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Introducing WaterSpout: A light weight, real-time communication server

scott — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:52:31 +0000

Over the last several months the development team at OnForce has been working a cutting edge web server, called WaterSpout, that will change the way OnForce is able to deliver information to our users. WaterSpout takes advantage of emerging standards in web communication to eliminate the delay between an event occurring on our system and the affected users being notified. Traditional notification techniques require the browser to send background requests to the server at timed intervals to ask for updates. This approach comes with considerable overhead and has a delay which is dependant on the timed interval. Decreasing the interval [...]

Upcoming Conferences

scott — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:45:27 +0000

For those who want to learn more about real-time update techniques, make sure to check out the talk I will be giving with Chris Lewis at the International PHP Conference (Spring Edition) and at LinuxTag.

WebSockets Rule!

scott — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:46:44 +0000

Wow. It has been a ridiculously long time since I have posted anything. I used to post a lot about PHP-GTK, but in the last two years I have moved on to more exciting topics. What could be more exciting than PHP-GTK you say?! Well, WebSockets, of course. WebSockets are part of the emerging HTML5 spec. They offer a full-duplex socket connection between the user’s browser and the web server. The server is able to talk to the browser instead of just answering questions. No more polling with Ajax, asking the server every 30 seconds if anything has changed. When something [...]

OnForce is looking for developers in the Boston area

scott — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:38:12 +0000

Location: Lexington, MA OnForce is recruiting sharp, energetic PHP programmers to help develop, enhance and maintain its internal and external marketplace applications. The ideal candidate is self-motivated, with a passion for technology and a strong desire to learn new skills. A good sense of humor and a keen wit also go very far in this department. Key Responsibilities: Architect and implement scalable, secure, reliable solutions Assist with development of technical specifications Work closely with Product, QA and Operations teams to execute our rapid SDLC Help maintain and improve quality of codebase through automated/unit testing, peer code reviews, adherence to coding standards Previous Experience: Strong web programming background with [...]

Crisscott OnForce Client Desktop v2.0

scott — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:42:34 +0000

I have been working on the next version of the Crisscott OnFoce Client Desktop (OFCD) lately. The previous version was not really anything special. It was a pretty ugly front end for the OnForce API version 1.0.6. The old version was limited in its features by the API and in its interface by, well, me. The new version will take advantage of all the bells and whistles available in the upcoming version of the OnForce API and will also be much more user friendly. Version 2.0 of the OnForce API allows full control over all aspects of a work order and [...]

PHP-GTK Teams for PHPThrowdown

scott — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 13:47:40 +0000

The folks over at #php-gtk on IRC are organizing a few PHP-GTK teams for the PHPThrowdown. I think it will be great to throw a few PHP-GTK apps into the mix and beat out everyone that thinks PHP is only for the Web. If you are interested, make sure to sign up on the PHP-GTK PHPThrowdown team organization form.

PHPThrowdown

scott — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:21:00 +0000

The PHPThrowdown has opened for registration. PHPThrowdown is a competition to see who can create the best application in 24 hours. Lots of people can write good apps if you give them long enough, but a true PHP champion can do it under pressure.

I am one of the judges for the competition. It will be interesting to see what is submitted. Also, I will be donating a few copies of my book Pro PHP-GTK to the top finishers in one of the categories.

ZendCon ‘06

scott — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 19:24:03 +0000

My talk at ZendCon is over and I would like to thank everyone that attended. If there are any questions please don’t hesitate to send me an email. As promised the slides can be found here.

Crisscott OnForce Client Desktop

scott — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 19:56:17 +0000

I recently wrote a desktop application in PHP-GTK 2 that implements the OnForce web services API.

After a few hours of coding, I was able to create a desktop application that lets me put together a batch of work orders while I am offline and send them when I get connected again. Also, when I am online, I can pull down work order data, close work orders, increase the spend limit and get and add notes. And what’s best is that it is all organized in a way that make it easier for me to focus on one task or piece of data at a time.

PHP-GTK News #22

scott — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 14:10:26 +0000

It’s been a while, but I finally have some time to get back to summing up the world of PHP-GTK. Things have slowed down a little in the past few months on the development side but that doesn’t mean that the world of PHP-GTK 2 has stood still.

Development

A Call for Help:
The number of developers actively writing C code for the PHP-GTK 2 extension stands at a whopping 4! And of course all four are rather busy as of late. If you feel comfortable writing C code and are looking for an opportunity to contribute to the project please contact the developer’s mailing list and ask how to lend a hand. There are plenty of little features that need to be implemented and some bugs that need to be fixed that will give you more than enough opportunity to learn and contribute.

General

Taking Conferences by Storm: