Ben Buckman's Tech Blog

Useful code snippet for Webform default values

ben — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:42:18 +0000

A little code snippet I expect to need again in the future: Drupal's Webform module lets <select> elements have default values, but if the default value isn't one of the actual items, it still shows as "select..." as the default. (This is important for validation: if the field is required but the top/blank/default value is in the value list, it'll be counted as valid.) This snippet in a hook_form_alter seems to do the trick:

function MODULE_form_alter(&$form, $form_state, $form_id) {
  switch ($form_id) {
    case 'webform_client_form_NID':  // put your actual nid or other identifier here
      // change default "select..." to default value if default value isn't one of the options
      $list = &$form['submitted']['FIELDSET']['LIST'];  // per your FAPI array
      if ( reset($list['#options']) === 'select...'   // unchanged from default
       && !empty($list['#default_value'])             // list has another default
       && !array_key_exists($list['#default_value'], $list['#options']) ) // its default isn't one of the options
      {
        // this is a little tricky b/c the blank-string 1st key is very important
        array_shift($list['#options']);
        $list['#options'] = array('' => $list['#default_value']) + $list['#options'];
      }
 
      break;
  }
}

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Latest in Google v ...

ben — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:40:22 +0000

Latest in Google v Censorship: S Korea wants to regulate Android games or ban whole Android Market. http://bit.ly/ajgPiA

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[retweet] @DavidKaneda ...

ben — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:51:58 +0000

[retweet] @DavidKaneda Interesting mobile browser market share infographic: http://bit.ly/bYHvR9 >> Opera in Asia,Africa esp surprising

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Another great @scobleizer ...

ben — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:07:29 +0000

Another great @scobleizer interview of ALikeList. Awesome idea, checking it out now. http://bit.ly/ansDhi

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It seems like Firefox loads ...

ben — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:53:14 +0000

It seems like Firefox loads images much slower when their URLs have spaces in them. (Safari doesn't.) Can anyone corroborate this?

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Very interesting interview ...

ben — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:42:11 +0000

Very interesting interview by @scobleizer of @cloudera CEO Mike Olson on Hadoop and new scalable data technologies: http://bit.ly/cR0Kgb

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Attempting to build a ...

ben — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:30:52 +0000

Attempting to build a hackintosh before my Win7 RC expires ... so far so good.

New Twitpic Filter release

ben — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:26:38 +0000

I released a new beta of my Twitpic Filter module for Drupal, which converts Twitpic URLs (in Twitter feeds or elsewhere) to full images (with customizable formatting). This makes for a very easy mobile-photoblogging platform.

Check it out.

The new Wired

ben — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:25:33 +0000

Wired Magazine previews their Adobe AIR/iPad experience:

Sports Illustrated and Popular Science showed their own concepts a few months ago... this is going to be awesome.

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ben — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:12:41 +0000

- My first Android app!

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Trying out Swype input on ...

ben — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:35:34 +0000

Trying out Swype input on my Droid, it's pretty awesome. http://bit.ly/dyAW2E

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via @phillamb168, the ...

ben — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:47:12 +0000

via @phillamb168, the "conversations" we have with poorly built (or Flash-heavy) websites... http://bit.ly/aCRx2G

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If Version Control Systems ...

ben — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:07:52 +0000

If Version Control Systems were Airlines (VERY funny): http://bit.ly/cT2Csf

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Congrats to @ginatrapani ...

ben — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:47:43 +0000

Congrats to @ginatrapani for getting hired by ExpertLabs to work on ThinkTank. I hope she'll still be on TwiG! http://bit.ly/dbBEpB

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Outlook 2010 gets social. ...

ben — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:44:02 +0000

Outlook 2010 gets social. Why would someone pay $200 for desktop software that does the same as free cloud apps?

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Who's going to ...

ben — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:39:04 +0000

Who's going to DrupalCon SF? Plz let me know if you'll be there!

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I run Windows 7 RC on my ...

ben — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:31:20 +0000

I run Windows 7 RC on my home desktop. On 3/1 it'll expire and shut down every 2hrs. Time to ditch Windoze for good and build a hackintosh?

