The HTTP_X_EAC_REQUEST is commonly found on requests made by the baidu spider.

HTTP_X_EAC_REQUEST – eac_curl.class.php; v0.7.2, (Mar 20, 2008); [www.KevinBurkholder.com]

I am trying to find the group/entity/company behind the ezooms.bot (ezooms.bot@gmail.com)

User agents: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Ezooms/1.0; ezooms.bot@gmail.com)

Some IP:

220.181.108.79

If you know any more info on this spider/bot/crawler/probe, please post below.

Here is some code to do a full outer join on three tables.

In the example, the three full outer joins are done on two columns , but it works just the same if you only have a single join column.

CREATE TABLE ZA (T CHAR(1), O CHAR(1))
CREATE TABLE ZB (T CHAR(1), O CHAR(1))
CREATE TABLE ZC (T CHAR(1), O CHAR(1))

INSERT INTO ZA (T, O) VALUES ('1', 'A')
INSERT INTO ZA (T, O) VALUES ('2', 'B')
INSERT INTO ZA (T, O) VALUES ('3', 'C')
INSERT INTO ZA (T, O) VALUES ('4', 'D')

INSERT INTO ZB (T, O) VALUES ('1', 'A')
INSERT INTO ZB (T, O) VALUES ('2', 'B')
INSERT INTO ZB (T, O) VALUES ('5', 'E')
INSERT INTO ZB (T, O) VALUES ('6', 'F')

INSERT INTO ZC (T, O) VALUES ('2', 'B')
INSERT INTO ZC (T, O) VALUES ('3', 'C')
INSERT INTO ZC (T, O) VALUES ('4', 'D')
INSERT INTO ZC (T, O) VALUES ('5', 'E')
INSERT INTO ZC (T, O) VALUES ('7', 'G')





SELECT 
	ISNULL(ISNULL(A.T, B.T), C.T),
	ISNULL(ISNULL(A.O, B.O), C.O)
	
FROM
	ZA A FULL OUTER JOIN 
	ZB B ON A.T = B.T AND A.O = B.O FULL OUTER JOIN 
	ZC C ON ISNULL(A.T, B.T) = C.T AND ISNULL(A.O, B.O) = C.O




DROP TABLE ZA
DROP TABLE ZB
DROP TABLE ZC

Here is an OLD article I had about data caching in classic asp using the application object. When it comes to application performance on your web servers, ever little bit counts.

Howto build a database caching system

Introduction
In this tutorial I will teach you how to build a simple database caching system to improve the load on your database. This tutorial is meant for anyone, including beginners and experts.

What is a caching system?
A caching system is something which stores frequently accessed data in a file or variable, and allows for quick retrieval. Caching systems can be built in different ways; there are very basic ones and very complex ones. For example, AspIt is running an extremely advanced caching system. In this tutorial I’ll show you how to make a basic caching system.

Let’s begin with the code
First create a new asp page called caching.asp. Then copy and paste the following code in it;

Dim objConn, strQuery

'// Get connection
Set objConn = Server.CreateObject ("ADODB.Connection")
objConn.Open strConnectionString

'// Get recordset
Set objRS = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.RecordSet")
objRS.Open "SELECT userid, username FROM users", objConn

'// Loop through results
Do While Not objRS.EOF
Response.Write objRS("userid") & " - " & objRS("username") & "
"
objRS.MoveNext
Loop

'// Close recordset
objRS.Close

'// Clean up
Set objRS = Nothing
Set objConn = Nothing

If you don’t know what this does, it simply opens a connection first, then gets a list of records, and finally closes the recordset and connection.[size=1]Please note that there is a better way to get the results (GetRows).[/size]

Everytime someone visits this page the same thing happens over and over again, even though the data doesn’t change that much. It seems useless to keep re-doing this over and over again, no? That’s where a caching system kicks in. As I said earlier, it caches frequently used data, so it would be perfect for our page.

A good place to store cached data in is the Application object, because it can be accessed by anyone! If you store the cached data in the Session object, only one user can access the data, and it’s lost after 20 or so minutes. With the Application object, the data is never lost, until the server is rebooted.

