Check out Artima if you want to see Bruce Eckel's take on the Python language which, incidentally, with the addition of things like a logging API, and with long-existing additions like Jython, is beginning to look more and more like a viable competitor to Java.
Why?
Python carries a LOT of the same advantages, but with a dramatically accelerated prototyping and general development speed, and a few tricks of its own. Plus, via Boost, it interoperates with C++, too. I'm an avid Perl hack, but I have to admit that Python, which even has a whole API for basic game programming is looking more and more attractive for quite a number of things.
... do you find some piece highlighted on the main page--from the Seattle Weekly no less, which, like the L.A. Weekly and O.C. Weekly and the Village Voice and all the others, doesn't even shy away from its position as a liberal ass-kissing RAG--that says "Everybody! Just remember! Microsoft fails all the time!"
What's annoying about this isn't even the content of the story. It's that by posting it, it sort of confirms, or seems to confirm, that Microsoft has its foot firmly up everyone's ass. I mean, Slashdot posts a story that reminds us of how Microsoft actually, while sitting on billions, is really prone to failure?
... Slashdot is, without out a doubt, the premiere Windows bug announcement service on the Web. I hear about bugs here before I hear about them from Security Focus.
Because, off the cuff, I can think of at least five other sites, with dozens of other readily contacted individuals, that are going to give you more accurate, more informed, and more sympathetic answers than the site on the Web that publishes a depiction of Bill Gates wearing Borg gear.
Moreover, in case you haven't noticed, the vocal readership here isn't exactly a group of Windows devotees. Whenever the new Linux kernel comes out the admins just issue an announcement that ends with "You know what to do..."
So unless this is a scheme to generate loads of comments designed to convince your client to implement FreeBSD instead... wait. AHA!
As a current subscriber I can honestly say it's marginal anyway and that I, especially in the light of this news, should've just gone cable, which I fully intend to do once my year's up.
* Extreme compression of the signal causes color distortion of the picture--i.e., it looks like you're always watching a JPEG image that's been set to "max compress, min quality" even if you've got a $1,000 TV.
* Even if you've got kids and you've set your filtering to block questionable content, after 11 p.m. you're still entreated to fun "Turn to channel 595 for the HOTTEST in adult entertainment" ads that, while not exactly scarring to your kids, can still leave you wishing you'd just ordered the frickin' basic cable service.
* Some little frickin' "i" information icon keeps on popping up on your picture all the damned time, in the off bet that while you're watching your program you'll be duped into pressing the "i" info button on your remote to get the latest fun DirecTV spam-on-request they want to force down your throats.
* Did I mention that the picture sucks?
* The extra channels are grouped far away from the main local channels forcing you to switch through a buttload of pay-per-view and premium channels in the hope that you'll want what it is that, once again, they wish to force down your throats.
And now, in addition to all the above fun, they threaten to sue you even if they have no proof that you've done anything wrong to violate their service... Gosh, DirecTV! And to think I would've had to get cable from the mafia to otherwise get this kind of fun service!
Advice: Skip DirecTV. They suck. And if you just choose to not sign up, you'll never have to worry about a possible lawsuit...
Uh, you're talking out your ass, dude, but thanks anyway. On the other hand, no thanks. You help no one when you talk out your ass.
Food banks help primarily the largest growing segments of the poor populations: single mothers of majority descent, immigrant families, working poor. Most food bank beneficiaries are employed, but suffer for various reasons.
You also benefit by participating in the growth and betterment of your local community, a charitable concept that, if you had any education, you would understand has been co-opted in principle by many social concerns and movements including, interestingly, the open source community. You know, think globally, help locally... No, I guess you wouldn't know. Anyway, this isn't a benefit that you can realize by writing a check to AOL, unless of course you're writing from a poor neighborhood in India and what you really need for your life, besides food and education, is a free Web browser and email client.
So here's what you do. First, come to terms with the fact that you're an idiot. This will take you a long time, so I won't cover other options, just go for that.
Oh, on the other hand, keep talking. You're the kind of spokesperson corporate America needs...
Starving, illiterate children in the world and people are going to give money to AOL-backed, Netscape-backed Mozilla which competes directly with Microsoft? The only thing brilliant about this is that Bill Gates is slapping his forehead wondering how he didn't think of making a charitable organization of Longhorn.
