PHP lets you call functions dynamically when you don’t know the function name until runtime. This is essential for plugin systems, routing handlers, API dispatchers, and configuration-driven logic. The approach you choose affects both performance and safety. Direct Variable Function Invocation The simplest approach treats a string variable as a callable: $func = ‘strlen’; echo…
Generating secure, random passwords is a fundamental task for sysadmins. You have several reliable options depending on your use case and environment. openssl (most portable) The simplest and most widely available method: openssl rand -base64 12 This generates a 12-character base64-encoded string. Adjust the number to change length — openssl rand -base64 32 gives you…
Evolution stores sort preferences individually per folder by default. If you want emails consistently sorted across your entire mailbox, you need to set a global default. Steps Open Evolution and navigate to Edit → Preferences Go to Mail Preferences → General Locate the Default Sorting section Choose your preferred Sort by option (Date Received, Subject,…
If you’re getting this error when running bibtex on your auxiliary file, it typically means your document has no citations, even though BibTeX is being invoked: This is BibTeX, Version 0.99d (TeX Live 2015/Debian) The top-level auxiliary file: main.aux The style file: latex8.bst I found no citation commands—while reading file main.aux (There was 1 error…
You need to detect whether STDERR (file descriptor 2) is connected to a terminal or redirected to a file or pipe. This is useful for conditional logging, color output, or error handling that depends on the output destination. Using file descriptor tests The primary method is the -t test operator, which checks if a file…
The default data directory for MySQL and MariaDB installed from official repositories on modern distributions is: /var/lib/mysql This applies to CentOS 7, Rocky Linux 9, Fedora, and most RHEL-based systems. Finding the Data Directory Programmatically If you’ve customized your installation or need to verify the exact location, there are several reliable methods. Query MariaDB/MySQL Configuration…
The REPLACE() function is your primary tool for modifying string values within a column. It scans for a substring and replaces all occurrences with a new value. Basic syntax UPDATE table_name SET column_name = REPLACE(column_name, ‘old_string’, ‘new_string’) WHERE condition; Simple example Replace all instances of “old_domain” with “new_domain” in the email column: UPDATE users SET…
Samba defaults to asynchronous writes for performance reasons, but the behavior is fully configurable. Understanding these options is critical when data integrity matters more than speed. Default Async Behavior By default, Samba writes are asynchronous. When smbd receives a write request, it: Copies data to a memory buffer Returns success to the client immediately Flushes…
The LIMIT clause in MySQL lets you control how many rows a SELECT query returns. This is essential for pagination, performance tuning, and working with large datasets. Basic LIMIT Syntax To return only the first N rows from a table: SELECT * FROM qa_users LIMIT 10; This returns the first 10 rows from the qa_users…
Date comparison is one of the most common operations in SQL queries, whether you’re filtering orders, analyzing logs, or generating reports. The approach varies slightly across database systems, but the underlying principles remain consistent. Basic Date Comparison The simplest form uses standard comparison operators against a date string in YYYY-MM-DD format: SELECT * FROM orders…
Go provides straightforward ways to write to standard output and standard error streams. Understanding when and how to use each is essential for building robust applications, especially in containerized and cloud environments where log separation matters. Using the fmt Package The fmt package is the most common approach for printing to STDOUT: package main import…
If you’re running dnsmasq primarily for DNS resolution and don’t need its DHCP server capabilities, you’ll want to disable DHCP while keeping DNS functional. This is a common configuration for DNS-only setups or when another service handles DHCP. Default dnsmasq behavior By default, dnsmasq ships with DHCP disabled. However, many distributions include preconfigured DHCP settings…
The epoch timestamp (also called Unix time) represents the number of seconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. PHP provides several straightforward methods to obtain this value. Using time() The simplest approach is the time() function: <?php $timestamp = time(); echo $timestamp; // Output: 1704067200 (example) ?> This returns the current Unix timestamp as an…
Environment variables are essential for configuration management—API keys, database URLs, feature flags, and environment-specific settings should never be hardcoded. Python provides straightforward mechanisms to access them. The os Module The standard way to read environment variables is with the os module: import os api_key = os.environ[‘API_KEY’] This raises a KeyError if the variable doesn’t exist….
Use os.Getenv() to read an environment variable: package main import ( “fmt” “os” ) func main() { val := os.Getenv(“MY_VAR”) fmt.Println(val) } os.Getenv() returns an empty string if the variable doesn’t exist. This means you can’t distinguish between an unset variable and one explicitly set to an empty string. Checking if a variable exists To…
Sending output to stderr keeps error messages separate from normal program output, making it easier to redirect and filter logs in shell scripts and pipelines. Basic Approach with fmt The simplest method uses fmt.Fprintln() with os.Stderr: package main import ( “fmt” “os” ) func main() { fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, “This is an error message”) } This writes…
The traditional Node.js approach uses require(). Create a module that exports functions, then import them where needed. exporting functions (math.js): function add(a, b) { return a + b; } function subtract(a, b) { return a – b; } module.exports = { add, subtract }; importing in another file (app.js): const { add, subtract } =…
The tilde expansion ~username works fine when the username is literal, but fails when the username is stored in a variable like ~$user. Bash doesn’t perform tilde expansion on variables by default—it only expands ~ at the beginning of a word before variable expansion happens. Using eval The most common approach is to use eval:…
When Linux fails to boot with the error message “sulogin: can not open password database” despite /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow appearing intact, SELinux is often the culprit. The files exist and have correct content, but SELinux context labels are missing or corrupted, preventing the login process from reading them. Diagnose the Problem Boot into the initramfs…
If your iPhone contacts search is returning “No results” after an iOS update, the issue is often a corrupted contacts database or a syncing problem with your contacts source. Here are the most effective fixes. Check Your Contacts Source First, verify where your contacts are actually stored. Go to Settings > Contacts > Default Account…