Let’s put our caching system in place. Copy and paste (make sure you overwrite our previous code) the following code into our asp page;

Dim objConn, strQuery, cachedData, htmlString
'// Retrieve data from cache (if it's in there)
cachedData = Application("userlist")
'// Check if data is in cache
If IsEmpty(cachedData) = False Then
'// Data IS in cache, display the list
Response.Write cachedData
Else
'// Data is NOT in cache, get records from database
'// Get connection
Set objConn = Server.CreateObject ("ADODB.Connection")
objConn.Open strConnectionString
'// Get recordset
Set objRS = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.RecordSet")
objRS.Open "SELECT userid, username FROM users", objConn
'// Loop through results
Do While Not objRS.EOF
htmlString = htmlString & objRS("userid") & " - " & objRS("username") & "
"
objRS.MoveNext
Loop
'// Close recordset
objRS.Close
'// Add records to cache
Application.Lock
Application("userlist") = htmlString
Application.UnLock
'// Display string
Response.Write htmlString
'// Clean up
Set objRS = Nothing
Set objConn = Nothing
End If

After you’ve pasted this code in the asp page, run it twice, and (hopefully) notice the slight speed increase when you ran it the second time. It might not be noticeable because the asp page doesn’t contain much code, but when your pages are bigger, and you’re doing more, you will notice!

One problem, solution?
Now that we’ve got a caching system, there’s one critical problem. What if the data gets changed? The cached data won’t be changed, and if something does get changed, incorrect data will be displayed.

Luckily, this is easily fixed. The cache just needs to be invalidated. There are several ways of doing this. Here, on AspIt, I have it set so that cached data is invalidated when a non-SELECT query (e.g UPDATE) is made to the database. For our example however, we are going to do it easier. Just invalidate the cached data within a certain time, in this example a day.

Let’s add our “invalidator”, so we will have a truly perfect caching sytem! Copy and paste the following code, or only add in the changes into our asp page;

Dim objConn, strQuery, cachedData, htmlString

'// Retrieve data from cache (if it's in there)
cachedData = Application("userlist")

'// Check if data is in cache
If IsEmpty(cachedData) = False And Application("cachedata") < Date Then
'// Data IS in cache and it's NOT invalid, display the list
Response.Write cachedData
Else
'// Data is NOT in cache or IS invalid, get records from database

'// Get connection
Set objConn = Server.CreateObject ("ADODB.Connection")
objConn.Open strConnectionString

'// Get recordset
Set objRS = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.RecordSet")
objRS.Open "SELECT userid, username FROM users", objConn

'// Loop through results
Do While Not objRS.EOF
htmlString = htmlString & objRS("userid") & " - " & objRS("username") & "
"
objRS.MoveNext
Loop

'// Close recordset
objRS.Close

'// Add records to cache
Application.Lock
Application("userlist") = htmlString
'// Add cache date
Application("cachedate") = DateAdd("d", 1, Date)
Application.UnLock

'// Display string
Response.Write htmlString

'// Clean up
Set objRS = Nothing
Set objConn = Nothing
End If

You’ve finished your caching system, and (if correctly) applied should improve your database-load by high numbers (I’m guessing atleast 30%). Of course this was a very basic caching system, and I’m sure there are much better ways (Heck, AspIt uses a complete different system, but it’s the same priniciple).

Comparing OLE DB and ODBC

This document compares the basic features of OLE DB to the basic features of ODBC (Open Database Connectivity). It is intended to help clarify when to use one over the other.

Introduction OLE DB vs ODBC

OLE DB and ODBC are both specifications created by Microsoft to address universal data access. Each is intended as an industry standard that will make access between one vendor’s data store and another vendor’s data consumer seamless.
Microsoft’s definition of OLE DB is a strategic system-level programming interface to data across the organization.

OLE DB is an open specification designed to build on the success of ODBC by providing an open standard for accessing all kinds of data. And the definition of ODBC is an industry standard and a component of Microsoft ® Windows ® Open Services  Architecture (WOSA). The ODBC interface makes it possible for applications to access data from a variety of database management systems (DBMSs). ODBC permits maximum interoperability—an application can access data in diverse DBMSs through a single interface. Furthermore, that application will be independent of any DBMS from which it accesses data. Users of the application can add software components called drivers, which create an interface between an application and a specific DBMS.

