Rob Janssen (RobIII)

Stop Doing Internet Wrong.

Some days...some days it's frustrating to be on the web. We're compiling C++ into JavaScript and running Unreal in the browser but at the same time, here in 2013, we're still making the same mistakes.

8 months in Microsoft, I learned these

Two years ago today, I started Microsoft Windows Azure as an intern, in the very same team I joined right after college and I am working for last 8 months. I decided to summarize a few points I learned so far in this job during last 8 months.

The Code You Don't Write

I used to get a huge feeling of satisfaction from a weekend spent working on a clever hack. I would spend serious effort making something run twice as quickly, even when there wasn't a problem with how quickly it was running in the first place.

Avoiding "!= null" statements in Java? - Stack Overflow

I work with Java all day long. The most used idiom (code snippet) I'm programming in Java, is to test if an object != null before I use it. This is to avoid a NullPointerException. I find the code very ugly and it becomes unreadable. Is there a good alternative to avoid this code snippet?

Effectively Managing Memory at Gmail scale

While JavaScript employs garbage collection for automatic memory management, it is not a substitute for effective memory management in applications.

Not an Expert in All Levels of Abstraction

Programming is not just writing code – it is working with a huge pile of abstractions. Starting from zeroes and ones, through processor instructions, memory addresses, low-level network protocols, data structures, up to web services, component frameworks and user interface.

The 10 Deadly Sins Against Scalability

In the moral realm there may be 7 deadly sins, but scalability maven Sean Hull has come up Five More Things Deadly to Scalability that when added to his earlier 5 Things That are Toxic to Scalability, make for a numerologically satisfying 10 sins again scala

Why Java Is Still Relevant

Java is probably one of the most “love to hate” languages out there. According to this HN poll it is the 2nd most hated language among the poll participants (statistically insignificant, but still noteworthy), only 2 points behind PHP. Certainly not a great place to be.

My Bug, My Bad #3: Accidentally Attacking WarCraft 3

In web programming, a classic mistake is assuming that you can validate data by asking the web browser to do it. That’s roughly what went wrong between Tinker and WarCraft 3. Years ago, I was working on a hobby project I later called Tinker. Tinker was a game hosting bot for WarCraft 3.

A Personal History of Compilation Speed, Part 1

Conceptually, the Assembler Editor was a clever design. Source code was entered line by line, even using line numbers, just like BASIC. The assembler could compile the source straight from memory and create object code in memory, with no disk access to speak of.