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Showing posts from June, 2011

Best Documentation of a Free Software Package

One oft overlooked artifact in software development is the documentation. An API that is not well documented is no API at all when time is of the essence. That's why I think it is important to discuss some of the tools I have used and their documentation. AutoIt - I love how you simply press F1 within the AutoIt editor and boom, the reference to the particular syntax or function pops up in the help window. This help file is well written, self-contained, and chock full of examples that can be opened up in the editor right from the help, a fantastic symbiotic relationship. After installing AutoIt and giving it a try using their examples, I was able to create client/server scripts, GUI scripts, and window management scripts in no time. Overall, AutoIt is tops in this competition. A+ MySQL - At the bottom of each page of documentation that discusses a particular statement, users are able to post comments containing code snippets for that particular statement. This is great... M

10 #android apps I can't do without

After a couple of months with my #atrix, I have found some apps to be indispensable. Here they are: Checklist - a great way to organize todo lists to track progress in getting get things done! Evernote - to jot down my random yet important thoughts. Tweetdeck - all in one social networking platform. PowerAmp - a better music player. Widget Locker - a faster way to get to my most commonly used apps. Youtube - watching and uploading video. Slashdot - latest nerdy headlines. Gmail - primary email. Yahoo Mail - spam email. Kindle - to read a book on the go. Angry Birds - waste time on occasion. What are your favorite android apps? posted from Bloggeroid

5 reasons why I don't like e-readers for programming

As a developer, I probably see things a lot differently than your average Kindle or Nook novel reader. I am much more concerned with the information supplied and rely less on the prose and more on the ability to allow a book to be reviewed by my colleagues. Recently, I bought a book (Advanced CORBA Programming in C++) and read it e-cover-to-e-cover on my smartphone. There were lots of positives which can really be summarized by the convenience in being able to pick up the novel anytime in the convenience of my handheld device. That said, here are 5 reasons why I don't think e-readers are ready for prime time for programming books. They don't allow printing - E-reader companies may balk at the idea of trying to support network printer drivers because they feel that people will be likely to print out an entire book and make copies at will. I find this to be unreasonable, because I feel at most a programmer would want to print out a few code examples or beefy definitions at wo