Brain-dead simplistic logger

var message = "message that gets logged goes here";
System.IO.File.AppendAllText(System.IO.Path.Combine(System.Environment.GetFolderPath(System.Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData), "log.txt"), string.Format("{0}\r\n", message));


Then type:

    %localappdata%

from the Run dialog to display the folder containing log.txt.

Or type:

    %localappdata%\log.txt

Now make a method out of it

....and have work like the Format command:

private static void Log(string format, params object[] parameters)

{
System.IO.File.AppendAllText(System.IO.Path.Combine(System.Environment.GetFolderPath(System.Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData), "log.txt"), string.Format(format + "\r\n", parameters));

}

If you want to clear the log file, put this in the appropriate place:

System.IO.File.Delete(System.IO.Path.Combine(System.Environment.GetFolderPath(System.Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData), "log.txt"));

Brain Dead Hash Function

I love things that are brain-dead simple.   Here's a very old C function that hashes a string:

int
HashFunction(char *string, int size)
{
   int hashkey = 1;

   while (string[0])
   {
      hashkey  = hashkey<<1^string[0];
      string++;
   }

   return hashkey%size;
}

Another way: although the following routine returns the crc16 for the string that's passed in, it can also be used as a way to hash a string:

/*    crc16 - crc16 routine
 *
 *    R.K. Irvine
 *
 *    This routine returns the crc16 for the string pointed
 *    to by "in".
 *    crc16 is given by:  x^16 + x^15 + x^2 + 1
 */
unsigned short
crc16(register char *in)
{
   register unsigned int n, crc;

   static unsigned short
   crc16l[]
   =
   {
      0x0000,0xc0c1,0xc181,0x0140,
      0xc301,0x03c0,0x0280,0xc241,
      0xc601,0x06c0,0x0780,0xc741,
      0x0500,0xc5c1,0xc481,0x0440,
   };

   static unsigned short
   crc16h[]
   =
   {
      0x0000,0xcc01,0xd801,0x1400,
      0xf001,0x3c00,0x2800,0xe401,
      0xa001,0x6c00,0x7800,0xb401,
      0x5000,0x9c01,0x8801,0x4400,
   };

   crc = 0;
   while(n = (unsigned char)(*in++))
   {    
      n ^= crc;
      crc = crc16l[n&0x0f] ^ crc16h[(n>>4)&0x0f] ^ (crc>>8);
   }

   return crc;
}

Tetris in Microsoft Small Basic

Tetris for Small Basic: link

(if that link doesn't work, try this: link)

Wiki page: link

Online version: link

How to Simulate Parameters in Microsoft Small Basic

How to Simulate Parameters : click here for article

Idea for Design by Contract and Unit Testing

One attribute of DbC that would be nice to have in the Unit Testing world is the localization of the test to the method it's testing. ...

click here for article

An Implementation of the Service Locator Pattern in C++

Article published: <link>

How to use NUnit to test native C++ code

Article published: <link>

Old article link, in case the above doesn't work: <link>

Dependency Injection

Dependency Injection is a method of wiring up classes externally to the definition of the class.

click here for article

The Case for "PhraseFixture" -- a better DoFixture() for use with FIT and FitNesse Acceptance Testing Framework

Article published: <link>

Interview in Dr. Dobb's Journal

A "Developer Diaries" article:<link>

Automatically backup your computer for free

Automatically backup up to 2 gigs worth of data for free. Or as much data as you want, for only $4.95 a month. Goto mozy.com.

Update: Some people are concerned about their data going to mozy.com, no matter how much the vendor says they're careful with our data. If this is a concern, I think the best thing to do is to encrypt the data that gets sent there. A free tool from truecrypt.org should do the job.

How to convert .NET DateTime to Variant Time in VBA

Article published May 18, 2007: article link.

Object Oriented C

Article published January, 2004: link.

(older link in case the above doesn't work: link.)

Copy Constructors and Assignment Operators

Article published August, 2005: link

(Original article: link)

Zapped -- Lasik surgeory

Article published may 19th, 2004: article link.

Variant Streaming Code

Article published October, 2000: link.

Not calling Dispose should cause GC to throw an exception

listserver thread entry published July 2000: article link.

True Inheritance with JavaScript

Latest version: link

History:

• As originally published in April, 1999: link.
• As referenced by the Computer Science Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology, see section titled "Some resources for doing OO programming in JavaScript" under "10.3.1. Core language", at http://www.cs.rit.edu/~mjh/base/resources/languages.xml

Calculating fibonacci series at compile-time

#include <stdio.h>

// The following code prints out the first five elements of the
// fibonacci series without calculating the values at runtime.

template <int param>
struct CFibonacci
{
    static const value;
};

template <int param>
const CFibonacci<param>::value = 
CFibonacci<param - 2>::value + CFibonacci<param - 1>::value;

const CFibonacci<0>::value = 0;
const CFibonacci<1>::value = 1;


void main( void )
{
    printf( "%d\n", CFibonacci<1>::value );
    printf( "%d\n", CFibonacci<2>::value );
    printf( "%d\n", CFibonacci<3>::value );
    printf( "%d\n", CFibonacci<4>::value );
    printf( "%d\n", CFibonacci<5>::value );
}

Visual DLL articles and posts

Visual DLL opinions: article link.
Instinct reference: article link.

Call DLL functions -- Rules for manually pushing arguments on the stack.

Posted in January, 1995: article link.

My early antics pre-internet.

It was 1985, and I was reading my favorite computer magazine, Antic and was floored to see my name mentioned in print.  I had forgotten, but apparently I wrote a "letter" to the magazine describing some programming trick.   I remember seeing the text, "Kudos to Kenny Ksajikian".

My English wasn't so good, so I had to look up "Kudos", which made the phrase stuck in my mind.   Decades later I google that term, and ouala --> Kudos' to Kenny Ksajikian.