if your giving copies of linux to people for xmas you must be a real cheapskate.
Could be worse. Here in the UK (and doubtless elsewhere) eBay are running a big ad campaign to get people to buy their Xmas presents from eBay.
Am I the only one wondering how cheap you'd have to be to get your friends and family second-hand presents? Maybe I just don't fall into the eBay demographic.
The only thing I like about having a low UID on slashdot is that it's really easy to wind some people up with it. The people with high UIDs that moan about low UIDs seem to have some sort of issue. People with high UIDs who don't actually care tend not to tell you that they don't care - they just smile or roll their eyes and move on.
You'd think the fact that I included the word 'joke' in my reply would indicate that I was making a joke, not a serious point.
The only basis I can find for a low UID on Slashdot showing merit is that it means you've towed the party line for longer than most.
The reason I have a low UID is because (and you'll never believe this) I happened to register on slashdot fairly early on. I'm not sure what the comment about having 'towed [sic] the party line' is supposed to mean. Does Taco delete your account if you don't like Linux or something?
Reminds me of a guy I worked with once - he was talking about his (failed) marriage, and he sounded reasonable, until he said the words "...but that was before I realised that all women are just bitches who will screw you for every penny you have."
I've only messed around with PHP for my personal website and a small catalogue style website for my parents' business, but I noticed there were no namespaces, so I simulated them by prefixing class/function names with short prefixes, e.g. twbb_GetForumThread() etc.
I don't envisage having any problems with the new PHP core functions colliding with my names. But then maybe that's because I've worked with other languages that don't have namespaces (e.g. C, which I believe had some brief border-line success/popularity at one point, despite being crippled by lack of namespaces), and also I have a fucking clue what I'm doing. Idiots, on the other hand, will always run into problems.
That's not to say I wouldn't like to see namespaces in PHP:-)
And, uh, where the hell does SQLite store it's tables? Never used it.
In a file. SQLite databases are just a single binary file (although it supports building a database in memory too). Before you moan, that's one of the features/goals of SQLite. When you need that simplicity, it's great.
I do wonder if including SQLite with PHP will mean a lot of people think that it's appropriate for a massively multi-user app, whereas that's not really what it's designed for.
One thing about the Paxman/Howard exchange that wasn't revealed until much later by Paxman was that the reason he kept asking the same question was because the Director had just told him via his earpiece that the VT for the next item wasn't ready yet, so he (Paxman) should try to string out the item with Howard a bit longer while they sort it out.
Of course, that doesn't change the fact that there was nothing wrong with Paxman asking the question until he got a straight answer, and that Howard gave a classic performance as an evasive untrustworthy politician, and it all made for great TV.
Sort of reminds of the time time when Indy just shoots the guy with the sword, because Harrison Ford was ill for two days and they'd run out of time to film the big swordfight that was originally planned.
if they were any smaller they'd just be impractical.
Speak for yourself! I have a PQI I-Stick, which is teh tiny. It comes with an optional housing so you can carry it like a normal USB drive, on a keyring, etc, but it also comes with a credit-card sized plastic holder that can hold two keys, and slips into your wallet. It's great. I always have my wallet, so I always have my USB drive. I don't particularly want something else hanging off my keyring either.
And I've had it over a year without losing it:-). And it's 512Mb. Fast, too. I like it big time ten dollar.
(The USB consortium don't like it, as it breaks their rules for USB connectors/packaging, but never mind.)
The only real problem is it needs a powered hub (or a direct computer-powered USB socket, obviously). So I can't stick it into the back of my MS keyboard. But I can live with that.
It seems like an exteremely BAD idea to get programs to worry about the total cache usage on the CPU.
For an application like SQL Server, I'd have to disagree. Are you saying there's no one on the MSSQL team who looks at cache usage? I'd hope there were a lot of resources devoted to some fairly in-depth analysis of how the code performs on different CPUs. After all, after correctness, performance is how SQL Server is going to be judged (and criticised).
Given that a while back I watched a PDC presentation by Raymond Chen on how to avoid page faults etc in your Windows application (improving start-up times, etc), I'd say that Microsoft are no strangers to performance monitoring and analysis.
For your average Windows desktop app, then yes, worrying about cache usage on HT CPUs is way over the top. For something like SQL Server? Hell, no.
Meaning, if the "logged in user" does not have admin privileges, then the damage that this could do is more limited. (It could spy on that user's eMail, or run a server only while that user is logged in, etc.)
Or, for instance, delete every data file the user owns.
Something else I've found useful (which I think I got from a McConnell or Maguire book) is the idea of priorities in your coding, which should be part of your coding standards. That is, take a set of features/aspects of code like this:
CPU Efficiency
Memory/storage Efficiency
Maintainability
Portability
Correctness
Testability
Robustness
etc.
...and then put them in order of priority for each project you work on. The order will vary depending on the project, but a lot of coders will program with the same priority list in mind no matter what they are working on (e.g. obsessing about efficiency above all else) unless you actually tell them what the priorities should be.
Making the list and putting it in order just puts it on everyone's radar. I have at times had the list taped to the edge of my screen, so when I come up against a design decision, I check the list for guidance.
Even for a novice programmer, code like if(x == 456) is self-explanatory, no comments are needed.
You're right - how could it be possible not to know what that code is doing? (The rule is, the only magic numbers allowed are -1, 0, and 1. 456 is right out.)
Slashdot Mirror
You forgot embedding of a natural language UI string in the code.
Could be worse. Here in the UK (and doubtless elsewhere) eBay are running a big ad campaign to get people to buy their Xmas presents from eBay.
