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• How can I make myself better at programming working at a shi* job ?

  - by Scrooge

  I recently graduated with an Engineering degree in Computer Science, but my employer (a mid-sized software company) is not using my logical and programming skills. I want to move to a better opportunity but how do I do that since my experience here is not going to count as much? How do I get a better programming job? The worst part is that I am still reading from books (and not writing code myself) even after I have started working. They are paying me a standard entry level Indian IT job rate but I really dont care. It's not worth it. Please advise as to how I can do something worthwhile. (I have studied C++; Core Java; Ruby On Rails ..made a couple of academic projects but no relevant practical real world experience). Just to make things easier .. let me list a few basic queries How I get better at programming without a good project at my company? Please suggest projects where I can learn to write practical code (platform doesn't matter) Best place to take part in open source development? Is it possible that I earn slightly more while I learn? (apart from my sh** job I mean) What kind of practical projects are best suited for me? (ie for an entry level programmer)

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• Calling a .NET C# class from XSLT

  - by HanSolo

  If you've ever worked with XSLT, you'd know that it's pretty limited when it comes to its programming capabilities. Try writing a for loop in XSLT and you'd know what I mean. XSLT is not designed to be a programming language so you should never put too much programming logic in your XSLT. That code can be a pain to write and maintain and so it should be avoided at all costs. Keep your xslt simple and put any complex logic that your xslt transformation requires in a class. Here is how you can create a helper class and call that from your xslt. For example, this is my helper class:  public class XsltHelper     {         public string GetStringHash(string originalString)         {             return originalString.GetHashCode().ToString();         }     }   And this is my xslt file(notice the namespace declaration that references the helper class): <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <xsl:stylesheet  xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" version="1.0" xmlns:ext="http://MyNamespace">     <xsl:output method="text" indent="yes" omit-xml-declaration="yes"/>     <xsl:template  match="/">The hash code of "<xsl:value-of select="stringList/string1" />" is "<xsl:value-of select="ext:GetStringHash(stringList/string1)" />".     </xsl:template> </xsl:stylesheet>   Here is how you can include the helper class as part of the transformation: string xml = "<stringList><string1>test</string1></stringList>";             XmlDocument xmlDocument = new XmlDocument();             xmlDocument.LoadXml(xml);               XslCompiledTransform xslCompiledTransform = new XslCompiledTransform();             xslCompiledTransform.Load("XSLTFile1.xslt");               XsltArgumentList xsltArgs = new XsltArgumentList();                        xsltArgs.AddExtensionObject("http://MyNamespace", Activator.CreateInstance(typeof(XsltHelper)));               using (FileStream fileStream = new FileStream("TransformResults.txt", FileMode.OpenOrCreate, FileAccess.ReadWrite, FileShare.ReadWrite))             {                 // transform the xml and output to the output file ...                 xslCompiledTransform.Transform(xmlDocument, xsltArgs, fileStream);                            }

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• JRuby and JVM Languages at JavaOne!

  - by Yolande Poirier

  "My goal with my talks at JavaOne is to teach what is happening at the JVM level and below so people understand better where we are going" explains Charles Nutter, Jruby project lead. In this interview, Charles shared the JRuby features he presented at the JVM Language Summit. They include foreign function interface (FFI), IO layer, character transcoding, regular expressions, compilers, coroutines, and more.  At JavaOne, he will be presenting:  Going Native: Bringing FFI to the JVM The Java Native Runtime (JNR) is a high-speed foreign function interface (FFI) for calling native code from Java without ever writing a line of C. Based on the success of JNR, JDK Enhancement Proposal (JEP) 191 will bring FFI to OpenJDK as an internal API.  The Emerging Languages Bowl: The Big League Challenge In this panel discussion, these emerging languages are portrayed by their respective champions, who explain how they may help your everyday life as a Java developer. Script Bowl 2014: The Battle Rages On In this contest, languages that run on the JVM, represented by their respective language experts, battle for most popular language status by showing off their new features. Audience members will also vote on a language that should not return in 2015. Returning from 2013 are language gurus representing Clojure, Groovy, JRuby, and Scala.

