ACCU World of Code

  • Our doors are always open

    I extracted the text: Portentum plagens tua si caret asse commena Pergerian numinis resonat celer intus amice Si tamen esurit luges maxilla calabit Ostia nam miseris fraler sunt semper aperta Which google translates as: If your plag…

  • Student projects for 2024/2025

    It will soon be that time of year when university students are looking for an interesting idea for a project. On an irregular basis, I post some ideas for thesis projects (here and here); primarily for students studying computing. In a change of direction, this post suggests software related ideas for business student projects. Two […]

  • Rust 101 – 38: Exercises for module E (q1a)

    Writing our own multi-producer-single-consumer (MPSC) queue using async Rust. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Async): 34: What is…

  • Rust 101 – 38: Exercises for module E (q1a)

    Writing our own multi-producer-single-consumer (MPSC) queue using async Rust. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async This section (Async): 34: What is async?, 35: Futures, 36: async/await, 37: Runtimes, 38: Exercise E1a, 39: Exercise E1b, 40: Exercise E2a, 41: Exercise E2b Links: Slides: Rust 101 – … Continue reading Rust 101 – 38: Exercises for module E (q1a)

  • Why I wrote Learn C++ by Example

    I recently shared some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can also buy it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4dMJ0aGThere are a lot of C++ …

  • Memory bandwidth: 1991-2009

    The Stream benchmark is a measure of sustained memory bandwidth; the target systems are high performance computers. Sustained in the sense of distance running, rather than a short sprint (the term for this is peak memory bandwidth and occurs when the requested data is in cache), and bandwidth in the sense of bytes of memory […]

  • OKRs: webinars and workshops (3 short things)

    An OKR workshop, an OKR podcast and summer

    The post OKRs: webinars and workshops (3 short things) first appeared on Allan Kelly.

  • Rust 101 – 37: Async runtimes

    We talked about how Futures have poll methods, but who calls them? That is the job of the runtime. We talk about how to launch your async code and how to choose the right runtime, and then we have a very brief look at some Web frameworks that are based…

  • Rust 101 – 37: Async runtimes

    We talked about how Futures have poll methods, but who calls them? That is the job of the runtime. We talk about how to launch your async code and how to choose the right runtime, and then we have a very brief look at some Web frameworks that are based on async Rust. Series: Language … Continue reading Rust 101 – 37: Async runtimes

  • The 2024 update to my desktop system

    I have just upgraded my desktop system. As you can see from the picture below, it is a bespoke system; the third system built using the same chassis. The 11 drive bays on the right are configured for six 5.25-inch and five 3.5-inch disks/CD/DVD/tape drives, there is a drive cage that fits above the power […]

  • Rust 101 – 36: What async and await really do

    Attempting to explain as slowly as possible what actually happens when the compiler finds an async function containing awaits: it writes a poll method for you to create something that implements Future. The generated poll method polls the Futures you a…

  • Rust 101 – 36: What async and await really do

    Attempting to explain as slowly as possible what actually happens when the compiler finds an async function containing awaits: it writes a poll method for you to create something that implements Future. The generated poll method polls the Futures you asked to await, in order. The interesting bit is that this generated thing that implements … Continue reading Rust 101 – 36: What async and await really do

  • A new NASA software dataset from the 1970s

    When modeling the process of software development, to optimise the creation of new projects, the best measurement data to use are those relating to whatever developers are doing today. Unfortunately, measurement data for software engineering processes is very hard to find; few development groups record anything about what they do, and even when they do […]

  • 6 ideas to boost productivity

    6 ideas to increase productivity

    The post 6 ideas to boost productivity first appeared on Allan Kelly.

  • Rust 101 – 35: Futures

    Exploring what a Future is in async Rust and how we could manually write code that polls futures. Normally, we avoid this manual work by using the async and await keywords, but looking into this helps us understand what those keywords really do. Serie…

  • Rust 101 – 35: Futures

    Exploring what a Future is in async Rust and how we could manually write code that polls futures. Normally, we avoid this manual work by using the `async` and `await` keywords, but looking into this helps us understand what those keywords really do. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and … Continue reading Rust 101 – 35: Futures

  • Rust 101 – 34: What is async?

    What async programming is and what it looks like in Rust. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Async): 34: What is async?, 35: Futures…

  • Rust 101 – 34: What is async?

    What async programming is and what it looks like in Rust. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async This section (Async): 34: What is async?, 35: Futures, 36: async/await, 37: Runtimes, 38: Exercise E1a, 39: Exercise E1b, 40: Exercise E2a, 41: Exercise E2b Links: Slides: Rust … Continue reading Rust 101 – 34: What is async?

