Chris Pirillo » coding

Tips for Programming and PHP

Chris — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:40:24 +0000

Tips for Programming and PHP is a post from Chris Pirillo

Community member “a_v58″ sent me a short list of PHP tips. These days, people are rabid in their thirst to learn more about PHP. If you want to become a programmer, you should know what you’re doing when it comes to PHP. The following tips were sent in to me by Andrew. They are solid tips, so I wanted to pass them along to all of you.

Don’t be tempted to use packets such as WAMP or XAMPP that install and configure Apache, PHP, MySQL for you automatically. You’ll learn more by installing them one-by-one and configuring them manually. After a quick Google search, you’ll find a list of recommended configurations for PHP and/or Apache – depending whether your machine is a server or a development machine. I recommend installing in this order: MySQL, Apache, PHP.
Remember to sanitize your database inputs. To avoid this, understand what this is and how this works. Google or read on Wikipedia for “SQL injection.” Use functions such as ‘addslashes’ and ‘get_magic_quotes_gpc.’
When you think you did everything right and you don’t understand why something isn’t working, look at your code carefully, debug it, and possibly run a ‘var_dump’ on all the variables to see whether something is faulty. If you still can’t figure it out, take a break and get some fresh air. Come back to the problem with a clear mind.
Don’t be afraid to ask on forums or the community questions. Remember: there are no stupid questions. However, if for every little mistake you ask, and you don’t figure a couple of questions on your own… no offense: programming may not be right for you.
Why choose PHP? It has a syntax similar to C/C++ (which are some of the used frequently for desktop applications. PHP.net has almost everything you might need to know – including examples and user-contributed notes (which may contain exactly what you need).
When somebody asks you a question, don’t be afraid to answer. You’ll either help that person by teaching him or her something new (or be corrected by someone with more experience – in which case, you’ll learn something new).

Sure, it’s a starter list of tips – extremely rudimentary for some. That’s where you have the opportunity to suggest your own PHP starter tips in the comments stream below. :)

Will Code for Green: Make Money!

Chris — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:40:34 +0000

Will Code for Green: Make Money! is a post from Chris Pirillo

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As you know, I’ve been hosting my Gnomedex conference for the past nine years. We have just found out that this year, we will be sponsored by Microsoft Bing. I have some big news to go along with this… we’ll be giving away two grand prizes – $10,000.00!!! You have to use the Bing API to either help people save money, or be more environmentally friendly.

Enter the Will Code for Green! developer contest. If your economy or ecology-themed web application is chosen as one of the two grand prize winners at Gnomedex in August, you’ll win $10,000!! No, that isn’t a typo. I said TEN! THOUSAND! DOLLARS!.

Even if you aren’t a developer, you may have a great idea about how to make the world a greener place – or help people save money. Grab a dev friend, and share the project… and the prize! There will also be three runner-up prizes of $3000.00 each so get to creating!

Change the world. Make some money. What’s wrong with that?

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Would You Like to be a Hacker, Like in the Movies?

Chris — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:37:19 +0000

Would You Like to be a Hacker, Like in the Movies? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I have a feeling life would be much easier if I could program. Sadly, I don’t sit on that side of the Geek fence. I have to rely on others to create things for me. Are you a beginning programmer, or someone who wants to try? Recently, I was doing a video on another type of programming tool when my neighbor sent me an IM. He asked me if I had ever heard of the website HacketyHack. No, I hadn’t. So of course, I set out to learn… and learn, I did!

In the 1980s, a language called BASIC swept the countryside. It was a language beginners could use to make their computer speak, play music. You could easily draw a big smiley face or a panda or whatever you like! But not just BASIC. Other languages like: LOGO and Pascal were right there on many computers. One of Hackety Hack’s sincere pledges is to make the most common code very easy and short. Downloading an MP3 should be one line of code. A blog should be very few.
Presently, Ruby is the only language taught by Hackety Hack. And it’s a great one to start with. Ruby was born in Japan, but has found a wealth of friends across the world. As you can see above, Ruby is a combination of simple words and punctuation.
All of this, the whole of it, is totally free to you. My wish is to spread infectious hacking smarts all over the world. And so Hackety Hack is yours forever at no cost: give it away, take it apart, learn-learn-learn without a 2nd thought.

At this point in time, HacketyHack is only available for Windows. However, they’re working on both a Mac and Linux version. Programming has gotten overwhelming to many people, myself included. It’s just gotten so complicated and involved. The beauty of HacketyHack is that it takes the difficulty out, and makes coding simple and fun again. Anyone age 13 and up will be able to quickly grasp the basics, and be off and coding in no time.

