Thursday, March 31, 2011

Hongkiat.com: Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Plugin Development

Hongkiat.com: Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Plugin Development


Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Plugin Development

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 06:40 AM PDT

The WordPress CMS has changed the face of our Internet and allowed a surge of new ideas to prosper and its open source movement holds a strong presence rooted in software and web development. WordPress is a blogging platform which has the ability to launch into many other scripts such as web forums, job boards, and even a classic webpage Content Management System.

wordpress plugin development Beginners Guide to Wordpress Plugin Development

We’ll be going over a few ways to get started in plug-ins development for WordPress. The steps are fairly simple and don’t require a large dedication to study. Rudimentary knowledge of PHP would be useful even with a basic understanding of the WordPress file structure and Administration panel.

In this brief tutorial we’ll be going over the basic steps required to create a simple WordPress plug-in. The functionality will be used to create dynamic excerpts based on the number passed into our function call. You’ll need to upload the plug-in file and activate from the Admin panel, then follow up by calling our function from whatever pages we want the excerpt to appear. Links to completed plug-in source code is already added later in this article :)

Why Develop for WordPress?

Plug-ins are a great way to enhance the functionality of your blog by adding in extra features. These can be placed anywhere inside your template by function hooks. Over time the extensibility of WordPress’ plug-in system has allow tremendous growth and hundreds of developer-submitted pieces of software.

WordPress specifically offers such advanced features in its CMS that unique plug-ins are few and far between. As a developer you hold complete control over the backend specifics of your weblog. Hiring a PHP developer to create a system plugin would cost a lot more than you may imagine and the API is fairly easy enough to work with and learn yourself.

wordpress codes Beginners Guide to Wordpress Plugin Development

As a secondary argument, developing over WordPress is great practice for tuning yourself into other areas. Building smaller plugins and sidebar widgets in WordPress will help you develop an understanding of how the backend system really works. This isn’t just limited to WordPress as you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the vast majority of Content Systems.

1. WP Folder Structure

An introduction into the WordPress folder structure will show the basic app directories. Inside wp-content you’ll find a plugins directory. In here is where all of your individual plug-ins will be housed, either single files or properly named sub-directories.

For smaller plug-ins which only require a single .php file you have the option to place this directly into the plug-ins/ directory. However when you start developing more complicated applications it’s much more useful to create a sub directory named after your plug-in. Inside you can house JavaScript, CSS, and HTML includes along with your PHP functions.

wordpress install dir plugins Beginners Guide to Wordpress Plugin Development

A readme.txt file can also be useful if you’re planning on offering your plugin for download. This file should include your name and what the plugin does. As the author you may also consider including details about each revision and which updates have come out.

2. Starting your PHP File

When creating a new plugin you’ll need to start with a simple PHP file. This can be named anything but should generally reflect your plug-in’s official name. So for example I have created our base code and have named my file hongkiat-excerpt.phps.

The first lines of your plug-in must be comment information for the parsing engine. This is extremely important as WordPress will be unable to process your file without. Below is an example code snippit you can copy and mold towards your own.

<?php /* Plugin Name: Plugin Name here Plugin URI: http://www.yourpluginurlhere.com/ Version: Current Version Author: Name please Description: What does your plugin do and what features does it offer... */ ?> 

The Plugin Name is what will show up in your Admin backend panel when you go to activate. Same with the URI which will be placed in the details pane inside the plug-ins panel. Although it’s not required to include a version or description it does make your plugin look much more professional.

3. WordPress Naming Conventions and Best Practices

There are a few ways to actually structure your plug-in. Many times PHP developers will create an entire class system in order to avoid collisions with functions and variable names. If you are unfamiliar with the advanced OOP functionality of PHP then it’s best to just write your code in sample functions.

So for our example code we will write a single function to house our data. We also need to define a few variables which are key to implement inside our template files. Below is an example bit of code taken from our plugin file with the core logic removed.

wordpress mobile utility Beginners Guide to Wordpress Plugin Development

When writing your sample code it’s best to follow regulations and guides set up by WordPress. Since there are so many internal functions already defined you can avoid duplicates by prefixing a label to all your variables and function names.