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• 14.04.1 LTS 64 bit from USB does not see my windows 7 when I go to install it

  - by W J

  I suppose this is as much a question as a heads up/warning 14.04.1 LTS only gave me the option of writing over everything on one of my windows 7 machines. If I'd pushed the wrong button and continued I would have lost some mighty important items. On a similar windows laptop I succesfully installed 14.04.1 LTS 32 bit alongside windows 7 rather easily ( and I dig it!), there was a prompt in that case that let me select to install it alongside my windows OS.Yikes, not in this case. This laptop was formatted NTFS, the Ubuntu usb pendrive I formatted fat32. could be a clue? It looks like there is an advanced install ubuntu, but I am not that advanced. I may try to use windows diskformat (What fdisk is gone?) to make a partition, then see if the ubuntu on my usb stick "sees" my windows. If anybody has a better plan let me know. Mahalo AHA!? p.s. its a SSD harddrive, perhaps thats the crux?

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• Why have minimal user/handwritten code and do everything in XAML?

  - by Mrk Mnl

  I feel the MVVM community has become overzealous like the OO programmers in the 90's - it is a misnomer MVVM is synonymous with no code. From my closed StackOverflow question: Many times I come across posts here about someone trying to do the equivalent in XAML instead of code behind. Their only reason being they want to keep their code behind 'clean'. Correct me if I am wrong, but is not the case that: XAML is compiled too - into BAML - then at runtime has to be parsed into code anyway. XAML can potentially have more runtime bugs as they will not be picked up by the compiler at compile time - from incorrect spellings - these bugs are also harder to debug. There already is code behind - like it or not InitializeComponent(); has to be run and the .g.i.cs file it is in contains a bunch of code though it may be hidden. Is it purely psychological? I suspect it is developers who come from a web background and like markup as opposed to code. EDIT: I don't propose code behind instead of XAML - use both - I prefer to do my binding in XAML too - I am just against making every effort to avoid writing code behind esp in a WPF app - it should be a fusion of both to get the most out of it. UPDATE: Its not even Microsoft's idea, every example on MSDN shows how you can do it in both.

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• Leveraging Code Across Platforms in Ever Bigger Games

  - by ashes999

  Summary: The same way that I continually build complex engines and libraries within a single platform and technology to allow me to build increasingly bigger and better games, how to continue this when development crosses into different platforms? If I switch platforms, how do I leverage past code and experiences? Games are hard to build. Big games are even harder to build. I've decided that to be able to make big games, I need to start building smaller games, and building up an asset base of code, assets (graphics, sounds), tools, and most importantly, game engines, so that I can eventually get there. One game at a time. Let me give an analogy. To build an MMO 3D RPG, I would approach this by building and releasing small games with increasingly more features. This could entail, for example: A simple 2D game A tile-based game A game with RPG elements (items, equipment, monsters, battle) A full-fledged RPG A 3D RPG The problem now is if I have to change platforms or tools, I don't know how to leverage past code-bases (and experience) to start with a mature product. Right now, I'm writing Silverlight (FlatRedBall) games. Let's say I stick with this for ten years, and then suddenly decide to write a PS6 game, which is in a different programming language entirely. Granted, I have ten years of game-development experience (and correspondingly ten years of professional software development experience from my day job) to back me up. But I would still like some way to transplant that 2D RPG engine into the new programming language, or else leverage it somehow. Is this even possible? What are my options?

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• Object oriented wrapper around a dll

  - by Tom Davies

  So, I'm writing a C# managed wrapper around a native dll. The dll contains several hundred functions. In most cases, the first argument to each function is an opaque handle to a type internal to the dll. So, an obvious starting point for defining some classes in the wrapper would be to define classes corresponding to each of these opaque types, with each instance holding and managing the opaque handle (passed to its constructor) Things are a little awkward when dealing with callbacks from the dll. Naturally, the callback handlers in my wrapper have to be static, but the callbacks arguments invariable contain an opaque handle. In order to get from the static callback back to an object instance, I've created a static dictionary in each class, associating handles with class instances. In the constructor of each class, an entry is put into the dictionary, and this entry is then removed in the Destructors. When I receive a callback, I can then consult the dictionary to retrieve the class instance corresponding to the opaque reference. Are there any obvious flaws to this? Something that seems to be a problem is that the existence static dictionary means that the garbage collector will not act on my class instances that are otherwise unreachable. As they are never garbage collected, they never get removed from the dictionary, so the dictionary grows. It seems I might have to manually dispose of my objects, which is something absolutely would like to avoid. Can anyone suggest a good design that allows me to avoid having to do this?

