WordPressHelp » Site Development

Database Admin Tool

admin — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:13:29 +0000

I don’t know how many folks, like me, have had troubles using phpMyAdmin to perform large MySQL database restores, but if you have, then perhaps this little set of pointers will help you out. I know this process has made my life easier.

As most of you probably already know, phpMyAdmin is a wonderful toolset. It makes database management and editting both simple and straightforward. However, one of the major drawbacks to the phpMyAdmin toolset is that it is VERY slow to upload large amounts of SQL or perform Database restores using the Import function. For those of us with large and very large MySQL databases this presents a major issue. So what can be done to get around the problem?

The obvious conclusion is that a tool other than phpMyAdmin is needed. MySQL Administrator is the tool I have discovered that works best for me. The tool is starightforward, secure, and fast. The process I have found to work is as follows:

Download and install MySQL Administrator (and set it up so that it is able to log directly into your database server). This is easy to do; the only gotcha I encountered is: remember not to use http:// in your url address.
“Connect” MySQL Administrator to the system where you keep your MySQL DB.
Using the Backup function, create a backup of the DB and store it somewhere easy to locate.
When you need to do a restore (or ‘yes’ even a copy) all you need do is log into MySQL Administrator, connect to your database system and access Restore Backup. Interestingly this backup need not have been generated via MySQL Administrator; I have used phpMyAdmin generated files successfully.
If you are performing a simple restore, all you need to do is point the restore to the target DB and wait. In my expereince, it takes about 5 minutes to restore a 25MB database.

If this were all that we could do the tool, that would be enough, however, there are other useful functions that you can employ with a couple of small ‘tricks’. For example, if you want to create a new DB and freeze an old one, all you need to do is:

create the new database per your usual process (remember the name you give to this new DB).
backup the database you want to clone
open a copy of the ‘backed up’ database in your favorite editor (I use geany)
do a gloabl search and replace of the old database name with the new one- per the name you created in the first step above
restore this editted file into your blank database using the functions within MySQL Administrator
point your application to the database of your choosing– now that you have at least two.

I find this process to be extremely helpful in upgrading and testing systems.

I hope this little tutorial helpful. I wish I had figured this out years ago, myself.

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WebMaster Tools

mark — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:12:08 +0000

Most of these pointers are courtesy of: http://mywebresource.com

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CSS Guides

mark — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:38:15 +0000

CSS: Style Sheet Guidelines

Web applications should always adhere to W3C standards and validate correctly. Numerous excellent CSS style Guides are available that discuss the how-tos of achieving these objectives, below are a few:

References:

Tutorial:

Style Master CSS Tutorial

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Web Site Analysis

mark — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:44:25 +0000

Goals

Establish an overall goal for your web site. Who will your audience be? What information do you want to convey to this audience?

Targets

Which of the following will your audience be using?

Web browsers (FireFox, Netscape, Internet Explorer, AOL, Opera, lynx)
browser versions (2.0+ 4.0+, 5.0+, 6.0+, 7.0)
platforms (Windows, MAC, UNIX, Linux)
screen resolution - The most popular screen resolutions at this time is 1024 x 768.

Design your site so that it meets the specifications of the target (s) chosen. See www.thecounter.com/stats to see current statistics regarding the most frequently used browser versions, monitor resolutions and operating systems.

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Design Pointers

mark — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:42:01 +0000

The most important part of your web site is the actual text content. Use the following tips regarding content:

