Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with code

Help me batch print text files on the Mac

grumblebee — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:19:03 -0800

OS X: I want to batch print all the files in a source-code library. They are actionscript files, which means they are text files that all end in a .as extension. The files are in a complex directory structure (one root folder but files in multiple subfolders), and there are non .as files that I don't want printed. When the files print, I need some kind of separator ( spaces, asterisks, new page...) between each file. I can't seem to find a FILTERABLE batch printing app for OSX -- one that can print all files (of a certain type or naming scheme) in all folders and subfolders starting at a certain root.

I thought about opening Terminal and doing this:

find . -name "*.as" | xargs cat > outfile.txt

And then printing outfile.txt. That would be perfect except that I won't easily be able to tell where one file begins and another ends. I need

*****************

or some other delimiter between files.

If it matters, this is for OS X Leopard.

Teach em how to fish and they'll give us better cities, or something

stormygrey — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:34:01 -0800

Calling all planners, public admin. types, adult education gurus and other smarty pants: I need to develop a training program or at least a strategy for developing a training program for further planning on the local level, put the hard parts. Our office is charged with further the planning efforts of local (state and county) governments. We laid out the elements needed to successfully developing and implementing a comprehensive plan and then audited it to analyze our gaps. Then we looked at other agencies and they have similar gaps.

How can we train people in the areas of administrative capacity and what we are generally calling "community will" (political will, advocacy, etc.)?

Like, how to read a site plan submitted by developers, how should staff and appointed/elected officals communicate effectively, can a circuit rider type planner work, how would you develop a program like that, how do you do code enforcement with out a dedicated staff member. For the last one, its things like making politically difficult decsions, gaining consensus, or just plain how to implement your plan (what ever that may mean).

I know I am putting a lot of info out there, I don't want to box in the answers here. So have you attended or created training on items similar to these? Are you aware of awesome (perferably free) web based training/podcasts that touch on these issues. Feel free to throw in any new ideas that you see staff or officials messing up all the time. Thank you!

what is "backend of a site seal" called on scriptlance?

Izzmeister — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:15:20 -0800

how do the online BBB seals and safety seal work on the back end? I am trying to make a seal for members of an organization I am part of.

the Better business bureau has a seal which members put on their website with a code that links back to them.. which says when clicked upon "this is a member in good standing".

same things for site safety seals...

how do I create such a seal? i can go on elance or scriptlance, but I have no idea what I am trying to describe...

how hard is this to create, and how would i describe it best so I don't get taken for a ride?

I have the graphic.... I need the "CGI backend" or however it should be described.

Thank you MeFi!

Code Blue

nax — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:01:39 -0800

Why, when I cut and paste original Word docs into my blog, does all this hidden html code (or something) show up? At first I thought it was just stuff I copied off the web, but it's doing it with original writing created entirely, by me, in Word, as well. Here's one sample (screen shot, because when I tried to post it here, it stripped all the code out. On Blogspot, it just tells me it can't post because of the code).

This started happening a couple of months ago. I have to strip out all the code before publishing. I did not put ANY of that code in there. I wouldn't know how if I wanted to. What is going on, and why is this happening.

(Note-- I know NOTHING about computer code, so super-simple response please.)

infinite zoom visual source code editor?

flexiverse — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:24:12 -0800

I saw a video from microsoft research which showed a new editor with like "infinite zoom" when viewing all source code files, like flash vector files - really cool. But i can't seem to find this video again! Does anybody know what it's called? Or a link?

Learning HTML though examples

azpenguin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:33:36 -0800

What are some good webpages for a HTML beginner to look at for code examples? I'm working on learning HTML, and I'm finding plenty of resources for learning how to write code. However, I'm one of those people that always learns better by actually seeing things in action, looking under the hood, and seeing how everything goes together. The problem I run into right now is that while I've been trying to look at the source code on the websites I visit, most of them have such a massive amount of code that it's a little overwhelming to make sense of what does what. (MeFi's code isn't that bad, however.) What would be some good, simple pages to look at and learn how things are being done these days? (For example, pages with good clean divisions, or pages that use tables that don't look like they're from 1997, if anyone actually still uses tables any more.) Any other clues you could give a n00b would also be appreciated. Thanks!

How do I restore the formatting in my blog?

FireStyle — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:07:21 -0800

I'm using the Hybrid-News blogger template for my blog. After doing some tweaking to the code, I lost the feature I loved the most - the condensed posts on the front page. Any ideas on how to get it back? (more in explaination). Here is the link to the hybrid-news template

Here is the link to my blog

Notice how in the template the stories are condensed to a few lines. Somehow, I lost that formatting, and my skills in CSS are elementary at best. Any idea how to get it back?

