What does “modern C++” mean? Some say it started in 2001 with Andrei Alexandrescu’s book Modern C++ Design. A lot of people describe C++11 and C++14 as modern; others say, “It’s time to stop calling C++11/14 modern C++, it’s not modern anymore.” Here’s another idea. The art world already settled…
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In Support of Implication for C++
The paper: https://wg21.link/p2971 I have a deck of cards. Each card has a number (integer) on the front, and is either red or blue on the back. (This is axiomatic, I know it a priori). My friend lays out four cards on the table in front of us at random….
C++Now 2017 – Report
C++Now 2017 just wrapped up in Aspen, CO. A great week of presentations and discussions once more. C++Now is a very different conference from the normal mainstream. For a start, it’s small – only 150 people. And the sort of content you find at C++Now is more niche material: challenging…
Do-notation can be misleading
Consider the following function: oddness :: Maybe Int oddness = do let a = Just 1 :: Maybe Int b >= \b -> return b And recall the definition of (>>=) for Maybe: instance Monad Maybe where (Just x) >>= k = k x Nothing >>= _ = Nothing So…
How 6-year-olds think about evolution…
Had an interesting conversation with Henry tonight. Can’t quite remember how we started – he was asking something to do with the Ice Age, or the Stone Age. Then he asked, “How did the first person get here?” Now, he’s seen plenty of nature shows; he’s heard of evolution; so…
The 4th Amendment and Email
Tonight there was an interesting broadcast of To The Point examining email privacy rights and the 4th amendment, with reference to the recent warrantless FBI investigation resulting in the resignation of David Petraeus as the director of the CIA. The program also featured Declan McCullagh, author of this piece on…
Late night stealth
I would like to share with you some things I’ve learned about creeping around stealthily late at night, after the family have gone to bed, in case you find yourself in a similar situation. I’m pretty good at it now. So, obviously to avoid waking anyone up, you want to…
The Second Amendment
Why do people support the second amendment? I’m going to try to avoid straw man arguments here. And the first straw man argument to avoid, I think, is: “because it protects us from tyranny: if the government becomes corrupt, we can rise up and overthrow it.” Perhaps I’m being naive,…
A musical interlude
I had piano lessons at around age 5, and again around age 10. I never practised enough or liked my teacher much. As a teenager at university, I went back to the piano to play tunes that I wanted to, and taught myself enough to get by on those. After…
Merry Xmas
This year it was a fairly quiet affair, seeing as we’d already visited family in late summer and at Thanksgiving. The kids did well as usual. Mini-Elbeno got a Kindle Fire from the grandparents (and has been bound not to buy anything on it without the express permission and help…