In a previous post , I discussed a safer way to get the number of elements in a C++ array. I mentioned that the countof() macro doesn’t work with local types (i.e. types defined inside a function definition). I just realized that the macro also fails...

Not so long ago, I posted a programming challenge , and received solutions in many different languages. Just when I thought people had forgot about this, I got this one from Anton Triest . It was written in a programming language called ... (surprise...

After programming in C++ for a while, you will inevitably be introduced to the concept of “smart pointers” (or you will discover them on your own). These are pointers that know to automatically release the objects they point to when they ...

We all know that C++ templates can be used to write generic code, e.g. template <typename T> class Array { … }; Then we can use the same template to generate code for different template parameters. This is called instantiation...

I don't know about you, but the C++ syntax for member function pointers always eludes me. Every time I would spend half an hour or more deciphering MSDN to get the exact syntax, only to completely forget it the next time. Oops. I can think of three...

The question is simple: given a C++ array (e.g. x as in int x[10] ), how would you get the number of elements in it? An obvious solution is the following macro ( definition 1 ): #define countof( array ) ( sizeof ( array )/ sizeof ( array...

As you might know, now you can download Visual Studio express SKU's from here for free. Since the release last Monday, we have seen that some users failed to download this product. The top reasons include: 1. The user cancelled the download. ...

Starting the coming Monday (July 12, 2004), I will be working for the Windows devision instead of Visual Studio. My new team is focusing on improving the quality of the Longhorn code base. I might write more about it once I get an idea on what it is really...

I'm glad to see Aaron Stebner started blogging about setup (installer). Before Aaron switched team, he was a QA lead in the VS / .NET setup team, which I'm working for. He was a great resource then. Looks like his posts will be a new valuable source...

The question is simple: given a C++ array (e.g. x as in int x[10] ), how would you get the number of elements in it? An obvious solution is the following macro ( definition 1 ): #define countof( array ) ( sizeof ( array )/ sizeof ( array...

You probably have got tired of me, and my phone number phraser chanllenge , but you should check this one out. Today I got a JavaScript (!) program that solves the phraser problem from Nicholas Allen. This one is surprisingly short, and fairly clear...

Since I keep receiving entries to my programming challenge , I’ve compiled a list . New entries will be added to that list as they are received. Last Saturday (4/3/04) I received another C# solution from Frans Bouma. In his own words: ...

On 3/29/04 I posted a programming challenge : given a telephone number, find all possible ways to represent it using English words and digits. Several people have submitted their solutions. This page contains a list of all the entries I received, in the...

I posted this programming puzzle on Monday this week, and have received a solution in Fox Pro from Calvin Hsia, one in C# from Justin Rodgers, and one in C++ from Michael Scholz. So we have 3 players using 3 different languages. Cool! I promised...

I received another entry to my programming contest in email: From: "Michael Scholz" Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 5:34 PM I started working on your programming contest, but I quickly tired of optimizing for how-clear-the-code-is. But then...

Calvin submitted the first entry to my programming challenge . And (surprise!), it’s in Visual Fox Pro . I didn’t know Fox Pro can do that! It’s always nice to see unconventional ways to solve a problem. Calvin’s post includes...

JobsBlog posted this interesting article on the internals of a Microsoft interview.

Want to prove that you are the best programmer money can buy? (OK, I know you are not for sale, but your boss may need a friendly reminder that it's time for your next big raise.) Here's your chance: On a telephone keypad, the number keys 2 -- 9...

Jaybaz_MS posted this Clearest Code Challenge , and later provided his own answer . I wrote some comments (and more ) on it, which you might want to check out.

I don't know about you, but the C++ syntax for member function pointers always eludes me. Every time I would spend half an hour or more deciphering MSDN to get the exact syntax, only to completely forget it the next time. Oops. I can think of three...

We all know that C++ templates can be used to write generic code, e.g. template <typename T> class Array { … }; Then we can use the same template to generate code for different template parameters. This is called instantiation...

Hello! I'm a dev in the Visual Studio .NET setup team. Before joing Microsoft in 2002, I did research on designing and implementing high-level domain specific programming languages, and got my PhD in Computer Science from Yale. If you cannot find better...