WordPress Custom CSS Plugin

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This plugin adds a virtual CSS stylesheet to your blog that is editable in a stylesheet editor on your WordPress dashboard.  It allows you to conveniently add and edit a custom stylesheet for your blog without having to upload images or files to your server and stores the stylesheet text in the database.

The plugin has been tested with both standalone WordPress blogs and WordPress networks. In network blogs, it can create individual stylesheets for each blog or an initial stylesheet can be used for all blogs by editing the default_css.txt file in the plugin folder.

The plugin contains the following 3rd party JavaScript plugins:

  • a file uploader (blueimp) to upload images, and
  • a code editor (codemirror) to edit the stylesheet.

The plugin requires access to the .htaccess file in the public directory of your WordPress installation in order to create rewrite rules necessary to render the stylesheet.  It will append and not override the existing .htaccess rules.

WordPress Custom CSS Plugin WordPress Custom CSS Plugin

View the WordPress Custom CSS Plugin at my github repository.

Users of software offered on this website, and those given permission for its use within software that they distribute, are bound by the following disclaimer of warranty:DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

THIS SOFTWARE IS FURNISHED “AS IS”. WITHOUT WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, THAT THE SOFTWARE IS FREE OF ERROR, OR IS CONSISTENT WITH ANY PARTICULAR STANDARD OF MERCHANTABILITY, OR THAT IT WILL MEET USER’S REQUIREMENTS FOR ANY PARTICULAR APPLICATION. I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY MATHEMATICAL OR TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS OF THE PROCEDURES AND FUNCTIONS WHICH MAKE UP THE SOFTWARE. WITHOUT ADDITIONAL THOROUGH TESTING BY USER, THE SOFTWARE SHOULD NOT BE RELIED ON FOR SOLVING A PROBLEM WHOSE INCORRECT SOLUTION COULD RESULT IN INJURY TO A PERSON OR LOSS OF PROPERTY. I SHALL NOT IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR GENERAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL, ARISING FROM USE OF THE SOFTWARE. USE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ENTIRELY AT USER’S OWN RISK.

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WordPress Domain Mapping Tools

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These plugins were built to modify and/or extend the functionality of the WordPress MU Domain Mapping plugin on a custom WordPress network.  I am posting them in case they are of use to anyone that is using the plugin to map domains on their blog network.  I will not be providing extensive support for their use but I can answer questions as to their intended use.

There are two plugins that I developed for use with the WordPress MU Domain Mapping plugin:

1. WordPress MU Domain Mapping .htaccess Addon

In blog networks that are installed in virtual hosting environments, domain names must be declared in the Virtual Host (Apache uses the ServerName and ServerAlias directives) to identify which host is served by which domain name. This may present a challenge with sub-domain networks where multiple names are being routed to the same machine. The challenge is compounded if you plan to host more than one network on the same I.P.

The add-on plugin will allow you to map sub-domains in the MU Domain Mapping plugin without having to explicitly define the sub-domain names in your web server. It works by routing each mapped request to the appropriate un-mapped child blog domain using mod-rewrite and .htaccess rules.

The add-on plugin requires access to a root virtual server account that can act as a default destination for domain requests that are not explicitly linked to a virtual host.  An .htaccess file containing the individual redirect rules is created or modified in the public folder of the root account.  Mapped requests coming to your host’s I.P. address are then rerouted to the correct child blog via the appropriate mod_rewrite rule defined by the add-on.

Requirements:

  • You will need mod_rewrite in order for the add-on to function properly. 
  • You will need a root account in your server to act as a default.  Priority in my environment is alphanumeric.
  • The plugin should be Network Activated to work correctly. 

The add-on plugin has some basic functionality that allows it to work with MU Domain Mapping plugin:

  1. Definition of the path to the root .htaccess directory.
  2. Backup and restoration of the existing .htaccess file (if any).
  3. Individual blog (de)activation.

2. WordPress MU Domain Unmap Plugin

After discovering that the MU Domain Mapping plugin did not remove existing mapping after deactivation, I developed this plugin in order to be able to quickly remove mapping from all child blogs so I could make a functional copy of that network in another environment.

Requirements:

  • You should first deactivate the MU Domain Mapping plugin before activating the plugin.
  • The plugin should be Network Activated to work correctly.

View the WordPress Domain Mapping Tools at my github repository.

