Michael Fogus's Blog, page 21

A JavaScript Puzzler

var M = function() { this.m = function() { return 42 } };

var inst = new M();

inst.f = function() { return 42 };

// How to tell that f is a function in a field and // m is a method in an arbitrary object? // // example:

is_method(inst.f); //=> false

is_method(inst.m); //=> [...]

Function Identities

One of the first features one will encounter when exploring Clojure (and most Lisps that I am familiar with) is that its arithmetical operations can take any number of arguments. (+ 1 2 3 4 5) ;=> 15 This feature is very convenient, but if you are a tinkerer then you may quickly encounter something [...]

Become Obsolete

this is a follow-on to a previous post Never Feel Safe. maybe this is a series? who knows. Here are some technologies that I've spent significant time and energy learning, that have seen better days: MFC Javaspaces CORBA CLIPS HLA 6809 assembly language 1802 assembly language XML-RPC Commodore 64 BASIC Ant TextPad XLispStat My brain [...]

Marginalia v0.5.1 has landed

I just pushed out the latest bug-fix version of Marginalia, v 0.5.1. You can grab it via your chosen build system through Clojars or directly at the Marginalia downloads page. Some of the fixes/additions in this release are: Playing nicer with latest version of Hiccup Smarter parsing Documentation of Cake usage Better HTML escaping This [...]

The German School of Lisp

The German school of Lisp is described by Kazimir Majorinc as a Spartan movement1 in Lisp implementation. But let me be clear, the Lisps in question are not toys like the one's littering the Lisp landscape (including my own). Likewise, these Lisps are not libraries nor are they full-blown development ecosystems. Let's explore these distinctions [...]

My favorite interview question

Whenever I interview a candidate I always work in some variation of a very simple question: How would you change your favorite programming language to make it better? I don't really care what the answer is (that is, I don't mind if we disagree). However, I care very much that people think critically about the [...]

Never Feel Safe

While reflecting on the virtue of learning multiple programming languages, each instantiating different paradigms, I came to the conclusion that there is value in feeling out of sorts. Conflict in oneself and against the forces of confusion is essential for advancing one's technical skills and learning humility in the face of seemingly insurmountable complexities. Learning [...]

(Joy of) Clojure Bookshelf

An unofficial extension to Rich Hickey's original "Clojure Bookshelf" list with a focus on books and such that influenced JoC. The Joy of Clojure Bookshelf :f

Node.js is dead. Long live Node.

Funode novus ova seclorum I give node.js a ribbing from time to time, mostly in response to the propensity of its greatest adherents to view it in an unrealistic light. My real bias is of course against Javascript. My problem with Javascript has always been that expertise is defined more in terms of understanding its [...]

"Academics" vs "The Real World"

An "academic" programmer takes the most constrained programming language imaginable and uses it to do mundane things. A "real world" programmer takes the most mundane programming language and uses it to constrain the imagination. :f