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  Why do C++ folks make things so complicated?

This morning Miroslav Bajtoš asked “Why do C++ folks make things so complicated?” in response to my article on regular expressions in C++. Other people asked similar questions yesterday. My response has two parts: Why I believe C++ libraries are often complicated.Why I don’t think it has to be that way. Why would someone be using C++ in the first place? Most likely because they need performance or fine-grained control that they cannot get somewhere else. A Ruby programmer...

   C++,Complicated,C++ PRogrammer,Design pattern     2011-12-31 15:45:39

  Female friendly programming languages

Women are minorities among programmers. It seems programming languages are created for males, either. They are full of maths and weird jargon. Are there programming languages which are female friendly? What kind of programming languages can be considered as female friendly? Gayle Laakmann McDowel shared her views on which are female friendly programming languages. Women are 87.3% more likely to prefer languages like Ruby and Perl, because they remind us of shiny objects. All women love shiny ob...

   Programming,Female     2013-09-05 09:03:36

  PHP to Objective C, where the f**k are parameters?

Javascript, PHP, Ruby functionsI assume you are very familiar with declaring functions in any of the languages above, if not, you should not be reading this. Let’s begin with a simple function to send email in these languages:// PHP or Javascript do_send_email (recipient, cc, subject, body); // Ruby do_send_email (recipient, cc, subject, body)So it’s clear by looking at the function’s signature that it takes 4 parameters and they could be optional, depends on your imple...

   Objective-C,PHP,JavaScript,Parameter,Function name     2012-01-16 09:46:09

  How I Became a Programmer

I posted a very brief response to a post on HackerNews yesterday challenging the notion that 8 weeks of guided tutelage on Ruby on Rails is not going to produce someone who you might consider a "junior RoR developer." It did not garner many upvotes so I figured that like most conversation on the Internet it faded into the general ambient chatter. Imagine my surprise when I woke up to couple handfuls' worth of emails from around the world asking me what I did, how I did it, an...

   Programmer,Advice,Method,Study     2011-11-24 09:14:50

  30-Minute Exercise to Become a Better Programmer

I believe that motivation is really important. That’s why from time to time I read books about time management (as they motivate me to be focused and continue evolve my TM-system) and books about software craftsmanship. The other day I finished one of this kind of books - “Apprenticeship Patterns: Guidance for the Aspiring Software Craftsman”. This book motivated me to think carefully what I want to invest my time in. Also, it coincided with my 25th birthday and, of co...

   Programmer,Exercise,Skill,Requirements     2012-01-28 07:21:13

  Letter to a Young Developer

I’ve been getting some emails from young developers wanting to “level up” as programmers. I’m definitely not the first to write about this topic, so I’m not sure how much I have to add. Still, for what it’s worth here are a few points off the top of my head: Work with other developers. We are at a wonderful time in the history of technology when for the first time, it doesn’t really matter where you are or who you are working for. So long as you ...

   Letter,Tips,Programmer,Developer,Opportu     2011-09-14 11:49:24

  Which programming language should I learn first?

Recently I saw somebody asked a question in a forum, the question is "Which programming language should I learn first?". Then someone answered this question. His answer:Depends. To program in an expressive and powerful language: PythonTo get a website up quickly: PHPTo mingle with programmers who call themselves “rockstars”: Ruby.To really learn to program: C.To achieve enlightenment: Scheme.To feel depressed: SQLTo drop a chromosome: Microsoft Visual BasicTo get a guaranteed, m...

   Programming language,Learn,JavaScript,C     2012-04-29 02:59:17

  10 Ways to Be a More Productive Web Developer

We could all be more productive. There are many things we can do — some big, some small — that will enhance the way we work and improve the outcomes of our activities.Although I can’t promise that I’ll be able to help you cure all your productivity ailments, I do hope that I can provide you with a few useful, solid tips on streamlining your web development workflow and making every part of the development cycle move quickly and smoothly.Follow each one of these tips a...

   Ways,Efficiency,Web development,API,Fram     2011-09-26 11:25:29

  Automate Everything

Performing manual, repetitive tasks enrages me. I used to think this was a corollary of being a programmer, but I’ve come to suspect (or hope) that this behaviour is inherent in being human. But being able to hack together scripts simply makes it much easier to go from a state of rage to a basic solution in a very small amount of time. As a side point, this is one of the reasons that teaching the basics of programming in schools is so important. It’s hard to think of any j...

   Automate,Email,Repeative     2012-02-07 06:21:19

  Objective-C Is The Language

My good friend Brent Simmons invokes a historical email from Linus Torvalds, about his disdain for C++C++ is a horrible language. It’s made more horrible by the fact that a lot of substandard programmers use it, to the point where it’s much much easier to generate total and utter crap with it.Brent affirms his support while paying homage to plain-old C:But I will admit to an enduring love of C. I still think of C not as C but as the language.I loved C. Emphasis on the past-tense. A...

   Objective-C,C,Apple,OOP,C++     2011-11-07 08:23:08

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