Hello World, Poker Style
I have updated my reference application with code that evaluates Texas Hold ‘Em poker hands. I had written the poker logic a few months ago. Recently, I moved it into a class library and service. This project is a long way from a functioning poker application that enables users to play Texas Hold ‘Em against artificial intelligence “bots”- my ultimate goal. But it’s a fun start. Evaluating poker hands certainly is more entertaining than confirming a “Hello World” message sent through an SOA stack appears at the other end of the pipe- on a web page in the user’s browser. […]
Selling the Code In
Below is an email I sent to my father almost ten years ago to the day. I found it in my OneNote notebook (where I keep many emails and other missives) and thought it was on-topic for this programming blog. I wrote the email in response to an Op-Ed written by Michael Osinski, published in the New York Times under the headline, Steal This Code. My Dad thought it was interesting and suggested I read it. Fri 2009 Jul 17 Hi Dad, I think it’s outrageous what Goldman Sachs has done to our economy. The whole enterprise of inventing virtual […]
Automatically Log All SQL Commands
Over the last two days I’ve written code that automatically logs all SQL commands (database queries, invocations of stored procedures, etc) in MadPoker, my reference application. If you wish to skip the backstory, go directly to the solution. Reference Application What do I mean by “reference application”? I intend to spend time in the near future learning AngularJS, the client-side JavaScript framework used by my new employer. I’ve always been stronger on server-side development, so I’m excited to improve my client-side programming skills. I plan to write code to convince myself I understand AngularJS concepts and syntax as I read […]
Encrypting a File
Previous Efforts Back in February, I decided it was time to demystify the black box of secure Internet communications. I have been a professional programmer too long to continue carrying a hazy understanding of how web browsers and servers communicate securely. I wanted to remove HTTPS / SSL / TLS from the realm of magic and place it in the realm of the known and understood– a computer algorithm implemented in C# code. So I researched the topic, learned the underlying mathematics, wrote code to prove the theory actually works in practice, then wrote three blog posts explaining what I […]
Awkwardly Phrased Book Blurb
My father has taught me to appreciate language and the precise meaning of words. Steve Martin put it best when he declared: “Some people have a way with words, and other people…oh, uh, not have way.” An example of the latter immediately jumped off the page and grabbed my attention the other night. I had received The Effective Engineer in the mail. I read a review of the book on Henrik Warne’s programming blog, which I recently subscribed to and highly recommend. So I ordered the book. Looking at the back cover, I read the following blurb written by an […]
