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CakePHP Rating System

I was thinking about adding a rating system (1-5 stars) to a cakephp site I run, and was looking forward to it.  But then I remembered the cardinal rule of software development, especially in the internet age: check and see if someone has done it first.

And someone had. Updated 6/2/2105: The previous link no longer works.  If I had to, I’d try this plugin instead (but I haven’t).

The biggest issue I ran into is making sure that I added the javascript helper to every controller that uses the default layout.  If I didn’t do that, I got a blank white screen.  Other than that, smooth sailing.

google_debug parameter: Google Ad Manager Help

I’m using Google Ad Manager because OpenX didn’t get back to me quickly enough when I requested a free hosted account.  Sorry, it’s not Google Ad Manager, it’s Double Click for Publishers.  Whoops.

It’s relatively complicated software, probably because serving ads is relatively complicated business.  I have hacked my way through it, but the single most helpful tip I found was to append <code>?google_debug</code> to the page you’re trying to get the ad displaying on.  This pops up a window with what is basically a stack trace of the javascript execution on your page.  You might not understand all of it, but you can definitely cut and paste the message you find into the Google Ad Manager help search, and find more useful answers.