c#
Over the last four years, I've basically given up on the idea that .NET is a multiple language runtime. * The so-called choice between the two most popular languages, C# and VB.NET, is no more meaningful than the choice between Coke and Pepsi. Yes, IronPython and IronRuby are
microsoft
Although I am generally platform agnostic, I make no secret of the fact that I am primarily a Microsoft developer. In a way, I grew up with Microsoft-- as a teenager, I cut my programming teeth on the early microcomputer implementations of Microsoft BASIC. And I spent much of my
programming languages
My all-time favorite programming quote has to be this Nathaniel Borenstein bon mot: It should be noted that no ethically-trained software engineer would ever consent to write a DestroyBaghdad procedure. Basic professional ethics would instead require him to write a DestroyCity procedure, to which Baghdad could be given as a
programming languages
In my previous post, I urged developers to learn a mainstream graphics editing program. This is purely a mechanical skill, so it seemed reasonable for developers to give it a shot. If we can absorb extremely complex development environments, compilers, and databases, why not a graphics editor? But as a
programming languages
One lesson I took from MIX is that software development and graphic design are increasingly interrelated disciplines. Although they are very different skillsets, it's important for developers to have some rudimentary design skills, and vice-versa. There's a lot of useful cross-pollination going on between developers and
software development
If I told you to choose between two technical books, one by renowned Windows author Charles Petzold, and another by some guy you've probably never heard of, which one would you pick? That's what I thought too. Until I sat down to read both of them.
programming languages
The dot-com bubble [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble] was a watershed event for software developers. You simply couldn't work in the field without having something miraculous or catastrophic happen to you. Or both at once. > The "dot-com bubble" was a speculative bubble covering
programming languages
I ran across this blog entry [http://mxdj.sys-con.com/read/363083.htm] while researching Microsoft's new Silverlight [http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/] Flash competitor. It makes some disturbing complaints about the limitations of Silverlight, in bold all-caps to boot: > This is where I threw my hands
security
I picked up a free copy of 19 Deadly Sins of Software Security [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0072260858/codihorr-20] at a conference last year. I didn't expect the book to be good because it was a free giveaway item from one of the the vendor
lisp
My previous entry, Twitter: Service vs. Platform, was widely misunderstood. I suppose I only have myself to blame, so I'll try to clarify with another example. Consider Reddit. The Reddit development team switched from Lisp to Python late in 2005: If Lisp is so great, why did we
programming languages
A reddit user recently invoked link necromancy on a 1994 Donald Knuth letter [http://www.pluto.it/files/meeting1999/atti/no-patents/brevetti/docs/knuth_letter_en.html] to the U.S. Patent Office: > When I think of the computer programs I require daily to get my own work done,
software development
Electronic Arts is a lumbering corporate megalith today, pumping out yearly game franchise after yearly game franchise. It's easy to forget that EA was present at the very beginning of the computer game industry, innovating and blazing a trail for everyone to follow. Gamasutra's article We