gleemie

LOLCATS: responds to cheeseburger

1. Sanitize your input. Any input is a possible vector for malicious data. Buffer overflows, corrupt data formats, man-in-the-middle attacks, etc.
   
2. Read Larry Osterman's series on threat modeling. This is the process Microsoft uses to try to combat these problems. This isn't just a problem for MUSHes.
   
3. Escape your output. Embedding input in commands leads to SQL injection. Embedding input in your output leads to XSS attacks.
   
4. MUSH administrators: disable the [set()] command. This limits attacks to read-only/information disclosure.
   

array = [1, 2, 3]
array.append(4)   # add to end
array.pop()       # remove from end

"6. Use opposites precisely. For every Open(), there should be a Close(); for every Insert(), a Delete(); for every Start(), a Stop()."

# Simple sort using lambda
array = [1, 3, 2]
array.sort(lambda a,b: cmp(a,b))

# More complex sort; must use a locally defined function 
# because lambdas can only be one line long.
def complexFn(a,b):
  if foo(a, b):
    return -1
  elif bar(a, b):
    return 1
  return 0

array.sort(complexFn);

"Adding support for statements...would require allowing multi-line lambda expressions, which would mean a multi-line expression could suddenly exist. That would allow for multi-line arguments to function calls, for instance. That is just plain ugly."

>>> from __future__ import braces
  File "", line 1
SyntaxError: not a chance

There are three popular plugins for making modal dialogs in jQuery. All of them have similar functionality: clicking on a link greys out the page and overlays it with a dialog. While the dialog is showing, you can't click on any other links.

• SimpleModal
• ThickBox
• BlockUI

Unfortunately when trying to use SimpleModal, I ran into a problem with DatePicker. The calendar popup keeps falling behind the dialog:

SimpleModal

BlockUI

Thickbox

As you can see, Thickbox is the only one that works correctly. Everywhere else, the calendar falls behind the translucent div/iframe and is not clickable.

The problem is that the overlay divs have incompatible z-indices. DatePicker has a z-index of 199, and SimpleModal has a z-index of 3100 - too high! Thickbox only works because it also has a z-index of 199, a number that was chosen specifically to work with DatePicker.

Luckily the fix is simple. Open datePicker.css and locate the following code:

  div#dp-popup {
	position: absolute;
	z-index: 199;
  }

	z-index: 3300;

SimpleModal

Unfortunately I don't see this problem going away anytime soon. Because many interesting jQuery components utilize overlays, and because z-indices are chosen haphazardly, compatibility appears to occur primarily by serendipity.

"Contrary to our perception of the scene, the Sun is in fact no more luminous than the sombre sky it is set in, Livingstone said. Our visual system has two pathways: colour and luminance; due to the 'disconnect' between the two, in the colour version the Sun is only interpreted as a type of brilliance.

So when the neurologist took a black and white photo of the Monet painting, the Sun disappeared in the sky, merging into its greyness - demonstrating that the Sun is of exactly the same brightness as the sky surrounding it."

CFoo foo(10);
foo.CalcNumber(OPERATION_ONE, s_kOperationTwo);
CFoo myFoo( 11 );
myFoo.CalcNumber( OPERATION_ONE, s_kOperationTwo );
if(foo.getNum() >100)
{

  cout<< "Really big!";
}
else if ( foo.getNum()>50 ) {
  cout<< "Big";
} else
  cout << "Small...";

1. Why do only some method have spaces inside the parens?
   
2. Why is it 'foo' and then 'myFoo'? Should all variables start with 'my'?
   
3. Why are some constants in all caps and some camel-case?
   
4. Why do some methods start upper-case and some lower-case?
   
5. Why abbreviate 'Number' to 'Num' in only some methods?
   
6. Why is spacing different around math operations?
   
7. Why is there a blank line in the first block?
   
8. Why is spacing different around cout<<?
   
9. Why are braces inconsistent in different blocks?
   

CFoo foo(10);
CFoo foo2(11);

foo.CalculateNumber(OPERATION_ONE, OPERATION_TWO);
foo2.CalculateNumber(OPERATION_ONE, OPERATION_TWO);

if (foo.GetNumber() > 100)
{
  cout << "Really big!";
}
else if (foo.GetNumber() > 50)
{
  cout << "Big.";
}
else
{
  cout << "Small.";
}

• Publish and follow a set of coding conventions.
  
• Use consistent names for methods and variables. If you are going to use an abbreviation, use it everywhere.
  
• Use consistent terms for opposing verbs or adjectives (e.g., enabled/disabled, active/inactive, add/remove, open/close, true/false). Don't use Header/Bottom, use Header/Footer.
  
• Have a consistent comment format. This is especially powerful when combined with automated tools for generating documentation (doxygen, Javadoc, etc.).
  
• Use consistent coding idioms. Do you always use iterators to loop? Do so throughout your code.
  
• Implement peer code review and use it as a way to enforce consistency.
  
• Read McConnell's Code Complete, which covers this topic in more detail and with numbers to back it up.
  

"...for us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one." - Einstein