Google Custom Search Engine (now part of Programmable Search Engine) lets you offload search functionality to Google’s infrastructure. Redirecting WordPress search queries to CSE can improve search quality, especially for large sites with poor built-in search performance. How it works WordPress uses the s query parameter by default when processing searches from the search form….
When you need to browse the web over SSH or in a headless environment, graphical browsers aren’t an option. Several terminal-based browsers exist that actually handle modern websites reasonably well, though with limitations around JavaScript and CSS. Lynx Lynx is the oldest and most established terminal browser, first released in 1992. It’s still actively maintained…
Connecting your application to a MySQL database is fundamental to most backend systems. Rather than shelling out to the mysql command-line client, you’ll use language-specific connectors that provide proper connection pooling, error handling, and prepared statements. Language-Specific MySQL Drivers The best approach depends on your tech stack: Python Use mysql-connector-python for straightforward connections or PyMySQL…
If you’re running Google AdSense on your site, you might want to show ads only to desktop visitors and hide them on mobile devices. This reduces clutter on smaller screens and can sometimes improve user experience—though test your bounce rates to confirm it actually helps your metrics. Using CSS Media Queries The cleanest approach is…
When working with codebases that use non-standard file extensions for C source files, ctags won’t recognize them by default. You can configure it to treat files with custom extensions like .c0 or .puc as C source code. Using the langmap option The simplest approach is to add language mappings to your ctags configuration. Edit ~/.ctags…
RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol) streams are still used for live broadcasts and on-demand video delivery, though less commonly than HLS or DASH. If you need to capture an RTMP stream, there are several solid tools available on Linux. Using ffmpeg (recommended) ffmpeg is the modern standard for working with RTMP streams. It’s widely available,…
BuddyPress themes extend WordPress’s community features with member profiles, activity streams, and group functionality. While any modern WordPress theme technically works with BuddyPress, dedicated BuddyPress themes provide optimized templates and styling out of the box. Finding BuddyPress Themes Several repositories host BuddyPress-compatible themes: WordPress.org Theme Directory — Filter by the “buddypress” tag at wordpress.org/themes/ Third-party…
Direct assignment to window.onload overwrites any existing handler. If a plugin, library, or another script has already set a handler, your code will replace it completely: // Plugin sets this window.onload = function() { initializePlugin(); } // Your code overwrites it window.onload = function() { doMyWork(); } // Result: initializePlugin() never runs This breaks plugins…
Converting LaTeX to HTML while preserving figures is essential when publishing technical documentation online. The right tool depends on your document complexity and output requirements. tex4ht (htlatex) tex4ht is the most reliable option for LaTeX documents with figures, math, and complex formatting. It’s part of the TeX Live distribution and available on all major platforms….
You can use @import with media queries to conditionally load CSS files only for specific viewport sizes. This is useful for loading layout-specific stylesheets, web fonts, or icon libraries only when needed. Basic Syntax The general format is: @import url(‘path/to/file.css’) media-query; The media query parameter controls when the stylesheet loads. Here are practical examples: /*…
Tracking programming language adoption helps inform hiring decisions, tool investment, and technology strategy. Several indices measure popularity across different dimensions — job postings, GitHub activity, Stack Overflow traffic, and search trends — so no single metric tells the complete story. TIOBE Index The TIOBE Index ranks languages based on search engine results, counting hits across…
AddThis provides social sharing buttons for websites. If you’re using the AddThis Tweet button and want to add a via parameter (to attribute tweets to a specific Twitter account), here’s how to configure it. AddThis Tweet Button with via Parameter Modify the AddThis button configuration to include the tw:via attribute: <!– AddThis Tweet button with…
You have several options for converting HTML files to plain text, each with different strengths depending on your use case. html2text The most straightforward tool is html2text, available on most distributions: html2text input.html The converted text prints to stdout. Redirect to a file if needed: html2text input.html > output.txt Install it via your package manager:…
Counting page views isn’t as simple as incrementing a counter. You need to handle edge cases: duplicate views from the same user, multiple users behind a single IP (corporate networks), and bots. Here’s how to build a robust system. The Problem with IP-Based Counting Relying on IP addresses fails in several scenarios: Multiple users behind…
Amazon’s Kindle Library web interface forces you to delete books one at a time through the UI. If you’ve accumulated hundreds of items, this becomes tedious. Here are practical approaches to bulk-delete from your Kindle Library. Browser Console Method The most straightforward approach uses your browser’s developer console to run deletion scripts directly against Amazon’s…
If you’ve deactivated and reactivated the Disqus WordPress plugin but it’s still using the old forum ID and configuration, you need to clear the stored settings from your database. This is the most reliable way to force the plugin to re-initialize and prompt you for fresh configuration. Why This Happens WordPress stores plugin configuration in…
Copying webpage content directly into a document often produces poor formatting, missing images, or broken layouts. Here are several practical approaches to get clean, readable output. Browser Print Dialog (Native) Most modern browsers have built-in print functionality that’s worth trying first: Open the page in your browser Press Ctrl+P (Linux/Windows) or Cmd+P (macOS) In the…
If you’re running Question2Answer and want to replace the default search with Google Custom Search without modifying your theme, a plugin is the cleanest approach. Setup Requirements Before implementing Google Custom Search, you’ll need: A Google account Google Custom Search Engine (CSE) created at cse.google.com Your CSE ID (cx parameter) Question2Answer 1.8+ installed and functioning…
WordPress’s default block editor works fine for most users, but if you’re comfortable with Markdown—especially for code-heavy technical posts—you’ll want a solid setup that doesn’t corrupt existing content or create maintenance headaches. The key requirement: your solution must preserve Markdown in the database and render it on demand, rather than converting it to HTML and…
Vim ships with built-in completion that many people don’t fully leverage. Before reaching for plugins, understand what’s already available: Ctrl+N / Ctrl+P: Basic keyword completion from open buffers and loaded files Ctrl+X Ctrl+F: Filename completion Ctrl+X Ctrl+]: Tag completion (requires ctags) Ctrl+X Ctrl+O: Omnicompletion (language-aware, when available) The omnicompletion (Ctrl+X Ctrl+O) is what resembles IDE…