<?php define("exampleVariable", "this is a value");  function hk_content_example_function( $limit ) {   // some code goes here }  ?> 

In the above examples we prefixed all our setting names with hongkiat. This can be replaced with any keyword of your choosing usually related to your plugin name. The above code is just sample settings and shouldn’t pertain to our final plug-in. This is just to give you some insight into how your variable names and function calls should be written.

4. Diving Into Filters and Actions

There is another concept noteworthy of mentioning before we jump into our raw code. Actions and filters are two completely different concepts which relate deeply in the ways they manipulate plugin data.

These two bits of code come standard within the WordPress API. Filters and actions allow for plug-in developers to update bits of code throughout the WordPress admin panel pertaining to your new plug-in. This means you could add a new tab in the sidebar or additional settings links for your Plug-in options.

php codelobster ide Beginners Guide to Wordpress Plugin Development

Understanding add_filter()

A filter is used on a bit of text or data being passed into WordPress. With filters you are quite literally able to filter content through your own custom written functions to change data in any way.

For example, you may create a filter to change $the_content which is a variable set by WordPress containing the entire post content of a WordPress article. For our plug-in we will be taking $the_content and shortening the length of characters into an excerpt.

Filters come in handy when you are writing plug-ins to customize the looks and feel of your blog. These are especially popular when writing sidebar widgets or smaller functions to change how a post should be displayed. Below is a sample line of code showing how to apply a filter.

add_filter('wp_title', 'hongkiat_func');

Here we are adding a filter into the WordPress page title. Note this code doesn’t relate to our official plugin and is only being used as an example here.

The add_filter function is native to WordPress and used to add a new filter to a variable found within page content. In the line above we’re targeting $wp_title which contains the title of our current page. We are then passing this variable into a fake function titled hongkiat_func() which could then manipulate and return a new title tag for whatever purposes.

iphone wordpress Beginners Guide to Wordpress Plugin Development

Understanding add_action()

Actions are similar to filters in that they don’t work on bits of data but instead target pre-defined areas in your templates and admin panel. As an example you can apply an action whenever you update or edit a page’s content. WordPress offers a comprehensive actions list in their API documentation. Below is a small list of example actions for you to get familiar with some of the pre-defined target areas.

  • publish_post – called when a post is published or when status is changed into “published”
  • save_post – called when a post/page is created from start or updated
  • wp_head – called when the template is loaded and runs the wp_head() function
  • loop_end – called immediately after the final post has been processed through the WordPress loop
  • trackback_post – called whenever a new trackback is added into a post

Again we can see how simple this bit of code boils down to. If you can understand the difference between actions and filters you’ll be that much closer to building comprehensive, working WordPress plugins. Below is another line of code initializing an action function on the save_post hook. To clarify again this doesn’t pertain to our current developing plugin and is only used as a piece of example code to understand the add_action() function.

add_action('save_post', 'notify');

So here we see a similar setup to before with add_filter(). We need 2 variables, the first holds the name of our hook we’re targeting. In this case save_post which means whenever a new post is saved we’re going to call our function defined in the second position (notify()). You could obviously update notify to be whatever function name you’d want to run, however this isn’t required for our current example plug-in.

Finishing our Plugin Logic

Finishing up on our path we’ll be adding our final function right into our plug-in file. The API documentation is very specific and provides an excellent resource to developers who may hold advanced questions. The material may seem difficult if you are not familiar with PHP but take your time with the concepts and things will start to flow naturally!

The function below should be added directly after your plugin’s header comment. Alternatively this could also be placed inside your theme’s functions.php file. The code is used to create dynamic post content based on a limited range of characters.

So for our example we can limit story excerpts only 55 characters long with the hk_trim_content() function. You could easly call this bit of code from a sidebar widget or one of your theme files to replace $the_content.

