bioneural.net » mysql

Spring clean your WordPress options

Bruce — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:22:47 +0000

Having cleaned up your head, you might also like to de-clutter you WordPress options table. Sure, it won't alter the look or performance of your site—but it's what's on the inside that counts right? Unfortunately deactivating a plugin or deleting it from wp-content/plugins will most often not clear out the data it saved to wp-options. How do I know what options are stored? If you are currently logged in as site administrator you can see all the options stored in your wp-options table by visiting /wp-admin/options.php. Although you can change these options, you can't remove them: How do I remove obsolete options? Firstly, some well-beahaved plugins will actually do this for you. For example, Quoter offers to tidy up its own mess: Unfortunately such graces do not appear to be commonplace. Secondly, there is a plugin in beta as of this writing called Clean Options. Sadly when I ran this it didn't identify any of the options left behind by long-disused plugins. Thirdly, you can use phpMyAdmin. Say you deleted Ultimate Tag Warrior from your plugins folder after migrating to the WordPress built-in tagging system. To remove UTW's leftovers from your options table, use the following SQL syntax: DELETE FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE 'utw_%'; The % is a wildcard, so it will remove all 24 UTW-related rows in wp-options. After spring cleaning my options table went from 469 to 205 rows—evidence of my experiments with all sorts of plugins when I was a WordPress newbie.

A Xmas spent upgrading bioneural.net

Bruce — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:08:26 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

It's amazing how much detritus accumulates in your server directories and MySQL tables over the years. Add to the mix a propensity to hack core files to the point where you dare not upgrade your packages, and you have yourself a fine mess. I hope it wasn't too obvious, but bioneural.net had developed Diogenes syndrome. It was time for a clear-out and makeover. If you're thinking that sounds like work, it is. What follows is not riveting reading, but if you're contemplating doing the same, perusing what this involved for me might help you judge how many days to set aside—and maybe bug-fix your own migration. Why upgrade? There were multiple reasons why I felt a major overhaul was called for: My host (mt) told me I needed to upgrade from my (ss) product to the (gs) product that had superseded it, and that if I took no action I would "loose the benefit of choosing [my] own migration timeline"; The (ss) product was stuck at MySQL 3.23.58 and PHP 4.4.1, whereas the (gs) upgrade offered MySQL 4.1.11 and PHP 4.4.7 or 5.2.2; Such upgrades would bring security fixes, as would upgrading Gallery from 2.1.2 to 2.2.4; WordPress 2.3.1 (current as of this writing) requires MySQL 4.0 or greater, so I was stuck on WordPress 2.0.11; I wanted to configure ecto 3 to work with WordPress's new integral tagging system (ecto 2 did work with UTW and some hacks to xmlrpc.php); I made a number of hacks to core WordPress files (xmlrpc.php, wp_rss2.php, etc.) which makes updating a ...

Repairing MySQL accidents

Bruce — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 17:34:34 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Herewith a short cautionary tale concerning the dangers of editing your MySQL database in phpMyAdmin when you don't have much idea what you're doing. Note to self: do your research before—not after—trying something new. For my future benefit (should I ignore the aforementioned note) here's a record detailing how I dug myself out of a hole. Step 1 Backup. At least I got that part right. In WordPress the easiest way to do this is from the Dashboard via Manage > Backup. Updating an author e-mail The author e-mail in WordPress is the one that gets notified when someone comments on the post. It can also be used to indicate when a particular comment belongs to the author of the post (e.g. on this blog, author comments are currently styled with a grey hash). If you change your e-mail address in WordPress this association will be lost, so any comments made when you logged in with your old e-mail address will no longer be attributed to the blog administrator. In order to turn off a heavily-spammed admin e-mail address, I therefore needed to re-associate author comments with my new address. The author e-mail data resides in the comment_author_email field in WordPress, inside the wp_comments table. To effect a search-and-replace, open phpMyAdmin and select the database to edit, then click on the SQL tab to reveal a text entry box: In this box type the following, then click Go (substituting the correct e-mail addresses): UPDATE wp_comments SET comment_author_email = REPLACE ( comment_author_email, 'old_email@domain.com', 'new_email@domain.com'); It worked for me, but you can ...

Shorten your URLs

Bruce — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 21:04:53 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Shorty is free link aliasing utility like TinyURL except it resides on your own server (requires PHP and MySQL). An alternative to writing redirect rules in your .htaccess file.

