When can we expect a stand alone HTML rendering engine properly wrapped (and supported) by QT. Yes I know they have a rich text widget that supports simple HTML rendering BUT I have a project that needs something more sophisticated. Is there a KHTML or Gecko wrap out there that would give me x-platform across Linux, Windows and the Mac for use with stand alone QT applications???
Taking this to the next level -- I seem to recall that most bank robberies use getaway cars to leave the scene of the crime. Therefore it only makes sense that we should all pay a special road tax which would partly go to the insurance companies (that cover the money stolen, making up for their losses) and the rest to the bank tellers for the emotional distress caused by society having provided the means to escape.
Actually I think programming has gotten *MUCH* worse with GUI based programming environments like Delphi, VB and even Visual Studio. These tools strongly encourage painting the program and responding to events rather then concentrating on abstractions, infrastructure and good design. In making things easier, they fail to allow programmers to understand what goes on under the hood and most younger programmers (who never really had to understand what goes on) are programming via wizards that assumes a certain architectures and approach. Outside in (GUI based) programming methodologies usually collapse after programs reach a certain size and complexity.
I was involved with such a problem on a failed start-up (which didn't get funding for going into operation after we had solved the problem). We used Install Anywhere for our initial distribution and the app itself was written in java, stored in two signed jars which included a generic "key". When it came time to first run or upgrade the app, a request was sent to a server (apache+servlets) which took its info from the jars (generic or unique key + sig) and returned back a new jar(s) with any upgrades/patches (new jars were themselves were each "uniquely" keyed and signed).
The app itself was started by a launcher which would watchdog the app and could report/then fall back the patches/new code if it didn't work. We could (by option) track users/problems/usage statistics and control upgrades for each user. Finally, we have a diagnostic applet (+HTML page) in the same jar which the user could then start from a browser to deal with failed system/comm/proxy issues.
It worked extremely well during the pilot -- interestingly the most important feature turned out to be the diagnostic applet which saved us huge amounts of time during the trial rollouts, test cycles and releases. Our biggest expenses came from initial support and upgrades.
Northgate keyboards are occasionally sold on e-bay for around $50-$100. Most seem to come from vintage machines retired from server rooms.
BTW -- I'm typing this on a Northgate Omnikey 102 keyboard that I bring to work as I move from job to job. It has followed me through about 20 development contracts across 3 continents -- it (believe it or not) still has that silky, firm, clicky feeling (that made Northgate so great) after 17 YEARS of 40-50 hour work weeks -- generating a couple million lines of code and 100's of documents (NO KIDDING) !!!!
Towards the end of my mathematics degree I discovered the greatest secret for ***REALLY*** enjoying and getting into any mathematical subject -- simply ask the other students who there favourite math lecturers were.
In my final year I only took courses that were taught by those individuals which were regarded as gifted lecturers or who could enjoy themselves in class with their students. It was the VERY BEST year I ever had in school and one which even today (15 years afterwards) brings a smile to my face. I have shared this secret with a dozen young students (co-op students, children of friends and co-workers, etc) and each and every one has repeatedly thanked me for it. Ask other students who they really enjoyed being with and why and try to make your decision based on their answers. You might be pleasantly surprised
Re:Guys stop bashing Miguel for going with .NET
on
Coding with KParts
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Perhaps the biggest complaint with ActiveX was all the overlapping confusing interfaces and APIs that one has to become familiar with in order to properly code a component (especially during its early days). Couple that with obtuse confusing documentation (which has improved over the years) and you had (still have?) a real stomach bleed when implementing a new control back then. -- Version 2 is always cleaner, nicer and more consistent;)
Call me when they release OS X for x86, otherwise I'm not interested.... (The weight of both linux and OS X might just might be just enough critical mass for swaying the desktop!!!)
Let's everyone buy one and help the economy
on
Webpads, Anyone?
·
· Score: 1, Troll
I seem to remember when these first appeared as prototypes floating around comdex a couple of years back. It seems that most everyone thought that a PDA on steriods was a great idea and wanted one. I vote we all go out and get one anyway (whether you like it or not) and help the economy. Oh, you can't because you lost your job, in hock to your neck from debt built on equity in the form of high-tech stocks and your too busy papering the walls that load of options to a closed-up dot-bomb....shucks!!!!
