Remove “question mark inside a black diamond” in mySQL

I started looking for results on Google for my problem (removing the question mark inside a black diamond), but no one seemed to have the correct answer.

See, I am working with a large SQL database and simply editing each record to correct this problem wouldn’t work. After looking on Google I found that the problem was with a non-breaking space not displaying properly even though my HTML (and database) character set is UTF-8. I finally found a solution after many hours of searching and I wanted to share it with everyone:

UPDATE table_name SET field = Replace(field, Char(160), ‘… read more

Quick way to plot keywords in a blurb.

I was updating the search feature to an online store that my company has built, which the whole purpose was to make it “more Google like in features”.

One of the features was plotting the keywords in the short description for that page. This makes the search results a little more relevant for people who are searching for a product or a page that’s housed on their store.

Example: So if someone searches for “John” and that keyword doesn’t appear until the end of the content, rather than just showing the blurb without the keyword highlighted, it should be in… read more

Class.Forms an Easy Form Builder in PHP

Not too long ago I released an open source application called class.forms. This class made in PHP allowed you to easily create forms with server side and client side validation. Since this was release over 5,000 of you have downloaded this class.

However as time has gone on, people either can’t find it on the site or ask about it, so I decided to make a new blog entry about it.

Here are some of the features:

• Quickly add text, password, hidden, upload fields and more.
• Automatically handle the posting of form data to a database (insert or update)

… read more

So, what do you create websites in?

Something I get asked a lot is what I create websites in. Some people come to me for advice for which editor I think is the best or to boast about their personal favorites. Among the many editors I’ve heard mentioned have been Dreamweaver, Front Page / Expression Web, and Notepad.

See, I have a problem with each one of those choices. Well, actually I have a few problems with those options. First of all, if I’m on a guest computer and I notice something I need to change on one of my websites, I’m a 200-300mb trial away from… read more

Filtering PHP Input

I wrote a blog for the company I work for not too long ago expressing the need and importance of filtering PHP input. It never really ceases to amaze me the amount of people who trust the raw user input from forms, which we all know can lead to some serious security gaps.

In response to the huge amount of people who don’t validate user input, I decided to write a class that would help people out who are in need of cleaning user input, but aren’t really sure how to approach it.

First we’ll start with a class, which… read more

class.forms v0.5 released!

If you were looking for a great PHP class that can handle any type of form you put in front of it, look no further.

Here are some of the features:

• Quickly add text, password, hidden, upload fields and more.
• Automatically handle the posting of form data to a database (insert or update)
• Resize uploaded images proportionally
• Easily repopulate fields with GET, POST, or SQL data
• Seamless client side and server side field validation on all inputs
• You can customize a object by inserting your own html
• Don’t have to memorize which order to pass variables to functions
• Rapidly

… read more

7 Ways to Easily Enhance Your Website

SWFir Image Replacement [Website]
Using the dark arts of JavaScript and Flash, swfIR gives you the ability to apply an assortment of visual effects to any or all images on your website.

sIFR [Website]
This is an easy way to insert rich typography into web pages without sacrificing accessibility, search engine friendliness, or markup semantics by dynamically replacing text with flash.

Dynamic Image Reflections [Website]
Allows you to add reflections to images on your webpages. It uses unobtrusive javascript to keep your code clean and works in all the major browsers. Best of all, it’s uder 5kb.

Tablekit… read more