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Android coming to netbooks. ...

ben — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:02:47 +0000

Android coming to netbooks. Root this & you've got a touchscreen Linux device. Wonder if ChromeOS+android should merge http://bit.ly/dBQauL

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@merlinmann does the ...

ben — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:05:39 +0000

@merlinmann does the international hand gesture for regular expressions on MacBreak, http://bit.ly/cH0eJE #geek

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via @garrytan: education ...

ben — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:16:44 +0000

via @garrytan: education negatively correlates with ad click rates. Makes it hard to support intelligent content. http://bit.ly/dgVa9C

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via @mashable, how to ...

ben — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:11:26 +0000

via @mashable, how to integrate Facebook & Twitter into Gmail. Goodbye TweetDeck. http://bit.ly/9eqqnh

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Why is there no live video ...

ben — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:55:44 +0000

Why is there no live video online of the opening ceremony? #Olympics

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[retweet] @chrismessina: ...

ben — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:53:43 +0000

[retweet] @chrismessina: Dear Google Buzz: 4 Features You Need to Add Now - http://bit.ly/bb9ple /via @mashable tip @techmeme (good stuff in th ...

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This is a beautiful way to ...

ben — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:49:46 +0000

This is a beautiful way to hire programmers. http://www.quora.com/challenges

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I gotta say, that Acquia D7 ...

ben — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:42:23 +0000

I gotta say, that Acquia D7 webinar was disappointing. 7mo behind schedule, tons of crucial UI fixes not started yet.

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Figuring out how to ...

ben — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:08:40 +0000

Figuring out how to integrate Buzz into my social flow. Can I integrate it nicely with Twitter? http://goo.gl/hRQV

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Watching Acquia webinar on ...

ben — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:41:51 +0000

Watching Acquia webinar on Drupal 7 usability enhancements http://bit.ly/9mMBVH

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... mobile buzz.google.com ...

ben — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:26:46 +0000

... mobile buzz.google.com is working now

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Just discovered
ben — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:23:26 +0000

Just discovered http://fastflip.googlelabs.com - like flipping thru a newspaper stand. (try it on a mobile)

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... but there's ...

ben — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:15:36 +0000

... but there's nothing new in my gmail and mobile site is 404'ing. #googlebuzz #fail

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[retweet] @chrismessina: ...

ben — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:10:05 +0000

[retweet] @chrismessina: And, we're live! http://buzz.google.com #googlebuzz

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Motorola Droid getting ...

ben — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:34:45 +0000

Motorola Droid getting Android 2.1 this week, including multitouch. (Part of the "shooting war" betw Google & Apple) http://bit.ly/ciUNy6

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[retweet] @dweinberger: ...

ben — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:09:39 +0000

[retweet] @dweinberger: Fred Chang's theory of how Google was hacked: More by espionage than tech. http://bit.ly/cqqVRX

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...well twitroid does have ...

ben — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 04:56:20 +0000

...well twitroid does have geo/local search and clipboard integration. Hmm. #droid

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Seesmic now supports ...

ben — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 04:50:10 +0000

Seesmic now supports multiple accounts. Any reason not to uninstall Twitroid? #droid

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Wow - Twitter's ...

ben — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:50:12 +0000

Wow - Twitter's development history in color and sound using Code Swarm. http://bit.ly/aLH4To

HipHop PHP Engine by Facebook

ben — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:38:12 +0000

Facebook formally presented its HipHop project last night. (Video below.) PHP is written in C but interpreted and runtime, and trades code simplicity for performance. So HipHop aims to convert PHP into optimized C++ "just in time" (which I think is the same as runtime), then compile that C++ and run it much faster than PHP would otherwise run. They've been running it live for six months and claim it uses 50% less CPU than the standard engine with equal traffic, and 30% less CPU with twice the traffic (compared to the Zend engine with APC opcode cache).

Most of the "magical" features supported in PHP (but not in C++) were preserved, but eval(), which allows arbitrary code to be run in the script, was removed. This means Drupal can't use HipHop, for one thing.

The optimization potential depends on "how much of your code looks like C++?" Flexible variable types, for instance, run slower than type-cast variables, so HipHop has an "inference engine" to convert to C++ variable types, gaining performance for clear types but not so much when using "variant" types.

HipHop also uses its own HTTP server, so no Apache support (yet). Tabini notes, "Of course, this doesn’t preclude you from running one or more HipHop projects against separate ports on the same machine and then use Apache (or Squid, or any other server) to reverse proxy to them."

It'll all be open source, of course: the project home is here, and code will be on GitHub "soon."

Update: Four Kitchens ponders ways Drupal could be modified to support HipHop. (The changes suggested there should probably be done regardless.) I look forward to seeing that in their Pressflow distribution.

