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Sausage Sizzler - Webmaster Weekly |
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| Editorial - February 27th 2002 |
G'day Sizzlers!
Quite a few people missed out on last weeks issue as it had my
example of an IMG tag for the HTML Basics section. If you were
one of these people it happens because your mail server bans
emails that look like they may have embedded attachments. My
guess is that you would definitely not be able to receive HTML
email in this case, so never try to sign up for HTML email
newsletters! Stick to text ones like this one.
The new
Sizzler Forums are slowly but surely springing into life.
Already a few people have commented on the speed and quality of
response they receive from fellow members. People are talking
about everything from HotDog to HTML formatting issues. If anyone
has a good idea on how to make the forums even more useful or
popular let me know.
I ran the poll using the new forums software instead of the one
we have on the Web site. Unfortunately this saw hardly anyone
complete the poll. However here are the results on what you
thought about the new
Sizzler Forums:
23.53% Yes. They look good.
23.53% Yes. They seem easier to navigate.
9.80% Yes. They are more like other forums I frequent.
23.53% Yes. I like the increased functionality and options.
15.69% Yes. I will like having my input tallied and recognized.
1.96% No. I liked the old ones.
0% No. I don't have a particular reason though.
1.96% No. Give me time and I may come around!
Although a small response rate, we are getting good feedback on
the new forums.
This week I will use the other poll to ask you how old you all
are. I think this will be interesting to see who we are
developing for. Make your mark
here.
The new forums are making this newsletter more community based
with a lot of your feedback on the forums being included in the
newsletter in one way or another. So if you haven't already get on over to the
forums!
Sign-up soon as we will be starting to reward our regular posters
with prizes such as free software and T-shirts.
Keep on sizzling!
Nathan Allan
Sausage Sizzler Editor
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| Dynamic Tip - PHP Tips 6 - Data Validation |
This used to be a very complicated problem, but now has a very
simple answer; use the resources on the web. Validating data like
email addresses will generally remain the same, an email address
will, for the foreseeable future, have to adhere to set
standards. Same goes for US phone numbers, credit card numbers,
etc.
Most of your needs for data validation can be well served by the
Zend Code Gallery at
http://www.zend.com/codex.php. Remember, a
very important part of web development is working efficiently
(code reuse), so if a freely available piece of code can work
with your application, use it, but be sure to give credit where
it’s due.
So, existing code can cover you for simple verification, but what
about data specific to your business like customer numbers,
invoice identifiers, etc. There you'll have to write your own
validation functions, some additional reading may be helpful
there:
Regular Expressions - I prefer the Perl-Compatible RegEx in PHP.
RegEx is not easy, at least in my opinion. There are several
books on the subject, as always, the O’Reilly books are the safe
bet. (
http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php)
String Manipulation - For some simpler problems these functions
can be used in place of RegEx. (
http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.strings.php)
Database Interaction - Probably the most critical part of a web
application, which I'll cover next week. (
http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.mysql.php)
There are numerous approaches to data validation, some of which
will be discussed in
the PHP and MySQL forum.
Tip by Rich Cavanaugh
From - EnFlyer: The Email Marketing Experts
Discuss it in Rich's PHP and MySQL Forum
So we have covered most of the basic, basic elements of a Web
page. You should now be able to build a fairly simple page.
I am sure you want to be able to format your text and graphics,
so this issue we are looking at some basic tags for doing so.
The CENTER tag does just that centering whatever you have between
the opening and closing tag.
For example:
<CENTER>This will be centered</CENTER>
The NOBR Tag or No Brak tag forces whatever text you have in it
to remain on the same line.
For example:
<NOBR>All of this text will be on the same line</NOBR>
The PRE tag allows you to format text using spaces without the
browser skimming over formatting.
For example;
<PRE>
Name: Dame Edna Phone: 555 5555
Name: Bazza McKenzie Phone: 555 1234
</PRE>
Will be displayed with the formatting (you may need to look at
this example on the Web version of the newsletter)
Of course there are TABLES to help format your pages but we will
cover them in the future.
Tip by Nathan Allan
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| Sizzler Forum Spotlight - Confused about web hosting? |
This issue's hot topic deals with something essential to
everything we do. Web Hosting.
Most commonly, the main issue when any of us look around for
hosting is "What do I get for what I'm paying?" The secondary
issue is usually "Am I paying too much for what I'm getting?"
Tertiary issues may include "Do I need e-mail with my web site?"
or "Is there a control panel available?" or "Should I host my
site at home since I have a broadband connection?"
If you've ever asked yourself this last question, then surely
you've wondered, "What am I getting for $14.95 or $19.95 a month?"