Am I the only one wondering how cheap you'd have to be to get your friends and family second-hand presents? Maybe I just don't fall into the eBay demographic.
No idea. All my experience of using SQLite comes from using it as a library in C/C++ programs. It's very good at that, certainly - very fast.
This is particularly amusing.
Second sentence.
The only thing I like about having a low UID on slashdot is that it's really easy to wind some people up with it. The people with high UIDs that moan about low UIDs seem to have some sort of issue. People with high UIDs who don't actually care tend not to tell you that they don't care - they just smile or roll their eyes and move on.
You'd think the fact that I included the word 'joke' in my reply would indicate that I was making a joke, not a serious point.
The reason I have a low UID is because (and you'll never believe this) I happened to register on slashdot fairly early on. I'm not sure what the comment about having 'towed [sic] the party line' is supposed to mean. Does Taco delete your account if you don't like Linux or something?
I was going to make a joke about your UID here, but my lawyer has advised against it.
One or two issues there. Just tiny ones, maybe.
I don't think so. We haven't even been introduced.
I've only messed around with PHP for my personal website and a small catalogue style website for my parents' business, but I noticed there were no namespaces, so I simulated them by prefixing class/function names with short prefixes, e.g. twbb_GetForumThread() etc.
I don't envisage having any problems with the new PHP core functions colliding with my names. But then maybe that's because I've worked with other languages that don't have namespaces (e.g. C, which I believe had some brief border-line success/popularity at one point, despite being crippled by lack of namespaces), and also I have a fucking clue what I'm doing. Idiots, on the other hand, will always run into problems.
That's not to say I wouldn't like to see namespaces in PHP :-)
In a file. SQLite databases are just a single binary file (although it supports building a database in memory too). Before you moan, that's one of the features/goals of SQLite. When you need that simplicity, it's great.
I do wonder if including SQLite with PHP will mean a lot of people think that it's appropriate for a massively multi-user app, whereas that's not really what it's designed for.
Of course, that doesn't change the fact that there was nothing wrong with Paxman asking the question until he got a straight answer, and that Howard gave a classic performance as an evasive untrustworthy politician, and it all made for great TV.
Sort of reminds of the time time when Indy just shoots the guy with the sword, because Harrison Ford was ill for two days and they'd run out of time to film the big swordfight that was originally planned.
I thought PDP-11 was the big giveaway.
I should have left it as my original idea - Swingball.
Atari was late to the game. I'm guessing that you weren't around in the Magnavox Odyssey vs. PDP-11 battles. Magnavox CREATED the market.
PDP-11 had superior hardware but their controllers sucked and didn't have the licensing that Magnavox had.
Magnavox Odyssey was THE console from 1 to 2 until Kerplunk then Atari vs. Intellivision battles began.
Speak for yourself! I have a PQI I-Stick, which is teh tiny. It comes with an optional housing so you can carry it like a normal USB drive, on a keyring, etc, but it also comes with a credit-card sized plastic holder that can hold two keys, and slips into your wallet. It's great. I always have my wallet, so I always have my USB drive. I don't particularly want something else hanging off my keyring either.
And I've had it over a year without losing it :-). And it's 512Mb. Fast, too. I like it big time ten dollar.
(The USB consortium don't like it, as it breaks their rules for USB connectors/packaging, but never mind.)
The only real problem is it needs a powered hub (or a direct computer-powered USB socket, obviously). So I can't stick it into the back of my MS keyboard. But I can live with that.
...can anyone tell us what the Comedy Manual Phrase is for Xbox 360?
i.e. the warning phrase that is repeated throughout the manual in a worrying but also amusing way.
For Xbox, it was something like "...or the Xbox may fall and injure a small child". (pretty good)
For Dreamcast, it was "...otherwise the Dreamcast may catch fire." (the original, and still the best)
What is it for Xbox 360? :)
Your ideas intrigue me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
For an application like SQL Server, I'd have to disagree. Are you saying there's no one on the MSSQL team who looks at cache usage? I'd hope there were a lot of resources devoted to some fairly in-depth analysis of how the code performs on different CPUs. After all, after correctness, performance is how SQL Server is going to be judged (and criticised).
Given that a while back I watched a PDC presentation by Raymond Chen on how to avoid page faults etc in your Windows application (improving start-up times, etc), I'd say that Microsoft are no strangers to performance monitoring and analysis.
For your average Windows desktop app, then yes, worrying about cache usage on HT CPUs is way over the top. For something like SQL Server? Hell, no.
Or, for instance, delete every data file the user owns.
...about this story is the number of people who use the words 'were' or 'where' when they mean 'wear'.
Yep, that's right, the memo came through last Thursday to all inhabitants of Europe. And we've all switched! None of use Microsoft Office any more.
Take that, Bill!
Something else I've found useful (which I think I got from a McConnell or Maguire book) is the idea of priorities in your coding, which should be part of your coding standards. That is, take a set of features/aspects of code like this:
...and then put them in order of priority for each project you work on. The order will vary depending on the project, but a lot of coders will program with the same priority list in mind no matter what they are working on (e.g. obsessing about efficiency above all else) unless you actually tell them what the priorities should be.
Making the list and putting it in order just puts it on everyone's radar. I have at times had the list taped to the edge of my screen, so when I come up against a design decision, I check the list for guidance.
You're right - how could it be possible not to know what that code is doing? (The rule is, the only magic numbers allowed are -1, 0, and 1. 456 is right out.)
But then again, don't worry, everything should be clear, right? :)
So...as good as Halo then?
There's a standard size for body text in web browsers for a reason. I wish blog software/bloggers would get over their obsession with tiny fonts.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.