Nokia Mini Speakers MD-4 are for you if you want to listen to music tracks or FM radio on your compatible phone.
With Nokia Mini Speakers MD-4 you can:
listen to music from your compatible phone for up to 30 hours on a single set of batteries
travel light: the speakers are extremely lightweight and fold away when you’re not using them
enjoy stereo sound from your compatible phone's music player and radio with mini speakers that fit your pocket
Nokia Mini Speakers MD-4 – Travel sounds
Labels: latest 0 commentsNokia N95 tech review
Labels: latest 0 commentsNokia N95 Specifications
=========================
Network :
Technology / Frequency Bands GSM : 850/900/1800/1900 MHz UMTS : 2100 MHz
Battery :
Type Li - Ion
Capacity 1100 mAh
Standby 220 hours UMTS: 200 hours
Talktime 240 mins UMTS: 162 mins
Built :
Dimensions 99x53x21 mm
Weight 120 g
Antenna Type Internal
Form Factor Slide
Display :
Size 240 x 320 pixels
Type color : TFT
Colors 16000000 colors
Secondary Display no
Camera / Imaging / Video :
Camera yes Inbuilt
Resolution 2592x1944 pixels
Image Formats EXIF / JPEG
Resolutions Supported 640x480 / 2592x1944 pixels
Zoom yes 20x
Flash yes
Video Recording yes Resolution :640x480 30 fps
Video Formats MPEG-4 / 3GPP H.263
Video Resolutions Supported 176x144 / 352x288 / 640x480 / 320x240 pixels
Video Out yes
Secondary Camera yes
Secondary Camera :
Resolution 320x240 pixels
Image Formats EXIF / JPEG
Zoom 2x
Flash no
Video Recording yes Resolution :176x144 Zoom:2x 15 fps
Video Formats 3GPP H.263
Connectivity :
Bluetooth Yes , version 2.0 profiles: BIP Basic Imaging / DUN Dial Up Networking / HFP Hands Free
Irda Yes
Wlan/Wi-fi Yes Modes: 802.11b / 802.11g Supporting: WPA,WPA2 (AES/TKIP)
Pc Sync yes
SyncML yes
USB yes
GPS yes
UMA no
UnPnP yes
Data :
Data Modes GPRS / EDGE (EGPRS) / WCDMA (UMTS) / HSCSD / CSD / HSDPA 1.8
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
3G Yes
HSDPA yes
Internet :
WAP yes 2.0
Browsing S60 OSS Browser , HTML, XHTML
Media :
Audio Playback Yes
Audio Formats MP3 / MP4 / M4A / WAV
Video Playback Yes
Video Formats RealVideo / MPEG-4 / 3GPP H.263 / H.264/AVC
Ringtones
FM Radio Yes Visual Radio
3.5mm Headphone Jack yes
Memory :
Inbuilt 160 MB
Memory Slot yes microSD/TransFlash Hot Swappable
Included : 128 MB Expandable Upto : 4 GB
USB Mass Storage no
Messaging :
SMS Yes
MMS Yes
Email Yes Protocols : IMAP4,POP3,SMTP
Predictive Text Input T9
Templates yes
Instant Messaging yes
Input :
Multiple Languages yes
Music Keys yes
Internet Key yes
Calling / Voice :
Voice Recording yes
Voice Dial yes
Video Calling yes
Vibration yes
Speaker yes
VOIP yes
Push2Talk yes
Contacts :
PhoneBook yes
Multiple Numbers per contact yes
PictureID yes
RingerID yes
Software :
Operating System Symbian / S60 Symbian OS 9.2
Platform S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1
Java yes MIDP 2.0 CLDC 1.1
Flash Lite yes Version 2.0
Games yes
Personal Information Management :
Alarm yes
Calculator yes
Stopwatch no
To Do yes
Calendar yes
Countdown no
Flashlight no
Servicelight no
Sony's Laptop
Labels: latest 1 commentsSlowly but surely, like desktop PCs, laptop computers are becoming boring, me-too commodity products. Most are made for brand-name computer companies by a handful of contract manufacturers in Asia, and too many of those brand-name companies merely make limited tweaks to cookie-cutter designs the contractors develop.
But a few laptop makers are still innovating regularly, both in function and style. Even though they may hire the same Asian factories to fabricate their laptops, they begin with their own unique designs. These innovators include Apple Computer, of course; but also Lenovo, the Chinese firm that now makes IBM-brand ThinkPad laptops; and Sony, long a laptop innovator, especially in the ultra-portable segment of the laptop market, where small size demands great design.
Sony’s new TX650 laptop can record CDs and DVDs.Sony’s latest coup is a new, ultra-portable series that manages to shrink the overall size and weight of its predecessor while expanding the size of the screen and extending an already impressive battery life. And it’s one of the few laptops on the market that can connect to the Internet over a cellphone network without requiring any adapters.
I’ve been testing this new laptop, the TX650, and in general I like it. Unfortunately, it also has a few downsides, including some disappointments in its most vaunted feature: its wireless capability.
The TX650, which will be available next month for $2,300, replaces, and tops, the very nice T series that came before it. Like the T, the TX is a sleek, svelte laptop that still manages to pack in a DVD drive that can read and record DVDs and CDs. Like the T, it also has a good complement of ports and connectors and excellent battery life, which is rare in such tiny machines.
In addition, the new TX series has a wide screen that measures 11.1 inches diagonally and features a high resolution of 1,366 by 768. The T series had a 10.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1,280 by 768. The screen is very sharp, and the keyboard, while a bit cramped, is adequate.
