Archive for May, 2010
Never stop challenging yourself
Saturday, May 29th, 2010As a developer, its super easy to fall into a rythym and do the same things, the same way, forever. This doesn’t help make you a better developer, in fact, the least skilled and hardest developers to work with are generally the guys who are closed off to the prospect of ‘a better way’.
You don’t need to work in a team to challenge yourself on approaches to problems, design styles, methodologies or even small, tiny, one-line code changes. Of course, working around other developers who you respect makes a huge difference and can be extremely beneficial to not only your technical knowledge but your ability to stay open minded and accept that your answer is quite possibly not the best one for the current problem.
I think that a lot of developers who work solo, especially in their first few years of their career, can get caught in an ‘I know best’ rut and are not willing or open to different points of view.
If you want to get better, you need to be challenged and that can be as mentally draining as a brain storming session, or as easy as writing a small script to test the differences between coding technicques or function calls.
Today, while working with my boss who I admire and respect for his technical prowess and general speed of uptake, I noticed that he takes a slightly different approach when using PHP variables in a MySQL INSERT query. In this particular scenario, there is a slight possibility that the variable will occasionally be an empty string which would cause syntax errors in the query. My boss wrapped the variable in an intval() call to default the value to 0 in case the string was empty. This was far different from my approach which would always to use a shorthand if statement to test the string and assign a value.
The intval() call in this scenario looks more elegant, but the shorthand statement is just something I have always done. I decided to put the two to the test by writing an unnecessary test on speed.
The first test used a shorthand statement with no function call;
<?php
$str = '';
$func_total = 0;
$sh_total = 0;
for ($i = 0; $i <=1000; $i++) {
$func_start = microtime(true);
$val = intval($str);
$func_total += (microtime(true)-$func_start);
$sh_start = microtime(true);
$val = ($str? 0 : 1);
$sh_total += (microtime(true)-$sh_start);
}
print 'Function call total: ' . $func_total . PHP_EOL;
print 'Short hand total: ' . $sh_total . PHP_EOL;
Function call total: 0.00370979309082
Short hand total: 0.00205898284912
Shorthand is quicker.
And, the second used an strlen() call;
<?php
$str = '';
$func_total = 0;
$sh_total = 0;
for ($i = 0; $i <=1000; $i++) {
$func_start = microtime(true);
$val = intval($str);
$func_total += (microtime(true)-$func_start);
$sh_start = microtime(true);
$val = (strlen($str) > 0 ? 0 : 1);
$sh_total += (microtime(true)-$sh_start);
}
print 'Function call total: ' . $func_total . PHP_EOL;
print 'Short hand total: ' . $sh_total . PHP_EOL;
And was still quicker;
Function call total: 0.00477647781372
Short hand total: 0.00359439849854
The test, as you can see, just simply executes the code 1000 times and records a total time elapsed for each one. Its silly, but was purely for my own curiosity. While the shorthand is faster, the intval() call is much nicer and I will likely opt to use it in future.
This is just one simple, quick method that challenges yourself and your methods for writing code. If you dont challenge yourself and let others challenge you, you have no hope of ever becoming a better developer.
Order Now: Brand New Apple iPhone 4 32GB
Friday, May 28th, 2010Description:
Apple iPhone 4 is the fourth-generation of iphone and comes with a new slimmer design and front-facing camera capable of video calling. apple also updated the display with a high-resolution screen that measures 960 x 640 pixels. It also features a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash and HD video recording. The front facing camera uses an application called facetime to make video calls over wifi.
Technical Specifications:
Network Quadband GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Size Dimensions 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm
Net Weight 137 g
Display Type TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Display size 640 x 960 pixels, 3.5 inches
Camera Resolution 5MP
Video Yes
Flashlight Yes
Connectivity GPRS Yes
HSDPA Yes
EDGE Yes
3G HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
WiFi Yes
Bluetooth Yes
A2DP Yes
USB Yes
Memory Card Slot N/A
Internal Memory 16/32 GB S
Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3
Battery Stand-by time Up to 300 hours
Talk time Up to 14 hours
Features Messaging SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
FM radio No
Games Yes
Speaker phone Yes
Operating System iOS 4 (based on Mac OS)
Touch-screen Yes
Package content:
* 1 Apple iPhone 4 Phone
* 1 Battery
* 1 Charger
* 1 Stereo Handsfree
* 1 User’s Guide
OTHER APPLE PRODUCTS:
Apple iPhone 4G 32GB……0 USD
Apple iPhone 4G 16GB……0 USD
Apple iPhone 3G S 32GB…0 USD
Apple iPhone 3G S 16GB…0 USD
Apple iPhone 3G 32GB……0 USD
Apple iPhone 3G 16GB……0 USD
Apple iPhone 3G 8GB……..0 USD
Apple iPad Tablet PC 64GB Wifi + 3G…0
Contact us below for more inquiries:
HOTMAIL: fg_shopwise@hotmail.com
YAHOO: fg_shopwise@yahoo.com
GMAIL: fgshopwise1@gmail.com
SKYPE: fg_shopwise
Well-Connected Media Company Seeks Final Cut Pro/After Effects Interns (Chelsea)
Friday, May 28th, 2010A fast-growing online multimedia company is looking for skilled video production interns to join our team. We conduct video interviews with experts from science and technology, academia, business and entertainment sectors.
