I don't care about the search function, but, for me, the Yahoo! toolbar is essential to inform me of incoming mail. At this moment, Gmail doesn't work with my cell phone, so as long as this isn't supported, I stay with Yahoo! Mail.
I wasn't necessarily talking about scripting the application itself, there you have to use SKILL for Cadence, Scheme for Avant!, or, unfortunately, TCL for most other tools.
I'm more talking about stitching multiple applications together. E.g. linking timing delays from PKS to PrimeTime SI etc. Other examples are general purpose scripts to display regression results, scripts to tie together Vhdl and Verilog models etc etc.
Tom
We used to script most of our processes (digital chip design) with Perl. In reality, only a few people really bothered automating boring tasks.
At one point I started writing everything in Python because of all the good reasons (readability, easy to learn and MUCH easier to maintain later on) and gradually spread the gospel. As very nice side effect is that my collegues are much more likely to get their hands dirty themselves and write scripts with it's useful.
Anyway, as for the article: I think a language shouldn't only be beautiful in the way it allows one to express intent, but also or even much more so in the way it looks esthetically.
This is one of the biggest problems I have with Lisp (after reading Paul Graham's other articles, I bought this ANSI Common Lisp Book and printed out out 'On Lisp'). It's a fascinating language, but it looks to incredibly dense. Sigh.
I have friends asking me to install a Linux partition so they could play with it, brush up their resume, basically, claim their coolness about being in the know.
I don't bother anymore. The problem is that it's still too easy to go down in command line dungeons with no way out. A book like this sounds useful, but once you give it to a computer illiterate, it becomes clear very quickly how different they think.
It is very well possible that this book descends to the level of these illiterate (I didn't read it, so it's hard to judge). However, it only becomes clear when somebody reviews it who's at that level. A seasoned computer guy will assume certain steps as obvious even though they're not for the illiterate.
In other words, while the review itself is quite ok, I wouldn't base a decision to buy it for, say, my mother, just on this review alone. Unfortately, almost all reviewers are knowledgable at the start, so I guess this is the best we can have.
Tom
A quick google search on 'Ole Troan' leads to
Cisco Systems, Inc.
250 Longwater Avenue
Reading RG2 6GB
United Kingdom
If this is a fake, then at least these Russians did their homework.:-)
At my university, there's was (and is) a HUGE emphasis on advanced math for all engineering (including construction, chemistry, mining, etc) degrees and computer science and programming degrees.
10 years after graduation (working as a programmer first, now as a digital chip designer), I have hardly ever used any pure math skills, but that doesn't mean it isn't useful. On the contrary: by studying theorem proofs and solving very mathematical question, you learn a WAY to solve complex problems by reasoning in a very methodical and structured way.
This may not be needed for standard 'simple' programming jobs. This is so much more valuable than learning the hot language of the day.
This may not be immediately apparent while you're studying at school and, yes, I hated some of those courses as much as anybody else, but I firmly believe that I made me a better engineer.
Last weekend in Circuit City at Union Square (highly recommended if nature calls: contrary to the Virgin Megastore next door there are no lines at the restrooms!), I overheard this intelligent sales rep:
"Yes, this computer has an Athlon processor. It's better than an Intel processor because it's more agile. You know. It can run multiple programs at once. An Intel can't do this. Also, it's from AMD, American Micro Devices. They're much bigger than Intel, so the price is lower."
Anyway, they also sell laptops.:-)
I just opened a mailbox at a UPS Store. You have to fill in a bunch of documents before they can sign for packages. You also have to provide official ID. I'm not so sure this can easily be arranged without being there.
Slashdot Mirror
I just installed the www.latitudezero.org extension. Words great. Thanks!
I don't care about the search function, but, for me, the Yahoo! toolbar is essential to inform me of incoming mail. At this moment, Gmail doesn't work with my cell phone, so as long as this isn't supported, I stay with Yahoo! Mail.
I wasn't necessarily talking about scripting the application itself, there you have to use SKILL for Cadence, Scheme for Avant!, or, unfortunately, TCL for most other tools. I'm more talking about stitching multiple applications together. E.g. linking timing delays from PKS to PrimeTime SI etc. Other examples are general purpose scripts to display regression results, scripts to tie together Vhdl and Verilog models etc etc. Tom
We used to script most of our processes (digital chip design) with Perl. In reality, only a few people really bothered automating boring tasks. At one point I started writing everything in Python because of all the good reasons (readability, easy to learn and MUCH easier to maintain later on) and gradually spread the gospel. As very nice side effect is that my collegues are much more likely to get their hands dirty themselves and write scripts with it's useful. Anyway, as for the article: I think a language shouldn't only be beautiful in the way it allows one to express intent, but also or even much more so in the way it looks esthetically. This is one of the biggest problems I have with Lisp (after reading Paul Graham's other articles, I bought this ANSI Common Lisp Book and printed out out 'On Lisp'). It's a fascinating language, but it looks to incredibly dense. Sigh.
Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem is one of those other really really exciting mathematics books.
Granted, it's not an average application, but I do consider myself to be an average joe, so there you go. :-)
I have friends asking me to install a Linux partition so they could play with it, brush up their resume, basically, claim their coolness about being in the know. I don't bother anymore. The problem is that it's still too easy to go down in command line dungeons with no way out. A book like this sounds useful, but once you give it to a computer illiterate, it becomes clear very quickly how different they think. It is very well possible that this book descends to the level of these illiterate (I didn't read it, so it's hard to judge). However, it only becomes clear when somebody reviews it who's at that level. A seasoned computer guy will assume certain steps as obvious even though they're not for the illiterate. In other words, while the review itself is quite ok, I wouldn't base a decision to buy it for, say, my mother, just on this review alone. Unfortately, almost all reviewers are knowledgable at the start, so I guess this is the best we can have. Tom
A quick google search on 'Ole Troan' leads to Cisco Systems, Inc. 250 Longwater Avenue Reading RG2 6GB United Kingdom If this is a fake, then at least these Russians did their homework. :-)
At my university, there's was (and is) a HUGE emphasis on advanced math for all engineering (including construction, chemistry, mining, etc) degrees and computer science and programming degrees. 10 years after graduation (working as a programmer first, now as a digital chip designer), I have hardly ever used any pure math skills, but that doesn't mean it isn't useful. On the contrary: by studying theorem proofs and solving very mathematical question, you learn a WAY to solve complex problems by reasoning in a very methodical and structured way. This may not be needed for standard 'simple' programming jobs. This is so much more valuable than learning the hot language of the day. This may not be immediately apparent while you're studying at school and, yes, I hated some of those courses as much as anybody else, but I firmly believe that I made me a better engineer.
Last weekend in Circuit City at Union Square (highly recommended if nature calls: contrary to the Virgin Megastore next door there are no lines at the restrooms!), I overheard this intelligent sales rep: "Yes, this computer has an Athlon processor. It's better than an Intel processor because it's more agile. You know. It can run multiple programs at once. An Intel can't do this. Also, it's from AMD, American Micro Devices. They're much bigger than Intel, so the price is lower." Anyway, they also sell laptops. :-)
I just opened a mailbox at a UPS Store. You have to fill in a bunch of documents before they can sign for packages. You also have to provide official ID. I'm not so sure this can easily be arranged without being there.