Thanks much, and if you like politics, feel free to comment on the site!

Can you help me decipher this airline ticket code?

mrunderhill — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:59:41 -0800

Can you help me decipher this airline ticket code? Penalty
CXN BA 100 EURFL RESTRCD/CHG BA 100 EUR

Thanks!

3-5 days and good programming skills. I wanna build something cool!

cgg — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:37:11 -0800

I have 3-5 days (starting tomorrow!) in which I'm off from work, and have really nothing planned. As a developer geek in a crappy economy, I'm looking at looming unemployment and/or the start of a freelance career in the very near future. I want to this time making "something" that I can use in my portfolio to show potential employers/clients. What on earth can I build? Ideas for sites are a dime a dozen, except for when I need one. I'd like to build something cool that I can show off. Trouble is, I'd like to get it out, at least v0.1, after only 3-5 days of work. All my ideas involve considerably more effort than that. And I at least want it to be somewhat fun and/or interesting and/or to teach me something new... I can write boring code at work.

So mefites -- what should I build? I know the LAMP stack pretty well, where the 'P' can be either PHP, Python or Perl (although right now PHP is my strongest language). I can thnk in SQL -- databases are not a problem. I have more than enough hosting and a good dev environment. I can learn things (APIs, etc) pretty quickly. Maybe something fun with Google Maps? A Facebook app? An entire site? I'm open to all and any ideas...

Yes, there are better uses for my time. I should be networking, yadda yadda, but this is my vacation and I don't wanna. :) I never get to write what I want to write anymore. Assume my resume is up to date and polished.

Looking for code to pull in Last.FM playlists into my site.

psmealey — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 08:05:54 -0800

I don't want to betray anyone's trade secrets here, but what is the html or js code or query string for pulling in playlists from Last.fm, as is done for us on our profile pages? Been searching a bit here and on last.FM, and am not finding it. Also welcome any other resources that interact similarly with other social networking sites. Thanks?

PHP -> Twitter API at specified times: what am I Doing Wrong?

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:29:11 -0800

Please help me write a PHP script that publishes Twitter updates at pre-specified times. I'm working on a script that will update Twitter with reminders about upcoming shows at a music festival, building on lodev's idea here.

I've currently got this script, which calls a text file structured like in this made-up example:

XXXUPDATE SponsorCo Stage: THE BEATLES in 30 minutes XXXTIME August 21 2009 21:30 +0200 XXXDONE 0 XXXENDLINE XXXUPDATE MegaCorp Stage: ROLLING STONES in 30 minutes XXXTIME August 21 2009 22:45 +0200 XXXDONE 0 XXXENDLINE

Proprietary format, I know. :) There are six Twitter accounts right now for separate concert stages, more may follow.

All six separate scripts are called from a Ruby file via pycron, every minute. I understand that's plenty often and I don't really need that kind of temporal resolution, but it uses relatively few processor cycles so I'm not really complaining.

As you can see in the PHP code:

if (($now <= ($utime + 30)) && ($now >= ($utime - 29))) {

if ($update[3] !== 1) {

When an update is ready for publication it should, theoretically at least, satisfy the first "if" statement and be published. The second "if" checks a "done" flag in the text file which I have as of yet not used (i.e. they're all set to 0 and the current code doesn't amend them).

Now, I "stress-tested" this with some test updates on all six accounts, including many simultaneous ones (carrying the same timestamp) on the different accounts for ten minutes with six (one for each account) every minute, and out of maybe a hundred-something tweets (I ran multiple iterations of the test) only one was dropped, i.e. it was in the text file but was not published.

Even one dropped update is unacceptable to me, and I strongly suspect I am Doing It Wrong. But how? The problem basically boils down to the following question:

What better method would there be to push out the updates reliably using the server config I currently have (XP, Apache, PHP5, Ruby, pycron), very preferably without using databases?

When it comes to scripting I really only speak PHP and a little JavaScript: even the (very basic) Ruby script was kindly provided to me for a different project.

So there's just too little time before the event to learn a new language or start out with MySQL or whatever before the event, and I'm not really eager to change to different software or change my server configuration (or set up another box) just for one-off project that will last just a few days. This is just to say that it's not due to an unwillingness on my part, but rather due to practical considerations.

If anyone could offer their insights I would be ever so grateful. Thanks in advance, guys.

