When we launched the site, we checked it out in all our normal browsers and everything was good. Then we fired up IE 6 (unfortunately the client in question needs IE 6 support), navigated to the new secti-OH CRAP! The page itself would load, but none of the external assets (images, stylesheets and scripts) were loading. Refresh the page and bingo! it works fine! What the heck is going on?!

It turns out IE 6 was sending not one, but two referers to the web server. While it’s odd to have 2 referers, it shouldn’t cause 4xx Errors when sending a request. From this, we were able to find out a few things:

1. IIS accepts both Referer and Referrer as valid HTTP headers.
2. IIS will not accept more than one Referer.
3. IIS will accept more than one Referrer (note this is the dictionary spelling of referrer, not the spec spelling).
4. IE 6 will add 2 referrers if the link you clicked is located inside of a Flash element for all external assets: the URI to the Flash file and the URI of the page you are on.

I’m not quite sure why IE 6 behaves the way it does, but the fact is that it does and it was causing IIS to give us 400 Bad Request responses. Think I’m crazy (and maybe I am, please prove me wrong)? Try sending this request to www.microsoft.com:

HEAD / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.microsoft.com
Referer: http://google.com
Referer: http://yahoo.com
Connection: Close

In response you should get something similar to:

HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
Content-Length: 339
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Server: Microsoft-HTTPAPI/2.0
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:53:04 GMT
Connection: close

Now send the exact same request to, say, www.apple.com:

HEAD / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.apple.com
Referer: http://google.com
Referer: http://yahoo.com
Connection: Close

and you get:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Age: 255
X-Cache-TTL: 345
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:48:41 GMT
Content-Length: 9542
Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
Expires: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:58:41 GMT
Cache-Control: max-age=600
Server: Apache/2.2.8 (Unix)
X-Cached-Time: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:50:56 GMT

And now, to prove point #3, send the following request to www.microsoft.com (note the change in spellings):

HEAD / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.microsoft.com
Referrer: http://google.com
Referrer: http://yahoo.com
Connection: Close

and you get

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Cache-Control: no-cache
Content-Length: 1020
Content-Type: text/html
Last-Modified: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:35:26 GMT
Accept-Ranges: bytes
ETag: "67991fbd76a6c91:0"
Server: Microsoft-IIS/7.0
P3P: CP="ALL IND DSP COR ADM CONo CUR CUSo IVAo IVDo PSA PSD TAI TELo OUR SAMo CNT COM INT NAV ONL PHY PRE PUR UNI"
X-Powered-By: ASP.NET
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:09:03 GMT

We’ve developed a bit of code to help make your life a little easier.

Adding the code below to your functions.php file will let you remove the other children pages while on the parent page.

add_filter('wp_list_pages_excludes', 'remove_others_children');
function remove_others_children($excludes = array()) {
  $all_pages = get_pages();
  $all_children = (array) get_page_children(true, $all_pages);
  foreach ( $all_children as $child )
    $excludes[] = $child->ID;

  if ( ! is_page() )
    return $excludes;

  global $post;

  $this_heirarchy = (array) $post->ancestors;
  $this_children = (array) get_page_children($post->ID, $all_pages);
  foreach ( $this_heirarchy as $ancestor )
    $this_children = array_merge($this_children, (array) get_page_children($ancestor, $all_pages));

  foreach ($this_children as $child)
    $this_heirarchy[] = $child->ID;

  return array_diff($excludes, $this_heirarchy);
}

Here are some examples of what it would like without the code, then with the code.

A huge thanks goes out to Matt Martz for working with us on helping get this code ready.

What is WordPress?
WordPress started in 2003 with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing and with fewer users than you can count on your fingers and toes. Since then it has grown to be the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on hundreds of thousands of sites and seen by tens of millions of people every day.

What is SSH[2]?
SSH (Secure Shell) is a protocol allowing a secure channel to be established between a web server and a client’s local machine. Many web hosting companies now offer SSH for greater security.

Tutorial Pre-requisites

There are a few things that need to be in place before you can actually use this tutorial.

