To display WordPress categories in a paragraph with comma separators instead of bullet points, you need to modify the code that displays them.You can use the the_category function, but change the separator parameter. Here's how: 

1. Identify the Code: Locate the code in your theme's template files (e.g., single.php, archive.php) that's responsible for displaying the categories. It likely uses the_category() or wp_list_categories.
2. Modify the Separator: Use the the_category() function and specify a comma as the separator:

Code

    <?php the_category(', '); ?>

This will display the categories separated by a comma and a space. You can adjust the separator as needed. 

1. Optional: If using wp_list_categories: Instead of wp_list_categories, which defaults to a list, you can use get_the_category() and implode() to achieve the same result:

Code

    <?php
    $categories = get_the_category();
    $category_names = array();
    foreach ($categories as $category) {
        $category_names[] = $category->cat_name;
    }
    echo implode(', ', $category_names);
    ?>

Example:

If you have the following code:

Code

<?php the_category(); ?>

Replace it with:

Code

<?php the_category(', '); ?>

At Deft Flux, we are curing business information headaches, and we are doing it because we care.  Here is an example.

Epicor has several different paths whereby one may create a customization.  So far, we have found the Business Process Management (BPM) method directive to be the most useful.  Why?

BPMs are powerful:

• They can be as simple as an informational message.
• They can throw exceptions and block completion of an update.
• They can be as sophisticated as a call to a Progress Advanced Business Language (ABL) program or a .NET web service.
• In extreme cases, the business object method could be totally replaced.

BPMs are easy to deploy and keep upgrades simple:

• They use callbacks to run your code either directly before or after the business object method so change to the business object method is avoided.
• As soon as a BPM is saved and enabled, it is effective on all client machines.
• They require the simple checking of a box to enable and disable.
• Upgrades sometimes will break a BPM, so you want to validate and test them.

Next time we will talk about a more complex BPM that we might build to meet a specific need.  Our mission is to make your life easier.  If you need real help designing elegant solutions to real business requirements, give us a call.

On occasion, an Epicor ERP user will want to write a report that requires a hierarchical view of a part's multi-level bill of material.  In Epicor, we would prefer to do this using a Business Activity Query (BAQ).  The Epicor 10 BAQ tool is much more powerful than the tool from version 9, so it comes close to being able to do this, but just misses the mark.  In order to query a hierarchical BOM, we must write the SQL and create a view in the database.  Once we create the view, we can use a BAQ to access it (in version 9 or version 10 as long as we're using SQL Server), or we can query it directly using an SSRS report.  Herewith, we provide the SQL:

with pm as (select x.Company, x.PartNum, x.RevisionNum, QtyPer, 
                   FixedQty, MtlPartNum as ChildPartNum
              from erp.PartMtl x 
                       inner join erp.PartRev pr on pr.Company = x.Company
               and pr.PartNum = x.PartNum
               and pr.RevisionNum = x.RevisionNum
               and pr.Approved = 1
               and pr.EffectiveDate <= GetDate()
               and pr.EffectiveDate = (select max(effectiveDate)
              from erp.PartRev pr2
             where pr2.Company = pr.Company
               and pr2.PartNum = pr.PartNum
               and pr2.Approved = 1
               and pr2.EffectiveDate <= GetDate()) ),
     bm as (select 1 as BOMLevel, 
                   root.PartNum as TopLevelPartNum, root.*,
                   cast(root.QtyPer as decimal(30,10)) as PartQty
              from pm as root
             where not exists (select null 
                                 from Erp.PartMtl b 
                                where b.MtlPartNum = root.PartNum)
             union all
            select BOMLevel + 1 as BOMLevel, 
                   bm.TopLevelPartNum, node.*,
                   cast(node.QtyPer * bm.PartQty as decimal(30,10)) as PartQty
              from pm as node inner join bm on bm.Company = node.Company
               and bm.ChildPartNum = node.PartNum)
select *
  from bm

Several of our clients have experienced the infamous 7175 error and the subsequent "Tried to call a method in an invalid procedure. (7224)" error.  This error normally indicates a broken network connection between the client machine and the server, so after a user sees this error, Epicor will stop functioning withal.  For users with elusive but persistent network hiccups, this is especially aggravating.

Why does this happen?  It happens because Client/Server systems are designed to require a stateful network connection.  By contrast, the World Wide Web and thus Web applications operate on stateless connections.  In less technical terms, this means that while you can pull your network cable or turn off your WiFi and come back to your web application, and it will still work fine, a Client/Server application must always have a solid network connection, so if that connection is broken -- even momentarily -- it must be renegotiated.  While network problems are not our bailiwick, we do want to help folks use their ERP systems more efficiently.

How should I deal with this? The sure-fire way to get back up and running is to close the Epicor client software and start over.  This action, however, closes all open windows and clears all unsaved data.  Therefore, before resorting to "...turning it off and back on again," we advise that the user go back to the main menu and try "File >> Suspend" ¹ and then "Resume."  In most cases, this will resolve the issue and the user will be able to continue working.  This works because the Suspend/Resume command disconnects the client from the server and then reconnects it.

1. Note that to enable "Suspend" for a user, the system administrator must go to the User Entry form and check the "Can Suspend" box.

Recently, we have made a determination. If you are standing up an enterprise database to support mission critical applications, Oracle is the only database worth considering.

Microsoft SQL Server is fine as far as you can throw it. If you plan to go beyond a mid-tier application, however, you will eventually wish you had used Oracle.

At IBM databases, we only scoff....unreliable, slow, buggy, arcane. What else can we say?

Save yourself a lot of headaches, and go with Oracle.

Oh, you want evidence to back up our claims? Someday soon...we promise. Right now, we have to go write more software because the IBM database is taking up all of our time.

At Deft Flux, we value Relationships, Humor, and Beauty. 

When we say we value relationships, it means we sacrifice technology on the altar of relationships (not the other way round); it means we value people over mammon; it means we believe efficiency often comes at a price that we are unwilling to pay. 

We bend technology to our will.

Note that this is categorically different from saying "we value good system architecture" or "we strive for well-written code." Those goals are nebulous and change over time. We might compromise on them to meet some higher goal. Staying true to the things we love, however, affects how we do business, and we pursue them without compromise, even when costs us. 

Just now, I started to set up my own Microsoft Bookings page, and noticed that the informational bubble says, "Schedule with ease and create your personal booking page to share your availability without any back and forth with others."  This phrasing stopped me short.  I know they are getting at the frustration that can happen when you go back and forth forever, trying to get a meeting time, but that sentence also says, "...without any unnecessary [interaction] with [people]." The heading should say "Impersonal booking page."

Most of us have been receiving a few "schedule time with me" links, and while helpful, even necessary, they are impersonal.  Furthermore, when you simply start by sending two or three options for meeting times, you eliminate 98% of the back and forth, without giving up the personal touch.

We bend technology to our will.

Modern software design sucks eggs. When you use an application like YouTube, you expect the primary purpose is to find certain videos you want to watch. Instead, you realize its purpose is to keep your eyeballs on the screen. When you use Microsoft Teams, you realize the purpose of the application is to tell you about new features or features they moved on you. I am not old, but old enough to remember a time when most software was designed for a user-centered purpose and did its job well. You could get in, get it, and get out.

Folks, we can do better.