How can I update a textbox in a slide object in the middle of a loop in E-Prime?

scrutiny — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:34:37 -0800

Computer Coding: I'm trying to write an experiment in E-Prime that uses a Visual Analog Scale to allow subjects to bid on items. Basically, this means they move a slider with their mouse over a bar, and the position on the bar represents how much they are willing to bid. The thing is, they need to know what value the slider currently represents before they can actually bid, and I'm having problems getting the text to update with the cursor position. Now, if any of you out there are E-Prime gurus I could really use your help for this bit. I need to figure out how to update a textbox in a 'slide' object in the middle of a loop. I've also posted this question on the E-Prime forum and was basically met with crickets. I'm a decent (not great at all) programmer in some other languages so I've been picking this stuff up pretty fast, but I'm under a pretty tight deadline right now.

There's an example of the code available for download on the forum post, but I think you have to sign up to get it. If you use E-Prime and aren't on the forum, feel free to MeMail me and I'll send you a copy of the code.

Security of Important Files

inquisitive — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:36:52 -0800

How can I prevent users from copying / printing / emailing certain files from my computer, while allowing them to work on those files like reading and modifying ?? I wanted to protect the source code of the tools developed by programmers in my company. So I want the programmers to be able to access those files, read them and modify them, etc.

Yet I don't want them to be able to copy files to any other device, or print them, or even send them in email as an attachment.

Blocking internet access or external devices using Firewall or OS features is not a practical option.

Is there a solution ?

I want to be a web developer! Maybe!

dougunderscorenelso — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:15:15 -0800

I want to quit designing and become a web developer! Can I? Should I? Where do I start? Background: I've been designing for 8 years, exclusively web for the past 4 years. Picked up CSS/validation/site optimization really fast, jumped in jQuery, moved to general Javascript, and I'm learning it pretty quickly. I work in a Rails shop, and I've been told that I can move into a "buildout developer" role if I want to, which would involve CSS/HTML, but of course, no Rails. I'd like to move further, even if it means going somewhere with lower expectations and pay.

Why developing? I've finally realized that I love making things, learning things, and fixing things. Unfortunately, most graphic designers spend their time "selling things," which sounded sexy at 22, but seems downright icky now. The best part of every workday is when I get to use some Regex or set a session variable, so coding for a living seems attractive.

Is it too late? I work with people who've been on LAMP stacks since age 16, and I can't write a single SQL query. Is there too much a knowledge gap between me and lifelong developers?

Where to start? Going to a framework like Rails immediately sounds like cheating, but what do I know? What should I start playing around with, to get a general idea of how servers/DBs/languages work? What kind of goals ("Write a plugin", "Launch an app") could I reasonable set for myself in a new language?

Thanks in advance!

MANF ANGWA RDASM ORT = ?

0xFCAF — Sat, 16 May 2009 00:14:55 -0800

MANF ANGWA RDASM ORT. What does it mean? Mike Doughty's guitar has letters (like the stickers you'd put on your mailbox) that spell out the above words, one per line. It's not rot13 or any other Caesar shift. Google turns up nothing. Nothing obvious looking at anagrams. Any ideas?

Regular expression puzzle time!

delladlux — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:14:28 -0800

Regular expression puzzle time! You have a chunk of HTML. You want the content of all of the table cells inside the table rows where the row has nine cells. You do not want cells for rows with more or less cells. Example content:

<tr class="evenrow">
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>9</td>
</tr>

Example regex pattern that DOES NOT WORK:

$pattern = "/<tr class=\"\w{3,4}row\">.*?(<td.*?>.+?<\/td>){9}.*?<\/tr>/s";

Is there a way I can do this with one regular expression? Thanks!

Seeking books/resources on working with other people's code.

giggleknickers — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:33:44 -0800

I would like to find some books that cover how to work with other people's code. I'm a student and an intermediate level java programmer. I am working with someone else's code on a major project for the first time ever. I am quite used to developing projects from scratch, but trying to make sense of someone else's code is a nightmare, especially since it is very poorly written.

The program is "done" and my job is to make it better. Fix bugs, clean up the awfully written code, etc.

There are so many books on how to develop software from the beginning. Are there any books on how to take pre-existing software and give it an overhaul?

Pretty code

sandking — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:37:49 -0800

Most syntax highlighting palettes are created by people with no graphic design/usability sense. What are some great examples of really lovely to look at (for long periods of time) and useful syntax highlighting palettes/schemes?

Finding a web friendly lawyer

avex — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:13:24 -0800

I make web sites and created a web app for a client and now they want to own the copyright in exchange for equity. Help me find a New York based web friendly lawyer to ensure the new contract protects me. Tips are also appreciated on a fair equity percentage to ask for.

Girl Give me Phone Number, but Forgets Area Code.