<?php function hk_trim_content( $limit ) {   $content = explode( ' ', get_the_content(), $limit );    if ( count( $content ) >= $limit ) {     array_pop( $content );     $content = implode(" ",$content).'...';   } else {     $content = implode(" ",$content);   }	    $content = preg_replace('/\[.+\]/','', $content);   $content = apply_filters('the_content', $content);     return $content; } ?> 

It shouldn’t be expected that you fully understand all internal variables or functions used here. Just getting a general understanding of how your functions should be written and what an example set would look like is a very good start.

You may also notice we’re using a call to apply_filters which is another WordPress-specific function. This is another aspect you don’t need to fully grasp but it does help with future programming over WP. Check out the apply_filters reference page for more details and FAQs on the subject.

The core function above is named hk_trim_content(). This only requires 1 parameter named $limit. This could also be shortened to $lim which should store an integer specifying how many characters to limit your excerpt to. The content is used on full post pages and also static pages (about us, contact).

Therefore, in order to call this function we would need to add the parameter into our template files. This would be placed somewhere possibly in your index.php or loop.php file(s) and will require you to install the plugin first. Example below:

<?php echo hk_trim_content(55); // display page content limited at 55 chars ?>

Installing and Running The Plugin

I’ve created a sample file for the plugin to demo if you’d like to skip the hard coding. Simply download this file (rename it to .php) or copy/paste the code into a new PHP document and upload this to your /wp-content/plugins directory.

hk demo plugin Beginners Guide to Wordpress Plugin Development

Once completed you’ll want to access the WordPress administration panel and browse your current set of plug-ins for the demo just installed. Once you activate nothing new will happen, not until we manually add in our function call. To do this simply navigate Appearance -> Editor and look for single.php.

This file contains all the template HTML/CSS for your basic article post page. Scroll down until you find the_content() and replace with the example code above. This will limit all your article pages to 55 characters no matter what view is being used. You could also add in this function to similar pages in your templates directory such as search.php or archive.php.

Conclusion

These are some of the basics to get you started working within WordPress development. The plugin system is vast and contains a great deal of internal functionality. If you already have an idea for a plug-in try it out on a local installation of WordPress to practice these topics.

If you’re still confused by much of the information you can review the WordPress documentation and search for your answer there. The development community is full of helpful users and the forums hold archives with questions from years back.

(bellefoong)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Hongkiat.com: 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

Hongkiat.com: 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine


16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 06:41 AM PDT

With all the craze over Apple’s latest merchandises, fans still haven’t had enough of coming up with the new i-This and i-That. True, some of them have really conceived of wonderful and innovative ideas, but there are still some wacky and impractical ones which are, well, so ‘creative’ that we should give them credits. They probably meant it as a joke, but who knows if their idea might actually takes flight one day and generate revenues in the millions? After all, men went against the common logic of gravity before inventing the first airplane a century ago.

iwater preview 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

We’ve scouted for numerous ‘potential’ Apple products created by fans and anti-fans and picked out some of the most unthinkable concepts that perhaps don’t make sense in the present day. Whether they truly have the potential to be developed or not, it’s up to you to judge. In the meantime, be prepared to be amazed and intrigued by the list!

iFridge

What if you have a fridge that looks like your iPod? You have a simple black-and-white menu on the door that allows you to adjust the fridge’s thermostat and other settings to keep your food fresh and cold. Not forgetting that you can play your favourite tunes in your playlist, probably using the giant fridge as your speakers cum sub-woofer. Hey, maybe this isn’t a bad idea after all. (via Macmagazine)

ifridge 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iToilet

This is a good example of how unnecessary complexity can be added into an easy-to-use product like your toilet. Like using an apple computer, the user has to drag items which he wants to delete into the waste disposal area, and confirms the deletion. Similarly, the unclogging procedure is series of steps made complicated using Apple computers’ troubleshooting solutions. Of course, this anti-fan spoof was simply made to mock at Apple’s fanatics who buy anything Apple sells. (via Electric-Chicken)

itoilet 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iProtection

You can put your mind at ease with this device when you’re walking alone through dark alleys. This is a 800,000-volt stun gun that includes a built-in GPS tracker that informs the local law enforcement of your wherabouts should you be in danger. It is even ergonomically designed to include a single flat face, such that the baton will not roll away should you dropped it accidentally in the midst of an assault. Trust me, no one will mess with you if you’re holding this beast.

