artiskool weblog

Welcome Back

2012-10-14T21:00:00.001+08:00

I was not able to update this blog for the last couple of months or so because I've been very busy for my full time consulting work. I will try my very best to update this blog most often.

Anyway, for the latest (should I say old) updates I resigned as Individual Contractor of ClearHealth Inc. last April 4, 2012 and few weeks later I got my application as Expert PHP/MySQL at Virtual Coworker. Just recently (October 10, 2012) I formally resigned and terminated my contract with Virtual Coworker for good effective October 24, 2012.

Removing or hiding blogspot/blogger top banner

2011-07-02T00:41:00.003+08:00

If you are new blogspot user then your blog has a default navigation top banner. If in case you found it annoying or you want it to be removed the following steps may help you getting rid of the navigation banner.

First, you have to login to your blogspot/blogger account. Then on Design tab, click Edit HTML subtab. Finally insert this


#navbar-iframe {
    display: none !important;
}

within the or tag block and don't forget to save and you're done.

google plus invitations

2011-07-01T23:34:00.002+08:00

It's been few days when I eager to have an invite for google plus, and finally I already got an invitation from someone with the help of some workarounds.

I'm giving an invites for those of you who want to try and test google plus, just leave your email.

Speed up your Apple Mail

2011-06-30T20:35:00.003+08:00

Lately I experienced slow accessing my mail using Apple Mail, same as true when sending an email. It took couple of minutes before my message sent.

I came across this site and it helps me. Basically all you have to do is to invoke a single shell command $ sqlite3 ~/Library/Mail/Envelope\ Index vacuum; to optimize the SQLite DB where Apple Mail uses to store indexes and subject lines of emails.

My Apple Mail is snappier now.

Welcome back myself with little business soon

2009-08-22T15:24:00.005+08:00

Again, it's been a long time since my last blog. I've been very busy in the previous months during my first full time as Freelance Developer. Just recently I made a transaction with Haz Go for the e-loading business. This is my first time doing transactions to somebody through text (SMS). I paid Haz using my GCash for the Franchise Kit amounting to P4,225 including the P225 shipment fee. I'm excited to have the kit by tomorrow and can't wait to have it.

Unfortunately, I can have the package by Monday but Haz shipped the Kit thru LBC.

I'll make another post with the updates by Monday.

Goodbye InfoWeapons, Hello Freelance!

2009-06-19T15:34:00.003+08:00

Goodbye InfoWeapons, Hello Freelance!

Today is my last employment day at InfoWeapons Corporation (October 16, 2006 - June 19, 2009), one of the leaders in IPv6 products.

I made a final decision to left InfoWeapons Corporation to take a greater challenge and try to experience being a Freelance Developer.

About Zend PHP Certification

2009-01-11T00:48:00.019+08:00

What is Zend?
Zend is the PHP Company founded by Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski. The name Zend is a combination of their forenames, Zeev and Andi.

What is Zend PHP Certification?
Zend PHP Certification is an industry standard for PHP Certification. For those PHP developers or IT managers who do not know what Zend Certification is, I quote a brief information from Zend website:

Becoming PHP certified is a measure of your experience in the world of PHP. The goal of the Zend PHP Certification program is to allow PHP professionals to attain the "Zend Certified Engineer" designation. This is identical in concept to other well know certification programs such as "Microsoft's Certified Professionals (MCP)" and the "Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP)" programs. The Zend PHP Certification program aims at creating a measure of distinction that employers can use to evaluate prospective employees. Becoming a Zend Certified Engineer will not make you a better programmer, however, it will most likely improve the chances of your resume standing out from among other applicants vying for the same position.

What are the benefits of being PHP Certified?
According to Zend Website there are three rewards we can get upon passing the certification namely:

Career Rewards

Differentiate yourself from competitors when looking for a new job
Boost your value at your annual salary review
Get your resume/CV noticed
Gain recognition from your employer
Have your profile displayed in Zend's Yellow Pages for PHP Professionals
Join the Linkedin Group Exclusively for ZCE's
Personal Rewards

Be recognized as a proud and dedicated supporter of PHP
Show your commitment to the spread and growth of PHP
Help the community prove that PHP is reliable, stable and dependable
Rewards from Zend

Be listed in Zend's PHP Yellow Pages
Used by employers and recruiters to find top PHP developers worldwide
Personalize your listing by uploading your photo, inputting your company information, CV details
Get special discounts on Zend PHP conferences worldwide

What are the topics covered in the exam?
There are 12 major topics that you need to focus/review namely:

PHP Basics ( syntax, operators, variables, constants, control structures, language constructs and functions )
Functions ( syntax, arguments, variables, references, returns, variable scope )
Arrays (enumerated, associative, array iteration, multi-dimensional, array functions, SPL )
Object Oriented Programming ( instantiation, modifiers/inheritance, interfaces, exceptions, static methods & properties, autoload, reflection, type hinting, class constants )
Security ( configuration, session security, cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgeries, SQL injection, remote code injection, email injection, filter input, escape output )
XML and Web Services ( XML basics, simpleXML, XML extension, Xpath, webservices basics, SOAP, REST )
Strings and Patterns ( quoting, matching, extracting, searching, replacing, formatting, PCRE )
Databases and SQL ( SQL, joins, analyzing queries, prepared statements, transactions )
Web Features ( sessions, forms, GET and POST data, cookies, HTTP headers )
Streams and Network Programming ( files, reading, writing, file system functions, streams )
PHP 4/5 Differences ( object orientation, E_STRICT, references vs. object handles )
Design and Theory ( IDesign patterns, code reuse, OOP theory )

How long would you take the exam?
The PHP 5 exam is composed of a total of 70 questions, which must be answered in 90 minutes.

