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Mobile Cross Platform Development : Cordova
We have been playing with mobile application development for a while. During our "travels" we have done some native application development but in our effort to streamline the process we decided to try out some of the cross-platform development tools. Our first stop, after doing some homework, was at Apache Cordova (aka Phonegap). A little clarification on the name. The NEW name will be Apache Cordova. After Adobe bought the development firm that was working on Phonegap the Phonegap project itself was given to Apache Software Foundation to maintain its open source roots and continue development. As of this writing the transition is still underway with MOST, but not all, elements haven taken on the Apache Cordova persona. Our First App On Cordova Our first app that we ...
2 Comments | Posted in blog,Java,Javascript,Mobile Apps,Objective-C,Programming Languages
by lcleveland on May 20, 2012
Yahoo Supports Spammers? Sad but true…
Back in the day when Yahoo was still a teenager, that is about 5 years ago in Internet time, Yahoo! used to provide simple ways to report abuse from their user base. Getting spammed like crazy from "ijustsendspam@yahoo.com"? Go to the Yahoo Abuse site and you were quickly directed to a form to report the incident along with any evidence. Within a few weeks the user would be gone. That was then. We are in a different era now. Yahoo is now a crusty old man, and a feeble pissed-off one at that. The younger, stronger Google has come in an taken over their executive seat on the board and put them on the path to retirement where they are destined to circle the buyout waters on the cruise ship of indifference. Today when you get spammed, receive death threats, get 300 notices every hour posted to your blog ...
No Comments | Posted in blog,Email,Information Technology
by lcleveland on May 18, 2012
Threat Modeling: STRIDE & Data Flow diagrams
I've learned some very easy and useful techniques for performing threat modeling in order to evaluate and improve a system's security. This stuff is a mandatory, documented step in developing for the DoD. I used to be intimidated by trying to analyze the security of a system. No more. Now that I have a clue about it, and see how relatively approachable the whole subject is, I consider this a vital step of any design process. Right up there with guessing the resources you'll need, choosing a platform, programming language, etc. Really - this is super easy. It's kinda like basic class diagrams, only for security. Of course, security goes much deeper than these simple tools, just like object oriented design goes deeper than class diagrams. But in each case, the simple tool gets you a heck of a long way. Just trust me - this is good reading. RREEAAADDD, my geek friends. At least enough to get a solid feel for this. Maybe ...
No Comments | Posted in blog,Project Management,Security,Security
by lcleveland on April 27, 2012
Linux : Find All Files Older Than…
I recently needed to clean up a directory on my Linux box that included hundreds of files. I wanted to get rid of all the files that hadn't been updated in over a year. At first I decided just to list the files by date: ls -lt This will list the files in long format by time (newest files list before old file). This shows me all the details with the oldest files scrolling to the bottom of the window so the last few files above my command prompt are the oldest. There are hundreds of files more than a year old. Employing Find Find is one of the tools I keep in my Linux tool belt. I don't need it often, but when I do it saves me quite a bit of time. Find is the Swiss Army Knife of Linux search tools. It is complete, thorough, and comes with just about every "doo-dad" (a technical term) ...
No Comments | Posted in blog,files,Linux,System Administration,Tips & Tricks
by lcleveland on April 26, 2012
Connect To Your Database With Emacs
The recent Emacs post made me think of a useful SQL trick I recently learned that I wanted to share. Emacs refers to different SQL engines as ‘products’, e.g. MySQL, SQLite, and so on. You can connect to an SQL database through Emacs but you have a call a different command based on the product. An easier way to do this, as of version 24, is to use the keyboard shortcut C-u C-c TAB when viewing an SQL document. This will prompt you first for the product, and then for any connection information. So if you are working with an SQLite database you can press C-u C-c TAB, type sqlite, and then the filename of the database; that will open an interactive window connected to the database. Or if you are using PostgreSQL then Emacs will ask for a username, ...
1 Comment | Posted in blog,Database,Desktop Apps,Emacs,MS-SQL,MySQL,PostgreSQL,SQL,Tips & Tricks
by lcleveland on April 25, 2012
Apache Not Following Symlinks
SElinux will prevent Apache from following symbolic links. You will find that no matter how often you define the options to allow you to FollowSymlink's it will fail. The issue is that you will need to put SELINUX into permissive. This is done in /etc/selinux/config
No Comments | Posted in blog,Hosting,Linux,System Administration,Tips & Tricks
by lcleveland on April 24, 2012
Passing Variables To JavaScript In WordPress
We have touched on several complex subjects when it comes to writing plugins for WordPress that make use of JavaScript. In these articles we discuss built-in scripts, custom static scripts, and dynamic scripts. Dynamic scripts are the scripts that need access to information from the WordPress application environment in order to function properly, such as passing in a setting stored in the WordPress database or a variable that is calculated within PHP. There is a simple trick for getting variables into your JavaScript that is quite a bit more elegant than our dynamic scripting approach using the output buffering PHP trick we outlined earlier. In later versions of WordPress (2.2+ if I recall) there is a function that was originally intended for language translation. It is meant to localize your scripts. You can leverage this feature to load up a variable array in JavaScript which provides an effective ...
No Comments | Posted in blog,Javascript,PHP,Programming Languages,Tips & Tricks,Web Apps,Wordpress
by lcleveland on April 23, 2012
WordPress/JavaScript : Selective Enqueue
In the past couple of articles about WordPress and JavaScript we touched on several methods for managing JavaScript in WordPress. For simple "static" scripts or built-in WordPress scripts, such as jQuery, the standard register and enqueue methods provide all the control you need to invoke your scripts. However there are several issues that come up when you decide you only want scripts to load when you render a specific shortcode. Here we touch on these issues and how we resolve them in our plugin. There are other methodologies as well, but here are the methods that worked for us. Load Script For Shortcode Pages One of the issues we've run into is loading the JavaScript only on pages where the shortcode is rendered. The problem is that for this trick to work you must load the scripts in the footer of the rendered page. WordPress (since v2.6) does provide a "load in footer" ...
No Comments | Posted in blog,Javascript,Programming Languages,Tips & Tricks,Web Apps,Wordpress
by lcleveland on April 23, 2012
Hackers Redirecting Websites (.htaccess)
A quick note to fellow webmasters out there as well as business owners running websites. We have seen a recent rash of brute force hacking attempts on our servers and our client's servers. There have been several successful brute force break-ins in the past 3 months. Below are a couple of things to look for and some best practices in keeping your site and your data secure. Best Practices The following best practices will help thwart many of the attempts to hack into your account using a brute force "cracker". Do Not Share Your Password Do not share your passwords with anyone. If you have a vendor you need to work with or an employee that needs access, create a specific login for them with their own passwords. Do Not Dole Out Access Easily Before creating a new account with access to your server first ...
2 Comments | Posted in blog,Security,System Administration
by lcleveland on April 13, 2012
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