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• Co-worker uses ridiculous commenting convention, how to cope? [closed]

  - by Jessica Friedman

  A co-worker in the small start-up I work at writes (C++) code like this: // some class class SomeClass { // c'tor SomeClass(); // d'tor ~SomeClass(); // some function void someFunction(int x, int y); }; // some function void SomeClass::someFunction(int x, int y) { // init worker m_worker.init(); // log LOG_DEBUG("Worker initialized"); // find current cache auto it = m_currentCache.find(); // flush if (it->flush() == false) { // return return false } // return return true } This is how he writes 100% of his code: a spacer line, a useless comment which says nothing other than what is plainly stated in the following statement, and the statement itself. This is absolutely driving me insane. A simple class written by him spans 3 times as much as it's supposed to, It looks well commented but the comments contain no new information. In fact the code is completely undocumented in any normal definition of "documentation". All of the comments are just a repetition of what is written in C++ in the following line. I've confronted him several times about it and each time he seems to understand what I am saying but then goes on to not change his coding and not fix old code which is written like this. I've went on and on again and again about the distinct disadvantages of writing code like this but nothing get through to him. Other co-workers doesn't seem to mind it as much and management doesn't seem to really care. What do I do? (sorry for the rant)

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• Service layer coupling

  - by Justin

  I am working on writing a service layer for an order system in php. It's the typical scenario, you have an Order that can have multiple Line Items. So lets say a request is received to store a line item with pictures and comments. I might receive a json request such as { 'type': 'Bike', 'color': 'Red', 'commentIds': [3193,3194] 'attachmentIds': [123,413] } My idea was to have a Service_LineItem_Bike class that knows how to take the json data and store an entity for a bike. My question is, the Service_LineItem class now needs to fetch comments and file attachments, and store the relationships. Service_LineItem seems like it should interact with a Service_Comment and a Service_FileUpload. Should instances of these two other services be instantiated and passed to the Service_LineItem constructor,or set by getters and setters? Dependency injection seems like the right solution, allowing a service access to a 'service fetching helper' seems wrong, and this should stay at the application level. I am using Doctrine 2 as a ORM, and I can technically write a dql query inside Service_LineItem to fetch the comments and file uploads necessary for the association, but this seems like it would have a tighter coupling, rather then leaving this up to the right service object.

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• OAuth2 vs Public API

  - by Adam Tannon

  My understanding of OAuth (2.0) is that its a software stack and protocol to allow 2+ web apps to share information about a single end user. User A is a member of Site B and Site C; Site B wants to fetch some data from Site C about User A, and this is where OAuth steps in. So first off, if this assessment is incorrect, please begin by clarifying this for me and correcting me! Assuming I'm on the right track, then I guess I'm not seeing the need for OAuth to begin with (!). I'm sure I'm just not seeing the "forest through the trees" here, but the way I see it, couldn't Site C just expose a public API that Site B could use to fetch the same data (sans OAuth)? If Site C required user credentials to access the data, could this public API just use HTTPS for secure transport and require username/password as a part of each API call? Again, I'm sure I'm missing something, but I'm just not understanding why I would need OAuth when a secure, public API written and exposed by Site C seems more than capable of delivering what Site B needs regarding User A. In general, I'm looking for a set of guidelines to go by when deciding to choose between using OAuth for my web apps or just writing my own web service ( exposing public API). Thanks in advance!

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• Turn Based Event Algorithm

  - by GamersIncoming

  I'm currently working on a small roguelike in XNA, which sees the player in a randomly generated series of dungeons fending off creeps, as you might expect. As with most roguelikes, the player makes a move, and then each of the creeps currently active on screen will make a move in turns, until all creeps have updated, and it return's to the player's go. On paper, the simple algorithm is straightforward: Player takes turn Turn Number increments For each active creep, update Position Once all active creeps have updated, allow player to take next turn However, when it comes to actually writing this in more detail, the concept becomes a bit more tricky for me. So my question comes as this: what is the best way to handle events taking turns to trigger, where the completion of each last event triggers the next, when dealing with a large number of creeps (probably stored as an array of an enemy object), and is there an easier way to create some kind of engine that just takes all objects that need updating and chains them together so their updates follow suit? I'm not asking for code, just algorithms and theory in the direction of objects triggering updates one after the other, in a turn based manner. Thanks in advance. Edited: Here's the code I currently have that is horrible :/ if (player.getTurnOver() && updateWait == 0) { if (creep[creepToUpdate].getActive()) { creep[creepToUpdate].moveObject(player, map1); updateWait = 10; } if (creepToUpdate < creep.Length -1) { creepToUpdate++; } else { creepToUpdate = 0; player.setTurnOver(false); } } if (updateWait > 0) { updateWait--; }

