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The Hard-Core Coder

~ I can't stop writing code!

The Hard-Core Coder

Tag Archives: computer languages

Regular Expressions

23 Thursday Jun 2022

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

computer languages, computer programmers, real programmers, strings

There are many general skills a programmer should have to be effective and valuable. Some are very general — for instance, the ability to learn and to think abstractly — but some are more specific — various tools and tricks of skilled programming.

Among those tools are several non-programming languages all programmers should know. Those include HTML, XML, SQL, and an old one whose name doesn’t end with “L” — Regular Expressions (aka REs, aka RegEx or RegExp).

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Data Definition: DL and DDL

07 Sunday Nov 2021

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in Stories

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

computer languages, language design, little programming language

A long, long time ago I came up with a simple something I called Definition Language (DL) and an extension of that I called Data Definition Language (DDL). This was before XML (let alone JSON) became popular, and DL and DDL turned out to be somewhat akin to those.

My intention was a configuration language that would allow a data-dumping tool that knew the structure of the data it was dumping. Debuggers can sometimes do that in context. I wanted a tool that could do that with any file format given some DDL config file. (These days I’d probably just use XML.)

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Always Implement toString

02 Tuesday Nov 2021

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

code clarity, computer code, computer languages, computer programming, Java, Python code, readable code, toString, __str__

Although I’m categorizing this one as really good advice, rather than as a rule, I think it should be viewed as basically a rule. I think it should be a rule in any object-oriented language that supports it natively (Java and Python, for example).

The advice (rule of thumb, say) is to always create a useful implementation of toString when you create a class. It makes your development and maintenance life ever so much better.

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OOP versus Imp

25 Tuesday Jun 2019

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in Opinion

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

computer code, computer language, computer languages, computer programming, computer science, imperative programming language, language design, Object-Oriented Programming, OOP, programming language

This is another note for a friend: a followup to a discussion about how some programmers really hate Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) languages.

Most of those who hate OOP hold up Imperative Programming (IP) as the One True Way to write code. The key difference is the IP is function (or verb) oriented whereas OOP is object (or noun) oriented.

I’ve never really understood that active dislike. It’s just another way to organize the same code you’d write anyway.

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Aside

Update July 2017

20 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in Blog, Python

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

computer languages, computer programmer, data, Matplotlib, NOAA, programming language, Pythonista, SQL, SQLite, xkcd

In the unlikely event anyone is reading this, and, more in the original spirit of “web logs“, as much a diary entry to record both the passing of time and the moment, after a long period of quiet, and in the long-winded run-on way that I sometimes have, a post.

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Iteration versus Recursion

19 Monday Dec 2016

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

computer language, computer languages, computer programming, computer science, GOTO statement, iteration, language design, loop statements, programming language, recursion

When it comes to what makes a computer (or any other) language a programming language, there are three characteristics usually required:

  1. Saving state (variables)
  2. Selecting a code path (if-then)
  3. Iteration or recursion (or equivalent)

This post is just a brief note (for a friend) about the third item and why it allows three distinct options.

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What is a “Programming” Language?

06 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

computer language, computer languages, computer programming, computer science, language design, programming language, Turing complete

Back in the post HTML is not a programming language! I brought up the three properties required by a programming language. A discussion recently got me thinking about it again. This post is just some notes on those thoughts…

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Rare Languages

26 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in Fun

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Algol, BASIC, C++, computer humor, computer languages, Forth, humor, Lisp, programming language, valley girl

Cleaning out some old boxes of papers, I came across one of those humor bits that circulate in any profession. Back in the day, it was usually by fax. Then it was email, and now Tweets and other social platforms. (The song remains the same.)

This one concerned “rare” (i.e. made up) languages loosely based on existing languages. The humor depends, mostly, on recognizing parodied languages and certain other topical references (like “Valley Girls”).

In other words, a lot of the funny has sailed, but I found parts of it cute enough to record here…

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HTML is not a programming language!

22 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

computer code, computer language, computer languages, CSS, data, data type, HTML, Java, JavaScript, programming language, variables

A webpage is a text document written in HTML. This document may also contain CSS and/or JavaScript, but it’s basically an HTML text document. You could write one — including the CSS and JavaScript — using just a pencil and paper.

Despite not needing a computer to write, all three are computer languages — they are languages used by, understood by, computers (and trained humans). However only one of those (JavaScript) is a programming language.

This is a brief explanation of which is which and why.

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Data, Text and Strings (oh, my!)

15 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in Opinion

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

computer languages, computer programming, computer science, data, data type, data types, strings, text, text file

The Strings and Text are not the same post on Musing Mortoray discusses the difference between “text” and “strings” and got me thinking. Rather than weigh down his (or her) comment section with a very long comment, I thought I’d go on a bit about it here.

I agree totally with the basic premise: that “text” and “strings” are different beasts. I also agree that text-handling depends on the text. There might be some difference in how we define text and string, and thinking about how I define them turned up a lot of thoughts on the matter. This isn’t intended as an opposition post (except on one point with regard to HTML). What follows is just one programmer’s opinion.

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Wyrd Smythe

Wyrd Smythe

The canonical fool on the hill watching the sunset and the rotation of the planet and thinking what he imagines are large thoughts.

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