jtGraphic.net » Programming

Be lazy naming your next info product.

jt — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:44:45 +0000

If you need help naming your next info product, check this out:

www.infoproductnamer.com

Basically it’s to help you be lazy. You can create your next info product name easily. If you don’t even know what you want your info product to be, it can help you with that too. It comes preloaded with many different niches for you to try out, or you can enter your own. All of this value completely free!

The product is currently in beta and accepting feature requests.

What do you think about it?

Originally posted on jtGraphic.net: Be lazy naming your next info product.

Automated Way to Find Google Pagerank

jt — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:11:41 +0000

I was looking for an automated way to get Google Pagerank for a few hours and came up with quite a few things, but not many of them were very elegant. Essentially, Google doesn’t provide an API and it’s against their terms of service to hit them up in an automated way. I found quite a few places that have come up with close algorithms and calculate PR for sites, but that’s just not accurate enough for me. The other option is to hit their PR URL that the toolbar uses. For example:

http://toolbarqueries.google.com/search?client=navclient-auto&hl=en&ch=61470319184&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&features=Rank&q=info:http%3A%2F%2Fforums.digitalpoint.com%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D164713

That returns the PR of Digital Point Forums, where I found that information, but you can’t change the reference URL, because of a checksum. That’s the &ch= variable in the URL. I’m working on a project that needs to look up PR on the fly though, so that just won’t work. I ended up finding a script that I could use, but the guy didn’t put his URL in the comments, and I since can’t find it – oops. I think he deserves a pat on the back though. If this belongs to you, or you know who’s it is, let me know.

I tweaked the script and installed it on my Toolerific.com website. Now you can go there and check the PR of any site without a captcha, which is nice. The tool is here.

Now, the best automated way to check pagerank is to hit that site with cURL and take out the value of the HTML tag with the id “value”. The reason that is the best automated way to do it is because Google may change their checksum rules and that will break the source code that I used to generate it, but that site will always be laid out like that, so you don’t have to worry about changing anything. If you want the code I used, you can view it here.

Update: This doesn’t seem to work ALL of the time. I suspect it has something to do with the checksum, but can’t figure it out. Seems to be about 27% of the time, which isn’t great odds, but it works MOST of the time. I’ll keep you posted if I find out more.

Originally posted on jtGraphic.net: Automated Way to Find Google Pagerank

Head Tracking for 3D Gaming

jt — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 02:26:36 +0000

Found out about this on Oliver Ames’s blog. I think this will be the next big evolution in gaming and movies. This technology is amazing. Unfortunately it only works for one person, but maybe some day we will be able to broadcast on multiple channels through a TV to these headsets similar to how 3D movies work now.

What do you think about it?

Originally posted on jtGraphic.net: Head Tracking for 3D Gaming

Tidbit Tuesday on PHP: Simple MySQL Database Insert Function

jt — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:03:49 +0000

This builds on a function I did last week: db_query(). You can send any array straight to a MySQL database and it’ll even check to make sure the column actually exists. Oh, and it returns the id of the record you just added in case you needed it.

 $value) {
         if (array_key_exists($value[0], $array) && $value[0])
            $inputString .= "'".addslashes($array[$value[0]])."', ";
         else
            $inputString .= "'', ";
      }

      $inputString = substr($inputString, 0, -2);
      $sql = "insert into $table values(".$inputString.")"
      db_query($cfg_array, $sql);

      return mysql_insert_id();
   }

   $insert_array = array(
      "column_1" => "something_1",
      "column_2" => "something_2"
   );

   $cfg_array = array(
      "db_loc" => 'www.databaselocation.com',
      "db_user" => 'some user'
      "db_pass" => 'some password'
      "db_name" => 'database_name_here'
   );

   db_array_insert($cfg_array, "some_table", $insert_array); //and use it.
?>

So what do you think? Having a problem? Just let me know in the comments.

