http://www.ars-informatica.ca/ Paul Postuma/Ars Informatica http://www.ars-informatica.ca/resources/ars_info_gray.gif" Using the Ars Informatica adaptation of the IPInfoDB IP Address Geolocation XML API, we build a form used to derive the geographic location of any IP address, and show you how to use it. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=IPInfoDB_IP_form Paul Postuma Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0400 IP geolocalization, or IP address geolocation or geolocalization, allows you to determine your web site's visitors place of origin: country, city, postal code, latitude and longitude, time zone, etc., based on their IP address. We show you how. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=IP_geolocalization Paul Postuma Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0400 We show you how to track your web site visitors by IP address, by installing and using the IPInfoDB database on a local MySQL database and PHP. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=installing_IPInfoDB Paul Postuma Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0400 It's easy: using the free IPInfoDB IP Address Geolocation XML API and PHP to locate your web site's visitors! In this article, we show you how, and make it even easier by adapting the API code a little further. Three lines of code get and display full geolocalization data. Two lines get you the info alone; you decide how to use it further. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=IPInfoDB_XML_API Paul Postuma Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Since different operating systems have different fonts installed by default, web page designs can vary dramatically from what was intended. Fortunately, CSS allows you to create font stacks, i.e. specify a series of font choices to be used as alternatives, in descending order of priority. We present six font stacks, each with fonts for each of the Windows, Mac and linux/Unix operating systems. Each font used is present on at least 90% of one of these operating systems. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=89 Paul Postuma Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0400 What web fonts are common on various operating systems, and what do they look like? We show you all fonts used with greater than 90% frequency by Windows, Mac, and linux/Unix. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=90 Paul Postuma Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0400 Web developers need to know what fonts are common on various operating systems when developing their content. We list all fonts used with greater than 90% frequency by Windows, Mac, and/or linux/Unix. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=59 Paul Postuma Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0300 Upgrades, downgrades and new passwords messing up your MySQL databases using the old password protocols? How to find the new passwords and replace using the OLD PASSWORD format. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=86 Paul Postuma Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0300 With PHP 5.x, MySQL is no longer enabled by default, and the drivers are not included. We show you how to set up and configure PHP 5.3 for MySQL: downloading and referencing the php_mysql.dll extension, PATH, the MySQL client library libmysql.dll. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=83 Paul Postuma Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0300 Upgrading MySQL to the newest version: we describe the re-install process, including the backup and restoring of your databases. Specifically, we describe how NOT to import your old user data, but how to start fresh using the new password protocols, in order to avoid the "[function.mysql-connect]: mysqlnd cannot connect to MySQL 4.1+ using old authentication" error http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=84 Paul Postuma Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0300 "OK packet 6 bytes shorter than expected" and "[function.mysql-connect]: mysqlnd cannot connect to MySQL 4.1+ using old authentication" errors are difficult to resolve. We analyze the problem and discuss various approaches for PHP 5.3 and above, and for older versions. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=82 Paul Postuma Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0300 Enabling old passwords in a MySQL installation, using the old_passwords parameter, in the command console, DOS box, at Windows startup or under linux http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=85 Paul Postuma Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0300 We demonstrate how to create a multiple-browser compatible, AJAX-ready data entry grid from a custom HTML table built using DIV elements and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). We also show how to create this table using PHP, i.e. to size it automatically to fit a MySQL database table, or to "grow" the table as submitted date is POSTed. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=81 Paul Postuma Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0300 Example of a simple HTML table created using DIV elements and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) definitions rather than the and related tages, with source code for both the table and style declarations. DIV tables allow virtually limitless design variations, as well as display consistently across browsers. This sample table displays the same in various versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Operahttp://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=80Paul PostumaSat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0300 We demonstrate how to create complex tables using DIVs and style definitions, ones that render identically across browsers. TABLE, TR, TH and TD code are too limiting. While some web page software allows you to build such tables, they rarely display consistently from one browser to the next. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=79 Paul Postuma Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0300 Presenting the top picks from among 20 different email newsletter software solutions, including iContact, Constant Contact, Benchmark, Chimpmail, and others. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=78 Paul Postuma Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0300 Developing and scoring 20 different email newsletter software solutions for suitability, against a requirements matrix. Compares commercial monthly-fee solutions (many very competent, but with divergent feature sets and pricing models), single-cost programs, and freeware. We review the hidden limitations of many programs, especially, the need for considerably more expert programming in the case of so-called freeware. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=77 Paul Postuma Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0300 Need to send email newsletters, but don't know where to start? We embark on our search for the right solution for one specific situation - but discuss requirements you should be looking at as well, and evaluate a number of solutions based on those requirements. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=76 Paul Postuma Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0300 SurgeMenu is a multi-platform PHP/Javascript dynamic cascading menu system released to the public under the GNU General Public License. Create your own highly-customizable web menus using standard CSS and Javascript. With detailed examples http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=1 Paul Postuma Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 -0300 Links to create a testing suite of web browsers for the Windows, Mac and linux platforms, made necessary by the fact that no single browser properly implements standards-compliant CSS, Javascript, or HTML http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=14 Paul Postuma Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 -0300 Testing new web pages involves making sure your design works on the most popular and current browsers: Internet Explorer 8, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. We provide download links and relevant browser stats, with percent of market share held by each, and Acid2 and Acid3 test results for current and prior versions. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=74 Paul Postuma Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 -0300 Custom PHP code for reading and sorting a remote, server-side file directory on sort parameters file_name, file_size, file_type, and date_modified. Sort order, i.e. large to small, older to newer, etc. can also be specified. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=73 Paul Postuma Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0400 PDF files - why you want to use them, and how to create them, easily and for free. Review of freeware doPDF PDF converter; one-click free PDF creation from any print-capable program. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=52 Paul Postuma Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0300 Review of HeidiSQL, a freeware front-end GUI that facilitates database maintenance and data entry. Features an excellent user manager; simple database, table, field and record addition/editing/deletion; allows manual SQL query entries http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=51 Paul Postuma Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0300 With file uploads, you will want to guard against overwriting existing files when a file with the same name is submitted. This four-line! PHP scriptlet creates a new file name from the original, appending an underscore and new, unique, sequentially incrementing number as required. With an explanation of the underlying PHP code. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=50 Paul Postuma Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0300 Dirt-simple javascript code for rollover image references, with the pros and cons of rollover images using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Javascript, and Flash. Rollovers are images that change appearance when the mouse moves over them, and are commonly used to denote image links. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=49 Paul Postuma Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0300 Toxicity Nomographs: downloadable/modifiable GIF versions of the Rumack-Matthew nomogram for acute acetaminophen overdoses, using SI (µmol/L) and US (µg/mL) units; and of the Done nomogram for acute salicylate overdoses, in mmol/L and mg/dL. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=29 Paul Postuma Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0300 A simple, custom, tunable grayscale function for use with PHP and the gd graphics library; used to dynamically generate grayscale images. Employs either a pixel-intensity averaging routine, or a color-weighting routine that overweights the pixel intensity of the dominant color or colors, or a custom blend of both. A reference to the image data is required; the second optional parameter specifies to what degree the second method is used. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=18 Paul Postuma Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0400 Penryn Motherboard Recommendation: the MSI P35 Neo2 FR. A DDR2-RAM-equipped P35 board as good as or better than its P35 peers, and than X38 and X48 mobos in single video card setups, with all the features you need. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=24 Paul Postuma Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0400 Checking for and installing the open source gd Graphics Library, with a simple custom gd_info function to display the functionality available http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=17 Paul Postuma Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0400 SurgeMenu menu positioning sometimes doesn't implement correctly using the default code. This is easily fixed using a simple $code_variant declaration. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=16 Paul Postuma Sat, 17 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0400 Complex and deeply-nested example menu for the SurgeMenu menu system. PHP/Javascripted menu allows selection of some 289 items, from a menu four tiers deep. SurgeMenu is free and modifiable software released under the GPL http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=12 Paul Postuma Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Simple example navigation menu using the SurgeMenu dynamic menu system: Javascripted pop-up menus that permit rapid and targeted browsing of a large site http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=13 Paul Postuma Sun, 28 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Sample menu for the free and modifiable SurgeMenu menu system. Demonstrates its high degree of customizability and the large variety of possible Javascripted actions through on-the-fly manipulation of menu opacity, highlight colors, fonts and images, etc. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=0 Paul Postuma Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Covers the basics of creating a dynamic cascading DHTML menu using the free, modifiable SurgeMenu source code, using basic Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and simple Javascript actions http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=15 Paul Postuma Mon, 22 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Your first web site development contract will be an eye-opener: building a web site is huge. This article is on planning the project and developing a specifications document: meeting with the client, needs assessment, basic and advanced design requirements, etc. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=10 Paul Postuma Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Part 2 of an article on web site development plans and writing a specifications document deals with setting up web hosting, site promotion, approval process and timelines, payment schedules, unplanned changes, upgrades, and long-term maintenance http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=11 Paul Postuma Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Yahoo Search referrals often fall far below those from other engines. Yahoo Search Submit might appear to be an answer to this problem: we describe one site's experience with Yahoo's Search Submit Basic program http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=9 Paul Postuma Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Review of my three favorite stock images sites - one free, two very reasonably priced - featuring over 2,500,000 royalty-free high-quality photographs between them http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=8 Paul Postuma Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Web Site PageRank Assessment Worksheet: Excel and PDF worksheets for assessing the value of potential incoming links - do you offer a reciprocal link, request a one-way inbound link, or not botherl? http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=6 Paul Postuma Sun, 15 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Search Engine Optimization or SEO: Google PageRank and targeting links, dilution of PageRank by outgoing links, and the effect of reciprocal links explored http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=5 Paul Postuma Sun, 15 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Search Engine Optimization or SEO: examining the effect of Links pages and rel=nofollow tags on Google PageRank, and probable modifications to the PageRank algorithm. Coses with recommendations regarding appropriate practices in optimizing for search engines and Google PageRank http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=7 Paul Postuma Sun, 15 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Search Engine Optimization or SEO: Google PageRank explained, with just enough theory to explain how it works, a few concrete examples, real recommendations on structuring your website for maximal traffic and best possible PageRank. Sorry, no complex modelling or heavy theory, though links provided to other sites that provide just that http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=4 Paul Postuma Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0300 Methods for web page and directory redirection via 301 Redirects, using .htaccess, PHP, ASP, Java, CGI, as well as HTML and Javascript web site redirection, discussing the relative advantages and problems of each approach http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=3 Paul Postuma Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0400 Listing of currently active, english-language, full-featured EDIS solutions and their vendors http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=2 Paul Postuma Sun, 17 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0400 Using Google AdSense's google_ad_section tags should help AdSense deliver more precisely targeted content by focusing it only on the most pertinent information on your page - but using it such tags can actually cause you to lose targeted content, if you do not also focus it on the page's meta-data, including title, description, and keywords. User beware! http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=48 Paul Postuma Sat, 02 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0400 PHP Contact Form script to validate e-mail address, check against e-mail injection attacks, and mail feedback to a specific addressee, without exposing that person's e-mail address to web-crawling spambots http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=47 Paul Postuma Thu, 23 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0400 Use PHP regular expression matching to validate e-mail addresses from user-submitted forms, specifically, using preg_match, a PERL-compatible regex function http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=46 Paul Postuma Mon, 13 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0400 META tags are part of the HTML source code underlying every web page. Use them well, and they can help earn you top placement in search engines, and can help guide Google's AdSense and other advertising programs to pick advertising content best suited to your site, and thus increase your revenues. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=43 Paul Postuma Wed, 26 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0300 META tags are part of the HTML source code underlying every web page. Part 2 shows how to use Google AdSense's section targeting to focus on advertising content best suited to your site, on other specific-purpose META tags, and on META tags we had all better leave alone http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=45 Paul Postuma Wed, 26 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0300 Find the perfect font - techniques for finding the best font from over 6000 freeware and almost 50000 for-sale offerings. Identify and locate that elusive text type you found in some ad, on a poster, in a magazine or on a book cover, or on the web. http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=42 Paul Postuma Sun, 23 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0300 Folding@Home appears a simple techie software toy - a screensaver of some 3-D molecular model. Never mind that this model is a real-time protein folding project that your computer is working to solve, perhaps one implicated in cancer, Alzheimer's, Huntington's. Folding@Home runs unobtrusively in the background, and uses any CPU cycles you don't need - it connects to the Internet only to submit one work-unit, and download the next. Together, through distributed computing, hundreds of thousands of computers can solve problems that cannot be tackled in any other way http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=41 Paul Postuma Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0300 Intel's Core 2 Duo processors outclass and outperform previous AMD and Intel competitors, including the AMD X2 and FX-62 lines, and the Pentium Extreme Editions. The E6300 and E6400 offer good power at fantastic prices, the E6600 great power at reasonable price - our current value recommendation - and the X6800 ultimate power at very significant cost http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=40 Paul Postuma Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0300 sample Request for Proposal (RFP) for an Emergency Department Information System - very comprehensive listing of desired and essential attributes for such a system http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=39 Paul Postuma Tue, 11 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0300 Recommendations for the Selection and Implementation of an Emergency Department Information System http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=38 Paul Postuma Tue, 04 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0300 PHP Script Timer easily identifies PHP code bottlenecks - file operations, image manipulations, complex SQL queries, etc. - for you to fix, discard, or disregard. Code released under the GNU GPL http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=37 Paul Postuma Wed, 17 May 2006 00:00:00 -0300 PHP script displays PHP, HTML, Javascript and other source code via the htmlentities() function to prevent parsing http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=35 Paul Postuma Sat, 06 May 2006 00:00:00 -0300 Review of assembly-language compilers including WASM or Wolfware Assembler, MASM, A86, and the Netwide Assembler or NASM http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=32 Paul Postuma Mon, 17 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0300 ScanCode Show, version 2.2, delves the system BIOS for keyboard scan and ASCII codes. A freeware assembly language utility for DOS, with source code http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=28 Paul Postuma Sun, 16 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0300 Dynamically create and manipulate graphic images using the open source gd Graphics Library - now part of the standard PHP installation http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=23 Paul Postuma Sat, 01 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0400 ImageMagick reviewed: a powerful set of free image conversion and manipulation routines available for all major operating systems, and most programming languages. Several command-line examples provided http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=22 Paul Postuma Sun, 26 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400 KeyCount v1.0 - DOS TSR used to monitor keyboard activity for security reasons, measuring productivity http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=30 Paul Postuma Fri, 17 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400 DOS programming utilities - BIOS Reporter displays system information from the BIOS data area; runs as TSR or command-line program. ScanCode Show reports scan and ASCII codes, as well as keyboard BIOS values. Keycount is a TSR that monitors keyboard activity and logs number of keypresses made after activation http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=26 Paul Postuma Mon, 06 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400 DOS programming utility: BIOS Reporter displays system information from the BIOS data area. It may be run as a TSR or command-line program http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=27 Paul Postuma Mon, 06 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400 Reviewing HTMLArea Composer, a WYSIWYG editor for Web Page HTMLAREA content boxes, as used by Ars Informatica to post its blogs and articles http://www.ars-informatica.ca/article.php?article=25 Paul Postuma Mon, 06 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400