Aside

Quick Shell Tip: Find empty lines after closing PHP tags

If you’re using PHP to output XML, and you have empty lines outside of your <?php and ?> tags, you may insert empty lines before your opening XML tag - a big no-no. Apparently, that invalidates XML.

To detect this, use this Bash code in a directory of PHP files:

for file in `find -type f -name "*.php"`; do lines=$((`wc -l ${file} | cut -d' ' -f1`+1)); pos=`grep -Hn '?>' ${file} | cut -d: -f2`; `(($lines != $pos ))` && echo $file ; done

Disclaimer: I wrote this code while in an unnatural state (who ever is?). It may break your code, impregnate your cat, cause your baby sister to fall madly in love with your microwave, or really, anything else. It even might (definitely) fail to check for newlines before you opening <?php tag! And it’ll complain if you don’t have a closing ?> tag (you’d be surprised how … inconsistent people may be). Anyway, don’t complain to me.

Thu, 07/17/2008 - 16:52

The Death of Postmodernism And Beyond

“In postmodernism, one read, watched, listened, as before. In pseudo-modernism one phones, clicks, presses, surfs, chooses, moves, downloads. There is a generation gap here, roughly separating people born before and after 1980. Those born later might see their peers as free, autonomous, inventive, expressive, dynamic, empowered, independent, their voices unique, raised and heard: postmodernism and everything before it will by contrast seem elitist, dull, a distant and droning monologue which oppresses and occludes them. Those born before 1980 may see, not the people, but contemporary texts which are alternately violent, pornographic, unreal, trite, vapid, conformist, consumerist, meaningless and brainless (see the drivel found, say, on some Wikipedia pages, or the lack of context on Ceefax). To them what came before pseudo-modernism will increasingly seem a golden age of intelligence, creativity, rebellion and authenticity. Hence the name ‘pseudo-modernism’ also connotes the tension between the sophistication of the technological means, and the vapidity or ignorance of the content conveyed by it – a cultural moment summed up by the fatuity of the mobile phone user’s “I’m on the bus”.”

Saved By: Benjamin Kudria | View Details | Give Thanks

Tags: for:blog, philosophy, post-modernism, modernism, psuedo-modernism, realism

Tue, 06/24/2008 - 09:35