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• Explaining Asteroids Movement code

  - by Moaz ELdeen

  I'm writing an Asteroids Atari clone, and I want to figure out how the AI for the asteroids is done. I have came across that piece of code, but I can't get what it does 100% if ((float)rand()/(float)RAND_MAX < 0.5) { m_Pos.x = -app::getWindowWidth() / 2; if ((float)rand()/(float)RAND_MAX < 0.5) m_Pos.x = app::getWindowWidth() / 2; m_Pos.y = (int) ((float)rand()/(float)RAND_MAX * app::getWindowWidth()); } else { m_Pos.x = (int) ((float)rand()/(float)RAND_MAX * app::getWindowWidth()); m_Pos.y = -app::getWindowHeight() / 2; if (rand() < 0.5) m_Pos.y = app::getWindowHeight() / 2; } m_Vel.x = (float)rand()/(float)RAND_MAX * 2; if ((float)rand()/(float)RAND_MAX < 0.5) { m_Vel.x = -m_Vel.x; } m_Vel.y =(float)rand()/(float)RAND_MAX * 2; if ((float)rand()/(float)RAND_MAX < 0.5) m_Vel.y = -m_Vel.y;

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• Why do I need a framework?

  - by lvictorino

  First of all I know my question may sounds idiot but I am no "beginner". In fact I work as game developer for several years now and I know some things about code :) But as this is no related to game development I am a bit lost. I am writing a big script (something about GIS) in Python, using a lot of data stored in a database. I made a first version of my script, and now, I'd like to re-design the whole thing. I read some advice about using a framework (like Django) for database queries. But as my script only "SELECT" informations I was wondering about the real benefits to use a framework. It seems that it adds a lot of complexity and useless embedded features (useless for my specific script) for the benefits that it will bring. Am I wrong? EDIT: few spec of this "script". Its purpose is to get GIS data on an enormous database (if you ever worked with openstreetmap you know what I mean ~= 200Go) and to manipulate this data in order to produce nice map images. Queries are not numerous (select streets, select avenues, select waterways, select forests... and so on for a specific area) but query results may be more than 10.000 rows. I'd like to sell this script as a service, so yes it's meant to stay.

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• How to decide how backward-compatible my new Mac OS X application should be?

  - by haimg

  I'm currently contemplating writing an OS X version of my Windows software. My Windows application still supports Windows XP, and I know that if I drop support for it now, our customers will cry bloody murder. I'm new to OS X development, and as I learn the technology, APIs, etc., I realized that if I'm going to provide comparable level of backward compatibility (e.g. down to OS X 10.5), I would not be able to use many things that look very useful and relevant in my case (ARC, XPC communications, many others). This is quite different from Windows, in my opinion, where there are very little changed between Windows XP and Windows 7 from desktop application developer's standpoint. So, on one hand, it seems like a complete waste to stick to 2007 or 2009-level API in 2012. On the other hand, according to NetMarketShare report and Stat Owl report Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 market share is still 11% and 35%-40% respectively. However, I'm not sure if these older OS users are my target audience (buyers of software utilities) if they didn't bother to upgrade their OS... My question: Are there any other reasons I should take into account when deciding if I target 10.5 or 10.6 or 10.7 for a new application?

