The power of 301 – moved permanently

When using a web-browser to visit a website your browser uses HTTP headers to request information from a server by using http REQUEST headers.

Upon REQUEST a server responds to the request with a http RESPONSE.

The definition of HTTP header fields is: HTTP header fields are components of the header section of request and response messages in the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). They define the operating parameters of an HTTP transaction. This basically means that a browser requests information from a server (Request headers) and gets a response upon that request (Response headers).

Your browser can make a wide variety of requests to a server. As you are able to see on this Wikipedia page about HTTP header fields. There are a lot of REQUESTS a browser can make from a server, it is important (in order to know the internet) to memorise all possible requests a browser can make. (nah.. just take a look at them once and you will be ok.)

Server RESPONSES on the other hand, can tell you much more about what is going on in the background when you open up a page. There are only 5 types of server responses and they are easily remembered. The server responses use values in the 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 range as follows:

  • 1xx Informational
  • 2xx Successful
  • 3xx Redirection
  • 4xx Client Error
  • 5xx Server Error

The response header 301 Moved Permanently is pretty powerful. I will show you one basic – yet powerful – application of it.

Sending targeted e-mails to your site users containing third party tracking links

Email servers do not like it when you add links to your emails that are referring to third party sites or affiliate marketing tracking system in order for you to measure the effectiveness and reach of your outgoing e-mails. In order to avoid your emails to get rejected by the recipients mail-server you are able to host a click-out file on your server. This allows you to add third-party measurement logic to the file and link to that location, instead of linking directly to a statistics system (with the risk of your emails not being received).

Codecademy

Codecademy

“Codecademy is an education company. But not one in the way you might think. They are committed to building the best learning experience inside and out, making Codecademy the best place for you to learn, online learning experience of the future. Education is old. The current public school system in the US dates back to the 19th century and wasn’t designed to scale the way it has. Lots of companies are working to “disrupt” education by changing the way things work in the classroom and by bringing the classroom online.”  

Go here to sign up at Codecademy if you want to learn to code. This is a pretty good way to start. Very nice interfaces and training programs. Really, really solid.

Coursera

Coursera Logo

Coursera is an education platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. They envision a future where everyone has access to a world-class education and aim to empower people with education that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in.

Learning online with Moodle

ON-LINE OR ONLINE?

Although a few stodgy editors and style guides still recommend the 1990s-style on-line (with a hyphen) for the computing-related adjective, the trajectory of the language favors online. The latter is now considered acceptable by most dictionaries and English usage guides, and most major publications have changed with the times. Perhaps and perhaps more important, online is far more common in popular usage. 
(Grammarist is definitely on to something here)

Online it is. Rightfully as well. Let’s continue…

You can learn all kinds of stuff in your own pace and on your skill level. The fact that there are a lot of sites and tools available through the wonders of the World Wide Web (why web addresses need the // in the URL also leaves me in the dark) definitely helps as well. God dammit I already start to sound a bit (lol) like some nerd already before we even got started. Oh well, you’ll just have to deal with i and it will be better. ok? You with me? I will attempt to remove any clutter from the things I write and get to the point as soon as possible if possible. Starting from.. Now. In my professional life I create on-line learning portals and programs myself.

Weapon of choice? There can be only 1:

MOODLE

It’s open source. Has the biggest active community (Proof me wrong). Actually looks pretty cool now in comparison to the early days, even by default (See the screenshot at the bottom of the post) It takes a bit of time to get around it in an natural way, but when you do it serves your educational needs. Although the huge amount of options (especially in administrator or editing mode) might get you lost sometimes. Once you get around. You get around and take some little quirks for granted.

I installed one on http://www.mauricebakker.nl/learn/ when I modify things I’ll add it to the blog.

Old Moodle used to look like this.. Pretty slick.