The TX650 also beats the T series on battery life, which is saying a lot. In my harsh battery test, where I turn off all power-saving software, set the screen brightness to maximum, turn on the Wi-Fi wireless networking, and then play an endless loop of music to keep the hard disk spinning, the TX650’s battery lasted an astonishing four hours and 53 minutes. That’s nearly half an hour longer than the T lasted in the same test, and it means the TX could probably top six hours in normal use, with battery-saving features enabled.
Yet the TX is actually a bit smaller than the T series was. It has the same 10.7-inch width as its predecessor, but it is as little as 0.83 inch thick at its front edge, compared with one inch for the T series. And it’s just 7.7 inches deep, compared with 8.1 inches for the T series. It also weighs less than the T series — 2.76 pounds, down from 3.04 pounds.
Much of this size and weight reduction is a result of Sony’s use of an innovative carbon-fiber casing that allows the lid to be the thinnest I’ve ever seen. Also, the battery doesn’t protrude much from the rear.
The TX has a 60-gigabyte hard disk and a Pentium M processor running at 1.2 gigahertz. It has a decent 512 megabytes of memory, though up to 128 megabytes of that is shared with the graphics system. To Sony’s credit, the TX also includes a slot for the popular SD type of camera memory card in addition to one for Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick card.
Like some larger laptops, the TX650 has a special instant-on mode that allows you to play music or DVDs without going through the slow process of launching Windows. However, my test machine lacked the software that powers this feature, so I couldn’t test it.
The TX650 has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking. And like the last model of the T series, it also has built-in access to a cellphone network for wireless Internet access, something which usually requires buying and installing a plug-in card. (You have to buy a cellphone plan to use this feature.)
In my tests, I was able to get on the Internet just fine with both the Wi-Fi and cellphone features, which can’t be used simultaneously. But the wireless networking on the TX650 has some drawbacks. First, this laptop uses an external, rubber swivel antenna that can easily pop off and get lost. That’s a pain.
Second, Sony chose as its cellphone solution Cingular’s EDGE network, which gets only about 100 kilobits a second, or a bit more, at best. That’s only two to three times as fast as a home dial-up modem and nowhere near broadband speed. It’s too bad Sony didn’t opt for Verizon’s EV-DO network instead, as several of its competitors have, including Dell and Lenovo. The Verizon network is roughly seven times as fast as EDGE and is about the equivalent of a wired DSL broadband connection.
All in all, the Sony TX650 is an impressive design. But if you really expect to use a built-in cellphone mode to get online, you’d be better off picking a competitor that uses Verizon’s EV-DO.
Dell VostroTM laptops
Labels: latest 0 commentsDell VostroTM laptops are designed for small business. Packed with customized features and a choice of software, the Vostro line delivers easy-to-use technology, flexible connectivity options and exceptional support – all in a thin, durable design. 
Vostro 1510 at a Glance:
---------------------------
Customized Software Suite - Eliminate trialware and choose only the software your business needs.
Outstanding Out-of-Box Performance - Excellent first boot experience puts you in business in minutes.
Durable Construction – Enjoy the durability of Vostro’s magnesium-alloy reinforced chassis, sturdy hinges and sealed keyboards.
Maximum Wireless Connectivity – Designed to minimize dead spots and connect virtually anywhere3 business takes you with optional next-generation Wireless-N Wi-Fi® .
Exceptional Service and Support – Vostro laptops include 1-year Limited warranty and specially trained technical support.
System and Data Protection – Help prevent unauthorized access, malicious attacks and theft with flexible security options.
Easy-to-Use Technology
--------------------------
When your business demands time, your technology shouldn’t. The all-purpose Vostro 1510 includes a comprehensive portfolio of small business support services and features. Enjoy simplified system set-up, management and maintenance.Consolidate network set-up and troubleshooting with Dell Network Assistant.
Ensure peak system performance with automated maintenance tools.
Receive personalized support from specially trained technicians.
Enhance standard services with optional Dell ProSupport tailored support plans.
Extraordinary Performance and Value
------------------------------------
Even small business demands big results. The multi-functional Vostro 1510 delivers lightning-fast processing, crisp images, flexible drive options and up to 4GB4 of memory – all at exceptional small business value. Withstand the rigors of home and office with rugged, lightweight magnesium-alloy reinforced construction.
Enhance performance and battery life with latest-generation Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo processor.
Get higher contrast ratio than standard anti-glare displays for brighter images with TrueLifeTM display technology.
Choose from Combo and DVD read/write optical drives
Enhance video and photo clarity with an optional graphics card up to 256MB.
Help protect your hard drive against unexpected drops with Free Fall Sensor included in optional 7200RPM hard drives
Convenient Size, Operation and Weight
------------------------------------
Expertly designed Vostro laptops offer heavyweight performance – without the weight. Thin and highly portable, the 1510 starts at just 2.6 kg2. And the glossy 15.4" TrueLifeTM display delivers vibrant widescreen images in a convenient, road-ready size. Easy multimedia operation with convenient controls.
Simplify disc loading with convenient slot-load optical drives.
Increase work time with long battery life.
Exceptional Connectivity and Security
------------------------------------
When business extends beyond the desk, Vostro 1510 is designed to enable secure connectivity - from virtually anywhere, anytime. Help Maximize productivity and up-time with optional Wireless-N WiFi® , Bluetooth® technology. Then protect your system – and important data – with flexible Dell security options and standard software. Maximize hot spot connectivity, throughput and range with next-generation Wireless N WiFi® .
Enable cable-free computing with Bluetooth® connectivity to peripherals.
Restrict system access with optional fingerprint reader.
Authenticate network access with Trusted Platform Module (TPM 1.2).
Tech Specs
===========
Processors
Up to Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor T9500 (2.60 GHz, 6 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate
Genuine Windows Vista® Business
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic
Genuine Windows Vista® Business with Windows® XP Pro Downgrade Rights
Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate with Windows® XP Pro Downgrade Rights
Memory
Up to 4 GB6 Dual Channel 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM5.
