Robert A. Uhl

Why programmers need to know statistics

Well, for one, Zed Shaw will kill them if they don’t. But seriously, he brings up some very important points about the use and misuse of statistics in computer science circles. I’ve used R, the statistical package to which he refers; it’s a nice piece of work, and very useful for my purpose at the time (which was determining the root cause of some performance problems on one of my hosts). Read more →

The little coder’s predicament

A blogger named ‘why the lucky stiff’ argues that we need more little languages for kids to play with. When we were young, every computer system had an included programing language which let one play around. I myself was inspired by the Basic available for our TI-99/4a; it’s no doubt a large part of the reason that I’m now a software developer. But most devices these days lack such accessible tools, and hence kids are much less likely to get drawn into programming. Read more →

The little coder’s predicament

A blogger named ‘why the lucky stiff’ argues that we need more little languages for kids to play with. When we were young, every computer system had an included programing language which let one play around. I myself was inspired by the Basic available for our TI-99/4a; it’s no doubt a large part of the reason that I’m now a software developer. But most devices these days lack such accessible tools, and hence kids are much less likely to get drawn into programming. Read more →

Is Perl difficult?

Just read an article at prescod.net titled Is Perl Difficult?; it argues that Perl’s complexity and throw-everything-into-the-language tendency combine to make it significantly more difficult than it really needs to be. Read more →

Is Perl difficult?

Just read an article at prescod.net titled Is Perl Difficult?; it argues that Perl’s complexity and throw-everything-into-the-language tendency combine to make it significantly more difficult than it really needs to be. Read more →

Does Visual Studio rot the mind?

Just came across Does Visual Studio Rot the Mind?, a presentation by Charles Petzold on the process of programming. Very good points about the rhythm of coding and how we can come to over-rely on tools — as well as how that over-reliance can translate into much more complex (and hence brittle) systems. Anyone with an interest in human-computer interactions should take a look. Read more →

Does Visual Studio rot the mind?

Just came across Does Visual Studio Rot the Mind?, a presentation by Charles Petzold on the process of programming. Very good points about the rhythm of coding and how we can come to over-rely on tools — as well as how that over-reliance can translate into much more complex (and hence brittle) systems. Anyone with an interest in human-computer interactions should take a look. Read more →

In praise of Common Lisp

Years ago in school I was introduced to Lisp; my opinion was not very favourable. It appeared to be a goofy theoretical language, useful for exploring functional programming and maybe for AI work, but not for solving real-world problems. I don’t believe that I’m alone in having gotten that impression; for some reason all too many college CS programmes focus on teaching C and Java. Be that as it may, I had the sneaking suspicion that Lisp might actually be far more practical than it had appeared. Read more →

In praise of Common Lisp

Years ago in school I was introduced to Lisp; my opinion was not very favourable. It appeared to be a goofy theoretical language, useful for exploring functional programming and maybe for AI work, but not for solving real-world problems. I don’t believe that I’m alone in having gotten that impression; for some reason all too many college CS programmes focus on teaching C and Java. Be that as it may, I had the sneaking suspicion that Lisp might actually be far more practical than it had appeared. Read more →

How to write unmaintainable code

Recently found How to Write Unmaintainable Code; it’s an amusing compendium of how not to write code. I’ve a nasty feeling I’ve done some of it, too … 07 February 2018: updated URL Read more →

How to write unmaintainable code

Recently found How to Write Unmaintainable Code; it’s an amusing compendium of how not to write code. I’ve a nasty feeling I’ve done some of it, too … 07 February 2018: updated URL Read more →

The Great Computer Language Shootout

I recently discovered the Great Computer Language Shootout, a very cool collection of benchmarks for various programming languages. My one quibble is that it normalises the results to a ten-point scale, when a twelve-point would obviously be superior. Other than that, quite slick. Read more →