DO-CMS Community Edition

Major update of DO-CMS Community Edition that includes:

1. Clean URLs – Default support for SEO friendly URL’s.

2. Upgraded Newsletter Engine – Now includes reports and statistics on newsletters sent out (how many people read it, what links were clicked, etc…)

3. Integrated user’s manual – the User’s Manual can now be viewed from the CMS panel.

4. Contact Us Database – CMS Database of visitors who used the contact us page of the website.

5. Fixed some minor bugs and stability issues.

Download it now at http://sourceforge.net/projects/do-cms

DO-CMS Community Edition is the open source version of DO-CMS, EACOMM Corporation’s award-winning website content management system.

Below is a very simple and generic cache script for PHP web pages which you can copy-paste and use almost instantly in your website. What is does is store an instance of the dynamically generated web page as an HTML file and it then counter checks with a predefined time period that you set whether to display the cached instance or to dynamically generate the page again. The longer the time period between dynamic generation, the greater the savings in terms of CPU usage and database queries.

1. First create a folder in your hosting account where you’ll be housing the cached data. In this example the cache folder is located at http://www.yourdomain.com/cache

2. Next, copy-paste the script below at the start of the PHP page you want cached. We are assuming here that the dynamically generated page is utilizing the GET variable “id”, such as: http://www.yourdomain.com/index.php?id=XXXX:

<?php

ob_start(); //turn on output buffering for PHP

//check if variable id is present and is an integer, if not, redirect to homepage
if ($_GET['id']==”" or !is_numeric($_GET['id']))
{
header(”location:index.php”);
}
$id=$_GET['id'];

//absolute path to cache file. For simplicity the cached version of the page is saved as the ID number
$cachefile = $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'].”/cache/$id.html”;
//duration before the cache is refreshed in seconds. Setting below is for a 3 day cache. Change as you see fit.

$cachetime = 259200;

// Serve from the cache if it is younger than $cachetime

if (file_exists($cachefile) && (time() – $cachetime
< filemtime($cachefile)))
{

include($cachefile); //display the cache file

// if cache is display, exit the script
exit;

}

//if cache is not present or is too old, run the rest of the script……

//place a time stamp on the cache to easily check when a page was last cached…you can place this a meta variable in your HTML header i.e. <meta name=”date” content=”<?=$cachedate;?>”/>
$cachedate=date(”F d Y H:i:s”);

//THE REST OF YOUR PHP AND HTML CODE GOES HERE…………….

3. At the bottom of your PHP page, copy-paste the code below:
//define the cache file name
$cachefile = "cache/$id.html";
// open the cache file for writing
$fp = fopen($cachefile, 'w');
// save the contents of output buffer to the file
fwrite($fp, ob_get_contents());
// close the file
fclose($fp);
// Send the output to the browser
ob_end_flush();
?>

4. You’re done! Upload and update your PHP file.

Choosing a Web hosting provider is perhaps the most difficult task for the new webmaster. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of web hosting providers in the Internet and the sad truth is a vast majority of these are not very good.  Additionally, we all have different criteria on judging whether a host is good or not. Here are some questions to ask to help you make this very critical decision:

1.       Quality of Service/Uptime Commitments – Do you need your site to be 99.99% up? Or are a couple of days of downtime in a year perfectly ok? Hosts that provide up-time commitments are typically more expensive than those that do not.

2.       Technical Support – Do you expect/need phone support? Or are you happy with just e-mail support? Regardless of your preference, make sure your hosting provider gives a fast reply to any technical support request.  Response times of over 24 hours when your email is down is UNFORGIVEABLE, regardless of how cheap you’re paying your provider.

3.       Shared vs. Dedicated – Another critical question you need to ask yourself is whether you need a dedicated server space or you’re fine with shared hosting. Dedicated server essentially means you have a server all to yourself while shared server space means you share a server and its resources with several other clients of the company. For sites with heavy traffic, resource requirements or unique applications then a dedicated server would be more logical. However, sites getting only a few hundred visitors per day would usually do perfectly fine on a shared server.