The two primary differences between ODBC and OLE DB are:

• OLE DB is a component based specification and ODBC is a procedural based specification
• SQL is the core of accessing data using ODBC but just one of the means of data access through OLE DB
• ODBC is constrained to relational data stores; OLE DB supports all forms of data stores (relational,hierarchical, etc)

In general, OLE DB provides a richer and more flexible interface for data access because it is not tightly bound to a command syntax (like SQL in the case of ODBC).

As Microsoft points out:

Whereas ODBC was created to access relational databases, OLE DB is designed for relational and non-relational information sources, including mainframe ISAM/VSAM and hierarchical databases; e-mail and file system stores; text, graphical, and geographical data; custom business objects; and more.

ODBC on the other hand is a more established interface because it has been around longer; there are proven drivers and applications available in the market place. OLE DB is creating a better known presence, but consumer support is probably still considered limited. With the release of Windows 2000 Professional, OLE DB will be installed as part of the operating system. In Microsoft Office2000 all member applications will be OLE DB consumers. When these two major products ship, OLE DB will be much more ensconced in the marketplace. Thomas Cox does a good job of outlining ODBC’s limitations in his SUGI paper “What’s up with OLE DB?”. In recap they are:

• tightly bound to the SQL language and relational data
• no standard leveling of functionality (i.e. drivers do not support standard levels of functionality)
• each flavor of SQL makes each driver unique undermining the universal intent of the API
• difficult to deploy due since many software pieces must be synchronized (server, driver, OS, etc)

Microsoft created OLE DB to address these issues and better support Internet integration and multi-threading.

Political pros and cons

The debate over ODBC versus OLE DB boils down to two areas: political and technical. In the political arena, we have the “because Microsoft said so” argument against the “Microsoft always changes their mind” counterpoint. Over the past two to three years, Microsoft has been heavily touting OLE DB as the successor to ODBC. At PDC 98 they went as far as to state that there would no longer be continuing to develop ODBC (they would fix problems in their drivers, as needed, but not pursue future versions of the API). They plan to invest all new development into OLE DB.

Technical pros and cons of ODBC and OLE DB

Here is how to Export Windows Scheduled Task Information to File with Command Line:

schtasks /query /fo CSV /v >> scheduled_task_metadata.csv

This will dump a list of scheduled tasks and their advanced settings to a CSV file called “scheduled_task_metadata.cs” to whichever location you run the command prompt from.

If you don’t want the windows scheduled task’s advanced settings included, and you only want to list the name and a few high level scheduled task detail, remove the “/v” portion.

Enjoy.

These are some MySql commands (most run at the command line in linux) that I’ve been collecting since getting a few sites set up on linode. The “#” indicates that it is to be run from the unix shell. When you see “mysql>” the command is to be run from the MySQL command prompt after logging into MySQL.

MySQL Command to login (from unix shell) use -h only if needed.

# [mysql dir]/bin/mysql -h hostname -u root -p

MySQL Command to Create a database on the sql server.

mysql> create database [databasename];

MySQL Command to List all databases on the sql server.

mysql> show databases;

MySQL Command to Switch to a database.

mysql> use [db name];

MySQL Command to see all the tables in the db.

mysql> show tables;

MySQL Command to see database’s field formats.

mysql> describe [table name];

MySQL Command to delete a db.

mysql> drop database [database name];

MySQL Command to delete a table.

mysql> drop table [table name];

MySQL Command to Join tables on common columns.

mysql> select lookup.illustrationid, lookup.personid,person.birthday from lookup left join person on lookup.personid=person.personid=statement to join birthday in person table with primary illustration id;

MySQL Command to Create a new user. Login as root. Switch to the MySQL db. Make the user. Update privs.

# mysql -u root -p
mysql> use mysql;
mysql> INSERT INTO user (Host,User,Password) VALUES('%','username',PASSWORD('password')); 
mysql> flush privileges;

MySQL Command Change a users password from unix shell.

