Stanley Sim

Branching in Git to Control Versions

Published by Stanley Sim on June 8, 2019

This article is a followup on the introduction to source control with GitHub. It covers the process using branches to control different versions of a single project. Branching in Git After the first commit, you will be on the master branch. This should be the branch that contains the finalised code. When you are following a code tutorial, this branch should contain the latest working version of your tutorial. When developing a software project, this branch contains the code of your finalised working version. Before you continue adding more code to your master branch while following a tutorial, branch out…

Using GitHub with Xcode

Using GitHub with Xcode

Published by Stanley Sim on June 7, 2019

Coding is hard. To a beginner, all the code looks alike. A beginner will have difficulties identifying where to insert code when they follow the instructions from a coding book. This problem is compounded when many coding textbooks contain typo errors such that even when the learner follows exactly what the book wrote, the code simply could not run as expected. As a trainer, it is often that we use long projects to showcase a combination of coding concepts. However, from the start of the project to the end, there are many intermediate stages where the learner may type wrongly…

AS Level Physics Multiple Choice Questions 2017

AS Level Physics Multiple Choice Questions 2017

Published by Stanley Sim on April 20, 2019

Full solutions to multiple choice questions for past papers from 2017 P11 – P13 (AS Level Physics Paper 1) Multiple Choice Questions could be easy for some, but hard for others. Many students who felt that MCQ questions are hard think so because they often select the options based on what they feel are correct. However, Physics is science, and science should be objective and not based on feelings.

WordPress makes up One-Third of the Web

WordPress makes up One-Third of the Web

Published by Stanley Sim on March 17, 2019

The path here has been very exciting. In 2005, we were celebrating 50,000 downloads. Six years later, in January 2011, WordPress was powering 13.1% of websites. And now, early in 2019, we are powering 33.4% of sites. https://wordpress.org/news/2019/03/one-third-of-the-web/ I started using Joomla in 2009 to create my learning site. After that, I started using WordPress and Drupal, exploring the power of the three different Content Management Systems. I settled down with WordPress because it is easiest CMS to use and it is powerful. Its custom post types and custom fields allow anyone to create any type of web sites, from…

Comparison between LiteSpeed with LSCache and Nginx with Super Cache

Comparison between LiteSpeed with LSCache and Nginx with Super Cache

Published by Stanley Sim on March 16, 2019

The test compares a LiteSpeed Web Server and LSCache to Nginx and Super Cache. PHP is a slow language. A website is slow if every request by users require PHP to retrieve content from the database. As such, caching plays an important part to speed up a website. LiteSpeed Web Server provides a free WordPress caching plugin called LSCache. Together with the LiteSpeed Web Server, it beats Nginx and Super Cache by the following: without Keep-Alive, LiteSpeed Web Server and LSCache beats Nginx and Super Cache by 5 times with Keep-Alive, LiteSpeed Web Server and LSCache beats Nginx and Super…

Installing Fonts on iOS Devices

Installing Fonts on iOS Devices

Published by Stanley Sim on March 10, 2019

There are situations when you need to open a Microsoft Office file on you iPad. When you did it, a prompt informing you that you do not have the necessary fonts, and the display may look different. On a Mac, you could add additional fonts into the Fonts Library. However, you do not have access rights to the file structure on an iPad. Although there are third party apps that allow you to add fonts to an iPad, you could also do it for free if you have a Mac. To install additional fonts on an iPad, you need to…

App Development with Swift – Part 2

App Development with Swift – Part 2

Published by Stanley Sim on March 9, 2019

After two terms of running a weekly course on App Development with Swift, there are thoughts to the curriculum and resources that Apple developed for students to learn about coding in Swift. Curriculum The course has two main resources that run hand in hand: the iBook App Development with Swift and its resource files. The student resource files contains Playground files and the book’s source codes together with needed media files for some projects described in the book. There are also accompanying resources for teachers. The first is the teacher’s guide to the iBook. The second contains answers to the…

App Development with Swift – Part 1

App Development with Swift – Part 1

Published by Stanley Sim on October 6, 2018

This first part of a series of post outline my process of conducting the App Development with Swift to a group of high school students. This program was initiated by myself to the school management and it was approved quickly because my school has many talented students who had always been interested in coding but does not have the required resources to follow up with their passion. Introduction I introduced the program to the student body in an announcement. I highlighted the important criteria for students who wished to enrol in this program. Specifically, I am inviting students who meet…

Secure Socket Layer(SSL)

Secure Socket Layer(SSL)

Published by Stanley Sim on July 8, 2018

Secure Sockets Layer(SSL) is a protocol to encrypt information sent over HTTP. Websites that implement SSL typically shows HTTPS in the address bar. Users who send information to such websites do not need to worry that their information are stolen by eavesdropping. As website owner, it is important to ensure that your audience information are not stolen and this is especially more true when your website need to capture financial data when you are selling products online. Types of SSLs In general, there are 2 types of SSLs: Domain Validated (DV) SSL and Extended Validated (EV) SSL. In addition to…

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