Home <--> Work synchronization

What's a pity that major hosters do not offer free version control system. Google, sourceforge - that's all for programming projects.

I'd like to have some simple solution for the synchronization of small notes and todo lists at home and work computers.

I've come across OpenSVN project. The rules contain almost no restrictions on contents. It's slow, but it's quite enough for files <10к. Well, I hope that it will be no more bugs with backups ).

At the work computer with constant connect to Internet I've set up a scheduler, now I'm sure that I Can download everything at the home one, if needed.

Static vs Dynamic: Holywar in the rubbish chute

From a discussion at Not a kernel guy

The cafe trash bins are in groups of three pieces: for plastic, aluminum cans and the rest of the garbage. There are big icons on them so that no one would throw plastic can to the usual garbage bin. It would be nice but cleaners change bins places from time to time, which causes customer pain and frustration. Each person that has already raised arm to throw, hangs on for ten seconds, trying to understand what happened.

I laughed at the classification of the solutions offered in comments:

Static cast: You should have three bins of different shapes and make a stand with according slots then put them in a different order will be problematic.

Dynamic cast: You should stick the same icons opposite each bin then the cleaner would recognize these stickers and would think about the right order…

Duck typing: You should replace all bins of exactly the same without the icons, but put them on trays with icons (indicating the type of garbage) - ie indication of the type is external to the container =).

Linux on Laptops

While choosing and tuning my notebook I searched the whole Internet about how Linux works on computers from different vendors.

I did not like:

• A lot of sites - Ubuntu - LaptopTestingTeam, TuxMobil, Linux on Laptops



• Sites are really messy, espesially Ubuntu Wiki.

IMHO plain text is not very good for the description of the supported hardware. Why there is not a site where the user is prompted to place a pre-defined set of ticks and to write a comment, if necessary?

Since it's great to see comparative tables for different laptops or distributions.

Corporative

Why in usual mail clients the avatar support is missing?

IMHO it is quite natural to paste ones small photo in the end of the letter, together with the signature, next to the standard - Sincerely yours, forever yours, kiss your heels SO-AND-SO.

Point is that in a steady increase in the number of employees and the growing number of additional offices, you can regularly exchange letters with a person for a long time, but do not recognize him(her) on meeteng.

It's not evident but usual Lotus Notes support the possibility of the automatically photo attachement.

Share the know-how:

It turned out that if to set html file containing a link to a local picture as a signature then this picture will be sent in e-mail as a usual attachment and will be correctly displayed in the end of the letter, near the signature.




The about contents of the html file:

<br>
<table>
<tr>
<td width="60px">
<img src="D:\Welcome\me.jpg"/>
</td>
<td>
<i><p>Sincerelly,<br>
</i>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

P.S. Yes, yes... I litter server backups with redundant pictures... but humanity is first of all :). It would be no need of redundant pictures if such an implementation would exist at Lotus level.

Push or pull

An interesting solution of the problem of the eternal doors push or pull confusion has appeared in comments to a blog "In search of usability".

Indeed, if physically alter a door so that it would seems not fully closed when in fact it is closed, then no mistake can occur in principle.

Who needs this weather?

I look at gismeteo and do not understand if I live till weekend without a coat or not. Day, evening, morning, wind, rain... a lot of numbers.

I'd like to have a plain and simple site of one page displaying boy or girl dressed according to current weather. Probably, with umbrellas, or in rubbers. Probably, with smiling faces in the sunshine or with wrinkled faces in the wind.

But so that I have a look - and understand how I should dress in the morning.

That's all.

Update 21.09.2007: Thnks to

juri_jurta

. There is such a service!
Update 07.02.2008: And here is onemore - Predict the weather at cumul.us

Yet another text processor

When the matter is alternative to visual editors ala MS Word and Open Office only TeX and its derivatives are usually mentioned. At link ltu I met yet another interesting project - Lout document formatting system.

The whole range of formatting features in Lout is implemented on the base of 23 primitive operations and hem... an interesting concept Galley.

With this small basis even the concept of page(!) is possible to define. And the marking language itself can be used as an example of why lazy evaluation matters.

I liked one of basic units p - width available to an object mines the object width. I.e. 1p is a margin for right edge alignment and 0.5p is a margin for centering.

I wonder what language problems forced the author to switch to the creation of a new project...

Hem.. whether ideas implemented in Lout can be used for the creation of a new wiki dialect? At first sight tables formatting using // and @Onerow combinators is more pleasant than to edit sheet of <td> and <tr>.

File browser with tags

LJ user olpa asks himself: File browser with tags. Why it is needed?