# [mysql dir]/bin/mysqladmin -u username -h hostname.blah.org -p password 'new-password'

MySQL Command to Change a users password from MySQL prompt. Login as root. Set the password. Update privs.

# mysql -u root -p
mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR 'user'@'hostname' = PASSWORD('passwordhere');
mysql> flush privileges;

MySQL Command to Recover a MySQL root password. Stop the MySQL server process. Start again with no grant tables. Login to MySQL as root. Set new password. Exit MySQL and restart MySQL server.

# /etc/init.d/mysql stop
# mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &
# mysql -u root
mysql> use mysql;
mysql> update user set password=PASSWORD("newrootpassword") where User='root';
mysql> flush privileges;
mysql> quit<br /> 
# /etc/init.d/mysql stop
# /etc/init.d/mysql start

MySQL Command to Set a root password if there is on root password.

# mysqladmin -u root password newpassword

MySQL Command to Update a root password.

# mysqladmin -u root -p oldpassword newpassword

MySQL Command to Allow the user “bob” to connect to the server from localhost using the password “passwd”.
Login as root. Switch to the MySQL db. Give privs. Update privs.

# mysql -u root -p 
mysql> use mysql; 
mysql> grant usage on *.* to bob@localhost identified by 'passwd';
mysql> flush privileges;

MySQL Command Give user privilages for a db. Login as root. Switch to the MySQL db. Grant privs. Update privs.

# mysql -u root -p 
mysql> use mysql; 
mysql> INSERT INTO db (Host,Db,User,Select_priv,Insert_priv,Update_priv,Delete_priv,Create_priv,Drop_priv) VALUES 
('%','databasename','username','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','N'); 
mysql> flush privileges;
# or 
mysql> grant all privileges on databasename.* to username@localhost;
mysql> flush privileges;

MySQL Command to update info already in a table.

mysql> UPDATE [table name] SET Select_priv = 'Y',Insert_priv = 'Y',Update_priv = 'Y' where [field name] = 'user';

MySQL Command to Delete a row(s) from a table.

mysql> DELETE from [table name] where [field name] = 'whatever';

MySQL Command to Update database permissions/privilages.

mysql> flush privileges;

MySQL Command to Delete a column.

mysql> alter table [table name] drop column [column name];

MySQL Command to Add a new column to db.

mysql> alter table [table name] add column [new column name] varchar (20);

MySQL Command to Change column name.

mysql> alter table [table name] change [old column name] [new column name] varchar (50);

MySQL Command to Make a unique column so you get no dupes.

mysql> alter table [table name] add unique ([column name]);

MySQL Command to Make a column bigger.

mysql> alter table [table name] modify [column name] VARCHAR(3);

MySQL Command to Delete unique from table.

mysql> alter table [table name] drop index [colmn name];

MySQL Command to Load a CSV file into a table.

mysql> LOAD DATA INFILE '/tmp/filename.csv' replace INTO TABLE [table name] FIELDS TERMINATED BY ',' LINES TERMINATED BY '\n' (field1,field2,field3);

MySQL Command to Dump all databases for backup. Backup file is sql commands to recreate all db’s.

# [mysql dir]/bin/mysqldump -u root -ppassword --opt > /tmp/alldatabases.sql

MySQL Command to Dump one database for backup.

# [mysql dir]/bin/mysqldump -u username -ppassword --databases databasename > /tmp/databasename.sql

MySQL Command to Dump a table from a database.

# [mysql dir]/bin/mysqldump -c -u username -ppassword databasename tablename > /tmp/databasename.tablename.sql

MySQL Command to Restore database (or database table) from backup.

