Technology

2013

• Securing Forms Without Captcha

  May 29

  Captchas are a terrible user experience and should be avoided at all costs. Here are two practical, passive alternatives to using a captcha.

  3 min · publishing

• JavaScript Astrophysics

  May 24

  JavaScript is both approachable and ubiquitous – this is a good thing, because JavaScript can even be used to perform advanced scientific analysis.

  6 min · data · JavaScript

• Plugin Review – Spam Free WordPress

  May 23

  A friend recommended I look at the Spam Free WordPress plugin. I took a look, and I can’t make the same recommendation.

  5 min · WordPress

• Ludicrous Speed: WordPress Caching with Redis

  May 11

  WordPress plays well with Redis. Actually, thanks to Redis, your WordPress site can return content in as little as three milliseconds!

  5 min · infrastructure · performance

• The Hackiest Hack that Ever Was Hacked

  May 1

  While not easy, it’s possible to override stock Plupload events in WordPress using the old-school thickbox uploader. Here’s how to do it.

  3 min · JavaScript · WordPress

• 1Password: Better and Worse for Personal Data Security

  Feb 21

  1Password is a great application that makes your online world more secure. Unfortunately, 1Password is also detrimental to online security as a whole.

  4 min · authentication · threat modeling

• Don’t Dequeue WordPress’ jQuery

  Feb 3

  The most-asked question about WordPress development: How do I use Google’s jQuery instead? Turns out there is such a thing as a stupid question.

  5 min · infrastructure · JavaScript

• Distraction Free Reading Mode

  Jan 29

  WordPress has a distraction free writing mode for content creators. I want to make a similar reading mode for you.

  4 min · learning · WordPress

• Making Singletons Safe in PHP

  Jan 7

  Singletons are not inherently evil; just overused and implemented poorly. Here’s a way Singletons can be perfectly safe to use in PHP.

  6 min · PHP · software design

2012

• The Case for Singletons in WordPress

  Dec 28

  Several WordPress developers have been discussing the singleton pattern lately. Here’s why I think singletons are actually useful in WordPress.

  6 min · code quality · PHP

• WordPress Plugin Structure

  Dec 27

  The best plugin development pattern for WordPress is the singleton. Here are three different ways to build a plugin, including a singleton example.

  5 min · PHP · software design

• Introducing WP_Session

  Dec 1

  Last week I proposed the development of a WP_Session object. This weekend, I took the time to actually build it!

  2 min · code quality · WordPress