Site Navigation Scheme - Using index cards or smaller pieces of paper, write down all the items that you want included in your web site (Brainstorm here!). Now separate them into Categories, understanding that one index card may end up in more than one category. When you have something that makes sense, you have just created one navigational scheme!
- If you need more than one level of hierarchy, create additional piles. Ensure that those items which you know your audience will want to get to are not too far down in the navigational scheme. Will your audience have to click more than two times to get to the item? If so, consider using a Quick List on higher levels of your site which will get your audience quickly to these popular items.
- Repeat the above process until you come up with one or more navigational schemes for your site. Now decide how you want to ” label ” each of the Categories so that it is brief and yet descriptive for your audience.
Static vs Dynamic - Determine which elements of your web site will be relatively static in nature, and which elements are dynamic, requiring frequent updates. You may decide in this step NOT to include something on the web site, if you will not be able to maintain it.
Page Size - For large documents, decide whether you will break it into separate web pages, making each page printable on its own.
- Your alternative is to make one large document with a table of contents or index at the top with target links to specific areas of the document.
Page Identity - Make each page in a group of web pages understandable on its own. This means that you will need to title each page consistently. If your site has several layers of content, consider the usage of footprints on your pages. (Ex.Home & gt; & gt; ITS & gt; & gt; Documents).
Print vs Web - Content that typically needs to be revised when converting printed media to the web include:
- contact points (email addresses in addition to mail addresses, room numbers and telephone numbers)
- if you include a phone number, use complete phone numbers with area codes
- when referring to a date, spell out the month. While the US uses month / day / year, the rest of the world uses day / month / year
- for forms to be placed online, you will need to rewrite the instructions. For example, remove / reword sentences such as ” Complete back side of this form. “
Link descriptions - Part of your documents will contain links to other information. These links should alert the user to what they will see if they select the link; in other words they should be brief and yet descriptive. In some cases, it is also appropriate to describe the ” where ” in the link. For example, if a link will take the user to another web site, convey that information in the link text. Avoid terminology like ” click here ” or ” press the right arrow “; browser methods of choosing links vary.
- provide ” return to ” statements on pages of your web site to help users get back on track.
Stale content - Tell users, in words, how often a page is updated.
Original content -
- Make the content of your home page original. Do not duplicate documents that appear elsewhere on the Internet. Instead, link to them
- Be aware of copyright regulations that apply to existing Web sites.
In development - Avoid under Construction pages. If you intend to eventually include an additional page or section on your web site, you may say so on a completed page of your web site, but do not put up a page which only states Under Construction.
Spelling errors - Spell check and proofread your pages as you would any other publication.

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Special Tips

mark — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:38:32 +0000

Special Tips

Be aware of the pitfalls of character sets . (Here comes a pound sign Ã‚Â£ what did you get?) Currency signs are a real danger. It might be safer to write the currency in full. It is not just the signs that fail in some way; even those that do display may be misinterpreted. Let ‘ s say you are in the USA and write $25.00 without qualification. How much does that look like to a browser in Australia, Canada, or Hong Kong? If the local $ is worth more than the US$ then you risk someone dismissing a product as overpriced. If the local $ is less, your strangely eager customer may suddenly turn sour when she or he thinks you have been deliberately misleading.

ISO 8859-1 Character Set Overview
If you specify a background color or image, but don ‘ t specify text and link colors, the user ‘ s text and link colors will be used against your background. In some cases, there won ‘ t be contrast between the user ‘ s text and link colors and your background color or image, so your text and links will disappear. The rule of thumb is that if you set one color, then you need to set them all .

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alpha Criteria

mark — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:20:05 +0000

Suggested alpha Standards

alpha Review is final internal review of a website for the purpose of internal quality inspection
all local coding is completed and local developer reviews are completed
the developer believes that the product will meet call client requirements and will pass management examination and sign-off
alpha sites still run on development servers and have not been published to the internet

alpha Readiness Checklist

Please note that all the below criteria, in the checklist, must be met before considering the site as being ready for alpha Review.