Chipset
With integrated graphics: Intel® 965GM Express chipset
With discrete graphics: Intel® 965PM Express chipset
Graphics
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X31009
256MB NVIDIA® GeForceTM 8400M GS Graphic Card
LCD Display
15.4" Widescreen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display
15.4" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440 x 900) Display
15.4" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440 x 900) Display with TrueLifeTM
15.4" UltraSharp™ Widescreen WUXGA (1920 x 1200) Display with TrueLifeTM
Audio and Speakers
Two channel high definition audio codec; Two stereo 2 watt internal speakers with HD Audio 2.0 software standard
Hard Drives
5400 RPM hard drives up to 320GB or optional 7200 RPM Free Fall Sensor hard drive at 160GB8
Optical Drives
Fixed Internal 8x DVD / 24x CDRW Combo Slot Load Drive including Software
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW7 Slot Load Drive including Software
Security
Optional Biometric fingerprint reader
Optional Trusted Platform Module 1.2 with Infineon TPM management Security Software
Power
6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion Battery
Camera
Optional integrated 1.3 mega pixel with single digital microphone
Wireless
Wi-Fi Options:
Modem : 56K V.92 External USB Modem (Optional)
Integrated Wired : Gigabit RJ45 Ethernet network interface adapter standard (100% attached)
Intel Pro/Wireless 3945 802.11 a/g Mini Card Wireless
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini Card
Bluetooth Options:
Dell Wireless 360 Bluetooth® Module
Ports, Slots, Chassis
----------------------
Externally Accessible:
(4) USB 2.0 compliant 4-pin ports
15-pin VGA video connector
Network connector (RJ45)
Modem optional external via USB port
AC adapter connector
Microphone in & Headphone jack
4-pin IEEE 1394 port
8-in-1 media memory card reader
54 mm ExpressCard slot
Internal Card Slots:
Bluetooth
2 Mini-Card
Dimensions & Weight:
--------------------
Width: 357mm
Height: 25.4mm (f), 1.50" / 38mm (b)
Depth: 258mm
Weight: Preliminary starting weight at 2.59kg 2 with 15.4" WXGA Anti-Glare display, UMA integrated graphics, 6-cell battery, Optical Drive and WLAN
Modem optional external via USB port
Interview quest-1
Labels: Sun Solaris 0 comments-Disk Label
========================
can you remind what is the meaning of cXtXdXsX?
DISK SLICE NAMING CONVENTION:
An 8 character string typically represents the fully name of aslice (c# t# d# s#)
1)controller:identifieshost bus adapater(HBA) which controls communication between the system and disk unit
2)targernumber:corresponding to a unquie hardware address that is assigned to each disk ,tape or cdrom
3)disk number:
also know as logical unit number (LUN) this number reflects the number of disks as the target number
4)slice number: a slice number range from 0-7
the disk label is the ares set aside for storing information about the disk controller, geometry and slices
another term used to describe a disk label is the volume table of contents(VTOC)
the label dsik means to write slice information on the disk
what is function of sccli ?
===============================
Using Certain sccli Commands to Manage a Sun StorEdge 3510 or 3511 Fiber Channel Array
What is the command to do an interactive boot from the ok prompt?
==================================================================
if os is up and runing, take help for man to eeprom command
stop+a command is to boot an interactive boot from the ok prompt
The Interactive Boot Process:
At the ok prompt, type boot -a and press Enter. The boot program prompts you interactively
Consider the following crontab entry: ?59 23 13 * 5 /wipe.disk? What time will this cronjob run?
===================================
That means: on Black Friday, your hard drive will get wiped out.
==> (on 13th and Friday) 23:59, /wipe.disk will be running
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the 13'th Day of the month is Friday, the job will run. (week day starts from Sunday day 1).
How can i disable STOP+A utility on SUN machines, which brings system into OK> prompt???.
===========================================================
in /etc/system set abort_enable=0 will disable STOP-A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are several ways to disable "STOP-A"
(1)Edit the /etc/default/kbd file
KEYBOARD_ABORT=disable
(2)Use the "kbd -a disable" command
(3) Edit /etc/system file
set abort_enable = 0
How do we know how many LAN cards we have in server?
========================================================
Just Type in the following command at prompt#ifconfig -a.That shall give the LAN Cards as well as total Physical and Logical IP Addresses
dmesg - It displays all configured items on systems
#prtconf
#prtdiag
# cat /etc/path_to_inst
What is "Piping"?
====================
piping:- sending the output of a command to the input of another is called piping.
some examples are:
$cal | wc
will output total line's,word's and character's
$cal | wc | wc
will output total line's,word's and character's
A unix pipe provides a one-way flow of data.
for example
For example, if a Unix users issues the command
$who | sort |lpr
then the Unix shell would create three processes with two pipes between them:
A pipe can be explicitly created in Unix using the pipe system call. Two file descriptors are returned--fildes[0] and fildes[1], and they are both open for reading and writing. A read from fildes[0] accesses the data written to fildes[1] on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis and a read from fildes[1] accesses the data written to fildes[0] also on a FIFO basis.
When a pipe is used in a Unix command line, the first process is assumed to be writing to stdout and the second is assumed to be reading from stdin. So, it is common practice to assign the pipe write device descriptor to stdout in the first process and assign the pipe read device descriptor to stdin in the second process. This is elaborated below in the discussion of multiple command pipelines.
Where are the templates stored that are copied into the user's home directories for their personal customizations?
==========================================================
/etc/skel
Which NFS daemons are found on the NFS server?
