06.25.12
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The Magic of the get_users() Function

While working on Email Users recently I encountered a performance problem with some SQL which I had received via the WordPress Hackers Mailing List back in January of 2008.  At the time I needed it for my wp-SwimTeam plugin (where I am still using it) and it served me well.  When I first committed a patch for Email Users (v3.4.0) I used this SQL to allow sorting of the users as prior to v3.4.0, only the usernames were displayed.

It turns out this SQL is pretty inefficient (I am by no means an SQL expert) and it was causing performance problems for people using Email Users with a large number of users.  Again I turned to the WP Hackers Mailing List and received some significantly improved SQL.

The ensuing discussion also recommended migrating my SQL to the WordPress API get_users() function.  I am all for using the API when I can as it is much safer and typically much easier to work with.  In this case, I couldn’t understand how it would help me retrieve the first and last names from the Meta table that I needed.  It wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the Codex so I was confused.

A subsequent post in the thread mentioned the “magic” of get_users() which I then tried and sure enough, the data I wanted was available.  Ok, now I am really confused.  Where does this magic data come from.  Fortunately another post referenced this article which explains how these magic methods work and why the data is available.  This is pretty neat and very useful although I have no idea how developers would know this exists based on the documentation in the Codex.

These “magic methods” strike me as one of those “inside baseball” things that not being a full time WordPress developer I’d never know about.  It is very useful and something I’ll certainly remember and use in the future.  Thanks to the WordPress Hackers Mailing List – an incredibly valuable resource.

06.19.12
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wp-SwimTeam v1.31.918 now available

This morning I released an update for wp-SwimTeam.  This version addresses a few issues and completes the Hy-tek Team Manager Roster Import functionality.  You can find it on the Download and Installation page or through the WordPress Dashboard and the Plugin Repository.

  • Completed Hy-tek Roster export. All fields that can be mapped into some sort of logical Hy-tek Team Manager field are now supported. TM supports up to three custom fields in the roster import file, if optional swimmer fields are enabled, the first three (or fewer) will be mapped into the corresponding TM custom field.
  • Fixed bug where in some instances, the first name would be blank.
  • Fixed alignment (right instead of left) of Swimmer Id field on SDIF F0 records in entries export.
  • Fixed minor white space issue in PHP source code which in some cases seems to cause the Job Commitment Report to hang.
06.13.12
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wp-SwimTeam and WordPress 3.4

I see on my Dashboard that WordPress 3.4 is out today.  I knew it would be out soon as I follow the WordPress Hackers and WordPress Testers mailing lists but have not done anything with it yet.  In the past I have tried to do a basic smoke test against one of the release candidates before the final release is out but this time I haven’t had the time to do it.

So the answer to “will it work?” is “I don’t know!”.  I realize that isn’t a very good answer and I will try to test it in the next few days.  My recommendation is to hold off until I’ve done some basic testing.  I am not aware of anything that will break based on what I know is coming but until I test it, you never know!

06.13.12
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Early build of wp-SwimTeam v1.31 now available

This afternoon I posted an early build of wp-SwimTeam v1.31.  You can download and manually install it if you want to try it.  This build completes the work for exporting the roster to Hy-tek Team Manager.  All of the swimmer and parent fields that can be logically mapped into the Team Manager Athlete profile have been mapped.  I was even able to map some of the Swimmer Optional fields (if they’re used) as Hy-tek Team Manager supports importing up to three custom fields.

Download:  [download#14]

If you run into any problems, please let me know.  I’d like to release this update in the next day or so.

06.06.12
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I am now contributing to the E-Mail Users plugin

I am happy to say that I have been granted Subversion commit access to the popular Email Users plugin.  I have been using this plugin for a number of years and have submitted several patches which were included in the 3.4.x releases.  Recently I needed to add some functionality to support the MacDolphins web site and use of the plugin and after submitting a patch, I was invited to be a contributor by Vincent Prat at Marvin Labs which I gladly accepted.

The 4.0.0 release of Email Users is a pretty substantial change.  It updates the plugin to use the WordPress Options API and updated menu API.  It also adds a new feature that allows easy access to managing the email options for one or more users.  No more visiting the User Profile for each user, bulk actions are now available!

More to come over the next few days.

