• Home
  • About
    • About The Coder
    • Language List
  • The Rules
    • Rule #1: Clarity Trumps Everything
    • Rule #2: Source Code is for Humans
    • Rule #3: Don’t Ignore Warnings
    • Rule #4: Comment As You Go!
    • Rule #5: Always Use Parentheses
  • CS-101
  • Python-101
  • Guestbook

The Hard-Core Coder

~ I can't stop writing code!

The Hard-Core Coder

Tag Archives: computer programmers

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).

Continue reading →

Tabs or Spaces?

19 Tuesday Oct 2021

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

code clarity, computer code, computer programmers, readable code, space character, tab character, text file

There are many issues that divide programmers: operating systems and editors being two huge ones. I’ve worked on too many platforms to care much about the first one, but I’m a lifelong gvim user.

One of the lesser dividing issues involves the crucial source coding choice: Tabs or Spaces? The issue is both less and more important these days. Less because editors are very capable; more because Python is popular.

Continue reading →

Thinking Ahead

05 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Computer Language magazine, computer programmers, computer programming

I’ve been going through my old Computer Language magazines, and man have things changed since 1984. It’s a fascinating trip through the early days of personal computing.

I was reading an article about using dates in an application and was struck by the prescience of one bit.

Continue reading →

PF.exe

10 Sunday Nov 2019

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in Stories

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

computer programmers, computer programming, text, text file

Programmers, like carpenters, are builders — we make things. The work can be for pay, but carpenters, for example, can build their own bookshelves and doghouses. Programmers also make software for themselves, sometimes to amuse, sometimes to provide a useful function.

A few of the apps I created for myself over the years turned out to be major workhorses for me — tools I used frequently. One of the earliest was PF.EXE, my Process File utility.

Continue reading →

Knowing Where To Bang

02 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in Python, Stories

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

computer programmers, computer programming, debugging, old joke, Python code, tips

Sometimes ya gotta laugh. I just spent nearly an hour chasing one of those bugs that “can’t be happening” because “the code looks absolutely correct (as far as I can tell).” Of course, the bug, once you find it, was always hiding in plain view.

This time the fix involved adding just two characters, incidentally improving the program semantics, and very much reminded me of the old joke about the huge cargo ship that breaks down at sea…

Continue reading →

Rule #4: Comment As You Go!

05 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

computer code, computer programmers, computer programming, programming language, real programmers, software development

There is a common tendency, as we crank out code, to think that we’ll come back later and write some really good comments — comments that future reviewers will view with admiration for their clarity, completeness, and humor. But if we’re honest we have to admit: Later never comes. We never go back and write those great comments. Often we don’t write any comments at all other than some placeholder we might dash off at the time.

Which is why Rule #4: Comment As You Go!

Continue reading →

Getting to the Next Hill

23 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

computer programmers, computer programming, project estimation, project management, software design, software development

Last week I took my car in for scheduled service, and when I asked how long it might take, the guy said it was specified as one-and-a-half hours of labor. He could do that because there are thousands upon thousands of data points where a competent mechanic has performed that exact service, so there is a very clear idea how long it takes.

But ask a researcher how long it will take to find what they’re looking for, and the answer is usually, “I have no idea. I’ll know after I find it.” The path a researcher follows is usually new and unexplored, so it’s impossible to predict how long the path actually is.

Creating new software is much more like research than auto service, because it involves traveling unknown ground. Despite this, software development managers often act as if new development is predictable.

It often isn’t!

Continue reading →

Write a Formal Letter

10 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

code clarity, computer programmers, computer programming, readable code

Think of writing code as you think of writing a formal letter.

When you write a formal letter, you have two goals: you have a message to communicate, and you must follow the protocol of a formal letter. Your message comes through when your writing is clear and good. Following the protocol is a matter of knowing and following some syntax rules.

A message + formal syntax. The result is a document with a context.

Continue reading →

Rule #3: Don’t Ignore Warnings

13 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

compiling code, computer programmer, computer programmers, computer programming, errors, Java, software development, warnings

There have been times when, working on other people’s code, one of the first things that pops up is that their code generates thousands of warnings. I’m not exaggerating the number; there have been at least two times I can recall where someone’s code set generated that many warnings. And both times, the code set wasn’t all that large (only tens of thousands of lines).

Which leads us to Rule #3: Don’t ignore warnings!

Continue reading →

Heartbleed bug

14 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in Opinion

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

computer programmers, computer programming, Doug Linder, heartbeat, heartbleed bug, OpenSSL

The heartbleed bug has been in the news lately. Rightfully so; it’s a pretty big deal, at least in theory. How much damage is practically possible and how much damage may have occurred is unknown so far. But the potential security hole is enormous!

Two things really stand out about this bug: Firstly, attackers get (potentially) vast amounts of internal computer data while leaving no record. Secondly, the bug is a simple error caused by, metaphorically speaking, not looking both ways when crossing a one-way street.

Continue reading →

← Older posts
Follow The Hard-Core Coder on WordPress.com

The Posts

  • Python String Translate
  • The Last Bug
  • Regular Expressions
  • Bits Bytes Chips Clocks
  • Loving the Lambda
  • Failure Tales
  • Naming Things (redux)
  • Calculating Entropy (in Python)
  • Building a Turing Machine
  • Python Tokenize

The Topics

  • Blog (4)
  • CS101 (35)
  • Fun (27)
  • Interesting (1)
  • Opinion (12)
  • Python (24)
  • Stories (15)

The Month

January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Oct    

The Past

Posts

RSS Feed

Comments

RSS Feed

Enter your email address to follow The Hard-Core Coder and get email when there is a new post.

The Main Blog

Visit Logos con carne

Lots of wyrds... with meat!

The Author

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.

View Full Profile →

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

  • Follow Following
    • The Hard-Core Coder
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Hard-Core Coder
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar