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The Hard-Core Coder

~ I can't stop writing code!

The Hard-Core Coder

Tag Archives: text file

The Blessing of Unicode

15 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in CS101

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

strings, text, text file, Unicode, UTF-8

Computers process numbers using arithmetic and logic (which amount to the same thing). Processing text, however, requires at least two levels of abstraction. Firstly, a definition of a textual atom — informally a character. Secondly, a definition of a textual unit — typically called a string. A string is an ordered list of characters.

Therein lies a whole field of computer science. From a practical point of view, implementing text has become much easier with Unicode. Different character sets was one of the more awful aspects of dealing with text. (Remember CP-1252?)

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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.

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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.

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Blast From the Past #1

19 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by Wyrd Smythe in Fun

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

email, old time stuff, SMTP, text file, upload

In the process of cleaning out boxes of old paperwork, I found this company memo, circa early 1980s, that describes a “simpler” way to send email. At the time, email systems were mainframe-based text systems you logged onto and typed at — actually not terribly unlike the web-based email systems today.

The memo reminds me of how it was back then and of how far we’ve come since. Here it is, reproduced as is:

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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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