Compression - the Starr Guide
Compression is an exciting topic - and here's an exciting explanation that shows why, via encryptions, Morse code, entropy and saying "umm" too often.
View ArticleA Simple Virtual Machine
Virtual Machines have more uses than you might imagine. We have a real example of how a VM can be used to increase the security of your code.
View ArticleUnderstanding the Fourier Transform
The Fourier transform crops up in a wide range of everyday programming areas - compression, filtering, reconstruction to mention just three general areas. You can get away with using it without...
View ArticleSimple Runtime Framework by Example
These days we are surrounded by different software frameworks. Java, and .NET to name but two, and, there are many more. Have you ever wondered how they work or have you ever wanted or needed to...
View ArticleWhat Is Asynchronous Programming?
Asynchronous programming has become very important in the last few years, but many programmers find out about it by doing it. So what exactly is asynchronous programming, why is it necessary and why is...
View ArticleThink Global, Act Local - The Bigger Pattern
The big issue in architecture is usually the choice between global and local implementation. However, this is so all-pervasive a choice that we tend to miss that there is more to the idea that you...
View ArticleLate Binding - Myths and Reality
Late binding in .NET – the accepted wisdom is that it’s complicated, advanced and VB does it better than C#. We explain that it’s easy and C# and VB are equally good at it and illuminate what is going...
View ArticleThe Essence Of Loops
Loops are an essential part of any program and becoming a programmer is mostly a matter of mastering the idea of controlled repetition. It is sad that most programmers only know the forms of loops...
View ArticleSorting Algorithms as Dances
One surprise viral success for I Programmer was the amazing "Sorting Algorithms as Dances", a set of videos by Sapientia University that show how to sort things by dancing the various algorithms. If...
View ArticleThe Goto, Spaghetti and the Velociraptor
What is it about the Goto that attracts velociraptors? Once you know, dino attack is the least thing on your mind!
View ArticleThe Trick Of The Mind - Programming & Algorithmic Thought
This introductory chapter of our new ebook on the nature of programming is aimed at programmers and non-programmers alike. If you can't program then find out why you should learn. If you can program...
View ArticleManaging Asynchronous Code - Callbacks, Promises & Async/Await
You can understand asynchronous code very deeply and still have no clear idea how best to write such code. There are so many possible approaches. In the follow-on to What Is Asynchronous Programming?,...
View ArticleThe Bloom Filter
You may never have heard of a Bloom Filter, but this ingenious algorithm is used in Google's BigTable database to save time fruitlessly searching for data that isn't there.
View ArticleThe Trick Of The Mind - Turing Complete
This second chapter of our new book-in-progress on the nature of programming is aimed at programmers and non-programmers alike. If you can't program, find out why you should learn. If you can program,...
View ArticleLambdas and Delegates - Why Bother?
Programming style has evolved - and delegates and lambdas bring us round in a circle. Functions should be objects but if you don't like this idea then you have to invent delegates and lambdas.
View ArticleThe Invertible Bloom Filter
If you think that the Bloom filter is magic, wait until you see the invertible Bloom filter. This not only keeps a record of data, it allows you to add, delete and make a list of the data you have...
View ArticleUniversal Hashing
Hashing is a fun idea that has lots of unexpected uses. Here we look at a novel type of hash function that makes it easy to create a family of universal hash functions. The method is based on a random...
View ArticleHow Not To Shuffle - The Knuth Fisher-Yates Algorithm
Sometimes simple algorithms are just wrong. In this case shuffling an array looks like a foolproof task, but the obvious doesn't always work and the correct algorithm is just a tiny change away. Find...
View ArticleParentheses Are Trees
Parentheses are at the heart of programming. Understand parentheses and you can rule the earth. No, seriously! Parentheses, trees and stacks are all interconnected in a very deep and fundamental way.
View ArticleThe Working Programmer's Guide To Language Paradigms
You would think that we would agree on how best to program. In fact we are still warring tribes trying to make the case for our own particular view of how programming should be done. The question is:...
View ArticleDangerous Logic - De Morgan & Programming
Programmers are master logicians - well they sometimes are. Most of the time they are as useless at it as the average joe. The difference is that the average joe can avoid logic and hence the mistakes....
View ArticleLambda Calculus For Programmers
You may have heard of "the lambda calculus" - it's the reason lambda expressions are so called. You may know that it is something to do with computability, and so any explanation of how it works should...
View ArticleThe Programmer's Guide To The Transfinite
You may have heard a rumor that infinity comes in a number of different types. Get to the bottom of the theory and dispel misconceptions surrounding aleph-zero and all that, with a programmer's view of...
View ArticleAxiom Of Choice - The Programmer's Guide
The axiom of choice is the most esoteric math concept you are likely to encounter. You might think it has no relevance to computing, but you would be wrong.
