Display Source Code of a page

PHP

Sometimes, you may want to show just the source code of a file rather than having it translated in a web browser. For example, if you want to show your visitors how to write a certain php/asp or even an html source codes as tutorial scripts, you can instruct your server to display just the contents of the file rather than executing them by using your htaccess file to block the execution. This method will ensure the security of your blog website.

In order to do this, you must create a folder for your website to place these files, and create an .htaccess file within the folder with the following code:

You can define any filetypes you wish to display the source codes rather than let the file actually execute to the browser.

Preload multiple images on a webpage

JavaScript

In order to speed up a web page with a lot of images, you can use JavaScript to plug on that page. In the <head> tag, use the following script:

function preload_images(){
var Img = new Array();
Img[0]= “ser_remodeling_pop.jpg”;
Img[1]= “ser_indoor_pop.jpg”;
Img[2]= “ser_outdoor_pop.jpg”;
Img[3]= “ser_newconstruction_pop.jpg”;
Img[4]= “ser_additions_pop.jpg”;
Img[5]= “ser_breakerpanel_pop.jpg”;
Img[6]= “ser_electricityupgrades_pop.jpg”;
Img[7]= “ser_conversion_pop.jpg”;
Img[8]= “ser_codecompliance_pop.jpg”;
Img[9]= “ser_troubleshooting_pop.jpg”;

var imageObj = new Image(250,167);

for(var i=0; i<10; i++){ imageObj.src = “images/”+Img[i]; } }

Then in the <body> tag, you have to call the javascript function to load all images above to the page. If you don’t have this function call on the <body> tag, images won’t load as expected.

<body onload=”preload_images()”>

Remember to put parentheses () at the end of a function call, otherwise it won’t work.

Using Switch() function

PHP

Back in the old day when I first know how to program in php, I always used if-else statement. Sometimes, it gets so long that I couldn’t even keep track of how many if or else, and where the else supposed to be closed. I have no idea. It’s like a jungle of if else in my file. Since I started using switch() function, my codes are much cleaner when I need multiple conditions applied on one variable. I love it. If you only have 1 condition, it’s not worth using this function.

This was my if-else statements before I used switch function:

You will see how switch function can save you a lot of typing and it looks much cleaner on you page.

I have a habit of writing open and close php tag when I start my php codes. If you don’t need the <?php tag, you can just ignore it.

Linux Set Date and Time From a Shell Command Prompt

Server and Hosting

Q. The time on my server set back 1 hour and all my cron jobs are running 1 hour off. How can I set the server date and time from the shell command prompt? I can only login over ssh session using Putty. Please advice?

A. You will use date command to display the current date and time or set the system date / time over ssh session.

This is useful if the Linux server date and/or time is wrong, you need to set it to new values from the shell command. You must log in as root user to input date command.

Linux Date Help command

You must know specific date command to perform date/time adjustment on your server. Use this command to display a list of date/time commands:

$ date –h

OR

$ date –help

Linux Set Date

Use the following syntax to set new data and time:
date set=”DATE STRING”

For example, to set new date to March 22 2010 15:00:00, type the following command:

$ date +%Y%m%d -s “20100322”

Linux Set Time

Use the following syntax to set time for your server:

$ date +%T -s “05:15:15”

Where,

  • 05: Hour (hh)
  • 15: Minute (mm)
  • 15: Second (ss)

Use %p locale’s equivalent of either AM or PM, enter the following syntax w/o space in the time string:

$ date +%T%p -s “8:20:50AM”
$ date +%T%p -s “01:40:30PM”

An easy way to build data Session for a form

PHP

You wonder how data of each field on a form can be refilled after you submit a page. This post will show you how to build an array of sessions that capture the input data of a user after they submit a form.

If an anonymous arrive on your web form from the street, there’s no session until they enter some values and hit Submit button to process the form.

First, you have to have a form to collect data on your website. When customer submit the form, you loop through all the $_POST variables. To make it easy, you should build an array of all field names, so you can build SESSION names using foreach loop.

 'First Name',
   'lastname' => 'Last Name',
   'companyname' => 'Company Name',
   'address' => 'Address',
   'address2' => ' Address2',
   'city' => 'City',
   'state' => 'State',
   'zip' => 'Zip/Postal Code',
   'phone' => 'Phone',
   'ext' => 'Phone Ext',
   'fax' => 'FAX',
   'email' => 'EMail Address',);

   foreach ( $fields as $name => $value ) {
      $_SESSION[$name] = $_POST[$name];
   }
?>

Then if for any reason the form can’t be processed and customer is forced to go back to the form, all data on the form is still there. You can destroy the session anytime after the form is processed successfully. Just use the codes below to reset all SESSION variables.