06.05.12
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wp-SwimTeam v1.30.906 addresses entries export bug

In the processes of getting ready for our first meet I found some swimmers who had scratched still appeared in the entries SDIF file.  Odd, this isn’t supposed to be.  Looking into the problem I found that only Freestyle was being processed correctly, all other strokes were not being recognized for Opt-In or Opt-Out.

I have fixed this bug and uploaded a new version as well as pushed it to the WordPress plugin repository.

06.04.12
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wp-SwimTeam v1.29.903 now available

I have just pushed out v1.29.903 of wp-SwimTeam.  This update addresses a couple of bugs, notably with the Job Commitments report, and adds some new functionality.

New in v1.29:

  • Fixed bug which prevented the Job Commitment report from running correctly.
  • Fixed bug which caused “$credit” to appear in the CSV version of the Job Committment Report instead of the actual number.
  • Added new option to set initial value on swimmer labels with numeric sequences.
  • Fixed bug with SDIF profile when Geography was set to US which resulted in a broken form.
  • Elimited some debug code which generated output when exporting entries.

Also included in this build are all of the changes included in the v1.28 beta release which I never formally made available.

  • Added button to Swim Team User Profile form to quickly open user’s WordPress User Profile form.
  • Tidied up several of the reports to make them consistent. Each should now display the HTML report on screen when exporting another format.
  • Re-implemented download solution for actions which generate downloadable files (e.g. CSV, SDIF, etc.)
  • Phase 1 of Hy-tek HY3 export support. Roster can be exported in HY3 format which imports into Hy-tek Team Manager.
  • Fixed bug which enabled job signup for all users regardless of setting on Jobs Options tab.

This update has been committed to the WordPress Plugin Repository and should appear on your WordPress Dashboard shortly and is also available from the Download and Installation page.

05.31.12
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WordPress Google Form v0.30 now available

Similar to yesterday’s update, today I pushed out wpGForm v0.30.  This version  addresses an unusual problem which prevents the custom confirmation CSS from loading properly.

In some cases, it appears that a plugin or theme, through the use of a filter (likely the_content or wpautop), was inserting paragraph tags into the content which by itself isn’t a problem, however when enabled, wpGForm adds a custom CSS block to style the form during processing, so the CSS definition portion of the content ended up with paragraph tags in it.  This results in CSS which won’t parse correctly and of course it never styles the form.  I have updated the plugin to generate the CSS definition as a single line of text where it previously spanned several lines for readability purposes.

The update should appear on your Dashboard shortly and is also available from the WordPress Plugin Repository.

05.30.12
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WordPress Google Form v0.29 now available

Today I pushed out wpGForm v0.29.  This version adds one new feature and addresses an unusual problem which prevents the custom confirmation page, either AJAX or redirection, from loading properly.

In some cases, it appears that a plugin or theme, through the use of a filter (likely the_content or wpautop), was inserting paragraph tags into the content which by itself isn’t a problem, however wpGForm adds a jQuery script to the content during processing, so the jQuery script portion of the content ended up with paragraph tags in it.  This results in Javascript which won’t parse correctly and of course it never runs.  I have updated the plugin to generate the jQuery script as a single line of text where it previously spanned several lines for readability purposes.

Based on several requests, I have added a new short code attribute, sendto=<email address>, which when used in conjunction with email=’on’, will send a form submission note to the specified email address instead of the blog administrator (who is still bcc’d for backup purposes).

The update should appear on your Dashboard shortly and is also available from the WordPress Plugin Repository.

05.18.12
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And there was much rejoicing – Hy-tek HY3 export now in beta!

I have made an early release of wp-SwimTeam v1.28 available for download.  This new version introduces a long requested a feature:  Hy-tek HY3 format export of the roster!  The exported HY3 can be read into Hy-tek Team Manager eliminating the need to hand enter your roster.

The Hy-tec HY3 support is not complete but I wanted to get it out there.  Currently only D1 records are exported, the other record types which contain the contact information and address for the swimmer will be added soon.  Once the roster is complete I plan to move on to meet entries in HY3 format.

Special thanks to Joe Hance and Troy Delano both who have helped me with the Hy-tek checksum and file format.

Download:  [download#14]

Please give it a shot and let me know if you run into any issues.