1/14    Why is NULL defined to be "0" in C++ instead of "((void *) 0)" like in
        C?  I have some overloaded functtions where one takes an integer
        parameter and the other a pointer parameter.  When I call it with
        "NULL", the compiler matches it with the integer version instead of
        the pointer version which is a problem.  Other funny effect is that
        sizeof(NULL) is different from sizeof(myPtr).  Thanks.
	...

4/04    Is there a good way to diff 2 files that consist of columns of
        floating point numbers, such that it only tells me if there's a
        difference if the numbers on a given line differ by at least a given
        ratio?  Say, 1%?
        \_ Use Excel.
           1. Open foo.txt in Excel.  It should convert all numbers to cells in
	...

4/29    Why were C and Java designed to require "break;" statements for a
        "case" section to terminate rather than falling-through to the next
        section?  99% of the time poeple want a "case" section to terminate.
        In fact some compilers issue warning if there is no "break;" statement
        in a "case" section.  Why not just design the languages to have
        termination as the default behavior, and provide a "fallthru;"
	...

7/19    In C or C++, how do I write the code of a function with variable
        number of parameters in order to pass the variable parameters to
        another function that also has variable number of parameters?  Thanks.
        \_ The usual way (works on gcc 3.0+, Visual Studio 2005+):
               #define foo(fmt, ...) printf(fmt, ##__VA_ARGS__)
           The cool new way (works on gcc 4.3+):
	...

3/7     I have a C question.  I have the following source code in two identical
        files t.c and t.cpp:
                #include <stdlib.h>
                int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                  const char * const * p1;
                  const char * * p2;
	...

2/4     random C programming/linker fu question.  If I have
        int main() { printf("%s is at this adddr %p\n", "strlen", strlen); }
        and soda's /proc/sys/kernel/randomize_va_space is 2 (eg; on)
        why is strlen (or any other libc fn) at the same address every time?
        \_ I don't pretend to actually know the right answer to this, but
           could it have something to do with shared libraries?
	...

2/12    I need a way to make a really big C++ executable (~200MBs) that does
        nothing.  No static initialization either.  Any ideas?
        \_ static link in lots of libraries?
        \_ #define a   i=0; i=0; i=0; i=0; i=0; i=0; i=0; i=0; i=0; i=0;
           #define b   a a a a a a a a a a
           #define c   b b b b b b b b b b
	...

9/28    http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html
        Java is #1!!! Followed by C, PHP, C++, Visual Basic, Perl,
        C#, Python, Javascript, then finally Ruby. The good news is
        Pascal is going waaaay back up!
        \_ C is still more popular than C++?  I feel much better about myself
           now.
	...

8/6     In C one can do "typedef int my_index_t;".  What's the equivalent in
        C#?  Thanks.
        \_ C#? Are you serious? Is this what the class of 2009 learn?
           \_ No.  I have to learn .NET code at work.  I am Class of '93.
           \_ python is what 2009 learns, see the motd thread about recent
              cal courses and languages
	...

7/20    For those who care btw, it looks like eclipse is now A Standard Tool
        at UCB ugrad cs, probably replaced emacs.  Furthermore, people get
        angry at seeing Makefiles, (since eclispe takes care of that).  I
        guess it's just a sign of the times.
        \_ The more people at my work use eclipse the less the code is
           managable in emacs.  I'm not sure which application's fault
	...

12/18   Happy 25th birthday Perl, and FUCK YOU Larry Wall for fucking up
        the computer science formalism that sets back compilers development
        back for at least a decade:
        http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/18/print-happy-25th-birthday-perl
        \_ I tried to learn Perl but was scared away by it.  Maybe scripting
           lanauages have to be like that in order to work well?
	...

1/22    looking to buy a new development laptop
        needs ssdrive, >6 hr possible batt life, and runs linux reasonably
        Anyone have a recommendation? Thx.
        \_ thinkpad t23 w ssdrive and battery inplace of drive bay
        \_ Ever wondered what RICHARD STALLMAN uses for a laptop?  Well,
           wonder no more!
	...

1/12    How do I get a job NOT related to internet DNS social network cloud
        twitter GOOG EC2 amazon API ???
        \_ A CS job not related to API?
        \_ Chip design, or maybe software that does chip design. What is
           your major? How about game developer?
        \_ DNS? DNS? What era ado you live in? I agree that social network
	...

8/31    I'm trying to learn ActionScript, like a step by step tutorial.
        The site at http://www.actionscript.org/resources/categories/Tutorials/Flash/Beginner
        isn't well organized. It doesn't explain how to get started with
        an editor, compiler, IDE. And should I even learn AS2 when you can
        learn AS3? Is Adobe Flash CS4 >>> CS3 or just CS4 > CS3?
	...

5/6     I'm sure you've seen web sites that distribute software by making
        a user fill out a form and then e-mailing the user a randomly
        generate link to the software that works just once. What software
        is used to do this? I'd like to distribute software in such a way.
        \_ "Software"?  What web server/web application environment
           are you using?
	...

2/28    I'm looking for a recommendation of a compiler/IDE to use to
        develop C/C++ code under Linux. In school, we used jove/gcc and
        I still use emacs/vi and gcc to this day. However, it is really
        lacking. Under Windows I tried Visual Studio and there were some
        really nice things about it, although it was so overwhelming that
        after 6 months of occasional use I still didn't really know what I
	...

1/13    I am writing a commandline parser for a class and I could use some
        tips for algorithms to use. (The project is over and done so I am
        not cheating, but I am dissatisfied with my end result.) I STFW and
        didn't come up with too much I liked. I read the source for some
        shells like tcsh and that is *WAY* too complicated and relies on
        a lot of other code. I know that browsers and other apps have
	...

6/8     CSUA code guru please help. I need to see my random number
        generator with a good seed (I just need random 18 bit
        identifiers). The usual time(NULL) is OK, except my program
        might be invoked faster than once a second, and seeding using
        time() produced the same result. I tried clock() but it seems
        to return 0. My program needs to be run in Linux/DOS (Watcom
	...