=============================================
nfslogd
In NFS server side there are
nfsd
mountd
lockd
statd
nfslogd
These five daemons will be in NFS server.
statd and lockd will be in NFS client too.
What file controls system wide password aging?
==============================================
/etc/shadow
What flag used with patchadd will prevent a later back out by preventing patchadd from backing up files? If this flag is used, the patch cannot be removed.
=======================================================================
You have to use the option "d" along with th patchadd commnad.
patchadd -d
What file do you put the umask setting in?
============================================
The UMASK value for bourne and korn shell users can be modified system wide by editing the "umask" entry in the "/etc/profile" file. To change the default UMASK for the C shell, modify the UMASK variable in "/etc/default/login" file.
When using the admintool, the membership list for groups is separated by what?
==================================================
commas
Among the applications below, which one is not a client/server application?
==================================
cron
What command will display the VTOC for disk c0t0d0s0?
==================================================
prtvtoc /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s0
PRTVTOC
What file contains the location of the namespace configuration textfiles such as hosts.rev, named.local, etc..?
==================================
/etc/named.conf
Which of the following commands can tell you whether packets are being delayed or dropped on your network?
===========================================
spray
PHP Files n Directory manipulation
Labels: PHP 0 commentsCreate Directory
mkdir("/path/to/my/dir", 0700);
?>
delete dir
rmdir($dir);
Permissions :
chmod("/adirectory/", 0777); //Will CHMOD a directory
chmod("/adirectory/afile.txt",0777); //Will CHMOD a file
delete file:
// Then unlink :)
unlink($somefile);
example:
function SureRemoveDir($dir, $DeleteMe) {
if(!$dh = @opendir($dir)) return;
while (false !== ($obj = readdir($dh))) {
if($obj=='.' || $obj=='..') continue;
if (!@unlink($dir.'/'.$obj)) SureRemoveDir($dir.'/'.$obj, true);
}
closedir($dh);
if ($DeleteMe){
@rmdir($dir);
}
}
String Formating in VB
Labels: VisualBasic 0 commentsVB format syntax
Using the Visual Basic format() function
The Format function converts a value to a text string and gives you control over the string's appearance. For example, you can specify the number of decimal places for a numeric value, leading or trailing zeros, currency formats, and portions of the date. The syntax is:
Syntax
Format(expression [,format [,firstdayofweek [,firstweekofyear]]])
expression
Any valid expression
format
A valid named or user-defined format expression
firstdayofweek
A constant that specifies the first day of the week
firstweekofyear
A constant that specifies the first week of the year The firstdayofweek argument has these settings: Constant Value Description
vbUseSystem 0 Use NLS API setting.
vbSunday 1 Sunday (default)
vbMonday 2 Monday
vbTuesday 3 Tuesday
vbWednesday 4 Wednesday
vbThursday 5 Thursday
vbFriday 6 Friday
vbSaturday 7 Saturday
The firstweekofyear argument has these settings: Constant Value Description
vbUseSystem 0 Use NLS API setting.
vbFirstJan1 1 Start with week in which January 1 occurs (default).
vbFirstFourDays 2 Start with the first week that has at least four days in the year.
vbFirstFullWeek 3 Start with the first full week of the year.
Notes
If you try to format a number without specifying format, Format provides functionality similar to the Str function, although it is internationally aware. However, positive numbers formatted as strings using Format don’t include a leading space reserved for the sign of the value; those converted using Str retain the leading space.
If you are formatting a non-localized numeric string, you should use a user-defined numeric format to ensure that you get the look you want.
If the Calendar property setting is Gregorian and format specifies date formatting, the supplied expression must be Gregorian. If the Visual Basic Calendar property setting is Hijri, the supplied expression must be Hijri.
If the calendar is Gregorian, the meaning of format expression symbols is unchanged. If the calendar is Hijri, all date format symbols (for example, dddd, mmmm, yyyy) have the same meaning but apply to the Hijri calendar. Format symbols remain in English; symbols that result in text display (for example, AM and PM) display the string (English or Arabic) associated with that symbol. The range of certain symbols changes when the calendar is Hijri.
Formatting Symbols
Character Description
None
No formatting Display the number with no formatting.
: Time separator. In some locales, other characters may be used to represent the time separator. The time separator separates hours, minutes, and seconds when time values are formatted. The actual character used as the time separator in formatted output is determined by your system settings.
/ Date separator. In some locales, other characters may be used to represent the date separator. The date separator separates the day, month, and year when date values are formatted. The actual character used as the date separator in formatted output is determined by your system settings.
C Display the date as ddddd and display the time as t t t t t, in that order. Display only date information if there is no fractional part to the date serial number; display only time information if there is no integer portion.
D Display the day as a number without a leading zero (1 - 31).
dd Display the day as a number with a leading zero (01 - 31).
ddd Display the day as an abbreviation (Sun - Sat).
dddd Display the day as a full name (Sunday - Saturday).
ddddd Display the date as a complete date (including day, month, and year), formatted according to your system's short date format setting. The default short date format is m/d/yy.
dddddd Display a date serial number as a complete date (including day, month, and year) formatted according to the long date setting recognized by your system. The default long date format is mmmm dd, yyyy.
w Display the day of the week as a number (1 for Sunday through 7 for Saturday).
ww Display the week of the year as a number (1 - 53).
m Display the month as a number without a leading zero (1 - 12). If m immediately follows h or hh, the minute rather than the month is displayed.
MM Display the month as a number with a leading zero (01 - 12). If m immediately follows h or hh, the minute rather than the month is displayed.
MMM Display the month as an abbreviation (Jan - Dec).