  • A Review: A Feast for Crows

    By George R.R. MartinISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007548279If this wasn’t the penultimate book written and I hadn’t enjoyed the TV series so much I would be giving up on the book series at this point. A Feast for Crows is boring and long winded. It’s full of a l…

  • A Review: A Feast for Crows

    By George R.R. MartinISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007548279If this wasn’t the penultimate book written and I hadn’t enjoyed the TV series so much I would be giving up on the book series at this point. A Feast for Crows is boring and long winded. It’s full of a l…

  • C++ On Sea trip report

     I went to C++ On Sea again this year, attending the main conference. I spoke about Swarm Optimisation algorithms. I wrote a brief blog post about these a while ago, if you want a quick overview. I also hosted the lightning talks.On the first…

  • C++ On Sea trip report

     I went to C++ On Sea again this year, attending the main conference. I spoke about Swarm Optimisation algorithms. I wrote a brief blog post about these a while ago, if you want a quick overview. I also hosted the lightning talks.On the first…

  • Help – a survey about product leaders

    I’m running a little survey – 5 minutes of your time – about the people and roles who decide what should be done, or perhaps what should be built. The people who are often called Product Owners or Product Managers, and often Business Analysts, perhaps Requirements enigneers or… a myriad of other titles. I’m generically […]

    The post Help – a survey about product leaders first appeared on Allan Kelly.

  • Program fault reports are caused by its users

    Faults are generated by users of the software; no users, no fault reports. Fault reports will be generated for software that is free of coding mistakes; one study found that 42.6% of fault reports were misclassified as either requests for an enhancement, changes to documentation, or a refactoring request, or not requiring changes to the […]

  • Spending when uncertainty is high

    When uncertainty is high the classic investment and governance model needs rethinking.

    The post Spending when uncertainty is high first appeared on Allan Kelly.

  • Learn C++ by Example: Chapter 9

    I have been sharing some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of chapter 8 last time. There are 9 chapters, so this is the final blog about the book’s contents.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng…

  • Learn C++ by Example: Chapter 9

    I have been sharing some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of chapter 8 last time. There are 9 chapters, so this is the final blog about the book’s contents.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng…

  • If you get this error from Time Machine on Samba, check available disk space

    I’ve been using Samba with the time machine setting for years to back up the couple of Macs I own. I’ve recently been running into issues with Time Machine backups erroring out with "The network backup disk does not support the require…

  • Confidence intervals: my one recommended practice

    What recommended practices should developers/managers follow when analysing data they have collected/available? The scientific approach to data analysis mandates specifying a hypothesis before gathering the data, let alone analysing it. This approach has proven workable when researchers are familiar with an evidence-based body of knowledge. In this environment it’s acceptable, even required, to criticise anyone […]

  • Learn C++ by Example: Chapter 8

    I have been sharing some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of chapter 7 last time. There are 9 chapters, so this is the penultimate blog about the book contents.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng…

  • Learn C++ by Example: Chapter 8

    I have been sharing some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of chapter 7 last time. There are 9 chapters, so this is the penultimate blog about the book contents.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng…

  • Techniques used for analyzing basic performance measurements

    The statistical design and analysis of experiments is a relatively recent invention (around 150 years old; verifying scientific hypotheses using experiments was first proposed over 1,000 years ago). Once an experiment has been run, and performance measurements collected, what techniques are available to analyse the data? Before electronic computers were invented, the practical statistical techniques […]

  • Benefits of Value Poker (2 of 2)

    Value poker creates great conversations and shared understanding, it opens allows for cost-of-delay and cost-benefit analysis. And it is fun!

    The post Benefits of Value Poker (2 of 2) first appeared on Allan Kelly.

  • Learn C++ by Example: Chapter 7

    I have been sharing some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of chapter 6 last time.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can also buy …

  • Learn C++ by Example: Chapter 7

    I have been sharing some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of chapter 6 last time.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can also buy …

  • Rust 101 – 33: Exercises for module D (q3)

    Following through an exercise using a trait object with dynamic dispatch to choose different behaviour at runtime. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Uns…

  • Rust 101 – 33: Exercises for module D (q3)

    Following through an exercise using a trait object with dynamic dispatch to choose different behaviour at runtime. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async This section (Trait objects): 28: Dynamic dispatch, 29: Object safety, 30: Patterns, 31: Exercise D1, 32: Exercise D2, 33: Exercise D3 Links: … Continue reading Rust 101 – 33: Exercises for module D (q3)

  • Learning General relativity at a rudimentary mathematical level

    For the longest time, I have wanted to have an understanding of Einstein’s theory of General relativity at a rudimentary mathematical level. Because General relativity has never been a mainstream topic in undergraduate physics, there are almost no books at this level. Also, the mathematics of General relativity is based on tensor calculus, which until […]

  • Elected to the Matrix Foundation Governing Board!