If you’re thinking of getting into programming – or if you’ve always been too scared to try before now – download HacketyHack and give it a try.

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Top Ten Tips for Web Site Design

Chris — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:38:04 +0000

Top Ten Tips for Web Site Design is a post from Chris Pirillo

Alec is a regular member of our live community. Recently, he sent me his top 10 list of tips to help you with good Web Design. Even though I wasn’t able to do a video on this email, I wanted to pass them along to all of you.

Why? Why do you need a site? What do you need to do? Get more leads? Sales? Votes? Look cool? Will search engines be important? If you can’t answer, better wait until you have a strategic plan for your company overall.
Audience. Before anything else, you have to figure out who you’re creating your site for. What are the 1-4 questions they’ll have in their heads that, if answered, will mean they’re going to call, buy, or take whatever action they need to?
Architecture. Create the site map. The map shows how your site will be structured. It could be fancy and complex, or simple. It could be drawn on a napkin, even. Just so long as it provides a rational structure for your presence.
Wireframe. Then show where stuff will go on each page. Think of this as a site map, but for each page (a page map?).
Design. Create the pretty stuff. This is what most folks call ‘Web site design’. Notice that it’s step 4? A lot of thinking goes into this, making sure that the way the site looks fits the site’s role.
Mockup. Take the design and turn it into a set of Web page templates that you can view in your Web browser. The mockup is the model for the site. It shows how drop downs will work, and how processes like checkout or information requests will look.
Test the Mockup. Then test the mockup. Is it standards-compliant? Does it look good in all major browsers? Does it present the most search-friendly and accessible information structure to the Internet? This is the chance to test before you build the site.
Add the Tools. If you’re using a content management system (CMS), then the developers go to work, adding the mockup templates to the system. If you’re collecting leads, they’ll build the database and code to handle that, too. Finally, they’ll make sure you’re equipped for analytics.
Add the Content. Type in the content, lay out each page, and check for spelling errors, etc.. If search engine optimization matters, tweak the content for best keyword richness.
Test, Test, and more Test. Test the site for errors (broken links, crashes, and server errors) and bugs (sneaky things that aren’t immediately evident, like, say, your shopping cart not storing the ZIP code on orders).

How to Start a Website

Chris — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:48:49 +0000

How to Start a Website is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Have you ever wanted to have your own Website? Do you know how to go about getting started? Here are some tips sent in by Lewis that may shed some light on these questions… and more.

Don’t go for the cheapest hosting. These may look great at first, but from what I have found out, they are not. The support is often bad, the servers are often cheap and slow and you do not get what you pay for. Try to look for a respectable one with many reviews. We recommend GoDaddy. Use coupon code Chris1 to save 10% off your order!
Learn how to code and design. The worst way to start a website is with no coding experience or design experience. This is often the thoughts of many new website owners and it puts users off. You need to take time out of your life to code and design properly, you will get much more out of the site this way.
Don’t swarm your site with adverts. Often, too many ads put off users and they will not come back. If you must, put at the most 3 adverts on a page, that is the maximum. I’m pretty sure you hate websites with loads of adverts, think of your users.
Get a proper domain name. Often free domains names like (.tk, .us.tt ect) are bad, full of frames with adverts in them and are often having problems. I recommend getting one from a respectable seller, e.g.: Godaddy. There are many coupons around for godaddy, Chris has a few, type !coupon into his chat.
And finally, give your users a way to contact you. This could be a contact form, an email link (make sure to obscure it in an image or flash file to keep bots off your site and selling your address) or anything else. Your users might need your help and without a good clear link to contact, they will not email you and you will lose their business. Many users are not going to bother looking through Whois databases for an address.

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Aptana Studio Web Development IDE

Chris — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:45:53 +0000

Aptana Studio Web Development IDE is a post from Chris Pirillo

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A community member who uses the name of Fatal email me today. He said he was looking for an alternative to Dreamweaver, and came across Aptana. This is a free, open-source application, and wanted me to try it out.

Aptana Studio 1.0 is indeed an open-source application… for the community version. There is, of course, a Pro version, which is right around $100.00. The caveat to this program at first glance is that it is Java-based. Not to diss any Java programmers out there, but let’s face it. Java is just doggy at times.

If you look past the speed issues, you’ll probably be quite happy with Aptana. There is a lot of troubleshooting built in, and not just for HTML. You’ll also find support for CSS, Javascript, and more. There are tons of features in this program, much more than I would normally expect from an open-source project… especially in its early release stages. This is definitely going to be something to keep an eye on. With a 1.0 version this good already, it will be interesting to see what the developers do with future versions.

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How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from GoDaddy includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter code CP2 at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order.

Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.