Edward Caissie » Ideas

It’s The Little Things

Edward Caissie — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:28:23 +0000

Some may say “don’t sweat the details” and I would reply, “but it’s the little things that make it great”.

The attention paid to the finer details of code will always play an important part in how well the code works. The documentation written to excess will only serve to better explain the code down the road when updates and improvements are made. This is not to mention the great benefits it will also serve when other developers start working with the code.

Almost anyone can write good code, it really doesn’t take much with today’s search tools and the wealth of knowledge shared in the developer communities, but …

… sweating the details is what great code is all about; and this new project is being kept to this basic tenet.

Beginning A New Project

Edward Caissie — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:48:46 +0000

Although I have been considering this idea for some time I only just recently started putting code to (digital) paper on a new project … and, yes, it is WordPress related. What can I say? I really enjoy working with the platform.

Now, the reasons I am writing this here:

I am still available for other projects … just letting everyone know this one is important, too.
I am approaching this project from an entirely new view point
I know this will be good for the community
I know this will be good for myself

Once I am satisfied most of the features are working in a stable alpha-code state I will be looking for some adventurous individuals …

… but, what is this new project?! Stay tuned for more information.

Code Documentation

Edward Caissie — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:49:55 +0000

Some may say the code is the documentation … and others may reply with the documentation is the code. I believe both are true; and, more importantly, they are not mutually exclusive.

First off, the code quality should be (if possible) in a format that is easily (human) readable. The idea is to provide the person looking at the source code an easy-to-follow layout as well as providing sensible separations between the various code structures.

The code should also be semantically written using naming conventions that help explain why each code construct exists, as well as providing an appropriate indication of what the code will do.

The above two ideas do not preclude the requirement for document blocks to be also included as appropriate in the code, as well as additional code comments explaining specific details that may not be readily apparent from reading the code.

Essentially, the point of view I recommend with documentation is quite simple:

Imagine it is six months later and you did not write the code yourself. Does the documentation you provided properly explain the who, what, where, when , and why of the code? … because in six months time, if you have not been working with the code all along, it will likely be just like you never wrote the code in the first place. Now, imagine what another developer would be going through.

Good UX is not solely in the realm of the end-user.

Most importantly, write the inline documentation when developing the code. You will find it much easier to write the documentation while you develop the code versus going back after the fact and writing it then.

Also, I find it much easier to focus on the task at hand if I do the document framing (read: basic outline) prior to writing the first code structure. Ideally this will also provide the scope of the code as well.

Coding Standards

Edward Caissie — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:57:20 +0000

Over the last 15 or so years, I have learned many things about writing code; about documenting code; and, about providing support for this same code, too.

Coding Standards

When writing code, I make every effort to keep a consistently structured format with the use of white-space, tabs, etc. This helps to provide clear delineation of code elements and structures, but more so it provides easier to read code. If code is easy to read, it is easier to understand.

In my opinion, this is a hallmark of quality code. I cannot recommend strongly enough how important it is to keep a project’s code consistently structured, formatted, and documented. If this is not consistent, it could easily give an impression the project itself is not consistent … or worse, flawed?! It’s also much easier to edit well structured code.

My structuring convention, since I tend to focus on WordPress related projects, is very similar to the coding standard documented on their codex page: WordPress Coding Standards.

A project’s code should also implement a consistent version number convention. This can be as simple or detailed as you want but I would recommend it also have its own explanatory documentation.

For example, a recent article I read regarding the Semantic Versioning Specification provides “a simple set of rules and requirements that dictate how version numbers are assigned and incremented.” I’ll likely be adopting this, or a very similar specification for my projects.

Another important coding standard is using a consistent naming convention:

In computer programming, a naming convention is a set of rules for choosing the character sequence to be used for identifiers which denote variables, types and functions etc. in source code and documentation.
Wikipedia – Naming Conventions (programming)

The keys to quality coding standards are these:

adopting and/or creating documented specifications; and,
being consistent in how they are applied.

Look for more upcoming posts in this series … next up: code documentation; followed by, code support.

Honesty

Edward Caissie — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:45:08 +0000

The more honesty a man has, the less he affects the air of a saint.
Johann Kaspar Lavater

Conspiracy Is Optimistic!

Edward Caissie — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:44:22 +0000

Conspiracy is optimistic! You can shoot the bastards! We can have a revolution!
Steve Jobs – Wired, February 1996

To see My Thoughts click hereRead My Thoughts later

I could not help but think: wow! I know I have been quoting a lot of Steve Jobs recently (I really like quotes from interesting people) which have been arriving in my inbox via a subscription to DailyLit’s “The Wisdom of (Steve) Jobs” Click on this link to DailyLit if you would like to receive these in your inbox.