An encryption algorithm
has recently appeared where the author makes some extraordinary claims about its strength. The German Government had even threatened the author with prison for trying to create commerical applications with it.
Comments Please:
Wasn't there a time when crimes needed to be committed within the sovereign territory of the country involved before someone got arrested (Terrorism, murder, et al aside). Since this person didn't crack PDFs within the USA, nor is the software sold here directly by that person (it needs to be imported), what gives the US Govenment the right to arrest him (other then it can).
There was a time when the West condemned the Communists governments for heavy-handed treatment of those who committed "economic crimes against the state", holding up the free market model as an example (including its civil courts as a resolution mechanism).
Who needs to wait for a world government -- its already here -- just open a corporation, make the right size contributions to your favourite party and you too will be "given" the right to be heard.
An excellent example!!! This exactly what happened to me when I was in my mid-20's. I helped developed the test systems that are used to ground test the space shuttle's robotic manipulator systems. I was a hotshot, nominated for engineer of the year at Spar and walked on water, but was paired up with a "Senior Staff Engineer" who was twice my age and so far up the engineering totem pole that you need binoculars to see him otherwise. He was BRILLANT, a Soviet national mathematics champion as a child, a Ph.D later, who excaped the system and went to Israel and finally to Canada where he worked as an Lead Aerospace Engineer and Space systems designer.
It was the best thing that could every have happened to me. He could reel me in on a snap and kept me focused on the tasks at hand, explained the politics surrounding what was going on, spend hours discussing design and ultimately let "do my thing" but provided the insight to understand not just what needed to be done, but the whys, wherefores and hows that went within the decision making process. I learned to recognise that building complex systems is never a one person task, that regardless of how good you are there will always be one person better and it is even more fun to "really" work with others then being a lone wolf.
I will always look back to that time with great admiration and respect for that man, not for the lessons found in Scientific and Engineering R+D but on how to be a good team member and more importantly, how to be a more compassionate and decent person. In other words, he helped me to grow, taught me what it means to act as a professional -- and for that I will always be grateful.
Ok, now change the scenario a bit: John #34 is on Avenue 1 with an outstanding warrant for triple homicide, but for torturing and killing 3 cops. Do you think the police are simply going to walk up to you and simply ask you for your ID???????
Guns drawn, nervous, shaking hands (hey, one of those guys was my drinking buddy at the academy) around a 9mm Glock, a slightly too tight grip, an accidental squeeze -- BANG -- your head is turned to garbage with your brains all over the walls.
Will not the inclusion of so many different JFS now make it appear that linux is fragmenting? Yes I know that choice is good, but what about having to choose between so many good opinions?
ReiserFS, XFS and JFS will likely all do an excellent job but with so much overlap in functionality how will the community respond -- how will corporate america choose (more particularly, who will the CIO/CTO/VP of MIS decide to listen to, when fights break out among the tech staff over which JFS to use.
Choice is a great thing, its the choosing that's the killer.
I think your missing my point. Yes C++ is multiparadigm (and I have used all 3 within the same architecture for reasons of speed, conherency and reuse, etc) but therein lies its weakness. It is a rather complex language to first learn and my experience has been that more often then not the majority of programmers will learn just enough to "get the job done" rather then work through the features of the language and do the best possible job with it.
To shift perspective, its much the same issue as having to study poetry in a foreign language. There is the barrier of the language itself and the metaphorical issues the poet is trying to present. It can be extremely difficult to get at the latter when confronted with the former and C++ for all its glory (btw its still my favourite development language) does itself present quite a steep learning curve, one that really must be surmounted before **really** appreciating OO.
Unfortunately the reality of having to timely deliver code in the real world more times then not prevents newbie programmers from truely exploiting the full potential of OO unless they have senior staff to guide them and understanding employers willing to make that investment.
