slaptijack

For the last couple of years, I've used the Tag Suggest Thing WordPress plugin to recommend tags for my posts based on the post content. Beginning with WordPress 2.5, that plugin started to have problems interacting with the WordPress administration pages. In August 2009, Yahoo! announced that they would …

There are a few network devices out there that allow you to connect, but don't give you an option to disconnect. For example, you might be stuck at a password prompt, but have no authentication details. Most telnet clients allow you to break these connections with the ^] (control-]) command. <acronym …

Good news today for service providers planning to file an electronic application for either the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) or Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The deadline for electronic applications has been extended from 5 p.m. ET on August 14, 2009 to 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on …

The following resources were used in the writing of the Introduction to Database Systems article series:

• Bluttman, K. & Freeze, W. S. (2007). Access data analysis cookbook. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.
• Churcher, C. (2007). Beginning database design: From novice to professional. Berkeley, CA: Apress.
• Farrell, J. (2008). Programming logic and design …

The following resources were used in the writing of the Introduction to Programming Concepts article series:

• Amma, P. (2005). Geo::PostalAddress - Country specific postal address parsing / formatting. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
• Farrell, J. (2008). Programming logic and design, comprehensive (5th ed.). Boston: Thomson Course Technology.
• Hotch, R. (1995). Accounting programs …

In the early stages of an organization, it is common for most data to be stored in spreadsheets. Spreadsheet applications are common and easily understood by most small business people. Unfortunately, spreadsheets become burdensome when tasks move beyond calculations and into querying (Churcher, 2007). Fortunately, databases are designed with querying …

Having built an entire application, the time has come to consider the possibility of redistributing the application for a wider audience. Since the original application was designed to meet the needs of a specific business, one of the primary considerations will be how the application must be modified to meet …

The widespread use of computers has made database interaction a daily occurrence. Although databases can be large and complex, they are generally defined by basic terms that come together to create the larger system. Understanding these database basics helps users understand the underlying structure of the system and how they …

Modern programs are not developed as singular, autonomous applications. Programmers have learned that many different programs use the same routines over and over again. By developing these routines as independent modules or libraries, programmers gain the advantage of quickly adding functionality to their programs. Modularization allows the detail of often-repeated …

In his excellent series on WordPress Theme SEO, Nathan Rice describes a method to include META tags in WordPress themes rather than relying on plugins. Since I recently updated the Slaptijack theme to include META descriptions and keywords, I thought I would detail the process. If you are interested in …

Firefox 3.5.2 was released by the Mozilla Project today. This release is mainly a security fix and all users are advised to download the new update as soon as possible. Please take the time to download this important security update today.

A list of security fixes is available …

You may already know that the IEEE 802.1D specification recommends a maximum network diameter of 7 hops. What you may not know is that the number 7 is derived from a series of calculations based on various timers being tuned to their default values. If you are designing a …

ISC is urging BIND users to upgrade their production DNS servers immediately. ISC recently announced a patch to fix an exploit in BIND. This exploit is in the wild and has been used to crash BIND servers resulting in a denial of service. Using a specially crafted dynamic update packet …

Decision structures (also known as selection structures) are used in programming to take an action based on the result of a question (Farrell, 2008). An if-then-else statement is the most basic kind of decision structure. The question is represented as a Boolean expression that results in a true or false …

Referential integrity and business rules are two subjects that individuals new to database design find confusing. Relational databases use tables to represent things and events. It is often necessary for a table to refer to another table. In this case, the two tables have a relationship. Referential integrity ensures that …