Buffer Pools in WordPress Databases Are Often Too Small

I publish the WordPress plugin Index WP MySQL For Speed. Fairly often, when supporting that plugin’s users, I find a misconfiguration in the database software that seriously reduces performance. Virtually every WordPress installation uses a MariaDB or MySQL database. That database software has a feature called a *buffer pool*. It is an area of random-access … Read more

How long does food stay good?

I volunteer at the AIO food pantry in Rockland Maine. We, and other food-distribution programs, accept donations from supermarkets and food distribution companies, not to mention many generous people. Packaged groceries — cans, bottles, bags — have a code date on them. This often says something like “Sell by 9/2027” or “Best if used by … Read more

php’s OPcache can get saturated

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series php features

php offers OPcache, an opcode cache. This cache is used to store the results of parsing php code, and its purpose is to speed up server operations by avoiding the overhead reparsing the code for every web or command line request. The OPcache is located in RAM shared by all php processes in a process … Read more

php composer, WordPress, and plugins

This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series php features

At the request of a user I configured the Index WP MySQL For Speed plugin to use php’s composer package manager for installation. That plugin has a mu-plugins component because it sometimes needs to intervene in core and plugin updates. Ordinarily, activating it puts the the code into the mu-plugins/ directory. But some WordPress installations … Read more

Barroom Messiah 2025

Every December, midcoast-Maine impresario and musician Charles Brown Jr organizes an event called the Barroom Messiah. Musicians professional and amateur take over a local taven or other venue for a Saturday afternoon and sing a good part of the Messiah oratorio by G.F. Handel. That’s the one with the famous Hallelujah Chorus and many other … Read more