After 10 years of programming with C++, working on projects big and small, my only gripe with the language is its complexity and the discipline required to truly master it. I started with 7 years of C before moving over to it and it still required tutalage and guidance to master it and without strict attention to OO concepts and details and a strong desire to learn "how to do it right" you consistently end up with piles of one-layer classes (translation: lots of classes which are actually just structs with getters and setters methods) and lots of procedural like flow wrapped in other classes. Its not that OO is particularily difficult, but the complexity of the language to achieve OO results tends to dissuade newbies from going to for it. Ever try explaining pointer to a novice, how about pointer vs references? The number of times I've seen object life-cycle (read memory leaks) handle incorrectly, even by experts (myself included) is daunting and learning how to use first collection classes for the first time can be overwelming, especially when confronted with obfuscated error messages.
Over the last few years, I along with many experienced cohorts have now come to shutter when confronted with new projects where management simply thinks a couple of weeks of guerrila programming classes will turn VB programmers into qualified C++ developers.
Its too easy to cheat with the language and revert back to "proceduralness" and the benefits of **REAL** OO are rarely apparent at first appearance. Couple that with management's usual push for "getting thing done a quickly as possible" and you more often then not end with quite a mess.
Java is much nicer to many reasons (including standardized GUI classes, memory management, etc) and requires less initial effort.
Delphi also quite nice but its the deadliest two edge sword I have ever seen. Too much of the language is tied to its development environment. Most coders simply utilized the "Automagical" code generation facilities and never really understand what goes on underneath and hence never really learn what OO is and what can be done with its concepts when software is crafted thoughtfully or correctly.
I agree completely but the **real** problem is we now live with an industry that resorts to snap, crackle and pop rather then intelligent functionality. The move to "pretty" is overwelming when motivated by the need to impress reviewers and salesmen devoted to plying their wares to the mass buying and usually unsuspecting public.
Issues like supporting cost-effective monochrome displays with its resulting lower prices also means lower commissions and less profits. Its ironic that I know so many people who would comparison shop for the cheapest soap and shampoo prices seem too often reliant on a salesmen for higher priced goods, who themselves are usually more interest in furthering their own ends rather then the needs of their clients. I agree that monochrome displays would likely fit the needs of most people most of the time -- but tell them that they might need it 1% of the time and they will not give up the option.
During a trip to the Far East a couple of years back, I was very surprised to see the number of laptops that appeared on office desks. I commented on it to my guide who then pointed out the obvious; Laptops represented a **HUGE** proportion of office desktop market for one very good reason, the amount of desk space occupied is much smaller (primarily because of the screen) and (at that time) there was no other option then to get a "space saving computer" -- the proper name when referring to the laptops over there (which btw, rarely leave the office or even get unplugged).
Further, a friend in Japan tells me that the number of relatively new tube monitors appearing on the street during garbage day has risen dramatically over that last year as everyone is trying to recover a couple of extra square feet and are moving in troves over to LCDs.
Something else to consider is that most applications are not optimized to work in a B/W environment. I know very few developers who have considered, let alone tested the appearance of their applications in a B/W environment. For example, how many developers have a monochrome monitor on their desktop (or even in their dept.) to test against???
Colors, especially monochrome reds/greens/blues appear nearly identical in B/W, yet these are often used together as background/foreground colors in dialogs and are rendered largely incomprehensable in a monochrome environment --appearing as dark grey lettering on a darker greys/black background).
My first laptop 10 years ago was monochrome and the number of times I had problems even then (when monochrome displays were everywhere) was daunting. Yes, if an application is "monochrome" aware you wouldn't have a problem, but the number of apps that fall into that category now has seemingly all but disappeared.
That during the insanity of the 1999-2000 dot com craze (remember back then;-) ) one company I contracted with wouldn't connect anyone calling up a developer when rung through the main receptionist. Unless you already knew the employee's extension, you were instead routed by the receptionist to their manager who would check that you weren't a head-hunter.
One developer's girlfriend got **really** pissed off when she was grilled over who she was, where she was calling from, where did her boyfriend lived, etc. When finally asked why she wanted to speak with him, she told the manager that she wanted to know what time he would be home so she could properly f*ck him. The developer went ballistic and stormed the CEO office and threaten to quit. The company's policy soon changed after that.
Slashdot Mirror
I remember many 3 day physics lectures -- unfortunately most were only one hour in length!!!
