.Net bugs...

Debugging some code today and was wondering why some dynamic UI components were getting created twice. Ahha! I have it - System.IO.DirectoryInfo.GetFiles(string) is documented thus:

public System.IO.FileInfo[] GetFiles ( System.String searchPattern ) Member of System.IO.DirectoryInfo

Summary: Returns a file list from the current directory matching the given searchPattern , such as "*.txt".

Parameters: searchPattern: The search string, such as "*.txt".

Returns: An array of type System.IO.FileInfo.

So why would anyone think that "*.xml" includes both "foo.xml" and "foo.xml~" ?

This astounds me. I have to nuke my save files so the broken regexp doesn't mistake them for real files. Now I'm starting to understand the difficulties mono must face in developing bug-for-bug compatibility.

tech/code/C-Sharp | 01 Feb 2004 | #

Planet

planet.gnome.org got it's own URL - pretty cool. About time (although it might have been like that for a while and I didn't notice. Or something). While jdub wants to have contributed enough to get listed on planet debian I'd be happy getting listed on Planet GNOME :-) I know, I know, it's all about what you contribute... at least I have that goal going forward this year...

tech/blog | 01 Feb 2004 | #

Blogs:

There's a lot of garbage getting blogged nowadays, but it's refreshing to see that the medium continues to be expanded to new heights (depths? :)

Watching how a project develops via blogs is far easier than subscribing to cvs log emails - things like Evolution's blog is really nice. Makes you almost want to get your hands dirty with yet another project (as if my own backlog isn't big enough :-)

The other thang that I like in blog world are aggregator sites - using RSS feeds to pull together the blogs of developers in a particular community - like PlanetGNOME - which also gives you a feel of what the community is like, how the air tastes, and whether that's a (virtual) place that you'd like to call home. Another indicator of success is now to get your blog incorporated into someone's aggregator site :-)

tech/blog | 01 Feb 2004 | #

Web100:

Last night we had a very interesting talk at my local LUG, LinuxSA. Glen Turner spoke on the Web100 project, squeezing better performance out of TCP networks, especially on high latency networks (like everyone in Australia i.e. most of the internet is over in the US which is 280+mS away). It seems that there's plenty of headroom still to be utilised - but for it to work on a large scale, people need not to cheat and ignore congestion control. What is also nice about the project is the set of visualisation tools to analyse your networks performance - very nice stuff. I should make an effort to patch my 802.11b network at home, but first I need to get a round tuit.

tech/LinuxSA | 01 Feb 2004 | #

Yet another bad patent

Microsoft has a patent pending in NZ for a Word-processing document stored in a single XML file that may be manipulated by applications that understand XML.

They've said "If we don't patent something that we've invented or developed someone else would". They invented? Huh? Storing a document in XML isn't a new invention - given that XML derives from HTML you could easily argue that storing a structured document was the first intended use of XML! The use of XML for data interchange between software components (I think) was a secondary use. This patent (pending) is a good example of the flaws of Intellectual Property assignment - there is no invention here, there is prior use, it is a trivial application of technology, and the only "benefit" of this sort of assignment is to increase the defensive patent portfolio of large companies (to be used to squash small companies).

I readilly accept IP if there is real invention, but that's not happening here. But I strongly dislike IP assignments for trivial things because it stiffles innovation industry-wide - imagine if IP was assigned for mathematical discoveries? We'd be living in single story buildings, using candles and riding horses.

tech/IP | 01 Feb 2004 | #

Transitioning email...

So earlier this year I registered msdavies.net with a hosting company, only to find that the IP address range is on the SPEWS list, and they don't have reverse DNS setup. Of course this means many MTAs don't accept mail from me right now. What's worse is that they won't fix the problems, just blurt that they don't have to - SPEWS isn't their fault and reverse DNS isn't mandated in the RFCs. sigh.

So I've convinced a local Adelaidean (who can get ADSL at home unlike me) to host msdavies.net for me, using some of his spare bandwidth. (Thanks Phil!) Of course everything is set to go, except that I need to do the switch and wait a couple of days for the DNS to transfer. In the mean time, I'm forwarding mail from msdavies.net to the new home, and IMAPSing from there. And, (to get around the clunky old webmailer provided by the hosting company), sending mail from the new home as well.

I'm wondering how many mail lists will drop my subscription when they get bounces while the new MX isn't working, and the old MX has been turned off. Hopefully not too many.

meta | 01 Feb 2004 | #

The Perfect Office

Living in cube-land for your real job? Have a look at what I consider a pretty nice working environment. The key things are privacy, natural light, and not silly corner cubes. It's unfortunate, but here in Adelaide, Australia, most employers like open-plan cube-villes :-(   I'm sure that it negatively affects your productivity working in a poor environment.

tech/misc | 01 Feb 2004 | #

The O'Reilly Kangaroo

I find it midly annoying that O'Reilly are advertising a free shipping offer with a kangaroo as a logo, but only including U.S. addresses in the offer.

What about us in Australia?

tech/misc | 01 Feb 2004 | #

Why we shouldn't all be programming in perl.

tech/code | 01 Feb 2004 | #

Dashboard:

Development continues at break-neck speed. I really like the .doc frobnicator work being done by msevior out of AbiWord. Had to stop implemeting my own ideas on dashboard right now as cvs is changing just too quickly for me to keep up. I'll start again around January 18 - once Linux.Conf.Au finishes and normal life resumes.

tech/code | 01 Feb 2004 | #