Tag: dev

My first Ionic App

Prasad AjinkyaLeave a comment

The couple of Phonegap apps that I worked on, things were too messed up.

  1. Is it Phonegap or is it Cordova?
  2. Do I build locally or do I used Phonegap Build?
  3. Using jQuery Mobile, which event happens first – device ready or jquery ready?
  4. Why is this too slow?

There were times, when I felt that I had absolutely no control on the app. This is where my frustrations with Phonegap started growing … not to mention the insane compile complications.

Enter Ionic

This is where I first learn about the Cordova project and how there are multiple spin-offs of that. Phonegap being just one of those … I always assumed that PG and Cordova were synonyms. Guess not.

To start with Ionic, the getting started guide to Ionic is a pretty decent place to start. Keep in mind though that it’s best that you go through some basic Angular tutorials before you dive into Ionic.

Enter Angular

The thing about javascript based apps is that you need a javascript library to run the app on. You could arguably use native JS methods and create your own bespoke app.

But that’s not really a wise choice (unless you are a freaky javascript ninja). I don’t know about you, but I for certain am not. Let me at those libraries!

This is where jqm or angular really matter. My experience with jqm was pretty bad and although I am liking angular, things seem far more in my control.

Installing WordPress on localhost

Prasad AjinkyaLeave a comment

WordPress is a fantastic Content Management System, it can be a very simple application to learn for newbies, and it can still deliver the high level of customization that pros typically require. The level of help available across the interwebs for this is also high and it has a thriving developer community. I thought that I would add to the helpful howto’s on WordPress so that a complete newbie can install WordPress on his own machine to give it a whirl.

Here’s a step by step guide on how to install WordPress on your machine –

  1. First ensure you have all the right resources (XAMPP) – This is to ensure that you have a webserver with a MySQL server setup on your machine. Download the setup and install it. It will typically create a folder C:\xampp. Within this folder, make a note of the htdocs folder (this becomes your document root for your local web server). To check whether this has been properly done or not, simply open a browser and type in localhost and see whether you get a welcome page or not!
  2. After setting up your own webserver, you need the WordPress scripts. Download and extract this in your htdocs folder (it should default to a wordpress folder)
  3. Now simply type in this URL in your browser (http://localhost/wordpress). If you are setting it up for the first time, then you will be prompted to create a configuration file. Wordpress Configuration
  4. Now remember, for the next step you need to have created the database for WordPress. This is pretty straightforward. Open another link in your browser (http://localhost/phpmyadmin). This will be installed by default if you are using XAMPP. I am creating a database by the name of wp2, here’s how it looks
  5. Creating Database
  6. Now go to the previous browser window and click on the “Create a Configuration File” and proceed to the next step. Enter the following details, (Database – wp2, Username – root, leave the password blank since the default MySQL password for XAMPP is empty! Click on Submit.
  7. All right! You are all set to run the install (a confirmation for this is the Run the Install button!).
  8. The next screen is simple, what do you want to call your site (Site Title – I would always name it test since its on my local machine), username is admin and password also admin. NOTE – On a live webserver, the usernames and passwords will HAVE to be different.
  9. In the end, I always check off the Allow Search Engines to index this site. Its on my local host and I do not want to do unnecessary indexing and pinging to the search engines.
  10. That’s it, now you login with your username and password (in this case it was admin, admin). You should see the Dashboard of WordPress. Congratulations! You have setup WordPress on your localhost successfully!

I hope you found this helpful! In case if you got stuck anywhere in the steps outlined, do let me know, I shall be more than happy to help you out!