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some past-time readings

General

• ten things facebook taught me about personal finance
• my mama told me i better shop around
• In Praise of Melancholy
• happiness

Technology Related

• Microsoft dropped Vista hardware spec to raise Intel profits
  More evidence to the collusion of companies scratching each other's backs.
• how to configure an $80 File Server in 45 minutes
• Hard drive partitioning strategies
• Inside Windows Vista Kernel, part 1
  , Part 2
  , Part 3
• vLite: lighten Windows Vista
  , speedy vista

• Sysinternal's TCPView

Python Related

• Sendkeys is Fantastic
• Python FaceBook API

Posted by Hoang at 01:03 PM | Add the first comment | Wonderful Links

Some things to read

Working with Windows COM and Multithreading

• Win32 user interface work is inherently single-threaded

• Other problems traced to violating COM single-threaded apartment rules in the shell

• MFC and COM

Some topics to browse through

• Stanford University Guidelines for Web Credibility
  This is some common-sense. If you are a web developer, it will help to keep this in mind and integrate some of the concepts into your site. If you are a user, look for signs of these in places that you visit in the virtual world.

• Herb Sutter C++ articles

• Network programming with the Twisted framework
  Only of use for Python users.

• JOS Discussion: Moving back home to save money

• JOS Discussion: back-up procedures

Some Tools
* MSDN download - Jul 2007

• Microsoft XMLNotePad

• Python for .NET
  Not sure if this competes with IronPython.
  
• EditObj - similar to Bean Inspector but for Python

• EasyVMX - configuring VMPlayer 2.0

Posted by Hoang at 09:40 AM | Add the first comment | Wonderful Links

CVS vs Subversion

I have been using CVS in quite a few places now and it has proved quite useful for day-to-day work. Not bad for something that is free. However, like all things confronted with the passing time, it is dated. Mind you, it is not as old as the ole SCCS but it has been a standard in the unix/linux realm for over a decade. With larger companies, I have seen migration to ClearCase. Now ClearCase is mighty powerful but it is also expensive. How much? I don't know... but I have only seen use of it in companies in excess of 5000 people.

For the past 3 years, there has been much talk of SubVersion. It is supposed to trumph CVS . Many people have even claimed that it should replace CVS . The opinion in 2004 may just be that.... an opinion . However, it is now 3 years after and if the SubVersion adoption is more prevalent, then this may be a trend that should not be disregarded.

Below are just some links comparing/differentiating the two Sourcecode Control Systems:

• CVS is out, Subversion is in

• SVN vs CVS quick comparison

• Migrating from CVS to Subversion

• The Top Ten Subversion Tips for CVS Users

• Subversion Delivers Version Control that CVS Can't

• CVS to SVN Crossover Guide

• Experiences With Subversion

• Get Ready for Subversion's Reign

Posted by Hoang at 09:53 AM | 5 Comments | Software Development , Wonderful Links

Development Links

Linux Related

• Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Edition
• Linux POSIX pThreads Tutorial
• Porting device drivers to the 2.6 kernel
• Installing LAMP guide
• Another guide

Python

• Jython - Run python on any Java platform
  This lets you execute Python programs from within the Java Virtual Machine. Wild, but I am sure it is useful for all the Java folks looking for a scripting language. In addition to IronPython (which covers the .NET arena), I think this covers as many platforms as anyone can think of. For my part, I would love to find a port of Python for the ARM embedded platform. Although the small footprint of the embedded device might be a show-stopper.

Utilities

• SpeedFan
  This shows you the temperature of your laptop as well as allows you to control the turning on of fan. I'm running an HP Pavilion at work and most of the time when I kick off a make, the fan kicks on like a leaf blower.

Posted by Hoang at 06:20 PM | Add the first comment | Wonderful Links

Linux Links

Since I am now involved in Embedded Linux development on an ARM based machine, many of these links are Linux related. There are also some links on general software development on Linux: sockets, threading, patterns, etc...

• Multithreaded Programming :: Improving Performance through Threads
• Five pitfalls of Linux sockets programming
• Linux Network Programming
• Popular Design Patterns
• Memory Leak Detection in Embedded Systems
• Mounting SMB shares permanently
• Configuration File class
• Use Samba to Map a Linux Directory to a Windows Drive

Posted by Hoang at 07:30 AM | Add the first comment | Wonderful Links

Win32 things to do with Python

Embedding the Python Interpreter into C++

• Embedding Python
• Linux Journal: Embedding Python in your C Programs
  One thing to note is that the C code must manually manipulate the reference counts of Python Objects when it deals with Python datastructures.
• Linux Journal: Embedding Python in Multi-Threaded C/C++ Applications
• pyfromc
  Not sure if this is useful but it is another starting-point datapoint.
  