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Facebook announced its ...

ben — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:38:30 +0000

Facebook announced its re-engineered PHP engine HipHop last night, http://bit.ly/971Kjy (article) http://bit.ly/aMFzSy (video)

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For the web developer in ...

ben — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:42:14 +0000

For the web developer in your life -- an Internet Explorer Voodoo Doll http://bit.ly/9lrnqt

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[reply to @davewiner] on ...

ben — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:48:45 +0000

[reply to @davewiner] on NY-SF flight: # of open standards necessary to make global in-flight internet work "makes the mind spin" http://r2.ly/tmqr

The beauty of open standards

ben — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:46:55 +0000

Dave Winer, pondering Apple and Flash on a NY-SF flight:

BTW, how lovely are open standards? I'm writing this post from an American Airlines flight from NY to SF. Do you have any idea how many open standards were necessary to make this work? Makes the mind spin. And it all works exactly the same if I fly Virgin America or Air Egypt. In an Apple-designed world how much of this would work? Imho, not very much.

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[retweet] @techdispenser: ...

ben — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:43:39 +0000

[retweet] @techdispenser: Google joins the 'kill IE6' campaign http://bit.ly/91PZPP

USB stops working on Dell XPS

ben — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:36:48 +0000

In case anyone else has the same problem -- the USB ports on my Dell XPS 450 (running Windoze 7) desktop suddenly stopped working today. This solution fixed it: 1) Shutdown, 2) Unplug, 3) Press and hold the power button for 30 seconds.

50 Android Games

ben — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:13:55 +0000

via Engadget, 50 Android games demonstrated in one video -- who says Android can't game?

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"Apple has decided ...

ben — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:52:42 +0000

"Apple has decided that openness is not a quality that’s necessary in a personal computer. That’s disturbing." http://bit.ly/blq8iG

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Maybe Apple was going for a ...

ben — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:50:26 +0000

Maybe Apple was going for a Star Trek reference with the iPad ... it's a lot more advanced than the 24th century PADD's http://bit.ly/Oy3Na

Apple needlessly expands its walled garden

ben — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:42:26 +0000

I followed yesterday's Apple event live like everyone else, and I was very impressed, but also underwhelmed, and a little troubled.

First the positives: it's a beautifully designed device, apparently feels very sturdy, fun to use. It's clearly a Kindle killer, with its super-sharp resolution, ePub book support plus the existing Kindle-iPhone app. It's fast, the apps demonstrated are great, it's a great device for sitting on a couch or bed.

But in the end, it's really just a big iPhone. There was no revolutionary interface as expected, just more context menus added into the new real estate. The keyboard was supposed to have some kind of tactile feedback. It still doesn't multitask - a limitation I can't understand, since multitasking is so basic to the way I use computers and my Droid. This could have been an amazing videoconferencing device, but it doesn't have a camera.

And I'm troubled by the lack of open standards. Google has been pushing for a browser-centric digital experience: open standards, allowing common experiences across multiple platforms and devices. Special interface features like multitouch, gestures, and location could be built into this open web (and Google is promoting that approach).

But Apple's taking it in the opposite direction: the interface is proprietary and closed-source, and revolutionary UIs need apps filtered through their closed App Store. Sports Illustrated can have its 21st century experience, but it'll only work on the iPad. Competing tablets will need their own special versions, and content distribution will become fragmented.

I understand Apple's business logic: for years, they kept their hardware and software tightly coupled and were criticized for not opening up the way Microsoft did. This coupling made even more sense with the iPhone, where device-specific functionality - touch, GPS, lack of multitasking, etc - made device-specific development a reasonable approach. And now with the iPad, if you want the new all-in-one experience, not available anywhere else, you have to buy their product (and Microsoft is looking increasingly obsolete).

But the advantages of closed-app over open-browser don't need to apply to tablets. The iPhone and its progeny popularized functionality not found on regular computers (touch, GPS, phone, lack of multitasking, etc), so it made sense for developers to target each device's unique capabilities. But tablets are in a space in between laptops and smartphones, so Apple had a choice: They could have decided to build on (and enhance) existing web standards to achieve the same interface experience, or enlarge the walled garden of iTunes/AppStore and contribute nothing to the open web. Rather than think of phones and tablets as new types of computers, they chose to make the future of computers more like phones. I think that's a mistake.

I'd like to see Android-based tablets (or laptops with touch screens) that derive revolutionary uses from open standards. Then Apple (or someone else) can add iPad support for those standards, content creators will be dissuaded from building platform-specific experiences, and we'll all be better off.

For now, I'm perfectly happy with my Kindle for most books, my Droid is great for mobile computing, and my MacBook is great for everything else - so an iPad isn't on my wish list just yet. I also think Android's open approach is inherently more beneficial to technological advancement, so while I love the design and innovation of Apple products, I'm still much more of a Google fan at heart.

