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1500 questions
85
votes
14 answers
Do objects in OOP have to represent an entity?
Does an object have to represent an entity?
By an entity I mean something like a Product, Motor, a ParkingLot etc, a physical, or even a clear-cut non-physical conceptual object -- something that is well defined, with some core data clearly…
Dennis
- 8,217
85
votes
11 answers
Why is software OS specific?
I'm trying to determine the technical details of why software produced using programming languages for certain operating systems only work with them.
It is my understanding that binaries are specific to certain processors due to the processor…
user139929
- 896
85
votes
3 answers
What is REST (in simple English)
Lately I have become interested in familiarizing myself with REST. I tried reading wiki entry on REST, but it was of no help. I would really appreciate it if someone can explain in simple English (that is without unnecessary tech jargon)
What is…
Gaurav
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85
votes
8 answers
Is it okay to not completely understand code functionality?
As I am currently struggling with learning WCF for a project at work, for the past several days I have been looking at online tutorials and examples on the best way to make a WCF client; and today, when I told my boss I was having a hard time…
Ana Ameer
- 785
85
votes
1 answer
What is the best practice for arranging third-party library licenses "paperwork"?
I am developing a small open source project. The application uses many third-party libraries released with a range of licenses: Apache, MIT, BSD, LGPL and CDDL.
Each of these licenses has its own “paperwork” requirements. For example, the Apache…
Alexey
- 1,033
85
votes
11 answers
How can I make sure that I'm actually learning how to program rather than simply learning the details of a language?
I often hear that a real programmer can easily learn any language within a week. Languages are just tools for getting things done, I'm told. Programming is the ultimate skill that must be learned and mastered.
How can I make sure that I'm actually…
Ryan
- 1,261
85
votes
23 answers
How important is it to reduce the number of lines in code?
I am a Software developer who works on J2SE (core java).
Often during our code reviews we are asked to reduce the number of lines in our code.
It's not about removing redundant code, it's about following a style that focuses on doing the same things…
Ankit
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85
votes
11 answers
Why do we have to use break in switch?
Who decided (and based on what concepts) that switch construction (in many languages) has to use break in each statement?
Why do we have to write something like this:
switch(a)
{
case 1:
result = 'one';
break;
case 2:
…
trejder
- 2,386
85
votes
12 answers
What are the drawbacks of elastic tabstops?
Look here: a typical holy war on tabs vs spaces.
Now look here: elastic tabstops. All problems solved, and a bunch of very useful new behaviours added.
Are elastic tabstops even mentioned in that tabs vs spaces discussion? Why not? Are there…
Roman Starkov
- 4,469
85
votes
15 answers
Regulation of the software industry
Every few years someone proposes tighter regulation for the software industry.
This IEEE article has been getting some attention lately on the subject.
If software engineers who write programs for systems that expose the public to physical or…
Flexo
- 712
85
votes
13 answers
Is it good practice to catch a checked exception and throw a RuntimeException?
I read some code of a colleague and found that he often catches various exceptions and then always throws a 'RuntimeException' instead. I always thought this is very bad practice. Am I wrong?
RoflcoptrException
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85
votes
15 answers
Why is DRY important?
Quite simple, why would I want to write code that works for all cases and scalable data when all I need to do is repeat the same process a few times with a few minor tweaks?
I'm unlikely to need to edit this again any time soon.
It looks like a lot…
Incognito
- 3,478
85
votes
16 answers
How do I deal with a slow and undedicated colleague in the team?
I have been working on a new project. The project works like this: The end user can access a webapp using a link and he can add multiple systems on his network and manage that particular systems details. My part involves the front end and the…
ASKN
- 915
84
votes
7 answers
How to be a good citizen when crawling web sites?
I'm going to be developing some functionality that will crawl various public web sites and process/aggregate the data on them. Nothing sinister like looking for e-mail addresses - in fact it's something that might actually drive additional traffic…
Aaronaught
- 44,275
84
votes
9 answers
Should Git be used for documentation and project management? Should the code be in a separate repository?
I'm starting up a Git repository for a group project. Does it make sense to store documents in the same Git repository as code - it seems like this conflicts with the nature of the git revision flow.
Here is a summary of my question(s):
Is the Git…
EmpireJones
- 949