iProtection 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iEye

iEye is the implantation of a digital camera into your eye socket. Your eyesight get augmented with 20 times higher resolution than the average human eye, and you to get to magnify your vision up to 12 times. On top of that, you get to record visual data into a built-in hard drive, which can be shared with others and playback at your own request. Cool if you don’t mind being a cyborg. (via Uncyclopedia)

ieye 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

MegaBar

Want to show off the good connectivity of your iPhone? Plug in MegaBar, the super-sized signal bars for iPhone. No, it doesn’t improve your connectivity at all. It’s only meant to be seen, by you and your friends. That’s it. (via Scoopertino)

megabar 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iWater

You’ll love this if you are a hardcore superfan of Apple. Even everyday necessities like water can be marketed effectively to the millions of Apple fans out there. Drink up!

iwater 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

Magic Footpad

A sequel to the Magic Trackpad, Magic Footpad literally takes a step into the future. Now you can use your toes to execute those commands while your fingers handle the rest of your tasks. Better still, you can combine using both the trackpad and footpad to maximize the number of commands you can make with all your toes and fingers. But the fact is your feets and toes aren’t able to move as delicately and precisely as your fingers, so this probably won’t work out.

magicfootpad 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iDish

Having reception problems for your iPhone? It’s all going to be history with this mini satellite dish attached to your iPhone. It’s a definite five-bar reception everywhere you go. I certainly hope iPhone’s reception isn’t this bad to resort to such extreme measure though.

iDish 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iHand

Remember the reception woes iPhone 4 faced when it was first launched? Apparently, there is a right way to hold your iPhone. So, instead of having to learn how to hold it properly all the time, users can purchase iHand and be assured that the phone is held in a manner that will receive the best reception. Of course, with everyone’s obsession to personalize every of their Apple products, iHand comes in different skin colors as well.

ihand 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

Mactini

Apple has made another revolution in computer technology with its release of the world’s smallest computer, the Mactini. One-inch long and with only a single key, users have to learn the sequencing of tapping the key to type the exact letter they want. The spoof is made to poke fun at the industry’s preoccupation to make every technology small, and perhaps, ineffective as a result. (via Funny or Die)

mctini 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iRacquet

Do you love Apple products so much that you’ll get this Apple-logo tennis racket? God knows where the ball will fly. (via Worth1000)

iracquet 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iWatch

This analog pocket watch seems like a walk in the memory lane where technology wasn’t as advanced as it is today. If you look carefully though, this watch, or iWatch, has all kinds of hi-tech functions like a 160GB Harddrive, bluetooth, video and audio playback. While its capabilities are over-the-top, one wonders how one is able to tap into these functions on such a small piece of ‘antique’ you carry around in your pocket.

iW 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iPottie

Like iToilet, this device deals with your waste. Designed like an iPod, the iPottie probably allows you to play your favourite music while you do your business. Oh, it can even read the papers for you so you’ll keep up with the current affairs while you i(poop).

ipottie 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iArm

Although this exists only as a fake gift box as a prank, curiosity will make you imagine how it’d be like if only it’s real. Attaching iArm to your arms enable you to hold all sorts of things ranging from your tablet PCs to your dinner plates. You can even mount three things at one go! How convenient. Your arms will probably get its much needed workout too. Just try not to swing your arms and hit your iPad against the wall. (via Prank Pack)

iarm 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

iCarta (iPod stero dock and bath tissue holder)

This item on the list is actually available on sale. Don’t believe it? Check out the link. Once you purchase this, you can dock your iPod or iPhone into this bath tissue holder, play your music in high quality sound while you defecate. I’m sure you’ll love this if you can’t take one minute without your favourite tunes playing by your side. (via Atech Flash Technology)

icarta 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

White Apple Tablets

One wonders what these tablets will do for you. Well, knowing Apple’s tagline of ‘think differently’, I suppose these will boost your creativity or something. Warning: An overdose might cause some form of paranoia due to ‘over-thinking’. (via Obama Pacman)

appletablet 16 Wacky Apple Products You Can Only Imagine

(bellefoong)