Originally posted on jtGraphic.net: Tidbit Tuesday on PHP: Simple MySQL Database Insert Function

Tidbit Tuesday on PHP: Simple MySQL Database Query Function

jt — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:28:20 +0000

It’s always great to create functions for those things you do a lot. Probably the single most common function I execute is database calls.

Here is a simple script for hitting up your MySQL database with a query:

> ".$query);
         $result = mysql_query($query,$connection)
            or die (mysql_error()." >> ".$query);
         $i = 0;

         if($result != 1) {
            while ($data_array = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {
               foreach($data_array as $key => $value) {
                  $tableArray[$i][$key] = stripslashes($data_array[$key]);
               }

               $i++;
            }

            return $tableArray;
         }
      }
   }
?>

You should be able to just copy and paste this as a function and call it in one of two ways:

$cfg_array = array(
   "db_loc" => 'www.databaselocation.com',
   "db_user" => 'some user'
   "db_pass" => 'some password'
   "db_name" => 'database_name_here'
);

$query = "SELECT * FROM 'table' WHERE some_column = 'something'";

db_query($cfg_array, $query); // This will return an array with the table in it.

$query = "UPDATE/DELETE/ETC * FROM 'table' WHERE some_column = 'something'";

db_query($cfg_array, $query); // This will return return an empty array, but still works.

I use this function in EVERYTHING. I also have some other functions that use this as its base. Someday I’ll turn it into a class.

So, what do you think?

Originally posted on jtGraphic.net: Tidbit Tuesday on PHP: Simple MySQL Database Query Function

Tidbit Tuesday on PHP: Holiday Notices for Business Sites

jt — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:47:48 +0000

This is a handy script for managing an out of office message on your website. I find this very useful on business websites when you’re tired of making that one little change to let people know when the office will be shut down. With about 15 minutes of extra work, you only need to do it once a year.

Let’s say for instance we’re doing all of the major U.S. Holidays in 2010, observing weekend Holidays with a day off on either side of the weekend. This means first we need to determine what those dates are. I just happen to have looked up the six most common, listed below:

New Year’s Eve – January 1st
Memorial Day – May 31st
Independence Day – July 5th (July 4th is Sunday)
Labor Day – September 6th
Thanksgiving – November 25th and 26th
Christmas – December 24th (December 25th is a Saturday)

Now that we know our dates, we can build them into an array:

$date_array = array(
   "New Yearís Eve" =>
      array("leaving" => "2010-12-31", "returning" => "2011-01-03"),
   "Memorial Day" =>
      array("leaving" => "2010-05-31", "returning" => "2010-06-01"),
   "Independence Day" => // July 4th is a Sunday
      array("leaving" => "2010-07-05", "returning" => "2010-07-06"),
   "Labor Day" =>
      array("leaving" => "2010-09-06", "returning" => "2010-09-07"),
   "Thanksgiving" =>
      array("leaving" => "2010-11-025", "returning" => "2010-11-029"),
   "Christmas" => // December 25th is a Saturday
      array("leaving" => "2010-12-24", "returning" => "2010-12-27"),
 );

The date array can easily be stored in a database or be made up of more complicated functions that would calculate the holidays across multiple years with some basic logic. Maybe we’ll cover the latter part in another post some day.

Now we need to build the function itself. This function will be run every time the page loads. You can even include the function in a separate file to be included on multiple pages:

function holiday_message($date, $date_array) {
   $date = strtotime($date); // Reformat the date so we can do math on it.
   foreach($date_array as $key => $value) {
      $leaving = strtotime($value['leaving']);
      $returning = strtotime($value['returning']);
      $early_warning = $leaving - 86400 * 7;
      // If the date is between (7 days before) leaving and returning
         if($date > $early_warning && $date < $returning) {
            echo
               "We will be observing ".$key." from ".date("Y-m-d", $leaving).
               " until ". date("Y-m-d", $returning).".
               When we return we will be more than happy to assist you.";
         }
   }
}

Now we just need to execute this function anywhere on the page:

holiday_message(date("Y-m-d H:i:s"),$date_array);

This code can be customized in numerous different ways, so the the message is more formal, or works for your specific situation. You can also change the way days are stored or calculated, like the example above. This is a core to get you started. Where can you go from here?

