![[ Image: Chain Linkage ]](https://perishablepress.com/wp/wp-content/images/2007/misc-chunks/symbolic-linkage.jpg)
On Unix systems, a symbolic link refers to a file that points to another file or directory. Symbolic links serve as powerful tools for web designers and developers. Using shell access, creating a symbolic link requires only one line of code: ln -s /home/username/public_html/directory1 /home/username/public_html/directory2 Simple enough. Assuming you have access to the linux shell. Unfortunately, many shared hosting environments deny shell access. Fortunately, creating symbolic links — also called “symlinks” — remains a possibility via the PHP symlink() function. […] Continue reading »
![[ Image: Abstracted Documents ]](https://perishablepress.com/wp/wp-content/images/2007/misc-chunks/abstracted-documents.jpg)
After studying Peter Kent’s excellent book, Search Engine Optimization for Dummies, several key methods emerged for optimizing websites for the search engines. Although the book is written for people who are new to the world of search engine optimization (SEO), many of the principles presented throughout the book remain important, fundamental practices even for the most advanced SEO-wizards. This article divulges these very useful SEO practices and organizes them into manageable chunks. Continue reading »
Of all the bizarre, nonsensical, and pointless spam we have received so far this year, this one takes the cake. It was delivered to our designated spam account earlier this month as a plain-text email, which opens with an explanation. Apparently, “Bob Diamond” is “an Hiring Manager” looking to advertise a couple of important items. The first ad seems remotely realistic, but the second ad.. it’s like, “teddy bear features” out of nowhere — you can’t be serious. Continue reading »
![[ Google Search ]](https://perishablepress.com/wp/wp-content/images/2007/misc-chunks/google-search.png)
Coming soon to the World Wide Web: Everything. The perpetually evolving sum of human knowledge available online. Anywhere. Anytime. So, what are you looking for? Information concerning something, somewhere, about somebody.. You know it’s there somewhere. Sure, you could waste time by digging through that immense labyrinth of browser bookmarks, maybe eventually finding that one link that may or may not lead you to the page that you remember.. No thanks. The Web is far too rich in information to […] Continue reading »
This quick tutorial explains how to use HTML, JavaScript, and/or PHP to enable visitors to “go back” to the previous page. You can use either method to add a simple “go back” link or form button to your web pages. Continue reading »
In his excellent book, Search Engine Optimization for Dummies, Peter Kent explains that many search engines actually get their search results from one (or more) of the larger search engines, such as Google or The Open Directory Project. Therefore, the author concludes that it may not be necessary to spend endless hours registering with thousands of the smaller search sites. Rather, the author provides a brief list of absolutely essential search sites with which it is highly recommended to register. […] Continue reading »
Note: The methods described in this tutorial apply to older versions of Internet Explorer (version < 6) and Outlook Express (version < 6), and are provided here for reference and historical purposes only. Continue reading »
URLs frequently employ potentially conflicting characters such as question marks, ampersands, and pound signs. Fortunately, it is possible to encode such characters via their escaped hexadecimal ASCII representations. For example, we would write ? as %3F. Here are a few more URL character codes (case-insensitive), for easy copy/paste reference. Continue reading »
![[ Sony Vaio Laptop Rocking Windows 98SE ]](https://perishablepress.com/wp/wp-content/images/2007/misc-chunks/sony-vaio-laptop.jpg)
This brief tutorial on hiding content applies to Windows 95, 98, and 98SE. Although this method may be old hat or even irrelevant to the more experienced Windows users, I have found it useful on a number of occasions, and therefore think it’s worthwhile to share here at Perishable Press for future reference. Continue reading »
This post contains random notes and code snippets for embedding QuickTime within HTML web pages. Simply copy, paste, and customize according to your needs. Happy embedding! Continue reading »
Note: This article assumes a basic familiarity with the DOS command prompt, and is somewhat of a continuation of our previous article on DOS, Basic DOS Commands. Here, we are exploring a few of the more interesting commands available via the DOS command prompt. For a more complete reference please consult the Windows Help file (Windows XP) by entering the following command at the command-line prompt (or via the Start > Run… dialogue box): Continue reading »
Ahh, the fun I have at work while experimenting with the command line. I will be the first to admit that I understand very little of DOS, especially when considering the scope of its functional capacity. Nonetheless, I am taking the time to chronicle a few interesting DOScoveries here in this article, as well as in at least a couple of others (see related articles section at the end of this article). Continue reading »
![[ Macromedia Flash ]](https://perishablepress.com/wp/wp-content/images/2007/misc-chunks/embed-fash-video-object.png)
Here is a collection of code snippets for embedding Flash and video using the HTML <object></object> tag. Useful for sites showcasing dynamic multimedia content. Continue reading »
Behold the seventh wonder of the virtual world: max/min-height and max/min-width properties are possible in Internet Explorer! Indeed, by taking advantage of IE’s proprietary CSS attribute, expression, you too can whip IE widths and heights into desirable proportions. The CSS expression attribute enables JavaScript commands to be executed within Internet Explorer. JavaScript via CSS? Thanks, Microsoft! Continue reading »
This quick tutorial explains how to rename the Recycle Bin in WinXP. For those of us who like to customize our desktop environments. Continue reading »
In our previous article on creating spamless email links via JavaScript, the presented method, although relatively simple to implement, is not the most effective solution available. Spambots, email harvesters, and other online scumbags relentlessly advance their scanning technology, perpetually rendering obsolete yesterday’s methods. Continue reading »
Perishable Press is operated by Jeff Starr, a professional web developer and book author with two decades of experience.
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