MySQL case-sensitive LIKE search
When searching for partial strings in MySQL with LIKE you will match case-insensitive by default.
Posts by Category
Databases
SQL: Get the count of related records
Micro tutorial: SQL select the count of related records and sort by it.
FileMaker
Fix error 853 when encrypting FileMaker databases
Have you ever gotten the following error after trying to encrypt your FileMaker databases?
python-fmrest compatibility with the new FileMaker 17 Data API
A few hours ago FileMaker 17 was released, and with it an updated Data API, which is now finally out of trial phase.
Working with FileMaker data in Python
This is an old post. You may also be interested in accessing your FileMaker database via the new Data API. I wrote a Python wrapper to make it easier: python...
Mathematics
The basics of Logarithms – with examples
Logarithms are widely used in computer science (e.g. for algorithm analyses, floating point number limitations, scaling data, feature transformations). Not c...
LaTeX mathematics cheat sheet
LaTeX is the de facto standard typesetting system for scientific writing. Find a a cheat sheet with the most frequent used mathematics commands here.
Micro Tutorial
MySQL case-sensitive LIKE search
When searching for partial strings in MySQL with LIKE you will match case-insensitive by default.
Running a script in the Windows Local System account
Today I needed to debug a scheduled script and test its behavior when run in the Windows Local System account instead of my regular domain user’s (this was o...
Load password protected Excel files into Pandas DataFrame
When trying to read an Excel file into a Pandas DataFrame gives you the following error, the issue might be that you are dealing with a password protected Ex...
Using vi commands in your bash shell
Entering a long shell command and then moving the cursor around to correct parts of it always felt a bit clunky to me. I remembered some of the <ctrl>/...
Count elementwise matches for two NumPy arrays
Let’s say we have two integer NumPy arrays and want to count the number of elementwise matches.
SQL: Get the count of related records
Micro tutorial: SQL select the count of related records and sort by it.
Pandas: Select rows that match a string
Micro tutorial: select rows of a Pandas DataFrame that match a (partial) string.
Miscellaneous
A few updates
After having neglected my blog over the last few months, I want to start posting more frequently again (New Year’s resolutions and all that).
LaTeX mathematics cheat sheet
LaTeX is the de facto standard typesetting system for scientific writing. Find a a cheat sheet with the most frequent used mathematics commands here.
Python
UnicodeError when running Python script via macOS LaunchAgent
If you are getting UnicodeErrors when reading/manipulating files using a Python script launched by a LaunchAgent or crontab, the problem might lie in the “cu...
Watch a log file and send new lines to an HTTP endpoint – with log2http
Recently, I wanted to watch a couple of log files for new entries and have them sent to an http endpoint for collection and later analysis. I did a quick res...
python-fmrest compatibility with the new FileMaker 17 Data API
A few hours ago FileMaker 17 was released, and with it an updated Data API, which is now finally out of trial phase.
Using launchd agents to schedule scripts on macOS
Even though launchd has been around for quite some time now, I was still using crontab for scheduling some of my scripts until recently. Since launchd Launch...
Load password protected Excel files into Pandas DataFrame
When trying to read an Excel file into a Pandas DataFrame gives you the following error, the issue might be that you are dealing with a password protected Ex...
Bokeh plots with Flask and AJAX
Tutorial on creating Bokeh plots with an AJAX data source, served from an existing Flask app.
The basics of Logarithms – with examples
Logarithms are widely used in computer science (e.g. for algorithm analyses, floating point number limitations, scaling data, feature transformations). Not c...
Count elementwise matches for two NumPy arrays
Let’s say we have two integer NumPy arrays and want to count the number of elementwise matches.
Running Flask on macOS with mod_wsgi/wsgi-express
Tutorial on setting up your Flask application to run on macOS with WSGI
Pandas: Select rows that match a string
Micro tutorial: select rows of a Pandas DataFrame that match a (partial) string.
Comparing two Excel columns with Pandas and Numpy
Having been asked multiple times if I can quickly compare two numeric columns from an excel file, I set up a small Jupyter notebook (and an R script) to show...
Display inline images in a Jupyter notebook with Matplotlib
Today I was working with the MNIST handwritten digits data and wanted to display a few images in a Jupyter notebook. After looking at PIL, then Pillow, I fou...
Debugging Jupyter notebooks
While searching for ways to debug code in a Jupyter notebook, I found a lot of outdated posts. So I decided to quickly write up my findings.
Resolving import issues when deploying Python code to AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda is Amazon’s “serverless” compute platform that basically lets you run code without thinking (too much) of servers. I used Lambda in the past, thou...
Indexing: A few handy ways to access NumPy arrays
The following code snippets should serve as an (incomplete) cheat sheet for accessing NumPy arrays. All examples expect an import numpy as np.
Working with FileMaker data in Python
This is an old post. You may also be interested in accessing your FileMaker database via the new Data API. I wrote a Python wrapper to make it easier: python...
R Stats
Comparing two Excel columns with Pandas and Numpy
Having been asked multiple times if I can quickly compare two numeric columns from an excel file, I set up a small Jupyter notebook (and an R script) to show...
Security
Hidden in plain sight: Alternate Data Streams
Have you ever wondered how a file in a file listing is shown with size 0 bytes but can still contain data? Or maybe wondered where all that meta data is stor...
Systems
HTTP requests with PowerShell’s Invoke-WebRequest – by Example
A few examples on how to do http requests via PowerShell’s Invoke-Webrequest cmdlet.
Hidden in plain sight: Alternate Data Streams
Have you ever wondered how a file in a file listing is shown with size 0 bytes but can still contain data? Or maybe wondered where all that meta data is stor...
UnicodeError when running Python script via macOS LaunchAgent
If you are getting UnicodeErrors when reading/manipulating files using a Python script launched by a LaunchAgent or crontab, the problem might lie in the “cu...
Debugging stories: What’s that 404 error?
Here is a little story about resolving an issue with a web site that turned out not to be an issue with a web site :-)
Running a script in the Windows Local System account
Today I needed to debug a scheduled script and test its behavior when run in the Windows Local System account instead of my regular domain user’s (this was o...
Using launchd agents to schedule scripts on macOS
Even though launchd has been around for quite some time now, I was still using crontab for scheduling some of my scripts until recently. Since launchd Launch...
Using vi commands in your bash shell
Entering a long shell command and then moving the cursor around to correct parts of it always felt a bit clunky to me. I remembered some of the <ctrl>/...
Basic understanding of IPv4 addresses
In a recent project I needed to anonymize IP addresses in tracking data. While masking a few bits from an IP address is not so interesting, it’s a good excus...
VPN: Temporarily solve same subnet conflicts
I recently had the problem of needing to establish a connection to a server behind a VPN that was in the same subnet as the network I was connecting from. Ev...
Running Flask on macOS with mod_wsgi/wsgi-express
Tutorial on setting up your Flask application to run on macOS with WSGI
Sharing a VPN connection with another device on macOS Sierra/El Capitan
There are multiple reasons why you would want to share a VPN connection from your Mac with another device. Maybe you have to install a proprietary VPN client...
Web
HTTP requests with PowerShell’s Invoke-WebRequest – by Example
A few examples on how to do http requests via PowerShell’s Invoke-Webrequest cmdlet.