    I am really excited to say I was elected to the Governing Board of the Matrix Foundation! I was really surprised because there were lots of people standing, and the quality of the candidates was very high, but I am one of the lucky ones. I hope I can d…

  • Elected to the Matrix Foundation Governing Board!

    I am really excited to say I was elected to the Governing Board of the Matrix Foundation! I was really surprised because there were lots of people standing, and the quality of the candidates was very high, but I am one of the lucky ones. I hope I can do a decent job of helping … Continue reading Elected to the Matrix Foundation Governing Board!

  • Rust 101 – 32: Exercises for module D (q2)

    Trying out the typestate pattern by tracking the state of a 3D printer by changing our type instead of updating a variable whenever it changes. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and paralleli…

  • Rust 101 – 31: Exercises for module D (q1)

    Some good patterns to follow in your code e.g. “newtype”, “typestate” and one to avoid. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Trait obj…

  • Playing Value Poker in the Dagons’ Den

    Teams are quick to assign effort estimates to stories so why not estimate value? – how else can you prioritise by business value?

    The post Playing Value Poker in the Dagons’ Den first appeared on Allan Kelly.

  • Learn C++ by Example: Chapter 6

    I have been sharing some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of the chapter 5 last time.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can also buy i…

  • Rust 101 – 30: Good patterns and not so good

    Some good patterns to follow in your code e.g. “newtype”, “typestate” and one to avoid. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Trait obj…

  • Rust 101 – 29: Trait objects and object safety

    Trying to explain why the rules for object safety are the way they are, and how to create and use a trait objects. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Uns…

  • Distribution of program sizes

    Program size, in lines of code (LOC), used to be a topic of conversation among developers and managers. Program size is an issue when computer memory is measured in kilobytes. Large programs would be organized into overlays such that only small subsets needed to be held in memory at any time, i.e., programmer defined memory […]

  • I wrote a C++ book!

    I’m very proud to announce that my first book just got released on The Pragmatic Programmers! The book is called “C++ Brain Teasers“, and is part of their Brain Teasers series. The book consists of 25 short C++ programs, and the point is to guess what the output is, and why the language works like … Continue reading I wrote a C++ book!

  • Rust 101 – 28: Dynamic dispatch

    Explaining how to hold on to something even when we don’t know its exact type, just what trait it implements. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe T…

  • Learn C++ by example: Chapter 5

    I started to share some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave overviews of the first few chapters previously.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can als…

  • Learn C++ by example: Chapter 5

    I started to share some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave overviews of the first few chapters previously.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can als…

  • New home for my videos: video.infosec.exchange

    Huge thanks to Micah Scott for hosting my videos on diode.zone until recently. My videos are moving to video.infosec.exchange/a/andybalaam – please update all your feeds. (Thanks to Jerry Bell for running that – please donate!) You can follow this blog…

  • Tool live in 2024

    Forgive me father, for it has been six months since my last gig.To be fair, my last gig was The Darkness and they played badly and we ended up next to some idiots in the crowd, so we left well before the end. A week or so before that was My Dying Bride…

  • Focus on flow

    People can be so productive in the state of flow, but creating flow in an organization is harder, there are more moving parts. Luckily we can improve our ability to see and reason about flow.

    The post Focus on flow first appeared on Allan Kelly.

  • Learn C++ by Example: chapter 4

    I started to share some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of the chapter three last time last time.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can al…

  • Learn C++ by Example: chapter 4

    I started to share some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of the chapter three last time last time.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can al…

  • Help get CppQuiz to C++23 and win a book!

    CppQuiz.org is currently using C++ 17 for explanations and needs porting to C++ 23. I’d really appreciate your help! As a thank you, three contributors will get a copy of my upcoming book C++ Brain Teasers. How do I help? All the questions from the site have been exported to https://github.com/knatten/cppquiz23. Full instructions are in … Continue reading Help get CppQuiz to C++23 and win a book!

  • Learn C++ by Example: chapter 3

    I promised to share some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of the first two chapters last time.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can also buy i…

  • Learn C++ by Example: chapter 3

    I promised to share some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”, and gave an overview of the first two chapters last time.You can buy my book directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can also buy i…

  • PayloadOffset_t: A small type design challenge

    Recently, I had to make a relatively small design decision – which type to use for a small range of values. As usual in C++, there were a number of […] The post PayloadOffset_t: A small type design challenge appeared first on Simplify C++!.