The first thing to do is make sure you have SSH2 installed via pecl. If it’s not installed or you’re not sure, run this command: pecl install ssh2

note: If your case is where the installed version of SSh2 is beta, run this command instead: pecl install channel://pecl.php.net/ssh2-0.11.0

If you don’t feel comfortable running these commands yourself and you know of a server administrator that can help, or you’re paying for managed services, ask them to install this for you.

After SSH2 is installed, follow these instructions to ensure that the SSH2 extension is enabled in PHP. Again, if you are using managed services, simply ask them to do this for you.

Ubuntu/Debian

cd /etc/php5/conf.d; echo “extension=ssh2.so” > ssh2.ini

/etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Red Hat, CentOS, Fedora

cd /etc/php.d; echo “extension=ssh2.so” > ssh2.ini

/etc/init.d/httpd restart

Step 1: Generating the server-side RSA keys

ssh-keygen

Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/user1/.ssh/id_rsa):
Created directory ‘/home/user1/.ssh’.
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): (just hit enter, no need for a password)
Enter same passphrase again: (same thing, hit enter again)
Your identification has been saved in /home/user1/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /home/user1/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx user1@server1.example.com

The xx:xx:xx etc. will be replaced with your actual fingerprint.

Step 2: Creating an ‘authorized_keys’ file

cd .ssh
cp id_rsa.pub authorized_keys

Step 3: Setting the proper file permissions

cd ~/
chmod 755 .ssh
chmod 644 .ssh/*

Step 4: Choosing the ‘SSH’ option

In this tutorial, I opted not to use a password, so you do not need to enter a password.

Step 5: Click “Proceed”

The last step is to click the proceed button and it will install a new plugin or upgrade an existing plugin via the integrated SSH layer in WordPress. You should see results something like this…

== Optional ==

If you want to automate the process a bit more, there are a few more things you can do to make it even easier.

If you open up your wp-config.php and add these lines, it will make the process smoother.

define('FTP_PUBKEY','/home/user1/.ssh/id_rsa.pub');
define('FTP_PRIKEY','/home/user1/.ssh/id_rsa');
define('FTP_USER','user1');
define('FTP_PASS','');
define('FTP_HOST','server1.example.com:22');

Now, when you click “upgrade” or “install” on a new plugin, it will bypass the first screen you saw above asking for the details. It will automatically go into the process and start the install/upgrade.

Thank you

A huge thanks to Dion Hulse and Matt Martz for helping me with creating this tutorial.

OpenX is, in my opinion, the most efficient and hands-free open source ad server on the web today. It’s flexible, easy to use, and best of all, free.

What is WordPress

WordPress is one of the leading platforms in blogging on the web today. Whether you are self-hosted (using wordpress.org) or being hosted on Automattic servers (using wordpress.com), WordPress is an amazing blogging platform which makes blogging easy and fun.

This OpenX and WordPress tutorial will outline how to more effectively use the targeting features of OpenX utilizing the built-in features of WordPress. It will explain how to do this by using WordPress tags and OpenX source parameters, both built-in features to WordPress and OpenX, respectively.

OpenX Solution Used: Hosted OpenX (http://hosted.openx.org/)
WordPress Version: 2.6.2

For this tutorial, I will be using tags are the “source” for OpenX.

Step 1: Setup tags so OpenX can view them as a “source.”

<?php
        while ( have_posts() ) : the_post();
                $fsm_oxtags = get_the_tags();
                if ($fsm_oxtags) { foreach ($fsm_oxtags as $tag) {
                        $taglist .= $tag->name . '|';
                }
                $taglist = rtrim($taglist, '|');
                $oxtags = rawurlencode($taglist);
                }
        endwhile;
?>

I have these in the top of my single.php file within WordPress. This only creates the variable of $oxtags so it can be echo’d elsewhere.

Details of Step 1: The first bit of code will create the loop. then it will go through each tag and set it as “tag |” because I am using pipes to separate each tag for OpenX. Next, it will trim off the last pipe because it’s not needed, creating something like… “tag 1|tag 2|tag 3|tag 4″ … and like I just mentioned, it will strip off the last pipe. Lastly, it will put that string, “tag 1|tag 2|tag 3|tag 4″ … into a raw encoded URL string which we will be able to echo later in the page. Note: this is only being set at $oxtags so it can be used elsewhere, nothing is echo’d in this part of the script.