Firebird rules. Thunderbird rules. But they're software. I'll be giving my non-profit dollars to the local food bank, as usual.
And since non-profits are exempt from the Do Not Call list, does that mean I'll be getting phone spam from AOL?
I really hate it when ...
on
All The Rave
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
... people refer to events that happened two years ago as something akin to "back in the days of yore" or as in this case "when loved ye when". Jesus. It was two fuckin' years ago.
Otherwise Napster Shnapster. Somehow, all the people I know are *still* getting buttloads of free music, and, somehow, I think they will continue to...
... is yet another guy named "Guido" wanting everyone to admire his "Python".
SoCal is the land of double entendre and uber-image, Mr. Van Rossum. We don't care about your substance, we want to know about your style. So the question the really needs to be answered now is,
Python: Is It Sexy Enough? Join us on E! when we ask your favorite celebs just what scripting language they use for their daily information processing! We know Pamela Anderson loves Perl, and Carmen Daily is crazy about Java, but what happens when these two sexy stars get their hands on Python? Watch at 11 and find out!
Mod you down for criticizing Microsoft? On Slashdot? Your obvious attempt to suck on Karma's tit disgusts me. I hope you're condemned to an eternity of Windows Me.
There's four links to two sites. This is called "Milking Theory", where for every set L of sites there exists 2^L links that may be made in a Slashdot post.
In "Milking Theory" if a 2^L solution is constructed, the post is said to be "milked". It is only possible to exceed 2^L links on rare occasions, and then the post is said to either be "Microsofted" or "SCOed" depending on the nature of the post itself.
Milking Theory is most commonly researched and practices by a group of theoreticians known as "Karma Whores".
I use Spambayes with Outlook 2000, and it takes a little tweaking, but it works as advertised. Ahhh, the magic of mathematics. Just now, brought up Outlook, checked my mail and three little messages offering a free Sony headset, 70% off cell accessories, and a chance to take an IQ test just got tossed into my spam folder. Thanks anyway, but I think that means I just passed my IQ test.
Every so often I go in and take out some old, old spam, just to make sure my current preferences are being represented and that's all the maintenance that's required.
This is, however, the second time I've trained the filter. The first time, it incorrectly identified my FreeBSD status mails as spam, and from then on was throwing those into the Spam folder. My own fault, though, since I hadn't included any of these messages in my representative ham.
If you run Outlook, download this filter and use it. You'll be doing yourself, and a world that doesn't need fat-injected, herbally enhanced penises, a favor.
This wouldn't really change anything about.Net. The people who are forking out the many thousands and thousands of dollars -- and that's no exagerration -- required to go.Net, wouldn't be swayed by open source Java. Moreover, Microsoft touts its ECMA standard really only to wave it in the face of Java proponents. The efforts to open up.Net to open source or alternative implementations, like Mono, have been hindered by Microsoft, not helped. Microsoft doesn't care about open this or standards that. They care about mucho buckolas.
Open Java might have a much more profound effect on the Java community itself. If an effective stewardship and administration of the project could be created, then the Java community might end up with a platform that could change to the well considered desires of its audience, rather than pandering to the business goals of Sun and IBM among others, and encourage some developers to have another look at a platform that has recently come under some careful criticism from its own advocates.
For example, Sun doesn't want macros? Well, you know what Sun, WE want macros, so Open Java implements macros and with a choice between no-macros Sun Java and cool-macros Open Java we see how the majority of developers decide.
Er, I'll still have it, I still use it. I didn't think it was a terrible book, although I've always known it wasn't brilliant. Still, I've ended up using it actually quite a bit.
The new book is better, no question. But if you have to lay the two side-by-side, well, that just means the first one isn't *that* bad.
It would be nice if there was an authoritative resource for computer book reviews, some place the really tried to give the low-down and had a dependable, objective reputation...
This is the most myopic article on technology I haven't finished reading in a long time. The examples that contradict, counter, and overpower is rather arbitrary list of consumer electronics and TV-ad gadgets, is staggeringly huge.
In short, this doesn't merit even a mention, because the only thing it is an example of, besides this guy's relative lack of insight in to the nature of invention and the applicability of technologies, techniques, and innovation, is that Slashdot editors, by putting this on the home page, want to stir as much pseudo-controversy as your average newspaper editor.
