The Practical Programmer

Red Light Camera Madness

Red Light Cameras are being installed in more and more places. Yet there are many problems with these devices. Learn how to defend yourself against such machines.

Software Quality

This article describes some very simple, yet powerful things you can do to improve the quality the software produced by your team.


Excuses for not writing comments

Reasons that people don't write commands and why these reasons are invalid.

Microsoft Notation

I thought Microsoft Notation (aks Hungarian Notation) was so good that I proposed using it for English. By doing so I can make English just as clear as Microsoft code.

Numbers

One of the best interview questions I've every been asked involved just a simple set of numbers. Although the question was simple, the answer was not. Take a look to see how things went.

Code Reviews

Setting up a code review process is not a simple task. This article discusses how to go about it and some of the pitfalls you must avoid when starting a review process at your company.

Counting the votes

The registrar of voters has a hard job, much harder than you might think. But they actually do a good job of not only counting the votes, but counting in a transparent way that limits mistakes and fraud. (In spite of what happened in the election of 2000.)

Warning Stickers

Stickers that should be put on software packages if the manufacturers were willing to tell the truth.

CP/M vs. Windows-NT

We benchmark CP/M on an 8 bit Z80 against Windows-NT and provide that it's faster and more secure. Actually this just shows how you can devise a benchmark to prove just about anything.

UCTA Protest -- What to about a bad law

Fortunately the UCTA (Uniform Computer Transaction Act) is now dead. It would have legalized click-through licenses. If it ever went through in California, I had a unique protest in mind.

UCTA Why EOL is what it is

Linux, MacOS, and Microsoft Windows all use different characters to end a line. Here's the story behind how this came about.

Don't Let the Computer Bully You

Increasingly computers are taking over our lives. This article tells you how to take your life back.