If like me you were looking for a very simple script for generating MySQL Reports for clients or even for use within a larger system then you’ve found an easy, well documented script to implement. I searched around and couldn’t find any decent scripts out there for this purpose so I wrote this simple framework for generating and emailing MySQL reports such that customers can have easily scheduled reports run from CRON jobs. If you’ve no idea what I’m talking about but fairly sure this is just the thing you are after then please do read on. This script is easy to understand and well tested to boot.

Purpose

This script was created for the purposes of….

1. Generating An Automated Report from a MySQL Query
2. Creating A Simple Email Containing The Report
3. Scheduling The Email and Report

Demo

Visit the MySQL PHP Email Reporter mini page to demo the report.

Functionality

The script will let you easily do the following :-

• Use any MySQL Query
• Generate a report table showing the fields of your choice
• Customise the From Email Address
• Customise the  From Name
• Customise the Email Subject (based on report name)
• Customise the Report Name
• Supports ISO-8859-1 Charset
• Send to Multiple Recipients

MySQL Report Generator

The framework is comprised of 3 files….

config.php - Configure MySQL database settings, from address and from name.

sqlreporter.php - No need to touch this, contains all the code required to generate the report and email it.

report.php - Can be renamed and used ‘per report’. This file contains the MySQL query, the report name and the target recipient(s). I recommend renaming the file to represent the name of the report you are running, for example, user_access_report.php.

instructions.pdf - A document explaining how to setup your script and schedule your jobs using CRON.

Basic Usage

With even a rudimentary understanding of PHP you’ll be up and running with this script in no time. The two keyfunctions required are…

generateReport( $reportName,  $query, $fieldArray, $note);

//generateReport create a report based on...
//$reportName - The name of your report
//$query - a SQL query
//$fieldArray - the headers / titles for your report
//$note - your report footer or note

html_email( $recipient, $reportName, $report);

//html_email generates an HTML based email containing
//  your report and sends it to the recipient

That’s it, it really is that simple and full examples are provided. I’m also on hand to help implement or answer any questions you may have about using the script.

Schedule your MySQL Report Email

This file can then be scheduled to run in almost any hosting package. Most Linux or Windows hosting packages give you an option to setup a CRON job in the control panel. Once the files are uploaded you simply create a CRON job and point the job at the report.php script (or whatever you decide to call it). This allows you to schedule the report to run at whatever time of the day, week, month or year suits.

I found a few expensive, over the top examples for this functionality. I designed this simple framework to provide developers with something robust to work with which can be manipulated to suit your purposes with some easy tweaks if need be.

Anyone encountering any issues using the script please comment below and I’ll respond within 48 hours at the most (usually the same day). I have thoroughly tested the script under PHP5 and MYSQL 5.

Visit the MySQL PHP Email Reporter mini page to try or buy.

LightView by Nick Stakenburg

The first decent lightbox I stumbled upon was Lightview by Nick Stakenburg. You need to purchase a license to use it, but it’s pretty cheap—considering how long it would take to write this myself—and it looks great. I’ve utilised it for displaying both images and youtube videos for a client that wants something slightly different to the crowd.

Example usage…

<a class="lightview" title="" rel="flash" href="http://www.youtube.com/video_id">
<img class="screenshot_thumb" src="images/thumb.jpg"/>
</a>

It’s failing grace however is that it requires prototype and scriptaculous. With JQuery dominating, many people will be put off using this due to the additional overhead. If this doesn’t bother you and you are looking for an extremely flexible lightbox then you can’t go far wrong with this! Check it out via the link below.

The Lightview Website

FancyBox

Now definitely my preferred lightbox and once famously touted by the much over analysed 37 Signals websites. Fancybox is just sleek, it’s perhaps not as flexible as Lightview but then it’s free. It utilises JQuery which is currently my Javascript framework of choice and it’s also very well supported. Everytime I have visited the site in the past there has been a recent update based on the support forums and feedback.

Did I mention it looks great? The box shadow and modern black close icon, the subtle grey default background overlay, I love it.

Check out fancy box at http://fancybox.net

Lightbox 2

Long in the tooth, for a long time this was regarded as the best and only choice for a lightbox. Now it seems sluggish, looks dated and sadly still seems to be used by many sites and blogs. I’ve done it myself but come on everyone, it’s time to move on! Like Lightview, Lightbox 2 requires Prototype and Scriptaculous. A near identical JQuery version is available at http://leandrovieira.com/projects/jquery/lightbox/.

You can download Lightbox 2 at http://www.lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/

Finally

There are a few other lightboxes kicking about but from my experience these are the three most popular and widely imitated lightboxes around. For a comprehensive list and feature comparison take a peek at this chart http://planetozh.com/projects/lightbox-clones/

The actions of the corrupt MP Mr Mandelson have horrified me (again, oh and I’m not too happy with Alan Johnson either!) and if you have found this post through Google then you probably already know why and I expect you also already know that he is may be a sock puppet to the music industry. Maybe he really has no firm grasp of why his actions won’t work, despite so many warnings from industry experts such as TalkTalk, but why try and get a grip on such things if your pockets are >possibly< being lined by industry fatcats?

Even MI5 are against this legislation and rightly so, because people such as myself will blog about this sort of issue and how to get around it.

Anyway, accusations aside,  you are terrified that your packets might get sniffed? Well the time has come to get yourself protected.

Avoid Deep Packet Inspection

Dan Klein, media accounts director at Detica stated that “Encryption of the data packet would defeat us, We’re not going to put the processing power into defeating it.” – source

So you know what to do, get encryption! Now simply enabling encryption within your torrent software will not help I’m afraid. You need to get yourself a VPN, essentially an encrypted connection that you set your downloads running through. These are incredibly cheap and there are plenty to pick from, ideally you want one local (in my case Europe) with good reviews and a torrent friendly policy. There are plenty of excellent torrent friendly VPN services out there such as BTGuard (my personal preference).

Wait There’s More

Now it’s worth noting that ISPs are not the only body that will be collecting data on your downloads, there are many organisations that gather information on illegal file sharers and I would heartily recommend you taking a look at Peer Block, the successor to Peer Guardian. It’s an amazing project, the application is easy to use and updates itself based on the latest compiled lists of corporate spys, it should stop these 99.99% of these organisations from getting your IP address, win.

Further Action

If you are in the UK and are concerned about this sort of thing then perhaps you should consider getting involved with or supporting the UK Pirate Party.

I leave you with this delightful video from Dan Bull, nicely put Dan.

For whatever reason, many people are finding themselves unable to upgrade to a 64bit operating system, whether it be Windows 7 or Vista, while others find themselves considering downgrading just so they can connect remotely to work. Well, there is a pretty obvious and easy solution—use a Virtual PC!

This solution is tailored to Windows 7 64bit, but can be equally applied to Vista installs, and it is completely free and easy!

First, grab both these files (for the relevent version of windows 7).

Install them in the correct order!

Start up Windows 7 Virtual PC XP (if you installed them correctly they should now be in Start Menu).

Install your VPN-1 Secure Client.

From your virtual PC tool menu:

• Click Tools-> Settings
• Click Network
• Change your adaptor to use your actual hardware adaptor, not Shared Networking.
• Reboot your virtual PC completely

You should now be able to start VPN Secure client and log in from your PC.

If I just saved you from commercial deathrow or perhaps saved you a bit of headache then please consider buying me a beer by clicking the icon to the right, thanks! :)