Bookshelf

ben — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:02:14 +0000

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iPad book resolution is ...

ben — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:58:33 +0000

iPad book resolution is "far superior to the Kindle" -- eInk's only advantage now is battery life. http://bit.ly/t3fY0a

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[retweet] @rorris: still ...

ben — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:27:54 +0000

[retweet] @rorris: still no way to watch Netflix or Hulu on the iPad? >> leaves room for competitors (Android tablet...?) w/ more open channels

Ben Buckman's Tech Blog

Useful code snippet for Webform default values

[tweet] Latest in Google v ...

[tweet] [retweet] @DavidKaneda ...

[tweet] Another great @scobleizer ...

[tweet] It seems like Firefox loads ...

[tweet] Very interesting interview ...

[tweet] Attempting to build a ...

New Twitpic Filter release

The new Wired

[tweet] ben — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:12:41 +0000 - My first Android app!

[tweet] Trying out Swype input on ...

[tweet] via @phillamb168, the ...

[tweet] If Version Control Systems ...

[tweet] Congrats to @ginatrapani ...

[tweet] Outlook 2010 gets social. ...

[tweet] Who's going to ...

[tweet] I run Windows 7 RC on my ...

[tweet] Android coming to netbooks. ...

[tweet] @merlinmann does the ...

[tweet] via @garrytan: education ...

[tweet] via @mashable, how to ...

[tweet] Why is there no live video ...

[tweet] [retweet] @chrismessina: ...

[tweet] This is a beautiful way to ...

[tweet] I gotta say, that Acquia D7 ...

[tweet] Figuring out how to ...

[tweet] Watching Acquia webinar on ...

[tweet] ... mobile buzz.google.com ...

[tweet] Just discovered ben — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:23:26 +0000 Just discovered http://fastflip.googlelabs.com - like flipping thru a newspaper stand. (try it on a mobile)

[tweet] ... but there's ...

[tweet] [retweet] @chrismessina: ...

[tweet] Motorola Droid getting ...

[tweet] [retweet] @dweinberger: ...

[tweet] ...well twitroid does have ...

[tweet] Seesmic now supports ...

[tweet] Wow - Twitter's ...

HipHop PHP Engine by Facebook

[tweet] Facebook announced its ...

[tweet] For the web developer in ...

[tweet] [reply to @davewiner] on ...

The beauty of open standards

[tweet] [retweet] @techdispenser: ...

USB stops working on Dell XPS

50 Android Games

[tweet] "Apple has decided ...

[tweet] Maybe Apple was going for a ...

Apple needlessly expands its walled garden

Bookshelf

[tweet] iPad book resolution is ...

[tweet] [retweet] @rorris: still ...

[tweet]
Latest in Google v ...

[tweet]
[retweet] @DavidKaneda ...

[tweet]
Another great @scobleizer ...

[tweet]
It seems like Firefox loads ...

[tweet]
Very interesting interview ...

[tweet]
Attempting to build a ...

[tweet]

ben — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:12:41 +0000

- My first Android app!

[tweet]
Trying out Swype input on ...

[tweet]
via @phillamb168, the ...

[tweet]
If Version Control Systems ...

[tweet]
Congrats to @ginatrapani ...

[tweet]
Outlook 2010 gets social. ...

[tweet]
Who's going to ...

[tweet]
I run Windows 7 RC on my ...

[tweet]
Android coming to netbooks. ...

[tweet]
@merlinmann does the ...

[tweet]
via @garrytan: education ...

[tweet]
via @mashable, how to ...

[tweet]
Why is there no live video ...

[tweet]
[retweet] @chrismessina: ...

[tweet]
This is a beautiful way to ...

[tweet]
I gotta say, that Acquia D7 ...

[tweet]
Figuring out how to ...

[tweet]
Watching Acquia webinar on ...

[tweet]
... mobile buzz.google.com ...

[tweet]
Just discovered
ben — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:23:26 +0000

Just discovered http://fastflip.googlelabs.com - like flipping thru a newspaper stand. (try it on a mobile)

[tweet]
... but there's ...

[tweet]
[retweet] @chrismessina: ...

[tweet]
Motorola Droid getting ...

[tweet]
[retweet] @dweinberger: ...

[tweet]
...well twitroid does have ...

[tweet]
Seesmic now supports ...

[tweet]
Wow - Twitter's ...

[tweet]
Facebook announced its ...

[tweet]
For the web developer in ...

[tweet]
[reply to @davewiner] on ...

[tweet]
[retweet] @techdispenser: ...

[tweet]
"Apple has decided ...

[tweet]
Maybe Apple was going for a ...

[tweet]
iPad book resolution is ...

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[retweet] @rorris: still ...