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?
	...

12/4    FORTRAN, er, Python 3.0 / 3000 is out:
        http://www.python.org/download/releases/3.0
        \_ As someone who tried out Python and disliked it, is there a reason I
           should take a look at it again?
           \_ Not really. Why'd you dislike Python? I love it.
              \_ The whitespace was a killer, other syntax a bit clunky,
	...

5/2     How do I get the L1/L2 cache size and cache line size on my machine?
        Can I find this stuff out at compile time somehow?
        \_ You aren't planning on running your code on any other processors?
        \_ May I ask what it is you want to achieve ultimately? If you don't
           know your architecture and want to find out dynamically, there are
           tools that can peek/poke to give you definitive answers, plus you get
	...

12/13   http://khason.biz/blog/2004/12/why-microsoft-can-blow-off-with-c.html
        Why Microsoft Can Blow Off with C the Language (humor/funny)
                                                       \_ not really.  -tom
             that's because tom holub is the anonymous humourless nuker _/
        \_ Feel the babelfish flow through you.
        \_ Any body who thinks Fortran hasn't seen widespread acceptance hasn't
	...

7/7     If you're interested in working at Lawrence Livermore National Lab,
        there are quite a few openings.  The first opening I heard about
        today was for working on parallel file systems in Linux, a good OS
        hacking job.  See it at: /csua/pub/jobs/LLNL.  However, there are
        always a lot of jobs for scientific programmers (Familiariry with
        Math, Physics, and/or biology are big pluses). There's also some sys
	...

5/12    can someone reccomend a numerical analysis text? i never took numerical
        analysis as an undergrad, and i need to solve some heat transfer
        equations numerically.  something that is readable and also a good
        reference would be great.  thanks.
        \_ A common one is "Burden and Faires". There is another equally
           common one I have forgotten but will remember.
	...

5/11    To FP activists on the motd, if currying is such a great idea, why
        it's not implemented symmetrically in say Caml?  It seems more
        natural to treat the arguments of a function more symmetrically.
        \_ If by 'symmetric' you mean that if, for example, I have a function
           f of two arguments a and b, I should be able to curry on either
           a or b, then Ocaml does this using labeled arguments.  Caml does
	...

9/16    I manage the Engineering Department at a software company in
        Southern California. We have openings for several senior level
        developers. C/C++ required, MFC and Qt experience a plus. Send
        resumes to rjchu@hightowersoftware.com - I'll be out of town this
        week and doing call backs next week based on the resumes I get.
        \_ There is no such thing as C/C++.  Pick one or pick both.
	...

8/10    I just build a AMD2500+ computer and overall I'm pretty happy with
        it. However it seems to output a lot more heat than my P4. Is this
        normal?
        \_ yes AMD cpus consume more power and run hotter
        \_ I hope you're not settling for a stock fan, and you have at least
           2-3 case fans.
	...