find files between two dates

Here's a quick tip for how you can find a file between two dates.
Suppose you are looking for a file you know you worked with last friday. At the time of writing this would be on december 7th. Using the find command you can go to your terminal and add the following code:

find . -type f -newerat "2012-12-07" -not -newerat "2012-12-08"

This would search for files acessed between dec. 7th and dec. 8th.
This code snippet also shows an example of how to use the -newerXY parameter of the find -command.

SSH without password prompting

Usually while working on different computers I am using SSH. Being prompted for a password is not a favourite of mine, so I set up my computers to connect without needing a password. It's easier than you think.

Making an A5 book from a pdf-file

Here's how to create an A5 book from a pdf file. This procedure can be done by creating a script that runs through the needed steps automatically. I'll see if I will do that later. But here is the necessary steps to do this manually.

The mission is to print a folder on A4 paper, and fold it into a book.

1. Calculate:  (number of pages \ 4) + 1 = Sheets  (This is needed as the -s parameter in the psbook-command. If the original document has 9 pages then we need to use the following calculation: (9 \ 4)+1 = 2 + 1 = 3)  2 sheets will hold 8 pages which is one page less than the document. 3 sheets will hold 12 pages and is more than the document.
2. Convert the original file to a .ps-file:  pdftops original.pdf new_original.ps
3. Create the pages in the book: psbook -s3 new_original.ps new_original_book.ps   (Refer to step 1 for info about -s3 parameter)
4. Reorder the pages using psnup: psnup -l -n2 new_original_book.ps new_original_folder.ps  (Parameter -l is to print in landscape, and -n2 is to place 2 pages on each page.)
5. Convert back to pdf-format: ps2pdf new_original_folder.ps folder.pdf
6. Remove temporary files: rm new_original_*

After we have printed the book; the pages should come sequentially as in all books. Fold, staple and deliever you brochure/folder. If the original document is more than 4-5 pages we might want to cut a little in front of the book after we have folded it.

Can git help me?

Sometimes I work on creating my own project management system. More than once I have been thinking about making it into a github or sourceforge project hoping that soemone will find it interesting enough to join in on developing.

I still think it is too much of a specialized project and because of this I have decided to continue the work myself so I can streamline it the way I want it for our company.

This means I need to try new features or another approach for a certain problem. And sometimes it works as expected but sometimes I have been reverting to my previously backed up file. (I.e. copying from another folder.) I have used bazaar in the past but decided I would take a look at git since I have heard so much good thingds about it.

Next AUTO_INCREMENT number in mySQL

Here's a quick little tip if you are going to add a new item in a mySQL table and would like to know the next AUTO_INCREMENT value.

Simply query the mySQL-server for the next value in your table like this:

SELECT AUTO_INCREMENT FROM information_schema.TABLES 
WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA='<DB_NAME>' 
AND TABLE_NAME='<TABLE_NAME>

Replace <DB_NAME> and <TABLE_NAME> with the appropriate DB-schema and table name on your own mySQL server.

Facebook Like-button on your site

Do you want to have a facebook LIKE-button on your site or blog?
Do you know how easy it is?
With just 3 simple edits in the HTML-code you can have the "Like"  button on your site making it easier for people to share your content. I will show you one of the ways you can do this in this post.