HOLY FUCKING SHIT! UFO landed today!!! Aliens look like Gumby dolls with big heads!!! Jesus, they're ugly!
As if this shit isn't enough, there's some guy hanging around all day smoking cigarettes like they're going to be illegal tomorrow. He says he's "in charge". Whatever. I'm out in two months anyway.
Also found: Advanced weaponry, an anti-gravitational drive, a cure for cancer, and alien porn! It's revolting, but I'm strangely aroused.
NSA ADDENDUM: Please strike all this shit out. This is supposed to be a secret. Cpt. Anderson, please see me.
Well, slow day here today. Nothing happened, nope, no sirree, not a bit, quiet here, yup, quiiieeeeet.
It would seem wiser to support a solution that favors the best tool for the job, which may not always be an open source product.
Ha, it looks like you forgot your audience, bud. At Slashdot, open source is always the best tool for the job, even if the job is opening a can of dog food.
"Some guy: Oh, crap, this can opener won't work!
"Slashdot reader: Have your tried Linux?
Well, one more government has now bought into this open hysteria over open source and Slashdot readers can party over someone's choice being removed. Cool. Ha, and to think, we thought the Wall had come down.
Learning a first language is also learning a model by which to understand your machine. How the language handles memory, function declarations and calls, API calls--these are all ways of 'understanding' your system that will shape your view of languages and computers for quite a while, since this will be your first exposure to them.
My dad brought home an IBM PC six months after they first came out. I'm 37 now and I've been programming ever since that time, BASIC being shipped with the system and therefore being the first environment I was able to lay my grubby hands on. BASIC taught me a lot, and within a few months I'd written my first program with which to generate characters, complete random names, for my D&D games. Yes, I know how amazingly geeky that makes me sound. So I'm a geek. Get over it.
For all it taught me though, there were limits to where it could go. I think that still holds true today. And while it could be argued that rapid success is made possible through BASIC, I think that's also true for some other, much more modern, languages that are in wide use today and which contain all of the capabilities and ease-of-learning as BASIC, but which expand on that by being able to provide robust capabilities for the new programmer who may choose to go in any direction he/she wishes.
I don't use Python very much, because I have so much invested elsewhere, but I can say that if I were to make an initial recommendation, or start over again with something now, that would probably be it.
Virtues? Python is free, comes with command-line and GUI tools, and runs on a ton of platforms. It has powerful OOP capabilities if you're attracted to that or find you have use for it, but can also employ some basic features of FP languages (like Lisp or Haskell) and functional approaches if you want to try that. It's got a squeaky clean syntax, is easy to understand, has an interactive environment, and a load of libraries available to it. As far as learning it, if you can't find all the many, many uber-tons of free, well written materials available on the Web, then there are fine inexpensive books out on it. It's a solid performer than can run on the server, as an application platform, and, through SDL, can even be used to program some pretty impressive games.
Crap, it even has a cool name, "PYTHON". And there's a great community, too.
Drawbacks? Um... Well... I can't really think of any standalone drawbacks. If you want to distribute your programs you have to make sure the end user has the Python runtime. I don't even know if that's a drawback. By comparison, it falls short in places: It's not as fast as C++, it doesn't have CPAN or the raw string-handling or other neat capabilities of Perl, blah, blah. But this is minor.
And this is coming from someone who rarely uses it. Like I said, it doesn't often come up for me. But I wouldn't mind a bit if it did. And if I were to learn programming all over again from scratch, and I didn't know what to choose or where to begin, I would hope someone would point me to Python.
I know this doesn't completely relate to QBasic. But when I saw the title of the book I was surprised it was even still around...
Slashdot Mirror
You know what? You all can take this article and shove it up your fucking assholes =)
Cocksuckers.
... Uh, GUYZ, you posted the t-shirts but you didn't post the MODELS. Duuuuh. I *thought* you said this was a t-shirt contest ...
... has found its core audience. Be sure to watch for another title coming up in the next few: OpenBSD for the Enormously Intelligent.
Okay. There are no security bugs in Linux. Suuuuuure.
Could it be that Windows usage absolutely DWARFS Linux usage worldwide? Nooooo, it's that there are no security bugs. Right.
Anyway, OpenBSD kicks both their asses. Hard.
