Lets check to make sure we have everything needed before going on.

• *AMP (Apache MySQL PHP) install
• Knowledge of PHP
• Know what a frame work is (Framework Article)
• Know what MVC is (Wikipedia Entry)

Lets go!
Download:
Download the latest Kohana 3.0 PHP (At the time of this writing: 3.0.1.2) and unpack it somewhere.

Install:
Open the file we just downloaded in your favorite archive program and extract it to a temporary location. Open that temporary location and you should have a folder that is named “kohana” or something like that. Open that folder. Open a new window and open the root directory of your *AMP install. Since I’m using WAMP Server – mine is “C:\wamp\www\”. Next make a new folder in there named “myfirstkohana3″. Copy the files from the “kohana” directory to the “myfirstkohana3″. Make sure your *AMP installation is up and running then point your browser to “http://yourserver/myfirstkohana3/”. You should have a screen stating that everything is “OK”.

If everything is “OK”, then remove or rename the “install.php” file in the “myfirstkohana3″ directory. Next open up the “example.htaccess” file and change the following line:

RewriteBase /kohana/

to:

RewriteBase /myfirstkohana3/


Save it as “.htaccess”.

Now open the “bootstrap.php” file located in the “application” folder and cange the following line:

Kohana::init(array('base_url' => '/kohana/'));

to:

Kohana::init(array('base_url'  => '/mykohana3/',
                   'index_file'=> ''));

Save this file then refresh your browser. You should get something that reads “hello, world!” on your screen.

You might already notice that configuration for KO3 is a little bit more involved, editing two files instead of one, which isn’t a big deal at all.

Now to make our first controller! Open a new document and put the following into it:

<?php
defined('SYSPATH') or die('No direct script access.');

class Controller_Ko3 extends Controller
 {
    public function action_index()
     {
        $this->request->response = 'My First Kohana 3.0 Controller';
     }
 } // End

Save this as “ko3.php” in the “application/classes/controller” folder. You might have noticed another difference between Kohana 2.3.x and 3.0 is the directory structure, not really all that much of difference. Now that you have it saved, point your browser to “http://yourhost/mykohana3/ko3″. You should she “My First Kohana 3.0 Controller” on your screen now.

Now for an explanation of the code.

defined('SYSPATH') or die('No direct script access.');

This line basically tells PHP not load this file directly. It can only be included from the framework.

class Controller_Ko3 extends Controller

This creates an controller which is a class that is extended from the Controller class that is part of the framework.

public function action_index()

This created a public method called “action_index”. The “action_index” method is a default action that is loaded by the framework. It’s like your index.php file so to say.

$this->request->response = 'My First Kohana 3.0 Controller';

This will output “My First Kohana 3.0 Controller” to the screen. This basically works like “echo”.

Pretty easy eh? Now if you wanted to add addition action to your controller you would add another public method that has a prefix of “action_” and the you would access via going to “http://yourserver/myfirstkohana3/controller/action”

Let go ahead and add a new method to our “ko3″ controller by adding the following after the “action_index” method:

    public function action_another()
     {
        $this->request->response = 'Another action';
     }

Save the file and loaded up “http://yourserver/mykohana3/ko3/another” in your browser. If all goes well you should see “Another action” in your browser.

That was fun an all, but lets make it a little bit more dynamic!

Copy this code and put it after the “action_another” method:

    public function action_dynamic($say)
     {
        $this->request->response = 'You said: '.$say;
     }

Save this and load “http://yourserver/mykohana3/ko3/dynamic/Monkey” and you should see “You said: Monkey”

Untill next time, when I will go over the first part of views, happy coding!
Sources used: Unofficial Kohana 3 Wiki

I want to challenge you to do something for someone else this Holiday Season, expecting nothing in return.  Prepare a dinner for a family, give a gift to a child that won’t be getting presents this year, serve dinner to the homeless…give back any way you can, it doesn’t have to be big!  One of the greatest things about life for me is helping others.  Experiencing and seeing the joy on their faces when they are told their next meal is taken care of is gratifying.

I am not only challenging you but I have taken this challenge on myself and hope to make an impact on a young women’s life who is pregnant with her third child.  She can fit all her belongings into the run down car that she drives to and from work.  She is stuggling to survive in this world alone with three children.  She has been chosen by my small group and I to sponsor this year for Christmas.  We asked her this week if we could help give them a Christmas and she has already thanked us about 5 times…can you imagine her relief?  The basics for her and her children will be taken care of this Christmas all because of the willingness to Pay it Forward.

A couple of days before we found out this distressful bit of info, our realtor brought to my attention that we’d been shown 137 houses in three months. We’d made five offers, all of which had fallen through in negotiations. Her tone conveyed that we were running out of options if we wanted to beat the deadline.

Negotiations. If there was anything during these hard times I’d heard over most of 2009 with regard to home buying, it was: “It’s a buyer’s market”. “If a seller can’t pay your closing costs then they’re being unreasonable”. “NO ONE pays list price on a house nowadays”. None of these suggestions came directly from our realtor, but she also didn’t disagree with them. And so we approached our offers with these jewels of advice in mind.