Originally posted on jtGraphic.net: Tidbit Tuesday on PHP: Holiday Notices for Business Sites

PHP Function Friday: function

jt — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:29:43 +0000

So, I’ve decided to start including a new post every Friday – kind of as a discipline thing. I’m going to write a post on a PHP function every Friday. I’m not just going to regurgitate the post in the official PHP manual, but I’m going to list my experience with it along with some creative ways to use it.

With out any further adieu, I’m posting on the first official building block (which isn’t technically a function, but I digress) ‘function’:

PHP Function and Syntax

function () {
   /*add code here*/
}

PHP Manual Entry

Check here for version information, or anything I may have missed:

http://www.php.net/manual/en/functions.user-defined.php

Notes and Use

This is great for building blocks of code that you repeat a lot. I like to use it when duplicating XML/HTML code, such as links or form elements, which I will outline below. Functions, both custom and built in, are the primary building blocks of a good program. Everything else is just procedural.

Also, on a side note: PHP Coding Standards is a good read if you’re really geeky.

An important thing to keep in mind about making custom functions is that someone has probably already made it if it doesn’t already exist in the built in functions for PHP. Feel free to jump online and see if someone has already made a function to do what you’re trying to do. I like to use the site HotScripts.com, which has both free and commercial PHP scripts available. Chances are: if I need it, they have it. It saves me a ton of time.

Note in the examples that I precede the function with some explanation of what it does, the author, etc. This isn’t needed, but it’s a REALLY good habit.

Other Functions Referenced in Examples

Examples

Here’s the meat. Let’s make some stuff work.

Creating Image Links

/*
 *  Author: James Thompson, jtGraphic.net
 *
 *  Description
 *  ------------------------------------
 *  This function is for displaying image links in HTML.  It's less typing,
 *  and easier to remember what needs to be slashed out.  An image
 *  with the same name as the file name of the page you're linking to needs to
 *  be placed on the server in the same path as the internal variable
 *  '$image_path' and the same extension as '$image_ext'.
 *
 *  Arguments
 *  ------------------------------------
 *  $url - URL of the link
 *  $extra_tag_html - this is any extra HTML, like class, id, or style
 *
 */

/* Build the function. */

	function create_html_link($name, $extra_tag_html) {
		/* Define internal variables. */
			$image_path = "images/";
			$image_ext   = ".jpg";

		/* Output the HTML. */
			echo
				"
					
				";
	}

/* Execute the function. */

	create_html_link("home", "class="normal_link"");
	create_html_link("about", "class="normal_link"");
	create_html_link("contact", "class="normal_link"");

Calculate the Number of Days Since Some other Date

/*
 *  Author: James Thompson, jtGraphic.net
 *
 *  Description
 *  ------------------------------------
 *  Simple.  This calculates the number of days since X date.
 *
 *  Arguments
 *  ------------------------------------
 *  $date - the date in this format: 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'
 *
 */

/* Build the function. */

	function num_days_since($date) {
		/* Do some time math. */
			$date = strtotime($date);
			$now = time();
			$difference = $now - $date;
			$days = $difference / 86400;

		/* Output the Value. */
			return $days;
	}

/* Execute the function. */

	/* Should return 0 */
		echo num_days_since(date("Y-m-d H:i:s"));
	/* Someone's birthday at 6:02:55AM on Oct 23, 1974 */
		echo num_days_since("1974-10-23 06:02:55");
	/* Since Jan 1, 2009 - no need for time */
		echo num_days_since("2009-01-01");

Examples Elsewhere on this Site:

Holiday Notices

Conclusion

So that’s the basics. Functions can be very powerful in reducing the code on your websites. If you’d like to see some more custom functions, check out my Tidbit Tuesdays on PHP If you have questions, let me know in the comments.

