Kodiak's Korner

I’ve just installed an extension to Firefox that I’ve wanted for a log time: the Performancing Blog Editor.  Now, there have been several blog editor extension published for Firefox already, but most of them have been developed for specific blogging platforms, and until now I haven’t found one that works with my WordPress blogs.  A couple months ago I wrote about a FireFox spin-off browser called Flock that is specifically designed to edit blogs.  Flock works with WordPress, but it is still in beta and it still requires me to open a separate program when I want to blog something.

The Performancing editor, published by Performancing.com, the world’s largest organization of professional bloggers (whoda thunk there was such an organization), is activated by the click of a button in my Firefox status bar.  When clicked a simple WYSIWYG editot pops up.  I simply type my entry, choose my blog, and click the publish button.  I can also add the post to categories and even edit previous entries.  I can set up multiple blogs to edit and the extension’s clear labeling makes it nearly impossible to accidentally post to the wrong blog.  I can also upload images directly through the editor via FTP or HTTP.

I’ve only used Performancing to post two entries so far, but so far I’m quite impressed.  The only feature that appears to be missing is a spelling checker.

I am happy to announce that my workshop proposal for this year’s HighEdWebDev conference has been accepted. This year I will be presenting on PEAR, the PHP Extension and Application Repository. PEAR is a collection of PHP classes that form a framework to help developers create applications more efficiently. I’ve been using PEAR for a couple of years now, but when I mentioned it in a session at last year’s conference, no one else in the room had heard of it.

In my session I will first present the PEAR Package Manager, demonstrating how to install it and use it to install and upgrade PEAR packages on both Windows and Unix machines. I’ll also cover how to set up a local PEAR repository in your Unix user account for when you don’t ahve root access to the server. Then I will demonstrate several useful packages, including packages that abstract database calls, create forms and manage submissions, create and connect to web services, manage unit testing of PHP code, and more.

My session will be on Sunday, October 22, 2006 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. This is a workshop, so there is an additional cost to attend, but I promise it will be worth the money!

HighEdWebDev is a conference by and for web professionals working in higher education. This year’s conference will run from Sunday, October 22 through Wednesday, October 25, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Rochester, NY.

Below is the “official” abstract for my workshop:

As a Higher Ed web developer you’re short on time, short on resources, but definitely not short on projects. Every department wants the latest and greatest features added to their website, but web applications take time to build and maintain. Imagine abstracting your database calls, easily controlling your web forms, and effortlessly connecting to (or even providing) web services from your PHP applications. Or maybe you’d like to simplify data reporting, perform unit testing, manage files, or even manipulate images. The PHP Extension and Application Repository (PEAR) is a structured PHP code library that offers many packages that can save you time and that help eliminate many of the common frustrations of web application development. PEAR packages make it easy for you to do all these things and more.  This workshop will introduce you to PEAR and the many useful resources you can find in it. We’ll learn what PEAR is all about and how to install and use the PEAR Package Manager in both Windows and Unix environments (including how to install a local PEAR library in your own account when you don’t have root access to the server). Finally, we’ll look at several of the most popular and most useful PEAR packages and see how to make the most out of them. Intermediate experience with PHP is recommended.