Tag: WordPress (Page 213 of 219)

Articles, tips, and resources for WordPress-based development.

WordPress Pointers: What’s Required For Development?

August 16, 2012 / Tom / 0 Comments

When I was in college, I had a year’s worth of classes where we did all of our homework assignments and projects in C.

I specifically remember hearing that if a person couldn’t grasp the concept of pointers and their associated functions, then they may not be best suited for programming. Although I think that understanding this is valuable, I’m not sure I fully agree. I digress.

Every now and then, I come across a new blog post that is breaking down pointers in C. They’re usually of the following flavor:

Pointers Made Easy
The 10 Step Guide To Understanding Pointers
Pointers: Let’s Get The Point!
…or something like that

Today, I came across another post doing the same thing. For what it’s worth, I think it’s well-written and I’m actually in favor of keeping this information current in the blogosphere.

But it did get me thinking about “WordPress pointers,” or what is WordPress’ equivalent of pointers?

Understanding user_trailingslashit in WordPress

August 15, 2012 / Tom / 0 Comments

To skip the background on this issue, then you can skip down to the technical explanation.

While working on the latest version of Standard For WordPress.com, Michael – who covers QA at 8BIT – caught an interesting problem with how our breadcrumb navigation and archive page templates were working (or weren’t working):

Understanding user_trailingslashit Continue reading

Why WordPress Themes and Plugins Are Software

August 13, 2012 / Tom / 0 Comments

I’ve shared my thoughts on WordPress as an application framework, but I think that simply making a case for how the core application can be used for web applications isn’t enough to help others see that it’s a viable platform.

Lately, I’ve had several conversations with others who are skeptical (and rightly so). Themes are often viewed as “skins” for WordPress and plugins are often viewed as little ways to add new features to a blog. If anything, I’d say that one could make a stronger case for plugins being software rather than themes.

But to a point, I disagree. There are several reasons why I think both WordPress themes and plugins are software.

The WordPress Page Lifecycle

August 10, 2012 / Tom / 0 Comments

When working with WordPress, one of the most important things that a developer can learn is the WordPress Page Lifecycle.

Understanding this single topic will make it exceptionally easy to know when to properly include your various hooks and filters so that they don’t interfere with the rest of the application and so that speed or other data isn’t compromised in the process.

If you’ve built web applications using other frameworks, then you’re likely familiar with the typical page request lifecycle, though there are nuances that exist between each platform.

WordPress’ unique action and filter model, although powerful, may end up confusing some people coming from other backgrounds. Of course, the WordPress Codex provides a terrific article on the topic, but if you’re more of a visual learner it may not be of much help.

In that case, check our Rarst’s diagram – it’s an excellent breakdown of the core application’s life cycle along with a high-level overview of the page lifecycle.

Notes From WordCamp San Francisco

August 10, 2012 / Tom / 0 Comments

The Internet has made the world flatter but that doesn’t mean it’s made it any easier to miss out on events that you’d like to attend, right?

Last weekend, WordCamp San Francisco – arguably the WordCamp to attend – was happening and those who are involved in WordPress in some capacity were tweeting all about the awesome things happening.

Jealousy!

In all seriousness, it was evident from the various tweets and blog posts that it was a killer time for everyone, but here’s something cool for those of us who weren’t able to attend: 23 pages of notes taken from the various sessions held throughout the weekend.