More details on the ISO C++ blog about runtime-sized arrays in C++14.
N3639 proposes to add local runtime-sized arrays with automatic storage duration to C++, for example:
void f(std::size_t n)
{
int a[n];
for (std::size_t i = 0; i < n; ++i)
{
a[i] = 2*i;
}
std::sort(a, a+n);
}
Traditionally, the array bound “n” had to be a constant expression.
Filed under C++, Programming
Herb Sutter has posted his trip report from the ISO C++ Spring 2013 meeting in Bristol.
The post includes details on features to be included in C++14, including:
std::make_unique – never use “new” againstd::optional – for variables that are ‘not set’ (like F# option)Filed under C++, Programming
The Register reports on Google’s approach to active task monitoring and management:
“Our solution, CPI2, uses cycles-per-instruction (CPI) data obtained by hardware performance counters to identify problems, select the likely perpetrators, and then optionally throttle them so that the victims can return to their expected behavior. It automatically learns normal and anomalous behaviors by aggregating data from multiple tasks in the same job.”
The article talks about the benefits in terms of low-latency guarantees, because hungry batch jobs can be killed. The data might be useful for tracking down performance bottlenecks too – imagine never having to attach a profiler to a running process because you can already attribute the time spent on a job to its individual tasklets.
Filed under Technology
The Guardian cites The Mythical Man-Month as mandatory reading for anyone planning a big software project. I’d agree, as well as recommending Peopleware (Tom DeMarco & Tim Lister) and Slack (Tom DeMarco)
Filed under Programming
This sounds too good to be true – using a huge database of photos to teach an algorithm how to make a photo look more natural.
Unlike other photo enhancement tools, which work on an image-by-image basis, Geisler’s approach—called “image processing with natural scene statistics”—is based on the analysis of thousands of images. Geisler and his team measured the statistical properties of those images and created an algorithm that determines what is or is not “noise” in any given photograph.
Filed under Technology
The F# community has founded a new organisation to promote the use of F# – FSSF
The mission of the F# Software Foundation is to promote, protect, and advance the F# programming language, and to support and facilitate the growth of a diverse and international community of F# programmers.
Filed under Programming
This is the first Iain Banks novel I’ve read for years, mainly because the recent ones struck me as macabre, if not gruesome. This one doesn’t fall into that category though and was a fun read – I’d forgotten just how funny Iain Banks can be. The book includes his typical gritty scenes from Scotland as well as colourful scenes (and stereotypes) from America. Having read books by this author before, I wasn’t expecting the plot to be fully resolved at the end, and it wasn’t (I would have rated the book more highly if there had been more content about the intriguing double-cross that the main character discovered).
Filed under Book Review
I read The Common Lawyer after having read Accused by the same author. I really enjoyed Accused, so was really looking forward to this one – but ultimately I was disappointed. One of the elements I expected was there – detailed scene setting, leaving the reader with a vivid mental picture of the streets in Austin where the book is set. But I didn’t have much sympathy with the young lawyer character and overall I thought the plot was a bit thin, with needless murders sprinkled throughout to spice up the action.
Filed under Book Review
Herb Sutter provided this handy use of lambdas to initialise a const variable that needs some logic:
const int i = [&]{
int i = some_default_value;
if(someConditionIstrue)
{
Do some operations and calculate the value of i;
i = some calculated value;
}
return i;
} (); // note: () invokes the lambda!
It requires that the compiler can determine the type of the lambda even though it isn’t a simple return – that’s due to be finalised in C++14 but is supported in some compilers already.
Filed under C++, C++ Code, Programming
Great war stories from a guy who’s seen a number of re-writes.
<Fortunately, there's a very simple test to determine if you're falling prey to the False Incrementalism: if after each increment, an Important Person were to ask your team to drop the project right at that moment, would the business have seen some value? That is the gold standard.
Filed under Programming
musingstudio 