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Hongkiat.com: Top 10 Free Source Code Editors – Reviewed

Hongkiat.com: Top 10 Free Source Code Editors – Reviewed


Top 10 Free Source Code Editors – Reviewed

Posted: 29 Mar 2011 06:01 AM PDT

With professional code editor like Dreamweaver, Coda, Textmate and others, its no surprise that more and more people have partially forgotten about simpler code editor such as Window’s Notepad. We do understand that simpler does not mean the best option however, there are simpler yet professional code editors that might just suits what you need!

free code editors Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

These are what I found to be the best bang for zero bucks (with an added bonus). Feel free to share your personal favorite in the comments.

1. Notepad ++

Notepad++ is an open source replacement for the original Notepad program (which comes with Windows) and supports several languages. Even though it is built for Microsoft Windows, it can also run on Linux, Unix, BSD and Mac OS X (using Wine). Immediately upon starting Notepad++ you will notice the difference between it and the original Notepad. There are loads of additional buttons and features like plugin support, tabbed editing, drag and drop, split screen editing, synchronized scrolling, spell checker (via an included plugin), find and replace over multiple documents, file comparison, zooming and much more. "Notepadd++ supports syntax highlighting and syntax folding for 48 programming, scripting, and markup languages" (source).

As the website explains, the program is written in C++ and uses pure Win32 API and STL which ensures a higher execution speed and smaller program size. If you would like to learn how to make Notepadd++ your default text editor, you can find instructions here.

Notepad++ Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Lightweight and launches quickly
  • Tabbed editing interface
  • Plugin support and macros
  • Ability to add bookmarks
  • Drag and drop support
  • Find and replace across multiple documents
  • Full screen mode
  • Minimize to system tray
  • Style configurator for a customizable interface
  • Syntax and brace highlighting
  • Auto indentation
  • Auto completion
  • Code folding
  • Text folding
  • Compiler integration
  • Search and replace
  • Spell checker (via plugin)
  • Collaborative editing (via plugin)
  • FTP support (via plugin)
  • Multiple instances
  • File comparison

Cons

  • No HTTP, SSH or WebDav support for remote file editing
  • Does not support large files
  • Another program is needed in order to run on Mac OS X

2. TextWrangler

Unlike Notepadd++ mentioned above, TextWrangler is not open source and it is a Mac-only program. It also only supports one language: English. It is, however, a very "powerful general purpose text editor, and Unix and server administrator’s tool." While on the surface it looks like just a plain and basic text editor, it possesses a lot of features. There’s a Documents Drawer (closed by default) that can be opened to view and compare selected documents. As a code editor it includes syntax coloring and function navigation for 44 programming languages like ActionScript, C++, HTML, JavaScript, Perl, Python, SQL and VBScript. With TextWrangler you can also open extremely large files; it’s only limited by the RAM on your computer and OS X limitation to files.

If you need more advanced features like FTP and SFTP open and save, AppleScript, Mac OS X Unix scripting suppor, sleep mode, auto-save and more you can upgrade to BBEdit.

TextWrangler Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Plugin support and macros
  • Built in FTP and Secure FTP
  • SSH support for remote file editing
  • Ability to compare two documents line-by-line
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Auto indentation
  • Auto completion
  • Code folding
  • Text folding
  • Compiler integration (via plugin)
  • Spell checker
  • Large file support (limited by computer memory)
  • Multiple instances

Cons

  • No collaborative editing
  • No HTTP or WebDav support for remote file editing
  • Doesn’t work on Tiger on the Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver) series

3. jEdit

jEdit, a program for Windows, Mac OS X, OS/2, Linux, BSD, Unix and VMS, is said to be for mature programmers only. Written in Java, it is open source and supports hundreds of plugins and macros. The main window can be split horizontally or vertically and also comes with "auto indent, and syntax highlighting for more than 130 languages." There are many customization options for making everything from the dock to the status bar to the toolbar look and feel exactly the way you want. You can even "copy and paste with an unlimited number of clipboards."