IMHO if one uses such a browser then the functionality implemented in more specific programs a-la Windows Media Player or Picasa has become absolutely useless.

I myself started to dig in the similar direction. But first of all I'd like to files combine by tags be available in any program including the ill-stared dialog Open File.... And I do not like to implement yet another file manager.

The problem is easy solved at file system level and it seems to be all: sqlite base + fuse + console utility + nautilus plugin, it's rather easy and beautiful implemented. But damn, it will not work on Windows.

Update 23.07.2007 The modest operating system Emacs supports it for a long time.

Google, google - save our soils.

There is a lot of computer dictionaries, there is a lot of programs, which easy translate a word when the mouse is moved to it, there is a lot of on-line dictionaries and translators, it's all great and wonderful.

But I'd like to have a list of everything I translate, to see the statistics in order to learn by heart the most often forgotten words after all. May be some flash cards should be formed by them, it seems there is such way of words learning already.

I need such web service, I need corresponding script for greasemonkey I need corresponding dictionary for my computer with the necessary possibility of quickly translation a word under the mouse, I need pdf dictionary integrated with a book reader... and so that all this has a common base of made requests.
Is there anything similar?

So far I've created a little script for we, using http://lingvo.yandex.ru. As least, I'll bind a database to it, it will be happiness yet.

The code

#!/usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import sys, urllib2, libxslt, libxml2
from html5lib import html5parser

# http://www.dbforums.com/archive/index.php/t-1419974.html
# by John J. Lee
class DumbProxyPasswordMgr:
        def __init__(self):
                self.user = self.passwd = None
        def add_password(self, realm, uri, user, passwd):
                self.user = user
                self.passwd = passwd
        def find_user_password(self, realm, authuri):
                return self.user, self.passwd

def word2url(word):
        return "http://lingvo.yandex.ru/en?text=%s"%word

def download(url):
        proxy= urllib2.ProxyHandler({"http" : "http://proxy:8080"})
        proxy_auth_handler = urllib2.ProxyBasicAuthHandler(DumbProxyPasswordMgr ())
        proxy_auth_handler.add_password(None, None, 'user', 'password')
        opener = urllib2.build_opener(proxy,proxy_auth_handler)
        urllib2.install_opener(opener)
        src = urllib2.urlopen(url)
        return src.read()

def html2xml(src):
        p = html5parser.HTMLParser()
        doc = p.parse(src,'utf-8')
        return doc.toxml()


def decodeYaXML(src):
        styledoc = libxml2.parseFile("decode.xslt")
        style = libxslt.parseStylesheetDoc(styledoc)
        doc = libxml2.parseDoc(src)
        result = style.applyStylesheet(doc, None)
        content = style.saveResultToString(result)
        style.freeStylesheet()
        doc.freeDoc()   
        result.freeDoc()
        return content

if __name__ == '__main__':
        if len(sys.argv) < 2:
                print "usage %s word"%sys.argv[0]
                sys.exit()
        word = sys.argv[1]
        result =  decodeYaXML(html2xml(download(word2url(word))))
        print result.decode('utf-8','replace').encode('cp866','replace')

The contents of decode.xslt file is trivial everybody can write it to one's heart's content.

Monsieur being a good judge of perversion can appreciate the last row.

The killer feature for oracle forms

Oracle forms have an awful implementation in themselves but the idea of trying to describe user interface development entities in terms of data base is interesting enough.

By removing redundant abstraction level we simplify the implementation, make easier the interaction between developers of different system levels. Data blocks as a model, triggers instead of events are good but the very important thing is missing. If it would be implemented the correspondence between approaches to developing data bases and gui would be full.

The matter is savepoints. IMHO they should combine with modal interfaces and the standard exceptions mechanism in a very harmonious way. And the idea of save point itself is more natural for dialogs with Cancel button than dummy copying and synchronization of data.

Usability: jalousie

I have difficulties...Every time to understand which string should be pulled in order to open or close jalousie I have to examine what's going on above and where the limiters are placed. Or to detect the required string by the hit-and-miss method. The problem of visual indication is easy to solve — I just have to paint the string into gradient color ring. Now jalousie are closing if blue color is closer to you. The opened question is tactile indication. How the beads shape should be changed so that the fixing mechanism could work and in the same time it would be convenient to pull both bottom-up and up-bottom? Cool idea — thanks to mikhail_maximov: As a variant — stick a nail into a wall so that the string will catch on it and you'll be happy: left up — to open, right up — to close, if you'll pull the string the other way the action will be inversed ;-) But we still need the visual indication, it can be implemented just by grey gradient — if you wish to close jalousie, you should pull down the darker part of string.

