2016.09.13
Revision Control Smells
As software developers, we talk about
code smells,
design smells, and even
configuration smells.
While reviewing some code, it occurred to me that
revision control smells are also distinguishable and important.
Here are some obvious ones and my recommendations for avoiding them.
An orderly revision control repository is a sign of professionalism.
Continue reading "Revision Control Smells"Last modified: Thursday, September 15, 2016 1:52 pm
2016.05.07
The Computer Tube
I've been reading the book ENIAC in Action,
which details the fascinating ten-year history of the first general-purpose
programmable electronic computer.
In it I found a reference to 7AK7, the so-called computer tube,
which improved the reliability of tube computers.
Continue reading "The Computer Tube"Last modified: Saturday, May 7, 2016 10:49 pm
2016.03.18
Verifying the Substitution Cipher Folklore
A substitution cipher has each letter substituted with another.
Cryptography folklore has it that simple substitution ciphers
are trivial
to break by looking at the letter frequencies of the encrypted text.
I tested the folklore and the results were not quite what I was expecting.
Continue reading "Verifying the Substitution Cipher Folklore"Last modified: Friday, March 18, 2016 11:30 am
2015.12.13
Raspberry Pi vs USB vs Mac Audio
The audio hardware of Raspberry Pi is
known
to produce relatively poor sound quality.
I bought a cheap USB sound card to try as an alternative.
Here is what I found.
Continue reading "Raspberry Pi vs USB vs Mac Audio"Last modified: Sunday, December 13, 2015 1:02 pm
2015.11.29
Raspberry Pi Zero vs Elliott 405
Twitter users
@SadHappyAmazing and
@HistoricalPics
posted yesterday
two photographs
(copy)
showing the
Raspberry Pi Zero
juxtaposed in front of the Norwich City Council Treasurer's Department building,
where the delivery of the Elliott 405 computer was photographed in 1957.
Here is how the two computers compare.
Continue reading "Raspberry Pi Zero vs Elliott 405"Last modified: Sunday, November 29, 2015 3:23 am
2015.06.28
Impact Factor of Computer Science Journals 2014
The Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge
has published the 2014
Journal Citation Reports.
Following similar studies I performed in the past eight years
(2007,
'08,
'09,
'10,
'11,
'12,
'13,
'14)
here is my analysis of the current status and trends for the
impact factor
of computer science journals.
Continue reading "Impact Factor of Computer Science Journals 2014"Last modified: Sunday, June 28, 2015 11:49 am
2015.05.22
Grady Booch on the Future in Software Engineering
I was privileged to hear Grady Booch deliver a keynote on the Future in Software Engineering.
Here are my notes of some important statements and interesting soundbytes.
Continue reading "Grady Booch on the Future in Software Engineering"Last modified: Monday, May 25, 2015 7:35 am
2015.02.28
ABS's 2015 Academic Journal Guide
The UK-based
Association of Business Schools
recently published the
2015 Academic Journal Guide (AJG)
as an update to its 2010 version,
sparking
controversy in its press coverage.
Following a
study
I've been performing
on the
impact factor
of computer science journals
for the past eight years based on the yearly
Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge
updates of its
Journal Citation Reports,
I decided to look at what has changed in the AJG from 2010 to 2015.
Continue reading "ABS's 2015 Academic Journal Guide"Last modified: Saturday, February 28, 2015 9:00 pm
2015.01.13
What's the Best Time and Day to Tweet?
I've seen big variations in interactions of similarly interesting
(to me at least) tweets that I send,
and I think that a deciding factor is the day or the hour I send them.
Although there's plenty of material on the web on this topic,
as you will see below,
personalized results can capture important factors associated with
the realities of global interactions.
Continue reading "What's the Best Time and Day to Tweet?"Last modified: Wednesday, January 14, 2015 1:31 pm
2014.09.25
First, Do No Harm
Let’s face it: not all software developers are superstar programmers (and, trust me, not all luminary developers program in a sane way.) This means that when we maintain existing code, we must be very careful to avoid breaking or degrading the system we work on. Why? Because a failure of a running system can affect operations, people, profits, property, and sometimes even lives. Here are the rules.
Continue reading "First, Do No Harm"Last modified: Thursday, September 25, 2014 10:32 am