Install zend debugger for php 5.4.x on Mac OSX 10.9 64bit

After updating to OSX10.9, the default php shipped with OSX is updated to 5.4. Zend.com doesn't publicly provide a zend debugger for php5.4. The files used in this article are shipped with zend server. Here is the steps to install zend debugger for php5.4 on Mac OSX 10.9 64bit.

Step 1. Download ZendDebugger.so (download link) from https://github.com/mkb2000/zend_debugger.

Step 2. Put ZendDebugger.so to somewhere like /Library/WebServer/Documents/zend_debugger.

Step 3. Modify php.ini. The default configuration file used by Mac OS is at /private/etc/php.ini. Admin permission is required to modify this file. So go to /Applications/Utilities and open Terminal. Enter sudo nano /private/etc/php.ini. Jump to the end of this file and add 

[zend_debugger]
zend_extension="/the/path/to/the/folder/you/made/in/step2/ZendDebugger.so"
zend_debugger.allow_hosts=127.0.0.1, localhost
zend_debugger.expose_remotely=always

Control+x to save this file. You'd better comment out Xdebug if it is enabled. (There is also a full version of debug configure available at https://github.com/mkb2000/zend_debugger/blob/master/debugger.ini which is shipped with zend server.)

Step 4. Download dummy.php from https://github.com/mkb2000/zend_debugger/blob/master/dummy.php. Put it in your web server root document fold. By default, it is /Library/WebServer/Documents.

Step 5. Restart apache. In Terminal, enter sudo apachectl restart.


Step 6. Choose to use zend debugger in zend studio or eclipse.

iOS development: CLLocationManager gets some problem to monitor regions

By using the CLLocationManager and <CLLocationManagerDelegate>,  people can make geoRegions to be monitored by system . And get notified when user location enter that region. How to use them, see: https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/LocationAwarenessPG/Introduction/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40009497-CH1-SW1

However, according to my tests on Simulator and discussion on forum (https://devforums.apple.com/message/251046#251046), the performance of the region features are poor. In Simulator, the - (void)locationManager:(CLLocationManager *)manager didEnterRegion:(CLRegion *)region method often get triggered 2km far away from the defined region, regardless the desired accuracy (cllocationManager.desiredAccuracy=kCLLocationAccuracyBest) and the radius of region ([CLCircularRegion alloc]initWithCenter:o.coordinate radius:o.radius identifier:name). 

The discussion on forum implies that the region features are based on cell and the accuracy could only be at kilometre level. I haven't test it on device. But currently, it seems not qualified to use for small region detection.

iOS development: customise GPS path for Simulator

When developing location-based apps, sometimes we want to simulate a path or movements on Simulator. Xcode provides the ability to change "current user location". Rather than a single location, it can also continuously change the "current user location". And it looks like the user travels along a route. To enable this, a GPS path file is required.  Here is a way to create a path for Xcode to run after.

Step 1. Generate gpx file.
Go to http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php or some similar websites to generate a gps path file which ended with .gpx. Download it, and it shall looks like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no" ?>

<gpx xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1" creator="bikehike.co.uk" version="1.1" 

    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" 

    xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1/gpx.xsd">

  <metadata>

    <time>2013-12-02T12:35:19Z</time>

    <bounds minlat="-37.900140" minlon="144.662850" maxlat="-37.897000" maxlon="144.673920" /> 

  </metadata>

  <rte>

    <name>swhereTwerribee</name>

    <number>1</number>

    <rtept lat="-37.897000" lon="144.673920">

      <ele>13</ele>

      <time>2013-12-02T12:35:19Z</time>

      <name>pt0</name>

    </rtept>

...

...

...

    <rtept lat="-37.897970" lon="144.671830">

      <ele>13</ele>

      <time>2013-12-02T12:36:35Z</time>

      <name>pt1</name>

    </rtept>

  </rte>

</gpx>

Step 2. Modify the gpx file.

This format is not compatible with Xcode. So we need to do some fix. First, delete the content which is meaningless for Xcode (shown above). Then, replace all rtept with wpt . It should looks like this after modification:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no" ?>

<gpx xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1" creator="bikehike.co.uk" version="1.1" 

    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" 

    xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1/gpx.xsd">

    <wpt lat="-37.897000" lon="144.673920">

      <ele>13</ele>

      <time>2013-12-02T12:35:19Z</time>

      <name>pt0</name>

    </wpt>

...

...

...

    <wpt lat="-37.897970" lon="144.671830">

      <ele>13</ele>

      <time>2013-12-02T12:36:35Z</time>

      <name>pt1</name>

    </wpt>

</gpx>

Step 3. Load the modified gpx file to Xcode.

