How to become a Java developer: Skills & career guide

Question: Which of the following are true about the Java programming language? Java is an object-oriented programming language.   It supports “write once, run anywhere” functionality.   Java features automatic garbage collection for memory management.   The language emphasizes security and robust exception handling.   Java was originally developed at Sun Microsystems in the

The Linux Finger Command: A Forgotten Linux Feature

Brain Drain: David vs Goliath

There are worries that GenAI systems may run out of fresh data as they scale. Synthetic data is an option, but using AI-generated data to train AI can degrade the model's performance. There may be a better solution. Can data quality overcome a loss of data quantity?

RNG, PRNG, CSPRNG

Most random number generators are pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs). The distinction may be pedantic or crucial, depending on context. In the context of cryptography, it’s critical. For this post, RNG will mean a physical, true random number generator. A PRNG may be suitable for many uses—Monte Carlo simulation, numerical integration,

Triangle circle maximization problem

Let a, b, and c be the sides of a triangle. Let r be the radius of an inscribed circle and R the radius of a circumscribed circle. Finally, let p be the perimeter. Then the previous post said that 2prR = abc. We could rewrite this as 2rR =

The team behind Unity 6 explains the new features aimed at helping developers

On today’s sponsored episode, we chat with Ryan Ellis and Martin Best about the developer-centric features built into Unity 6, the latest release of the well-known game engine. The pair explains how Unity 6 was built to help developers enhance graphics, add multiplayer, and easily port games to an audience

Relating six properties of a triangle in one equation

Let a, b, and c be the sides of a triangle. Let p be perimeter of the triangle. Let r be the radius of the largest circle that can be inscribed in the triangle, and let R be the radius of the circle through the vertices of the triangle. Then

Preprocessing text to make it more compressible

Repetitive text compresses efficiently. Text like the lyrics to Jingle Bells ought to compress more efficiently than ordinary prose, assuming the compression algorithm can exploit the repetition. The idea of the Burrows-Wheeler transform is to permute text in before compressing it. The hope is that the permutation will make the

Chris’ Corner: There is a Turtle at the Bottom

If you were in charge of the curriculum at a college teaching web development, would you ensure the curriculum was regularly updated with bleeding edge technology? Or would you establish a slower moving curriculum with tried and true technologies? That’s tough. You can’t just flip a coin. It may be

What launching rockets taught this CTO about hardware observability

Austin Spiegel, CTO and co-founder of Sift, tells Ben and Ryan about his journey from studying film to working at SpaceX to founding Sift. Austin shares his perspective on software development in high-stakes environments, the challenges of hardware observability, and why paranoia is valuable in safety-critical engineering. Bonus story: Austin