• passing data (from a controller) to elements: requestAction() + cache E.g. $comments = $this->requestAction(‘users/latest’); $this->element(‘comments’, $comment);
• tricks: using compact() to pass data from a controller to a view more efficiently: $this->set(compact($var1, $var2, …));
• Using MultivalidatableBehavior for multiple sets of validation rules for each model. It’s necessary when you have different forms or data that are all required to be validated (“differently”) in a model. E.g. Your User controller has login and register action, which should be validated by 2 (different) sets of validation rules. Recall that any fields of a particular validation rule in which ‘required’ is set to ‘true’ must be included in a form. Otherwise, this form won’t be validated using this set of rule.
• Using PersistentValidation component component to keep your validation data after redirect, eg. you have multiple forms in a view, which relates to different actions (and even in different controllers). Now you want to display validation errors in this view instead of being redirected into the views of these actions.

Accidentally reading this short yet intriguing article on The Ridge Magazine, a NUSSU Publication, Feb 2011, on one of the ever hottest topics – LOVE towards the Valentine’s Day, I just wanna share a part of it :

February is the month whereby this question will be heard more often than not.
During Chinese New Year, relatives would pound on you with questions on boyfriends or girlfriends. As Valentine’s Day looms, friends would ask if you are meeting someone special on that day.”

What’s Linux?

To KISS it, Linux refers to the family of Unix-like Operating System (OS) using the Linux Kernel, which was conceived and created by Linus Torvalds. Linux is a leading server OS. Its popular consumer distributions include Ubuntu and openSUSE.

Why Linux?

Let’s first take a look at 4 ultimate advantages of Linux over Windows:

VIRUS-FREE

Life is too short to waste time worrying about viruses. If you ever use Windows, virus is basically nothing but an infuriating computing nuisance. Luckily, viruses now would be things of the past or only in the Microsoft world with the emergence of Linux. Be fearless of getting viruses from your friends’ thumb drives. Be free from getting expensive Anti Virus software. Using Linux is really a virus-free experience that Microsoft Windows can only dream of.*

Very STABLE

Linux scores a lot when it comes to stability. You will almost never be greeted by ‘Blue screen of Death’ as quite often as in Windows. What’s more, you would hardly be asked to restart your computer when you finish installing an application. Even more, you will never need to find and install any device drivers since Linux only support open source drivers, which is always available on-line (and the system will do the jobs for you). As a result, you will almost eliminate the downtime caused by the OS.

“Windows had detected you do not have a keyboard. Press “F9″ to continue.”

Extremely FAST

As a former Windows user, I used to have it re-installed at most every 3 months since its performance gets below average. It’s really irritating since I have to re-install a whole bunch of software and drivers as well! Incredibly, Linux hardly ever slow down over time. You would probably hear someone who’s had the system running for years without any slowdown! Even continuous operations seem not cause any problems to the system. Everything seems to work as quickly and perfect as it did yesterday.

“Windows is extremely fast after a fresh install. If you want to make it stay that way: – don’t use it!” 

Absolutely FREE

Hey folks, Windows is not free! Its latest version costs $199.99! It just seems to be mainly because Windows is a “built-in” when you buy any new laptops or desktops. But you know what, your laptop or desktop price is definitely inclusive of the licensed Windows cost! Obviously, it’s not a small portion.

Lamentably, it’s just a start of endless troubles. Windows is just a great framework for software companies to take advantages. You can’t just install Windows alone! You also need Anti-Virus software and Microsoft Office suite at the very least. And you get my point: You have no choice but to pay more and more …

Yes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Fortunately in life, there is one and perhaps only one service that’s free – it’s the open source software. Linux OS is completely free, meaning you don’t need to pay a single buck to use Linux OS. You will even be able to upgrade to the latest version when it comes out, together with free updates and patches in between.

Contrary to Windows, Linux always strives to give you as much value as possible for the minimum cost.