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• VMware Kernel Module Updater hangs on Ubuntu 13.04

  VMware Player has a nice auto-detection of kernel changes, and requests the user to compile the required modules in order to load them. This happens from time to time after a regular update of your system. Usually, the dialog of VMware Kernel Module Updater pops up, asks for root access authentication, and completes the compilation. VMware Player or Workstation checks if modules for the active kernel are available. In theory this is supposed to work flawlessly but in reality there are pitfalls occassionally. With the recent upgrade to Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail and the latest kernel 3.8.0-21 the actual VMware Kernel Module Updater simply disappeared and the application wouldn't start as expected. When you launch VMware Player as super user (root) the dialog would stall like so: VMware Kernel Module Updater stalls while stopping the services Prior to version 5.x of VMware Player or version 7.x of VMware Workstation you would run a command like: $ sudo vmware-config.pl to resolve the module version conflict but this doesn't work anyway. Solution Instead, you have to execute the following line in a terminal or console window: $ sudo vmware-modconfig --console --install-all Those switches are (as of writing this article) not documented in the output of the --help switch. But VMware already documented this procedure in their knowledge base: VMware Workstation stops functioning after updating the kernel on a Linux host (1002411). Update As of today I had the first kernel upgrade to version 3.8.0-22 in Ubuntu 13.04. Don't even try it without vmware-modconfig...

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• I have an MIS degree. How do I sell myself as a programmer?

  - by hydroparadise

  So, I graduated with a BSBA in Management Information Systems with honors almost 2 years ago which is more of a business degree. As of right now, I do have a job title of "Programmer", but it's more of a report writing position in an arbitrary, proprietary language called PowerOn with the occasional interesting project using more mainstream technologies like .Net and Java. I am also somewhat isoloated being the only programmer in the workplace, which I beleive is a detriment to my career path. The only people I have to bounce ideas against are those on the various SE sites. I don't regret going MIS, but over the past couple of years I have discovered my passion for coding, even though I have been doing some form of coding profesionally and as an enthusiast for years. I do want to persue my Masters in CS (at a later time), but I am not sure if I necessarily need a CS degree to get in with a team of programmers. In addition, I do have a number classes I have taken for different laguanges on the way (C++, Java, SQL, and VB.Net) I beleive my strength is in problem solving where code is just a tool to tackling to problem if needed. My question: How do I best sell myself as a programmer? Should I continue pounding out reports and wait till I have my masters in CS? Or am I viable to be a programmer as I stand?

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• Why don't C++ Game Developers use the boost library?

  - by James

  So if you spend any time viewing / answering questions over on Stack Overflow under the C++ tag, you will quickly notice that just about everybody uses the boost library; some would even say that if you aren't using it, you're not writing "real' C++ (I disagree, but that's not the point). But then there is the game industry, which is well known for using C++ and not using boost. I can't help but wonder why that is. I don't care to use boost because I write games (now) as a hobby, and part of that hobby is implementing what I need when I am able to and using off-the-shelf libraries when I can't. But that is just me. Why don't game developers, in general, use the boost library? Is it performance or memory concerns? Style? Something Else? I was about to ask this on stack overflow, but I figured the question is better asked here. EDIT : I realize I can't speak for all game programmers and I haven't seen all game projects, so I can't say game developers never use boost; this is simply my experience. Allow me to edit my question to also ask, if you do use boost, why did you choose to use it?

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• How can I make permanent death in a MUD seem acceptable and fair to players?

  - by Luke Laupheimer

  I have considered writing a MUD for years, and I have a lot of ideas my friends think are really cool (and that's how I'd hope to get anywhere -- word of mouth). Thing is, there's one thing I have always wanted, that my friends and strangers hated: permanent death. Now, the emotional response I get to this is visceral revulsion, every time. I'm pretty sure I am the only person that wants this, or if I'm not, I'm a tiny minority. Now, the reason I want it is because I want the actions of the players to matter. Unlike a lot of other MUDs, which have a set of static city-states and social institutions etc, I want the things my players do, should I get any, to actually change the situation. And that includes killing people. If you kill someone, you didn't send them to time out, you killed them. What happens when you kill people? They go away. They don't come back in half an hour to smack talk you some more. They're gone. Forever. By making death non-permanent, you make death not matter. It would be similar if a climax to a character's arc is getting a speeding ticket. It cheapens it. Non-permanent death cheapens death. How can I: 1) Convince my players (and random people!) that this is actually a good idea?, or 2) Find some other way to make death and violence matter as much as it does in real life (except within the game, of course) sans character deletion? What alternatives are there out there?

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• How should I track approval workflow when users at every security level can create a request?

