I had the same problem and changing the WINVER in stdafx worked for me.

I've heard both quite a bit but sequel predominates. Even in bastardizations of SQL like SOQL they themselves (Salesforce) pronounce it like SO-QUELL. I vote for sea-quell. What gets me though is this guy at work who insists on pronouncing VARCHAR like VAR-KAR and is bugged if others don't pronounce it his way. Everyone else I know calls it VAR-CHAR as in charbroiled. He looses my respect on a daily basis.

char str[4]; //it is null terminated right?
try
{
CFile file;
.... // other preliminary codes before reading it
while( file.Read( &str, 3 ) )
{
//Do something with str
}

file.Close();
}
catch(CFileException e)
{
//Process exception
}

I agree with what others have pointed out and what that article is really about...multi-tasking. Having two monitors doesn't mean you're multitasking. That's like saying if you use both legs to walk (rather than hop) then you're multi-tasking. You're doing one task that uses multiple interfaces. So with that I have a few questions... Does a document holder clipped to the side of a monitor, so that you can view a spec or do data entry, reduce efficiency? Does using a mouse and a keyboard reduce efficiency?

Silverlight is Microsoft's answer to Adobe Flash. You could write applications in it, but ASP.NET is the preferred solution. ASP.NET 3.5 is modern and does have quite a few nice controls. What doesn't exist you can make. You can always buy pre-made custom controls from vendors to save time. If you are familiar with .NET then there will not be much of a learning curve moving to ASP.NET. You should investigate and get familiar with AJAX. AJAX avoids the constant page refreshes and can make a web application feel much more like a desktop app.

Thin client apps are so much easier to administer. 1) Changes to the app don't have to be rolled out to 100's of possible users by installing something on their computer. Then when 98% of them are updated and you start getting calls from people who don't read email or don't click yes to update their software when prompted you start pulling your hair out. 2) No installation involved so it involves less helpdesk time. 3) Less worry that someone may leave your company with proprietary software on their laptop. 4) The ability to log in any where any time from any computer. 5) Less of a requirement for users to have high end computers because the load is transferred to a server or a cluster that is centrally managed. 6) the list goes on... I speak from experience having to currently support and develop desktop and web applications. If given the choice, 100% of the time I would prefer to make a web application from a support standpoint. The only time I would consider a desktop application is if it were something that was not used by many people, was calculation intensive and there were no spare servers available for it.

Cloud computing or SAS proponents would say the opposite. Salesforce.com would be considered very user interactive.

A well developed .NET desktop app should be easily ported to ASP.NET. You do however want to analyze the server requirements and the load that it may encounter. If it's a calculation intensive application (ie: Scientific, 3D graphics, etc) then it may be better as a desktop app.

What about Remo Williams? He could dodge bullets.

Kung Fu uses their opponents force against them. A strong and powerful punch from a muscle head is going to be slow and telegraphed unless they are also a boxer which could be considered a martial art. Mind you if a 200lbs hulk were to bear hug a 120 lbs martial artist and squeeze as hard as they could it might be game over. The martial artist knows ways to get out of grapples however so again I would still give the advantage to Kung Fu.

Not at all, probably half of the going rate for an entry level programmer. I took the job just to get experience so I guess that would have been all the compensation I was looking for. Unfortunately the company I worked for was an internet start up in the year 2000, so when the bubble burst, so did that company. I was notified by a note on the door from the building owner that had confiscated everything for non payment of rent. The owner even tried to screw me by re-classifying me as a contractor because he didn't have the money to pay my taxes/deductions. The government didn't agree with him after he got audited because I complained (this was after the company went bust). I moved on to greener pastures after that however.

modified on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 10:25 AM

Really there hasn't been anything radically new in a very long time. Most were invented in the 80's or even in the 60's and 70's. Since then the new desktop applications have just been improvements on previously invented products. A lot of web applications are really just web enabled versions of those previously invented products, or compilations of several of them. Of course as time goes on improvements are made so that the current product may have only a hint of the original product in it. The fact that we are moving to a cloud based software model is no shock. It's harder to steal and is easier for the developer to manage. That paradigm shift was realized in the mid 90's with the wide spread adoption of the world wide web, but bandwidth limited its practicality. Many of the new web based apps would not be able to be used in a stand alone manner (ie: Facebook, Twitter, Netflix) as they require an internet connection as their core fundamental workings. Stand alone apps that don't require an internet connection are still popular (ie: Office Suites, Paint programs, Autocad, Video editing software, developer tools) and have a high install base and have had new releases since 2004. Anything that needs horsepower will still be a desktop app also. Twitter is not a new idea. It's just a personal, one thread, bulletin board that other people can subscribe to. The bulletin board (BBS) has been around since the beginning of personal computing.

What is Moar RAM? Is it faster than DDR3? Just kidding...you need a spellchecker (or get Firefox).

Some times it's best if the developer's computer is indicative of the majority of computers in the infrastructure. That was when you write and test code it will be a on the same platform as you coworkers. If your computer is slower than when testing for responsiveness you'll have an edge. However, if everyone else has Windows 7 and you're on XP then that is a problem. Best bet is to get a new PC along with a dual monitor KVM switch and keep you old machine for testing purposes.

1. The right tools 2) The right skills 3) Clear requirements 4) Proper planning 5) A realistic deadline 6) A reward when the the job/task is completed The most important is the last one and a paycheck is not what I meant. If you busted your butt for 6 months on a project and pulled heinous amounts of over time to get it completed by the deadline then a good reward is in order. If it's identified at the start of the project, or is implied because it's always done, then chasing that carrot can give great motivation. A good reward could be one or more of the following: 1) A sizable gift card to an electronics retailer or other establishment 2) Dubious amounts of praise and recognition 3) Some paid time off 4) Taken out to lunch to a nice place 5) A cash bonus dependent on realistic targets (ie: on time, bug free) 6) Anything else that raises serotonin levels and is legal

Coffee is so 1990's. Give me a Full Throttle, Red Bull, Double Shot or equivalent higher than normal caffeine boost.

Heating and cooling cycles will wreck a CPU over time. Too much heat will too but most systems have safeguards in place to stop that from happening (unless disabled). I have run scientific apps that hit all cores at 100% for days and haven't had any problems. I'm not sure about Macs, but they're Intel now anyways and are basically PCs with a MAC OS and proprietary drivers. Just make sure that there is adequate ventilation around the computer so that it's not sucking in hot air. The internal temp should plateau at a certain level and stay there for the duration of the run (+/- a degree or two).

I've been watching "Batman: The Brave and The Bold" with my son lately. There are some pretty neat sci-fi episodes mixed in there. He loves it almost as much as I do.

One of the most important things in the interview will be what questions they ask. If you can ask questions that make them ask questions that's a good thing. In that you'll be able to tell if they are "just looking for a job" or if they want to further their career. They should be asking questions so that they can make a decision on whether he want's to work at your company or on your team. Interviews are really to get to know the person face to face. Skill wise their resume and references should qualify that. If they don't have enough references (ie: an entry level job) have them do a simple small coding test to see if they know the basics. I once hired a guy in an entry level position that came across as being a great guy and competent programmer. He was right out of school and had good marks. After a couple of months he was let go because he had problems with even the most basic fundamentals of programming (if, while statements, etc). Being patient we tried to teach him and give him books to read, but he never changed. That could have been avoided if he was tested before being hired.

You'd be surprised at how many fellow coders I have to tell (more than once) to Google it before asking me.