planetOzh

WordPress 2009/05/07 1 min read

Encoding JSON with WordPress

Encoding an array to JSON is dead easy on PHP 5.2+: you just use PHP's function json_encode(). The thing is, WordPress has pretty loose requirements and is designed to run on older PHP builds. For those, you need a third party library that will encode to (and decode from, if you need) JSON. The cool news is that you don't…

WordPress 2009/05/05 2 min read

Didn’t Know, But I’m Awe.sm (a Post About URL Shorteners, GPL and WordPress)

I've just read on TechCrunch the announcement about awe.sm, a service that sells custom URL shorteners (a la TinyURL) for your own domain. That's funny: I've been using my own private URL shortener for about a week now (notice the "shorter link" mention at the top of this post). The script I'm using is based on something created by Lester…

WordPress 2009/05/05 2 min read

Handling Plugins Options in WordPress 2.8 with register_setting()

In the upcoming WordPress 2.8 there's an interesting function set meant to help authors manage their plugin custom options. In a nutshell: whitelist your options, define how you want them to be validated, and just lean back and rely on the API to handle everything for you. Your new best friend is function register_setting(), and I'm going to recapitulate how…

WordPress 2009/05/04 1 min read

Find a WordPress Job With Twitter

If you're a WordPress freelancer, you already probably have your regular web sources for your gigs (and if you don't, do read How to find a WordPress job right now). Did you know that Twitter was also a fine potential source of information for your next project ? Here are three Twitter users that you should follow: @wordpress_work: about 20…

Code 2009/04/29 1 min read

HTTP Authentication on PHP as CGI (like Dreamhost)

Using PHP's HTTP Authentication is a simple way to protect scripts behind a login/password prompt. There's one little problem: it's supposed to work only on PHP as an Apache module, not the CGI version. It took me a while, hair pulling and some googling to get a basic HTTP Auth system working on Dreamhost's PHP as CGI so for my…

WordPress 2009/04/27 1 min read

Prepare For WordPress Plugin Competition 2009

A few minutes ago, Mark from WebLog Tools Collection announced the 2009 Edition of the totally cool WordPress Plugin Competition. As I've written several times already, this is the best moment in the plugin year. Awesome ideas and awesome plugins popping, that's a truly exciting moment. This year, Mark introduced a new rule: winners from past edition can't compete. I…

WordPress 2009/04/24 1 min read

Comparison of WordPress SEO Plugins

Filed in the "I hate SEO plugins" category (why), and tagged as "but some are better than others", there's an article on Urban Giraffe that gives a comparison of WordPress SEO Plugins. The article is factual and tends to prove that HeadSpace is the most comprehensive and featured pack plugin, particularly compared with All In One SEO, more famous and…

WordPress 2009/04/21 1 min read

Use Twitter to Identify Yourself on WordPress Blogs

If you're a Twitter user, got a WordPress blog, and would like to throw in some interactions between those two, don't miss this plugin: Twitter Connect. Using the brand new Twitter's OAuth API, this plugin lets you identify yourself using your Twitter account. I like it for several reasons: it's cool, it's quick, and it opens the door to getting…

In case you'd like to know more about me, there's a pretty good interview of me over at Single Function. I say "pretty good" because I like how interviews there are done, mixing up personal aspects with more focused and technical ones. Go read!

2009/04/20 21h39 #

Review 2009/04/15 7 min read

@Splitweet: You’re My Favorite Twitter Client

Recently, I've been using Twitter more and more. I recently launched a tiny web service and decided to use Twitter as a "marketing" platform (maybe I'll blog about this later) so I really needed a way to switch easily between multiple Twitter accounts and identity. The best twitter client I've found yet is Splitweet, a free web-based Twitter multi account…