abestic9

I finally got around to getting IPv6 set up on my server (not this one). This new addressing system (think of your computer as a house with an address on it) will resolve issues with the internet running out of numbered addresses to assign computers and networks. Predicted to happen some time this year (possibly as soon as February), it is important that system administrators look at making sure IPv6 customers/visitors will see your server just as much as your IPv4 ones. Read the rest of this entry

With many open standards approaching the majority of the World Wide Web (desktop and mobile users alike) there are a few things I would like to look back on.

I have compiled a timeline of the events that changed the technology of the web into what it has become today. I’m hoping that by putting this out there, more people will understand just how far we’ve come, and how quickly the industry can change.

1991
Apple releases QuickTime alongside their proprietary video codec known then as “Road Pizza”. The initial reception was incredible. Microsoft proceeded to copy the QuickTime technology and release it a year later, in 1992, as “Video for Windows”. Read the rest of this entry

I’ve been a big fan of storing as much information in the database as possible. This includes HTML pages, PHP-executable files, and images.

It’s a simple concept, really. If it can be stored in a file system, it can be stored in a database. They’re essentially the same thing. Read the rest of this entry

I’ve noticed a lot of websites utilizing XHTML in their websites rather than the widely adopted HTML4.01 standard. I’m not too sure why, though. The benefits of using XHTML over HTML is not applicable to most of these websites, and many don’t use the standard properly (invalidly nested tags, incorrect MIME types).

For those wanting to develop websites in a bleeding edge specification, I recommend using HTML5 & CSS3. Browsers are rapidly adding support for these languages and it offers a lot of benefits (embedded video, content structures, etc) for websites compared to the XHTML standard, which is used primarily to offer websites stricter coding guidelines than any real-world benefits.

There is an amazing array of pre-built PHP (CakePHP, CodeIgniter) and JavaScript (jQuery, Prototype) frameworks out there that are used by many websites, large or small. Each has their own pros and cons. Today, I’ll focus on using a framework for your website versus coding your website or CMS from scratch. Read the rest of this entry