Entries tagged "Web Development"
Issue with phpMyAdmin after Using the Ctrl+F Keyboard Shortcut
While cleaning up database entries using phpMyAdmin, I ran into an issue after using the Ctrl+F keyboard shortcut. Something about the shortcut modifies the functionality of the arrow keys within phpMyAdmin. For example, when the text cursor is in a textarea form field, the arrow keys usually move the cursor around in that field. However, after using the shortcut, the arrow keys now jump between the different form fields for editing a database record. Luckily, there is a quick way to restore the normal functionality of the arrow keys, at least until the Ctrl+F shortcut is used again. [Continue reading]
Lessons Learned: Automated Script for Populating Meeting Handouts Database
A few years back, I developed a script for processing sets of PDFs to populate a database. That database is then used to dynamically generate the corresponding meeting handouts page for visitors to download the PDFs. The project was planned out so that pretty much everything needed for the meeting handouts page could be found in the set of PDFs. The only other extra thing I needed to do, besides making occasional minor corrections to the database, was store these handouts in a folder that was named with the meeting date, which I was already doing. Then I just needed to upload the files to the server and run the script. [Continue reading]
Shortcut to Edit Multiple Cells in phpMyAdmin without Clicking Edit Links
In phpMyAdmin, you are probably aware that double clicking a data cell lets you edit the cell value. But did you know you can also jump between cells? You can even jump to cells within a completely different row / record. [Continue reading]
Edit MySQL Table Cells Quickly in phpMyAdmin
While going about my day-to-day usage of phpMyAdmin, I stumbled across a faster way to edit information in a database table. There is no need to click the Edit link for a row and wait for the page to reload. Just be aware that there is a bug in the most recent version of phpMyAdmin. [Continue reading]
Update to phpMyAdmin and “Missing” Database Tables
My website host upgraded the version of phpMyAdmin used on their servers. With the change, I didn't realize the database tables are listed differently in the left column. And if you don't see the difference, you may wonder what happened to some of your tables. [Continue reading]
Add Delay Feature to Newsfeed
The newsfeed feature I developed a few years back works as expected. At times, however, I wish it would let me have a post automatically appear after a specific time. Especially now that I'm used to services like HootSuite that allow me to schedule tweets and other social media postings. [Continue reading]
Use MySQL’s Date Functions Instead of PHP’s
Many of the MySQL queries that I create include a date and / or time. My usual place to get this information was from PHP's date() function. At least until I discovered that MySQL has many built-in functions to do the same thing. Let's look at a quick example. [Continue reading]
Import Login Information for Database Connection Scripts
I'm starting to realize that importing the script used to establish a database connections isn't enough. Being able to import a script wherever the database is needed does simplify the process of changing a database password since it only needs to be changed in one place. However, I keep finding reasons to make major revisions to the connection script which usually results in having multiple versions and I don't always have the time to complete the upgrade process. All of those connection scripts need to be updated when the password changes. [Continue reading]
Calculate Distance Between Zip Codes Part 2: Build the Search Engine
With a database full of zip codes, latitudes, and longitudes, you can get all the entries that are within a given radius using the Haversine formula…and a little help from Google. This week's post will build on the work done last time by developing a search engine where users can enter a zip code and a search radius. The script will then output all the records within the given radius. [Continue reading]
Calculate Distance Between Zip Codes Part 1: Geocode Database Entries with the Google Maps API
A few years back I looked into using the Google Maps API to calculate the distance between two zip codes. The proof of concept seemed to work well enough. But when I attempted to perform larger-scale calculations, the solution began falling apart. And it was slow… So I needed to develop an alternative solution. [Continue reading]
