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Web Dev + WordPress + Security
Author: Jeff Starr
948 Posts
Jeff Starr is a web developer, author, and teacher specializing in web security and building awesome things with WordPress. His favorite online projects include Plugin Planet, DigWP.com, and WP-Mix.com. Jeff writes books, runs his own business, writes about web development, and makes video tutorials at Lynda.com/LinkedIn. More »

Stupid htaccess Tricks Redux

One of our most popular posts, Stupid htaccess Tricks, has been completely rewritten and now includes almost twice as many stupid htaccess tricks. Plus, we have added a library of regex character definitions, more information for many of the directives, and several handy references. But wait, there’s more — we even threw in a “quick-jump” Table of Contents and a complete set of “up” links [ ^ ] for easy navigation. Utterly amazing! Continue reading »

A Complete CSS Template File

To help maintain consistency when developing new CSS-styled websites, we have created a complete CSS template file. The file contains every HTML/XHTML tag known to man. This includes tags such as BASEFONT and CENTER, which have been deprecated; tags such as COMMENT and MARQUEE, which are exclusive to Internet Explorer; tags such as SPACER and SERVER, which are exclusive to Netscape Navigator; and even tags such as !DOCTYPE and BASE, which are included merely for the sake of completeness. The […] Continue reading »

New Version of Category LiveBookmarks Available

CLB+ Thanks to some valuable feedback, several inconsistencies were discovered in our Category LiveBookmarks plugin for WordPress. If you are using CLB+ version 1.1.1, check carefully your feed links — you may discover that your feed links are being written twice in both the document head and (if applicable) the document body. Further, it was requested that the plugin produce a complete set of links for various WP page views, such as category views and archive views, rather than creating […] Continue reading »

Memorable Quotes, Part 1

I enjoy discussing science and philosophy with my co-workers. Here is a taste of the geeky conversations once held while employed at the local poly-silicon laboratory. Continue reading »

A Nice Collection of Feed Icons

Here is a nice collection of feed icons. All are in PNG format, and all have transparent backgrounds (Although they may not appear as transparent if you are viewing via Internet Explorer). Download them individually or as a zipped set. In addition to the icons displayed below, the zipped set also includes two 500×500-pixel feed icons, one in standard orange and the other in greyscale. You can view the contents of the zip file, or you can view the individual […] Continue reading »

A Closer Look at Perishable Press

Perishable Press began as a virtual journey into the digital chaos of the blogosphere. While initially designing the site, we began posting a variety of content, primarily information related to the project itself. During the development process, as the site exploded into a frenzy of ideas, possibilities, and experimentation, we continued to post code examples, useful links, and tons of reference material. Slowly, as the site began to attract visitors, we began to clarify our scope, define our niche, and […] Continue reading »

WordPress Core File Edits at Perishable Press

The folks developing WordPress are continually rolling out upgrades. While it is generally a good idea to stay current, it can also be a bit of a pain if you have made any changes to the WordPress core files. One thing that helps to stay organized is to keep a log that either includes all edits or links to posts describing them. That way, when it is time to upgrade WordPress, it simply will be a matter of referring to […] Continue reading »

Associate Extensionless Files with Notepad in Windows XP

There are several files that appear not to have extensions in Windows XP. Perhaps the best known example is the HOSTS file. Files such as the HOSTS file that appear to be “extensionless” actually contain an invisible period “.” — or dot — at the end the file name. It is this invisible dot that will enable us to select a specific program with which to open files with no extensions. Continue reading »

Imported Graffiti Art in the Desert Oasis

Graffiti clues in the Desert Oasis Aside from an occasional gang squirt, Moses Lake, Washington has no graffiti art scene of which to speak. Yes, there are many vast, open walls available for inspired artists to develop into colorful statements of creative expression. However, city officials and general public opinion frown on graffiti art as worthless, wicked vandalism. Granted, the city does offer several commissioned murals, mainly scenic visions of the ordinary rural variety. Unfortunately, those of us craving authentic […] Continue reading »

Carry your Digital Camera Everywhere

For the past several months, I have been carrying a digital camera virtually everywhere I go. Keeping a camera continually available optimizes potential for capturing choice pictures. Also, a camera within reach provides countless opportunities to sharpen skills while experimenting with camera options. Indeed, the consistent use pays off — I am learning many new photographic tricks simply by playing with settings during free time. Further, increased familiarity with the device enables greater agility when reacting to spontaneous, time-critical photographic […] Continue reading »

Even More Server Drama

Several months ago, we encountered some problems with our hosting company and decided to switch servers. Then, after spending countless hours transferring our army of domains, the new server crashed and our databases were deleted. Further, after the transfer we quickly realized the inferior technological quality of our new host. Thus disgusted, we transferred everything back to our old server and hoped for the best. Continue reading »

Perishable Press Redesign

For many months, visitors to Perishable Press encountered the highly customized Jupiter! theme. Utilizing sIFR, Prototype, Lightbox, and several other bandwidth-heavy scripts, the Jupiter! theme weighs in at well over 400KB/page when saved as an offline copy. The Jupiter! theme also employs every plugin used here at Perishable Press, resulting in even slower performance for broadband users, and utterly painful experiences for those on modem/dial-up. Continue reading »

Category LiveBookmarks Plus

CLB+ New version of Category LiveBookmarks Plus (CLB+) now available! CLB+ version 2.3.0b enables WordPress 2.3+ users to configure and customize the ultimate set of autodetection feeds, category feeds, category links, and feed links. Features include completely rewritten, optimized code, optional category post counts, and custom RSS-icon links for all category and/or feed links. Overall, the new version is faster and more flexible than ever! Let’s take a quick look.. Continue reading »

WordPress Search Function Notes

Here is a collection of notes about WordPress search functionality. Note that this post was written a long time ago, so test/verify any code before implementing on a live, production site. Continue reading »

Back up that Database with phpMyAdmin

Backing up your database as often as possible is essential. For WordPress, as well as for other applications, plugins and other scripts that help automate the task are easily obtainable. However, for several reasons, it is a good idea to understand the process of manually creating a backup copy of your database. This quick tutorial should help cement the process into a solid reference. We are assuming that you have an SQL database and have access via phpMyAdmin. Continue reading »

New Online Vector Drawing Tool

Quality web-based vector drawing in effect. Check out LiTha-Paint at litha-paint.com. LiTha-Paint is a promising new online vector drawing tool. The software is currently in alpha, yet is already full-featured and easy to use. LiTha-Paint steps beyond the paltry selection of Flash/VML/SVG online drawing tools, providing versatility and universality via HTML and JavaScript. Perhaps all this Web 2.0 business is worthwhile after all.. Continue reading »

Welcome
Perishable Press is operated by Jeff Starr, a professional web developer and book author with two decades of experience. Here you will find posts about web development, WordPress, security, and more »
The Tao of WordPress: Master the art of WordPress.
Thoughts
I live right next door to the absolute loudest car in town. And the owner loves to drive it.
8G Firewall now out of beta testing, ready for use on production sites.
It's all about that ad revenue baby.
Note to self: encrypting 500 GB of data on my iMac takes around 8 hours.
Getting back into things after a bit of a break. Currently 7° F outside. Chillz.
2024 is going to make 2020 look like a vacation. Prepare accordingly.
First snow of the year :)
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