What are the types of exam?
Each question can be formulated in one of three ways: - As a multiple-choice question with only one right answer. - As a multiple-choice question with multiple correct answers. - As a free-form question for which the answer must be typed in.

What are the additional references for preparing the exam?
First, just go to Zend Certification page for an updated information about the certification because Zend might update their pages from time to time. Second, to help you prepare for the exam I would recommend you the following: Zend PHP 5 Certification Study Guide 2nd edition Book, PHP 5 Mock Exams and PHP 5 Power Programming. Lastly, if you prefer to learn from a professional instructor in an online setting, try the Zend PHP 5 Certification Training. The Zend PHP 5 Certification Training includes one voucher for the Zend PHP Certification Exam - a $125 value.

If you guys are now planning to take or has been in review for a while, you can visit my blog from time to time because I will be posting my review on each topic.

For those who will take the PHP Certification, Good Luck! :)

My ZCE Certificate

2008-12-19T23:00:00.009+08:00

Today, I received my hard copy of Zend Certified Engineer PHP5 certificate together with ZCE logo sticker and letter from Training Program Manager of Zend Technologies, Inc.

This gonna be my first IT Certification. What's next? Well, might be Security+/Network+ if time permits.

I would also like to thanks to the people who inspired me to take the exam, my former Team Lead and co-ZCE Dino Simeon Madarang, my idol and Team Lead Ronnel Maglasang, all my colleagues and InfoWeapons family, my wife Nancy, my daughter Hannah Niah, my son Lance Noah, and above all my one and only God Jesus Christ. Also to my General Manager Oliver Cam who encouraged me to take the exam. This certificate is dedicated to all of YOU!

Zend PHP5 Certification Preparations

2008-11-30T01:50:00.010+08:00

It was June this year when planning to take the certification came to my mind. I went to zend.com website to look at the reference materials for certification. Zend suggested the following references:
PHP 5 Power Programming, Certification Study Guide, Certification Online Practice Testing and of course a Certification Training

I just bought 10 mock exams (online practice testing) on the 16th of June, 2008 to test if I'm well prepared without taking any review. Fortunately, on my first mock exam try I got a grade of PASS, the same as the second and third exam. My fourth until the last (which is 3 days before my exam) I got an EXCELLENT grade. I just consumed 6 out of 10 because some questions were repeated most of the time. Below is my last mock exam.

Taking the mock exam helps me a lot, since the exam revealed the topics which I got a grade of FAIL, which I could say that it's my weaknesses and needs to focus more attention in review. I read some blogs that they found really difficult in the mock exam compared to the actual exam, based on my experience they're in the same level of difficulty.

Zend PHP5 Certification Exam Experience - before an exam

2008-11-28T22:37:00.011+08:00

On Monday (Nov24) I went to work just to continue my daily job. Since most of the time I always out of office at 7pm, I arrived at home late 9pm. After eating my dinner, I opened my computer and re-read on the Study Guide particularly on the subject of Security and XML and Web Services because I read some blogs stating that most of the questions were based on XML, so I went reading those chapters in Study Guide and this time using the 2nd edition. As I scanned through those chapters, I just read without detailed research on a particular subject, since I learned few of them but not all. I done reading almost 11pm, and before going to bed I pray that HE will give me courage and strength to take the exam the following day and claim his promise in my favorite verse Jeremiah 29:11.

I woke up early to prepare since it would take hour and a half of travel going to the testing center at:
MISNet Inc. - Cebu City
5/F Ongtiak Business Center
#65 Gen. Maxilom Avenue
Cebu City 6000
PHILIPPINES
+63 (0)32 2531536

If you guys from Cebu, Philippines and willing to take the ZCE Exam, I would recommend you to choose MISNet as your testing center (I'm not advertising their company), maybe other testing centers are great and it depends on your preference. My first appointment date supposedly today (Nov28 @2pm) and since I rescheduled the exam at an early date (Nov25 @10am) not because I don't want to see my failing grade but because I don't want to prolong my agony and take any longer. I took three(3) rides going to testing center, and I noticed that I was too early of my appointment time, I entered the grocery of Robinson Fuente and spending my time texting to my fellow brothers and sisters to pray for me. Thanks to kuya danny, kuya arvin, kuya lester and ate rhea, and my colleague mae and jundie, and for my friend yvette ang gobonseng who purchased my exam voucher in my behalf, for their prayers and most especially to my family and God for answering my prayers. I looked at my cellphone's time it was 8:50am and since I still have more than an hour before my appointment time, what I did was took a visit at National Bookstore and reading some computer and religious books. I noticed that it was almost 9:20am, so I left the bookstore and going my way to the testing center. Since it's a walking distance from National Bookstore going to the testing center, I did not took a jeepney ride.

