Data.gov - best place to get federal raw data

Posted by insirri in Random acts of writing on July 2nd, 2009 |  Comments Off

So I was reading the latest issue of Wired magazine and came upon an article they wrote about data.gov. A new government web site that provides raw data from multiple government agencies. The data is provided in many formats including, SHP, KML, XML and CSV.

If you have not visited the site, I recommend you visit. But first get the Wired Magazine and read.

Add Twitter feeds to your web site using Simple XML

Posted by insirri in The Codes on July 1st, 2009 |  Comments Off

Add Twitter feeds to your web site using Simple XML: see example

//Simply add this section of the code somewhere on top of the page -->//

<?php

function twitter_status($twitter_id, $hyperlinks = true) {

  $c = curl_init();

  curl_setopt($c, CURLOPT_URL, "http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/$twitter_id.xml");

  curl_setopt($c, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);

  curl_setopt($c, CURLOPT_CONNECTTIMEOUT, 3);

  curl_setopt($c, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 5);

  $response = curl_exec($c);

  $responseInfo = curl_getinfo($c);

  curl_close($c);

  if (intval($responseInfo['http_code']) == 200) {

    if (class_exists('SimpleXMLElement')) {

      $xml = new SimpleXMLElement($response);

      return $xml;

    } else {

      return $response;

    }

  } else {

    return false;

  }

}

?>

// --> Add this section of the code where you want to display the TWITTER feed. You just need to make some adjustments and modification to suite your needs. //

<?php

  if ( $twitter_xml = twitter_status('TWITTER_ID') ) {

    foreach ($twitter_xml->status as $key => $status) {
?>
  - <?php echo $status->text; ?><br/><br/>
<?php
      ++$i1;
      if ($i1 == 5) break;
    }
?>
  <li><a href="http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/TWITTER_ID.rss">more...</a></li>
<?php
  } else {
    echo 'Sorry, Twitter seems to be unavailable at the moment...again...';
  }
?>

Cloud Computing - Sun Microsystems

Posted by insirri in The Codes on July 1st, 2009 |  Comments Off

Cloud Computing white paper from Sun Microsystems
Cloud computing promises to increase the velocity with which applications are deployed, increase innovation,
and lower costs, all while increasing business agility. Sun takes an inclusive view of cloud computing that
allows it to support every facet, including the server, storage, network, and virtualization technology that drives
cloud computing environments to the software that runs in virtual appliances that can be used to assemble
applications in minimal time. This white paper discusses how cloud computing transforms the way we design,
build, and deliver applications, and the architectural considerations that enterprises must make when adopting
and using cloud computing technology. [Sun Microsystems, Inc.]

Parsing XML and RSS Feeds with PHP

Posted by insirri in Random acts of writing on May 2nd, 2009 |  Comments Off
<?php

$doc = new DOMDocument();
$doc->load('http://feeds.latimes.com/latimes/features/health?format=xml');
$arrFeeds = array();
foreach ($doc->getElementsByTagName('item') as $node)
{
$title = $node->getElementsByTagName('title')->item(0)->nodeValue;
$description =  $node->getElementsByTagName('description')->item(0)->nodeValue;
$link = $node->getElementsByTagName('link')->item(0)->nodeValue;
$pubDate = $node->getElementsByTagName('pubDate')->item(0)->nodeValue;

echo  "<b><a href=" . $link . " target=_blank>" . $title . "</a></b><br /> ";
echo  $description . "<br />";
echo  $pubDate . "<br />";
}
?>

See example.

Clever ad —

Posted by insirri in Random acts of writing on April 24th, 2009 |  Comments Off

clever ad