Friday, February 5. 2010
Interesting Links from the Web - January 2010 Edition (Part 2)
Twitter can be a real boon for learning new things and finding interesting little projects so long as you manage to follow the right people.
Sticky Footer: Alternative Approach - This takes an alternative approach using only a single conditional statement for IE and supports IE5.5+, with 100% valid CSS and HTML
Design Contract Template - A template for contractual jobs in design, alter to your own use (quite verbose)
15 Tips for Designing Tables - A nice resource on using CSS and JS to markup and add interaction to your tables, a nice new take on it with good examples
A review of Rich Text Editors - Not just your grandma's WYSIWYG Editor...great thorough review
An HTML5 Video Player - Created with JavaScript and HTML5 markup; no Flash here folks!
Microsoft's Translator Widget - This thing is the coolest translator I think I've ever seen. It loads the translated version progressively via AJAX without any new page load -- with a loading bar to boot!
Free SEO Toolkit for IIS - I don't use IIS, but for those that do, this would be an enormous help, watch the video to see (good to watch even if you don't use IIS)
Dygraphs - Interactive, zoomable, plottable, QUICK JavaScript-based graphing library - it might give Highcharts.js a run for its money on line graphs (it's basically all this does, unfortunately)
Vector Social Media Icons - I'm not usually one to be excited enough about icons to tell people about them, but the fact that the author supplied two versions of the icons in vector format is pretty darn cool (32x32 and 16x16; 32x32 never scales well to 16x16 size, and 16x16 size is made especially for that size and doesn't look good stretched out)
Revised Font Stack - Looking for more fonts to use in your CSS without requiring @font-face or sIFR? OS's have updated their default font base, check here to see what more options us web developers might have nowadays
jQTouch - "A jQuery plugin for mobile web development on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and other forward-thinking devices." Check out the demo, it's sick...in the good sense.
Free App A Day.com - For all you iPod Touch and iPhone users, check out this site for some free apps! (Don't say I never gave you anything!)
Sticky Footer: Alternative Approach - This takes an alternative approach using only a single conditional statement for IE and supports IE5.5+, with 100% valid CSS and HTML
Design Contract Template - A template for contractual jobs in design, alter to your own use (quite verbose)
15 Tips for Designing Tables - A nice resource on using CSS and JS to markup and add interaction to your tables, a nice new take on it with good examples
A review of Rich Text Editors - Not just your grandma's WYSIWYG Editor...great thorough review
An HTML5 Video Player - Created with JavaScript and HTML5 markup; no Flash here folks!
Microsoft's Translator Widget - This thing is the coolest translator I think I've ever seen. It loads the translated version progressively via AJAX without any new page load -- with a loading bar to boot!
Free SEO Toolkit for IIS - I don't use IIS, but for those that do, this would be an enormous help, watch the video to see (good to watch even if you don't use IIS)
Dygraphs - Interactive, zoomable, plottable, QUICK JavaScript-based graphing library - it might give Highcharts.js a run for its money on line graphs (it's basically all this does, unfortunately)
Vector Social Media Icons - I'm not usually one to be excited enough about icons to tell people about them, but the fact that the author supplied two versions of the icons in vector format is pretty darn cool (32x32 and 16x16; 32x32 never scales well to 16x16 size, and 16x16 size is made especially for that size and doesn't look good stretched out)
Revised Font Stack - Looking for more fonts to use in your CSS without requiring @font-face or sIFR? OS's have updated their default font base, check here to see what more options us web developers might have nowadays
jQTouch - "A jQuery plugin for mobile web development on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and other forward-thinking devices." Check out the demo, it's sick...in the good sense.
Free App A Day.com - For all you iPod Touch and iPhone users, check out this site for some free apps! (Don't say I never gave you anything!)
Friday, January 29. 2010
Server Load, Take 2
So I worked on the CakePHP plugin for Prowl a bit more, and in doing so, I created shell-based access to the plugin. I can now send Prowl messages from the console (i.e.: I can run PHP via cron to check on things and send myself the results, if necessary). A shell task I created was for server load, as a followup to my previous post. In working this out, I've modified the output for CakePHP's Shell::out() method so that it auto-wraps and indents a bit more nicely (my ticket in the LighthouseApp is here). Time for some output examples:
Issuing the Load Alert help call: cake prowl load_alert help
Sending a message is as simple as: cake prowl msg [apikey] ... it can get as advanced as cake prowl msg [apikey] [priority] [application] [event] [description]
The output for running the load alert command?
