Ed The Dev .com » Programming

Cool People: Geoffrey K. Pullum

Edward Delaporte — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:05:08 +0000

In a feat of awesome nerd-ness, Geoffrey K. Pullum wrote the Computability Theory Halting Problem described in Dr. Seuss style.

Favorite Vim commands

Edward Delaporte — Sat, 29 May 2010 20:44:39 +0000

:!python %: Run the current file in Python
:% s/regex/replacement/g: Replace every instance of the regex with the given expression.
:! svn ci %: Check the current file into SVN version control.
ESC 77 G i: Jump to line 77 in the file, then return to edit mode.
ESC $ i: Jump to end of line, then return to edit mode.
ESC A: Start editing at the end of the current line.

More great vim commands.

New Programming Jargon

Edward Delaporte — Sat, 15 May 2010 07:03:57 +0000

GlobalNerdy.com has declared a new list of programming jargon. Color me amused.

Background noise for programming

Edward Delaporte — Sat, 15 May 2010 07:01:33 +0000

It’s a lot easier to write software in a noise-free environment, or predictable consistent background noise. A good set of headphones is a must, and an iPod application or two can be really handy.

White Noise by TMSoft is currently my favorite. Their boat rocking, railroad tracks bumps and various types of rain are great for relaxing just the right amount.

I also highly recommend the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie sound track, and just about anything composed by John Williams.

Update: My friend Rob pointed me to the incredibly awesome Trance Around the World Podcast. Highly recommended.

Declarative programming

Edward Delaporte — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 04:42:34 +0000

This article has a cool description of something I’ve been working on in my own programming style lately:

If code describes intent, rather than incidentals, it will better stand the test of time.

I figure it also gives each compiler a better chance to optimize for whatever exotic chip-set the code someday runs on.

Cheese and Resource Locking

Edward Delaporte — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 03:13:01 +0000

Although I too am a fan of really good resource locking algorithms; I suspect that this gentleman’s attempt to get his wife excited about them is just going to lead to her being a little less quick to fix the printer for him next time he needs help. The article is probably funny to anyone, and it’s hilarious if you’ve ever had to implement or fix a resource locking algorithm. ” title=”http://stackoverflow.com/questions/895296/how-can-you-tell-if-a-person-is-a-programmer

” target=”_blank”>stackoverflow.com/questions/895296/how-can-you-tell-if-a-person-is-a-programmer

I would add to the list, if he or she actually is aware of (and has tried to optimize) their response algorithm for when people interrupt them from deep thought.

Google Playground

Edward Delaporte — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:22:48 +0000

The Google code playground gets it exactly right. The panel in the upper left is for exploring their example code. The panel to it’s right is for both reading and tweaking their example code. The panel on the bottom is for running it and seeing the output, including whatever changes you have made. Well played Google, well played! RegularExpressions.info so often that I think I could never forget it.

I’m sure you love that website as much as I do; but you might not realize that they have some great pages dedicated to individual languages, such as .Net: Installing the Eclipse Android Plugin

Step 2: Write ‘Hello World’: Hello World for Android with Eclipse

Step 3: Bask in the aura of how much nicer Java is than Objective-C, and how much simpler it is to read two web pages than watch 15 videos through iTunes.

It’s hard to express how nice a first impression the Android plugin for Eclipse makes. It’s a much nicer experience to work with than XCode. Of course, so is getting poked in the eye by a monkey; so not the most relevant comparison.