Checklist for main page of web site

Does the page have the following?

a name of index.html or equivalent (ie. home.php for WordPress) ? By naming your main home page index.html, users will be able to access your site without supplying a filename at the end of the address.
a title which contains the name of your web site followed by “, CompanyName LLC “. For example: CompanyName LLC
the CompanyName brands used correctly!
the full name of the person to contact regarding your web site .
an email link behind the name of the contact person with an ” @ mail.com ” email address. For example, in the link Sue Jones, the code ” mailto: sjones @ mail.com ” is stored behind the Sue Jones link. If you need an alias for your email contact, contact: webmaster @ CompanyName.com.
META Tags to identify your web site to search engines. We recommend that you use the author, keyword and description META Tags

Checklist for each page of web site

tables

Use sparingly and with caution! Avoid table use in documents whenever possible.
Table use in CSS or base html should be prohibited!

animated images

Design an animated image so that it stops animating after a few seconds and doesn ‘ t loop continuously. Images that flicker (with a repetitive strobe) should be designed so that the frame rate is not faster than two frames per second. This is especially important for larger flickering images or images which flicker between highly contrasting colors.

To check a web page for accessibility issues, use a tool like the free tool named A-Prompt Toolkit.

Checklist for your entire web site

Have you changed all link references to www.CompanyName.com?
Remember any copied links must be reachable.

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Design Resources

mark — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:13:19 +0000

Top Ten Resources

Designing For Multiple Browsers Without Being Bland
A concise, sober, and BRIEF description of a good Web authoring strategy. Other fine articles by the author include What You See is Not What Others Get and Widen Your Web Site ‘ s Audience . Stephen Traub.
Getting Started with HTML
A primer to Learning HTML 3.2 by Examples , this is a comprehensive and succinct Guide to writing standard HTML.
Web Site Design Tips
Web site design tips for the beginner to the expert. A great collection of classic web site design tips that will build a strong foundation for any new web designer. /a>
The Web Design Group Reference Section
Excellent background information and technical details on HTML authoring. Web Design Group.
Designing for The Web
A series of informative articles on Web site design, including A Web Site is a Harsh Mistress & Rules of Thumb. The special focus is on complementing Web design skills with competence in interface design . Don ‘ t miss Web Site Design. Diane Wilson.
Useit.com: Usable Information Technology
An expansive resource on usability and user interface issues - - featuring several extremely challenging and well-researched essays on Web design and style. Jakob Nielsen.
Understanding HTML
An outstanding presentation of HTML basics by an Australian with a fine writing style. Dianne Gorman.
Hints for Web Authors
A short yet insightful historical analysis of conventional vs.web publishing , Hints for Web Authors is replete with solid recommendations on how to succeed with the latter, including a few pragmatic suggestions mixed in there for good measure, “… in hopes that others may find ‘ em useful. ” Warren Steel.
Dan’s Web Tips
This huge resource contains a balanced summary review of most of today ‘ s important Web authoring topics. Daniel Tobias.
HyperText Markup Language
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) home page for HTML. Here you will find pointers to specifications for HTML, guidelines for how to use HTML to the best effect and pointers to related work at W3C. W3C.

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Site Promotion

mark — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:06:37 +0000

If your Web site URL or email address will change occasionally, consider using a service that provides email forwarding and URL redirection.

Submit your Web site address to an appropriate newsgroup for a critical peer review .

Newsgroups

Promote your Web site by adding your Web address to search engine indices and subject directories. To ensure that people can easily find your Web site, it may be necessary to modify your pages to take best advantage of current search technologies.

Search Engine Watch

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Style Tips

mark — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:03:32 +0000

Condense textual content to fit the time and attention constraints of today ‘ s busy Web users.

Use small (byte-wise) graphics so graphics load more quickly in graphics-capable browsers. (It is not advisable to use GIFs for everything. It ‘ s of the first importance to make the right choice between JPEG and a palette-based format. Avoid blindly choosing GIF and then trying to rescue yourself from the resulting problems.)

JPEG Image Compression Frequently Asked Questions
When using graphics, provide textual alternatives for image-disabled or text-only Web browsers and indexing agents. Some people never turn images on.
Use of ALT Texts In IMGs

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