Tool for Creating UML Sequence Diagrams

If you have to draw something called "UML Sequence Diagrams" for work or school, you already know that it can take hours to get a diagram to look right. Here's a web site that will save you some time.

You don't need a project/solution to use the VC++ debugger

You learn a lot of things on the job as a programmer. Years ago, at my first coop position, I was a little confused when my boss went to Visual C++, and tried to open the .EXE file as a project. What a dolt! I thought. That's not going to work.

A Quick Measure of Sortedness

How do you measure the "sortedness" of a list? There are several ways. In the literature this measure is called the "distance to monotonicity" or the "measure of disorder" depending on who you read. Here, I propose another measure for sortedness.

Regular Expression Matching can be Ugly and Slow

If you open the first few pages of O'Reilly's Beautiful Code, you will find a well written chapter by Brian Kernighan (Personal motto: "No, I didn't invent C. Who told you that?"). The non-C inventing professor describes how a limited form of regular expressions can be implemented elegantly in only a few lines of C code.

UMA's dirty secrets

Recently, many carriers have started offering UMA, or WiFi phones. These are cell phones with WiFi capabilites. Don't be fooled -- you won't be able to get free calls and run skype on them. The UMA technology is meant to extend the carrier's cellular network into your home using your broadband internet connection.

Test Driven Development without Tears

Every company that I worked for has its own method of testing, and I've gained a lot of experience in what works and what doesn't. At last, that stack of conflicting confidentiality agreements that I got as a coop student have now all expired, so I can talk about it. (I never signed them anyway.)

Cell Phones on Airplanes

Much ink has been spilled about the use of cell phones on airplanes. Here's the truth, which will be disappointing to conspiracy theorists: Cell phone signals most definately have an effect on other electronic equipment. Read on for more.

Finding great ideas for your startup

"I just don't have any ideas." This is the #1 stumbling block for budding entrepreneurs. Here are a few techniques to get the creative juices flowing.

UMA Questions Answered

A bunch of questions answered about UMA wireless technology.

Stock Picking using Python

Python can tell you which stocks to buy. It's a sure thing!