  • Learn C++ by Example: chapters 1 and 2

    I thought I’d share some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”.You can buy it directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can also buy it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4dMJ0aG People were asking for s…

  • Learn C++ by Example: chapters 1 and 2

    I thought I’d share some details about my latest book “Learn C++ by Example”.You can buy it directly here: http://mng.bz/AdAQ – or just go look at the table of contents. You can also buy it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4dMJ0aG People were asking for s…

  • Why I won’t link to AI resources

    I received a very kind email today from someone who had found my page Resources for year 6 teachers on coding and programming helpful, and wanted to suggest another link for me to add, about AI resources. I’m sure it was a helpful and useful link, but …

  • Rust 101 – 27: Exercises for module C (q2)

    Implementing a simplified form of Mutex. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Concurrency and parallelism): 24: Parallelism, 25: Threa…

  • Rust 101 – 26: Exercises for module C (q1)

    Searching across multiple documents in parallel with Rayon. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Concurrency and parallelism): 24: Par…

  • Choosing who to vote for in the 2024 UK General Election

    Update: I just discussed this with my son and I really want to emphasise: It does make a difference who is in power. The previous Labour government significantly improved primary education and many other public services. Don’t lose hope! Here are the c…

  • In search of flow

    Every team is in search of flow. The Featureban game is great at illustrating flow, now I have a new video and workshop to simulate a Kanban system and flow.

    The post In search of flow first appeared on Allan Kelly.

  • Rust 101 – 25: Threads, Mutexes, channels, Send and Sync

    How to spawn threads and deal with lifetimes, how to send or share state across threads, and what Send and Sync mean. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, …

  • First get small, next get broad

    You can’t beat thinking small for delivery, but you need to think broad when thinking about what is needed. But thinking small and broad is hard.

    The post First get small, next get broad first appeared on Allan Kelly.

  • Rust 101 – 24: Parallelism and Rayon

    What concurrency and parallelism are, a brief intro to Rayon, and a quick note on closures. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Concu…

  • Visual Lint 8.0.14.371 has been released

    Visual Lint 8.0.14.371 has been released. This is a maintenance update for Visual Lint 8.0, and includes the following changes: Updated the contents of the generated analysis command line for compatibility with CppCheck 2.14.0. Updated the PC-lint …

  • Visual Lint 8.0.14.371 has been released

    Visual Lint 8.0.14.371 has been released. This is a maintenance update for Visual Lint 8.0, and includes the following changes: Updated the contents of the generated analysis command line for compatibility with CppCheck 2.14.0. Updated the PC-lint …

  • Rust 101 – 23 Exercises for module B (q3)

    Testing, benchmarking and optimising a small program that plays FizzBuzz. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Building applications):…

  • Rust 101 – 22 Exercises for module B (q2)

    Building a command-line quiz application to bed in our knowledge about crates, modules and serialisation. All done using test-driven development. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and paralle…

  • Rust 101 – 21 Exercises for module B (q1)

    Going through an exercise on serialization with serde. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Building applications): 18: Dependencies, …

  • All agile initiatives are flawed (and thats good)

    Agile is a lot like democracy. Every single agile transformation initiative is flawed. For many that is a good thing, because it means we can see the things that need fixing

    The post All agile initiatives are flawed (and thats good) first appeared on Allan Kelly.

  • RESTful Behaviour Guide

    I’ve used a lot of existing Representational State Transfer (REST) APIs and have created several of my own. I see a lot of inconsistency, not just between REST APIs but often within a single REST API. I think most developers understand, at a high level…

  • RESTful Behaviour Guide

    I’ve used a lot of existing Representational State Transfer (REST) APIs and have created several of my own. I see a lot of inconsistency, not just between REST APIs but often within a single REST API. I think most developers understand, at a high level…

  • ACCU 2024 trip report

     I went to the ACCU conference this year. I was speaking on the last day, which I managed to put out of my mind for a while and went to several other sessions.We started with a keynote from Herb Sutter about safety in C++. He’s spoken an…

  • ACCU 2024 trip report

     I went to the ACCU conference this year. I was speaking on the last day, which I managed to put out of my mind for a while and went to several other sessions.We started with a keynote from Herb Sutter about safety in C++. He’s spoken an…

  • Naming Functions: When Intent and Implementation Differ

    Most of the time these days when I get into a conversation about naming it tends to be about tweaking the language, perhaps because I think there is a much better term available, or the author is a non-native speaker and they’ve transliterated the name…

