Monthly Archives: May 2023

Top 10 Wolfram Alpha queries for a developer

Wolfram Alpha is a computational engine that can provide expert-level knowledge-based answers to questions. I use it to help with everyday work, mainly to perform simple calculations or conversions and for some analysis.

I compiled a list of my top 10 queries in random order:

Timestamp calculations
timestamp for June 1st, 2023, 13:34 UTC
I can quickly get a timestamp for a date in any format or perform other date conversions.

Average of a few numbers
average of {254ms, 419ms, 286ms, 295ms, 289ms} in seconds
It calculates an average of listed numbers and converts milliseconds to seconds. It’s usually quicker than opening a spreadsheet, adding numbers, and writing a formula.

Currency conversions
1700 USD to PLN
I can convert any currency using live rate data.

Basic IP details
check ip 79.110.202.123
I can see basic information for a given IP address.

Date difference calculations
weekdays until June 27th
Calculate how many work days are left before the given date (e.g., deadline).

Details about addresses
state for zipcode 60104
Get a state for a given zip code.

Weight conversions
convert 10lb to kg
I used it a lot when working on e-commerce.

Logical expressions
P && (Q || R)
I can analyze logical expressions and check if they can be simplified.

Colors conversions
rgb 79, 148, 212
It allows converting colors from RGB to hex and many different formats.

Calculate string length
string length “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.”
I can check string length.

Do you use Wolfram Alpha too? Do you know any other helpful queries?

Staging Sites on WordPress.com

WordPress.com users have been missing the staging sites feature for years. Here are some quotes I found on the forums:

Does the wp.com business plan offer a staging environment or a recommendation on how to make deployment go smoothly?

julescowan1

How do I set up a staging website?

morganelaine51

I want to work on another theme on a live site. Can I create a staging site to do that in a wordpress.com site?

dlshio

Do any of the WordPress.com plans have staging features? A client of mine has a Business hosting account and I’m trying to understand whether there’s something built in or not. If not, can you suggest options? Thanks in advance

antimofm

As a developer working on my site or a contractor working for a client, I agree, as I used a staging site for most projects I was involved with. The feature can also be helpful for non-developer users, e.g., bloggers or site owners, as they can create a staging site, play with some themes and plugins, experiment with content, and then apply those on the production site if they like the outcome.

I’m happy that it changed this month! Along with my team, we’ve added support for staging sites on WordPress.com, and I had a chance to lead the technical part of the project. Now users on Business and Commerce plans can add one staging site for their production site. The feature is powerful, creating an environment almost like the production environment. 

We still miss the feature allowing users to synchronize data from production to staging or vice versa. Still, at least for one direction, users can use the “cattle not pets” approach and delete the staging site to recreate it fresh based on the production site. 

If you want more details, check out the official staging sites announcement.