WordCamp Toronto 2011 Takeaway

Edward Caissie — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:50:03 +0000

Although WordCamp Toronto 2011 was last weekend there were several ideas I will be taking away from it in regards to future development, best practices, as well as some interesting concepts and discussions. To keep it simple I’m just going to list these items (with their inspiration):

Install MultiSite for use with Theme Demos (Ron and Andrea Rennick)
Look into PhoneGap to make HTML5 WebApps for the iPhone * Review Sencha Touch as well (Trevor Mills)
Review all of my Themes to add a ‘description’ parameter to the register_sidebar and register_sidebars definitions * Update the codex, too, if it is not done yet (Jeremy Clarke)
Monetize What You Do (Christopher Ross)
Develop “site” plugin(s) (Rick Radko)
Use inline documentation * PHPDoc (Chip Bennett)
Review do_action and apply_filters in place of conditional function checks (Chip Bennett)

There were many more ideas and great pieces of advice, as well as some really sound tips and suggestions through the day (which I simply made myself comfortable in the Developer track for the duration).

The above were just the ones I specifically made note of (literally using the “Sticky Notes” program). Don’t ask me why I didn’t use EverNote at the time, but all of the above are now listed in an EverNote list for future reference and recollections.

Some of these ideas I am already putting into action, such as the inline documentation in a PHPDoc style; some items I had already been looking at; and others are more as reminders to keep thinking about what can be done.

Just like my site tagline at WPFirstAid: It’s WordPress … anything is possible!

The Power of a Punctuated Yet

Edward Caissie — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:29:20 +0000

Adding “yet” to a statement can create potential. Just think of what you can accomplish by adding this word (with a comma) to a simple statement. You might also notice doing so will often change a negative into a positive. For example:

I am not a guitar virtuoso, yet.

Let’s try one with an exclamation mark:

You have never seen an Easter Rat, yet!

Now, let’s really punch it up and add an ellipsis (…) to the mix:

WordPress does not run every website … yet!

Aside from the little bit of whimsy above, what examples can you think of to generate great positive potential with a little word and a bit of punctuation?

WordPress 3.2-beta1

Edward Caissie — Thu, 12 May 2011 13:28:02 +0000

I saw the wpdevel announcement in my email this morning and also in the news block in the Administration Panels of the sites I check every morning.; and, as per my usual routine, I jumped right into upgrading to this latest nightly version.

Here is an excerpt from the official post on dot-org announcing this release:

It seems like just yesterday that we released WordPress 3.1, but it’s actually been almost three months. We’ve spent that time putting together a new release focused on performance improvements, and are ready for our first beta testers!

As always, this is software still in development and we don’t recommend that you run it on a production site — set up a test site just to play with the new version. If you break it (find a bug), please report it, and if you’re a developer, try to help us fix it.

One of the big items in WordPress 3.2 is the “fullscreen” editor for writing posts and pages … and I have to admit that I was not really expecting to make use of it, but as I write this post as a trial-run I am quite impressed! Kudos to the developers on this new feature. It may take some getting used to but I think it has a great deal of potential.

If you would like to update your WordPress self-hosted web site to the latest nightly build and help out with the testing, or simply just have some fun with the new features, please take a moment to read the article I wrote here for reference.

To make this specific to this latest version you will have to make a small modification to the the process, it’s very simple:

Open the /wp-includes/version.php file in core to edit.*
Change (~ line 25) $wp_version = '3.2-alpha';
Go to your Administration Panel of your WordPress installation.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the “stay updated” link in the bottom-right corner. (Refresh the page if the link is not there.)

Enjoy!

To see the Nota Bene click here.Nota Bene

* This is one of the very few and extremely rare instances where I would ever suggest editing a core WordPress file. I do not recommend this for anyone that is not familiar with how to make a correct back-up of their installation; and, how to re-install WordPress if the world falls in on their heads.

The Internet Vote

Edward Caissie — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:31:37 +0000

Election Day is soon upon us; and, one of the key issues is the matter of Internet access and pricing policies of service providers.

OpenMedia.ca has been working hard to champion the cause of bringing this information to light so voters can make an informed decision with their next federal election vote. To that point, a letter to the Conservative Party representative in your local riding can be sent from their site. Here is the boilerplate text of the letter (please note you are able to change this at their site):

The Conservative Party of Canada is the one party that has not responded to the Digital Future Survey put out by OpenMedia.ca. Canadians want to learn more about where all the parties stand on rising Internet fees. By refusing to answer us, you are leaving voters in the dark.

When your party stood up against the pay meter on our Internet this winter I thought you were on our side. In flippantly dismissing the Digital Future Survey, the Conservatives are giving the cold shoulder not only to the half-a-million Canadians who signed the Stop The Meter petition, but to all voters concerned with Canada’s digital future. Please put pressure on your party leaders to respond to citizens, and clarify the Conservative vision for Canada’s digital future.

Your party’s positions (or lack thereof) on key Internet issues will help guide my voting decision.

Right now you have a unique opportunity to let voters know where you stand, and I want to hear from you.

I want to know that, if elected, you will stop the pay meter on our Internet and work to increase Internet access, competition, transparency, and choice. And I want to know how.

Please become a pro-Internet candidate, and ask your party to let citizens in on the Conservative plan for Canada’s digital future.

Vote Responsibly!