I arrived at the testing center 30 minutes before 10am. They asked me for 2 valid government ID's and read the pearsonvue testing guidelines. They required me to surrender all my things like cellphone, wallet, purse, ID's, even my handky. I start taking my exam 5minutes before 10am. Inside the testing center was a pre-configured computer and a surveillance camera. Before taking the exam, I prayed and ask to God for courage. I finished my exam in less than an hour, and since I still have more time, I reviewed some of the items particularly those items that were marked for review. I suggest to review your answers since in my part I changed at most 5 answers during my review. Overall I finished the exam with more than 10 minutes left. I then press the End Exam button closing my eyes with my hand, and after I opened my eyes I see message which I really love most "Congratulations". I thank God and HE did it for me. There is really nothing impossible with HIM. I was not really prepared during those times, and my weapons are just my experience and trust to HIM. My intention in taking the exam was for experienced so that I may know what particular topics in the exam I need to review because I read most of the blogs that they found hard for the actual exam compared to the mock exam. It's really hard if you do not have coding experience for at least a year.

If you are going to take the exam, I suggest that you have at least a year in coding experience in PHP, some are at least 6 months because memorizing the php manual by heart is not a guarantee to pass the exam.

Next... I will post my preparation I did before taking the actual exam.

My name was already in the Zend PHP Yellow Pages as one of the Zend Certified Engineers

Zend PHP5 Certification Exam Experience

2008-11-25T23:10:00.014+08:00

It's been almost a year since my last blog. 13 hours ago, I took my PHP 5 Certification exam. And I love the word Congratulation on the screen after I clicked the End Exam button. I will make another blog for my experience during my exam including my preparations.

I'm still waiting for the printed copy of my certification. Here is the printed copy I received right after I took the exam.

Zend already updated their PHP Yellow Pages to include my name http://zend.com/zce.php?c=ZEND006267&r=228002398

What's next? Maybe CompTIA Security+ or CompTIA Network+

The story of a Mouse Trap

2007-08-31T17:49:00.001+08:00

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said "Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said "I am so very sorry, Mr.Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house - like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many! people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

After reading the story I was inspired by the moral value of it.

The moral story is that, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. Each of us is a vital thread in another person's tapestry.

OpenSER - the Open Source SIP Server

2007-08-31T12:48:00.000+08:00

OpenSER is a mature and flexible open source SIP server (RFC3261). It can be used on systems with limitted resources as well as on carrier grade servers, scaling to up to thousands call setups per second. It is written in pure C for Unix/Linux-like systems with architecture specific optimizations to offer high performances. It is customizable, being able to feature as fast load balancer; SIP server flavours: registrar, location server, proxy server, redirect server; gateway to SMS/XMPP; or advanced VoIP application server.

I post this blog about the openser because currently I assigned to study this project. Initially, I'm on the reading of the RFC's involved in this project besides RFC3261 and I already have a list of all the RFC's I need to read and study for me to know how this VoIP really works. RFC3303 (Middlebox communication framework and Architecture), RFC3264 (SDP), RFC3323 (SIP privacy), RFC3489 (SIP-NAT), RFC3428 (SIP and SMS) and RFC3880 (CPL for internet telephony).

It's show time for me to learn this new kind of animal. lol

I try my best to give you an update to my study on this.

eXtensible Open Router Platform

2007-08-30T18:07:00.000+08:00

Several months ago I was given a task to test the functionality of the eXtensible Open Router Platform also known as XORP as a Multicast Router Platform. At the start, I did not know what are those protocols thing... then as I continue on the experiment I learned some of the multicast protocols like BGP, IGMP/MLD, OSPF, RIP, PIM and more. But I was task to do the testing more particularly on the PIM-SSM, BGP and IGMP/MLD. I was amazed with the support. I did a simulation of the multicast successfully. And I did creating a Web GUI for our needs since this project only support Command Line, and hopefully they will support WebGUI soon.

XORP is free. It is covered by a BSD-style license and is publicly available for research, development, and use.

Thank you very much Pavlin Radoslavov for all your answers to my questions. You are one of my idols.

Keep up the good work to all of the XORP developers!

Zend Framework

2007-08-29T16:21:00.001+08:00

I've been watching this framework for quite some times, and now I started to create a simple blog application using this framework and hopefully I can share my codes here and can publish some of the tutorials soon. I was previously a CakePHP fan until I met the CodeIgniter which their manual is very well documented compared to former.

Zend Framework is licensed under New BSD License and it is implemented as purely Object-Oriented.