Programming languages supported include: ActionScript, ColdFusion, LOTOS, Ruby, Python and COBOL. All of jEdit’s features cannot possibly fit into this paragraph, but you can view them all here.

jEdit Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Powerful search engine for regular expressions
  • Syntax highlighting with customization options
  • Auto-indentation
  • Auto completion
  • Code folding
  • Text folding
  • Compiler integration (via plugin)
  • Plugin support and macros
  • Tabbed editing interface
  • Integrated FTP browser
  • Spell checker (via plugin)
  • FTP support (via plugin)
  • HTTP and WebDav (via plugin) support for remote file editing
  • Multiple instances

Cons

  • Heavyweight and often slow on startup
  • In

    Cons

    istent spell checker

  • Can be buggy on the Mac
  • No collaborative editing
  • No large file support
  • No SSH support for remote file editing

4. Crimson Editor

Crimson was written in C, is open source and is known as a professional source code editor for Windows only. It is also a suitable replacement for Notepad and supports programming in 60+ languages like Maple, LotusScript, C/C++, MySQL, Ruby, Perl and JScript. Currently it only supports the English language. Unfortunately, the last release of Crimson was in 2008, but it has been replaced by Emeral Editor.

As you can see from the image below, it resembles Notepad++ from the toolbar to the tabbed editing. It also supports plugins, which are called "tools," and macros. There is even a built-in FTP client and you have the ability to manage groups of related files and save them as projects.

Crimson Editor Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Syntax highlighting
  • Auto indentation
  • Compiler integration
  • Ability to add bookmarks
  • FTP support
  • Instant/live spell checker
  • Macros
  • Multiple instances

Cons

  • No auto completion
  • No code folding
  • No text folding
  • No collaborative editing
  • No large file support
  • No HTTP, SSH or WebDav support for remote file editing

5. Araneae

Araneae is an editor for Web professionals that runs on Windows only. You can download extensions to use with it and it includes syntax highlighting, drag and drop support, tabbed editing and the ability to insert customizable quick clips. "Araneae includes several extensions and localizations right out of the proverbial box—no extra downloading required! This includes HTML, XHTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, PHP and Ruby files, as well as English, French, Greek, Spanish, and Estonian localizations!" All toolbars are viewable by default and can be rearranged to suit your preference.

Araneae Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Syntax highlighting
  • Drag and drop support
  • Tabbed editing interface
  • Quick clips
  • Search and replace
  • Multiple instances

Cons

  • No plugins or macros

6. EditPad Lite

EditPad Lite is another Windows-only, general-purpose text editor and is written in 10 different languages. It was built with Delphi and is small, compact and free for non-commercial use only. So, if you will be getting paid for the work that you do with it, then you’ll need to purchase EditPadPro. Features are limited, but it does have tabbed editing, can remain running in the system tray, supports auto indenting and can be configured to suit your own taste and eyesight.

EditPad Lite also resembles Notepad with the exception of the formatting toolbar and tabs.

EditPad Lite Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Tabbed editing interface
  • Auto indentation
  • Unlimited undo and redo even after saving a file (as long as it remains open)
  • Large file support
  • FTP support
  • Multiple instances

Cons

  • No syntax highlighting
  • No auto completion
  • No code folding
  • No text folding
  • No compiler integration
  • No macros
  • No collaborative editing
  • Spell checker not included in free version
  • No HTTP, SSH or WebDav support for remote file editing

7. ATPad

ATPad is not much different than most of the others mentioned above: it’s another rendition of Notepad with a few upgrades. Besides English, you can get ATPad in 11 other languages. You get tabbed editing, customization options, line numbering, word wrapping, bookmarks (so that you don’t lose your place when returning), customizable snippets, sending via email and more. Since ATPad doesn’t require installation, you can open it from virtually any kind of drive and it doesn’t leave any traces behind. To remove it simply delete the ATPad directory.

