Once they do gapless playback, I'll get one. Here's hoping they get round to it before the 20th-generation iPod...
Re:master of the obvious (SPOILER)
on
Java Puzzlers
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· Score: 1
Hmmm, but proper (internationalized) case conversion is ridiculously more complicated than that. I guess the technique works for ROT13 encryption though:o)
I can't really fathom the choices in Java's design. A lot of advanced-ish features like operator overloading, left out, *just in case they tempted you* to write non-obvious code. And yet it keeps lots of old C syntax which gives you plenty enough rope to hang yourself with (from which flows several of the puzzles).
anyhow, I recommend it.
Re:master of the obvious (SPOILER)
on
Java Puzzlers
·
· Score: 3, Informative
The Java Language Specification states that char IS NOT A NUMBER. It's a character representation
Well, maybe that's the intended purpose. But its semantics don't sit totally easy with that. What does this print? (from p.25)
System.out.println('H' + 'a');
It prints '169'. The book goes on:
From a linguistic standpoint, the resemblance between char values and strings is illusory. As far as the language is concerned, a char is an unsigned 16-bit primitive integer - nothing more.
Yeah, in practice this sort of thing is mainly irrelevant, because you wouldn't actually USE chars like that. Still, it's interesting stuff.
...which was originally EPOC OS 5, built by Psion, the culmination of their PDA software work going right back to 1984.
Now there was an innovative company - typically for a UK computer company, they were far better at developing tech than at selling it. The exact converse is what seems to bring success in the world, sadly...
That's a tad optimistic. Think about it, were that true, there would be no need for any sort of testing other than unit testing. You'd simply test all the units separately (per their APIs) and that would be enough to prove the whole system will work.
APIs always leave something to the interpretation.
Take Java. There are thousands of API methods carefully documented, and thousands of unit tests which Sun can run on any Java implementation to check that it is totally compliant. Does that mean you can run your app on a different version of Java and count on it to 'just work', with no extra testing? You'd be a brave guy if you did.
Beware. They have twice managed to send me the wrong item - twice. Now you'd think with the barcoding and stuff they slap on the items, they'd be able to get it right, but I guess their pickers just don't bother scanning the barcode.
And good luck getting a refund. It's very difficult to get through to their customer service. They deny receiving faxes. They deny having received goods you return (hilariously, after signing for it *and* sending me an email confirming they'd received it, they then managed to lose it, and claimed it had never arrived!)
And it annoys me the way they charge a premium for shipping your order promptly. If you go for the basic option they will wait a few days before they bother packing it (even if it's in stock).
Just a terrible customer service attitude all over.
I believe the American parts of the BBC's content distribution network are funded by the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office. A similar arrangement as for the BBC World Service, and for the same reasons (exporting 'British-ness' and supporting ex-pats).
Anyone have the link to confirm this? I can't remember where I read it.
...Sorry to reply to my own post, I oughta have mentioned that DOCX is in ZIP format. It has the embedded JPG and other stuff in there as a nice directory tree.
Got to disagree with the 'decent news fanfare' comment... it was pretentious in the extreme. It's only the bleedin' news not the arrival of a monarch or something.
While on the whinge though, anyone else miss the hot air balloon idents? Stunning and instantly recognisable as Britain (landscape) and the BBC (globe).
Then they got a new controller and replaced it with bits of dance which are completely pointless. I'm sure they were specially made (at vast expense) but you wouldn't know it, they're the video equivalent of the standard clipart which MS make for people to fill up their Powerpoints with.
When a process tries to access a directory it isn't permissioned to (and it's not permissioned to out-of-the-box!), the OS itself throws up a privileged user auth window.
2. Write an app that puts up a window that looks just like that one.
Yeah, I do know what you mean. Sounds like we agree then.
Like anything else. You start out with best of intentions, then... requirements change, deadlines get slipped, and things like writing those doc-generator comments can take a running jump... Heh.
The doc generators don't actually remove the need to, well, document things. It's just handy to be able to move around through hyperlinks, to be able to see documentation of all a class' members (without having to go look at its superclasses), and so on.
And it's surely good to keep the comments directly above the relevant code rather than in some separate header file, so they are (marginally) more likely to be up-to-date.
It's a simple thing really, and one lots and lots of other install builders have gotten right.
Indeed. Most other install builders go so far as to know exactly which files they are installing, and the uninstallers only remove those exact files - and only remove the directories if they are left empty.
Which means a lot of uninstallers leave the program directory behind, with eg preferences files (which weren't installed by the installer, or have been changed since). But it's the safe approach to err on the side of caution, as a default, you then change the installer to delete extra files/directories that you KNOW will be left behind. (The cache directory would be another example).
Slashdot Mirror
Once they do gapless playback, I'll get one. Here's hoping they get round to it before the 20th-generation iPod...