If it's above my arbitrarily set values, it'll send a different warning depending on the level to my Prowl-enabled device. By sending a "-silent 1" parameter to the command message, output is disabled (perfect for cron).
Please note that I don't have any styling for shell output (something I'll have to fix) so the pasted character spacing and newlines won't work as expected in my example output.
Issuing the Load Alert help call: cake prowl load_alert help
Sending a message is as simple as: cake prowl msg [apikey] ... it can get as advanced as cake prowl msg [apikey] [priority] [application] [event] [description]
The output for running the load alert command?
If it's above my arbitrarily set values, it'll send a different warning depending on the level to my Prowl-enabled device. By sending a "-silent 1" parameter to the command message, output is disabled (perfect for cron).
Please note that I don't have any styling for shell output (something I'll have to fix) so the pasted character spacing and newlines won't work as expected in my example output.
Monday, January 25. 2010
Interesting Links from the Web - January 2010 Edition
I've signed up for "Project 52", and I've already missed last week, only the third week in. That being said, the whole point of Project 52 is to get people using their blog, to post more. There is a goal, but the ultimate goal is simply to post more.
A lot of my lack of success is simply trying to come up with real valuable content each and every week. I must realize that it's simply not going to be possible - at least not up to my own standards. That's not to say that I can't still post interesting things, just not necessarily the type of stuff I'd want to write about with gusto and enthusiasm - but still kinda cool. I mean, we learn things on an almost daily (if not hourly) rate as web developers. Why can't I simply zero in on one and discuss it? Or, perhaps mention all the neat things I've found in a particular week if I simply don't have time to write a full article on something I'm working on (which is what happened this past week - I was shipping furniture to my new house in a rental truck from out of state).
Anyhow, here are some interesting links that I've found (mostly from Smashing Magazine's Twitter account) within the past week or so (in no particular order):
- Why Mood Boards Matter: A look in to a quick way of getting a client on board with your end-result design without actually showcasing any direct portion of the site. An interesting approach that I had heard of and seen, but this iteration looks much nicer and more professional (the 2nd example).
- PostageApp: "The easier way to send email from web apps". This service offers a (currently) freely available (beta) API to send emails, also allowing for reporting services and debugging for such tasks. Quite the interesting little project, and could be extremely useful and handy.
- Uptime Robot: I currently am using mon.itor.us for my website uptime reporting. However, I originally signed up for the IM chat based alerting, and it only worked for the first two-three weeks. They adjusted the alerting mechanism to only alert via email when it had X number of consecutive bad pings...it might be time to evaluate a competitor, and here's one of them!
- jQuery Sheet: To quote their own description - "jQuery.sheet addresses the web-based spreadsheet or "websheet" in a different, simple, approach - using html, you simply load the sheet from a url, and you save it to a url... Simple. Or write your own approch. jQuery.sheet manages the sheet creation, viewing, and editing processes, you simply build your application around it." Quite interesting, and although I don't currently have a use for it, it's definitely something that I could see being very useful and powerful.
- Project Sikuli: This project is quite different. It appears (from a quick glance) to be a scripting language to help automate tasks. That's nothing new. The new part is the fact that it uses screenshot captures to do the scripting. Yes, that's correct. I honestly can't do it justice to talk about it, so check out the site and watch the video and read up on it if it sounds at all interesting.
- WhiteSmoke Writer 2010: The new version adds "writing review", which according to the quick animated Flash file on their homepage, might even be useful for me. It suggests changes to grammar to make a "negative sentence" neutral, or positive. This is something I sometimes have issues with when it was not intended. If I start a business of my own on the side, it's the last thing I want to do to my clients, so this might be worth a purchase, or at least an evaluation/consideration.
- SupportDetails.com: Although it's such an easy concept and execution (practically anyone could create this service), it's got a nice UI and...hey, I didn't think of it first. SupportDetails.com grabs the details of your current session data and allows you to mail it to someone. Let's say a website visitor is claiming there's this weird bug on your site, but you just can't see it. This could possibly identify the odd combination of software/resolution/settings that could cause the issue. At the very least, it's a simple and neat idea.
...and saved for last just because... The Ultimate PC Chair: I want one for work. Quoted from the linked blog discussing it: "NOTE TO MY BOSS – Dear Mr Boss, I am certain that my productivity would increase by 60,000% if you bought me this chair
DISCLAIMER: There is also a chance that I will be so comfy that I will fall asleep during work hours."