MMMM Display the month as a full month name (January - December).
q Display the quarter of the year as a number (1 - 4).
y Display the day of the year as a number (1 - 366).
yy Display the year as a 2-digit number (00 - 99).
yyyy Display the year as a 4-digit number (100 - 9666).
h Display the hour as a number without leading zeros (0 - 23).
hh Display the hour as a number with leading zeros (00 - 23).
n Display the minute as a number without leading zeros (0 - 59).
nn Display the minute as a number with leading zeros (00 - 59).
s Display the second as a number without leading zeros (0 - 59).
ss Display the second as a number with leading zeros (00 - 59).
t t t t t Display a time as a complete time (including hour, minute, and second), formatted using the time separator defined by the time format recognized by your system. A leading zero is displayed if the leading zero option is selected and the time is before 10:00 A.M. or P.M. The default time format is h:mm:ss.
AM/PM Use the 12-hour clock and display an uppercase AM with any hour before noon; display an uppercase PM with any hour between noon and 11:59 P.M.
am/pm Use the 12-hour clock and display a lowercase AM with any hour before noon; display a lowercase PM with any hour between noon and 11:59 P.M.
A/P Use the 12-hour clock and display an uppercase A with any hour before noon; display an uppercase P with any hour between noon and 11:59 P.M.
a/p Use the 12-hour clock and display a lowercase A with any hour before noon; display a lowercase P with any hour between noon and 11:59 P.M.
AMPM Use the 12-hour clock and display the AM string literal as defined by your system with any hour before noon; display the PM string literal as defined by your system with any hour between noon and 11:59 P.M. AMPM can be either uppercase or lowercase, but the case of the string displayed matches the string as defined by your system settings. The default format is AM/PM.
0
Digit placeholder Display a digit or a zero. If the expression has a digit in the position where the 0 appears in the format string, display it; otherwise, display a zero in that position. If the number has fewer digits than there are zeros (on either side of the decimal) in the format expression, display leading or trailing zeros. If the number has more digits to the right of the decimal separator than there are zeros to the right of the decimal separator in the format expression, round the number to as many decimal places as there are zeros. If the number has more digits to the left of the decimal separator than there are zeros to the left of the decimal separator in the format expression, display the extra digits without modification.
#
Digit placeholder
Display a digit or nothing. If the expression has a digit in the position where the # appears in the format string, display it; otherwise, display nothing in that position. This symbol works like the 0 digit placeholder, except that leading and trailing zeros aren't displayed if the number has the same or fewer digits than there are # characters on either side of the decimal separator in the format expression.
.
Decimal placeholder
In some locales, a comma is used as the decimal separator. The decimal placeholder determines how many digits are displayed to the left and right of the decimal separator. If the format expression contains only number signs to the left of this symbol, numbers smaller than 1 begin with a decimal separator. If you always want a leading zero displayed with fractional numbers, use 0 as the first digit placeholder to the left of the decimal separator instead. The actual character used as a decimal placeholder in the formatted output depends on the Number Format recognized by your system.
%
Percent placeholder The expression is multiplied by 100. The percent character (%) is inserted in the position where it appears in the format string.
,
Thousand separator In some locales, a period is used as a thousand separator. The thousand separator separates thousands from hundreds within a number that has four or more places to the left of the decimal separator. Standard use of the thousand separator is specified if the format contains a thousand separator surrounded by digit placeholders (0 or #). Two adjacent thousand separators or a thousand separator immediately to the left of the decimal separator (whether or not a decimal is specified) means “scale the number by dividing it by 1000, rounding as needed.” You can scale large numbers using this technique. For example, you can use the format string “##0,,” to represent 100 million as 100. Numbers smaller than 1 million are displayed as 0. Two adjacent thousand separators in any position other than immediately to the left of the decimal separator are treated simply as specifying the use of a thousand separator. The actual character used as the thousand separator in the formatted output depends on the Number Format recognized by your system.
:
Time separator In some locales, other characters may be used to represent the time separator. The time separator separates hours, minutes, and seconds when time values are formatted. The actual character used as the time separator in formatted output is determined by your system settings.
/
Date separator In some locales, other characters may be used to represent the date separator. The date separator separates the day, month, and year when date values are formatted. The actual character used as the date separator in formatted output is determined by your system settings.
E- E+ e- e+
Scientific format If the format expression contains at least one digit placeholder (0 or #) to the right of E-, E+, e-, or e+, the number is displayed in scientific format and E or e is inserted between the number and its exponent. The number of digit placeholders to the right determines the number of digits in the exponent. Use E- or e- to place a minus sign next to negative exponents. Use E+ or e+ to place a minus sign next to negative exponents and a plus sign next to positive exponents.
- + $ ( ) space
Display a literal character To display a character other than one of those listed, precede it with a backslash (\) or enclose it in double quotation marks (” “).
\
Display the next character in the format string Many characters in the format expression have a special meaning and can't be displayed as literal characters unless they are preceded by a backslash. The backslash itself isn't displayed. Using a backslash is the same as enclosing the next character in double quotation marks. To display a backslash, use two backslashes (\). Examples of characters that can't be displayed as literal characters are the date- and time-formatting characters (a, c, d, h, m, n, p, q, s, t, w, y, and /:), the numeric-formatting characters (#, 0, %, E, e, comma, and period), and the string-formatting characters (@, &, <, >, and !).
“ABC”
Display the string inside the double quotation marks To include a string in format from within code, you must use Chr(34) to enclose the text (34 is the character code for a double quotation mark).
@
Character placeholder Display a character or a space. If the string has a character in the position where the @ appears in the format string, display it; otherwise, display a space in that position. Placeholders are filled from right to left unless there is an ! character in the format string. See below.
&
Character placeholder Display a character or nothing. If the string has a character in the position where the & appears, display it; otherwise, display nothing. Placeholders are filled from right to left unless there is an ! character in the format string. See below.
<
Force lowercase Display all characters in lowercase format.
