programming languages
One of the oldest computer games is Artillery [http://www.atariarchives.org/morebasicgames/showpage.php?page=2]. It's all about going mano a mano with nothing but wind, angle, and power [http://www.armchairarcade.com/aamain/content.php?article.51] on your side: > The origins of artillery
programming languages
Looking for something fun to do on family night? How about a friendly game of c-jump, the programming board game [http://www.c-jump.com/]: Although the prospect of a computer programming board game sounds positively stultifying, there is a rich history of computer games based on programming. It's
software development concepts
I noticed something strange in a Windows ME screenshot embedded in a Joel Spolsky article I linked yesterday [http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000059.html]: Notice the Qantas icons? Those are shortcuts to a now-defunct unix machine at Joel's company, Fog Creek Software. You can find evidence
software development concepts
Navigating a new codebase can feel like like landing on an alien planet. That's where static code analysis [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_code_analysis] tools come in handy; they're akin to software tricorders [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricorder]. They provide a general snapshot
programming languages
If you've ever viewed UNIX documentation, you've probably encountered variables foo and bar at some point. Here's a Ruby example I found in the newsgroups: foo = 0 bar = 0 1.times do foo = 1 foo := 2 bar = foo+1 end puts foo, bar O&
user experience
Shawn Burke's post Shippin' Ain't Easy (but somebody gotta do it) explains why you have to resist change at the end of a project, no matter how justifiable and rational the reasons may be. Even the smallest change has a real risk of introducing additional
c++
If you were about to throw out your C++ compilers because of my post on the productivity benefits of managed code and scripting languages, hold your horses. Although managed code is pretty darn fast, sometimes performance still comes first. As Ole Eichorn points out in the comments: [You said] "
programming languages
There's a chart in Code Complete that compares the productivity of working in different languages: Programmers working with high-level languages achieve better productivity and quality than those working with lower-level languages. Languages such as C++, Java, Smalltalk, and Visual Basic have been credited with improving productivity, reliability, and
programming languages
I'm sure most of you are familiar with this famous Microsoft group photo from December 1978: Groovy. In case you were wondering, the photo is authentic. It's even featured on the official Microsoft Bill Gates biography page [http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/bio.asp]. Of course
programming languages
In the spirit of iPod modem hacking, Michael Steil documents how hackers compromised the Xbox security system. Mostly thanks to 512 bytes of rather buggy security code embedded in the Xbox boot ROM: The Xbox is an IBM PC, i.e. it has an x86 CPU. When the machine is
vb.net
I just noticed that Option Explicit [http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vblr7/html/vastmOptionExplicit.asp] is on by default for new VB solutions in Visual Studio .NET 2005: It's about damn time. There's nothing more vicious than making an innocent typo
software development concepts
Joel has a lengthy entry in which he asks, does having the "best programmers" really matter? This is something I've talked about before: extreme skill disparity is unique to the profession of software development. The odds of working with a genius or a jackass on any