web notes - a blog

No matter what is running on your server, you should periodically check the web stats.

It may be the only way you find files that shouldn’t be on your server.

No application is unhackable. Hackers are smart and persistant.

I wanted to break my page into 6 content areas, with 5 where the content could be directed by one, and from cross-links from the other.

I pursued iframes, but the site architecture didn’t work well with it. I tried dojo’s content panes and was really impressed. In addition - these panes allow delivery of standalone HTML, while applying the page’s CSS. The integration is very simple, and polished, and extending the micro page to a full page would be easy. They also resize, so the user can adjust the page to meet their needs.

One interesting note, if you would like the panes to scroll, load the content in at page load time. Works great!

As a career path, the web has one great advantage over all others - it’s publicly accessible. You can demonstrate your skills and allow everyone to view them, at any time.

If you’re going to do this, be ready to push your skills to the limit. Refine the code, over and over. Use validators like those at http://w3c.org, and tools like http://websiteoptimization.com to check your work. Test with different browsers.

If you’re using commercial, open source products, go to those sites and view some sites built with them. See what other people are doing. View their code to learn more. Join the forum, to both get help and contribute.

Be honest, if you’re an engineer, state that, and if you’re a designer say so. Most people aren’t experts in every skill required to deliver a great site.

Invest in a domain name and use it. Keep it professional. You can always create a subdomain or buy another domain to put fun stuff up.

If you are a recruiter or HR person and you receive a resume for a web position that doesn’t include sample URLs, ask for them and have your web team review them. You will have a chance to evaluate a candidate’s work before you ever speak to them. Check the copyright dates to ensure you’re looking at recent work.

PHP includes are only included if the logic in the script requires them.

I created three files:

top.php

echo 'start<br />';
if (true)
  include 'true.php';
else
  include 'false.php';
echo 'end';

true.php

$var=true; /* Valid, but meaningless statement */

false.php

false /* Deliberate syntax error to see if the file was included */

When top.php executes, it does not report the error from false.php. This means placing include and require statements directly before the code which requires them allows you to create scripts that process only the files required to deliver the page.

One note: the performance improvement may not be worth the slightly more complex architecture. You may see improvements by using an accelerator, or both an accelerator and this architecture. This also requires more files, and the code needs to be modular.

… but to build a robust site in a timely manner which is cost-effective to maintain requires a fairly high level of skill, and careful management.

• The best sites are built by teams.
• The best sites usually have powerful applications behind them.
• The best sites adhere to standards and coding practices.
• The best sites have complex architectures that allow them to be managed efficiently.
• The best sites meet the objectives of the customer and the results can be measured.
• The best sites are delivered on time and under budget, successful for all parties.
• The best sites mature and change, gracefully.
• The best sites are monitored for reliability and security.