Greg Wilson / is on Nostr

I program, write, and teach. Co-founder of Software Carpentry and It Will Never Work in Theory; co-editor of The Architecture of Open Source Applications.

Last Notes

2024-03-16 13:56:10

@npub1upk…tcwy 1. Looking for cycles in graphs (more accurately, checking that there *aren't* any) so that I know dependencies aren't circular. 2. The shunting yard algorithm (for hacking together a good-enough parser for legacy data formats). 3. Unification with wildcards to match one expression or tree against another (linting and comparing logical structure of HTML docs). 4. Don't know if Bloom filters count as an algorithm, but if so, that.

2024-03-15 14:31:08

Please don't call it FOMO: please call it ODARA (Organizers Didn't Allow Remote Attendance).

2024-03-14 22:59:02

The Python version of "Software Design by Example" will be out Real Soon: you can read the content at https://third-bit.com/sdxpy/ or order a hard copy at https://www.routledge.com/9781032725215 - please use the code "SMA22" to get 20% off. All royalties will go to support Rainbow Railroad (https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/).
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2024-03-08 21:34:14

OK friends: do you currently use, or have you ever intensively used, a pure functional programming language?

2024-02-16 11:35:01

AI-generated papers aren't destroying scientific publishing and peer review. They're just showing how broken those things already were.

2023-11-23 17:22:12

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@npub1upk…tcwy I wasn't thinking about explainers-on-contract, but more of pre-release review - not, "Here's a zine," but, "Your command-line options are inconsistent and contradictory, and the mental model users will have to build is far too complicated." I don't know anyone who does that, though :-(

2023-11-23 16:57:50

In a better world than this, companies would be lining up to pay @npub1upk…tcwy to look at their tools and APIs _before_ they launch and say, "Huh - this is going to be kind of tricky to explain to new users," which is Canadian for, "Are you fucking kidding me? Do you _hate_ the rest of humanity? Do better!" And they would, and we'd all be grateful.

2023-11-21 11:23:15

I'm starting to think that the TESCREAL crew *want* an AI apocalypse so that they never have to face the fact that they're shitty human beings.

2023-11-07 16:42:42

OK: I have one hour (which really means 50 minutes) to talk to a bunch of researchers in biology and related sciences about staying safe online, because if what you study is mental health or addiction or anything to do with immunology or women's reproductive rights, you're now a target. What I have so far is https://third-bit.com/talks/safety/ - what's wrong, what's missing, and what should I take out to make room for anything more important that I should add?

2023-09-24 19:19:41

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@npub1upk…tcwy so when are you going to launch Strange North? :-)

2023-09-17 10:48:10

A lot of CS undergrad programs have a "business of computing" course that teaches the basics of entrepreneurship. I've never seen one that included lessons on labor rights or that explained how big firms abuse near-monopoly positions through e.g. regulatory capture. If you have, I'd be grateful for pointers - thanks.

2023-08-26 20:04:58

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@npub1srv…45z0 *sigh* bit of a hike - when are you next in or near Toronto? Because I can bike to Bakka-Phoenix in 25 minutes (or 35 if I respect traffic signs and stoplights).

2023-08-15 10:26:00

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@npub1gfd…7gg6 My father's version was "A week of hard work can save you an hour of thought."

2023-08-14 22:49:34

I am _seriously_ tired of books and blogs and TED talks telling me how to grow a business. I want to know how to _sustain_ one at a comfortable level. My dentist isn't looking to 10X his practice; neither is my accountant or my lawyer, and they're all (a) happy and (b) not regarded as weird or as failures. Where are the best-sellers on how to maintain a business until you're ready to pass it on to the next person?

2023-08-14 15:28:36

I still don't understand what problem NoSQL databases actually solve.