>
Force uppercase Display all characters in uppercase format.
!
Force left to right fill of placeholders The default is to fill from right to left.
Named Formats
Visual Basic provides several standard formats to use with the Format function. Instead of using symbols, you specify these formats by name in the format argument of the Format function. Always enclose the format name in double quotation marks (“”). The following table lists the format names you can use. Named format Description
General Number Shows numbers as entered.
Currency Shows negative numbers inside parentheses.
Fixed Shows at least one digit.
Standard Uses a thousands separator.
Percent Multiplies the value by 100 with a percent sign at the end.
Scientific Uses standard scientific notation.
General Date Shows date and time if expression contains both. If expression is only a date or a time, the missing information is not displayed.
Long Date Uses the Long Date format specified in the Regional Settings dialog box of the Microsoft Windows Control Panel.
Medium Date Uses the dd-mmm-yy format (for example, 03-Apr-93)
Short Date Uses the Short Date format specified in the Regional Settings dialog box of the Windows Control Panel.
Long Time Shows the hour, minute, second, and “AM” or “PM” using the h:mm:ss format.
Medium Time Shows the hour, minute, and “AM” or “PM” using the “hh:mm AM/PM” format.
Short Time Shows the hour and minute using the hh:mm format.
Yes/No Any nonzero numeric value (usually - 1) is Yes. Zero is No.
True/False Any nonzero numeric value (usually - 1) is True. Zero is False.
On/Off Any nonzero numeric value (usually - 1) is On. Zero is Off.
Multiple Formats
A user-defined format expression can have from one to four sections separated by semicolons. (If the format argument contains one of the named formats, only one section is allowed.) If you use The result is
One section The format expression applies to all values.
Two sections The first section applies to positive values and zeros, the second to negative values.
Three sections The first section applies to positive values, the second to negative values, and the third to zeros.
Four sections The first section applies to positive values, the second to negative values, the third to zeros, and the fourth to Null values.
The following example has two sections: the first defines the format for positive values and zeros; the second section defines the format for negative values.
$#,##0;($#,##0)
If you include semicolons with nothing between them, the missing section is printed using the format of the positive value. For example, the following format displays positive and negative values using the format in the first section and displays “Zero” if the value is zero.
$#,##0;;\Z\e\r\o
Note If you try to format a number without specifying format, Format provides the same functionality as the Str function. However, positive numbers formatted as strings using Format lack the leading space reserved for displaying the sign of the value; whereas, those converted using Str retain the leading space.
Examples
The following conversions assume that the country in the Windows Control Panel is set to “English (United States).” Format syntax Result
Format(8315.4, “00000.00”) 08315.40
Format(8315.4, “#####.##”) 8315.4
Format(8315.4, “##,##0.00”) 8,315.40
Format(315.4, “$##0.00”) $315.40
Format(7, “0.00%”) 700.00%
Format(“This Is A Test”, “<”) this is a test
Format(“This Is A Test”, “>”) THIS IS A TEST
Format(Now, “m/d/yy”) 1/27/93
Format(Now, “dddd, mmmm dd, yyyy”) Wednesday, January 27, 1993
Format(Now, “d-mmm”) 27-Jan
Format(Now, “mmmm-yy”) January-93
Format(Now, “hh:mm AM/PM”) 07:18 AM
Format(Now, “h:mm:ss a/p”) 7:18:00 a
Format(Now, “d-mmmm h:mm” 27-January 7:18
Format(Now, “d-mmmm-yy”) 27-January-93
Format(Now, “d mmmm”) 27 January
Format(Now, “mmmm yy”) January 93
Format(Now, “hh:mm AM/PM”) 08:50 PM
Format(Now, “h:mm:ss a/p”) 8:50:35 p
Format(Now, “h:mm”) 20:50
Format(Now, “h:mm:ss”) 20:50:35
Format(Now, “m/d/yy h:mm”) 1/27/93 20:50
Format (format) Positive 5 Negative 5 Decimal .5 Null
Zero-length string 5 -5 0.5
0 5 -5 1
0.00 5.00 -5.00 0.50
#,##0 5 -5 1
#,##0.00;;;Nil 5.00 -5.00 0.50 Nil
$#,##0;($#,##0) $5 ($5) $1
$#,##0.00;($#,##0.00) $5.00 ($5.00) $0.50
0% 500% -500% 50%
0.00% 500.00% -500.00% 50.00%
0.00E+00 5.00E+00 -5.00E+00 5.00E-01
0.00E-00 5.00E00 -5.00E00 5.00E-01
Credit
Most of this is a re-hash of the documentation available from Microsoft. But Microsoft has its Format() documentation spread out in a number of loosely related entries, instead of being in one place.
Calnder using PHP and Ajax
Labels: Ajax, PHP 0 commentsOnline calendars are often used in many web applications. Though popular, the logic behind creating a calendar can be scary especially for those who are new to programming. There are many web calendars in the market but some of them are quite complicated. If we are not able to understand the code, it becomes harder for us to customise the calendar to fit into our existing application. As such, we need to create a calendar that can plug itself into any system seamlessly without problems. Whether we are using Wordpress, Mambo/Joomla or Drupal, we should only need to insert one line into our code for the calendar to work. ie something like this:
require_once('quick_calendar.php');
?>
If you are already bored at this point or not interested to know how to create a web calendar, feel free to see a live demo of the simple calendar here. The installation procedures is in the source code.
Other than configuring the database access for the calendar, I do not want to change other things. With AJAX, I could even make the page static as I navigate between different months in the calendar. In this tutorial, I would like to share with you a simple calendar I created that fufills the objectives discussed above. The tutorial assumes that you have basic knowledge of PHP and SQL but don't worry, the actual code is minimal and you should be able to customise it easily by reading at the comments. I used PHP 4 so that it is compatible with most servers. You should also be able to re-create the calendar easily in other programming languages using the same logic.