Users of software offered on this website, and those given permission for its use within software that they distribute, are bound by the following disclaimer of warranty:

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

THIS SOFTWARE IS FURNISHED “AS IS”. WITHOUT WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, THAT THE SOFTWARE IS FREE OF ERROR, OR IS CONSISTENT WITH ANY PARTICULAR STANDARD OF MERCHANTABILITY, OR THAT IT WILL MEET USER’S REQUIREMENTS FOR ANY PARTICULAR APPLICATION. I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY MATHEMATICAL OR TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS OF THE PROCEDURES AND FUNCTIONS WHICH MAKE UP THE SOFTWARE. WITHOUT ADDITIONAL THOROUGH TESTING BY USER, THE SOFTWARE SHOULD NOT BE RELIED ON FOR SOLVING A PROBLEM WHOSE INCORRECT SOLUTION COULD RESULT IN INJURY TO A PERSON OR LOSS OF PROPERTY. I SHALL NOT IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR GENERAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL, ARISING FROM USE OF THE SOFTWARE. USE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ENTIRELY AT USER’S OWN RISK.

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Standalone WordPress XML-RPC Client

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As part of a larger project, I needed a client that could post to one or more remote WordPress blogs. I couldn’t find one on the web so I wrote a simple GUI that uses the XML-RPC MetaWeblog API in WordPress to post to a WordPress blog.
The client uses TinyMCE as the editor, PLUpload for uploading files and jQuery plugins for various functions. The client is unsupported – feel free to use or edit as you like.

WordPress Standalone XML-RPC Client 1 WordPress Standalone XML-RPC Client 2
WordPress Standalone XML-RPC Client 3 WordPress Standalone XML-RPC Client 4

View the Standalone WordPress XML-RPC Client at my github repository.

Users of software offered on this website, and those given permission for its use within software that they distribute, are bound by the following disclaimer of warranty:

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

THIS SOFTWARE IS FURNISHED “AS IS”. WITHOUT WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, THAT THE SOFTWARE IS FREE OF ERROR, OR IS CONSISTENT WITH ANY PARTICULAR STANDARD OF MERCHANTABILITY, OR THAT IT WILL MEET USER’S REQUIREMENTS FOR ANY PARTICULAR APPLICATION. I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY MATHEMATICAL OR TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS OF THE PROCEDURES AND FUNCTIONS WHICH MAKE UP THE SOFTWARE. WITHOUT ADDITIONAL THOROUGH TESTING BY USER, THE SOFTWARE SHOULD NOT BE RELIED ON FOR SOLVING A PROBLEM WHOSE INCORRECT SOLUTION COULD RESULT IN INJURY TO A PERSON OR LOSS OF PROPERTY. I SHALL NOT IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR GENERAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL, ARISING FROM USE OF THE SOFTWARE. USE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ENTIRELY AT USER’S OWN RISK.

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WordPress Social Media Icons Widget

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Spice up your WordPress blog with this useful widget, featuring 28 colorful and varied collections of social media icons. You may also create your own icon sets by creating a folder in the images/iconset directory and adding your own icon images in .png format.
All icons are 32px x 32px.

WordPress Social Media Icons Widget WordPress Social Media Icons Widget WordPress Social Media Icons Widget

Download Social Media Icons Widget

Users of software offered on this website, and those given permission for its use within software that they distribute, are bound by the following disclaimer of warranty:

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

THIS SOFTWARE IS FURNISHED “AS IS”. WITHOUT WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, THAT THE SOFTWARE IS FREE OF ERROR, OR IS CONSISTENT WITH ANY PARTICULAR STANDARD OF MERCHANTABILITY, OR THAT IT WILL MEET USER'S REQUIREMENTS FOR ANY PARTICULAR APPLICATION. I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY MATHEMATICAL OR TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS OF THE PROCEDURES AND FUNCTIONS WHICH MAKE UP THE SOFTWARE. WITHOUT ADDITIONAL THOROUGH TESTING BY USER, THE SOFTWARE SHOULD NOT BE RELIED ON FOR SOLVING A PROBLEM WHOSE INCORRECT SOLUTION COULD RESULT IN INJURY TO A PERSON OR LOSS OF PROPERTY. I SHALL NOT IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR GENERAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL, ARISING FROM USE OF THE SOFTWARE. USE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ENTIRELY AT USER'S OWN RISK.

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Tutorial: Amazon.com Search API

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The Anatomy of a Basic Product Search Engine.

Note: due to changes in the authentication process for Amazon Web Services API, the REST request method described in this tutorial needs to be updated. I will be making changes to the content in the near future.

As discussed in my AJAX article, Amazon offers its web API via a service model, that is to say: delivery of its information product is accomplished through a service designed to function as a back-end to an Associates’ application. The purpose of this tutorial is to examine and construct a simple search application that uses Amazon’s web service as it’s backbone. Before beginning the tutorial, take a brief look at the design of our search application in Figure 1. You will see that the search page has been broken up into ten different sections. The tutorial will focus on the construction of each of these sections.

The Anatomy of a Basic Product Search

Figure 1

The Anatomy of a Basic Product Search

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