Category: Useful Links and Resources

Most Useful Drupal Resources on the Web

So as you all know I’ve been getting deep into Drupal in the last few months. I have a lot of things going on right now around Drupal and other projects and I can’t wait to blog about them. For starters though I want to share with all of you my personal list of the most useful drupal resources on the web.

Drupal Tutorials and Resources

drupal-logoObviously, Drupal.org leads the way as the number one most useful Drupal resource on the web. With a prodigious amount of online documentation in the handbooks and forums, you will find almost everything you need there. The Documentation section is divided into sections – Getting Started, Beyond the Basics, and so on. The forums are also divided into sections to allow you to find answers and ask questions.

lullabot_logoLullabot follows as my number 2 most useful Drupal resource on the web.  With numerous tutorials in screencast form and podcasts, Lullabot offers a tremendous amount of useful training and information on using and developing for Drupal.   Lullabots describe themselves as Drupal experts. They write books and articles, publish videos, and roll out weekly podcasts about Drupal and building web sites.  They also offer public and private training, as well as ongoing consulting relationships.  I am currently working through a Lullabot book “Using Drupal” which I will be reviewing here soon.  Lullabot is easily my favorite Drupal resource.

Continue reading “Most Useful Drupal Resources on the Web”

Care for some Java?

Then you need to visit Another Random Developer Blog.  This is a Java development blog with some great tutorials and practical code tips, tricks, and snippets that you can actually use.  Even though I am not a Java developer I’ve been following the tutorials on this blog keenly,  and I know anyone who’s even remotely interested in Java will enjoy them too.   So there’s another useful resource for all developers (and aspiring developers) out there.

As an aside, the fourth part of the Drupal tutorial series will be posted soon, but be sure to check out Another Random Developer Blog.

Free Microsoft Developer Software and Tools for Students – Full and Professional Editions

Microsoft is offering free developer and design software for students all around the world. Students can download professional-level Microsoft developer and design tools.

The downloads currently (as of this posting) listed are:

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition
  • Microsoft Expression Studio
  • xna Game Studio 2.0
  • xna Creators Club Online
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition

Other free products include:

  • Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition
  • Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition
  • Microsoft Visual Web 2005 Express Edition
  • Microsoft Visual J# 2005 Express Edition
  • Microsoft Virtual PC

In order to get this software from Microsoft at no charge, you first have to log into the website using your Windows live account, and if you don’t have one it’s easy and free to create one. You are then asked to establish or verify your student status and you have to do this verification once every 12 months. This process is built into this DreamSpark site itself. You need to be at least 18 years old or have otherwise reached the age of majority in the place (province, state or country) where you live, or if not, your parent or legal guardian must accept the Microsoft DreamSpark software license terms on your behalf, in order for you to download and use the software.

As of this posting, the countries listed were:

  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • China
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • United Kingdom
  • United States.

If your school is on the list then the verification process is easy. If not, you have to go a step further and provide more information to attempt online verification. If that doesn’t work then you need to mail in your information such as current school ID to them for verification.The other thing to keep in mind is that the software being offered is only accessible via a download, and as you know these are not small programs, so you’re in luck if you have a fast internet connection. Considering that these are full editions, and not limited student editions, I think that if you’re a student or a parent of a student who is into computers and coding, it’s definitely worth the process to get the free downloads.

To access the download area, select your product and start the verification process: https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/

Importing large CSV files into Excel Using a Macro

In response to my post on importing large files into Excel by first splitting them, one of my readers, JP pointed out to me that you can bypass the splitting step by using a VBA macro to do the import.

As you may know, Excel has a cut off of 65,536 rows, and so if you want to import a csv or text file that has more rows than that, you’ll run into trouble. This is where the csv splitter I mentioned before, or this macro that JP pointed out to me will come in handy.

You can find the knowledge base article with the macro code, for a VBA solution to importing large files into Excel at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/120596.

And be sure to visit JP’s excellent website and blog VBA Code for Excel and Outlook where you’ll find a lot of useful macros and articles.

Blogger To Blogger – A new community for bloggers

BloggertoBlogger is a new community that’s coming up for bloggers. There is a forum where bloggers can share ideas and talk about blogging in general and specific blogging topics too. The forum is still young but if definitely active and interesting, and the posts are filled with useful material.  There is also a blog, and you can get your blog reviewed by using credits that you earn by posting on the forum.

I found BloggertoBlogger when looking for a way to transfer a WordPress blog from one server to another, and there was a useful tutorial on how to accomplish this.

While not necessarily focused on coding and programming topics, I think that BloggertoBlogger has great potential to become a very useful resource for programmers who mostly work on blogging platforms to share ideas and to exchange information on the latest plugins, enhancements, and on customizing different aspects of the blogging software.

So visit BloggertoBlogger today and share what you know.