Applicants should have skills in Final Cut Pro and/or Adobe After Effects. Some familiarity with HD shooting is a plus. A passion for online content development and/or marketing would also serve the right candidate well.
We are looking for a 6-8 hour shift 2-3 days per week, but we are flexible for the right candidate. This makes us a great fit for undergraduates and graduate students.
The internship is unpaid, but this is a unique opportunity to make some seriously amazing career connections. We bring in “big names” on a near-daily basis!
Include a short cover letter, resume, and a link to your editing, graphics and/or animation reel.
No phone calls, please.
Job posting from: Graphic Design Jobs
Google’s Matt Cutts Recommends Mobile URLs
Thursday, May 27th, 2010Not sure Matt is the expert on mobile search indexing at Google, as he largely referenced the Japanese blog post, and the Japanese results seem to be more sophisticated than the US results, as they employ blended mobile ranking algorithms to prioritize mobile content. Nonetheless, if you haven’t seen Matt’s latest YouTube video, “Does indexing a mobile website create a duplicate content issues [sic]?“, be sure to check it out. He basically says there should be no duplicate content issues if you serve your mobile content to Googlebot Mobile and desktop content to Googlebot, which is also in Google’s new SEO Starter Guide. What’s interesting about the video is that Matt recommends m.*.com for usability purposes, and I’ve never seen anyone at the engines officially recommend creating mobile-specific URLs before. As I mentioned before, it is the most popular mobile URL option, but I know that some people are hesitant to create mobile URLs for fear of splitting link popularity.
Definitely worth a look. I doubt this will be the last word from the engines on mobile SEO, as for me there are a lot more questions that come out of this than answers. Nonetheless, it’s great to see Matt Cutts recognize that people are building mobile sites, and starting to tackle some of the SEO issues that arise from that.
Natural Search & Mobile SEO Blog
4 Antivirus Plugins for WordPress
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010WordPress blogs are prone to being attacked in many ways. One simple way to protect your blog as well as the readers who visit your page is by integrating an antivirus plugin. These plugins are great for use towards virus protection from spammers and more.
Anti Virus – This is a useful plugin to help protect your blog from spammers and virus infections. It detects permalink backdoor viruses and much more. You can even run a manual virus test with instant results.
Paranoid 911 – This is a very useful plugin that is designed to warn you of any changes made to your blog without your consent. It helps to prevent hackers and virus infections from doing too much damage to your WordPress blog.
Spam Bam – This is a useful tool to prevent spammers from abusing your comments. This is also useful as well to prevent unnecessary posts from spamming bots that will post links and exploits where viruses could take over your blog reader’s computers.
WP Security Scan – This is a very useful plugin that is designed to help scan and find any and all vulnerabilities in your WordPress blog installation. It is very useful in helping to correct the issues and makes it possible to prevent hacking and virus attacks as well.
Related posts:
- 7 Security Related WordPress Plugins
- 5 Member Registration WordPress Plugins
- 7 Anti Spam WordPress Plugins
Metal Nibbler. This is a modern high-quality instrument!
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010If you work with metal, then you often need to cut sheet metal parts. What kind of device can do it better? This is the Metal Nibbler. Metal Nibbler is a tool with which you can cut sheet metal. TAGS: Metal Nibbler, professional tool, optimal ergonomics,
Latest Articles in Technology Category on EzineMark.com
@ pC 2011: Media Betting Too Much, Too Soon In Tablets’ First Innings?
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010Kicking off our paidContent 2011 conference at the Times Center on a beautiful spring morning, Forrester senior analyst Sarah Rotman Epps threw the tablet opportunity in to sharp relief for media owners… Don’t over-invest “Many media companies have over-invested in these devices…
Clever Examples of Negative Space in Logo Design
Monday, May 24th, 2010We talk about negative space quite a bit here on WDL. It can be a very important element in a design, especially in logos. Clever designers can create shapes around and inside the main elements to help reinforce the meaning or message of the logo. When done well, it’s a thing of beauty. I can’t get enough of logos like these. When I come across good ones, I have to share them. So here are some more clever examples of negatives space in logo design.
Submit Articles – Read, Submit Your Articles For Free
Monday, May 24th, 2010 TAGS: Article submission service, article writing,
Latest Articles in Marketing tips Category on EzineMark.com
2011 Adobe Design Achievement Awards
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
Submissions are now open
2011 Adobe Design Achievement Awards
The Adobe Design Achievement Awards recognize innovative students and faculty members who AMAZE the world. Finalists will receive Adobe software and a trip to Taipei, Taiwan, where they will be honored in an awards ceremony during the 2011 IDA Congress set for October, 24-26, 2011. Category winners also will receive a cash award of US,000.
Competition is FREE to enter and open to all students, faculty and staff of higher education institutions around the world. Participants may submit up to 2 times in 15 different categories and 3 faculty categories. All student categories except for Web Analytics and Mobile Analytics* will be judged throughout the competition year. Students are able to submit in three judging sessions and semifinalists will be selected during each judging session. Students are advised to submit their projects for every academic term from May 2010 through June 2011.
2011 Judging* Schedule:
- November 30, 2010 — January 28, 2011 — Semifinalists announced in February 2011
- January 28, 2011 — April 29, 2011 — Semifinalists announced in May 2011
- April 29, 2011 — June 24, 2011 — Semifinalists announced in July 2011
Faculty and staff category submissions close on June 24, 2011. Semifinalists will be announced in July 2011
