C++ random number generation
This post compares random number generation in “the old days”, and in modern C++. This is how we used to do it: #include <cstdlib.h> srand((unsigned)time(NULL)); // seed the random number […]
Hacker’s diary
Compiling stand-alone file in classic .NET vs Dotnet core
I realized that compiling a single-file program became much more complicated in Dotnet core compared to regular .NET. For starters, here’s how you run a Python file: python foo.py Here’s […]
Tic-tac-toe in HTML5
I was just experimenting with HTML5 canvas. The game is entirely in HTML5/JavaScript, it should work on desktop and on mobile devies. The moves table is pre-generated in C#. Play […]
Equivalent of C# delegates in Python
Coming from C# background, I was trying to understand whether Python allows to pass obj.method where ordinary function is expected, and if yes, how could it possibly work. Consider this […]
The growth of command-line options: 1979-2017
I stumbled upon an article (https://danluu.com/cli-complexity/), that explores the dramatic growth of the number of command line options in most popular Unix commands between 1979 and 2017 and explains why […]
“You made 5 billionth search” scam
When I was going to Worldometer’s coronavirus page, it would redirect me to some stupid scam web site saying “you made 5 billionth search”. It happened only one one of […]
Python: logical operations with None and Booleans
Coming back to the blog after long break. Today, almost by accident I found how logical operators work with None in Python. The result is surprising, because it is not […]
Can’t reuse Dell computer parts
I have a very nicely built 12 year old Dell tower, that I inherited from some startup, which I use as a home server running Ubuntu. I also have a […]
Guido said it would cause too much disturbance…
Python has two ways to convert an object to a string: str(x) and repr(x). str is supposed to be user-readable, and repr is more technical, e.g. for debugging purposes. To […]
Bash: is missing file older than existing file?
In bash it is possible to test whether one file is older or newer than the other: if [ file1 -nt file2 ]; then # do something fi if [ […]