The First Step: Problem Identification
Perhaps the hardest part in creating a calendar is to come up with a good solution to display the days of the month in the correct column, ie Monday, Tuesday..etc.
Apr 2006
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30
Let us take April 2006 for example. There are 30 days and 6 rows in the calendar. If we are given a day in the month, say 15, we have to know that it falls on a saturday and is in the third row (third week). We cannot take for granted that the first day is always the first cell in the table (top left cell). Sometimes, we get 4 or 5 weeks in a month. Only if we know how many days are there in a certain month and which day the first of the month falls in only can we construct the calender as shown above.
Getting Crucial information From The PHP Date function
PHP provides a date() function that gives us alot of useful information about the days and months of the year. To built the calendar for any month, We need 2 important pieces of information from the Date function, ie the "number of days in the month" and a "numeric representation of the first day of the month".
I can get today's date easily from the following code:
// get year, eg 2006$year = date('Y');// get month, eg 04$month = date('n');// get day, eg 3$day = date('j');To get the number of days in this month, I will use the both the date and mktime function like so:
// get number of days in month, eg 28$daysInMonth = date("t",mktime(0,0,0,$month,1,$year));The numeric representation of the day of the week ranges from 0 to 6. 0 is sunday and 6 is saturday. Again, to get the numeric first day of this month, the function mktime comes in handy.
// get first day of the month, eg 4$firstDay = date("w", mktime(0,0,0,$month,1,$year));The Monthly Calendar As A 2-D Array
If we look at the calendar again for April 2006, we will see that it is actually a table(grid) filled with values starting from 1 to x (no of days in the month). The first day of the month is a variable though... It can occur in any day of the week. In the table, imagine each cell as having coordinates (x,y), starting from the top left cell as (0,0) and the bottom right cell as (5,6). In the month of April, the first day of the month is stored in coordinate (0,6). So, the plan now is to store the days of the month in a 2-D Array.
Firstly, we want to know the number of cells needed.
// calculate total spaces needed in array$tempDays = $firstDay + $daysInMonth;Then we want to know the number of rows needed.
// calculate total rows needed$weeksInMonth = ceil($tempDays/7);Populating The 2-D Array
Knowing the number of rows and columns in the 2-D array, we can now fill the arrays with values using 2 for-loops. The first cell will start with a value of 1 and the subsequent cells will have their values increased by 1 till it reaches the end of the array.
for($j=0;$j<$weeksInMonth;$j++) {
for($i=0;$i<7;$i++) {
$counter++;
$week[$j][$i] = $counter;
}
}
?>
For the month of April, the temporary array should be something like this:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 32 33 34 35
36 37 38 39 40 41 42
The Magic Offset
As you can see, the array above is not correct. The first day of April, ie value 1 should be in (0,6) instead of (0,0). Remeber the variable $firstDay? It is the numeric representation of the first day of month which happens to be 6 in April 2006. If we subtract $firstDay from all the values in the array, we will get the array as follows:
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31 32 33 34 35 36
You should now be able to guess what we are going to do next. Looking at the array above, you see that we already got the values we want but we also have some unwanted values. Any number less than 1 or more than $daysInMonth (number of days in a month) should be ignored.
function fillArray() {
// create a 2-d array
for($j=0;$j<$this->weeksInMonth;$j++) {
for($i=0;$i<7;$i++) {
$counter++;
$this->week[$j][$i] = $counter;
// offset the days
$this->week[$j][$i] -= $this->firstDay;
if (($this->week[$j][$i] < 1) || ($this->week[$j][$i] > $this->daysInMonth)) {
$this->week[$j][$i] = "";
}
}
}
}
?>
This is the core function in the entire calendar generation algorithm.
Displaying The Calendar
Getting the values right in the 2-D array, we are now ready to display them. Now, we will create a table and start looping again using the foreach function.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $date | "; } echo "||||||
The final display will be like this:
Apr 2006
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30
We now have a plain calendar.
Adding Special Dates To The Calendar
This calendar only tells you "the days of a week" at the moment and is not very useful. Most online calendar will have reminders as well. Say for example, if my birthday falls on the 4th of April, I want the number 4 in the calendar be displayed differently, possible with a hyperlink in which upon clicking on it, will perform some task like redirecting me to a certain page or displaying more information about myself in a popup windows..etc. To do that, we need to a table in the database with at least 6 columns: id, day, month, year, link, desc.
CREATE TABLE calendar (
id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT ,
day VARCHAR( 2 ) NOT NULL ,
month VARCHAR( 2 ) NOT NULL ,
year VARCHAR( 4 ) NOT NULL ,
link VARCHAR( 255 ) NOT NULL ,
desc TEXT NOT NULL ,
PRIMARY KEY ( id )
);
We then need to insert some data into the table for testing:
INSERT INTO calendar ( id , day , month , year , link , desc )
VALUES (
'', '24', '*', '2006', 'http://www.sitecritic.net', 'Check your web cccount on the 24th of every month. 2006 only!'
), (
'', '5', '11', '2006', 'some_javascript_funtion', 'Olympics, remember to buy ticket from alice.'
),(
'', '2', '1', '2007', 'some_javascript_funtion', 'early 2007. Any new plans for the year?'
), (
'', '9', '*', '*', 'http://www.evolt.org', 'Remember to check updates from evolt.org every month.'
);
The * under the month or year column means every month or year.
Next, we do a query and extract the important dates for a certain month and store it in an array.