ATPad Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Allows tiling and cascading of windows
  • Tabbed editing interface
  • Line numbering
  • Text snippets
  • Can send documents via email
  • No installation required
  • Ability to add bookmarks
  • Unlimited find/replaces and undo/redo

Cons

  • Does not come with spell checker

8. RJ TextEd

RJ TextEd is for Windows only and supports 18 different languages and 20 programming languages. It was built on CodeGear Delphi and is not open source. There is both a PC and portable version for download along with a handful of plugins and tools that you can download separately. Unlike most of the clean cut programs mentioned above, RJ TextEd has toolbars, panes and tabs galore. You can also create projects and macros and customize your work environment.

RJ TextEd Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Has a portable version
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Spell checker
  • Auto indentation
  • Auto completion
  • Code folding
  • Text folding
  • Compiler integration
  • Macros
  • FTP and Secure FTP support
  • SSH support for remote file editing
  • Multiple instances

Cons

  • No collaborative editing
  • No large file support
  • No HTTP or WebDav support for remote file editing

9. Komodo Edit

Komodo Edit is a fast open source program that can be used on Windows, Max OS X and Linux. It supports the following programming languages: PHP, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, Perl, Tcl, XML, HTML 5 and CSS 3. It also comes equipped with "customizable syntax coloring, folding, background syntax checking, and excellent auto-complete and calltips (called ‘code intelligence’)." Their pages and pages of extensions are equivalent to Firefox’s and their "tricked out" editor is one of the most advanced featured on this list. Along with all that you get remote file editing, a toolbox with shell command integration, macros, snippets and the list goes on. For more advanced features you can purchase Komodo IDE for Teams.

Komodo Edit Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Extension support and macros
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Auto indentation
  • Auto completion
  • Code folding
  • Text folding
  • Code snippets

Cons

  • Spell checker not included
  • No compiler integration
  • No collaborative editing
  • No large file support
  • No multiple instances
  • For more advanced features you’ll need to upgrade for a hefty fee of $295 (without support and upgrades) or $382 (with support and upgrades)

10. KompoZer

Powered by Mozilla, "KompoZer is a complete Web Authoring System that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG web page editing capabilities found in Microsoft FrontPage, Adobe DreamWeaver and other high end programs." This easy to use program, for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, is geared toward non-technical users who don’t know much about HTML or web coding. It’s available in 21 different languages, has integrated file management via FTP, tabbed editing, color picker and support for forms, tables and templates.

As you can see from the screenshot below, it’s meant to be more like DreamWeaver as opposed to Notepad (hence the catering to non-technical users).

KompoZer Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Site manager and file tree
  • WYSIWYG editing
  • Has a portable version
  • FTP support
  • Spell checker
  • Supports templates
  • Page preview
  • Comparable to Adobe DreamWeaver and Microsoft FrontPage

Cons

  • No WebDAV support for remote file editing
  • No shared editing support
  • Does not support server-side scripting

11. TouchQode (Bonus)

As an added bonus we have TouchQode, which is an editor just for smartphones. It’s currently only available for Android, but you can subscribe to be notified about the iPhone release. For a smartphone editor, it has some great features like syntax highlighting, the ability to run (simple) scripts, an integrated FTP client, file syncing and more. TouchQode really gives the the ability to code anywhere you go!

TouchQode Top 10 Free Source Code Editors   Reviewed

Pros

  • Android app
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Code suggestions
  • Incremental search
  • File synchronization

Cons

  • No iPhone app (but coming soon)

Monday, March 28, 2011

Hongkiat.com: Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Hongkiat.com: Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation


Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 06:26 AM PDT

Ever since Facebook released its instant messaging application on its site in 2008, many of its users have been utilizing the chat function to keep in contact with their Facebook friends. It is a simple function, but nonetheless user-friendly. Comparing what it is now and what it was three years back, not many would say it has changed much; it’s still a small bar located on your bottom-right corner which expands to let you see who’s online when you click on it.

facebook chat tips emoticons Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

That doesn’t stop avid fans of facebook from discovering a couple of interesting tips and tricks to enhance your experience with its chat function. Below are some great tips and tricks you can use to customize the way you chat with Facebook.

