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The Adventures Of A Unix Programmer

BeleniX 0.7

BeleniX 0.7 has been released just a few seconds ago.

http://www.belenix.org/

This is the most kick-ass version of BeleniX ever. Among the most important features is the ability to install it to the hard disk and use it as a regular desktop OS. Release Notes details the other changes:

http://www.genunix.org/distributions/belenix_site/?q=ReleaseNotes_0.7

I am just waiting for one more feature – An IPS repository of BeleniX packages and then I will make BeleniX my primary Desktop Operating System :-)

Filed under: General, Open Source, Operating Systems, Solaris ,

Exploring Python Bytecode

For the past month or so, I’ve been trying to understand what appears to be a black art mostly because of lacking documentation – Python bytecode generation and peephole optimization. Some notes from the study for the benefit of IRC-mate ‘jstatm’ and anyone else living on similar planes of insanity.
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Filed under: Open Source, Programming, Python

Visual Call Graph using DTrace

Here is an example of how incredibly powerful DTrace can be. I had to solve a problem where a nice high-level overview of the code flow in a single threaded userland application would save me some pain the backside. Lo and Behold, Dtrace – The Universal Hammer for every nail.

Here is a simple visual call graph generator using 5 lines of DTrace combined with the outstanding Graphviz graphics library.

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Filed under: Open Source, Operating Systems, Programming, Solaris

Java != Slow

I am not the biggest Java fan inside or outside of my company. But I detest being on the receiving end of a conversation that involves Sun (I am madly passionate about Sun). So when I met up with a few friends of my friends and heard the standard “Java is dog slow” complaint, I had to invent a (truthful) counterexample.

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Filed under: Open Source, Sun

BIS says no to OOXML

The Bureau of Indian Standards has given the finger to OOXML. Despite the BRIC votes being regarded as influential, I doubt if the voting process makes any difference because ESR has expressed concerns that Microsoft has resorted to corruption and bribery inside the ISO.

M$, where do you want to go today ? Judge Thomas Jackson’s Courtroom ? Man, I get vague memories of Enron for some reason ….

Further Reading:

Update: The WashingtonPost reports on Microsoft’s dirty tactics.

Filed under: Open Source

Quote

    "The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday. But never jam today."

Twitter

  • Steven Pinker at his usual best: http://bit.ly/7ZM4lU | My Android is really a truth verifying device pretending to be a hand-held computer. 1 day ago
  • Changing the prompt to "What's Happening", adding a RT button & lists is hailed as "Twitter Innovation" ? Lets see how their Ads idea goes. 4 days ago
  • Howto to telnet into your Samsung TV: http://bit.ly/2cboPL - Linux Hardware Hackers FTW. 1 week ago
  • @noorul HTC Magic 1 week ago
  • @noorul What Android offers "today" is insignificant compared to the ecosystem they have bootstrapped for continuous innovation. 1 week ago

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