Rob Pike: Less is exponentially more

I just read Rob Pike on the history of Go. I find it interesting that Go fails to attract C++ programmers, but instead attract Ruby and Python programmers. What does it take to make a C++ programmer switch to a new language? Maybe some clues can be found at the Socio-PLT.

What OOP's jargons and complexities?

I was introduced to functional programming in an introductory programming course at the university. I had experience with imperative languages and a bit of OO from before. My immediate impression of the functional programming style was simply "this is really peculiar".

However, after a few labs in Scheme, I was stuck. The ideas was clean yet powerful. Everything made sense.

The reason I write about is because I just read Programing: What are OOP's Jargons and Complexities and I recalled those introductory lectures into functional programming. It's a great read if you are interested in how languages and programming styles relate to each other.

LLVM talks

A few very interesting presentations of LLVM from the LLVM developer's meeting 2009.

Best TED-talk ever

TED is an extremely good place to find interesting (short) talks about various topics. You can literally spend days there watching really high quality presentations ranging from musical performances to science talks. Today, though, I saw something that bets every other TED-talks I've ever seen before.

It was short and witty, it was science and humor, and it was refreshingly different. And best of all, you actually learnt something useful! Stop wasting your time here. Get over there and see it now!

Designing (your)Self

I just saw a very interesting lecture by Davig Unger. Its main focus is the programming language Self, which is a prototyped-based object-oriented language. He also talks about other things: getting the right people to work with you, some of his guiding principles, and even a few comments on getting to know yourself.

David Ungar received the Dahl-Nygaard Senior Prize in 2009 for his work in the field of object-orientation, most notably for Self. He currenlty works at IBM Research.

Commodore 64 Live!

Do you remember those old arcade machines where, when no one played them, the "computer" would play the games? Kind of like a demonstration of the game instead showing some fancy graphics. I came across the übergeeky page C64 Longplays a few days ago and I feel that I must do my small part to spread the word through the world.

It's basic like those computer-played arcade machines, with the difference that it's actually someone who plays through the entire game. Didn't you solve the third level of Boulder Dash or did you think no one ever cared to finish Ghostbusters? Everything is on C64 Longplays for you to watch.

I personally liked the video of Yie Ar Kung Fu... some fights was really close... the energy bar was down to the last pixel!

Talks by Herb Sutter

I wish to recommend two very good talk by Herb Sutter; Machine Architecture: Things Your Programming Language Never Told You and Concur ad C++ Futures.

Unskilled and unaware of it

I just read the Unskilled and unaware of it post at Successful Software. It's a good post that (should) make you think about how good you consider yourself in various fields such as software development and driving.

I find it a bit funny that there are some skills that you probably don't overestimate your own skill level. Have you ever heard of someone saying he/she is a great gardener when in fact every flower they touch die?

Update: See Dunning-Kruger effect on Wikipedia.

Of banks and doorbells

This is an amusing kafkaesque story form real life by Niel Fraser at Google.

Everything you ever need to know about concurrent programming

I usually don't link to other blogs without adding some of my thought on the topic, but this time I make an exception. Herb Sutter has written 25+ articles in Dr. Dobb's Journal, all about different aspects of cuncurrent programming. Check them out. They are a good read even if you're not really into concurrency.

Greatest pair-programming tool ever?

This has to be one of the greatest thing for pair-programmers since large wide-screen monitors. I haven't tried it yet though, so perhaps I'm wrong. :) Seems like a really really nice plug-in for Eclipse, though.