Tips & Tricks

Open a bigger Facebook chatbox

Sick of chatting in that tiny little box in your facebook page? Well, this option enables you to pop out the chat so that you have a much comfortable view of your friends and your conversation. (via Tips4pc)

popupchat3 Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Setup Facebook Chat in iChat

If you’re using Mac OS and wants to chat without logging on to facebook everytime, this is a great tip for you. Simply follow a few instructions and you’ll chat in iChat in no time. (via Mac OS X Tips)

ichat Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Setup Facebook chat on Desktop / Mobile Phones

In 2010, Facebook added a new interface to its chat service which provides the Jabber/XMPP protocol. Since then, Facebook chat is accessible from any Jabber-supporting instant messaging programs. What this means is that you can now use that chat function on your mobile phone and desktop. (via Ken’s Tech Tips)

photo 20236 20100907 Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Retrieve chat history in chatbox

This is pretty much a simple hack on Facebook which allows you to get chat history of a particular friend of yours even if he or she is offline. (via Puremango)

facebook chat history Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Keep Facebook Chat chatlog

If you are a fan of logging chat histories with your instant messengers, then you must be disappointed and frustrated to know facebook doesn’t allow any of that. But not to worry, because Mozilla Firefox has this add-on that helps you capture your chat efficiently. (via Online Tech Tips)

facebookchathistory Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Instant Messengers Facebook Chat

Here’s a list of instant messengers that allows you to chat with your Facebook friends without opening the browser or keeping your Facebook page active.

Chit Chat

Sick of the lack of customization for your fonts in Facebook chat? Chit Chat is the way to go with its text formatting options, chat logging and status alerts, just like any other instant messenger on the market.

chatchat Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Digsby

This chat client attempts to integrate instant messaging, e-mailing and social networking chats into one program so that you don’t have to have separate programs or browsers for each one of them. Great for those with too many accounts to manage,

digsby Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Meebo

Meebo provides a single log-in to all your chat networks, but it’s not a desktop program like Digsby. It is actually a browser-based application that requires no set-up. Since you can log in on any computers with a internet connection without having to install anything, this is quite a convenient tool for not just Facebook chat, but also your other ones.

1280521735 1107835293 Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Adium

An aesthetically attractive instant messaging client for the Mac OS. Other than Facebook chat, Adium supports MSN, Yahoo, AIM, MSN, Google Chat and Windows Live as well.

1110403338 1 Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Pidgin

For those who know Gaim, Pidgin is the instant messaging client’s new name. As with other chat clients, it lets users access multiple chat clients at one convenient place. Pidgin also provides a range of wonderful features such as customizing sounds when a contact signs in or off.

pidgin9 Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation

Emoticons & Text Symbols

Emoticons

Even if the person you’re talking to can neither hear your tone nor see your facial expressions, you can always make it up by putting some emoticons along with your words. Here is the full list of facebook emoticons to spice up your chat.

smile Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation smile :)
frown Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation sad :(
tongue Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation stick tongue :P
grin Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation big smile :D
gasp Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation shocked :O
wink Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation wink ;)
glasses Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation geek 8)
sunglasses Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation cool 8|
grumpy Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation angry >:(
unsure Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation think :\
cry Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation cry :’(
devil Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation devil 3:)
angel Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation angel O:)
kiss Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation kiss :-*
heart Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation heart <3
kiki Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation happy ^_^
squint Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation dream -_-
confused Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation confused O.o
upset Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation mad >:o
pacman Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation pacman :v
colonthree Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation curly lips :3
robot Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation robot :|]
putnam Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation chris putnam :putnam:
penguin Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation penguin <(“)
shark Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation shark (^^^)
42 Facebook Chat: Emoticons, Tips & Tricks To Enhance Conversation 42 :42:

Text Symbols

Similarly, you may choose from a large variety of text symbols not just for your chat, but also for your facebook status updates and private messages.

© ®
{。^◕‿◕^。} (◕^^◕) ¿ ¡
ت
Ω

(More) Facebook Tips / Tricks