4.       Company Reputation/Reviews – It is absolutely critical you research hard before settling for a web hosting provider. Ask friends their experience with their hosts, and google heavily for reviews and commentary on hosting providers you’re eyeing. Note that EVERY hosting provider has its good and bad points and it is really a question of what your own priorities are that will ultimately guide your decision. Luckily, sites such as  Web Hosting Choice provides a helpful start for those of you looking for a new web host.

Download the Presentation in PDF Format here: Innovative Applications of Asterisk Open Source PBX

For a blast from the past, visit the Web Archive which has our last three website layouts on record (for some reason the very first site was never stored).

• Version 1 (2001) was pure HTML and only had less than 10 web pages.
• Version 2 “Classic Black” (2002-2003) featured a number of online forms developed in PHP and writing to MySQL database. However, the main site content remained mostly HTML-based with a some small flash animation elements. Version two also included our first efforts in Search Engine Optimization of the website.
• Version 3 “United Colors of EACOMM” (2003-2005) featured a lively intro page and heavily SEO’d content. Some content were already content managed during the latter part of this version’s existence. Version 3 was also the first site hosted outside of EACOMM’s in-house web server for increased accessibility from the US/Europe.
• Version 4 “The Tree House” (2005-2007) This website was the first EACOMM website to fully utilize DO-CMS for content management. It feature original artwork from Visual Artist Robert Deniega. Further additions to the site includes this Blog website, a Japanese Version of the Website and other division sub-sites.

Expect improvements and additions to the Current Website as we move forward through 2008 and beyond.

Happy New Year to Everyone!

EACOMM Corporation Web Team

This is in follow-up with last Aprils successful event, a gathering of professional LAMP developers, web freelancers and companies utilizing OSS (Open-Source Software) technologies for enterprise use. The goal for this upcoming conference is to spread the news of using OSS solutions such as Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP and some Web 2.0 technologies in wider audiences such as universities and training institutions.

Many noted members of our group are certified and professionally affiliated with leading company in the industry such as Barclays, UN-IOSN, Yahoo! Singapore, Accenture, Mobius Asia and some semi-conductor/electronics like Intel, Atmel, Amis, which has some open source software deployed in production environment.

Last Aprils event was sponsored as listed below that capture’s local IT industry attention and it is our aim to widen the coverage this coming December’s event with your support.

Contact ajbatac–at–phpugph.com for more details.

the basic programs you will need to get a localhost running and to be able to

build and run PHP scripts.

This guide will walk you through installing a WAMP package for the first time. Step 01: Open WAMP website. Step 02: Open the DOWNLOADS page. Step 03: Choose version to install.
*note: Ask supervisor which version to use. Step 04: Installing older version. Step 05: Installing older version: Re-direction to download page. Step 06: Installing older version: Checking which WAMP version to use. Step 07: Choosing download mirror and downloading. Step 08: Run the installer file. Step 09: Run the installer file: License Agreement. Step 10: Run the installer file: Saving Directory Step 11: Run the installer file: Creating Start Menu Folder Step 12: Run the installer file: Auto-launch WAMP on Startup Step 13: Run the installer file: Confirmation of Installation Settings Step 14: Run the installer file: Saving Document Root Folder Step 15: Run the installer file: Default Browser and Finishing the Installation Step 16: Manually Starting WAMP Server Step 17: Testing the LOCALHOST NOTE Step 01:

Open the WAMP website at http://www.wampserver.com/en/index.php.

You should be able to see a page like this: [Back to Top] Step 02:

Click the DOWNLOADS link. [Back to Top] Step 03:

Ask your OJT supervisor which versions of mySQL and PHP would you be using.

If it is ok to use the newest available version of WAMP then click the DOWNLOAD link to install.

Proceed to Step 07 if you would do this step. [Back to Top] Step 04:

If you would require a version of WAMP with older version/s of either Php, mySQL, or phpmyAdmin click on the

PREVIOUS VERSIONS link. [Back to Top] Step 05:

You will be directed to the download page of all the older versions of WAMP, such as below. Scroll down and click the VIEW OLDER RELEASES link. [Back to Top] Step 06:

You will then be directed to a page such as below.