Check out Artima if you want to see Bruce Eckel's take on the Python language which, incidentally, with the addition of things like a logging API, and with long-existing additions like Jython, is beginning to look more and more like a viable competitor to Java.
Why?
Python carries a LOT of the same advantages, but with a dramatically accelerated prototyping and general development speed, and a few tricks of its own. Plus, via Boost, it interoperates with C++, too. I'm an avid Perl hack, but I have to admit that Python, which even has a whole API for basic game programming is looking more and more attractive for quite a number of things.
Download soon and often.
... do you find some piece highlighted on the main page--from the Seattle Weekly no less, which, like the L.A. Weekly and O.C. Weekly and the Village Voice and all the others, doesn't even shy away from its position as a liberal ass-kissing RAG--that says "Everybody! Just remember! Microsoft fails all the time!"
...) Goooo Linuuuux, Goooo Linuuuuux ...
What's annoying about this isn't even the content of the story. It's that by posting it, it sort of confirms, or seems to confirm, that Microsoft has its foot firmly up everyone's ass. I mean, Slashdot posts a story that reminds us of how Microsoft actually, while sitting on billions, is really prone to failure?
Uh. Okay. (Now chant in sheep-like monotone
... Slashdot is, without out a doubt, the premiere Windows bug announcement service on the Web. I hear about bugs here before I hear about them from Security Focus.
Thanks, Slashdot!
Dude, do you read Slashdot?
..."
... wait. AHA!
Because, off the cuff, I can think of at least five other sites, with dozens of other readily contacted individuals, that are going to give you more accurate, more informed, and more sympathetic answers than the site on the Web that publishes a depiction of Bill Gates wearing Borg gear.
Moreover, in case you haven't noticed, the vocal readership here isn't exactly a group of Windows devotees. Whenever the new Linux kernel comes out the admins just issue an announcement that ends with "You know what to do
So unless this is a scheme to generate loads of comments designed to convince your client to implement FreeBSD instead
Well, there's a simple way to respond to this.
... Gosh, DirecTV! And to think I would've had to get cable from the mafia to otherwise get this kind of fun service!
...
Don't ever, ever purchase DirecTV's service.
As a current subscriber I can honestly say it's marginal anyway and that I, especially in the light of this news, should've just gone cable, which I fully intend to do once my year's up.
* Extreme compression of the signal causes color distortion of the picture--i.e., it looks like you're always watching a JPEG image that's been set to "max compress, min quality" even if you've got a $1,000 TV.
* Even if you've got kids and you've set your filtering to block questionable content, after 11 p.m. you're still entreated to fun "Turn to channel 595 for the HOTTEST in adult entertainment" ads that, while not exactly scarring to your kids, can still leave you wishing you'd just ordered the frickin' basic cable service.
* Some little frickin' "i" information icon keeps on popping up on your picture all the damned time, in the off bet that while you're watching your program you'll be duped into pressing the "i" info button on your remote to get the latest fun DirecTV spam-on-request they want to force down your throats.
* Did I mention that the picture sucks?
* The extra channels are grouped far away from the main local channels forcing you to switch through a buttload of pay-per-view and premium channels in the hope that you'll want what it is that, once again, they wish to force down your throats.
And now, in addition to all the above fun, they threaten to sue you even if they have no proof that you've done anything wrong to violate their service
Advice: Skip DirecTV. They suck. And if you just choose to not sign up, you'll never have to worry about a possible lawsuit
Uh, you're talking out your ass, dude, but thanks anyway. On the other hand, no thanks. You help no one when you talk out your ass.
... No, I guess you wouldn't know. Anyway, this isn't a benefit that you can realize by writing a check to AOL, unless of course you're writing from a poor neighborhood in India and what you really need for your life, besides food and education, is a free Web browser and email client.
...
Food banks help primarily the largest growing segments of the poor populations: single mothers of majority descent, immigrant families, working poor. Most food bank beneficiaries are employed, but suffer for various reasons.
You also benefit by participating in the growth and betterment of your local community, a charitable concept that, if you had any education, you would understand has been co-opted in principle by many social concerns and movements including, interestingly, the open source community. You know, think globally, help locally
So here's what you do. First, come to terms with the fact that you're an idiot. This will take you a long time, so I won't cover other options, just go for that.