  • Naming Functions: When Intent and Implementation Differ

    Most of the time these days when I get into a conversation about naming it tends to be about tweaking the language, perhaps because I think there is a much better term available, or the author is a non-native speaker and they’ve transliterated the name…

  • Rust 101 – 20: Unit, integration and benchmark tests

    How to write unit tests in your Rust code, and some quick pointers on writing integration and benchmark tests. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe …

  • Standing for the Matrix Governing Board

    I have decided to stand for election to the Matrix Governing Board, which is a brand new body which advises and oversees the work of the Matrix Foundation. I will stand as an Individual Member, not representing a company or project. Contents: Purpose …

  • Rust 101 – 19: Creating a nice API

    Tips and rules for writing good APIs that are easy for other people to use. Try to make them Unsurprising, Flexible, and Obvious. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait obje…

  • Rust 101 – 18: Dependencies and Cargo.toml

    How to describe details of your Rust project with a Cargo.toml file, and how to find and add dependencies (other people’s code). Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objec…

  • Rust 101 – 17: Exercises for module A3 (part 2)

    Finishing off the exercises on Rust traits, designing a customised version of Vec. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Traits and gen…

  • A Review: Abaddon’s Gate

    James S. A. CoreyISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1841499932Abaddon’s Gate takes a while to get going. About half the book to get going. It’s all new character introductions and building. The second half is more exciting, but drawn out. Chrisjen Avasarala is totally …

  • A Review: Abaddon’s Gate

    James S. A. CoreyISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1841499932Abaddon’s Gate takes a while to get going. About half the book to get going. It’s all new character introductions and building. The second half is more exciting, but drawn out. Chrisjen Avasarala is totally …

  • Automated backups from Signal to Nextcloud

    DON’T DO THIS: the Signal app has the ability to make daily backups of your messages, and when you choose a folder to backup into, you can choose “Nextcloud” as the device, then choose a Nextcloud folder to back up to. Don’t do that. Although the above…

  • Rust 101 – 16: Exercises for module A3 (part 1)

    Going through some exercises on Rust traits, designing a customised version of Vec. Series: Language basics, More syntax, Traits and generics, Building applications, Concurrency and parallelism, Trait objects, Async, Unsafe This section (Traits and ge…

  • One import per line is best

    Rust has a feature where if you import two things from the same module you can abbreviate it like this: use mypkg::{MyStruct1, MyStruct2}; If you prefer, you can keep them separate, like this: use mypkg::MyStruct1; use mypkg::MyStruct2; I do prefer. St…

  • Randomness

    I gave a talk called “What is a Random number and why should I care?” a few times last year. It evolved each time, but I was fundamentally trying to decide whether I could define “randomness” properly. My first attempt was at ACCU. Unfortunately, …

  • Randomness

    I gave a talk called “What is a Random number and why should I care?” a few times last year. It evolved each time, but I was fundamentally trying to decide whether I could define “randomness” properly. My first attempt was at ACCU. Unfortunately, …

  • Core Guidelines are not Rules

    There is a difference between guidelines and rules. Boiling down guidelines to one-sentence rules has drawbacks that make your code harder to understand. The famous quote by Captain Barbossa from […] The post Core Guidelines are not Rules appeare…

  • Rust 101 – 15: Lifetime bounds

    This time we tackle one of the most tricky areas for a new Rust programmer: lifetimes. The key point is that when we add lifetime bounds (‘a or similar) to a function signature, this is not to help Rust compile our function: it’s to help Rust understan…

  • Rust 101 – 14: Some standard library traits

    A tour of some of the most interesting traits in the standard library including Add etc. to overload operators, Sized, Sync and Send for telling the compiler special things about your type, Clone and Copy for copying things, Into and From for convertin…

  • A Review: Machine Vendetta

    Machine VendettaAlastair ReynoldsISBN: ‎ 978-0316462846Machine Vendetta is the final Revelation Space novel we’re getting and the final part of the Dreyfus trilogy and it could have been a lot better. Unlike the previous book in the series, there was o…

  • A Review: Machine Vendetta

    Machine VendettaAlastair ReynoldsISBN: ‎ 978-0316462846Machine Vendetta is the final Revelation Space novel we’re getting and the final part of the Dreyfus trilogy and it could have been a lot better. Unlike the previous book in the series, there was o…

  • REMEMBRANCE.md – Tombstones for git projects

    There is something wrong with the idea that git gives you confidence to delete. As so often this is from the perspective of the individual programmer. Sure, you can delete your code and you can retreive it. Well done you, but you are relyi…