A lot of my lack of success is simply trying to come up with real valuable content each and every week. I must realize that it's simply not going to be possible - at least not up to my own standards. That's not to say that I can't still post interesting things, just not necessarily the type of stuff I'd want to write about with gusto and enthusiasm - but still kinda cool. I mean, we learn things on an almost daily (if not hourly) rate as web developers. Why can't I simply zero in on one and discuss it? Or, perhaps mention all the neat things I've found in a particular week if I simply don't have time to write a full article on something I'm working on (which is what happened this past week - I was shipping furniture to my new house in a rental truck from out of state).
Anyhow, here are some interesting links that I've found (mostly from Smashing Magazine's Twitter account) within the past week or so (in no particular order):
- Why Mood Boards Matter: A look in to a quick way of getting a client on board with your end-result design without actually showcasing any direct portion of the site. An interesting approach that I had heard of and seen, but this iteration looks much nicer and more professional (the 2nd example).
- PostageApp: "The easier way to send email from web apps". This service offers a (currently) freely available (beta) API to send emails, also allowing for reporting services and debugging for such tasks. Quite the interesting little project, and could be extremely useful and handy.
- Uptime Robot: I currently am using mon.itor.us for my website uptime reporting. However, I originally signed up for the IM chat based alerting, and it only worked for the first two-three weeks. They adjusted the alerting mechanism to only alert via email when it had X number of consecutive bad pings...it might be time to evaluate a competitor, and here's one of them!
- jQuery Sheet: To quote their own description - "jQuery.sheet addresses the web-based spreadsheet or "websheet" in a different, simple, approach - using html, you simply load the sheet from a url, and you save it to a url... Simple. Or write your own approch. jQuery.sheet manages the sheet creation, viewing, and editing processes, you simply build your application around it." Quite interesting, and although I don't currently have a use for it, it's definitely something that I could see being very useful and powerful.
- Project Sikuli: This project is quite different. It appears (from a quick glance) to be a scripting language to help automate tasks. That's nothing new. The new part is the fact that it uses screenshot captures to do the scripting. Yes, that's correct. I honestly can't do it justice to talk about it, so check out the site and watch the video and read up on it if it sounds at all interesting.
- WhiteSmoke Writer 2010: The new version adds "writing review", which according to the quick animated Flash file on their homepage, might even be useful for me. It suggests changes to grammar to make a "negative sentence" neutral, or positive. This is something I sometimes have issues with when it was not intended. If I start a business of my own on the side, it's the last thing I want to do to my clients, so this might be worth a purchase, or at least an evaluation/consideration.
- SupportDetails.com: Although it's such an easy concept and execution (practically anyone could create this service), it's got a nice UI and...hey, I didn't think of it first. SupportDetails.com grabs the details of your current session data and allows you to mail it to someone. Let's say a website visitor is claiming there's this weird bug on your site, but you just can't see it. This could possibly identify the odd combination of software/resolution/settings that could cause the issue. At the very least, it's a simple and neat idea.
...and saved for last just because... The Ultimate PC Chair: I want one for work. Quoted from the linked blog discussing it: "NOTE TO MY BOSS – Dear Mr Boss, I am certain that my productivity would increase by 60,000% if you bought me this chair
DISCLAIMER: There is also a chance that I will be so comfy that I will fall asleep during work hours."
Friday, January 15. 2010
iPhone Server Alerting on High Load
I have a shared Dreamhost account. In fact, I manage two: my own, and work's. Typically I don't too much care about my personal site going up or down, but I have multiple sites running under my account - and our work account with Dreamhost must maintain a decent responsiveness during business hours.
I've been developing a CakePHP plugin for Prowl but haven't quite polished it well enough for release. In the meantime, my work's Dreamhost account has had major issues where the server load would spike up to 350+ (I have no idea how many cores there are). That's just ludicrous. We've recently been moved to a new server by the support staff (for the 5th time) and although the average server load is now 0.40, I don't want to take my chances without a backup plan. Enter Prowl and my iPod Touch.
(To use Prowl, you would need an iPod touch or iPhone, and paid for and installed the Prowl application; it's $4.99 as of this writing. You then need to get your API from the prowl.preks.net website.)
We'll be using the PHP 3rd party API for Prowl, built by "Fenric", and we will go to his GitHub account to get it.
