As FTP clients go, FileZilla offers all of the basic functionality wrapped up in a no-nonsense user interface. It’s a mature application, well supported and best of all completely free. You can get the source code too, if you’re so inclined.
I’ve been using FileZilla v2 for years and now it’s been rewritten as version 3. The new version stores its site profiles in a different way and the built-in import feature doesn’t allow you to import all of the settings from v2 e.g. folder destinations can’t be imported into v3 using an export from v2. This is a royal pain in the ass as I’ve got dozens of site profiles all nicely set-up with their local and destination folders.
Fortunately, some kind soul known as Nyro, has developed a neat little translation script that will take the v2 export XML file and convert it into a v3 format profiles file. You can use the script directly from their website or download the source code for use on your own server.
Technorati Tags: FileZilla upgrade
Just a quick heads-up on a Ruby on Rails giveaway SitePoint are offering for a couple of months; it’s an ebook entitled, Build Your Own Ruby on Rails Web Applications. This isn’t just some cut-down freebie they’ve concocted in order to build a mailing list, but a full 447-page commercial (e)book.
Testament to just how popular the offer is, the large number of attempted downloads brought the SitePoint website down.
Even if you’re not currently developing with Ruby, it’s worth downloading the ebook now as you’ve only 56-days left to get it for free! If you prefer real books for this kind of thing then you can also get $10 off the cost of a hard copy.
Technorati Tags: Ruby on Rails
You may recall that I wrote about some of NuSphere’s products and how I used them to develop (secure) PHP desktop applications such as Keyword Permutator. Well, there’s currently a sale on PhpED, their PHP IDE, starting at just $79 for the standard version. Before I knew better, I developed all of my code using just UltraEdit. Whilst I still use UltraEdit for everything else, it doesn’t offer the powerful tool set that PhpED does for PHP development.
With PhpED, you get features such as:
- Debugger - follow your scripts step by step and see how every variable gets populated.
- Web server - run your PHP scripts in a local environment. I like using WAMP5 for local development as it comes with Apache, PHP and MySQL pre-packaged and ready out of the box.
- Code profiler - see just how performant your code is before you risk it on a production server or use it to find bottlenecks in your code.
- CVS client - a handy feature, if you don’t already have a preferred CVS client. I use Tortoise CVS quite happily to keep my source code safe.
- Built-in language reference manuals - no more scrambling around for the PHP or MySQL manuals.
- Built-in database client - much quicker than firing up PHPMyAdmin. My preferred tool is a free copy of Navicat I got from the cover of PC Plus magazine!
- Smarty support - Makes working with templates a nicer experience.
- All of the usual code formatting, syntax highlighting, code completion, code folding etc. that you can get with many other programmer’s editors and much more.
If you’re serious about your PHP and you haven’t yet tried an integrated development environment, I’d recommend at least trialling PhpED. If the sale finishes before you decide to buy then check out the built-in tips for a surprise discount! 
Technorati Tags: PhpED, web development, PHP, WAMP, NuSphere
Recently, I’ve come across a number of truly outstanding pieces of software and I just wanted to give their creators their due credit for helping to make my life easier.
A.F.5
A.F.5 is a Windows-based file renaming utility by Alex Fauland. I was recently in a tight spot when I had to change the case of over 10,000 image files as part of the import of a new catalogue range into an e-commerce website. The suppliers of the database had obviously only tested on a platform that wasn’t case-sensitive (i.e. Windows) because hundreds, perhaps even thousands of them didn’t match up with the file names used in the product records. Thankfully, Alex’s free software saved me from tearing my hair out.
Firebug
There are so many things to like about Firebug, but I think the most valuable feature by far is the inspection tool. If you’ve ever worked on web pages that are styled with a large number of CSS classes then you’ll understand just how much of a tangled mess it can be when you’re trying to figure out what CSS rules are in force across different elements of the page. For example, you may have a link in a list that’s not displaying in the expected font. Now, is it the CSS class of link or perhaps the list item? Maybe it’s the font of the unordered list or one of the divs that it inherits from? Firebug can quickly tell you the CSS that’s in effect just by pointing at an element on your web page.
Another likeable feature is the ability to edit HTML and CSS directly through your browser. This negates the need to constantly upload new versions of files when you’re tweaking code.
Note that this is a Firefox add-on and as such requires Firefox as a prerequisite!
Maian Support
Maian Support is a helpdesk script with many of the features you’d find in some other infinitely more expensive systems like Kayako’s eSupport including:
- Multiple support departments each with their own user groups.
- Built-in knowledge base for storing FAQs and tutorials.
- Attachments in support tickets.
- Live support module.
- CAPTCHA to prevent spam submissions.
- Automatically close unanswered tickets after a specified period.
- Template-driven design.
- And much more!
There are plenty of commercial alternatives that are nowhere near as good as these applications so their authors deserve a big thank you from me.
Thank you!
Technorati Tags: Free software
Love them or hate them, those long sales letters are here to stay by the look of things. For marketing products especially, they seem to work well enough that top sellers continue to use them.
Perhaps the market has gotten used to seeing sales information presented in such a linear fashion. When a story is being told, as these types of product sales websites often do, it seems logical to try and keep the reader focussed on the narrative and not be distracted by something which might detract from making the sale.
When the product is a software application aimed at web developers, does this type of long sales letter approach still work?
Read the rest of this entry »
