programming | Et Cetera

20 Nov

“Task Failed Successfully”

“Task failed successfully.” It’s a fake* prompt, which inspired a meme, which inspired a widespread descriptive term. It’s a joke, and an absurd joke, but like many absurd jokes it exists and persists because it reflects something real. The mimetic...
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23 Mar

Burning Diffuse from Both Ends

Part one of an unknown length series If you stumbled onto this article and expect to learn something of AI in a traditional fashion, you might spend your time better elsewhere (even if that’s another article on this blog). Usually...
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22 Jul

The Cycle of Javascript Animations

Javascript Animation (from http://www.pshkvsky.com/gif2code/sine-animation-tutorial-three-js)

1996: Javascript animations are awesome! 2006: Javascript animations are terrible, don’t use them. 2016: Javascript animations are awesome! When people first started discovering Javascript, it opened up new vistas. It seemed like the perfect way to add some excitement...
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27 Jun

“I need to use Emacs and I’m in a hurry.”

Emacs is one of those classic Linux tools that feels like you can keep learning it forever. Compact, extensible, and crammed with features, Emacs lets you grow into it over time. Your first time using Emacs should be...
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8 Jun

Git: Common Tasks

As a git user I am no expert. I don’t know if I’ll ever be, yet I use it every day. I’m not alone — many people recognize the critical role version control plays in development work, but it’s...
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14 Mar

Discrete Math for Computer Programming — Where Do I Start?

If you’re studying programming or computer science, you know discrete math is a core competency for developing software. Simple enough if you’re enrolled in college or a code school — discrete math is built right in, usually as...
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17 Feb

When You Suddenly Hate Programming

Adapted and expanded from my response on Quora. From the outside, development work is an appealing opportunity. It’s in high demand, it pays well, and it lets you use your brain. Fun, right? Well, for many, yes! It...
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15 Feb

6 Ways to Learn Javascript in a Hurry

Javascript seems to be one of those things that people always want to learn in a hurry. Maybe it’s because most of them are students and students have neither time nor patience, maybe it’s because Javascript lends itself to being...
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30 Aug

Learning Jenkins: Example Projects

Learning Jenkins? Jenkins, a free continuous integration tool, is fantastic for handling large projects, and its abilities within its domain are practically limitless. But this benefit is a hindrance, too — getting started can be befuddling! The fundamentals of...
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12 May

A Remarkable Exercise in Programming Prowess

A remarkable exercise: reducing a programming language (Ruby, in this case) to its bare minimum while preserving its expressiveness and power, and demonstrating how that functionality can be derived from lambda functions. Check it out here, at Programming with Nothing....
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