2014
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Technical Innovation
Mar 23
I’m always on the lookout for cool new technology. Sometimes, I find it in the most unexpected of places.
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Dynamic CDN: PHP and Checksums
Mar 21
The general gist of Dynamic CDN is to scan page content before returning it to the browser and dynamically replace locally-hosted assets (images, scripts, styles, etc) with their CDN-hosted equivalents. The trick is returning consistent CDN urls for hosted assets – the plugin uses PHP to generate a checksum for asset references so it can…
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Avoid Abstraction Layers if You Can
Mar 16
I like abstraction layers because they make life easier for developers. I dislike abstraction layers because they raise issues for new developers who have yet to master them.
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WordPress and Shadow Taxonomies
Mar 15
Abstractions build false confidence for new developers – so I’m going to show you how to build a post-to-post relationship system in WordPress from scratch.
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WordPress Core Proposal: Portability
Mar 12
This is less a proposal for a new feature, and more a discussion about a drastically lacking capability in WordPress: It’s not portable.
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Magic of Collaboration
Mar 8
I’m super excited to announce that I’m using 10up’s newest product – PushUp – on this site. If you’re visiting on Safari you’ve already see the popup asking for permission to notify you.
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Why I Advocate “Anti-Patterns”
Mar 7
When I ask developers, “why’d you use a Singleton here,” more often than not they reference a tutorial, another developer, or “that’s how I’ve always done it.” No one ever takes the time to learn about the patterns (or anti-patterns) they’re using so they can make informed decisions about software design.
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Singleton: Alternative to the Anti-Pattern
Mar 6
There are valid reasons for using a Singleton in your design – these reasons, however, are rare enough that many developers can avoid them entirely and still have a full career. If you find yourself using Singletons often, you’re doing something wrong.
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Vagrant and Windows
Mar 5
I often brag about the fact that I’ve dumped heavy tools like XAMPP in favor of Vagrant. I’m quite proud of this accomplishment, and I urge every other developer I meet to look into Vagrant.
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Democratizing SSL Certificates
Feb 28
I have an easier time trusting individuals and corporations I personally know than large companies with whom my only relationship is as a certificate vendor. I’m also a huge proponent of democratizing both publishing on the Internet and the Internet itself.
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WordPress Core Proposal: Comment Remastering
Feb 26
Post-publication comments are also a form of collaboration, and they are in drastic need of some refactoring and re-imagining.
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Proper Code Styling
Feb 25
I look at a lot of code. In my job, recreationally on weekends. Everywhere I see people using a specific coding style and, upon pushback, defend it in the sake of brevity. I’m talking about braceless one-line conditionals.