Namedpipes and Python

• CodeProject: Win32 IPC Mechanisms
• Writeup on NamedPipes
• Python + ctypes + namedpipes
• comp.lang.python: namedpipes examples
  

Posted by Hoang at 01:48 PM | Add the first comment | Python Programming , Wonderful Links

Development Links

Python Related

• OnLamp - Python Logging
• pyChecker
  One of the nasties of an interpreter is that errors in code are not found unless your thread of execution travels through the code that you have written. Although Python lets you get productive quickly, it also gives you a false sense of security. Just because your program runs without errors doesn't mean that it contain no errors. Hopefully pyChecker will help flush out those that are normally caught by a compiler within languages like C or C++. Here is a discussion from Guido about a proposal for static typing in Python: Optional Static Typing

• PyRO - Python Remote Objects
  This is very similar to CORBA or Unix's RPC (Remote Procedure Call). It takes care of all the details involved in calling code residing on another machine. It also works as an IPC (InterProcess Call), pretty decent way to share data between separate applications. This is the Pyro Wiki Does anyone know what the overhead is?

• WYSIWYG GUI editor for wxWidgets

• Python411 Podcast Series
  A series of Audio articles on programming with Python and various ways of providing solutions using Python.
• A Smorgasbord of Python Testing Tools

Just Useful Tools

• Dependency Walker
  This is one of many must tools for Windows developers.
• NotePad++
  I am already using SciTE but NotePad++ is getting a lot of praise from its users. Both use the Scintilla component as the underlying engine so the look-and-feel of both editors should be very similar.
  

Posted by Hoang at 04:39 PM | Add the first comment | Python Programming , Wonderful Links

Language Links

Python Related

• PyOpenGL - Python OpenGL Binding
  Here is another implementation of OpenGL access: uncOpenGL Supposedly it is simpler to use than PyOpenGL. Has anyone tried either?

• Python Unit Testing Tools
• Of snakes and rubies; Or why I chose Python over Ruby
  I have already made my choice 5 years ago over Java, PHP, Perl, JavaScript, Visual Basic. I'm sure like other developers, we haven't regretted it yet. (knock-on-wood). The link is a write-up of the path of someone else making the choice.
• Python Infrequently Answered Questions
• pyNSource - class diagramming tool
  This is great for reverse-engineering existing code or just to give a framework diagram of existing code.
• HappyDoc - Python Documentation Extraction Tool
  I had used this successfully back in 2002 and decided to try it again. It didn't work for me with ActiveState's Python 2.4 distribution. Hmm, I wonder why.. then again the last release of HappyDoc was quite a few years ago too. pydoc (which is now included in the regular python batteries distribution) gives about the same functionalities. I will stick with pydoc just to simplify matters.
• IPython
  Like above, I checked this out some time back but since it didn't automatically come with the Python distribution, my usage of the tool didn't stick. However, as I will be using Python more regularly now, there are several issues relating to the standard Python Shell that needs scratching. The latest IPython was just release in June. Hopefully it will alleviate the itching from the standard shell.

Other Languages

• programming APIs in different languages
  This is a good reference for programmers.
• PHP shell
  Have I ever mentioned how useful an interactive shell is for rapid development cycles? Everytime I talk to other PHP folks, the topic comes around debugging a script that crashed while executing on the server. Our concensus was that the only option is the printf statement. Yuck!!!

Just Useful Tools

• TextRep - Text Replacement across multiple files.
  Visual Studio has a text replacement function that is applied across multiple files. After working with Python regularly and editting with plain-ole-editors, the loss of this function is making itself felt. This free and relatively miniscule tool helps alleviate the problem.
• Free compilers: Turbo Delphi, C++, C#
  It's wonderful that Borland is deciding to release free versions of these tools.

Posted by Hoang at 01:38 AM | Add the first comment | Python Programming , Software Development , Wonderful Links

Some Links

General

• Immaturity Levels Rising in Adults

Finance

• Misconception: Renting is for Suckers

• College Towns -- the next retirement Meccas?
  Miami certainly is not anymore. I have spoken to quite a few local folks from Miami and they wholeheartedly agree. Unless you have an emotional attachment to the city, it is an outrageously expensive place to be. The old adage of retiring to Miami Beach was a remnant of the 60s. Smart older folks who have been living here left when Miami Vice reached its peak.

• How the Monthly Mentality Messes Up Your Wealth

Posted by Hoang at 03:41 PM | 2 Comments | Wonderful Links