Oh, on the other hand, keep talking. You're the kind of spokesperson corporate America needs
Starving, illiterate children in the world and people are going to give money to AOL-backed, Netscape-backed Mozilla which competes directly with Microsoft? The only thing brilliant about this is that Bill Gates is slapping his forehead wondering how he didn't think of making a charitable organization of Longhorn.
Firebird rules. Thunderbird rules. But they're software. I'll be giving my non-profit dollars to the local food bank, as usual.
And since non-profits are exempt from the Do Not Call list, does that mean I'll be getting phone spam from AOL?
... people refer to events that happened two years ago as something akin to "back in the days of yore" or as in this case "when loved ye when". Jesus. It was two fuckin' years ago.
...
Otherwise Napster Shnapster. Somehow, all the people I know are *still* getting buttloads of free music, and, somehow, I think they will continue to
... is yet another guy named "Guido" wanting everyone to admire his "Python".
SoCal is the land of double entendre and uber-image, Mr. Van Rossum. We don't care about your substance, we want to know about your style. So the question the really needs to be answered now is,
Python: Is It Sexy Enough? Join us on E! when we ask your favorite celebs just what scripting language they use for their daily information processing! We know Pamela Anderson loves Perl, and Carmen Daily is crazy about Java, but what happens when these two sexy stars get their hands on Python? Watch at 11 and find out!
Mod you down for criticizing Microsoft? On Slashdot? Your obvious attempt to suck on Karma's tit disgusts me. I hope you're condemned to an eternity of Windows Me.
There's four links to two sites. This is called "Milking Theory", where for every set L of sites there exists 2^L links that may be made in a Slashdot post.
In "Milking Theory" if a 2^L solution is constructed, the post is said to be "milked". It is only possible to exceed 2^L links on rare occasions, and then the post is said to either be "Microsofted" or "SCOed" depending on the nature of the post itself.
Milking Theory is most commonly researched and practices by a group of theoreticians known as "Karma Whores".
I use Spambayes with Outlook 2000, and it takes a little tweaking, but it works as advertised. Ahhh, the magic of mathematics. Just now, brought up Outlook, checked my mail and three little messages offering a free Sony headset, 70% off cell accessories, and a chance to take an IQ test just got tossed into my spam folder. Thanks anyway, but I think that means I just passed my IQ test.
Every so often I go in and take out some old, old spam, just to make sure my current preferences are being represented and that's all the maintenance that's required.
This is, however, the second time I've trained the filter. The first time, it incorrectly identified my FreeBSD status mails as spam, and from then on was throwing those into the Spam folder. My own fault, though, since I hadn't included any of these messages in my representative ham.
If you run Outlook, download this filter and use it. You'll be doing yourself, and a world that doesn't need fat-injected, herbally enhanced penises, a favor.
This wouldn't really change anything about .Net. The people who are forking out the many thousands and thousands of dollars -- and that's no exagerration -- required to go .Net, wouldn't be swayed by open source Java. Moreover, Microsoft touts its ECMA standard really only to wave it in the face of Java proponents. The efforts to open up .Net to open source or alternative implementations, like Mono, have been hindered by Microsoft, not helped. Microsoft doesn't care about open this or standards that. They care about mucho buckolas.
Open Java might have a much more profound effect on the Java community itself. If an effective stewardship and administration of the project could be created, then the Java community might end up with a platform that could change to the well considered desires of its audience, rather than pandering to the business goals of Sun and IBM among others, and encourage some developers to have another look at a platform that has recently come under some careful criticism from its own advocates.
For example, Sun doesn't want macros? Well, you know what Sun, WE want macros, so Open Java implements macros and with a choice between no-macros Sun Java and cool-macros Open Java we see how the majority of developers decide.
Now THAT would be cool.
As in football, so in networking.
Yeah, this is what's important in Iraq today: Connectivity.
Er, I'll still have it, I still use it. I didn't think it was a terrible book, although I've always known it wasn't brilliant. Still, I've ended up using it actually quite a bit. The new book is better, no question. But if you have to lay the two side-by-side, well, that just means the first one isn't *that* bad. It would be nice if there was an authoritative resource for computer book reviews, some place the really tried to give the low-down and had a dependable, objective reputation ...
This is the most myopic article on technology I haven't finished reading in a long time. The examples that contradict, counter, and overpower is rather arbitrary list of consumer electronics and TV-ad gadgets, is staggeringly huge.
