13 Apr 2007
mysql
To quote from the manual
In MySQL, databases correspond to directories within the data directory. Each table within a database corresponds to at least one file within the database directory (and possibly more, depending on the storage engine). Consequently, the case sensitivity of the underlying operating system determines the case sensitivity of database and table names. This means database and table names are case sensitive in most varieties of Unix
I always get bitten by this and am now making a blog entry in the hope that I’ll remember.
I have one client where their ecommerce system was setup using SquirrelCart. I came along later and built an admin module so they could manage the rest of the site. The squirrelcart has tablenames in mixed-case, but I always use lower-case for all table and field names.
Occasionally I’ll write some code to query squirrelcart tables. (E.g. squirrelcart lets people use discount codes but it doesn’t report on how often the discount codes are used, so that’s an add-on) My code always works when I test it on the development machine, but flips when I upload it. And it’s because I type the squirrelcart table names in lowercase.
erognomics
My standard machine is now a laptop, and at home I’m fine. I’ve bought a laptop shelf for my desk and the laptop sits at the correct height and it’s all very ergonomic and I am not having any back problems. (Two years I had a trapped nerve in my back, and it hurt. Physiotherapy and attention to posture and working environment helped, but I’m now very careful.)
The problem comes when I’m in someone else’s office or working away from my desk. The standard laptop working position leaves you hunched over the keyboard like a vulture crouched over road kill, and peering down at the screen. I like the screen at eye level. I need the screen at eye level.
So I need a laptop stand. Piles of books are at best a temporary measure.
Criteria:
- The stand has to get the laptop screen up to the height of an LCP monitor. I’m not interested in anything which raises the laptop a miserly three inches off the table, or any product which describes itself as ‘laptop feet’
- It has to be adjustable.
I’m in charge and I want to be able to control position, and height.
- My laptop is portable. My laptop stand must also be portable.
And when I say portable, I mean it must fit in the rucksack with the laptop and all the cables, add-ons, and dinky gadgets. So I’m not interested in the stylish brushed aluminium design which will “enhance your working environment”
Last week I bought a folding laptop stand. It works. It does what I want. I’m a happy customer.
Hints for the home worker:
Over Christmas I spent some time on the sofa with the cat on my lap and the laptop balanced on the arm of the sofa. Bad idea. My neck hurt for the next two days. If you’re going to stroke a cat and browse the internet, put the cat on the desk with the laptop.
Amendment July 2007
Janet has recommended Bakkerel Huizen