After launching app from Xcode and running it in Simulator, go back to Xcode and add the gpx file to your project (following graph). Then the your new location/path will be showed in this list. Click to choose it.

Step 4. Check it.

When your app is still running in Simulator, click the "home" button of your iPhone/iPad Simulator. Then open the default map app, and show the current location. The movement will be exactly the same as you made from http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php.

Something worth mention:

1. Several default movements are available from Simulator menu ->Debug->Location.

2. The speed of customised path seems possibly to be controlled by the <time> rag in gpx file? I am not sure about this. But anyway, you can set the speed when you make the path on the website.

yahoo stock data url

Historical quotes can be requested for any period in the past. To request historical quote an URL in the following format is used:

http://ichart.finance.yahoo.com/table.csv?s=MSFT&a=02&b=13&c=2001&g=d&ignore=.csv

The following lists the parameters of this URL

Parameter	Description
s=MSFT	Symbol for quote requested
a=02	Start month of quote requested (Zero based). 00-January, 01-February, 02-March, etc
b=13	Start day of quote requested
c=2001	Start year of quote requested
g=d	Frequency of quote requested. Value d here stands for "Daily"

An example of the returned data is as follows:

Date,Open,High,Low,Close,Volume,Adj Close
2012-05-03,31.88,31.90,31.61,31.76,31501300,31.76
2012-05-02,31.85,31.93,31.64,31.80,37385300,31.80
2012-05-01,32.05,32.34,31.95,32.01,43832300,32.01
2012-04-30,31.98,32.11,31.92,32.02,35697200,32.02
2012-04-27,32.12,32.22,31.88,31.98,41419100,31.98
...

Here's a neat way to download stock data from Yahoo, perhaps into a spreadsheet (so you can play with the data):

http://finance.yahoo.com/d/quotes.csv?s= a BUNCH of STOCK SYMBOLS separated by "+" &f=a bunch of special tags

for example: http://finance.yahoo.com/d/quotes.csv?s=XOM+BBDb.TO+JNJ+MSFT&f=snd1l1yr

where some special tags are:

a	Ask	a2	Average Daily Volume	a5	Ask Size
b	Bid	b2	Ask (Real-time)	b3	Bid (Real-time)
b4	Book Value	b6	Bid Size	c	Change & Percent Change
c1	Change	c3	Commission	c6	Change (Real-time)
c8	After Hours Change (Real-time)	d	Dividend/Share	d1	Last Trade Date
d2	Trade Date	e	Earnings/Share	e1	Error Indication (returned for symbol changed / invalid)
e7	EPS Estimate Current Year	e8	EPS Estimate Next Year	e9	EPS Estimate Next Quarter
f6	Float Shares	g	Day's Low	h	Day's High
j	52-week Low	k	52-week High	g1	Holdings Gain Percent
g3	Annualized Gain	g4	Holdings Gain	g5	Holdings Gain Percent (Real-time)
g6	Holdings Gain (Real-time)	i	More Info	i5	Order Book (Real-time)
j1	Market Capitalization	j3	Market Cap (Real-time)	j4	EBITDA
j5	Change From 52-week Low	j6	Percent Change From 52-week Low	k1	Last Trade (Real-time) With Time
k2	Change Percent (Real-time)	k3	Last Trade Size	k4	Change From 52-week High
k5	Percebt Change From 52-week High	l	Last Trade (With Time)	l1	Last Trade (Price Only)
l2	High Limit	l3	Low Limit	m	Day's Range
m2	Day's Range (Real-time)	m3	50-day Moving Average	m4	200-day Moving Average
m5	Change From 200-day Moving Average	m6	Percent Change From 200-day Moving Average	m7	Change From 50-day Moving Average
m8	Percent Change From 50-day Moving Average	n	Name	n4	Notes
o	Open	p	Previous Close	p1	Price Paid
p2	Change in Percent	p5	Price/Sales	p6	Price/Book
q	Ex-Dividend Date	r	P/E Ratio	r1	Dividend Pay Date
r2	P/E Ratio (Real-time)	r5	PEG Ratio	r6	Price/EPS Estimate Current Year
r7	Price/EPS Estimate Next Year	s	Symbol	s1	Shares Owned
s7	Short Ratio	t1	Last Trade Time	t6	Trade Links
t7	Ticker Trend	t8	1 yr Target Price	v	Volume
v1	Holdings Value	v7	Holdings Value (Real-time)	w	52-week Range
w1	Day's Value Change	w4	Day's Value Change (Real-time)	x	Stock Exchange
y	Dividend Yield

http://www.jarloo.com/yahoo_finance/

instal memcache on ubuntu

A good article on installation of memcache on ubuntu 12.04:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/articles/how-to-install-and-use-memcache-on-ubuntu-12-04