According to the documentation, the utf8::decode() function should generally set/turn on the UTF-8 flag for a string that contains multi-byte characters. However, apparently, there are circumstances under which utf8::decode() may not only not set the flag, but may actually unset/clear/turn…
Author: Arnon Weinberg
Science and technology enthusiast.
The Research Lab
Virtualmin + SFTP + chroot
This guide examines setting up chroot’ed SFTP-only user accounts under Virtualmin. The Rationale: SFTP is a secure alternative to FTP and FTPS that uses SSH. With this setup, no FTP server is needed, as the native sshd server is used…
Perl: Default to UTF-8 encoding
The UTF-8 (Unicode) character encoding system is a well supported alternative to the older ISO-8859-1 (Latin-1) system that can make it easier to work with special characters and multiple languages. Many developers can exercise sufficient control over their system to…
Perl access to local install of the W3C CSS validator
The W3C CSS validator is an online service for checking a stylesheet for standards compliance. This service can be accessed in Perl via the WebService::Validator::CSS::W3C module, which is handy for automating validation. However, for checking a large number of stylesheets, it is…
How to have a Logical Argument in Real Life
Many articles discuss the process of logical argument in select situations, presenting logic as an “alternative” method of decision making. This article’s premise is that logic can be used in many more contexts, and ultimately is the only valid method…
jQuery Scrolling Anchors
This is a comprehensive jQuery solution to the Scrolling Anchors effect. Typical solutions replace the browser’s native “jump-to” behaviour for local anchors with a smooth scrolling effect, but fail to replace all other functionality related to local anchors. This solution: Adds…
Practical Logic and Decision Making in Real Life
Many articles present logic in decision making as an “alternative” to the way decision making is typically done. This article’s premise is that upon reflection, logic is everyone’s preferred method of decision making – even illogical arguments use logically sounding…
Linux memory leak detection
Tracking down the source of a memory leak in Linux is not always straightforward… Signs of a Memory Leak: Typically, the first sign of a memory leak is the oom-killer. If programs start dying inexplicably, check the system log (usually…
Compiling programs in Fedora
Say you want to install a program in Fedora… Before Compiling: Many programs are available easily in the Fedora repositories via yum. If you don’t already have a graphical package management tool, then install PackageKit or yumex. If you prefer…
Perl global error handler
This is in an Apache::ASP based system, but should theoretically work in any web environment. I wanted to create a global default error handler ($SIG{__DIE__}) that displays the error text on the page. Some notes: It is generally recommended that…