When can we expect a stand alone HTML rendering engine properly wrapped (and supported) by QT. Yes I know they have a rich text widget that supports simple HTML rendering BUT I have a project that needs something more sophisticated. Is there a KHTML or Gecko wrap out there that would give me x-platform across Linux, Windows and the Mac for use with stand alone QT applications???
So has anyone taken credit yet for hacking into these SOHO Satellites image databases and inserting these pics???
Taking this to the next level -- I seem to recall that most bank robberies use getaway cars to leave the scene of the crime. Therefore it only makes sense that we should all pay a special road tax which would partly go to the insurance companies (that cover the money stolen, making up for their losses) and the rest to the bank tellers for the emotional distress caused by society having provided the means to escape.
Since everyone loves Micro$$$oft there are no malicious processes -- hence no need to reliably terminate them because they simply aren't there!!!
Actually I think programming has gotten *MUCH* worse with GUI based programming environments like Delphi, VB and even Visual Studio. These tools strongly encourage painting the program and responding to events rather then concentrating on abstractions, infrastructure and good design. In making things easier, they fail to allow programmers to understand what goes on under the hood and most younger programmers (who never really had to understand what goes on) are programming via wizards that assumes a certain architectures and approach. Outside in (GUI based) programming methodologies usually collapse after programs reach a certain size and complexity.
I was involved with such a problem on a failed start-up (which didn't get funding for going into operation after we had solved the problem). We used Install Anywhere for our initial distribution and the app itself was written in java, stored in two signed jars which included a generic "key". When it came time to first run or upgrade the app, a request was sent to a server (apache+servlets) which took its info from the jars (generic or unique key + sig) and returned back a new jar(s) with any upgrades/patches (new jars were themselves were each "uniquely" keyed and signed).
The app itself was started by a launcher which would watchdog the app and could report/then fall back the patches/new code if it didn't work. We could (by option) track users/problems/usage statistics and control upgrades for each user. Finally, we have a diagnostic applet (+HTML page) in the same jar which the user could then start from a browser to deal with failed system/comm/proxy issues.
It worked extremely well during the pilot -- interestingly the most important feature turned out to be the diagnostic applet which saved us huge amounts of time during the trial rollouts, test cycles and releases. Our biggest expenses came from initial support and upgrades.
Hope this helps.
Northgate keyboards are occasionally sold on e-bay for around $50-$100. Most seem to come from vintage machines retired from server rooms.
BTW -- I'm typing this on a Northgate Omnikey 102 keyboard that I bring to work as I move from job to job. It has followed me through about 20 development contracts across 3 continents -- it (believe it or not) still has that silky, firm, clicky feeling (that made Northgate so great) after 17 YEARS of 40-50 hour work weeks -- generating a couple million lines of code and 100's of documents (NO KIDDING) !!!!
Or as robust ;)
Towards the end of my mathematics degree I discovered the greatest secret for ***REALLY*** enjoying and getting into any mathematical subject -- simply ask the other students who there favourite math lecturers were.
In my final year I only took courses that were taught by those individuals which were regarded as gifted lecturers or who could enjoy themselves in class with their students. It was the VERY BEST year I ever had in school and one which even today (15 years afterwards) brings a smile to my face. I have shared this secret with a dozen young students (co-op students, children of friends and co-workers, etc) and each and every one has repeatedly thanked me for it. Ask other students who they really enjoyed being with and why and try to make your decision based on their answers. You might be pleasantly surprised
Perhaps the biggest complaint with ActiveX was all the overlapping confusing interfaces and APIs that one has to become familiar with in order to properly code a component (especially during its early days). Couple that with obtuse confusing documentation (which has improved over the years) and you had (still have?) a real stomach bleed when implementing a new control back then. -- Version 2 is always cleaner, nicer and more consistent ;)
Call me when they release OS X for x86, otherwise I'm not interested.... (The weight of both linux and OS X might just might be just enough critical mass for swaying the desktop!!!)
One person's crap is another's fertilizer!
I seem to remember when these first appeared as prototypes floating around comdex a couple of years back. It seems that most everyone thought that a PDA on steriods was a great idea and wanted one. I vote we all go out and get one anyway (whether you like it or not) and help the economy. Oh, you can't because you lost your job, in hock to your neck from debt built on equity in the form of high-tech stocks and your too busy papering the walls that load of options to a closed-up dot-bomb ....shucks!!!!
