Author: Tom (Page 223 of 428)

Debugging with Query String Parameters

March 25, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

There are a number of ways that we debug our WordPress-based projects.

Some people end up going through the code and setting up `print_r` statements or `var_dump` statements
Some end up working through the code and changing variables or function names until they find where something breaks (or changes)
Some use debugging software (or the debugging features in their IDE)
Some use a combination of plugins and other techniques
And some likely use some strategy that isn’t listed here

Personally, I’m partial to using some of the developer tools that are provided by WordPress through the use of setting constants and using plugins that are available to us, but I’m also a fan of using Codebug App (which is the content for another point).

Codebug App

But, for the purposes of this post, that’s beside the point.

Confessions of a WordPress Developer

March 24, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

For the last five or so years of my self-employment, a lot has changed. And I’m not talking about the technical landscape. I mean, that’s always changing, right?

But I’m talking about the way that I manage my time and the way that I get work done.

Unfortunately, the Internet has adopted this culture that allows everyone to share how they manage their time and then try to distill it into some type of step-by-step process that can be used by everyone.

That’s not the point of this post. I don’t operate that. I rarely subscribe to that advice, and I’m not going to be that guy.

Furthermore, I tend to ignore (and even reject) posts like that. We have many different personalities and so many variables that contribute to what we’re able to do, when we’re able to do it, and how we’re able to work that I don’t think it’s possible to actually distill something into a formulaic process.

Instead, I think it’s worth simply sharing ideas on what’s worked for ourselves and leaving it at that. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t some things we can borrow from others – because there is overlap in our personalities – but it also means that some of these posts are nothing more than informational pieces. And that’s fine.

So with that lengthy disclaimer out of the way, I thought I’d share some of the things that I currently do in order to manage by day-to-day tasks to get things done.

Anyway, here’s my first set of what’s to likely be more in posts that deal with confessions of a WordPress developer.

The Basics of How WordPress Works

March 23, 2015 / Tom

If you’re getting started in WordPress development, odds are it won’t be long until you bump up against the concept of hooks. That is, points during the WordPress life cycle that allow us to add our own functionality to customize how WordPress behaves.

Of course, this is how both themes and plugins are made to do some of the neat (or not so neat, depending on the project) things that they do. And though I obviously recommend reading up on them in the Codex, I think it’s also important to understand how the WordPress application loads itself.

More specifically, I think it’s important to understand how WordPress works. There are a lot of resources out there available to read and review; however, John Blackbourn has been working on a no-frills version of this very idea that I believe to be worth starring and referencing.

On WordPress Theme-Specific Plugins and Theme Lock-In

March 20, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

When it comes to working with WordPress themes and plugins, there’s a general rule of thumb that most experienced designers and developers follow:

Themes are for presentation, plugins are for functionality.

Sure, there’s a little bit of blurring of lines, but this is the goal for which we strive when working through our code. And yes, there’s a lot that can be said (and has been said) about themes that include a ton of features, options, bundled plugins, and so on, but that’s not where this is going.

Instead, I’ve been thinking about how this relates to general theme development, niche theme development, and using WordPress as a platform for application development.

The Challenge of Over Solving a Problem

March 19, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

When building solutions for others, there are certain problems that we face that – although they’ve been solved – can still be a challenge for us to deal with.

For example, you’ll often hear programmers complaining about regular expressions or maybe you’ll hear someone complaining about working with timezones.

Moment.js

I’ve been heads down on the latter for sometime now in a project and even with solutions like Moment.js, there are subtle nuances that must be taken into account when dealing with dates and times.

There are plenty of other examples, but the point that I’m really working towards is this:

When we’re focused on problems that have a number of subtle nuances, I think that we often tend to overlook some of the simpler things that can be done to address the issue.

In my case, I’ve been in the trenches with timezones, offsets, and other subtleties that come with working with dates and times that I’ve tried to over-solve a problem.