How to run PHP Program, CODE or File on Your own Computer?

Summary: Easiest way to install & run PHP on Your Own Computer: Run PHP using XAMPP.

To begin Programming in PHP or to check an existing PHP site or script on your own computer, the very first question you'll face is:

How to run PHP CODE or any File ending with .php extension on My Own Computer? What's the easiest way?

A PHP Program is the result of many lines of PHP CODE & often includes many PHP files. Also, since PHP is a Scripting Language, CODE written in PHP files are often called PHP Scripts. These are all interchangeable words. So don't get confused by these terms.

A Short Introduction:

The easiest way to install & run PHP on your own computer is using a software like XAMPP.

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PHP include vs. include_once vs. require vs. require_once

Learn key differences among the PHP constructs: include vs. include_once vs. require vs. require_once & use them correctly.

PHP programmers regularly use the functions (or more appropriately known as language constructs) like include, include_once, require and require_once to insert useful files in the flow of execution. Although these constructs are used quite interchangeably, there are actually significant differences among them. Many programmers don't know well enough about these differences. I hope this post will help them towards a better coding practice.

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Should we index or noindex WordPress Category, Tags for SEO?

Tips for your WordPress Blog Tags SEO, WordPress Category SEO about indexing for Search Engines - check it out!

Short Answer: There is no straight forward yes/no answer to this question. If you are running a typical Blog using WordPress, where your category and tag pages only contain excerpt from belonging posts, then the answer is no, you shouldn't allow search engines to index your category and tag pages. If you have unique content to those category and tag pages, then the answer is yes, you should index them for better SEO.

Noindex Category & Tag pages if they contain only post excerpt & no unique content

Here is why you shouldn't index tag/category pages with no unique content & only excerpts from posts:

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CPanel Addon Domain without Subdomain

It's a very common problem in shared web hosts, check it out and optimize your website by implementing it!

Most of the shared web hosts that allow hosting of multiple sites from a single hosting account (like Hostmonster, Hostgator etc.) has a common structure. You'll have one main website or domain and all the other websites or domains will be added as Addon domains from cpanel. This way you can host multiple websites from a single hosting account. However, this approach has a problem. With each Addon domain created from cpanel, you also automatically get a subdomain (almost in all cases). Now, the challenge is to using the Addon domain, without the auto created subdomain. This may be important for your website optimization.Since, most of the times, they enable this Addon domain option in cpanel, by creating a subdomain of the main site and then pointing that subdomain to the newly created Addon domain. So in a way, the Addon domain is joined together with the subdomain, and doesn't work without it.

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WordPress: Disable Smart Quote Auto Correct

WordPress: CODE / Commands from your post doesn't work after COPY/PASTE? Learn how to fix it easily & smartly! Hint: Disable Smart Quotes or Curly Quotes.

CODE or Commands written in your WordPress Site doesn't work after COPY/PASTE? Straight (single and double) Quotes are automatically converted to Curly Quotes or Smart Quotes? Here is why it happens & How to Fix it:

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Demystifying the Story about Modern Business SupplyChain - How the Town in Kenya Cleared All Debt

There is a popular story about Modern day Business and Supply Chain in the Economic System: How a Town in Kenya Cleared All Debt. Just Demystified that Story.

You've probably read the story about how a tourist solves the debt problem of a small town in Kenya just by placing a $100 note on a hotel's reception counter and taking it back a while later. It may have baffled you, since even though no one earns anything, everyone's debt is paid for. Well, there is no trick, so let's just demystify the puzzling story once and for all.

The story goes like this:

One day a tourist comes to the only hotel in a debt ridden town in Kenya. He lays a 100 dollar note on the table & goes to inspect the rooms.

Hotel owner takes the note & rushes to pay his debt to the butcher. Butcher runs to pay the Pig Farmer. Pig Farmer runs to pay the Feed Supplier. Supplier runs to pay the Prostitute, who in these hard times gave her services on credit. Prostitute then runs to pay off her debt to the Hotel Owner for the rooms she rented for her clients.

Hotel Owner then lays the 100 dollar note back on the counter. The tourist comes down, takes his money & leaves as he did not like the rooms.

