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Dave O'Neill
dmo
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» Fun With Perl, Dynamic Linking, and C++ Exceptions

I'm hacking on some tools that use the Search::Xapian module to build up search indexes. It's an excellent Perl interface to Xapian, but unfortunately it seemed to be too slow for our purposes. Tracing our code showed that much of the slowness was in passing data back and forth between Perl and the C++ library for every call.

I decided to write my own XS module to speed things up. Instead of using Search::Xapian, I'd bundle everything up into a Perl datastructure, and pass it down to libxapian through my own module, once, and do all the indexing work in C++. This worked great -- until I started trying to do some exception handling.

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4:29 PM under c++ , dlopen , dynamic , exceptions , perl , xapian

Rick Leir
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» The art of debugging with GDB, DDD, and Eclipse

The art of debugging with GDB, DDD, and Eclipse / by Norman Matloff, No Starch Press, 2008

This book is important reading for anyone programming on Linux in C++, Java, Perl, or Python. It is very readable with 250 pages.

Get it here at OPL

by rleir at 5:58 PM under 5-stars , books , c++ , java , linux , python (Comments)

Rick Leir
blinkmonitor

» How to think about algorithms

How to think about algorithms / Jeff Edmonds, Cambridge University Press, 2008

Here is a CS textbook for advanced undergraduate courses which is more readable than most. Apply its concepts to make your programs correct and fast. 450 pages.

Get it here at OPL

by rleir at 9:38 AM under 4-stars , books , c++ , java (Comments)

» Cocoa programming for Mac OS X for dummies

Cocoa programming for Mac OS X for dummies / by Erick Tejkowski, Wiley, 2009

Here is GUI application programming for the MAC. Learn the Cocoa IDE and a bit about programming in Objective C. The author gives lots of practical advice and some code examples in 375 pages.

Get it here at OPL

by rleir at 9:09 AM under books , c++ , gui , mac (Comments)

Rick Leir
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» GNU/Linux application programming

GNU/Linux application programming / M. Tim Jones, Charles River Media, 2008

This is about programming using bash, awk, lex, Python, and similar languages. It also covers automake, gdb, gprof, networking and virtualization. It also explains the use of multiple processes and threads with pthreads and IPC. It is very readable. This is a thick book, and covers a lot of topics. It steers clear of the kernel and drivers.

Get it here at OPL

by rleir at 10:51 AM under 5-stars , books , c++ , linux , python (Comments)

Rick Leir
blinkmonitor

» Professional multicore programming

Professional multicore programming : design and implementation for C++ developers / Cameron Hughes, Tracey Hughes, Wiley, 2008

Concurrent programming has become important for a greater proportion of all programmers since commodity PC’s went multicore. Good books on this have been in OPL for years (click on the 5-star tag to see some of them). This book is useful because it gathers all the important topics into one place. It starts with a good introduction, then outlines machine architecture for Intel, AMD, Sparc and Cell. Then it gets into programming structure for thread synchronization, with code examples in C++. It has good reference information on Posix threads (pthreads). It is intended for C++ programmers, but Java programmers will gain from reading it too.

Get it here at OPL

by rleir at 7:58 PM under 5-stars , books , c++ , embedded , java (Comments)

Rick Leir
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» Programming principles and practice using C++

Programming principles and practice using C++ / Bjarne Stroustrup, Addison-Wesley, 2009

Here is a really good introduction to C++, written by the original designer of C++. At 1200 pages, it will keep you busy for a while. It does not assume any programming experience, and is a good textbook for a university course.

Get it here at OPL

by rleir at 4:45 PM under 5-stars , books , c++ (Comments)

Rick Leir
blinkmonitor

» Programming Microsoft Visual C♯

Programming Microsoft Visual C♯ 2008 : the language / Donis Marshall, Microsoft Press, 2008

Here are 750 pages of reference information on C#.

Get it here at OPL

by rleir at 2:01 AM under books , c++ , microsoft (Comments)

» C# 2008 programmer’s reference

C# 2008 programmer’s reference / Wei-Meng Lee, Wiley, 2009

Here are 800 pages of reference information on C#.

Get it here at OPL

by rleir at 1:55 AM under books , c++ , microsoft (Comments)

Rick Leir
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» Foundations of Qt development

Foundations of Qt development / Johan Thelin, Apress 2007

Here is another great book on the best C++ development environment. QT is more than just a library of GUI functions. It supports XML i/o, I18n, threading, databases, networking, and qmake. Of course, it does portable GUI’s well. Free for open source projects!