Originally posted on jtGraphic.net: PHP Function Friday: function

Pathfinding in PHP

jt — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:35:46 +0000

I’ve been playing around with doing some A* pathfinding scripts. I was looking around on the web and didn’t find any anywhere, so I decided to make my own rudimentary one. I’m going to be expounding on this later. I thought about looking into the A* method and a few others. Feel free to take the sample below. Here is a demo too.



 $y_value) {
 foreach($y_value as $x_key => $x_value) {
 if(
 isset($map[$y_key][$x_key]) &&
 $map[$y_key][$x_key] != "closed" &&
 $map[$y_key][$x_key] != "start" &&
 $steps < $max_steps
 ) {
 if($map[$y_key][$x_key] != "traversed") {
 $width  = abs($x_key - $target['x']) + 1;
 $height = abs($y_key - $target['y']) + 1;
 $c = round(sqrt(($width * $width) + ($height * $height)),2);

 if($c < $minimum) {
 $minimum = $c;
 $lowest_distance_position = $x_key."x".$y_key;
 }
 }
 }
 }
 }

 /* Start the next calculation from the closest tile */
 $position = explode("x",$lowest_distance_position);

 if(
 isset($map[$position[1]][$position[0]]) &&
 !($position[0] == $target['x'] && $position[1] == $target['y'])
 ) {
 $map[$position[1]][$position[0]] = "traversed";

 $path[$position[0]."x".$position[1]] =
 pathfind($position[0], $position[1], $map, $steps + 1, $target);

 if($path) {
 return $path;
 break;
 }
 }

 return array($position[0]."x".$position[1] => "target");
 break;
 }

 /* Convert the three based array to a step based array. */
 function build_path($path_array, $step_number) {
 if(sizeof($path_array) > 0 && is_array($path_array)) {
 foreach($path_array as $key => $value) {
 $this_path[$step_number] = $key;

 if(sizeof($path_array[$key]) > 0) {
 $built_path =
 array_merge(
 $this_path,
 build_path($path_array[$key], $step_number++)
 );
 return $built_path;
 }
 }
 } else {
 return array();
 }
 }

 /* Set the map size. */
 $map_size_x = 43;
 $map_size_y = 22;

 /* Build the blank map. */
 for($y = 0; $y < $map_size_y; $y++) {
 for($x = 0; $x < $map_size_x; $x++) {
 $map[$y][$x] = "open";
 }
 }

 /* Set special sections of the map. */
 $map[15][25] = "closed";
 $map[16][25] = "closed";
 $map[17][25] = "closed";
 $map[18][25] = "closed";
 $map[19][25] = "closed";
 $map[20][25] = "closed";
 $target['x'] = 39;
 $target['y'] = 18;
 $start['x'] = 1;
 $start['y'] = 1;

 $path = pathfind($start['x'], $start['y'], $map, 0, $target);
 $built_path = build_path($path, 1);

 /* Output the final map. */
 echo "";

 foreach($map as $y_key => $y_value) {
 echo "";

 foreach($y_value as $x_key => $x_value) {
 if($x_value == "closed") {
 $background = "F99";
 } elseif ($x_value == "path") {
 $background = "9F9";
 } elseif ($x_key == $start['x'] && $y_key == $start['y']) {
 $background = "559";
 } elseif (
 $x_key < $target['x'] + $range &&
 $x_key > $target['x'] - $range &&
 $y_key < $target['y'] + $range &&
 $y_key > $target['y'] - $range
 ) {
 $background = "900";
 } elseif(in_array($x_key."x".$y_key,$built_path)) {
 $background = "353";
 } else {
 $background = "333";
 }

 echo
 "";
 }

 echo "";
 }

 echo "
 ";
?>

Originally posted on jtGraphic.net: Pathfinding in PHP