An encryption algorithm has recently appeared where the author makes some extraordinary claims about its strength. The German Government had even threatened the author with prison for trying to create commerical applications with it.
Comments Please:
Wasn't there a time when crimes needed to be committed within the sovereign territory of the country involved before someone got arrested (Terrorism, murder, et al aside). Since this person didn't crack PDFs within the USA, nor is the software sold here directly by that person (it needs to be imported), what gives the US Govenment the right to arrest him (other then it can).
There was a time when the West condemned the Communists governments for heavy-handed treatment of those who committed "economic crimes against the state", holding up the free market model as an example (including its civil courts as a resolution mechanism).
Who needs to wait for a world government -- its already here -- just open a corporation, make the right size contributions to your favourite party and you too will be "given" the right to be heard.
An excellent example!!! This exactly what happened to me when I was in my mid-20's. I helped developed the test systems that are used to ground test the space shuttle's robotic manipulator systems. I was a hotshot, nominated for engineer of the year at Spar and walked on water, but was paired up with a "Senior Staff Engineer" who was twice my age and so far up the engineering totem pole that you need binoculars to see him otherwise. He was BRILLANT, a Soviet national mathematics champion as a child, a Ph.D later, who excaped the system and went to Israel and finally to Canada where he worked as an Lead Aerospace Engineer and Space systems designer.
It was the best thing that could every have happened to me. He could reel me in on a snap and kept me focused on the tasks at hand, explained the politics surrounding what was going on, spend hours discussing design and ultimately let "do my thing" but provided the insight to understand not just what needed to be done, but the whys, wherefores and hows that went within the decision making process. I learned to recognise that building complex systems is never a one person task, that regardless of how good you are there will always be one person better and it is even more fun to "really" work with others then being a lone wolf.
I will always look back to that time with great admiration and respect for that man, not for the lessons found in Scientific and Engineering R+D but on how to be a good team member and more importantly, how to be a more compassionate and decent person. In other words, he helped me to grow, taught me what it means to act as a professional -- and for that I will always be grateful.
Ok, now change the scenario a bit: John #34 is on Avenue 1 with an outstanding warrant for triple homicide, but for torturing and killing 3 cops. Do you think the police are simply going to walk up to you and simply ask you for your ID???????
Guns drawn, nervous, shaking hands (hey, one of those guys was my drinking buddy at the academy) around a 9mm Glock, a slightly too tight grip, an accidental squeeze -- BANG -- your head is turned to garbage with your brains all over the walls.
Think about it!!!!
Will not the inclusion of so many different JFS now make it appear that linux is fragmenting? Yes I know that choice is good, but what about having to choose between so many good opinions?
ReiserFS, XFS and JFS will likely all do an excellent job but with so much overlap in functionality how will the community respond -- how will corporate america choose (more particularly, who will the CIO/CTO/VP of MIS decide to listen to, when fights break out among the tech staff over which JFS to use.
Choice is a great thing, its the choosing that's the killer.
I think your missing my point. Yes C++ is multiparadigm (and I have used all 3 within the same architecture for reasons of speed, conherency and reuse, etc) but therein lies its weakness. It is a rather complex language to first learn and my experience has been that more often then not the majority of programmers will learn just enough to "get the job done" rather then work through the features of the language and do the best possible job with it.
To shift perspective, its much the same issue as having to study poetry in a foreign language. There is the barrier of the language itself and the metaphorical issues the poet is trying to present. It can be extremely difficult to get at the latter when confronted with the former and C++ for all its glory (btw its still my favourite development language) does itself present quite a steep learning curve, one that really must be surmounted before **really** appreciating OO.
Unfortunately the reality of having to timely deliver code in the real world more times then not prevents newbie programmers from truely exploiting the full potential of OO unless they have senior staff to guide them and understanding employers willing to make that investment.
With Respects.
J.
Sorry, but I'm forced to disagree with you.