  - by Eric Belair

  I am writing a new application that allows users to enter requests. Once a request is entered, it must follow an approval workflow to be finally approved by a user the highest security level. So, let's say a user at Security Level 1 enters a request. This request must be approved by his superior - a user at Security Level 2. Once the Security Level 2 user approves it, it must be approved by a user at Security Level 3. Once the Security Level 3 user approves it, it is considered fully approved. However, users at any of the three Security Levels can enter requests. So, if a Security Level 3 user enters a request, it is automatically considered "fully approved". And, if a Security Level 2 user enters a request, it must only be approved by a Security Level 3 user. I'm currently storing each approval status in a Database Log Table, like so: STATUS_ID (PK) REQUEST_ID STATUS STATUS_DATE -------------- ------------- ---------------- ----------------------- 1 1 USER_SUBMIT 2012-09-01 00:00:00.000 2 1 APPROVED_LEVEL2 2012-09-01 01:00:00.000 3 1 APPROVED_LEVEL3 2012-09-01 02:00:00.000 4 2 USER_SUBMIT 2012-09-01 02:30:00.000 5 2 APPROVED_LEVEL2 2012-09-01 02:45:00.000 My question is, which is a better design: Record all three statuses for every request ...or... Record only the statuses needed according to the Security Level of the user submitting the request In Case 2, the data might look like this for two requests - one submitted by Security Level 2 User and another submitted by Security Level 3 user: STATUS_ID (PK) REQUEST_ID STATUS STATUS_DATE -------------- ------------- ---------------- ----------------------- 1 3 APPROVED_LEVEL2 2012-09-01 01:00:00.000 2 3 APPROVED_LEVEL3 2012-09-01 02:00:00.000 3 4 APPROVED_LEVEL3 2012-09-01 02:00:00.000

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• Why is the use of abstractions (such as LINQ) so taboo?

  - by Matthew Patrick Cashatt

  I am an independent contractor and, as such, I interview 3-4 times a year for new gigs. I am in the midst of that cycle now and got turned down for an opportunity even though I felt like the interview went well. The same thing has happened to me a couple of times this year. Now, I am not a perfect guy and I don't expect to be a good fit for every organization. That said, my batting average is lower than usual so I politely asked my last interviewer for some constructive feedback, and he delivered! The main thing, according to the interviewer, was that I seemed to lean too much towards the use of abstractions (such as LINQ) rather than towards lower-level, organically grown algorithms. On the surface, this makes sense--in fact, it made the other rejections make sense too because I blabbed about LINQ in those interviews as well and it didn't seem that the interviewers knew much about LINQ (even though they were .NET guys). So now I am left with this question: If we are supposed to be "standing on the shoulders of giants" and using abstractions that are available to us (like LINQ), then why do some folks consider it so taboo? Doesn't it make sense to pull code "off the shelf" if it accomplishes the same goals without extra cost? It would seem to me that LINQ, even if it is an abstraction, is simply an abstraction of all the same algorithms one would write to accomplish exactly the same end. Only a performance test could tell you if your custom approach was better, but if something like LINQ met the requirements, why bother writing your own classes in the first place? I don't mean to focus on LINQ here. I am sure that the JAVA world has something comparable, I just would like to know why some folks get so uncomfortable with the idea of using an abstraction that they themselves did not write. UPDATE As Euphoric pointed out, there isn't anything comparable to LINQ in the Java world. So, if you are developing on the .NET stack, why not always try and make use of it? Is it possible that people just don't fully understand what it does?

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• What did Rich Hickey mean when he said, "All that specificity [of interfaces/classes/types] kills your reuse!"

  - by GlenPeterson

  In Rich Hickey's thought-provoking goto conference keynote "The Value of Values" at 29 minutes he's talking about the overhead of a language like Java and makes a statement like, "All those interfaces kill your reuse." What does he mean? Is that true? In my search for answers, I have run across: The Principle of Least Knowledge AKA The Law of Demeter which encourages airtight API interfaces. Wikipedia also lists some disadvantages. Kevlin Henney's Imperial Clothing Crisis which argues that use, not reuse is the appropriate goal. Jack Diederich's "Stop Writing Classes" talk which argues against over-engineering in general. Clearly, anything written badly enough will be useless. But how would the interface of a well-written API prevent that code from being used? There are examples throughout history of something made for one purpose being used more for something else. But in the software world, if you use something for a purpose it wasn't intended for, it usually breaks. I'm looking for one good example of a good interface preventing a legitimate but unintended use of some code. Does that exist? I can't picture it.