No one earned anything. But the town is now without debt & looks to the future with a lot of optimism.
And that is how the world is doing business today!

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WordPress blog URL change

The easiest and safest way to change WordPress blog URL.

Few days ago I've changed my WordPress blog hosting from CirtexHosting to HostMonster. I've used CirtexHosting for 2 years and HostMonster for more than a year, mainly for development purposes. So perhaps, within a few days, I'll post a review about their performance. In short, both of them provide very good web hosting services. However, this post is not about the review, it's about the temporary problem I've faced while shifting this blog hosting.

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Masking Test & Input Fields in Flash (Example)

Solution to a common problem in Flash text/font. Check it out!

This is the solution (with example demonstration) to Flash Text / Font masking problem. If you came to this page directly, then I suggest you read my Previous Post, which speaks about the problem. Otherwise follow the Tutorial.

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Masking Test & Input Fields in Flash

A common problem in Flash involving text and masking. Check it out!

Normally, mask setting in Flash IDE don't work for dynamic TextField and TextInput components. With default settings, you'll not be able to see the text through the mask. People using masked layers from Flash IDE often fall into this problem. One stupid solution to this problem is not using mask at all. However, if you want to implement something like custom scrolling, sliding etc. then most of the time you'll need to use mask.

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Bloom Box - the new wow factor in Green Energy.

A new Green Energy concept.

A U.S. based company has recently unveiled a new Green Energy source that is both cheap and efficient; And what more? -  It is supposed to transfer the energy wireless! They named the devise as Bloom Energy Server. Is this the long waited breakthrough in green and efficient energy source technology? Is this alternative to our petroleum dependence?

There is a video in cbsnews site, along with an article discussing just that. Cbs is calling it the "Magic Bloom Box!" Although, the original company likes to call it as "Bloom Energy Server".

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Amazing Adobe Photoshop CS5 with content aware fill

Images editing became even easier in Photoshop CS5, see How.

How many times you've looked at a photograph and thought that if some particular junk was not there in the image, then it would be a masterpiece, or at least an excellent art work! And then, you wasted hours with your graphics editing software , only to find out that it was going to take lot more than just few hours of work. Well, watch the YouTube video below, I think the good old days are gone!

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Use PHP MySQL date format correctly

Learn how to handle PHP and MySQL date formatting correctly.

If you ever try to format date in PHP and MySQL, using date (datetime or timestamp) value directly from MySQL to PHP date() function, then you'll get a Notice level error, something like this:

Notice: A non well formed numeric value encountered in ... .. .

Additionally, PHP date() will always return January, 01 1970 if MySQL date is directly used. It means, there is a difference between date in PHP and date in MySQL (i.e. they are not compatible). PHP date function accepts Unix Timestamp,  which is different from MySQL date types (DATE, TIME, DATETIME, TIMESTAMP etc.)

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Facebook Spam | Trojan | Virus - posing as plugin installer

A new form of Spam | Trojan | Virus, posing as Flash or other plugin installer - originated from Facebook Friend Feed. It posts spam on your and your friends' wall and also have the ability to affect your computer.

People, there is a new attack site or link (originated from Facebook) with the following pattern  (emphasize on point 3 below, posing as Flash or other Plugin installer):

  1. It is posted on your friend feed because one or more of your friend's PC was attacked. (BTW, it may appear on your wall, even if you didn't click - in case the compromised friend of yours has the access to post on your wall. This normally happens through tagging. When the virus posts on your friend's wall, it may also tag you. So it will appear on your wall too. So if you fear that one or some of your friends FB account is compromised, then temporarily disallow him/them to post on your wall from Facebook privacy setting)
  2. Once you click the link, if you're logged-in on Facebook, it will post the same crap from your profile.
  3. You are logged in or not, in either case, it will try to play a video after that, and after a few seconds, it will say
    "Plug-in not installed, click to install plugin" - or something similar.
    It looks something similar, when your browser doesn't have Flash player installed.
  4. When you click this, it'll download and try to install an exe file which is actually some sort of Trojan | virus.

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