Computing And Its People

The following is a index of tutorials and essays on computing technology, info tech industry, and its culture.

For latest news and additions, see: Xah's Emacs Blog, Xah's Web Programing Blog, Xah's Programing Blog.

Programing Language Tutorials

Emacs Tutorial and Elisp Tutorial

Python and Perl Tutorial

Java Tutorial

JavaScript & DHTML Tutorial

OCaml Tutorial

PHP Tutorial

PowerShell Tutorial

Linden Script Language Tutorial

Unix Shell and Tools Tutorial

• Emergency vi
• Unix Command Line Tools Tips
• SubVersion (svn) Tutorial
• ImageMagick Tutorial
• Making System Calls in Perl and Python
• Emacs and Unix Tips
• Unix Pipe As Functional Language

Microsoft Windows Tech Tips

• AutoHotKey Basics
• PowerShell as cmd.exe
• PowerShell for Unixers
• Installing Cygwin Tutorial
• Microsoft IntelliType Hacks
• File Aliases Considered A Plague
• Windows Vista VirtualStore Problem
• Windows Environment Variables

Mac OS X

• Mac OS X Command Line Tools Tips
• Perl Script for Removing Mac Resource Fork
• How To Create Your Own Keybinding In Mac OS X

rants

• Is Mac OS X Unix
• Mac OS X Unix Changes

All About Keyboards, Keyboard Layouts, Shortcuts, Macros

Technical Essays On Computer Language

• What are OOP's Jargons and Complexities?
• The Concepts and Confusions of Algebraic and Fully Functional Notations
• Unix Pipe As Functional Language
• The Hack of bitmask used as Boolean Parameters
• What is Expressiveness in a computer language?
• Proliferation of Computing Languages
• Hardware Modeled Computer Languages
• Python's Reference And Internal Model Of Computing Languages

• What Languages to Hate
• the Measure of a Language
• Programing Languages Popularity Trend
• Computer Language Websites Popularity
• What Determines a Computer Language's Popularity?

• Lambda in Python 3000
• Why Not Ruby?
• Linden Scripting Language Problems

• 3D Graphics Formats and Social Causes in Computer Languages

LISP and Lispers

• Fundamental Problems of Lisp
• My First Encounter And Impression Of Lisp
• Lisp's List Problem
• Is Lisp's Objects Concept Necessary?
• What Is Closure In A Programing Language
• comp.lang.lisp Fight on The Meaning of Closure
• Lispers and Wikipedia
• Modernization of Emacs Lisp
• The Jargon “Lisp1” vs “Lisp2”

• Why Lisp Do Not Have A Generic Copy-List Function
• A Ruby Illustration of Lisp Problems
• What Is Your Favorite Lisp
• Why Learn Lisp When There Are Perl And Python
• Language, Purity, Cult, and Deception
• Scheme & Failure

Python Documentation Problems

Emacs and Lisp Related Essays

On Perl

• Pathetically Elational Regex Language (Perl Books Review)

• Larry Wall and Cults
• Laziness, Perl, Larry Wall
• Perl's raison d'être
• on Theory vs Practice
• on Theory vs Practice II
• Unixers, RFC, and Perl

On Jargons

• The Importance of Terminology's Quality In A Computer Language
• Math Terminology and Naming of Things
• Politics and the English Language, 1946, by George Orwell.

• What are OOP's Jargons and Complexities?
• Java's Abuse of the Jargon “Interface” and API
• Jargons of Info Tech Industry
• The Term Currying In Computer Science
• Function Application is not Currying
• Why You should Not Use The Jargon Lisp1 and Lisp2
• The Jargon “Tail Recursion”
• What Is Closure In A Programing Language
• Jargons And High Level Languages
• Why You Should Avoid The Jargon “Tail Recursion”
• I Can Not Find A Word Better Than “CAR”

On Notations & Syntax

Syntax & Notation

• The Concepts and Confusions of Prefix, Infix, Postfix and Fully Nested Notations
• Fundamental Problems of Lisp
• the TeX pestilence
• The Problems of Traditional Math Notation
• A Notation for Plane Geometry

Formatting

• A Simple Lisp Code Formatter
• The Harm of hard-wrapping Lines
• Tabs versus Spaces in Source Code
• Plain-Text Email Fetish
• A Text Editor Feature: Syntax Tree Walk

On Unicode

• Unicode Characters Example
• the Journey of a Foreign Character thru Internet
• Emacs and Unicode Tips
• Character Sets and Encoding in HTML
• Converting a File's Encoding with Python
• Converting Charset Encoding with Java
• Unicode: Carbon Emacs 22 vs Emacs 23
• Unicode Use On Web

On Logo

The Purpose of Logos and Principles of Logo Design

• The Unix Pestilence (Logo Tour)
• The Lambda Logo Tour
• Lisp Needs A Logo

• LISP Logo
• Qi Language Logo
• Haskell Logo
• The Emacs Logo
• Xah's Java Logo

...

Computing Frustrations

• The Complexity And Tedium of Software Engineering
• The Bug-Reporting Attitude
• Graphics Programing Pains

• A Record of Frustration in IT Industry
• A Exhibition Of Tech Geeker Incompetence: Emacs whitespace-mode
• A Emacs Frustration (blogger package)

General Computing Issues

• Why Must Software Be Rewritten For Multi-Core Processors?
• Pattern Matching vs Pattern Specification
• HTML Correctness and Validators
• Why Is Namespace So Difficult?

On Unix

The Unix Pestilence

• The Nature of the “Unix Philosophy”
• Idiocy Of Unix Copy Command
• On Unix Filename Characters Problem
• The Unix File Name Case Sensitivity
• Unix, RFC, and Line Truncation
• Unix's mbox format
• Unix, Security, and FTP
• Unix and Literary Correlation

IT Industry

• Responsible Software Licensing
• Responsible Software License and Free Software Foundation
• The Bug-Reporting Attitude
• The State of Affairs of DVD Rippers!
• “‘Free’ Software” Morality, Richard Stallman, and Paperwork Bureaucracy
• on Microsoft Hatred
• Microsoft Hatred faq
• Microsoft Hatred & God

• Distributed RCS, Darcs, and Math Sacrilege
• ZIP, OpenSource, Mother-Son Relationship
• Is Programing Art or Science
• What Is Math
• What Scientific

• Criticism versus Constructive Criticism
• Analogy vs Logic

IT Programers

• on the survival strategies of Larry Wall vs Richard Stallman
• Communism, American, and OpenSource
• OpenSource
• The Condition of Industrial Programers
• Blogs, Longbets.org, and Education Of Sociology

Software Engineering

• IT Predicament
• Why Software Suck
• Why Change When It Ain't Broken
• Book Review: Patterns of Software

Encyclopedia

• Encyclopedia, My Experiences
• the Engine of Wikipedia
• Links To Wikipedia from XahLee.org
• Wikipedia Morons
• the encyclopedic internet

Netiquette Anthropology

• What is a Tech Geeker
• Why do I Rant In comp.lang.lisp

Internet Sociology

• The Demise of orkut.com
• a cross-cultural look of sexual anthropology thru a online social network
• Sexual Mores Thru Yahoo
• Keywords and Taxonomy

Software

• Web-browsers 2003 pro and con
• The Landscape of Instant Messaging and the Mac

Misc, Unsorted or Unpolished Essays

• MYSQL
• The NoSQL Movement
• On Appreciation
• Netscape Crap

• Notes on Database Joins (computing technology)
• Tree Functions in Perl, Python, Java
• Digital Communication Bandwidth
• Google's Image Application Picasa

Switching from Mac/Unix To PC/Windows