After 10 years of programming with C++, working on projects big and small, my only gripe with the language is its complexity and the discipline required to truly master it. I started with 7 years of C before moving over to it and it still required tutalage and guidance to master it and without strict attention to OO concepts and details and a strong desire to learn "how to do it right" you consistently end up with piles of one-layer classes (translation: lots of classes which are actually just structs with getters and setters methods) and lots of procedural like flow wrapped in other classes. Its not that OO is particularily difficult, but the complexity of the language to achieve OO results tends to dissuade newbies from going to for it. Ever try explaining pointer to a novice, how about pointer vs references? The number of times I've seen object life-cycle (read memory leaks) handle incorrectly, even by experts (myself included) is daunting and learning how to use first collection classes for the first time can be overwelming, especially when confronted with obfuscated error messages.
Over the last few years, I along with many experienced cohorts have now come to shutter when confronted with new projects where management simply thinks a couple of weeks of guerrila programming classes will turn VB programmers into qualified C++ developers.
Its too easy to cheat with the language and revert back to "proceduralness" and the benefits of **REAL** OO are rarely apparent at first appearance. Couple that with management's usual push for "getting thing done a quickly as possible" and you more often then not end with quite a mess.
Java is much nicer to many reasons (including standardized GUI classes, memory management, etc) and requires less initial effort.
Delphi also quite nice but its the deadliest two edge sword I have ever seen. Too much of the language is tied to its development environment. Most coders simply utilized the "Automagical" code generation facilities and never really understand what goes on underneath and hence never really learn what OO is and what can be done with its concepts when software is crafted thoughtfully or correctly.
Just my $0.02
I agree completely but the **real** problem is we now live with an industry that resorts to snap, crackle and pop rather then intelligent functionality. The move to "pretty" is overwelming when motivated by the need to impress reviewers and salesmen devoted to plying their wares to the mass buying and usually unsuspecting public.
Issues like supporting cost-effective monochrome displays with its resulting lower prices also means lower commissions and less profits. Its ironic that I know so many people who would comparison shop for the cheapest soap and shampoo prices seem too often reliant on a salesmen for higher priced goods, who themselves are usually more interest in furthering their own ends rather then the needs of their clients. I agree that monochrome displays would likely fit the needs of most people most of the time -- but tell them that they might need it 1% of the time and they will not give up the option.
During a trip to the Far East a couple of years back, I was very surprised to see the number of laptops that appeared on office desks. I commented on it to my guide who then pointed out the obvious; Laptops represented a **HUGE** proportion of office desktop market for one very good reason, the amount of desk space occupied is much smaller (primarily because of the screen) and (at that time) there was no other option then to get a "space saving computer" -- the proper name when referring to the laptops over there (which btw, rarely leave the office or even get unplugged).
Further, a friend in Japan tells me that the number of relatively new tube monitors appearing on the street during garbage day has risen dramatically over that last year as everyone is trying to recover a couple of extra square feet and are moving in troves over to LCDs.
Something else to consider is that most applications are not optimized to work in a B/W environment. I know very few developers who have considered, let alone tested the appearance of their applications in a B/W environment. For example, how many developers have a monochrome monitor on their desktop (or even in their dept.) to test against???
Colors, especially monochrome reds/greens/blues appear nearly identical in B/W, yet these are often used together as background/foreground colors in dialogs and are rendered largely incomprehensable in a monochrome environment --appearing as dark grey lettering on a darker greys/black background).
My first laptop 10 years ago was monochrome and the number of times I had problems even then (when monochrome displays were everywhere) was daunting. Yes, if an application is "monochrome" aware you wouldn't have a problem, but the number of apps that fall into that category now has seemingly all but disappeared.
That during the insanity of the 1999-2000 dot com craze (remember back then ;-) ) one company I contracted with wouldn't connect anyone calling up a developer when rung through the main receptionist. Unless you already knew the employee's extension, you were instead routed by the receptionist to their manager who would check that you weren't a head-hunter.
One developer's girlfriend got **really** pissed off when she was grilled over who she was, where she was calling from, where did her boyfriend lived, etc. When finally asked why she wanted to speak with him, she told the manager that she wanted to know what time he would be home so she could properly f*ck him. The developer went ballistic and stormed the CEO office and threaten to quit. The company's policy soon changed after that.