Blog - Arthur Dick

Celebrating 20 Years

Friday, May 24th, 2024

Twenty years ago, an idea took root, driven by passion, creativity, and the boundless potential of the early web. It was the beginning of a personal site that would not just endure but evolve over two eventful decades. Today, as I celebrate this significant milestone, it's hard not to muse over the journey that has been. And yet, in a twist that life often presents, my site has become a living testament to the age-old proverb, "The shoemaker's children go barefoot."

In the world of digital craftsmanship where I've devoted my career to creating, enhancing, and advising on the online presence of countless enterprises and individuals, my personal site has often lagged behind. Not for lack of love or desire, but perhaps because it embodied the essence of home – a place of comfort that didn't demand constant attention to thrive.

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Tags: miscellaneouspoetry

The Sneaky Side of Zero

Friday, May 17th, 2024

In the vast landscape of programming languages, JavaScript stands out as one of the most widely used and versatile languages, powering much of the web as we know it today. However, beneath its seemingly straightforward syntax lies a potential pitfall that many developers often overlook – the importance of specifying the base when working with numerical values. Today, we'll explore this crucial aspect through the lens of a peculiar example: 052.

At first glance, 052 may appear to be a simple numeric value. However, its interpretation can vary drastically depending on whether the base is specified or not. In JavaScript, numerical literals prefixed with '0' are treated as octal (base 8) numbers. Let's delve into the implications of this behavior:

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Tags: software developmentoctal

Code With Comfort

Friday, May 3rd, 2024

For software developers, spending hours pounding away at keyboards is practically a rite of passage. While the passion for coding burns bright, the toll on our hands and wrists can be undeniable. In the quest for efficiency and comfort, many developers have stumbled upon a hidden gem: the Dvorak keyboard layout.

Dvorak, designed in the early 20th century, is an alternative layout that rearranges the keyboard to place the most frequently used letters on the home row, minimizing finger travel and strain. This blog post delves into the potential benefits of Dvorak for software developers, exploring its impact on speed, accuracy, and ergonomic comfort.

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Tags: dvorak keyboardergonomics

Battling the Memory Monster

Friday, April 26th, 2024

Have you ever been happily coding along, querying your database with trusty PDO, only to encounter a cryptic Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 134217728 bytes exhausted error? It can be a real head-scratcher, especially when you're dealing with what seems like a reasonable amount of data. Well, the culprit might be hiding in plain sight: PDO's default buffering behavior.

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Tags: phppdo

What's in a Name?

Friday, April 19th, 2024

In the grand language of code, variables, functions, and classes play together to create the symphony of our programs. But what makes the music clear and beautiful? Just like a well-written piece relies on each note, the readability and maintainability of code depend heavily on one crucial element: naming.

Sure, you can technically name a function "doStuff" and a variable "temp," but future you (or any poor soul collaborating with you) will be left scratching their heads. Meaningful names are the cornerstones of clean code, and in this post, we'll delve into why they matter and explore best practices for crafting names that sing.

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Tags: software developmentclean code