Configuration file options
For quackjson (a Python implementation of a BBS client) I needed to create a configuration file which allows the user to specify their login credentials and how they want the client…
The BSD family
If you're a regular reader of this blog, chances are that you have at least heard of Linux, even if you don't use it directly on a daily basis. However,…
Writing schedule
One of my goals for this year is to create and stick to a writing schedule for all of my non-personal blogs - currently PHP Developer, Politics Geek and Insurance…
Introduction to nginx
By far and away the most popular web server is the Apache HTTP Server (usually just 'Apache') - the A in LAMP. However, Apache is by no means the only web server available,…
Raspberry Pi essential components
I purchased my first Raspberry Pi six months ago, primarily so that I could play around with it in preparation for a job interview at the University of Manchester, where…
How to respond to patches
A couple of weeks ago I made a pull request to the documentation of the Symfony framework entitled: Remove reference to copying parameters.yml from Git cookbook (does pretty much what it…
Bootstrap 3.1.1
Hot on the heels of the new minor version release, Bootstrap has pushed out the first patch release for the 3.1.x series. Most of the changes are minor CSS fixes,…
Automatically populating PDF form fields
At a previous job I needed to automatically populate form fields in a PDF template and then 'flatten' the PDF so that users could make no further changes. After asking…
Combine multiple PDFs into one file in Linux
One thing which I find myself doing on a regular basis is combining multiple PDFs into a single file - e.g. scanned receipts with a digital expenses form. This is…
Reducing the number of requests
As well as reducing request sizes, one way to potentially boost the performance of your website is to reduce the number of requests required to load each page. Every HTTP…