Posts Tagged ‘Programming & IT’
8 bit video games, 64 bit servers, and How to Count to Infinity
These technical terms have made their way into popular culture. Let’s make sure everyone knows what they mean. What is a Bit? A bit is a single 0 or 1. You can string these together to make bigger numbers. 8 bits is enough to count from 0 to 255. Or from -128 to 127. We…
Read MoreSimple Effective Shell Scripting
Shell scripting can be wonderful. Microsoft is in the news for adding Linux shell scripting to Windows 10. In honor of that, let’s take a look at Linux shell scripts in action. I’m not talking about those huge, completely unreadable scripts that we’ve all run across. I’m talking about that list of instructions written in…
Read MoreHow to Make C++ Code Run 90x Faster
I’m always concerned with performance. I’m always looking for the best of what’s out there. I recently saw a youtube video where Bjarne Stroustrup compared two data structures. The one that seemed like it should have been faster was almost 100x slower. I had to try that one out for myself. I hear this type…
Read MoreHow to Make a Server More Reliable
There are lots of things you have to do to make your server reliable. As I think about the real problems I encounter on a regular basis, two solutions seem more important than the rest. The first change has been happening all around us. If you’re not building your own computers, you might not notice…
Read MoreMaking Servers Fast AND Powerful
I read a lot about how other people create their servers. Sometimes people ask what makes our servers so fast and so powerful. I love our technology, but I don’t always have the words to describe it. So I read what other people have written. I found this article interesting. It compares Node.js to older…
Read MoreToolkit, Part II
I want to show you the easy way to read results from MySQL in C++. But, we’re not ready yet. In a previous article I showed you some of the basic tools that we reuse in a lot of places. Before we get to the MySQL code, I need to show you more of these…
Read MoreThe Easy Way to Read XML in Java
In a recent post I showed you how our servers generate XML messages. This is how we send alerts and other data to you. Let me continue your tour behind the scenes at Trade-Ideas. This article shows how our client software reads those messages from the server so it can display your results for you.…
Read MoreThe Easy Way to Build a Serious Linux Server
If you’re just testing stuff… if you’re just running at home for fun… even if you’re trying to test software that will eventually run in the server room… you get a lot of flexibility. It’s easy to set up a Linux server for yourself. There are so many options to get started. And you can…
Read MoreWhat’s the easiest way to create an XML document in C++?
What’s the easiest way to create an XML document in C++? In some recent posts, I’ve been sharing with you how we develop software at Trade-Ideas. Before I answer the question above, I think we should take a moment to ponder the question. What’s the easiest way… I’ve worked with a lot of engineers in…
Read MoreThe Value of Experience, and the Value of not Remembering Everything
Our last technical article was very popular, especially on our Facebook page. So here’s more information about how we run our technology at Trade-Ideas. What’s the difference between an experienced programmer and a novice? In particular, what sets apart the person who’s been working with a certain programming language, or other tools, from the person…
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