Comments for nerd.cx http://nerd.cx Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:05:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Comment on MATLAB on Headless Linux by yam http://nerd.cx/index.php/2009/05/13/matlab-on-headless-linux/comment-page-1/#comment-480 yam Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:05:31 +0000 http://nerd.cx/?p=119#comment-480 Yes, domain-specific languages pay huge dividends in their domains, and C is only efficient in computer time, not programmer time. Octave is a nearly-complete replacement for MATLAB using the same language constructs, and Maxima is a pretty good replacement for Maple, for when you need a one-off answer. Where Python pays off for my thinking is that it has a huge number of mathematical-domain-specific modules, and it plugs into just about any other language beautifully, so C++, Java, C and other libraries are all at your fingertips. That, and the ability to call other DSLs for loops or expensive calculations or visualization is a big win for me. Yes, domain-specific languages pay huge dividends in their domains, and C is only efficient in computer time, not programmer time. Octave is a nearly-complete replacement for MATLAB using the same language constructs, and Maxima is a pretty good replacement for Maple, for when you need a one-off answer. Where Python pays off for my thinking is that it has a huge number of mathematical-domain-specific modules, and it plugs into just about any other language beautifully, so C++, Java, C and other libraries are all at your fingertips. That, and the ability to call other DSLs for loops or expensive calculations or visualization is a big win for me.

]]> Comment on MATLAB on Headless Linux by That other old guy http://nerd.cx/index.php/2009/05/13/matlab-on-headless-linux/comment-page-1/#comment-479 That other old guy Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:30:39 +0000 http://nerd.cx/?p=119#comment-479 Dude, no offense, but my blurry memories of MATLAB from university (much like Mathmatica) was that it could do in a couple of lines what would take many, many lines of C code. I realize that scripting languages like Python are somewhat more efficient (not familiar with Octave or Maxima), but math and mathematic visualization are areas where a domain specific language can really kick butt. PS:ping me, I believe there may be beers that need to be drank, and your offspring is probably *huge* by now. Dude, no offense, but my blurry memories of MATLAB from university (much like Mathmatica) was that it could do in a couple of lines what would take many, many lines of C code. I realize that scripting languages like Python are somewhat more efficient (not familiar with Octave or Maxima), but math and mathematic visualization are areas where a domain specific language can really kick butt.

PS:ping me, I believe there may be beers that need to be drank, and your offspring is probably *huge* by now.

]]> Comment on Trouble with AdBlock by yam http://nerd.cx/index.php/2007/02/08/trouble-with-adblock/comment-page-1/#comment-4 yam Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:41:27 +0000 http://nerd.cx/2007/02/08/trouble-with-adblock/#comment-4 I found another website. Apple is having its style information hosted on akamai.net. This is an truly evil trend, but I will not bow to Apple. Too many ads are wonderfully, perfectly absent when I block akamai, and I'm not unblocking it. I can deal with style-less sites. I found another website. Apple is having its style information hosted on akamai.net. This is an truly evil trend, but I will not bow to Apple. Too many ads are wonderfully, perfectly absent when I block akamai, and I’m not unblocking it. I can deal with style-less sites.

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