Tip for checking for database changes from an app

When testing for database changes while running an app.

Make a database dump just before you make a change

Dump as a sql file - phpmyadmin->export or pgadmin3->backup (select 'insert commands' in the options will be easier to read)

Do what you need to do then repeat the above.

Name the dumps as beforeaction.sql and afteraction.sql

Then from a terminal enter

diff -u -s beforeaction.sql afteraction.sql > changes.txt

Open changes.txt in your favourite editor.

Any line beginning with a +INSERT will be a new record.

Any lines beginning with -INSERT will have a matching +INSERT and will be an UPDATE - just look for the differences in the columns.

Thats it :)

Monitor slow Postgresql queries

To monitor slow Postgresql queries, open a terminal and enter (the folder locations are for Ubuntu 11.10, they may be slightly different for other Linux distributions)

gksudo gedit /etc/postgresql/9.1/main/postgresql.conf

(change 9.1 to your version of Postgresql)


Search for and modify the following conf parameters

# Switch logging on
logging_collector = on


# Switch logging durations on
log_duration = on


# Log queries that are over 200ms
log_min_duration_statement = 200


# Log is recorded as a CSV file
log_destination = csvlog


Save the file and restart Postgresql

sudo /etc/init.d/postgresql restart



The logs will then be saved in the following folder

/var/lib/postgresql/9.1/main/pg_log


You will need to be root to access the logs, probably easy to start Nautilus as root

gksudo nautilus

Web Application Building Blocks

These are the building blocks for a typical web application

Larger version

This graphic is my attempt at demonstrating the relationship between the server and the client.

The server uses server side scripting to generate and deliver a html page back to the client browser.

Client side glossary

In web terms, the client is usually a web browser such as Chrome, Firefox, IE. Chrome is fast becoming the most popular browser, this needs to be taken into consideration during design.

AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)
Usually, the browser will send a request to the server and the server sends back a html file. To cut down on traffic and to make things a little speedier, developers can use Ajax. This is a snippet of javascript code that sends a request to the server which returns a snippet of data, then a part of the page is modified without having to reload the page.

A typical example is when using a form - for example a list of cars - rather than sending all of the data about all models, we can use a form with a drop down list of car makes - then when a make is selected, use ajax to build a drop down list of models for that make. Have a look at http://www.autotrader.co.uk there isn't a list of models until you select a make. AJAX tutorial.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

This defines the style for elements within a html page. Such as font, size, colour, borders etc. The style can be defined within an element, within a html page or more commonly, in a separate file with a css extension. This allows a website to use consistent styling, which looks far more professional. Some html elements have been introduced specifically for use with styling such as <DIV> and <SPAN>. Typically, css is part of a web template or theme.  CSS tutorial

DHTML (Dynamic HTML)

This isn't a language, it is simply a term used to describe HTML content that can change dynamically using a combination of HTML, JavaScript, HTML DOM and CSS. DHTML tutorial

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

HTML is the language of the web. HTML is a set of tags that are used to define the content, layout and the formatting of the web document. Web browsers use the HTML tags to define how to display the text. HTML page and HTML document are just different terms for the same thing. HTML tutorial

HTML DOM (HTML Document Object Model)

DOM represents a HTML document as a tree structure with properties and methods. This allows JavaScript to manipulate HTML documents on the client side without having to go back to the server HTML DOM tutorial

JavaScript (client side scripting)
The most popular client side scripting language, originally developed by Netscape. Not to be confused with Java - these are separate languages.
JavaScript tutorial.

There is also JScript and VBScript, both developed by Microsoft for client side scripting in IE. But I strongly suggested learning JavaScript because it is so widely used.

JQuery

There are also javascript libraries that have been developed to do most of the common functions and routines. The most popular being JQuery but there is also Yui developed by Yahoo.

JSON 

JSON is an alternative to XML for exchanging data using JavaScript, usually with Ajax.

Client side objects / plugins

Basically, a browser plugin or object is used when the capabilities of the browser have been reached. ie. it doesn't do what you want it to do. Only use a plugin when no other option is available. Some typical plugins are:

• Flash - probably the most common plugin used - great for creating games, animation and playing videos. But please don't use it for website design. In the future, it might be replaced by HTML5.
• ActiveX - developed by Microsoft for Internet Explorer. Avoid it simply because it only works in IE.
• Adobe Air - developed by Adobe for creating desktop applications.
• QuickTime - multimedia player developed by Apple
• Shockwave - multimedia player developed by Adobe
• Java Applets - Java programs that can be downloaded and run on the desktop. Quite common for enterprise applications.

Server side glossary

Web Server
A server is a computer that delivers services or information to other computers. In web terms, a web server delivers content to web browsers. About 65% of the web uses Apache, which is open source. Microsoft have IIS (Internet Information Server) which is used by about 14% of the web.

Server side scripting
These are programs that reside and are run by a web server to generate web pages that are readable by the client. They typically use a combination of HTML code and a scripting language surrounded by tags. Please see my blog about web development for a better description.

The most popular server side scripting languages are:

• PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) - PHP tutorial.
• JSP (Java Server Pages) - uses the Java language (not JavaScript) - JSP Tutorial
• Python - Python Tutorial
• Ruby / Ruby on Rails - Ruby Tutorial
• ASP (Active Server Pages) - Developed by Microsoft - ASP tutorial
• Perl (Practical Extraction and Reporting Language) - Perl Tutorials

Database server
All that data needs to be stored somewhere. Typically a database server is used such as MySql, Postgresql, Oracle, SQL Server, etc. For development, you will need to learn SQL - this is a language used to update and retrieve data.

• SQL tutorial
• MySql Tutorial (Using PHP)
• Postgresql Tutorial

Frameworks
Using a framework can save a developer a LOT of time. They basically have all of the functions and routines required for a typical application. Meaning the developer can concentrate on the nitty gritty stuff. There are application frameworks for each scripting language as well as frameworks for common applications such as content management, eCommerce, eLearning, etc.



XML (eXtensible Markup Language)

XML is used for data transfer. Typically to/from a remote web service. XML tutorial. 

Most server side scripting languages will have support for XML. 

For PHP see http://www.php.net/manual/en/intro.dom.php

For Python see http://wiki.python.org/moin/PythonXml

See also

• XHTML tutorial - HTML formatted as XML
• XPath tutorial - Used to define parts of an XML document
• XQuery tutorial - Used to search an XML document
• XML DOM tutorial - Programming language for XML documents
• XML Schema tutorial - Define XML - also called XSD
• XSL tutorial - 
• XSLT tutorial - used to format and display XML
• SOAP tutorial - SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) - xml communication standard

Conclusion

And that concludes the introduction to web application development. Hope it has been helpful.

Testing Internet Explorer versions

Perfect for testing Internet Explorer versions - Microsoft have provided these images for Windows
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=11575

Update: 22-Jan-2012

Follow these instructions to setup in VirtualBox.

To get the mouse working, you will also need to install guest additions.

Download VirtualBox 4.1.8 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack.

Then open the download, which will open VirtualBox by default.

Then start Windows, login as Administrator.

Select "Install Guest Additions" from the VirtualBox Devices menu.

It will ask to reboot Windows and then you are done :)

Open Source and Security

Its often said by those not in the know, that open source software isn't secure. Its often difficult for me to explain why. Simply saying because everyone can see the code doesn't make a lot of sense - surely that means its less secure? 

Well... Imagine you are a president of a country, or organisation, that isn't in favour with the rest of the world - would you trust software where you couldn't see what the source code was doing?

Here is an excellent article about Richard Stallman who was saying the same thing 30 years ago.