Dependence on Google

I'm sick — once and for all, after transferring friend tape to google reader the only last step is left.

Yesterday I've realized that it is become to read everything in one program. I've got the following variant:
1) Mark pages you like with tag «read» in del.icio.us (there is a plugin for FireFox).
2)Subscribe to feed from del.icio.us like http://del.icio.us/rss/fyodor/read in a favorite aggregator
3)Read your interest pages in the aggregator when you have free time, together with news.

Odd thoughts about testing

Approaches promoted in TDD and something that many people consider to be unit tests are like apples and oranges. In Test Driven Development tests are the way of thinking, one cannot create a program without writing tests to it. To write tests before the code is easy, to write unit tests after it is boring, useless and very often impossible.

All kind of tests are important.

In the traditional TDD there is no loss of time for tests writing by definition.

I'm not used to think by tests. I can assume that it is hard for many people too.

Possibility of automate testing <= Low coherence <= Good architecture.
There is also the reverse chain.

To estimate the coherence from the tests point of view is more easy.

It is not necessary to test everything for early finding problems out. A complex problem that was not found in the low level as the snowball will grow to snow slide and bring dawn the most banal tests of the high level. But before the fixing you'll have to write the test, all the same :)

Tests are documenting errors. Write a test, fix a bug, run the test — it's a guarantee that neither you, nor your mates will trigger this backflash again (that is especially important during the refactoring).

Refactoring without tests <=> you have only yourself to blame

If after the refactoring test is not compiled it's a reason to let your team mates know about changes and ways of moving the old code.

Pre- and post conditions it is not automatic tests (emphasis is placed on any word to your taste). They still need a set of automated scripts.

Unlike homemade solutions unit tests are an industry standard of automated scripts design. There is support from IDE for them.

Tests automate the developer labor, supplement IDE with its specific functionality. Tests highlight the place of errors. Tests simplify debugging. One click and you are in the place of a problem.

There is no good code, there is a code which is easy to rewrite. Tests are one of ways of achievement of ease.

There is a separate chapter in Lingvo - "Easy-to-test"

The main thing is brain, still tests do not guarantee success.

The four large letters IMHO before each peremptory statement about the software development can be dropped only in a personal LJ.

Asta la Vista, baby

We visited Microsoft event «Developer days 06» organized in Novosibirsk. The registration, six presentations, two coffee breaks, one dinner. In short, had a good time.

In the beginning I swore and wanted to describe in details all bugs of Vista and the new framework but all my records a lost because of an error occurred in Windows Mobile 2003.
Therefore short and calm.

The 1st presentation — Asta la Vista, baby
Microsoft Windows Vista и Microsoft Office 2007

For no purpose they presented Vista on week laptop (1 Gb RAM, embedded video intell). Constantly winked cursor spoiled the impression. Presentation of automatic killing a program using too much system resources failed, system rebooted.

The support of file versioning is embedded. There is still no answer for the following question. A file of version 1 was changed and saved, got the version 2, then rolled back. How to get back to the version 2?

Will I whether bind it on Linux? Trace by gamin changes in Document folder and automatically call svn commit. Plus bookmark module to Nautilus — to show versions and roll back.

In spite of extended possibilities of documents searching speakers did not use it, preferring searching in folders in the old ways.

IMHO Explorer has become overdriven with features, they managed to demonstrate the magic possibility of documents preview only after a little hitch and searching in menus. But these all are little fault findings.

Standard games are roolez. Very beautiful.

There is an embedded possibility of limitation of computer using for concrete user. One can switch on spying on visited sites and messager logs. Everything is for parents to control their child activities. Asta la vista, baby.

There was no time for the new Office demonstration, they casually mentioned that now Office supports formulas in TeX format, but it was not lead to a response from the audience. Those who knows TeX raised hands, it was 3 or 4 persons.

The 2nd presentation - continuous integration
Microsoft Visual Studio Team System for Database Professionals

Microsoft has discovered America one more time. There is a chance that now a lot of developers will join to the rational style of databases development, continuous integration, version control, automate testing. So far a tool there is for MSSQL only and has bugs as it is properly for beta, but I think that somebody will soon take advantage of the opportunity for Oracle. That's another story that the approach is quite famous and IMHO it needs a special tool only for decreasing enter threshold.

