Aug 14 2009
I used WURFL (Wireless Universal Resource FiLe) during the week for the first time. Specifically, I was using WALL (Wireless Abstraction Library – I think!)!
I was really impressed by how simple it made designing a site to support multiple types of mobile devices!
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Jun 13 2009
I read about a really exciting new programming language during the week called C# Application Markup Language (CSAML). It is basically the merging of C# and XML to create a totally new programming language! You can read more about it in C# Application Markup Language (CSAML): An Evolutionary Leap.
It is even more interesting to see that a few people have actually been discussing this on bulletin boards!
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Apr 20 2009
I have been doing a lot of work in the last three weeks with XML, Schemas, and WSDLs. It has been a while since I worked with these, so it is very enjoyable!
The XML documents that are based on the files that I am working with will be small, and therefore they will be relatively easy to process with limited resources. However, there are methods of improving the performance of processing XML documents.
One such method is to use the AsmXml parser. This is an XML parser that has been written in assemble language! I am aware of this thanks to a friend, but I am not sure if he is actually using this in a production environment!
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Feb 24 2009
A friend sent me a link to a list of humorous Explanations of common Java exceptions today. Enjoy!
Of course, you need to be familiar with Java to appreciate this humour ;)
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Feb 06 2009
Many years ago I did some functional programming in Haskell. I was using it mainly to solve cryptographic problems, and it was very suitable for this. I really enjoyed it, and I think that I was good at it (even if I am praising myself)! However, I never spent any more time with functional programming.
I have an ex-colleague (and friend) who is still very interested in functional programming. I think that someday this ex-colleague will manage to find a reason to start using it in work :o This ex-colleague recently brought an article about functional programming to my attention. The article is It’s Time to Get Good at Functional Programming, and it provides a very brief, but good, introduction to functional programming. It also describes several functional programming languages that make good starting points to learn more.
The main thrust of this article is that functional programming will become increasingly important as chip manufacturers increase performance by adding more cores to processor chips rather than increasing their speeds.
Actually, after reading that article I feel that I would enjoy reviving my functional programming skills :)
Update
I came across Why Haskell will take over the world by a UCD lecturer.
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Nov 25 2008
Microsoft are hosting an event focusing on embedded development and robotics in Dublin next Friday. The general theme of the event is described as:
You’ll see the Microsoft Windows Embedded family of products at work in the real world and discover how they are being used to power systems in factories, cars, your personal navigation or music player device or even your set-top box at home. You’ll get under the hood of the Microsoft® .NET Micro Framework and also discover just how easy it is to build robotics applications for a wide variety of hardware using Microsoft® Robotics Developer Studio, the Windows-based environment.
There will be presentations and demonstrations by Microsoft researchers from the UK, France, and the US.
The event is free, but you must register beforehand. I have also heard that there will be Microsoft prizes for some lucky attendees!
Full details of this event can be found in Windows Embedded and Robotics European Tour.
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