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• What are the options for retraining formally as a software engineer?

  - by Matt Harrison

  I'm a self-taught programmer. I have a good undergraduate degree in Architecture (building, not software). I was always a science/maths kid and got consistency good grades in these subjects. However I became indecisive at undergraduate level and switched between Physics, Chemistry, Art and finally stuck with Architecture mainly out of the desperate need to finish any degree. As soon as I graduated, I ditched architecture and started writing code again professionally. I've been a programmer now for 3 years and I've progressed very quickly. I'm ambitious and I want to work for the top companies in this field at some point and I've realised I need a Computer Science education to be taken seriously (based on job ads for the big tech firms). I've applied for a few MSc programs in Computer Science but they've all rejected me because of my BA. It's just not an option for me to quit my job and go back and do another 3 year undergraduate degree in CS. I know I can study at this level because I've read most of the books on the reading lists for CS courses in the UK that I can find and I have this knowledge now, it's just I can't prove it on an application form. What options are available to me?

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• Caching by in-memory dictionaries. Are we doing it all wrong?

  - by user73983

  This approach is pretty much the accepted way to do anything in our company. A simple example : when a piece of data for a customer is requested from a service, we fetch all the data for that customer(relevant part to the service) and save it in a in-memory dictionary then serve it from there on following requests(we run singleton services). Any update goes to DB, then updates the in memory dictionary. It seems all simple and harmless but as we implement more complicated business rules the cache gets out of sync and we have to deal with hard to find bugs. Sometimes we defer writing to database, keeping new data in cache till then. There are cases when we store millions of rows in memory because the table has many relations to other tables and we need to show aggregate data quickly. All this cache handling is a big part of our codebase and I sense this is not the right way to do it. All of this juggling adds too much noise to the code and it makes it hard to understand the actual business logic. However I don't think we can serve data in a reasonable amount of time if we have to hit the database every time. I am unhappy about the current situation but I don't have a better alternative. My only solution would be to use NHibernate 2nd level cache but I have nearly no experience with it. I know many campanies use Redis or MemCached heavily to gain performance but I have no idea how I would integrate them into our system. I also don't know if they can perform better than in-memory data structures and queries. Are there any alternative approaches that I should look into?

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• Best practice for combining a Java Applet/ Android interface?

  - by Pearsonartphoto

  I'm working on an online game, which I am seriously considering writing a Java Applet for it. The game is not overly complex on the features. I'm considering at some point having at least 3 versions of the game, which include a Java stand alone, applet, and Android game. I know from Design Patterns that the best way to use differing things like buttons and the like is to use a Bridge interface, where I have a common template for the common buttons. However, I'm having a bit of difficulty understanding what to do about the following. I know that Android programs use an Activity structure, which I am well familiar with, and that Applets extend the Applet interface, which I am not as familiar with. I also know that a stand alone java program uses basically a main() function, which doesn't have much structure. I'm convinced that there should be a way to design a common design pattern between the two, but somehow I'm missing what that is exactly. What can I do to make the different frameworks work with as much common code as possible?

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• Are there any real-world cases for C++ without exceptions?

  - by Martin

  In When to use C over C++, and C++ over C? there is a statement wrt. to code size / C++ exceptions: Jerry answers (among other points): (...) it tends to be more difficult to produce truly tiny executables with C++. For really small systems, you're rarely writing a lot of code anyway, and the extra (...) to which I asked why that would be, to which Jerry responded: the main thing is that C++ includes exception handling, which (at least usually) adds some minimum to the executable size. Most compilers will let you disable exception handling, but when you do the result isn't quite C++ anymore. (...) which I do not really doubt on a technical real world level. Therefore I'm interested (purely out of curiosity) to hear from real world examples where a project chose C++ as a language and then chose to disable exceptions. (Not just merely "not use" exceptions in user code, but disable them in the compiler, so that you can't throw or catch exceptions.) Why does a project chose to do so (still using C++ and not C, but no exceptions) - what are/were the (technical) reasons? Addendum: For those wishing to elaborate on their answers, it would be nice to detail how the implications of no-exceptions are handled: STL collections (vector, ...) do not work properly (allocation failure cannot be reported) new can't throw Constructors cannot fail

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