This tag is for questions that aren't specific to a programming language or environment.
3
votes
2answers
87 views
Exposing domain models over API
I'm building a simple RESTful API for a web-based application I'm working on, and I'm wondering about the best way to go about exposing my domain models.
Let's say I have a User class and I want to ...
11
votes
1answer
353 views
How do I test a file reader?
I am working on a project with a few file formats. Some formats are specified by .xsds, others by documentation on their respective websites, and some are custom in-house formats that have no ...
1
vote
2answers
129 views
Will a binary include methods that are not called in the source code?
[Potentially misleading title, but I'm not sure how best to word it.]
Theoretical question on compilers and language design.
Say I'm re-implementing a method in a code base. Instead of removing or ...
2
votes
1answer
105 views
Good Procedure or Function Design
This is in reference to the question posted here. As I would judge it, the question there should be closed simply because it seems to ask why the Borland developers made one thing a function and ...
8
votes
2answers
242 views
What is an example of a continuation not implemented as a procedure?
An interesting discussion about the distinction between callbacks and continuations over on SO has prompted this question. By definition, a continuation is an abstract representation of the logic ...
-2
votes
0answers
31 views
Word segmentation in any language [closed]
Is there a library in any programming language that can split a sentence and extract the words based on a locale? (I need to split a sentence in english, chinese and finnish)
3
votes
3answers
285 views
Where can I find an authoritative comparison of computer languages? [closed]
I've reached a point in my career where I want to consider myself less "an {x} engineer" where {x} is a specific programming language, and I want to be more of a language-agnostic software engineer.
...
2
votes
2answers
227 views
What are appropriate metaphors for the pieces of a word processor?
A word processor is a complicated creature of many layers and pieces, but it represents a relatively simple concept: a piece of paper with writing on it. This leads to the problem of having many ...
5
votes
4answers
336 views
How can I stop myself overwriting member variables with 'new' ones?
The bulk of my programming experience has been with C++ and (shudder) FORTRAN (I'm a scientist not a programmer as such, but I do my best). I've recently started using python extensively and find it ...
2
votes
3answers
128 views
What is the job of a language virtual machine, and creating one [closed]
Recently I have become incredibly interested in language development. The past few weeks I have written many language front ends (lexer, parser) including a calculator language/expression parser and ...
3
votes
3answers
192 views
Confusion with Factory pattern regarding Liskov's Substitution Principle, code maintainability and Unit Testing?
I have a confusion regarding Factory Pattern there are basically two ways You can implement that.
Approach 1:
public interface IProductFactory
{
IProduct GetProductA();
IProduct ...
1
vote
3answers
261 views
Why is float the default in the majority of languages?
In programming languages, for represent numbers you have (mainly) two types: Int(s) and floats.
The us of Int is very easy. However floats cause a lot of unexpected surprises:
...
2
votes
1answer
123 views
Strategy for normalising and interpreting location data
I'm a bit stuck with a problem involving the normalisation of location input data from the user (which comes from a third party).
Aim
To logically breakdown and interpret the user location input ...
0
votes
2answers
414 views
Why don't we have a non-turing complete general purpose language yet? [duplicate]
Non-turing complete languages can solve every practical problem that a turing-complete language can. Also, they are much more analyzable than turing complete languages. The compiler can comprehend the ...
2
votes
0answers
118 views
Are there non-turing complete dynamic languages which can be used to create useful programs? [duplicate]
While it takes a turing complete language to create any imaginable program, is it possible to compute most "useful" programs with a non-turing complete dynamically typed language? For example, is ...
