Category Archives: Snippets

Snippets

Behind The Scenes: The HJKL Keys

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If you’re a Gmail user with keyboard shortcuts enabled, you’ve probably noticed that you can use the j and k keys to navigate through your inbox. Hitting j takes you to an older message, while k moves you to a newer one. This navigation style isn’t unique to Gmail—it’s incredibly popular across the web. You’ll find it on sites like MakeUseOf, Google Reader (RIP), Tumblr, and countless developer-focused applications.

But why specifically J and K? Why not other keys?

The history behind this is actually fascinating. Let’s take a look.

Keyboard of ADM-3A Terminal

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Snippets

Starting With Oracle SQL

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Note: I wrote this guide back in 2012 for Oracle SQL Express Edition 11g. While the command prompt steps are still valid for Oracle databases, the specific software versions and setup screens will look completely different today!

Today, I’m going to show you how to connect to and interact with Oracle SQL directly from your Windows command prompt. You might be wondering why we don’t just use the built-in Run SQL Command Line tool from the Start menu. The big issue with that tool is that it doesn’t support basic copy and paste functionality—something that developers like you and me desperately need! So, let’s look at how to properly connect to your database using the trusty standard command prompt.

First things first, you’ll need to have Oracle SQL installed on your PC. If you don’t have it yet, you can grab it right here:

Download Oracle SQL Express Edition 11g

Oracle SQL Express is completely free to use, but Oracle does require you to log in before downloading. If you don’t have an account, just hit the sign-up button—it’s free and only takes a minute.

The download is fairly hefty at around 350MB. Once it’s finished, extract the ZIP file and run setup.exe. The installation wizard is pretty standard. If you’ve installed Windows software before, you can safely just click “Next” through most of the prompts.

During the setup process, you’ll eventually hit a screen that looks like this:

This is an important step. You’re being asked to set the password for the SYS and SYSTEM users. In Oracle, these are your master administrative accounts. If you’re just setting this up on your local machine for development and learning, I highly recommend using a simple password like admin. It’s easy to remember and quick to type. Of course, you can use whatever password you prefer. Once you’ve typed it in, click Next.

The installer will now begin copying files and setting up your database. Just sit back and wait for it to finish.

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Snippets

Getting Started With Google Web Fonts

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Note: I originally wrote this guide in 2012. Google Fonts has since completely overhauled its website design and integration process. While the core concepts remain the same, the screenshots and exact steps below are quite outdated!

Whether you’re writing a simple document, designing a poster, or building a website, typography is absolutely crucial. The right font can completely change the attractiveness and vibe of your work. We all know the classic staples—Times New Roman, Arial, and the rest. They come pre-loaded on your operating system or bundled with your office apps. But because they’re everywhere, they can start to feel a bit boring and uninspired. If you look closely, they don’t really add any unique character to your designs.

So, What’s the Alternative?

You have plenty of options out there. A quick search will bring up tons of font websites, but you’ll quickly run into a major hurdle: the best fonts aren’t free. And the free ones? They often aren’t very interesting. That’s where Google Web Fonts comes to the rescue. It’s a fantastic, massive, and completely free collection of high-quality typography.

You can check it out right here:
google.com/webfonts

A Quick Introduction to Google Web Fonts

Google Web Font Logo

Hosted by Google, this font gallery contains thousands of free web fonts. The collection is huge—over 700 MB and constantly growing. The best part? Every single font is open source. You don’t have to pay a dime, and you don’t need to ask for permission. You’re completely free to download, distribute, and use them anywhere you want, whether it’s for a personal blog or a commercial project.

How Do You Use Them?

So you’ve found a font you absolutely love and want to use it in your next document. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to grab it:

  1. Find the font you want to use.
  2. Add it to your collection.
  3. Download the collection to your PC.
  4. Unzip the downloaded file and install the fonts.

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