I recently upgraded my local testing server to php5. Right off the bat I experienced two differences from my previous php4 setup.

First, for the ‘I need a solution quick’ people.

• Don’t use $PHP_SELF in your forms & links. Use $_SERVER[’PHP_SELF’]
• To get error reporting back on. Search your php.ini for the ‘Error handling and logging’ section and uncomment (by removing the semi-colon) the type of error reporting you want. (eg. error_reporting = E_ALL)

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I’ve had conversations with clients, friends and even strangers about the Mozilla Firefox browser.

Barring the ones who love Firefox, the general conception is that Firefox is inferior to Internet Explorer. I’ve stopped evangelizing people on what I believe is an incorrect hypothesis. I’ll carry on designing in Firefox and fixing it for Internet Explorer. The fight for marketshare, I’ll leave to bigger boys than me.

Firefox doesn’t work right

Basically, the gist of these conversations is ‘I tried Firefox, but am back to using Internet Explorer’.

Why?
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I’ve just finished up a CSS article on two quick and easy ways to implement changing the background color over blocks of text when you run your mouse pointer over them.

One uses the CSS pseudo-class :hover.

The other one uses the DOM (Document Object Model).

I like the effect for that little extra visual zing.

I’ve just added a md5 hash generator to the PHP Toolbox.

I find the need to generate and insert an md5 string into the database lots of times during production of web applications. The md5 generator is a quick way to encrypt passwords for users already created.

If your new to md5 encryption with php, you can read more about it at php.net.

The old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ is true in most all scenarios. Web site design included.

I shake my head when I see web design (developer / programmer / et al) classifieds on craigs list offering $8.00 - $10.00/hr. Or, the individual (or start-up) that is willing to fork out a whole $200.00 for a dynamic web site.

Am I A Perfectionist?

Maybe so. Or maybe I read too many books and blogs. I don’t think I ‘know-it-all’. Far from it. But, it aches to see fellow web designers dive into a new project with ‘mocking up a killer graphic design’ as their primary goal. If you haven’t really identified the needs of your intended audience, how do you really have a clue on your layout?
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