This is a simple tool that takes a hex color code (#FFFFFF) or color name (white) and uses javascript to display what that color is on the page. Built to quickly debug a style sheet, since #80b5d0 might as well be french.

Today i found some good tips

• Readable PHP code #1 Return ASAP
  http://patrickallaert.blogspot.com/2008/10/readable-php-code-1-return-asap.html   
  • It’s a quick read on structuring of if/returns, definitely worth a read since it improves code legibility.
• Throwing and catching exceptions
  http://www.dragonbe.com/2008/10/throwing-and-catching-exceptions.html   
  • Its a good explanation of the use of try.. Catch… statements and how to throw and bubble up exceptions in your application using the try/catch.
• Blackbird JS Logging App
  http://www.gscottolson.com/blackbirdjs/   
  • Good JS App for outputting custom logs, i can see it coming in handy when alert() just isn’t enough.
  • Just realized i can use Firebug (which i already have installed) instead 
    http://getfirebug.com/logging.html 

http://www.owasp.org/index.php/PHP_Top_5

That site has tips on security vulnerabilities, here is a quick list of pointers from that article.

• Remote Code Execution
  • Don’t Use user input in Include, Require or Eval
• Cross-site scripting
  • Don’t use register_globals
  • If outputting User Submitted Values, sanitize first using htmlentities
  • Avoid $_REQUEST use $_GET or $_POST
  • Validate Values ie use is_numeric or check string length
  • use urlencode when adding variables to a query string
• SQL Injection
  • Validate Data prior to use in SQL Statements - ie is_numeric
  • When possible use PDO or another Database Abstraction Layer combined with prepared statements at the very least use escape strings ( Avoid addslashes() as it isn’t adequate )
•  File system attacks
  • Ensure that all variables are properly initialized prior to first use
  • Ensure that the users can only affect file operations to the degree you had in mind
  • Try to move secrets and logs out of the web root if at all possible – see the references on “Shared Hosting” by Chris Shiflett

Here is a link for a Smashing Magazine Post with 75 Different Javascript Tips/Techniques

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/09/11/75-really-useful-javascript-techniques/

Here are ones that i found might be handy at a later date:

• Coda popup bubbles (Info Bubbles)
• addSizes.js (File Size Display)
• LiveValidation (Form Validation)
• AmberJack (Site Tour)
• jQuery virtual tour (Fancy Virtual Tour for Photos)
• FancyZoom meets jQuery // Ordered List // We Make The Web Beautifully Simple (Thumbnail to Image script)
• Starbox (Rating System)
• Newsticker (Vertical Scrolling News Headlines)
• Toggling Announcement Slider (Top Down Popup Slider)
• Creating a Slick Auto-Playing Featured Content Slider (Home Page Content/Headline Slider)
• Creating a Dynamic Poll with jQuery and PHP (Poll System)

So I haven’t written anything in ages, and wanted to put up something to say that i am still kicking. Today i had one of those duh moments, when you stumble upon a feature you never new about. This one is a real duh since its so obvious.

So I was moving a site with dynamic content to a new url, and was searching the DB for any direct links to the old url, so i was building custom Sql queries using MATCH AGAINST and LIKE, to find the search string in th Db tables fields. Well as i was about to use PhpMyAdmin to execute my query i realised there was a search tab, and low and behold it does what i want with out needing to write my own query, DUH.

Thats Al, till i feel like writing again

<a href="http://www.google.com" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'popup', 'width=600,height=375'); return false;" target="_blank">Test Link</a>

So i finally got round to moving the site, files/DB to the new server and upgraded wordpress to the latest version. Let see if i can start writing stuff again.

If you need to access the Raw Data From the Post Stream, you can do it using the following command;

Good Movie, nuff said. edward norton does a great job, and Jessica Biel is always good on the eyes.

Seriously. In my world, HTML is something that graphic designers do, and when they get done with it, I attack their prettiness with my Geek fu and make it walk, talk, and infect your computer with awesomeness.