Get it here at OPL

by rleir at 9:54 AM under books , c++ , gui (Comments)

Rick Leir
blinkmonitor

» C++ programming cookbook

Herb Schildt’s C++ programming cookbook / Herb Schildt, McGraw-Hill, 2008

The best way to learn C++ is to read some well written code, preferably with brief comments or discussion. This book is your best source for the main STL and C++ library idioms. When you are writing new code, you would do well to have this book close at hand.

Get it here from OPL

by rleir at 11:52 AM under 5-stars , books , c++ (Comments)

Rick Leir
blinkmonitor

» C# 2008

C# 2008 for programmers / Paul J. Deitel, Harvey M. Deitel, Prentice Hall, 2009

Here are 1000+ pages packed with good tutorial material on C#, ASP.NET, WCF, WPF, and Silverlight.

Get it from OPL

by rleir at 10:32 AM under ajax , asp , books , c++ , microsoft , web-apps (Comments)

Rick Leir
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» Linux system programming

Linux system programming / Robert Love, O’Reilly, c2007

If you are writing the next universal db converter or such in C on Linux, this book is for you. Linux has many improvements over Unix, and this book is an easily read manual for them. It covers IO, process and memory management, signals, and time. No networking or pthreads.

Get it form OPL

by rleir at 11:34 AM under 3-stars , books , c++ , linux (Comments)

» Advanced programming in the Unix environment

Advanced programming in the Unix environment / W. Richard Stevens, Stephen A. Rago, Addison-Wesley, 2005

If you are doing systems programming in C on Unix, this book is indispensable. It is slightly dated, and does not cover the latest improvements in Linux.

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by rleir at 11:26 AM under 3-stars , books , c++ , linux (Comments)

Rick Leir
blinkmonitor

» Programming interviews exposed

Programming interviews exposed : secrets to landing your next job / John Mongan, Noah Suojanen, Eric Giguère. Wiley Pub., 2007

If you work in technology, whether programming or similar, you probably need to look for new work now and then. This book is the best I have seen for advice on how to interview, negotiate pay, and prepare your resume. Useful to hiring managers too.

There is another way to approach this book. More than half of the book is programming algorithms that you would learn in undergrad CS, and you can read it to refresh your knowledge.

Get it from OPL

by rleir at 11:15 AM under 3-stars , books , business , c++ , java (Comments)

Rick Leir
blinkmonitor

» Effective C++ : 55 specific ways

Effective C++ : 55 specific ways to improve your programs and designs / Scott Meyers, Addison-Wesley, 2005

Some very useful idioms in C++ are not obvious. For example, making a class non-copyable. Maybe you know of the idiom but don’t know the simplest or cleanest way to apply it. Maybe you have never encountered it. This book discusses some of the most useful ones.

Get it from OPL

by rleir at 10:31 AM under books , c++ (Comments)

Rick Leir
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» Linux debugging

book cover Linux debugging and performance tuning : tips and techniques / Steve Best, Prentice Hall, 2006

This book is for programmers developing Linux applications, particularly if you have multiple processes or threads. It has been useful in my current work. In the open source world there is a profusion of tools available, to the point that it is hard to know which ones to use. This book reduces your search to the top runners.

Get it from OPL

by rleir at 12:19 PM under 3-stars , books , c++ , linux (Comments)

Rick Leir
blinkmonitor

» Visual C++ 2008

book cover Visual C++ 2008 : how to program / P.J. Deitel, H.M. Deitel, D.T. Quirk. Prentice Hall : 2008.

Almost 1500 pages! A cover sure to wake you if you nod off! I have dipped into this book, and wish I had time to read it all. It is slightly biased towards Microsoft’s tools, but all c++ programmers will find it valuable.

Get it from OPL

by rleir at 4:05 AM under books , c++ (Comments)

Rick Leir
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» C++ GUI programming with Qt 4

book cover C++ GUI programming with Qt 4 / Jasmin Blanchette, Mark Summerfield. Prentice Hall c2008.

Qt is one of the best GUI toolkits for cross platform C++ development. I like this book. Hardcover, 700 pages, a very practical approach, up to date, lots of example code.

Get it from OPL

by rleir at 10:26 AM under books , c++ , gui (Comments)

Rick Leir
blinkmonitor

» Professional C++

book cover Professional C++ / Nicholas A. Solter, Scott J. Kleper. Wiley, c2005.

Here is everything a programmer needs to get going in C++. It’s a thick book, but it does not cover everything because there are so many details in C++. Job seekers will value the appendix, which lists likely interview questions. Managers who interview programmers will find this useful too.

Get it from OPL

by rleir at 11:46 AM under 3-stars , books , c++ (Comments)

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