What many people don't realize is that a web server doesn't just
serve pages flawlessly and without issue. It's a machine and
like any machine, it needs to be monitored and maintained. There
are very good reasons why a company will have 1 more often more
system administrators, people trained (or at least highly able)
to handle all issues, including hackers, that may come along.
I know people that host their own servers at home, but frequently
these are the same system administrators practicing at home so
that they can do their best at work. There are a vareity of
things to consider when hosting or even when thinking about
hosting at home. One reader and HotDog Veteran posed a very good
question:
"What is your time worth?"
To find out the answers to that question and many others, please
visit this week's Sizzler Forum Spotlight.
http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45
Review by Bram Leland Scolnick
| Gear Grinders - Instant Grafification, Instant Results - Instant Messaging |
And now for something completely different.
Does anyone out there NOT use some form of Instant Messaging?
Since 1995, I've been a member of AOL. I've long since dropped
the software accept for AIM of course. Over the years, I've
tried ICQ, but it quickly became annoying with all the things it
tries to do. I've tried MSN Messenger, but it pales in
comparison to AIM, as does Yahoo! Messenger.
Originally, we used these services so that we could keep up with
friends and family. Now I have friends, family, and co-workers
on AIM. I have other co-workers on Yahoo! Then there are yet
others on ICQ and MSN.
Instant Messaging can save time and money. Every time my best
friend in NYC or I have a quick thought to trade, we don't pick
up a phone. Programmers I've worked with like to show me
progress of what they are working on. Rather than get up, walk
to one-another's desk and lose valuable time or train of thought,
a quick IM with a link and instructions or quick explanation does
the trick.
If you haven't already noticed, the new Sizzler Forums are IM
compatible.
Instant Messaging has become part of business. It has become
increasingly important to stay in touch with a broad spectrum of
people. How does one deal with a plethora of friends, family,
and co-workers that each uses a variety of IM clients? Simple.
Products like Trillian (
www.trillian.cc). One UI, up to 5
messaging clients.
Which IM client do you use? What are you're main uses for IM?
Do you keep up with family? Friends? How do you feel about IM
in the work place? Do you find yourself using IM more than the
phone at work?
Please, talk amongst yourselves.
http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61
Discuss your experiences with Bram Leland Scolnick
| *NEW* Designed For Browsing - How do you Style YOUR Sheets |
Everyone has a particular style they like. Many people have a
variety of styles they like to use over and over. If you're
creating anything bigger than a one page website, it's not a bad
idea to look into Cascading Style Sheets (CSS or Style Sheets).
Style sheets are great for many things but essentially, one
general purpose. Update one thing once and anything using that
style is updated (otherwise known as replication).
I use style sheets in 2 basic ways. For newsletters that are
sent out in html format, my templates use embedded styles. One
page is easy to maintain and I know the each user needn't be
connected to see most of my document as intended (graphics are
not embedded).
For any of my web sites, I use a linked style sheet. Linked
style sheets are great because all pages refer to one file from
which all their formatting comes.
The really big question is this: Exactly how much formatting do
you control with your style sheets?
I used to use style sheets to aid in html formatting (with
tables). It's quite simple and took little time to figure out
and implement. For the most part now, I use style sheets for
font control.
I use a variety of style sheet functions including positioning.
My use of positioning; however, is limited to how far from the
left some text may be or spacing between lines of text.
One fascination I have is the use positioning to layout an entire
page. Although it's time consuming to learn, the main reason I
haven't taken the time to learn this: browser compatibility. I'm
not a fan of Navigator but it still holds some kind of market
share. Besides that, I don't have time (as does Microsoft) to
have a CSS-positioning based site for IE users and an HTML-tables
based site for Navigator users.
There are so many things that can be done. The options may not
necessarily be endless, but there are more than enough to keep
you busy for a long time.
Font control, Special Effects, Positioning, and more.
How do you use Cascading Style Sheets?
Add your way or follow the discussion at:
http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=62
Discuss with Bram Leland Scolnick
Yes HotDog has a built in colour picker however for those of you
who want something that is small and quick to load, Pixie is your
answer!
It is a simple color picker app that allows you to mouse over a
color on your screen and will show you the HEX, HTML, RGB, CMYK
and HSV values for the particular color.
CTRL + ALT + X Key stroke combination will bring up a swatch and
controls so you can enter values as well.
This really is a nifty little app!
Name: Pixie
Version: 3.0
Cost: Freeware
Website: http://www.nattyware.com/pixie.html
Download: http://www.nattyware.com/bin/pixie.zip
Review by Nathan Allan
To read the Sizzler Forums you do not need to be a member.
However to take full advantage of this resource it will only take
you a few seconds to sign up!
- Go to: http://www.sizzlerforums.com
- Read the information and click on the REGISTER button
- Fill out the form
- You will receive an email that you simply reply to
- Hey presto! Your a fully fledged Sizzler Forums member!
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