Alternatives to LAMP

Bruce — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 05:12:24 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Alternatives to LAMP: The LAMP configuration (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) is familiar to the open source universe. But just because this combination of products is comfortable, that doesn't mean that it provides the best solution for your systems. David Chisnall suggests some alternatives that might make a better match for your needs.

iPhoto to web gallery bypassing .Mac

Bruce — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 11:45:57 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Apple's .Mac HomePage was a simple way to build a web gallery using versions of iLife prior to 06. With iLife/iPhoto 06, you're forced to use iWeb instead if you want integration. But it's not the changes that have caused me to shy away from .Mac—it's the lack of them. All those regular member benefits dried up like a Namibian river bed. When I migrated to WordPress the only substantial part of my online presence that remained dependent on .Mac was my photography. That is the case no more. What do you need to perform a .Mac bypass? An alternative web host (e.g. Media Temple) A version of iPhoto (I'm using iLife 06) Gallery software that "connects" with iPhoto Some photos (huh?) Gallery software for "static" web-space To a large extent your initial choice of gallery software depends on the capabilities of your web space; if you can upload only static pages (as with .Mac), you can't make use of solutions that require server-side scripting. If you want something very basic, you could just use iPhoto's built-in "Web page" Export plug-in (just upload and link to the exported pages): If you want more options, Galerie is a free Universal Binary application (it's not a plug-in) that integrates with iPhoto to publish your pictures or albums with the press of a button (shown without configuration): Gallery software using server-side scripts There are several open-source photo galleries based on PHP and a back-end database, such as MySQL. Rob has written an informative write-up comparing Coppermine and Gallery. I installed Gallery ...

Virtual Ubuntu 6.06 on the Mac

Bruce — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 11:54:01 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

The principle characteristic of a good installation process is that it "just works" with no more than a few basic on-screen instructions. No pre-preparation. No manuals. No helpline. And no more than one cup of coffee. I'm pleased to report that such a characteristic is possessed by Ubuntu 6.06 Desktop edition. Things didn't go quite so well when I tried to install the Server edition onto my Intel Mac mini. Compared to the previous incarnation (5.10), 6.06 certainly looks dapper (as in Dapper Drake). As Ken commented, the GUI is now more Mac-like than Windows-like—most especially the default desktop background! However, I was more interested in exploring the recently announced Server edition to: ... set up a standardized, certified, and supported LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) server with a single command. I've installed Apache, MySQL, and PHP before from the command line under OS X using Terminal, and this isn't for the faint-hearted. A MAMP-like experience using Ubuntu would be most welcome. I enthusiastically downloaded the .iso image for the Server edition and the installation (although different from the Desktop edition) completed apparently without a hitch, using Parallels Desktop (virtualization software for Intel-based Macs). However, on rebooting I could go no further than the command prompt: It seems I am not alone in experiencing this installation issue. Good: I don't like it when it's just me!

Step-by-step iBlog to WordPress

Bruce — Mon, 29 May 2006 10:57:22 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

I talked about doing it, and even tried out the some of the theory. Eleven months later I did it. This is a reconstruction of the process I went through in migrating from iBlog to WordPress. In the best tradition of reconstructions it is put togther partly from hand-written plus typed notes, old screen captures, lots of coffee, and reliance on memory. Apologies if it seems a bit dis-jointed. I should have gotten to it sooner, but you know how it is... Alternative post title: "Crossing to the Server Side" WordPress.com or WordPress.org? Having decided on WordPress, the next step is to decide if you want hand-holding (.com) or wish to bring the warp core online and experience the full power of a DIY install (.org). In a nut shell, with a WordPress.com hosted account you get: Blog stats (but you can add this functionality to a DIY installation); Askimet plug-in activated (but you can activate it for DIY using a free API key. More important is what you don't get relative to a DIY installation: The ability to import your posts from previous blogging systems; The ability to use plug-ins of your choice; The ability to edit (and create new) custom themes. The choice is yours. Sometimes being constrained is a good thing (i.e. you have better things to do than tweak code 'till the early hours); other times it is a bind. If you chose the .com option you're done reading here. Otherwise, if you dare, read on... (A) Create a WordPress development environment Download and install the MAMP local ...

New Ubuntu version coming

Bruce — Mon, 29 May 2006 07:51:46 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Ubuntu upgrade: The Server Edition of the June 1 Ubuntu release will include a mechanism to set up a standardized, certified, and supported LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) server with a single command.

Apple .Mac membership looking less attractive

Bruce — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 06:53:01 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Once, long ago, being a member of Apple's .Mac seemed like a good idea—even value-for-money. Following the recent Macworld in San Francisco (Jan 2006) I'm left wondering what I'm getting for my money. I use Gmail instead of .Mac for e-mail, because I find it more flexible in use for mail forwarding to and from my domain. I used to make use of Virex, until Apple killed support in recognition that it caused some users more problems than it solved (I now use ClamXav). The .Mac membership area used to make software freebies available (including iBlog); this habit has long since dried up. Occasionally the Pulbic folder on my iDisk sees use as a drop-box, but the only .Mac feature I use regularly is HomePage integration with iPhoto for sharing holiday snaps (although there are excellent free alternatives, such as Galerie). When Mac OS X Tiger was released .Mac users were promised "exclusive" widgets; they never materialised. And now Apple has released iLife 06, together with iWeb, the icing on the cake of disappointment. Apple promotes iWeb as if it's some kind of benefit of a .Mac membership—but it's not. It's not included. whereas it used to cost £70 for a .Mac membership, if you want to enjoy all the features Apple trumpets, it now costs £125 (£70 for .Mac plus £55 for iLife 06). Add your ISP costs to that and you have a fair bit of cash to spend on a more transparent and competitive hosting service. A couple of "first impression" ...