Once we have the PHP API for Prowl from Fenric, we'll build some quick code to make use of it:
This little script can easily be setup with a cronjob and automatically check the current server's load and report issues. It won't report if a server is down since it must run on the server it is reporting on, but it would help inform about possible problems that should be looked at. This could easily be extended to check the MySQL long query logs, or other reporting functions.
I've been developing a CakePHP plugin for Prowl but haven't quite polished it well enough for release. In the meantime, my work's Dreamhost account has had major issues where the server load would spike up to 350+ (I have no idea how many cores there are). That's just ludicrous. We've recently been moved to a new server by the support staff (for the 5th time) and although the average server load is now 0.40, I don't want to take my chances without a backup plan. Enter Prowl and my iPod Touch.
(To use Prowl, you would need an iPod touch or iPhone, and paid for and installed the Prowl application; it's $4.99 as of this writing. You then need to get your API from the prowl.preks.net website.)
We'll be using the PHP 3rd party API for Prowl, built by "Fenric", and we will go to his GitHub account to get it.
Once we have the PHP API for Prowl from Fenric, we'll build some quick code to make use of it:
This little script can easily be setup with a cronjob and automatically check the current server's load and report issues. It won't report if a server is down since it must run on the server it is reporting on, but it would help inform about possible problems that should be looked at. This could easily be extended to check the MySQL long query logs, or other reporting functions.
Friday, January 8. 2010
Prowl, an iPhone/iPod Touch implementation of Growl
So, I hear you like the idea of push notifications on the iPhone. Oh, what's that? You wish you could send push notifications from your website and/or iPhone enabled web app? Hey, didn't you know that you can?
Thanks to Mike, and his post about what John Blyberg's been doing, I got interested in Prowl. Prowl is an iPhone app ($4.99 from the iTunes store, I believe) that lets us send push notifications to iPhone or iPod Touch devices (and hey, it works with 1st gen devices too!). You would need version 3.1 of the iPhone OS, and jailbroken phones are not officially supported (some work, some don't due to how they were jailbroken), but for the most part "it just works", and it's fast. From my tests, the longest delay I've had thus far on a "normal" importance level Prowl message was about 2-3 seconds.
So what use does it have? I'm sure there could be quite a lot. There are forums for Prowl discussions, and one of the stickied topics is just about what people are doing with custom notifications, and there are a varied slew of responses. It's quite interesting, actually.
It's not much of a surprise to anyone that's been keeping tabs on this blog (hi Mike) that I have been getting acquainted with the CakePHP framework. Because of all the uses of Prowl, and my newfound love for CakePHP, I've decided to write a plugin specifically for Prowl in CakePHP. I am not the first to create extensions for Prowl by any means, nor am I even the first to think of getting it CakePHP-ready. I've found two others after having started my work that have created Prowl Components: Jacob Oehler Morrison, and Eric Holmes (note: as of this writing, Eric Holmes' domain seems to be expired). Hopefully I can add a little bit more zest and out-of-the-box capabilities to a plugin. If anyone has some ideas, let me know about it in the comments!
Thanks to Mike, and his post about what John Blyberg's been doing, I got interested in Prowl. Prowl is an iPhone app ($4.99 from the iTunes store, I believe) that lets us send push notifications to iPhone or iPod Touch devices (and hey, it works with 1st gen devices too!). You would need version 3.1 of the iPhone OS, and jailbroken phones are not officially supported (some work, some don't due to how they were jailbroken), but for the most part "it just works", and it's fast. From my tests, the longest delay I've had thus far on a "normal" importance level Prowl message was about 2-3 seconds.
So what use does it have? I'm sure there could be quite a lot. There are forums for Prowl discussions, and one of the stickied topics is just about what people are doing with custom notifications, and there are a varied slew of responses. It's quite interesting, actually.
It's not much of a surprise to anyone that's been keeping tabs on this blog (hi Mike) that I have been getting acquainted with the CakePHP framework. Because of all the uses of Prowl, and my newfound love for CakePHP, I've decided to write a plugin specifically for Prowl in CakePHP. I am not the first to create extensions for Prowl by any means, nor am I even the first to think of getting it CakePHP-ready. I've found two others after having started my work that have created Prowl Components: Jacob Oehler Morrison, and Eric Holmes (note: as of this writing, Eric Holmes' domain seems to be expired). Hopefully I can add a little bit more zest and out-of-the-box capabilities to a plugin. If anyone has some ideas, let me know about it in the comments!