How to argue for something without any scientific evidence
It's all about the show
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Know (of) the right tool for the job
Plus: Using LLMs for data queries
Planning vs Model Checking
Comparing two software technologies you've probably never heard of
Strings do too many things
The most powerful and terrible of all basis types
What does 'TLA+' mean, anyway
The secret Illuminati meaning behind the Three Letter Acronym (plus)
GitHub Search for research and learning
Also, new blog post!
Unusual basis types in programming languages
All languages have numbers, booleans, strings, and lists. What else is out there?
![Why all([]) is true, prod([]) is 1, etc](https://image-generator.buttondown.email/api/emphasize-subject?subject=Why%20any(%5B%5D)%20is%20true%2C%20prod(%5B%5D)%20is%201%2C%20etc&author=Computer%20Things&date=2024-01-09&img=)
Why all([]) is true, prod([]) is 1, etc
It's all monoids! Monoids for everyone!
Advice for new software devs who've read all those other advice essays
From a person who really shouldn't be giving others advice.
I formally modeled Dreidel for no good reason
I can mathematically prove the game's not fun.
When would you ever want bubblesort?
There are very few universal rules in software engineering, but there are are a lot of near-universal principles. Things like "prefer composition to...
How do you take the average of two timestamps?
A jaunt through affine measures and math loopholes
Some thoughts on software expertise
(Note, there's some important administrative stuff after the newsletter.) I think a lot about the nature of expertise. While I write about all sorts of...
I shouldn't be so harsh on teaching TLA+ with puzzles
I know I'm getting the newsletter out very late this week (this kind of lackadaisical nonprofessionalism is why I don't offer paid subscriptions) so I'll...
Raku is surprisingly good for CLIs
A while back I wrote Raku: a Language for Gremlins about my first experiences with the language. After three more months of using it I've found that it's...
I wish people would do historical arguments better
Just because the historical context for a practice was different doesn't mean it's useless in the current context
Some thoughts on good spec properties
Lots of updates this week! First of all, my talk Is Software Engineering Real Engineering is now available online! It's the video version of the crossover...
Picat is my favorite new toolbox language
I'm teaching a TLA+ workshop in two weeks! Register here, use the code C0MPUT3RTHINGS for 15% off. I always like to find new "toolbox languages". These are...
Was Javascript really made in 10 days?
I once heard that Javascript has so many warts because the first version was made in just ten days. I was curious 1) if this is true, and 2) if it explains...
Formal Methods can't fix everything and that's okay
Finally done with conferences and glad to be back in Chicago. Next big event is the TLA+ workshop on October 16, which still has slots available! The faster...