Showing headlines posted by slippery

If you are used to programming CGI, PHP, or any application not built on a Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework, the learning curve for Ruby on Rails is steep. While I can't offer up best practices, I can offer up how-the-hell-do-I-get-started practices. I created a list of steps to ease the pain of getting started.

Amazon.com offers a variety of web services to make building highly scalable web applications easier. One of those services is called the Simple Storage Service (S3). It provides a way to store and retrieve files (up to 5 GB each) on Amazon's distributed servers. S3 has both a SOAP and REST API. You can use the S3 REST API with only the native command line utilities installed by default in OS X Leopard and Linux.

You are probably familiar with common keyboard sequences like Ctrl-C to end a program, but there are dozens of useful shortcuts you can use in BASH to edit the command line, move around your command history, and control jobs. I've collected 18 useful Ctrl and Meta (Option) sequences to make you more productive in BASH. So grab your 'board and leave the wet suit at home, the water is warm this time of year.

The BASH shell has a feature called job control that allows you to run and manage multiple processes from a single interactive prompt. In the age of serial connected dumb terminals, this was a killer feature. In the age of multi-homed multi-core Macs, not so killer, but there are certain situations where it can still be useful.

In my organization, squid runs on the firewall as a transparent proxy and all web traffic goes through it, while squidGuard filters content. The next step was to set up a reporting tool to create useful reports from the log files.

A lot of virtual ink has been spilled over the recent announcement of Google Apps Premier Edition, yet I am compelled to spill more. Google Apps combines a suite of applications under your own domain including Gmail, Calendar, Talk, and Docs and Spreadsheets. Whether it dents the Microsoft Office hegemony will play out over the next couple of years.

Sequences in the open source PostgreSQL database are special tables used for generating integer sequences. Typically, they are used to create a unique record ID (or key) for each row in a table. Read on to dig a little deeper into sequences and discover their full potential.

If you have been using MySQL for a while, you have a knowledge investment that may discourage you from exploring other databases. This short guide shows how common tasks in MySQL are accomplished in PostgreSQL. It also highlights some unique features of each database.

When the Linux Professional Institute was formed, the mantra was "vendor neutral" Linux certifications that don't arbitrarily expire. I bought into the LPI, now it is biting me. As an early supporter and one of the first people to earn the LPIC-2 certification, this is a bitter pill.

Two very popular and widely used languages for building dynamic web sites are Perl and PHP. They make up two thirds of the "P" in the Linux Apache, MySQL, Perl/PHP/Python (LAMP) stack. How does their performance, using mod_perl and mod_php, compare for everyday web programming? I attempted to find out, throwing in a dash of CGI for comparison.

Over the past four months, I've been fighting an escalating battle against link spammers. Typically, link spammers use automated programs to help spread their garbage. Several events over the last month have me wondering if one has taken a personal interest in my site.

The release of Firefox 2.0 brings a slew of new features to millions of Internet users. One largely unheralded feature is the inclusion of the StartCom SSL certificate in the list of Certificate Authorities (CAs).

I recently installed Fedora Core 5 and wanted to use my Mac formatted (HFS+) iPod Nano with it. I had read mixed reports about iPod/Linux compatibility so I didn't expect it to be easy. The transition was mostly undemanding, but the minor problems I encountered weren't what I expected.

In 1995, Microsoft added long file name support to Windows, allowing more descriptive names than the limited 8.3 DOS format. Mac users scoffed, having had long file names for a decade and because Windows still stored a DOS file name in the background. Linux was born with long file name support four years before it showed up in Windows. Today, long file names are well supported by all three operating systems though key differences remain.

J-Pilot is an open source application written by Judd Montgomery that replaces the Palm Desktop. Occasionally, I find a replacement for something that is better than the original. J-Pilot on Linux is one example, offering features not available in the original Palm Desktop for Windows/Mac. It is also rock stable.

The Nautilus program in GNOME is not only the default file manager, it creates and manages the desktop. While it looks simple on the surface, there is a lot of hidden power under the shell. The latest version of Nautilus is 2.14.0, which is included in Fedora Core 5. That's the one I poked with a stick.

In Mac OS X, the root account is disabled by default. The first user account created is added to the admin group and that user can use the sudo command to execute other commands as root. The conventional wisdom is that sudo is the most secure way to run root commands, but a closer look reveals a picture that is not so clear.

I've been using Linux for almost 10 years, and it has been my primary desktop for more than four years. So why am I writing about a Macintosh? Because during a recent exercise in curiosity, I discovered a few unexpected things -- about the Mac and about how I use my desktop.

As you are reading this, how far away are your eyes from the screen? Is your mouse at a 90 degree angle with your elbows. Are your feet flat on the floor or on a carefully positioned foot rest? If you are like me, the chances are probably not.

Working long hours on a computer can create many physical ailments. These include eye strain and a host of musculoskeletal disorders. I should know, I have suffered many of them and need to consciously work at preventing new problems.

Diggable

The Information Technology (I.T.) profession is overrun with technical certifications, many of dubious value. Questions often arise about the value of a certification. I argue that vendor-neutral certifications are better value propositions in the same way that vendor-neutral standards are. A vendor-neutral certification is likely to remain relevant longer, have a longer lifetime prior to expiration, and apply more broadly. Whether you agree or disagree, there are fewer vendor-neutral certifications from which to choose.