To check which version of WAMP has the versions of the programs you need,

scroll down and click on any of the NOTES links in the page, as illustrated below. It will direct you to a page such as below. Scroll down to search for the appropriate version that suits your requirements. Return to the previous page after taking note of what version you will use, then select the version you would need to use. [Back to Top] Step 07:

Whether or not you would need to download the newest version of WAMP, you would be directed to a page where you

would select mirrors for the download. You could choose any mirror you would like but personally I would advice choosing either

Japan or Taiwan as a mirror, or any Asian country for that matter (they?re closer to the Philippines).

You should be able to see a page like this: After choosing a mirror, save the file to your computer. [Back to Top] Step 08:

Once download finishes, run the installer file. [Back to Top] Step 09:

In the license agreement click [I accept the agreement], then click next. [Back to Top] Step 10:

Select the directory where you would like to install WAMP. [Back to Top] Step 11:

Select the start menu folder where you would like to place WAMP?s shortcuts. [Back to Top] Step 12:

In the additional tasks you may select if WAMP would be loaded on startup or no.

If its most likely that you would be programming PHP as soon as you start your computer (most likely yes)

then I suggest you select the checkbox. Otherwise you may opt to leave it unchecked and turn on the WAMP server manually. [Back to Top] Step 13:

This is the confirmation screen of the options you have selected.

Click back to modify your install settings or click next to start the installation. [Back to Top] Step 14:

Some time midway into the installation a window will pop-up asking for the directory where to save the document root folder.

It is recommended that you leave it as it is and click ok to continue the installation. [Back to Top] Step 15:

After the said pop-up another window will appear asking for you default browser.

If you have no preference for browsers just hit Open.

If not search for the .exe file of your preferred browser then click Open to continue the installation. Once the installation is finished, click finish. [Back to Top] Step 16:

To manually start the WAMP server, click Start>Programs>WampServer or [name you assigned in Step 15] >start WampServer.

This is illustrated below: [Back to Top] Step 17:

Open your preferred browser and type in the address bar LOCALHOST.

It should display the WAMP homepage like below, signifying a successful installation.

Click this link to try launching the localhost > http://localhost [Back to Top] NOTE:

Always remember to enable the WAMP server (if it isn’t already enabled) as illustrated in Step 16 whenever

you want to test any page in the localhost. [Back to Top] ]]> http://blog.eacomm.com/archives/59/wamp-installation-guide/feed 0 http://blog.eacomm.com/archives/51/june-6-2007-hacking-incident http://blog.eacomm.com/archives/51/june-6-2007-hacking-incident#comments Fri, 08 Jun 2007 08:30:03 +0000 admin http://www.eacomm.com/blog/?p=51 On Early morning Philippine time, some of our virtual servers hosted with Dreamhost were broken into and a number of webpages vandalized. EACOMM provides hourly, daily and weekly backups of all its web sites and as of noontime of June 7, most, if not all websites have been recovered to its original state. This marks the second time EACOMM servers have been hacked in the company’s six years in existence. At both times recovery of all client sites took approximately 24 hours.

For our clients, please notify web@eacomm.com of any further problems with your webpages that might have been overlooked during the recovery process. Please understand that we had to recover a few dozen websites in a span of just 24 hours so please forgive our support team if your specific site or webpage was overlooked.

Despite of this we stand by our choice of using Dreamhost for most of our website hosting needs, however,if any client wishes to be hosted elsewhere, please notify web@eacomm.com and we will provide you viable alternatives to our main hosting servers. EACOMM currently maintains 2 Virtual Servers in the United States, 1 Dedicated Server in the UK, and 2 Dedicated servers in the Philippines. Note that web hosting prices vary depending on which server you prefer.

For more information about the hacking incident, Dreamhost’s official report on the matter is posted here: http://www.dreamhoststatus.com/2007/06/06/security-breach/

 EACOMM CORPORATION WEB DIVISION

The on-line store offers various products and services offered by EACOMM Corporation such as:

• Digium TDM Cards
• Grandstream IP Telephony Equipment
• Elisha Hosted PBX Solutions
• DO-CMS Website Design and Development
• And much much more!

We offer FREE SHIPPING to Metro Manila for all our products and Fixed rate shipping to other locations in the Philippines.The store currently accepts Paypal as its preferred payment gateway. Note that Paypal now accepts payments from the Philippines so feel free to order online now!