Archive for the ‘Programming’ Category

Where did yesterday go?

Wednesday, June 16th, 2004

Well I didn’t post yesterday. Kinda got caught up with all the programming and sleeping.
That fancy info I talked about, I forgot what it was. So all I can say is that the trip was damn exhausting and I am still recuperating. Getting old.

However in order to stop forgetting things, I bought myself a new toy. Now I plan on using it whenever I get cool ideas. I shall report on whether I succeed or fail. So far I have only one complaint, and that is that you can’t plug in the iPod remote into it. You can plug in headphones, but not the remote itself.

If you are lazy and want to see pictures from the trip, look below and click on the “continue reading” link. If you are not lazy, there is one new bit of cool info. I started to blog all my coding ideas and notes onto a separate blog. If you want some insight into the mind of a programmer (although I still suck), read that one.

I update it quite often and it’s quite fun to read.

You might also notice that the site looks different now. I decided to grab some standard design templates from movabletype website, so as to improve the look until I actually make something different.

Enjoy the pictures.
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Posted in Blogging, Diary, Programming, Vehicles, travel | 3 Comments »

Programming and Artistry

Saturday, June 12th, 2004

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I wanted to put in a quick word while taking a breather from my coding efforts.
I am currently working on a 2d game engine in C++. It’s very typical for me, I just started learning C++ and already I am working on a project seemingly beyond my ability. However as I move along it’s actually going quite well.

It also happened that I suddenly had to learn Python because my engine will depend heavily on Python for its scripting needs. The idea is that you will be able to create quite different games by simply writing a few python scripts that will follow a certain pattern. Not a new idea by any means, but for me its a cool step. I’ve never done any kind of major C++ graphics programming, not to mention gaming.

It has however been my dream to create my own game since I started playing Ultima Online back in ‘98. Finally I am starting to realise it, and it feels great.
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13 Hours of work for 1 line of code?

Friday, March 26th, 2004

The search for the ultimate regular expression, is a long and tedious one. I am working on a project where text is parsed into XML files, and then converted into HTML using XSL stylesheets. XSLT parsers are generally very sensitive to broken tags, much more so then a normal browser, or a human. So I decided I was too lazy to fix every broken tag, and instead set out to create, or find a regular expression to close unclosed HTML tags.
I tried to google for it but it did not work out, so I did what I usually do, and decided to do it myself.
I spent about 13 hours making it work with every possible combination of broken tags. The final solution came to me while programming in my car on the way to see a brain-doctor about my possible ADHD diagnosis. I guess I am hoping that my work will help someone else, now that I have spent the time.

To see the regular expression that closes unclosed HTML tags, read on…
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It all comes back to the damn tables

Monday, March 22nd, 2004

I am working on editing the look of my blog. I want it to look clean, but distinct… Which is nothing you care about. But the problem is, I am totally out of touch with CSS. Movable Type uses alot of CSS for the look of the site, and I am sure CSS rocks, in fact, I know it does. However, I am an old man when it comes to CSS. When I was doing HTML (in the 90’s), it was all about tables, tables upon tables upon tables of tables!

And now that I am getting back into the HTML game, I am having trouble solving my design needs with CSS. I guess I should either surrender, or spend a few weeks learning CSS.

In the mean time, the layout of the site might look funky. Like the fact that the fonts are different for different things. Groovy.

Of course, I am not really that old, but sometimes when this kind of thing happens, I feel like an old man. On the other hand, I got a friend who is even worse. He refuses to learn to use tabbed browsing. *waves* You know who you are. Neanderthal. ;)

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What was I thinking?

Wednesday, February 4th, 2004

It’s weird how sometimes, you are working with some old code and you suddenly think.. Who wrote this crap?

Today I was messing around inside a file, and suddenly I was like..”Whoa, what’s this code doing here?”

I mean, I remember writing it and I remember what I was thinking when I wrote it, and when looking at it now, I was like, what WAS I really thinking?

Probably all the wrong things. I hate that…heh
I guess I should be glad that I at least come up with the better answer ;)

Posted in Programming | 1 Comment »

Coding in the Night

Monday, January 12th, 2004

I have this project which has been a thorn in my side for about 3 years now. Exteremely boring at this point, and getting quite large. I have to finish it because otherwise there will be trouble, and I have been having problems getting around to it. However now I have taken the proper measures and my coding efficiency has increased to about 84%, which is pretty darn good for me. Usually its around 12% or so.

Read on to find out how you can too! ;) (more…)

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