Translators Needed for New User Approve Plugin

Posted by Josh Harrison on December 20, 2009 – 1:44 am

I just checked in some code changes for the New User Approve plugin. I tested it with WordPress 2.9 that was recently released.

Here is a list of the changes that were made:

  • add localization support – the admin pages to manage approving and denying users can now be localized. If you would like to work with me on getting it localized, let me know. Either leave a comment or contact me.
  • add a changelog to readme.txt – now you can see the changelog from the page on wordpress.org. Also a screenshot has been added and an FAQ finally started.
  • remove plugin constants that have been defined since 2.6 – constants that were defined to support older versions have been removed. If this breaks your site, please upgrade to the latest version of WordPress.
  • correct the use of db prepare statements/use prepare on all SQL statements – this should have been done in the first place. This improves the security of the plugin.
  • add wp_enqueue_style for the admin style sheet – a style sheet is required for the admin page. I thought it would be better to use the function provided by WordPress to include this stylesheet.

The next version I will be adding an options page to customize the messages. I will also make it possible to change the messages from a plugin or a customized theme.

Please let me know if you would like additional features added or if you have any problems with version 1.2.

Tags: ,
Categories: WordPress | Comments (3)

wp-config Tips and Tricks

Posted by Josh Harrison on December 12, 2009 – 10:48 pm

At WordCamp Seattle on September 26, I gave a presentation on wp-config Tips and Tricks. It was in an Ignite format. 20 slides. 15 seconds each.

When I came up with the topic for the presentation, I knew it would be a teaser. In 5 minutes, you cannot present a lot of details. The goal was, however, to give an idea of what can be done – to peak the curiosity of those who have dealt with the wp-config file.

Ever since I learned what can be done with the wp-config file it has simplified how I deal with WordPress significantly. Combining these tips and tricks with things such as SVN and the .htaccess files will simplify it even more.

Currently, I am planning a series of posts that will get into more detail of what can be done with the wp-config file. There are some great sites out there that have already written on the topic. To be fair, this topic could be better covered in an hour presentation, with better code samples and demos.

wp-config Tips and Tricks

View more documents from Josh Harrison.

Please let me know if you have any questions or which topics I should go into more detail.

Tags: , , , , ,
Categories: Podcasts, Speaking, WordCamp | Comments (0)

WordCamp Seattle

Posted by Josh Harrison on June 1, 2009 – 9:43 pm

For the past few months, me with a group of other volunteers have been trying to get the groundwork laid for WordCamp Seattle. Up to this point, it has been a great experience. I have met some great people and am excited to meet many more.

Last month, after calling what seemed like hundreds of venues, we found a place to have WordCamp Seattle. Adobe has offered to let us use their campus in Fremont. I have been there one time before and it should be a great venue.

Anyway, I wanted to write this post to say that organizing the conference is one thing I’ll be working hard at over the next few months. The event will take place on September 26. I expect a log of hard work and long hours. I don’t think I really knew what I was getting myself into.

Please let me know if you are interested in helping out. We need more volunteers.

Tags:
Categories: WordCamp, WordPress | Comments (2)

New User Approve Plugin Updates

Posted by Josh Harrison on May 18, 2009 – 11:10 pm

Last September I release a WordPress plugin that allows an administrator to approve new users after they register for your site. I built the plugin for a private blog that I have and I wanted control over each member of the site. Since I thought others would be interested in using the plugin I decided to release it.

I didn’t realize the amount of work it would create to maintain it.

The thing is, there are many plugin developers donating their time for plugins that I am using. So I don’t mind doing it.

In fact, releasing the plugin was actually the best thing I could do. A few users found bugs and even sent a patch to fix the bug. That’s how it should be.

Anyway, the first update to the New User Approve Plugin was released last night. No new features. Just some bug fixes and code cleanup. Here are the details.

