Category: PHP

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Neuropentracker: A Simple BitTorrent Tracker for Small Setups

I have published Neuropentracker, a simple BitTorrent tracker on GitHub:
https://github.com/mypapit/neuropentracker

Dashboard Screenshot

What it is

Neuropentracker is written in PHP and is designed for small setups. It is suitable for small organizations, small communities, labs, schools, or internal file-sharing environments.

The main idea behind Neuropentracker is simplicity. It does not try to be a complete torrent portal or a large public tracker. It only provides the basic tracker functions needed by BitTorrent clients, such as announce and scrape support

It is designed for small organization to reduce server load when sharing large files. Instead of every user downloading from one central server,

What it is not

It is not intended for large public torrent sites. It does not include advanced features such as user accounts, ratio tracking, moderation system, or full torrent management portal. Administrators still need to secure the server, database, and tracker configuration properly.

Parting words

Overall, Neuropentracker is a lightweight and practical BitTorrent tracker for small and controlled environments. It is best used when the requirement is simple peer tracking, not a full torrent community platform.

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How to convert Microsoft Office *.docx files to PDF using Linux in command-line

Here’s how to convert Microsoft Office *.docx files to PDF using Linux in Command Line.
This trick can also be used together with other documents files supported by LibreOffice

First make sure you’ve installed the latest version of LibreOffice for use in command line environment.
Assuming the user is ‘example’ and the filename to convert is ‘doc.pdf’.

libreoffice --headless -convert-to pdf --outdir /home/example/ /home/example/doc.docx

The conversion can also be adapted to PHP or Python using their respective shell_exec or subprocess directive.

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This blog now runs on PHP 7!

Hi all,

I’m proud to announce to all the after several tinkering, this blog now runs on PHP 7 ! PHP 7 is the latest iteration of the popular general-purpose scripting language that is suited to web development.

PHP7 is touted to perform up to TWO TIMES faster than PHP5.

Here are the performance benchmark run by Kinsta has shown that PHP7 has significantly improved performance when compared to PHP 5.6.


  • WordPress 4.3.1 HHVM RepoAuthoritative benchmark result: 375.48 trans/sec
  • WordPress 4.3.1 HHVM benchmark result: 357.69 trans/sec
  • WordPress 4.3.1 PHP 7.0 benchmark result: 306.24 trans/sec
  • WordPress 4.3.1 PHP 5.6.16 benchmark result: 106.45 trans/sec

* Retrieved from Kinsta: The Definitive PHP 7.0 & HHVM Benchmark

Next I’ll update you with the guide on howto run and execute PHP7 and PHP5 side-by-side to cater for multiple websites.

Stay tuned, and expect more posts and updates from this venerable blog anyday now :p

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How to convert between sqlite2 and sqlite3 database

Here’s a short guide on how to convert between sqlite2 to sqlite3 database file:

sqlite2 /path/to/mysqlite2.db .dump > backupfile
sqlite3 /path/to/mynewsqlite3.db < backupfile

Using the same method, you can convert sqlite3 db to sqlite2 db too!

p/s: Why you need to convert? because embedded device (read: iPhone and Android) only supports sqlite3 database, while PHP 5 by default supports sqlite2 database.

Thus, this method provide a convenient way to convert between the two different version of sqlite db format.

Recommended Reading

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Securing Ajax and Web Services

It is undeniable that Web services and AJAX-ified interfaces are the trend now. Application that utilizes internet to retrieve data (such as mobile application or other thin client) uses web services alongside with its data format. AJAX-ified interface and website gives a modern and edgy look can make websites more attractive and can create great impression to the users.

However the issue of the web application security would still remain the same, if not more challenging, since there are so many ways to exploit the vulnerability of websites that utilizes Web Services and AJAX transfers on the background.

Therefore, it is imperative to use the right technique in order to evaluate the security of these services before deploying them out in the open.

For that matter, now I’m currently reading Ajax Security (Hoffman,B. & Sullivan, B.) and Securing Ajax applications (Wells, C.) which in my opinion is a pretty good start for somebody like me to understand common methods for securing web services and websites which uses AJAX heavily.

Hopefully the situation would improved as there are a lot of campaigns around to raise the state of awareness of web application security.

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My wishlist: PHP Development in the Cloud

I’m not a PHP developer by profession, nor I’m very good at it, there are times where I was required to write PHP web application for my daytime job. While it is still a simple application, nevertheless I grew fond of the simplicity of PHP application development and deployment (though some aspects of the language still confuses me, and sometimes the maintenance is a PITA).

I haven’t developed any PHP application for the masses yet, but if I do, I imagine it would benefit from the use of Cloud, therefore my latest wishlist is this book: PHP Development in the Cloud

php development in the cloud

The book is written by Ivo Jansch and Vito Chin, and it covers Cloud Computing Characteristics and Models, Cloud Computing Architecture and Scalability and how to prevent bottlenecks, Working with Popular Cloud Infrastructures and Platform (covers Amazon, Google and Rackspace) and Working with Popular Cloud Software and Services (OpenID, OAuth, CRM, Maps and Storage).

The book is available from in paperback format from online bookstore (Amazon, Barnes & Nobile, etc) or in digital form from PHP Architect website