“Software is like sex – it’s better when it’s free!” (Linus Torvalds)

Linux come in many flavors – distributions also known as distros, which use the same kernel (the guts of the Operating System) such as Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Fedora as opposed to Windows with only 2 main lines (Win9x and NT class with Win9x is now no longer supported). They interestingly differ in the built-in software, GUIs, install processes, prices, documentation and technical support.

Linux is customizable in a way that Windows can never be. A large number of available desktop environments, of which GNOME and KDE are widely used, are always distinct in the ways they manage items. If you get bored with the look of any distro, you can change its themes; bored with its desktop environment, you can switch to another distro. Also, there are some other specific purpose versions of Linux available here and there. If you wanna start with Linux, let use Ubuntu – the most user-friendly Linux.

Linux source code is also freely available. If you want (and are able to), you can tweak it and create you own customized OS!!

“Use the best: Linux for servers, Mac for graphics, Windows for Solitaire”  

Nowadays Linux with its various distros is simply stylish, gorgeous and wonderful. Its snazzy desktop effects,which is really a pipe dream in Windows or even Mac OS X, will definitely give you tremendous experience. In Ubuntu, with the help of the guy called “Compiz”, you’ve got even more awesome options.

“Using Windows is like dating an ugly girl!”

REGULAR releases

It took nearly 6 years from Windows XP to Vista and another 3 years to Windows 7 with a few service packs updated meanwhile. In Linux, you have the equivalent of a service pack of most distros every 6 months. In the meantime, you will get bug and security fixes every week. Regular releases not only increase Linux stability but also perfect its look and feel.

SUPER-FAST Boot speed

Truth be told, Windows 7 doesn’t boot or shut down faster than its sibling – Windows Vista and of course is far outperformed by Linux distros. If you turn on your desktop or laptop twice a day, you will likely have 10 extra minutes each week and much more since Windows slows down significantly over time.

Linux will give you some extra precious time beside your family, boy/girlfriend. Think about it if you’re as busy as a bee! (the naked)

LOW system requirements, SMALL disk space usage

If you have a modest system or wanna utilize your old PC, use Linux! Linux distros generally demand lower system requirement than Windows. In particular, with just 256MB of memory, you can run OpenSuSe 11.3 or Ubuntu 10.04 (LucidLynx) adequately compared with 1GB of Windows 7.

Likewise  most of Linux distros occupy just a little bit space of your hard disk. They takes at most a quarter of the disk space that Vista or Windows 7 does. It means you will have more disk space for your own files.

EASY Applications installation

If in Mac OS, you only need to acquire (download), un-package then drag and drop to install a programme, in Linux, it’s even easier. In Ubuntu for example, the Synaptic Package Manager offers you a great and beautiful “Free App Store” wherein with just a simple search and click, you already install an application successfully. The job of hunting the Internet for an “exe” file then process lots of pop-up windows seems now very complicated and time consuming.

POWERFUL command line

The beauty and power of Linux, as an Unix-like system, must be the command line. Within a terminal, you can recover the system if the graphics subsystem fails, script many applications and of course install new ones as well. It’s all done in just a (few) command line(s)! Windows also has got a command line (cmd), which is just by far inferior.

Some Linux MYTHS:

Linux is an operating system!?

• No, Linux is just a kernel and not an operating system itself. Operating systems built on that kernel are generally called mis-called Linux and should be called as GNU/Linux.

How to install Linux?

Kubuntu with KDE 4.3 copied from rtdptech.com

Let’s start with Ubuntu – the most Linux user-friendly distro. The installation is pretty simple. First, you go here, download the latest version, burn it into a CD or create a USB drive. Then you can either give it a try or install it. With just 7 simple information acquisition steps and 15 minutes waiting, Ubuntu is ready for you to explore!

Don’t wait. Try it now! It’s worth every second you spend!

Latest review in Mar, 15, 2012 – Rexy

* This is a general article for any persons including IT novices. So I won’t discuss technical terms in details. Some necessary illustrations and/or clarifications will be examined here.