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Original articles on various topics.

Intro to the Linux Command Line

This document will step through the process of accessing a Linux server, and several basic commands.

SSH

We will access the server via the SSH, or “Secure SHell”, protocol. SSH provides encrypted communication between two terminals. It is an alternative to telnet or rlogin.

First, make sure that you have an SSH client. If you are running Windows, I highly recommend downloading Putty. Click on the top Windows binary and save it to the desktop. You can run Putty.exe directly, without installing.

2006 05 04 Hilary linux Comments (0)

JavaScript Rotating Images Tutorial

Introduction
Swapping new images into an established layout is one trick that can keep a site design fresh. Some examples:

gettyimages
benstraw

There are several different techniques for accomplishing this effect. A server-side program is the best approach, because you can automatically pull files from a whole directory (eliminating the need to modify code), and it will work [...]

2006 02 20 Hilary javascript
web dev Comments (0)

Your Geeky Valentine!

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! In honor of the holiday, I am happy to present to you the geekiest valentine ever (click here if the popup link doesn’t work for you).
Each of these Valentine’s messages was lovingly hand-coded in the best of modern web languages, just for you.
Now, how does it work? Let’s look at the [...]

2006 02 14 Hilary javascript
web dev Comments (0)

What do those PHP errors really mean, anyway?

I am teaching an introduction to web programming class with PHP, which means that I spend a lot of time watching students write code. There are really two fundamental skills that the beginning programmer has to master: 1) figuring out the logic that her program should follow, and 2) implementing that logic without errors.

It’s the second type of problem that sends the inexperienced coder running in a panic. Errors are seen as a crushing personal defeat, while code that runs without errors (though not necessarily correctly) is seen as “almost working”, no matter how far from actually functional it is.

2006 02 02 Hilary ephemera Comments (1)