The Weblog of Titus Barik is now self-managed on a dedicated AMD Sempron 2600 server at Layered Tech. The system contains 1 GB of memory with a hardware RAID1 configuration, on a 10 Mbps network uplink. Like its previous host, Pair, the system runs FreeBSD 6.
DNS and E-Mail have been outsourced to DNS Made Easy and Tuffmail, respectively. The new setup should result in noticeable performance improvements, though my wallet is quite a bit lighter now every month as a result of the move.
I was quite pleased to discover today that the Software Toolbox TOP Server OPC now includes functionality to interface with GE Proficy iFIX through not just OPC, but a new, native iFIX process database driver called IDS, or Industrial Data Service:
With built-in support of the native interface, the TOP Server allows iFIX users to quickly access device data without the need to use an intermediary software bridge, i.e. the OPC Power Tool, as is done when using a strictly OPC only communications server with iFIX. For Intellution users, the familiar look and feel of iFIX native driver operation is maintained.
This transparently functionality is available through the new iFIX PDB settings menu under TOP Server options.
This technical recipe describes how to install mod_ruby under Apache 1.3 on FreeBSD 6. The recipe is not specific to any particular Ruby framework, such as Ruby on Rails, and does not assume any knowledge of Ruby.
First, install the mod_ruby package:
portmanager www/mod_ruby
Add the line:
Include /usr/local/etc/apache/httpd.conf.mod_ruby
to /usr/local/etc/apache/httpd.conf. I usually add the include directive after all of the AddModule lines. Next, uncomment lines in httpd.conf.mod_ruby pertaining to ruby and eruby. I don’t use ERbRun so I leave those lines commented.
Finally, create a file under public_html called helloworld.rhtml. The file should contain the following code:
<%= print Time.now %>
The current time and date should print when accessing the page from your web browser.
The April 2006 issue of PHP Architect contains my published article, “Developing a Plugin Architecture for PHP Applications”. The article examines several common PHP plugin implementations, and describes the process of adding plugin capabilities to PHP applications:
If you want to see your software’s functionality triple before your very eyes, it’s a good idea to build support for plugins and extensions into your application. In this article, returning author Titus Barik explains the intricate details of designing an extensible plugin architecture for any PHP application.
For more information, see the PHP Architect April 2006 Issue announcement. This issue also includes an excellent article on Aspect-oriented Software Development by Dmitry Sheiko. As usual, reprints are available electronically on a limited basis upon request.
Though I already subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, I just thought I’d let everyone know that the WSJ is having a 10-day open house, with free access to all their premium content. The WSJ is celebrating their ten year anniversary of being online.