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Blair Wyman

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Top Stories by Blair Wyman

There have been lots of reasons bandied about lately about why Java is good or bad or indifferent. I'm afraid I've been too busy to follow the discussions closely, but that rarely stops me from chiming in. Others find my ignorance entertaining; perhaps you will, too. Blair's Reasons for Being a Java Bigot 1.   Java helps us sell our boxes Allow me to expand, briefly, on each of these points... Okay, so it's not much of a list. At least I can remember the whole thing! (And if not, it fits easily on a single 3x5 notecard.) Well, I guess if we're going to get any value out of this little exercise, we'll have to tease it out of this Lone Reason. ("Scalp 'em, Tantric!") No, wait! Maybe there's a pattern here? Instead of aspiring to create a "List of a Thousand Reasons," we cou... (more)

JNI Programming In C/C+

If you're familiar with the Java Native Interface (JNI), as this article presumes, you know that it's tailored primarily for C and C++ programmers. Compile-time support for JNI in these languages comes straight from the Sun specification, and is frankly a work of art. The architects of the JNI had a terrifying three-part task: to tame the hydra of platform-specific issues inherent in so-c... (more)

And the Answer Is…

In the small South Dakota town that is my home to my alma mater, there was a section of sidewalk bordering the college campus that had clearly been laid down long before I was born. As I walked to class one fine autumn day, I happened to look down and noticed that one of the squares of this sidewalk had been lovingly crafted to serve as a frame for what appeared to be some meticulously e... (more)

Our New World

Our world has been changed. We have been changed. Emblazoned in our collective consciousness are indelible, fresh images of unspeakable carnage. We will carry these images with us - shaped in psychic scar tissue - for the rest of our lives. For some of us, September 11 will mark the date we lost an acquaintance, a colleague, or a loved one. For many of us, especially our children, it will... (more)

Subversion, One Point Oh

Sometimes I think the world is getting fundamentally goofier, at an ever-increasing pace. On the other hand, I've only been here a brief while (in geologic terms, at least), and can't help believing that the world has always been pretty doggone goofy. Sputnik and I happened to arrive the same year, 1957, though Sputnik made a much bigger splash in the press. Here is a testament to the magn... (more)