Fast and Easy Levenshtein distance using a Trie

If you have a web site with a search function, you will rapidly realize that most mortals are terrible typists. Many searches contain mispelled words, and users will expect these searches to magically work. This magic is often done using levenshtein distance. In this article, I'll compare two ways of finding the closest matching word in a large dictionary. I'll describe how I use it on rhymebrain.com

qb.js: An implementation of QBASIC in Javascript

Play NIBBLES.BAS in your browser. I re-implemented a small part of QBASIC as a compiler in Javascript, so it runs in a webpage.

Fun with Colour Difference

Are you looking for a nifty way to choose colours that stand out? Are you the type of person who is not satisfied until you have mathematically proven that your choice is optimal?

Experiment: Deleting a post from the Internet

Once you post something on the Internet, it is hard to get rid of it. As an experiment, I deleted one of my past posts, and I tried to remove all traces of it.

Draw waveforms and hear them

A while back I thought it would be interesting to be able to draw arbitrary waveforms and then listen to how they sound. I had an audio engine just laying around, so I whipped up a quick application to do that.

Asana's shocking pricing practices, and how you can get away with it too

If one apple costs $1, how much would five apples cost? How about 500? If everyday life, when you buy more of something, you get more bananas for your buck. But software companies are bucking the trend.

An instant rhyming dictionary for any web site

Sometimes your API has to be simple enough for non-technical people to use it. Find out how to include a rhyming dictionary on your web page just by copying and pasting.

Installing the Latest Debian on an Ancient Laptop

The challenge: Install Linux on a really old laptop. The catch: It has only 32 MB of RAM, no network ports, no CD-ROM, and the floppy drive makes creaking noises. Is it possible? Yes. Is it easy? No. Is is useful? Maybe...

0, 1, Many, a Zillion

It's common wisdom that there should only be three numbers in source code. But there's actually four. Here's why.

Why Perforce is more scalable than Git

Branching on Perforce is kind of like performing open heart surgery. But here's why git can't hope to compete with it.