THE SOAP BOX

I survived the horrible week of killer exams, otherwise known as mid-terms. I’m still alive and well. It’s been a crazy week, but I’m glad to say it’s over. I can finally relax and enjoy myself; although not for long!

I came across an interesting article this week on the eWEEK website regarding Sun and how its Java platform should be released open-source. It’s not so much the code that needs to be released – as it’s freely available for developers to study the code for purposes such as improving their design patterns, fixes errors and submitting patches, etc. The problem lies in that Sun has total control over the Java brand and analysts feel its time to allow other companies and individuals a chance to step into the arena. It’s an interesting article, and worth reading if you’re an advocate of the Open Source community.

On another interesting note, the O’Reilly Network has launched WindowsDevCenter, their latest site geared towards Windows developers, system administrators and power users. Be sure to check it out for all your Windows-based needs.

If you haven’t already noticed – shame on you – the Developer Shed suite of sites has had a major revamp and redesign. Many thanks go out to everyone on the team who helped in the revamp. Great job! If you haven’t already, be sure to visit your favorite Developer Shed sites and have a gander at the new look. We decided it was time to simplify content access on the sites, and allow for easier retrieval of information. If you run into any problems, be sure to let us know.

Frank Manno
Lead Editor
Dev Articles

THIS WEEK'S FEATURES

Overview of Java Web Technologies, Part 1
by McGraw-Hill/Osborne
2004-03-01

Today, Budi walks us through a refresher and brief overview of server JSP programming. Today's portion covers Servlet technologies, including servlets and Tomcat. This excerpt comes from chapter one of JavaServer Faces Programming, by Budi Kurniawan (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, ISBN 0-07-222983-7, 2004).
Read the full article here.

Sort This, Sort That
by Djordje Popovic
2004-02-25

One of the main activities in algorithms and programs, whose purpose is manipulating data, is sorting. So if you write these kinds of programs-what kind of method for sorting data is best? In this article I will present some algorithms for sorting and their advantages and weaknesses. Read the full article here.

THIS WEEK'S FEATURES

Application and Session Objects in ASP.NET
by Aayish Puri
2004-03-01

Sessions serve as a way to transport and maintain user data in web pages, such as forums, or e-commerce websites. In this article, Aayish takes us on a quick tour of both session and application objects, and gives us practical examples as to their uses. Read the full article here.

Building an Audit Trail for
Your Data
by Michael Kleane
2004-02-25

Auditing data of business applications is a common requirement. In this article, I’ll demonstrate one way to audit an Oracle database that is both simple and flexible. Though the code in this article is written in Oracle PL/SQL, it does not rely on Oracle-specific packages. The same process can be duplicated for use on many other databases by using their default programming language. Read the full article here.

THIS WEEK'S FEATURES

Make Dynamic URLs Search Engine Friendly
by Peter Lavin
2004-03-01

Using a database to dynamically create web pages makes for a much improved site in many ways. However, such URLs are not very search engine friendly. Search engines are much better at indexing static pages, and don't do a good job of following hyperlinks that contain query strings. The advantages of a dynamic site are overwhelmingly obvious--so what is to be done? With a little extra effort, you can create a dynamic site that is easily crawled by webbots. Read the full article here.

How to Create a Simple
Cold Fusion Login
by Aaron Schaap
2004-02-25

Secure your Cold Fusion application from unauthorized users using tips and code from this article. Learn about the <CFIF> tag and other ways to secure your site. In the login page, the user is required to enter a login and password. This page sends a SQL Query to a database to see if the user is an authorized user. If the user is authenticated, the variable is set, and access is granted. Read the full article here.

THIS WEEK'S FEATURES

Using Camcorders
by Theodore Ray Long
2004-03-01

This is a primer for those interested in buying a camcorder for the first time. There are many options available for the consumer and prosumer market, and if you have the video bug, there is an option for every budget. Capturing and viewing the important moments in the life of your friends and family is important and can be financially rewarding. Part two of this article will deal with capturing your footage and using video editing software to create your Oscar winner. Read the full article here.

Video Game Violence
by KaoMAN
2004-02-25

While some kids enjoy playing backyard football with their neighborhood friends on Friday afternoons, others like to hang out and watch TV, go out and watch a movie, or sit at home and play video games. In fact, many teens do all these things. The media has often given the impression that violent content sells games. Similarly, a certain niche of the video game industry has recognized that many gamers want violence. But where does one draw the line between acceptable and harmful video game violence?Read the full article here.