View ArticleQuadtrees and Octrees
If you do any advanced work in graphics, sooner or later you will meet the Quadtree or its 3D relation, the Octree. For this reason alone they are worth knowing about, but they are also something you...
View ArticleFunctional And Dysfunctional Programming
What is functional programming? Surely all our programs should function in some way or other? No - that's not what it means. Functional programming is altogether different....
View ArticleWhat Exactly Is A First Class Function - And Why You Should Care
You may have heard people saying that in some language or another that functions were first class objects, or have come across the term first class function. What does it mean? And why is it so good?
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - NP & Co-NP
As well as how long it takes to do a computation, you can also ask questions about how hard verification of a supposed answer is and this leads us on to the class of problems called NP – perhaps...
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - The Halting Problem
Now we have the Church-Turing thesis and the prime model of computation the Turing machine, it is time to ask what computations are out of reach. If you have not encountered these ideas before then...
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - Numbers
Numbers are central to computation and computer science but they are often regarded as the province of the mathematician. Programmers need some background in what numbers are and this is what this...
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - Where Do The Big Os Come From
You may know about big O notation, but what does it tell you about the algorithm in question? This is what this extract from Chapter 15 of my recent book is all about.
View ArticleThe Monty Hall Problem
The Monty Hall problem is an exercise in probability theory that even experts get wrong. It seems to be subtle and even paradoxical, but when you notice exactly what is going on it becomes obvious....
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - Why Recursion
So you know what recursion is, but do you know why it is? This is what this extract from Chapter 15 of my recent book is all about.
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - Kolmogorov Complexity
Randomness and regularity are two sides of the same coin but what connects them? Kolmogorov complexity, related to both, is one of the strangest ideas of all. This is what this extract from Chapter 7...
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - Aleph Zero The First Transfinite
Infinity is a concept that mathematicians are supposed to understand and love but I argue that infinity is more at home in computer science and to understand it you need to know what it looks like....
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - NP Complete
One of the most amazing ideas in computer science is that some NP problems are complete in the sense that they represent all of the problems in NP. Given how different NP problems can seem, how can...
View ArticleWho’s Afraid of eXtreme Programming
You probably have heard of eXtreme Programming or XP. It's a type of agile software development and a lot of people think it's great. Some are trying to turn it into something more like software...
View ArticleCovariance And Contravariance - A Simple Guide
Programming, and computer science in particular, has a tendency to use other people's jargon. Often this makes things seem more difficult. You may have heard of covariance and contravariance and...
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - In Search Of Aleph-One
Infinity -- there is nothing bigger? Or is there? It is a surprising but entirely logical conclusion that infinity comes in different sizes but where do we find a bigger infinity? This is what this...
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - What Is Recursion
So you know what recursion is, but do you know why it is? This is what this extract from Chapter 16 of my recent book is all about.
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - Finite State Machines
In many ways finite state machines are more important than Turing machines - because in real life there are no infinite state machines.
View ArticleThe Trick Of The Mind - Big Languages Are Turing Complete
This introductory chapter of my new book on the nature of programming is aimed at programmers and non-programmers alike. In this extract we look at what makes a language "big" enough to do the job.
View ArticleThe Trick Of The Mind -The Strange Incident of The Goto Considered Harmful
In this chapter from my recent book we learn about the strange case of the goto instruction and why it caused such a storm - and perhaps still does.
View ArticleThe Trick Of The Mind - Little Languages Arithmetic
This introductory chapter of my new book on the nature of programming is aimed at programmers and non-programmers alike. In this extract we look at one of the "little" languages - not a full...
View ArticleProgrammer's Guide To Theory - Transcendental Numbers
Computation and transcendental numbers don't seem much connected, but these are the numbers that are irrational and in principle the most difficult to compute. But there are important exceptions.
View ArticleThe Trick Of The Mind - On Being Variable
This chapter of my new book on the nature of programming is aimed at both programmers and non-programmers. In this extract we look at the idea of a variable something that confuses the beginner and...
View ArticleThe Trick Of The Mind - Representation
We have only bits? How can sets of bits represent anything we want to work with inside a program? The answer is that everything is a number.
View ArticleThe Trick Of The Mind - Debugging As The Scientific Method
Creating programs is just part of being a programmer - the other big part is the act of debugging and yet we rarely consider it as an important skill - and yet it is.
View ArticleThe Trick Of The Mind - Algorithms Binary Search
An algorithm is just a way of doing something and as such every program embodies an algorithm. This is an extract from my book Trick of the Mind which explores what it is to be a programmer.
View ArticleThe Trick Of The Mind - The Loop Zoo
Loops! They are fundamental to creating algorithms - but what are they and how many varieties are there? This is an extract from my book Trick of the Mind which explores what it is to be a programmer.
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