I can't really fathom the choices in Java's design. A lot of advanced-ish features like operator overloading, left out, *just in case they tempted you* to write non-obvious code. And yet it keeps lots of old C syntax which gives you plenty enough rope to hang yourself with (from which flows several of the puzzles).
anyhow, I recommend it.
Well, maybe that's the intended purpose. But its semantics don't sit totally easy with that. What does this print? (from p.25)
System.out.println('H' + 'a');
It prints '169'. The book goes on:
From a linguistic standpoint, the resemblance between char values and strings is illusory. As far as the language is concerned, a char is an unsigned 16-bit primitive integer - nothing more.
Yeah, in practice this sort of thing is mainly irrelevant, because you wouldn't actually USE chars like that. Still, it's interesting stuff.
Now there was an innovative company - typically for a UK computer company, they were far better at developing tech than at selling it. The exact converse is what seems to bring success in the world, sadly...
But not as much as a spoon...!
Heh, I wish. The cheapest SATA one I've found is this one for 376 GBP (700 USD give or take)...
Are they any cheaper where you are?
Uh, I think you mean your preferred way.
Mine is to mod something ridiculous as 'insightful', every now and then. It tends to add to the joke :)
You know perfectly well that Microsoft has a history of lockin -- embrace, extend and extinguish, etc.
Sure, but like the grandparent, I can't see how they're going to do it this time.
Here is some Word XML (nicked from the first useful Google hit)
(damn lameness filter - please check the link...)
Please look at that, then explain: just how is MS going to stop me rescuing documents from this format?
That's a tad optimistic. Think about it, were that true, there would be no need for any sort of testing other than unit testing. You'd simply test all the units separately (per their APIs) and that would be enough to prove the whole system will work.
APIs always leave something to the interpretation.
Take Java. There are thousands of API methods carefully documented, and thousands of unit tests which Sun can run on any Java implementation to check that it is totally compliant. Does that mean you can run your app on a different version of Java and count on it to 'just work', with no extra testing? You'd be a brave guy if you did.
Beware. They have twice managed to send me the wrong item - twice. Now you'd think with the barcoding and stuff they slap on the items, they'd be able to get it right, but I guess their pickers just don't bother scanning the barcode.
And good luck getting a refund. It's very difficult to get through to their customer service. They deny receiving faxes. They deny having received goods you return (hilariously, after signing for it *and* sending me an email confirming they'd received it, they then managed to lose it, and claimed it had never arrived!)
And it annoys me the way they charge a premium for shipping your order promptly. If you go for the basic option they will wait a few days before they bother packing it (even if it's in stock).
Just a terrible customer service attitude all over.
Found it - third paragraph under 'London and New York'
Anyone have the link to confirm this? I can't remember where I read it.
...Sorry to reply to my own post, I oughta have mentioned that DOCX is in ZIP format. It has the embedded JPG and other stuff in there as a nice directory tree.
I know it's bad form to bring up facts in a M$ discussion, but why not look for yourself? Here's one example from a quick Google, has the same simple document in different formats. DOCX is apparently new in a new version of Office.
While on the whinge though, anyone else miss the hot air balloon idents? Stunning and instantly recognisable as Britain (landscape) and the BBC (globe).
Then they got a new controller and replaced it with bits of dance which are completely pointless. I'm sure they were specially made (at vast expense) but you wouldn't know it, they're the video equivalent of the standard clipart which MS make for people to fill up their Powerpoints with.
2. Write an app that puts up a window that looks just like that one.
3. Profit?
No real knowledge on this subject, but I remember seeing this - has a cool movie, in WMV format only I think.
Some backup utilities provide capability to take a snapshot and backup that snapshot while the system continues to be used.
Yep, even the free Backup utility with Windows XP has that ability. It's very handy too.
Possibly it was in Windows 2000 also... I forget.
Not really - try mousing over this map (hope the link works).
I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition.
Yeah, I do know what you mean. Sounds like we agree then.
Like anything else. You start out with best of intentions, then... requirements change, deadlines get slipped, and things like writing those doc-generator comments can take a running jump... Heh.
Uh, well, here?
The doc generators don't actually remove the need to, well, document things. It's just handy to be able to move around through hyperlinks, to be able to see documentation of all a class' members (without having to go look at its superclasses), and so on.
And it's surely good to keep the comments directly above the relevant code rather than in some separate header file, so they are (marginally) more likely to be up-to-date.
...And Slashdot must be running on a veeeeery old (forked?) version of Slashcode.
It's a simple thing really, and one lots and lots of other install builders have gotten right.
Indeed. Most other install builders go so far as to know exactly which files they are installing, and the uninstallers only remove those exact files - and only remove the directories if they are left empty.
Which means a lot of uninstallers leave the program directory behind, with eg preferences files (which weren't installed by the installer, or have been changed since). But it's the safe approach to err on the side of caution, as a default, you then change the installer to delete extra files/directories that you KNOW will be left behind. (The cache directory would be another example).
Dude, if I had my mod points at the moment, you'd be getting a +1 funny from me. Troll, schmoll...