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SEARCH KEYWORD -- Problem

  Application vs Database Programming

A few years ago, I had a problem.  A database routine for processing bulk payments for LedgerSMB that was humming along in my test cases was failing when tested under load with real data prior to implementation.  Some testing showed that while it ran fine with small numbers of inputs, it eventually slowed way down as the number of inputs rose.  Andrew Sullivan, who was also on the project through a different company, suggested it was something called a "cache miss" because I...

   Application Programming,Database programming,Comparison,Difference     2012-03-04 12:08:35

  Web Consistency Testing

Introduction Web Consistency Testing is a new form of Web testing that aims to answer the simple question: does this page look right? It's an automated approach to making sure a page looks the way we expect, whether that be cross-browser, over time (regression), in multiple locales, or whatever else we can think of. Kevin Menard, founder of Mogotest, presented an in-depth talk about what Web Consistency Testi...

   Website,Consistency,Testing,Consistency testing,Advice     2011-12-01 02:52:30

  Esmerelda's Imagination

An actress acquaintance of mine—let's call her Esmerelda—once said, "I can't imagine being anything except an actress." To which the retort was given, "You can't be much of an actress then, can you?"I was reminded of this exchange when someone said to me about Go, "I can't imagine programming in a language that doesn't have generics." My retort, unspoken this time, was, "You can't be much of a programmer, then, can you?"This is not an essay about generics (which are a fine...

   Programmer,Go,Immagination,Complaint     2011-12-31 23:38:13

  Esmerelda's Imagination

An actress acquaintance of mine—let's call her Esmerelda—once said, "I can't imagine being anything except an actress." To which the retort was given, "You can't be much of an actress then, can you?"I was reminded of this exchange when someone said to me about Go, "I can't imagine programming in a language that doesn't have generics." My retort, unspoken this time, was, "You can't be much of a programmer, then, can you?"This is not an essay about generics (which are a fine...

   Programmer,Imagination,Lack     2012-02-08 10:31:09

  Smuggling data in pointers

While reading up on The ABA Problem I came across a fantastic hack.  The ABA problem, in a nutshell, results from the inability to atomically access both a pointer and a "marked" bit at the same time (read the wikipedia page).  One fun, but very hackish solution is to "smuggle" data in a pointer.  Example:#include "stdio.h"void * smuggle(void * ptr, int value){  return (void *)( (long long)ptr | (value & 3) );}int recoverData(void * ptr){  return (long long)ptr &...

   C,Pointer,Bit,Data,Atomic,Smuggle     2011-11-14 08:15:59

  People, processes and tools

Some years ago, one of my managers used to repeat this "Accenture truism" (or so he designated it): to fix or improve something, first you need the right people, then you need the right processes to help those people work together, then finally you need the right tools to support those processes. People, processes, and tools - in that order.This is even more true for tech startups than for corporations. As geeks, whenever we face a problem, we often start by looking for a tool to fix it. "Our te...

   Work,People,Process,Tool,Importance,Priority     2011-10-24 11:36:14

  Good programmer made bad designers

I got an email request to publish this article a few days ago.I was actually on the verge of moving the email to the trash when I noticed the first name of the author: Rand.For those of you not familiar with the Wheel of Time series, the main character’s name is Rand.I admit that it’s an embarrassing weak reason to respond to a strange email, but reading some 10,000 pages of a fantasy series obviously messes with your mind.Then again, it’s probably no stranger than...

   Programmer,Designer,Comparison     2011-08-29 22:06:33

  Are You a Good Programmer?

If someone asks you to recommend a good programmer, who comes to mind? Do you consider yourself a good programmer? What criteria do you use to judge? In thinking about this, I realized that there are different ways that a programmer can be good. So I present to you The Four Kinds of Good Programmers. And in celebration of Whyday, I include quirky Why-styled illustrations* for your viewing pleasure! The Philosopher The PhilosopherThe philosopher loves to write well-defined, well-structured...

   Programmer,Inventor,Philosopher,Conquero     2011-08-23 07:56:26

  Not better, but different

The most important feature of Apple products is usability--Simple, aesthetic, easy to use.Their products may not necessarily the most powerful, but they usually are the easiest to use. Following picture show a Mac (left) and a PC(right), which one looks better?Many products are trying to mimic these features, but one problem comes out:It's hard to keep a product simple while providing so many new features.If you continuously add new features to your product,  your product will become more c...

   Market positioning,Product manager     2012-05-19 13:29:20

  Pay Your Programmers $200/hour

If you are hiring programmers, you should pay them $200/hr. This breaks through otherwise impenetrable psychological barriers, helps solve the agency problem, and ensures you are only hiring programmers when you really need them. Expectations $200/hr is an open declaration of your expectations. It states that you are expecting to hire both a professional and an expert in the field. As a programmer, I treat contracts that pay me $200/hr differently from jobs/contracts that pay me $65/hr eq...

   Salary,Programmer,Responsibility,Urgency,Value     2011-12-31 15:34:57

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