Risiko — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:42:40 -0800

Amazing girl I meet at a show gives me her phone number, but forgets to give me the area code. Main problem: I barely know anything about her - not even her name. How can I get in touch? At a hip-hop show, drinking a little bit, meet girl on dancefloor, we enjoy ourselves immensely (ahem). Show ends, after some light chit-chat I head out (a couple of her friends seemed protective and annoyed at me...there seemed to be no opportunity to pursue our connection any further), and to my surprise, she chases me down (a couple blocks later), catches up with me. She gives me her number. I tell her I'll call her soon. Big Problem: She forgot to give me her area code. Fast forward a few days later, I try the number she gave me with the logical (local) area code, and it isn't her (instead of a girl w/ a Mexican accent, I get a housewife with a husband and kids - funny story). After some time though, I try about a dozen more area codes that are nearby (Northern California), all I get are dial tones and one business office (and a couple pagers, apparently) - none are actually her.

My main thoughts: Either she gave me the wrong 7-digit phone number (incredibly unlikely), or the area code for her phone is from some other part of the country.

Anyone know of a way to get in touch with her? There are no phone books for cell phones I'm sure.

The only information I have about her: She lives in Woodland, CA...which is a smalltown about 10 miles down the road from my college town of Davis. That's all, though.

I'm out of ideas. Anyone else with some?

I've at least learned a lesson - doublecheck to make sure I've got an area code next time...

Resize a Website Neatly

mahoganyslide — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:58:45 -0800

How do I make a website behave nicely when a browser window is resized so that the website elements don't cascade onto each other? I work for a non-profit that cannot afford to hire someone to build a website that represents the organization. I'm probably the only computer literate person in the organization, but that doesn't mean much. I know a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, but I'm definitely a noob at building websites. Regardless, I (stupidly?) volunteered to try my best and build at least something.

So, I took a look at some online tutorials on HTML/CSS, played around with a few templates, and threw together a website. On the whole, it's pretty decent except for one problem: when you resize the browser window on the screen, all of the different elements of the website start collapsing onto each other which makes for a really ugly display of our content. How do I make it so that a window resize just starts cutting into the website or at least resizes the components neatly? For example, when you resize the browser window while you're surfing Wikipedia, the text and buttons don't jumble up. They're merely resized up to a point and then only a small segment of the website is displayed.

I don't even know what the relevant terminology is, and Google has therefore failed me. Are there any search terms I can use to find a guide, or do you know of any specific HTML/CSS code?

By the way, I'm using Dreamweaver to edit the website.

I appreciate any help that you can provide!

Stupid Outlook! No cookie!

IAmBroom — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:38:19 -0800

VBA programmers: is there any way to control the formatting of Outlook Contacts Body text? (The "Body", BTW, is the large "notes" section at the bottom of the Contacts form.)

My searches on internet forums have proven useless, and I even got an MS online tech support person to say it probably couldn't be done (but I've proven them wrong before, so it's not exactly like visiting the Oracle at Delphi).

Here's some ideas I've tried, and why they don't work:

mapiContacts.ContactItems(i).BodyFormat = olFormatPlain
(Turns out the BodyFormat property is only available for mail & post items, despite what it suggests under Help for ContactItems.Body).

Dim str As String
str = mapiContacts.ContactItems(i).BodyFormat
mapiContacts.ContactItems(i).BodyFormat = str
(This requires every stinking Contact to be updated, every time I run this program.)

Need a database for event check-in

jestonb — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:54:57 -0800

I am looking for an easy (and free) database to do event check-in. We normally just cross peoples name off a list but I would like to have faster more real-time way of doing it. We will be checking in about 900 people. We have access to bar code scanners and can print bar codes on the ID tags to move people along. I'm hoping that I can find a free access database instead of building one my self.

I want to help the Fox and the Bird

photomusic86 — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:19:17 -0800

What do i need to learn to make add-ons of my own for Firefox and/or Songbird? I'm interested in using my computer skills to improve my favorite open source programs. Unfortunately, I don't know a damn thing about coding, programing, writing lines, terminal, etc. I need to know, where's a good place to start?
I run a Mac OSX 10.5 on an early 2008 MacBook Pro, if you have something system specific. Thanks Hive!

Help me lawyer up...

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:32:18 -0800

I need to find a lawyer in the NYC area who deals with confidentiality agreements and stock option contracts, specifically in the software industry. How would I go about finding such a lawyer? I don't have a ton of money, so I'd rather keep costs low if possible.

If you'd like to respond by email, you can contact me at needaniplawyer@gmail.com