Throwing null
What happens when you cast null to an exception type, then throw it? →
April 2003
Mac vs PC. A parable.
They're not really My Documents, you see. They're Bill's. →
Swallowing Exceptions: Don't Do It!
The only place where it is acceptable to swallow exceptions is in the first case: if the throwing of the exception means absolutely nothing to your application, that's the only time you can ignore it. If you're going to be swallowing an exception, have the courage to swallow it silently. If you can't muster that courage, if you have one of those guilty pangs every time you see an empty catch block, it's a good sign that swallowing the exception was the wrong thing to do in the first place. →
Classic Testing Mistakes
Classic Testing Mistakes by Brian Marick dates back to 1997, but this is the first time I've read it. It's a very good, common-sense guide to software testing. →
What is a "type"?
In Java at least, an object's type represents three different things: (a) The messages that the object will respond to. This defines the object's interface. (b) The code that the object will use to respond to these messages. This defines the object's implementation. (c) An attribute of the object, of type Class. Sometimes, people get stuck on the third one, and give it far more importance than is really necessary. →
Cat-Strangling
If there's one musical instrument I detest, it's the bagpipes. →
Java, the evolutionary dead-end
In a previous post, I noted Paul Graham had described Java as an "evolutionary dead-end". After a lot of thinking about what this means, I've come to the conclusion that it's not really such a bad thing for Java to be. After all, the crocodile is an evolutionary dead-end too, but we don't hold that against it. →
What is a standard?
Standard has to be one of the most over-used terms these days. Technologies compete against each other, and get into slanging matches over who is the most "standard". The term is meaningless. →
The Memory Management Glossary
Ned Batchelder pointed to The Memory Management Glossary, which is (as would be expected) a glossary of terms applicable to memory management. I'm linking to it because I just know it's the sort of thing I'll want to be able to find in the future, and if I don't write it down, I'll forget. →
Prevayling Stupidity
To save you following the link, the Prevalent Hypothesis is (direct quote) "That there is enough RAM to hold all business objects in your system." That's right. Users of Prevayler don't have to worry about there being enough RAM because... we assume there will always be enough RAM! →
Publishing Woes
I was thinking of writing something longer than a blog-entry. Anyway, to do this, I must pick a format. I want an open format, naturally, but I also want to be able to publish to both PDF and HTML. I want the PDF to look professional, but I don't want the HTML to look like ass. Which leaves me in a bit of a bind. →
A good host is hard to find
The quality of a web-host is measured by how little you notice they exist, and in the six months I've been running The Fishbowl on their service, I've noticed them precisely once. That's a pretty good record by any account. Good work, AVS. →
Make your queries consistent
One tenet of predictability is that when you make identical queries against identical sets of data, the results should also be identical. In queries that return multiple responses, this includes the order in which the data is returned. →
Mail.app problem solved?
I, of course, haven't been deleting the junk messages, I've been moving them into a storage folder. I am willing to assume this is what's been confusing the filter into wondering what is spam, and what isn't. →
Brain Stew
A host is a host, from coast to coast / and everyone talks to a host that's close / unless of course, the host that's close / is busy, hung or dead. →
Mail.app spam filter a dud?
One of the big selling-points for Apple's Mail application in OS X is the adaptive spam filter. Reviewers have gone wild praising how wonderful it is, and how it gets rid of 95% of their spam. In my experience, it has been catching about one fifth of the junk, and letting 80% through. →
A nerd in a fishbowl
The artist occasionally known as Urban_Dragon drew this the other day and sent it to me. It's really neat. Thanks Urb. :) →
Quote of the Day
Written, by me, in an IM to a cow orker: "It's one of my better ideas. Although I still think the one about putting saddles on sheep has merit." →
Revolutions are not imposed from above.
I'm engaged in a running battle with my father over web services. He believes in them. I don't. I admit I'm young, but I've never seen a computing revolution imposed from above. →