$sql = "SELECT * FROM calendar WHERE (month='$month' AND year='$year') || (month='*' AND year='$year') || (month='$month' AND year='*') || (month='*' AND year='*')";
$rs = $db->query($sql);
while ($rw = $rs->fetchRow()) {
extract($rw);
$links[] = array('day'=>$day', 'month'=>$month, 'year'=>$year, 'link'=>$link, 'desc'=>$desc);
}
?>
If we create a class to generate the calendar, we need to pass the $links array into the class like so:
$cal = &new Calendar($cArray, $today, $links, $css);
$cal->render();
?>
The $cArray is a class containing the array for the plain calendar as shown in step 6. The $today variable is today's date. The $links variable contains the important dates in this month. With the $css variable, we can decorate the calendar table and make it look nicer.
Adding AJAX Capability
To make the calendar more user friendly, we want to be able to navigate easily between the months or years without refreshing the page. Thanks to AJAX, we can now do that easily. If the user clicks on "next month" for example, we need to call the AJAX function to refresh the calendar without refreshing the page. We do that using XMLHttpRequest. This is the main code that does the trick.
http.open('get', 'quick_calendar.php?m='+m+&y='+y+'&ran='+ran_no);After I get a response from the AJAX function, i need to update the calender. The calendar is wrapped around with the div tag called 'quickCalender'. I just need to rewrite the contents of the tag on the fly.
document.getElementById("quickCalender").innerHTML = http.responseText; Conclusion and Future Improvements
In this tutorial, we went through the concept of how to create a web calendar using AJAX and PHP. I left the details in the code to prevent the tutorial becoming too long and indigestable. If you look at the code hard enough, you will notice that I packed alot of codes in one file. As a good programming practice, I should have broken them down into smaller parts/files. Because the objective of this project is to create a quick "plug and forget" calendar system, I did that on purpose.
Also, the object oriented approach I used in the code may not be flexible enough if I want to have different layouts for the calendar. The problem can be easily fixed by using inheritance, ie creating a superclass for the QuickCalendar class. We can then have BrownCalendar, SpecialCalendar ...etc.
Hope you enjoy reading this tutorial as much as I wrote it. The full demo can be seen here and source code is here.
Bernard Peh specialises mainly in SEO and PHP programming. He is also the web developer behind Sitecritic.net Web Design. During his free time, he maintains his melbourne web developer blog.
52 comments on this article. Log in to add your comment | Rate this article:
dcal
Submitted by Douglas Clifton on November 14, 2006 - 21:59.
dcal is a PHP calendar I wrote a few years ago. It will display any year or month from 1970 to 2037 and includes holidays, moon phases, the vernal and autumnal equinox, summer and winter solstices, and some other goodies including a slick JavaScript slider interface for jumping directly to a particular month.
login or register to post comments
Hi Bernard, just so you know
Submitted by dmackinn on November 23, 2006 - 16:19.
Hi Bernard, just so you know the source code and the demo links appear to be broken.
login or register to post comments
Great Article
Submitted by cianuro on November 23, 2006 - 20:24.
Great article Bernard. Although there are many perfectly decent calendar apps already out there made by the big guys, it's nice to follow along the creative process. And it seems the URLs are fied now. Regards Dave
login or register to post comments
There's a problem...
Submitted by daiBach on November 30, 2006 - 17:22.
If you are in December and try to navigate back one month then the year gets incremented as well e.g. moving from Dec 06 to Nov 06 actually brings up Nov 07.
login or register to post comments
changes to the script
Submitted by bpeh on December 2, 2006 - 10:02.
thanks all esp daibach for pointing out the error, I've updated the script: php calendar. I emailed the admin with the changes but it wasnt updated. I did a typo with the link in the first paragraph. The link in last paragraph is fine.
there is also an extended version http://web-developer.sitecritic.net/quick_calendar_demo2.php
the source code is http://web-developer.sitecritic.net/quick_calendar.txt
login or register to post comments
Good script. On your
Submitted by bichenoubi on December 4, 2006 - 06:39.
Good script. On your website, on the simple version, there is still errors if you go back and froth a couple of time between dec 2006 and jan 2007. On the extended version, there is no problem. One advice, even thought this is not the point of the article, for accessibility reasons, you should remove the hre f = "java script:; "(errors only for evolt filter) and replace it with the ajax function, eg: hre f="quick_calendar2.php ? m=11&y=2006"(errors only for evolt filter). You will only have to change a bit the php code to find a new way to send only calendar html code for your ajax functions (i.e. your already there random var?).
login or register to post comments
thx for your script.but your
Submitted by jabky on December 4, 2006 - 08:30.
thx for your script.but your source code up there are not like your extended version. and i try to change like gichenoubi said but it still doesn't work for me. i'm the newbie in ajax
login or register to post comments
Some quickCalendar fixes
Submitted by kirk837 on January 5, 2007 - 07:13.
1. To fix the Jan->Dec problem in the "simple" version: In createHeader(), in elseif ($prevMonth==0){, need to add the forgotten statement $prevMonth=12;
2. The "jumpiness" of dates in calendar body when changing month to month is fixed by css changes:
td {height: 22px; border: 0px;
.today and .link {padding: 1px;
Jumpiness of the entire page is improved by setting weeksInMonth (in CreateQCalendarArray) to 6 (this sometimes leaves a blank bottom week, but it keeps the rest of the page from jumping).
3. I found it necessary to initialize the links[] array to '' prior to filling it in the "while mysql_fetch_array" loop, to avoid empty array errors at the foreach loop in createBody. Don't know why this isn't a problem for the posted demo.
4. Each next/previous month or year causes the entire css to again be written to the page, making the page increasingly large (to see this, save the page and examine in an editor). Here's a fix: Place css in quick_calendar.css; in function createHeader, read in the css within the "class=calendar" table with fread:
$this->html = "
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|