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  Strangest line of python you have ever seen

The other day @HairyFotr and @zidarsk8 were doing some codegolfing with implementations of nondeterministic finite state machineand asked me to blog their results.For those of us who often forget what all of this computer science mumbo jumbo means, here’s a quick explanation from wikipedia:In the theory of computation, a nondeterministic finite state machine or nondeterministic finite automaton (NFA) is a finite state machin...

   Python,Strange,Research,Work rationale     2011-11-19 02:05:03

  What programming languages should I learn?

Since I started this blog, I have gotten quite a few emails asking me “What programming languages do you recommend for X?” I often finding myself writing something along the lines ofI would honestly recommend python. Something about me being biased because I know and love it.  Usually say something about the competing technology with a back handed insult. Also if they are starting out I would recommend a language that enforces better OO (Object Orientated) practic...

   programming language,Popularity,Java,Tre     2011-09-23 13:11:57

  Using PHP sessions across subdomains

By default, PHP uses the 'PHPSESSID' cookie to propagate session data across multiple pages, and by default it uses the current top-level domain and subdomain in the cookie declaration. Example: www.domain.com The downside to this is that the session data can't travel with you to other subdomains. So if you started a session on www.domain.com, the session data would become unavailable on forums.domain.com. The solution is to change the domain PHP uses when it sets the 'PHPSESSID' cookie. ...

   PHP,Session,Subdomain,Availability     2011-12-25 02:36:25

  Installing LAMP On Ubuntu

In this guide I will show you how to install a LAMP system. LAMP stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP. The guide is intended to help those who have very little knowlegde of using Linux. Install ApacheTo start off we will install Apache.1. Open up the Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal).2. Copy/Paste the following line of code into Terminal and then press enter:sudo apt-get install apache23. The Terminal will then ask you for you're password, type it an...

   LAMP,Ubuntu,Linux,Apache,MySQL,,PHP     2011-04-28 05:20:02

  Games don’t need to be social

Social games have been a big trend in recent years. Zynga struck it big and now everyone else is trying to emulate them. Unfortunately, the first thing that pops into anyones head when a Zynga game is mentioned is Facebook. Facebook is the platform upon which their success stories like FarmVille were built, but it’s not the reason for their success.Zyngas games work because they are fun. The social connectivity is merely a mechanism to share your enjoyment of the game with other...

   Game,Social,No need,Game design     2011-10-29 07:15:34

  Surprising applications of math

The comments in the previous post touched on surprising applications of math, so I thought I’d expand this theme into it’s own post. Below I’ll give a couple general examples of surprising applications and then I’ll give a couple more personal applications I found surprising.Number theory has traditionally been the purest of pure mathematics. People study number theory for the joy of doing so, not to make money. At least that was largely true until the ...

   Math,Number theory,Algorithms,Differential euqation     2011-11-18 09:24:19

  JavaScript delete specific item from array

Deleting an item from an array is easy using JavaScript’s built-in method splice(). However, if you are somewhat new to scripting, simply knowing about splice does not help you remove a certain item from an array. This article will solidly state the solution to this dilemma.If you want to remove a specific item from your array, you will simply use a basic loop and a conditional check with the splice()method.Here is a breakdown of what we will do in 3 easy steps, so tha...

   JavaScript,Array,Remove item,Splice,Dele     2011-09-16 16:38:52

  5 Ways to Boost MySQL Scalability

There are a lot of scalability challenges we see with clients over and over. The list could easily include 20, 50 or even 100 items, but we shortened it down to the biggest five issues we see.1. Tune those queriesBy far the biggest bang for your buck is query optimization. Queries can be functionally correct and meet business requirements without being stress tested for high traffic and high load. This is why we often see clients with growing pains, and scalability challenges as their site becom...

   MySQL,Scalability,Methods,Implementation,Practice     2011-10-18 02:57:27

  A return to good code

Stop doing this:public boolean foo() { if (true) {   return true;   }  else {   return false;   }}It always amazes me when I dig into an open source project, and I see code written by supposed experts, and reviewed by seasoned professionals, and nobody slaps the wrists of the developer who shoves return statements right in the middle of a method.Tell me, how hard is it to do this:public boolean foo() {   boolean flag = true;  ...

   Java,Code,Method,Return,Condition     2011-03-23 01:24:47

  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

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