different function, different way to perform DB tasks. MDB2 package is really a good way to work with different databases. Sometimes our application need logic beyond the power of existing database, then what will you do? Will you change your database? Then what about all the classes or files that you have built to handle data!!!!

MDB2 is the package which gives you the facility to tackle this problem. Install the driver for that particular DB using PEAR command and change the name of driver in your database file. What else, now use the power of your new database.
Following is the simple example of that:
// Use the details of your database at the place of given dummy values :)
$db_driver="mysql"; // only need to change the db driver if other need to be used
$user="user;
$password="password";
$host="host";
$database_name="database_name";
$url=$db_driver."://".$user.":".$password."@".$host."/".$database_name;
require_once("MDB2.php");
$con = MDB2::factory($url);
if(PEAR::isError($con)) {
die("Error while connecting : " . $congetMessage());}
else{echo "Connection is done"."
";}
$sql = "SELECT * FROM users";
$resultset = $con->query($sql);if(PEAR::isError($resultset))
{ die('Failed to issue query, error message : ' . $resultset->getMessage());}
while($row = $resultset->fetchRow(MDB2_FETCHMODE_ASSOC))
{foreach($row as $field => $value)
{ echo "$field / $value \n";}}?>

Another Example for PHP Unit test Using PEAR

2008-09-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

//ini_set('include_path','.:/root/PEAR'); Don't forget to set include_path where PEAR is installed in php.ini file or in .htacess for Apache server or explicitly in your coding

require_once 'PHPUnit/Framework.php';
require_once "PHPUnit/Framework/TestSuite.php";
require_once "PHPUnit/TextUI/TestRunner.php";
class ArrayTest extends PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
{
public function testNewArrayIsEmpty()
{
// Create the Array fixture.
$fixture = array();

// Assert that the size of the Array fixture is 0.
assertEquals(1, sizeof($fixture));
}
}

$suite = new PHPUnit_Framework_TestSuite();
$suite->addTest(new

ArrayTest('testNewArrayIsEmpty'));

PHPUnit_TextUI_TestRunner::run($suite);
?>

"FYI, you have to create your own test cases according to your code and you will use classes and methods provided by PEAR's PHPUnit Package."

Introduction to PEAR

2008-09-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

PEAR, the PHP Extension and Application Repository, is a bountiful resource for any PHP developer. Within its confines lie the tools that you need to do your job more quickly and efficiently. You need to be able to quickly assess and determine which PEAR package is the right one for the task you are up against. Then you need to know the API and see some examples of how to best use it.
Now PHP is continuously moving towards its heights. If you love oops, you will love PHP5 and of course PEAR.
I am giving the simple example of using PEAR::DB package:

 // Include the pear class
require_once("DB.php");
$dsn=array(
'phptype'  =>'mysql',
'hostspec' => 'localhost',
'database' => 'test_db',
'username' => 'test_user',
'password' => 'test_password'
);
$dbh = DB::connect($dsn);

$stmt = "SELECT id, name FROM examples ORDER BY id";
$result = $dbh->simpleQuery($stmt, DB_FETCHMODE_ASSOC);
if ($dbh->numRows($result) > 0) {
$data = (object) $dbh->fetchRow($result, DB_FETCHMODE_ASSOC);
echo "id   => $data->id
\n";
echo "name => $data->name
\n";
}

Using that package, we don't need to think of the database server we are using, we only need to pass an array as shown above to the static function connect(), it will make connection to the database server that can be MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Oracle.

To use PEAR, you have to install PEAR. To install PEAR and know about available packages, the URL is pear.php.net
We will continue with these series, till then enjoy and live programming.