Category Archives: Programming

Debugging software for laymen

Posted on November 28, 2009 by Russell Finn

Brent Simmons provides what is possibly the best description for laymen of the joy/agony of debugging software that I’ve ever seen.

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Visual Studio 2005: Not Ready To Lead

Posted on October 26, 2008 by Russell Finn

Glenn Howe writes of an anomaly in Visual Studio 2005′s C++ compiler: … I discovered today (Friday) that if you compile something like:double x = (false) ? 0 : 1.4;that x will not equal 1.4 as most people (and the … Continue reading →

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Micro-huh?

Posted on April 3, 2008 by Russell Finn

As reported by Macworld: “Exec touts developing iPhone apps without SDK”: There are more ways to develop applications for the Apple iPhone device than using the company’s beta iPhone SDK. Through a combination of Microsoft and other technologies, developers can … Continue reading →

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Little details mean a lot

Posted on March 4, 2008 by Russell Finn

I’ve just filed my 2007 taxes using the much-maligned TurboTax. (I filed my 2005 taxes this past January, so I’m doing much better this year.) TurboTax for the Mac appears to have been completely rewritten with an eye towards satisfying … Continue reading →

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Dancing with the elephant (revised)

Posted on November 3, 2007 by Russell Finn

While gathering information about application compatibility with Leopard, I notice one developer, Snerdware, is struggling to keep up with the situation. They report two major problems that affect their current applications, and, with some evident frustration, blame both of them … Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Macintosh, Programming | Leave a comment

Ruby vs. Python (take 147)

Posted on July 25, 2006 by Russell Finn

Tim Bray, a new student of Ruby, admires it for its readability, and compares it to Python: In theory, Python ought to do better, lacking all those silly end statements cluttering up the screen. But in practice, when I look … Continue reading →

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PyWikit

Posted on June 22, 2006 by Russell Finn

In response to a challenge in the Mac forum at Ars Technica, I’ve banged out a quick service that adds “Search With Wikipedia” to your Services menu (right below “Search With Google”). It’s called PyWikit because (a) somebody suggested “Wikit” … Continue reading →

Posted in Macintosh, Programming, Python | 3 Comments