It just never worked out the way we heard that it would. On two of the houses, the sellers were insulted by our offers of a few thousand below list and closing costs – so incredibly insulted that they considered not even counter-offering. Hey, we were just entering the negotiations expecting the seller to counteroffer, not trying to lowball them. But on all of the five houses, there was just no compromise. We’d been told that paying list price was just ridiculous, yet any time we entered negotiations the sellers seemed unwilling to come much off their list price even if their home had been on the market for 30, 60, 90 or 180 days!

I’m so glad we didn’t jump into a mortgage just to beat some deadline. Was our negative first-time homebuyer experience in this economy just a result of an unfortunate series of unreasonable sellers? Or was word of mouth wrong about it being a “buyer’s market”?

For the past couple of months we’ve been making renovations on a house that we’ll soon be moving into.  The 2 rooms upstairs has been our main focus for now.  In the beginning I maintained my girly girl sheek, but as time went on it slowly became apparent that it wasn’t working out.  If I was going to get down and dirty I needed to let go of a few daily routines.  Reality is we need to get these two rooms done before we move.  Trimming some time away from tackling renovations to do my nails, hair and whatever else was not an option.  I didn’t dare.  I would have gotten “the look.”

And so, my nails haven’t seen a jar of polish in about a month.  I’ve put my jewelry away for the time being.  My lip gloss collection has been severely neglected.  I’ve been roughing it.  Twice in the past week I’ve sat down to work with plaster in my hair and stuck in my nails.  I’ve found comfort in baggy shorts, men’s t-shirts and old flip flops.  My hair hasn’t seen a good conditioning mask for at least a month.  Sigh.

On a positive note, I will say that this project  has been quite empowering.  Originally we were going to hire a contractor to do it, but, for the sake of preserving and restoring the history of the house, we’re doing it ourselves.  There is an enormous sense of pride in that.  Huge!  Has it been worth sporting the grunge style for a bit?  I would have to say yes…even if I’m still picking plaster out of my hair and nails as I type this.

And the trailer for the movie for your viewing pleasure…

“If you can dodge a wrench – you can dodge a ball!!”

Well September 11th changed all that.  Never in my life time did I imagine that I would need to be worried about this great country and NEVER did I think I would see my friends leave behind their loved ones and their life’s to go to war.  Now whether or not you agree with the politics behind all of this is a mute point.  The fact is thousands of Americans (some of them my very close friends) are answering this country’s call.  They believe so strongly in what this country stands for that they are willing to die for it.

So is one day enough to say thank you to these folks for their sacrifice?  NO!  We need to be thinking of them and keeping them and their families (because they too have made a huge sacrifice) in our minds and our prayers everyday (I’m probably more than a little biased here but you get the point).  Get involved, volunteer, let our armed forces know that you appreciate them.  There are hundreds organizations – Adopt-a-Platoon, US Troop Support, USO etc – that could use your help to support our troops.

While it’s important to nationally recognize past and present soliders, I want you to take it a step further, go upto military personnel wherever you might see them and shake their hand (I always do this when I see them in the airport.  They look at me a little funny when I first approach them but they appreciate the fact that I take the time.)  Tell them thank you in person.  It means a great deal to them that you recognize and appreciate them.   After all they are fighting for our freedom and democracy.

Some people who will read this post are Black Friday veterans who already know a thing or two about the day. We’d love to hear from you about your best tips, lessons you’ve learned and what confused you the most when you were staring out.

Others may be brand new to Black Friday. Some many not even know what Black Friday is. To those, let us know what most confuses you or what you’d like to know more about.

Leave your questions (and answers) in the comments!

Black Friday.

DealTaker has long been a go to destination for Black Friday information and I think that’s because of the enthusiasm everyone here has for this time of year. There’s a real hubub when a new ad comes in. We all get excited and everyone from the content team, to the merchants, marketing and the developers get chatty when a new ad comes in.

We’ve done some things this year to help make the Black Friday information easier to find. First of all, check out our new and improved 2009 Black Friday Ads page. There’s always a lot of information coming from lots of different directions so we’ve done our best on that page to keep it organized and easy to find. On the left hand side is a list of all the stores that we had ads for last year. As the ads come in a check mark will show up next to it. Click on the store name and you’ll find all of the ad info (including product lists and ad scans when available).

On the main page you’ll also notice that we’re aggregating all of the Black Friday coupons that come in from merchants as well.

This week is always a busy week as tons of new ads come in, so check back regularly for all the most up to date info. And know that when a new ad comes in your trusty DealTaker staff is just as excited as you are!

I hope the result of adding more stores is that people who come to DealTaker will better be able to find what they are looking for with our increased variety of merchants.  Moving in to the holiday season, I hope everyone will be able to find exactly what they want, at the price they want, starting right here at DealTaker.com!

Well, we heard you, DealTakers! We are proud to announce that DealTaker.com now has a printable Grocery Coupons page! From here you’ll be able to search among a huge collection of grocery coupons. Just find and check the ones you want, then print them up from the convenience of home!

Best of all it’s free.

Now you can save even more money with DealTaker than you did before!