On 17 Jul 2008, at 15:41, Daniel Brown wrote:
On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 9:55 AM, Stut <stuttle@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Seriously though, I'm wondering if my expectations are too high...
I expect
them to know that addslashes is not adequate protection against SQL
injection. I even had one tell me "SQL injection? I can't remember
but I'm
sure I've used it before". And I won't even go into the guy who
asserted
that he's always worked with DB administrators who've dealt with
security
issues so he'd never needed to learn about it.
1.) It's obvious that addslashes() is not protection against SQL
injection attacks. That's why God invented htmlentities() and
flatfile databases.
Yup, had that one.
2.) No PHP programmer should ever be required to know anything
about databases, server management, mail, or anything. This is
because we all know that we'll someday all work in a Google-like
atmosphere with enough funding to hire other people to work with
databases, servers, HTML, and even a Senior JavaScript Engineer.
I have a ghostwriter who keeps me active on the mailing lists. Best
50p I spend every week!
3.) "SQL injection" is just a buzzphrase. I already know where
baby databases come from.
The big Daddy database spends lots of CPU cycles on the big Momma
database and she eventually lets him put his SQL client into her
console and their SQL statements intermingle until something magic
happens. At least that's what my Daddy told me when I was a little
regex.
4.) Any web programmer worth his or her salt knows that PHP, while
a great language, is not compatible with all browsers. Especially
Microsoft. For people using Windows, you'll need to have an ASP
website.
Indeed. And PHP can't be used for foreign language sites, only US
English. It makes a complete mess of British English sites.
5.) Never sanitize input. It takes too long, and unless you're
dealing with credit cards, no one will ever want to hack your website.
If you are taking credit cards, store them in a firewalled database.
You say this, but the person I just did a phone interview with did
tell me that security is a cost-benefit calculation in terms of both
development time and runtime resources. He said he never bothers
escaping input in Intranet sites. True story!
6.) If you need to copy files from one server to another, make
sure you use FTP over HTTP. It's more secure.
I use an Oompa-Loompas - much more reliable!
7.) register_globals is your friend.
And I hug her, and kiss her and squeeze her tight. *pop*
8.) The best, most-scalable way to create an expandable website is
to use a switch page. Just tack on a ?page=faq.php query to your GET
request, and have PHP automatically `include($page)` (see point #7) in
your switch file.
Ooh, dangerous. I worry about relative paths, so when I do this it's
always with an absolute path... i.e. ?page=/var/www/mywebsite.com/
somedir/faq.php
9.) NEVER store passwords in a PHP script. Instead, store them in
a file named `inc/config.inc` in the web directory, and include them.
I prefer to use .txt as the extension. Makes opening them in Notepad
so much easier.
10.) If running a picture- or file-sharing website, make things
easier on your users and yourself. Allow users to delete their files
by using a simple link like:
http://www.example.com/delete.php?file=images/mygraphic.jpg. Then, in
delete.php, have only one line: <?php unlink($file); ?> (again, see
point #7 --- see how much that's coming in handy now?)
This works best if the web server is running as root. None of those
annoying error messages about not being able to open files that I know
are there!
11.) The most important rule EVER: if you ever have the slightest
problem, DO NOT bother to search the #$@% web (STFW) or read the #@%^
manual (RTFM). There is a mailing list for that. Please ask any and
all questions there, including why your MP3's aren't streaming on your
AnalogX webserver from your home PC to your buddies in Antarctica
after you turn your computer off. "But when I turn my computer off,
the rest of the Internet still works! Hlp me pls!!!1!" We are here
only to serve you. People on mailing lists are paid to write your
code and do your homework for you, and you should expect nothing but
the best, immediate answers, 24/7/365. If they don't respond within
90 seconds, please repost your message every 90 seconds until someone
does. When in doubt, hijack a thread.
Why do birds suddenly go *poof*, every time, you are near?
-Stut
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http://stut.net/
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