Preparing Your New Site
for Structural Changes
by Bill Sterzenbach
2004-02-25

When re-designing a website, there are a great many considerations that need to be made. Often times when the site is restructured, the fate of inbound links can get overlooked. Inbound links must be treated with the utmost respect since they direct visitors to your website and affect your PageRank as well. Links from search engines to your site need special care. If your server is returning a 404 for a link, the SE will eventually drop the link from its list and the replacement content may not get spidered for a long time. Read the full article here.

04. Timer Objects in Windows Services with C#.NET Timer events can be very useful when you need to run a routine on a regular basis. In this article, we are going to create a timer which writes text to a file in regular intervals. Read more here.

09. Using Predefined Variables in PHP One of the most useful aspects of PHP is its ability to work with a group of data categorized in its predefined variables. What do these vari-ables do? We'll answer that in this article. Read more here.

12. The Future is in the Palm of Our Hands Call it technological evolution. As the desktop slowly goes the way of the typewriter, other devices move forward a notch. We'll soon be immersed in a functional cyborg (fyborg) culture. Read more here.

03. Jon Caputo
For this issue of Plug In, we talk to Developer Shed owner, Jon Caputo as he shares views on where things are going in the world of online publication.
Read more here.

07. The Source Code Escaped!
08. .NET Apps in *nix Systems
11. On Predefined Varibles
15. Electronic Entertainment 101
21. FWD This to 10,000 People

02. Opening Notes
22. grep this *
23. Advertiser Index
23. Developer Resources
24. Plug In Featured Feature
24. Wanna Be Famous?
25. shutdown -h now

STUMP THE CREW

Q: I am creating a Website for my brother and am creating a simple content management system for adding news, etc. What I am having trouble with is: I have a PHP script to parse information, entered from a form, and send it to a MySQL database, but what I would like is when the submit button is clicked to send the info and have a pop-up window confirm that the query has been sent along with links to the site's home page or back to the original form and close this pop-up automatically. Thanks for any help you can offer- Paul Jaffrey

Custom headers with PHP

Did you know you can hack the HTTP header with PHP?. This cool trick can be used for redirection or faking a 404 - file not found error. For more information check out this article from Zend's PHP manual.

If you have a tip you'd like to share, feel free to email us. Your tip might just appear in the next issue of the Developer Shed Weekly Newsletter!

We'd like to take this chance to congratulate last month's Developer Shed Contest winner, Vadivel Mohanakrishnan, for his article, "Simultaneous Logons to a Website." The article will be featured this month on ASP Free. Congratulations Vadivel!

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Wow, has this been an exciting week! As we speak, I'm living my last days as a single man--I'll be getting married this Sunday to my best friend. I still haven't had a bachelor party, and don't really expect one. My best man is my brother and he lives four and a half hours away. By the way, did anyone ever figure out why the best man is called that? After all, if he was the best man, what does that make the groom? And why is the bride settling for something less than the best (man)? I'm sure many a soap opera and filthy mind can answer that, but I'd really like to know. If anyone knows, feel free to drop me a line (my e-mail address is at the bottom of this letter).

But I've lately been asked whether I'm nervous about the marriage or what's about to happen. After all, life changing events tend to make people just a little bit nervous. But in this case, I can honestly say that I'm pretty much at ease. After all, I made a decision, and that's that. I guess I get my feelings and ideas from marriage from many of my Indian friends. "There is no such thing as a right or wrong decision. You take a decision and you make it right." It was that statement that made me ask her to marry me. It was also that statement that finally allowed me to understand the idea of pre-arranged marriages. (A good friend of mine and his wife--both from Hyderabad--married only a week after their first meeting because of an arranged marriage. I'm happy to report that theirs is one of the most perfect marriages I've seen. I guess it works once in a while. Right, Prasad?).

Strangely enough, Winston Churchill also had a role in our getting together. Really! I remember reading once that he had been invited to speak at a college graduation ceremony. For his speech, after the applause died down, he stood at the podium in silence for 30 seconds, then uttered the words. "Never give up!" He looked around the room for another 30 seconds and again said "Never give up!" He then again looked around the room for a minute--in silence--and again forcefully spoke the words "Never give up!" After that, he stepped back and took his seat. At another speech, he was quoted as saying, "Never ever ever ever give up!" Relying on this for inspiration, I persisted in chasing my soon-to-be wife for 4 1/2 years before she agreed to go out with me. The rest is history.

Oh yeah, and as you probably know, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won four Oscars this past week. Woo Hoo!

Norbert Cartagena
Editor In Chief
Developer Shed, Inc.
norbert@developershed.com