Step 2: Setup your OpenX invocation code

<script type='text/javascript'><!--//<![CDATA[
   var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https://d.openx.org/ajs.php':'http://d.openx.org/ajs.php');
   var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999);
   if (!document.MAX_used) document.MAX_used = ',';
   document.write ("<scr"+"ipt type='text/javascript' src='"+m3_u);
   document.write ("?zoneid=1009");
   document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r);
   if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write ("&exclude=" + document.MAX_used);
   document.write (document.charset ? '&charset='+document.charset : (document.characterSet ? '&charset='+document.characterSet : ''));
   document.write ("&loc=" + escape(window.location));
   document.write ("&source=<?php echo $oxtags; ?>");
   if (document.referrer) document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer));
   if (document.context) document.write ("&context=" + escape(document.context));
   if (document.mmm_fo) document.write ("&mmm_fo=1");
   document.write ("'><\/scr"+"ipt>");
//]]>--></script>

Now that we have the $oxtags variable ready, we can echo it where we need it. Simply add the next line, such as I have, document.write ("&source=<?php echo $oxtags; ?>");, then we’re almost ready to start using advanced targeting within OpenX using your WordPress tags.

Step 3: Rewind the content loop

!!! IMPORTANT !!!

This is critical! You must do this if you want your posts’ content to display properly.

<?php rewind_posts(); if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>

The reason for this is that you need to rewind the posts so the loop is displayed properly. (documentation)

The line above is what my real loop looks like in my single.php file, ensuring that the content of the loop is displayed properly as it was originally.

Note: You only need to rewind_posts(); if you have multiple loops or you put the Step 1 code before the first loop, which I did for this tutorial.

Step 4: Setup OpenX Targetting to Deliver to Specific Tags

Now that we have sources setup within the JavaScript and PHP for WordPress, we need to get to work adding some banners using specific sources. Go to one of your campaigns, then select a banner you’ve already added or add a new banner. Go to the Delivery Options tab. This is where you can select your targeting limitations.

First, add the delivery option to limit the banner display for a specific source.

Next, set it to “contains” so you can specify which tagged posts you want to display this banner.

Lastly, specify the source you want to use fr banner delivery limitation.

Results

Here is what your final output should look like:

<script type='text/javascript'><!--//<![CDATA[
   var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https://d.openx.org/ajs.php':'http://d.openx.org/ajs.php');
   var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999);
   if (!document.MAX_used) document.MAX_used = ',';
   document.write ("<scr"+"ipt type='text/javascript' src='"+m3_u);
   document.write ("?zoneid=1009");
   document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r);
   if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write ("&exclude=" + document.MAX_used);
   document.write (document.charset ? '&charset='+document.charset : (document.characterSet ? '&charset='+document.characterSet : ''));
   document.write ("&loc=" + escape(window.location));
   document.write ("&source=tag%201%7Ctag%202");
   if (document.referrer) document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer));
   if (document.context) document.write ("&context=" + escape(document.context));
   if (document.mmm_fo) document.write ("&mmm_fo=1");
   document.write ("'><\/scr"+"ipt>");
//]]>--></script>

I bolded the part that was used with the Step 1 code. Basically, it will output your tags for each WordPress post as a “source” so you can use them for targeting on your site.

Thanks goes out to Thomas and Steve Smith for helping me get this working

Photos

Matt Mullenweg Keynote
Automattic Inc. — automattic.com – ma.tt

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Aaron Brazell
Lijit — lijit.com – technosailor.com

Part 1

Part 2

Shay David
Kaltura — kaltura.com

Jeremy Clarke
Global Voices — globalvoicesonline.org

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Jen Simmons
Milkweed Media Design — milkweedmediadesign.com – jensimmons.com

Part 1

Part 2

Jeremy Zilar
New York Times — nytimes.com – silencematters.com

Part 1

Part 2

Sponsors

Sun Microsystems — sun.com
Atlantic Metro Communications — atlanticmetro.net
Margaret Roach Inc. — awaytogarden.com
Kaltura — – kaltura.com

Video Producer
Valerie Gurka

Event Photographer
Leora Israel – leoraisrael -@- gmail.com

Note: I will try to post all the presentations (slides) when I get them all. Thank you.