In short, this doesn't merit even a mention, because the only thing it is an example of, besides this guy's relative lack of insight in to the nature of invention and the applicability of technologies, techniques, and innovation, is that Slashdot editors, by putting this on the home page, want to stir as much pseudo-controversy as your average newspaper editor.
Blah! Blah!
July 4, 1947
Cpt D Anderson, Dty Ofcr
Base Log Entry
HOLY FUCKING SHIT! UFO landed today!!! Aliens look like Gumby dolls with big heads!!! Jesus, they're ugly!
As if this shit isn't enough, there's some guy hanging around all day smoking cigarettes like they're going to be illegal tomorrow. He says he's "in charge". Whatever. I'm out in two months anyway.
Also found: Advanced weaponry, an anti-gravitational drive, a cure for cancer, and alien porn! It's revolting, but I'm strangely aroused.
NSA ADDENDUM: Please strike all this shit out. This is supposed to be a secret. Cpt. Anderson, please see me.
Well, slow day here today. Nothing happened, nope, no sirree, not a bit, quiet here, yup, quiiieeeeet.
It would seem wiser to support a solution that favors the best tool for the job, which may not always be an open source product.
Ha, it looks like you forgot your audience, bud. At Slashdot, open source is always the best tool for the job, even if the job is opening a can of dog food.
"Some guy: Oh, crap, this can opener won't work!
"Slashdot reader: Have your tried Linux?
Well, one more government has now bought into this open hysteria over open source and Slashdot readers can party over someone's choice being removed. Cool. Ha, and to think, we thought the Wall had come down.
Brazil removes choice from government's departmental heads.
Departmental heads reply, "Oh, THAT. Whatever. We're used to it."
Meanwhile, Slashdot readers celebrate.
Yay.
Learning a first language is also learning a model by which to understand your machine. How the language handles memory, function declarations and calls, API calls--these are all ways of 'understanding' your system that will shape your view of languages and computers for quite a while, since this will be your first exposure to them.
... Well ... I can't really think of any standalone drawbacks. If you want to distribute your programs you have to make sure the end user has the Python runtime. I don't even know if that's a drawback. By comparison, it falls short in places: It's not as fast as C++, it doesn't have CPAN or the raw string-handling or other neat capabilities of Perl, blah, blah. But this is minor.
...
.02.
My dad brought home an IBM PC six months after they first came out. I'm 37 now and I've been programming ever since that time, BASIC being shipped with the system and therefore being the first environment I was able to lay my grubby hands on. BASIC taught me a lot, and within a few months I'd written my first program with which to generate characters, complete random names, for my D&D games. Yes, I know how amazingly geeky that makes me sound. So I'm a geek. Get over it.
For all it taught me though, there were limits to where it could go. I think that still holds true today. And while it could be argued that rapid success is made possible through BASIC, I think that's also true for some other, much more modern, languages that are in wide use today and which contain all of the capabilities and ease-of-learning as BASIC, but which expand on that by being able to provide robust capabilities for the new programmer who may choose to go in any direction he/she wishes.
I don't use Python very much, because I have so much invested elsewhere, but I can say that if I were to make an initial recommendation, or start over again with something now, that would probably be it.
Virtues? Python is free, comes with command-line and GUI tools, and runs on a ton of platforms. It has powerful OOP capabilities if you're attracted to that or find you have use for it, but can also employ some basic features of FP languages (like Lisp or Haskell) and functional approaches if you want to try that. It's got a squeaky clean syntax, is easy to understand, has an interactive environment, and a load of libraries available to it. As far as learning it, if you can't find all the many, many uber-tons of free, well written materials available on the Web, then there are fine inexpensive books out on it. It's a solid performer than can run on the server, as an application platform, and, through SDL, can even be used to program some pretty impressive games.
Crap, it even has a cool name, "PYTHON". And there's a great community, too.
Drawbacks? Um
And this is coming from someone who rarely uses it. Like I said, it doesn't often come up for me. But I wouldn't mind a bit if it did. And if I were to learn programming all over again from scratch, and I didn't know what to choose or where to begin, I would hope someone would point me to Python.
I know this doesn't completely relate to QBasic. But when I saw the title of the book I was surprised it was even still around
Just my