The 3-d presentation — integrators, do not sleep!
Windows Communication Foundation

I've always been interested why the functionality embedded to BPEL is not implemented as a library. Well, Microsoft just did it, very elegant from the first look — xml + attributes. As opposed to BPEL there is a possibility not to tie to web services and to chose an interaction protocol and even partially manage pieces of message header/body. I see so that one can use sessions support implemented in the protocol itself that's again very pleasant in opposed to BPEL.

In case of .Net<->.Net interaction it makes sense to choose one from binary protocols from the default set. For example, for a local interaction take named pipes and easy implement analogue of GStreamer.

Let me guess, just now somebody is implementing connectors to these new 4th protocols for Java.


The 4th presentation — creating monsters
Windows Presentation Foundation

Yes, XAML can totally change an application appearance simple tag turns into amusing puzzle, if to use image of rotated cube instead of the usual picture. Monsters scaring users by their look and behavior now can be implemented even more faster. Though in web peoples have got accustomed to it and very notable solutions are met. It is good that layouts by hook or by cook have appeared in .NET.

The 5th presentation - drm?
Windows CardSpace

A new unified standard of shared authentification and authorization. The speaker read me to sleep. To whom in first place is profitable this unification? To DRM? Safety of online payments will increase? Hm... There is still no answer how and where in the system is storying all information about user and how difficult to stole it.


The 6th presentation — own workflow again.
Windows Workflow Foundation

I wonder that did not sound buzzwords bpel, bpmn, bpm. Paint yet another xml format, compile and host. There is still no answer how to change workflow dynamically. What will happen with the current state of business processes? Is it possible to organize work of several versions of one workflow simultaneously? For example, to let old processes to finish in the old way.

The demonstration of dynamic garbage collector paradigm from Microsoft as an example of coffee break and waiters.

Usability: Integration of file manager and File->Open dialog

In the light of the previous post I thought that copying the full path to a file to the clipboard and inserting it into File Open dialog running from another program it's a solution of a problem that could never happen.

I know two ways of starting work with a file. The first one is to open a required program, run File Open dialog and chose the file. The second is rely upon file manager, find and «run» the file from it. Many times I've met an opinion that that the possibility of the user interface to do the same thing in a few ways is not good. There is a point of view that files should not be opened at all...

In short, the best problem solution is the problem absence. But it is still not clear what to do with all this variety of programs and file managers.

On linux waving the magic wand LD_PRELOAD and replacing standard libraries without recompiling I can do everything I wish, I can dream:

Throwing off all pink elephants in yellow pants it seems to me that the most digestible solution is to display in File Open dialog folders, which are opened in my file managers.

As usual, they are about 10-15, so it is not difficult to pick up a necessary file. There is no need of copying and inserting anything. My attention is not spread on a whole lot of hard disk folders, everything I need is opened in my Nautilus. I'm concentrating on my task.


Update: No, it's not convenient, there is a need to open a file in a subfolder of an opened folder, so we've come to the beginning — the whole tree in File Open dialog.

Spam defence - honney mail

In the eternal war of mosquitoes and mosquito nets there is one line surrendered to spamers — open publishing of E-mail addresses in the net fraught with heap of spam. So, that's why peoples pervert like michael at googlemail.com and so on.

And what if together with own address give a special address with the explanation: «Do not write here please, mail sent to this address will be considered spam automatically.»

Spambot will take both, and all the mail sent to the second address will be automatically used for spam filter instructions for the first one. Since spam in the first and in the second box will be probably very alike, it is possible to set very high selection threshold to spam filter. Probability to lose right mail will decrease.

The most interesting is that problem for the spammers - to separate the correct e-mail from the front one, seems to be completely analogous to the problem of spam filtering.

Usability: Pager

"The real danger is not that computers
will begin to think like men,
but that men will begin to think like computers."

Harris, Sydney J. American journalist

The standard behavior: there are 21 photos, it is required to place this treasure at a site. It's not cosher to dump all at once, it should be divided for separate pages, say, 10 photos per page. As a result on the last 3d page will be a single photo, which is not convenient. To look at one or two photo one should go to a link... wait...

The situation became worse when working with mail through web. Marking 11 messages as «read» takes the same time as for 20 messages.

Although it will take a programmers 15 minutes to place at the last page on 30 % more items, if it allows to avoid transferring remains to the next page.

But why?

I'm listening to the music all the day long — rarely I'm in the such mood.

Damn, it's uncomfortable. Why headphones are tend to be symmetric? To distinguish the left ear from the right one you should have a good look at a tiny label. They should make a little pimple at a dynamic. If you feel the pimple from the left then you got it right.

If I'll be in the same mood tomorrow, I'll stick a piece of tape.