  • correctly display error message if registration is empty
  • clean up code
  • style updates
  • if a user is created through the admin interface, set the status as approved instead of pending
  • add avatars to user management admin page
  • improvements to SQL
  • verify the user does not already exist before the process is started
  • add nonces to approve and deny actions
  • temporary fix for pagination bug if more the 50 users are present in the WP database

If you are a user of the plugin, please let me know if you find any more issues or your thoughts in general on the plugin. And don’t forget to donate if you find this plugin useful.

Tags: , ,
Categories: WordPress | Comments (23)

Building a Quick Search Engine

Posted by Josh Harrison on March 28, 2009 – 5:04 pm

For a while I’ve been wanting to create a specialized search engine for a project I have been working on. Given the limited amount of time I have, I clearly had to piggyback on current technologies. Search engines today do an awesome job of indexing the web to find what you need when you need it. I wanted a specialized search engine to limit the results to relevant web content given a specific subject.

Here were my requirements going into this:

  1. Limit the search to the sites I want. I give them a list and it only searches those sites. The list would need to be updated dynamically or via an API.
  2. Allows me to modify the search results in any order I want or mixing it with other data.
  3. Allows me to format the search results how I please.
  4. I want the results in a multiple formats to allow for flexibility when and where the results are displayed.
  5. I would love to try to monetize the search engine however I want.

Searching for what I needed led me to discover many cool technologies.

I first looked at possibly the most obvious: Google Custom Search Engine. Google CSE is a cool product but it didn’t suit my needs at all. The terms of service don’t allow you to modify the results. I also looked at Google AJAX Search API. Again, doesn’t fit the requirements. I may find a need for the AJAX Search API in the near future though.

Other technologies deserved some attention as well. Products such as CouchDB and Lucene required too much so I didn’t spend much time looking into these.

I had looked at Yahoo BOSS (build your own search service). Initially, it didn’t look like it would suit my needs. After revisiting BOSS, looking at code samples and the API, it was exactly what I was looking for. Easy, fast, reliable. Fits exactly my requirements. Awesome.

Since the site I am building was based on WordPress (like all my sites), I decided to put my work it into a WordPress plugin to allow a WordPress site to easily add a real search engine to the site just by defining some simple options. The first version will be very limited in what can be done but I have a lot of features that I will be adding to it very soon.

I just need to get it ready to release. Soon I hope.

Tags: , , ,
Categories: Search, WordPress | Comments (1)

Upgrading WordPress the Easy Way

Posted by Josh Harrison on March 11, 2009 – 11:26 pm

I have finally discovered the best/easiest way to upgrade your WordPress install, especially if you have multiple installations of the blogging software.

You must use SVN to make this happen. To upgrade all you have to do is change the version number. If you want to run trunk, all you have to do is update the library by running a simple command. You can also add your plugins and themes to update using SVN.

I actually had been trying to do this for a few months. The part I was missing was putting the WordPress software in it’s own directory. The detailed instructions can be found on Joseph Scott’s blog.

Tags: ,
Categories: WordPress | Comments (0)

Twitter And Picklewagon

Posted by Josh Harrison on March 4, 2009 – 12:22 am

For those of you who are subscribed to my blog or visit it on occasion, you have more than likely noticed that I have my Twitter updates posting to my blog. This is being done automatically using the Twitter Tools plugin by Alex King. He has created some great plugins and Twitter Tools is no exception.

I decided to add the Twitter archive posts as a way to archive what I put on Twitter. And to make it searchable by me or whoever else cares what I have to say.

I was also thinking about having my Tweets go to my Facebook account. But I don’t want all that information to go to Facebook. I don’t like Facebook very much. I disagree with a lot of what they do. But I do like connecting with people on Facebook. So I am compromising by having this blog update my Facebook feed when posts are published.

Despite the popularity of Facebook, I still think I should be able to control my social circle from my own blog. We are getting closer and closer every day.

Tags: , ,
Categories: Twitter | Comments (1)

Death to Silos

Posted by Josh Harrison on February 2, 2009 – 11:30 pm

One thing I have grown to dislike as a user of the Internet, software, and computers in general is how many sites and software think they are great enough to be alone in their own walled garden. Or silo.

What do I mean by silo or walled garden? It basically means that users are inputing data and the site provides no way to get that data out. For example, I use web based email where all my contacts are stored. Am I able to use that contact list outside of my webmail? Why would I want the contacts? An example would be to use the addresses of some of my contacts to send Christmas cards to. Or using the contacts to find friends on any given social network.

One of the jobs I had in the past, this was a common theme. A huge enterprise with many applications. The employees had to login to each app separately. This is a pain for both the users and from an administration standpoint.

Is this a big deal? Probably not for most people. But for me, it’s a huge deal.

Over the past few years, many apps have given access to data through means of an API (application programming interface). With the API, you can use your data stored in one app in a totally different app. This is a mashup. Cool applications come from mashups. Your customers’ data is being used in ways you never would have thought of. The customer should be allowed to do whatever they want with their data.

Even export it into a rivals app. This is a big deciding factor for me. Many of my friends who aren’t technical have blogs hosted on blogger. Google has provided ways to export a user’s data to other blogging engines such as wordpress. Not that Google is going out of business anytime soon, but what if they decided to get rid of blogger all of a sudden, much like they decided to get rid of Notebook. Apparently, not many people used Google Notebook. But I did. The important thing is is that they have provided me with a way to get that data out. They always have.

When times are tough, employees get laid off. Companies big and small consolidate and possibly go under. Make sure you have access to your data. Especially, if you have invested a lot of time compiling the data.

Just something to think about.

Tags: , ,
Categories: Business Models, Web Services, cloud computing | Comments (0)

My Thoughts on the Inauguration of President Obama

Posted by Josh Harrison on January 20, 2009 – 11:02 pm

I’ve never seen so many people so excited for a new president. In years past, when a president was inaugurated, I can’t remember people even wanting to take time to watch or listen to the inauguration speech.

In November, I think I was one of the few in Washington that voted against Barack Obama. I disagree with some of his policies. I will say though, that during the campaign, President Obama gained my respect doing things like never bringing up the race issue. At times things could have gotten nasty, but he never allowed them to.

Now that Barack Obama is President, he has my support. I hope he does an awesome job. After all, he is my President. I have been impressed with what he has done up to this point. Hopefully he can continue. But there are some tough times that, as a nation, we are facing. The president alone cannot solve these problems.

There is something that I think we need to watch out for. It seems that many people think that things will get better because we havea new president. Guess what? Many things will not change. I believe each and every person in this nation is responsible for their own success. Not Barack Obama. Not George Bush. The expectations are enormously high for President Obama.

We all have a part to play. Good luck to everybody.

Tags: ,
Categories: Politics | Comments (0)

Wordpress 2.7 Support Added To The Picklewagon Theme

Posted by Josh Harrison on January 6, 2009 – 4:54 am

I have bene very happy with the progress Wordpress is making with its releases. They are adding a lot of good features fairly quickly. With all of the changes on the backend, the theming changes added to 2.7 haven’t received a lot of attention.

The changes that have been added:

  • Threaded Comments
  • Post Classes
  • Sticky Posts

I also fixed a few minor bugs. Also, if your blog is using 2.7, you will automatically have your comments upgraded to use threaded comments. Otherwise, your blog will continue to have regular comments. I have seen some themes have an option to turn on threaded comments. If this is a wanted feature, I would be happy to add it.

Currently, I am working on a few projects and have been looking at a lot of themes. Not very many themes have added 2.7 support yet. I was surprised. Hopefully, theme developers can find time to add these features so that Wordpress users can enjoy the new functionality.

Tags: , ,
Categories: General, WordPress | Comments (0)