# [mysql dir]/bin/mysql -u username -ppassword databasename < /tmp/databasename.sql

MySQL Command to Create Table Example 1.

mysql> CREATE TABLE [table name] (firstname VARCHAR(20), middleinitial VARCHAR(3), lastname VARCHAR(35),suffix VARCHAR(3),officeid VARCHAR(10),userid 
VARCHAR(15),username VARCHAR(8),email VARCHAR(35),phone VARCHAR(25), groups VARCHAR(15),datestamp DATE,timestamp time,pgpemail VARCHAR(255));

MySQL Command to Create Table Example 2.

mysql> create table [table name] (personid int(50) not null auto_increment primary key,firstname varchar(35),middlename varchar(50),lastnamevarchar(50) default 
'bato');

MySQL Command to Show all data in a table.

mysql> SELECT * FROM [table name];

MySQL Command to Returns the columns and column information pertaining to the designated table.

mysql> show columns from [table name];

MySQL Command to Show certain selected rows with the value “whatever”.

mysql> SELECT * FROM [table name] WHERE [field name] = "whatever";

MySQL Command to Show all records containing the name “Bob” AND the phone number ‘3444444’.

mysql> SELECT * FROM [table name] WHERE name = "Bob" AND phone_number = '3444444';

MySQL Command to Show all records not containing the name “Bob” AND the phone number ‘3444444’ order by the phone_number field.

mysql> SELECT * FROM [table name] WHERE name != "Bob" AND phone_number = '3444444' order by phone_number;

MySQL Command to Show all records starting with the letters ‘bob’ AND the phone number ‘3444444’.

mysql> SELECT * FROM [table name] WHERE name like "Bob%" AND phone_number = '3444444';

MySQL Command to Show all records starting with the letters ‘bob’ AND the phone number ‘3444444’ limit to records 1 through 5.

mysql> SELECT * FROM [table name] WHERE name like "Bob%" AND phone_number = '3444444' limit 1,5;

MySQL Command to Use a regular expression to find records. Use “REGEXP BINARY” to force case-sensitivity. This finds any record beginning with a.

mysql> SELECT * FROM [table name] WHERE rec RLIKE "^a";

MySQL Command to Show unique records.

mysql> SELECT DISTINCT [column name] FROM [table name];

MySQL Command to Show selected records sorted in an ascending (asc) or descending (desc).

mysql> SELECT [col1],[col2] FROM [table name] ORDER BY [col2] DESC;

MySQL Command to Return number of rows.

mysql> SELECT COUNT(*) FROM [table name];

MySQL Command to Sum a column.

mysql> SELECT SUM(*) FROM [table name];

I received a snail mail letter today from the Canadian Domain Authority. Is it a scam? Well, the Canadian Domain Authority sent the unsolicited letter to me because I am the registrant of domain name (.com) that contains the name of one of the provinces of Canada in it.

In 2004 the FTC forced the Domain Registry of America to refund it’s 50,000 customers. I hope the same will happen to the Ripoff scam of the Canadian Domain Authority.

Previously, I posted about the horrible customer experience I had with 1&1 corporation when they basically fired me as a customer when my sites became too popular for their shared hosting plan. All they had to do was inform me of the issue (before shutting my sites down with no notice or warning) and I’d have gladly shelled out for a dedicated server.  Instead, and without any warning, I get a service unavailable message from 1&1. Beyond that, as I’m rushing to transfer all of my holdings out of that registrar, I encounter many error messages saying that there is a domain registration error from 1&1.

I’ve long since switched to godaddy, who has english speaking, United States based customer service, and they have blown my expectations out of the water.

Anyway, over a year after I switch, i get a promotional email from 1and1 marketing, showboating an offer of unlimited traffic. As vague as that is, i know it will mislead many customers into thinking that it means unlimited everything, when it does not!

When you talk about shared hosting, there are several factors:

• number of domains you can host (unlimited according to 1and1)
• number of GB of transfer per month This is what they are really saying is unlimited
• RAM/memory available – they don’t specify this for shared hosting, nor do they give a method for customer to monitor it. This is what will limit you before GBs of transfer does.
• CPU Time allowed – they don’t specify this for shared hosting, nor do they give a method for customer to monitor it. This is what will limit you before GBs of transfer does.

The last two, factors that you can not monitor yourself, and factors that are not called out in your “plan” are what will get you kicked off faster than any other factor (including non-payment). The idea is that you are on shared hosting, and you should use a proportionate amount of the two items – CPU Time and RAM/Memory.

My point is, the recent 1&1 ad is a deceptive marketing piece, and I call it nothing more than another scam by 1&1 ripoff web hosting.

Again, if anyone knows the direct phone numbers to any of the 1&1 corporate folks in the US, please post them below.