Here is a quick recap of the speakers.

• Matt Mullenweg – The State of the Word
• Aaron Brazell – Making it into the Big Leagues
• Shay David – How to Use Kaltura
• Jeremy Clarke – How to Run a Blog Network
• Jen Simmons – Video on WordPress
• Jeremy Zilar – How the New York Times uses WordPress

A huge thanks to our videographer, Valerie Gurka. She recorded each speaker and the videos will be ready in about a week.

Second, a huge thanks to Leora Israel for being the official photographer for the event. A ton of great photos that will already be ready soon. I’ll make another post when the photos are ready.

And of course, our sponsors. Thank you so much for making this event possible. Sun Microsystems, Atlantic Metro Communications, Margaret Roach, and Kaltura.

Flickr Details

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/wordcamp
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/wordcampny
• http://www.flickr.com/groups/wordcampny/

We have a great list of speakers lined up and it’s going to be an awesome event.

Matt Mullenweg will be keynoting the event. I have never met Matt, so it will be a first to meet him and hear him speak about The State of WordPress.

Thanks to everyone involved with the event!

The eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) is a family of transformation languages which allows one to describe how files encoded in the XML standard are to be formatted or transformed. XSL is designed to be data driven and strongly encourages the Inversion of control design pattern. There are three languages in the family:

1. XSL Transformations (XSLT): an XML language for transforming XML documents
2. XSL Formatting Objects (XSL-FO): an XML language for specifying the visual formatting of an XML document
3. the XML Path Language (XPath): a non-XML language used by XSLT, and also available for use in non-XSLT contexts, for addressing the parts of an XML document.

Source: Wikipedia

In a nutshell, XSL can be used to transform a plain XML document into a full-fledged HTML document. One thing I really like about XSL is that the processing can be done either server-side or client-side. Most modern browsers understand XSL and do all the dirty work for you, leaving your server to do other, more important, things. Not only that, but if you send the XML to the client for processing, then you have the base of your API already done.

But the best part is how modular you can make the caching. Here’s how I do it:

1. If the data is cacheable it gets saved to disk in an XML file. Queries are only done to the SQL server for this data if the cache file doesn’t exist or has expired.
2. If it’s not cacheable, insert it into the cached XML document on the fly.

Then the XSL document handles the rest. I can’t think of any simpler way to do it.

However, there are downsides (when aren’t there?):

• IE has notoriously bad support for XSL (of course).
• PHP has XSL support natively in PHP5, but PHP4 requires a PECL library (I can’t find the extension on PECL for some reason).
• More syntax to remember
• The only good documentation I’ve come across is the specification itself. W3Schools, which usually has a pretty decent overview, I found lacking.
• Most variable processing has to be done before you transform the XML. It is possible to use variables in the XSL itself, but it is very limited.
• Javascript does not work on the XML document itself, just the generated source. This means if you use AJAX to grab eg. a list of languages, you have to either do the transformation server-side or in the Javascript itself. Thankfully, Google has an excellent Javascript library to do XSL transformations! Some browsers (Mozilla is one I believe) also have built-in XSLT support in Javascript.
• Unless you do the transformation on the server-side search engine crawlers will not be able to index your site. Of course you could set it up to only transform server-side if a crawler comes.

Now I ask: why don’t more sites use XSL? I know I’ll be building most of my sites in the future with XSL, the benefits far outweigh the downsides in my opinion.

Update: I completely forgot to mention a very important downside. I bolded it in the list.

The plugin was originally written by Victoria, but she gave us permission to release the updated version here. The plugin was modified by Jonathan to include tinyurl.com’s API as part of the Twitter updating.

We have some other great ideas for Wordpress plugins already coming along and will be releasing them in stages. Expect some new plugins to come out within the next few weeks.