But how does the Rust compiler do that? What does it actually check? Could I write a compiler in C that does this check on a piece of Rust code?

C is so simplictic, that if I can write a piece of functionality in C, I must understand its inner workings fully. Not just how to use the feature, but how the feature works under the hood.

It is often pointless to actually implement the feature in C, since the feature already has a good implementation (see the Rust compiler for the memory safety). But understanding these features, and being able to mentally think about what it takes in C to implement them, is still helpfull for gaining an understanding of the feature.

I mean, at the end of the day, if you really understand your language of choice, you know that it is jusf a bunch of fancy libraries and compiler tricks of top of C. So in my mind, I’m a fully evolved programmer in a language, when I could write anything I can write in that language in C instead.

I have this experience with a certain type of pedestrian traffic light “button”.

I quote button, because nothing physically moves when you press it. I’m not sure if it registers pressure or heat, but you don’t even feel anything move when you press it.

Usually when you press the button, a red text lights up on the button, telling you to wait. This text gives you feedback that the button registered your press, and the traffic light will schedule a green light for you.

However, sometimes you didn’t press hard enough, and the text doesn’t light up. Simple solution: press harder.

But there is a scenario where it doesn’t matter how hard you press, the button won’t light up. You keep staring at it, while slamming the damn thing with the fury of a Hulk wealding Mjolnir. Still, nothing lights up. The reason: the light instantly went green, so it never needed to light up the text telling you to wait. And all that time slamming your fist on the button, could have been spend crossing the intersection. Instead you have been standing there, looking like a drunk person having a fistfight with an inanimate object.

Considering std::cout should only directly be used when you are too lazy to place breakpoints, I totally get the decision to auto-flush.

I remember a javascript library where the was a function that returned, according to the documentation, “a color”. Did it return an object with 3 fields? Were those fields RGB or some other color scheme? Is it a string encoding a color? What format is that string? None of these questions could be answered without just running the code, and analyzing the object you got back.

Do you mean that programming languages are hard to read/write, or that the languages themselves are poorly designed?

In the former case, I invite you to read machine code. Not assembly, but straight machine code. Just zeros and ones as far as the editor can see. Any popular language is better than that.

In the latter case, I invite you to look at the design of an arbitrary natural language. Weird grammer rules, regional differences, loan words that don’t fit in, etc. No programmming language is worse than that. Although I would argue that Javascript has all of those problems too in some degree.

Simple solution: only allow lower case characters in file names.

Of myself of the now dead purpetrator?

The worst thing is: you can’t even put an int in a json file. Only doubles. For most people that is fine, since a double can function as a 32 bit int. But not when you are using 64 bit identifiers or timestamps.

Our group played this system for a short bit. We loved the social combat system and the pooled resources. A good DM can absolutely make it feel like a Star Trek episode. Our problem with the system, is that you have to play the lawfull good guys for it to work well; just like a Star Trek episode. Our group likes to play morally grey.

But I love coding at work?!

The problem is that every living entity in a 10 kilometer radius around me, seems to be hellbent on getting me to do anything but coding. Refining work estimates, fixing badge access rights, fixing a driver issue, telling people that you cannot do 1000 things at the same time, teaching the new developer how shit (doesn’t) works, mangling Jenkins into a functional state again, explaning that thing I did a year ago but is only now used (it was very high prio a year ago), writing documentation that noboby ever reads, progress meetings, specialty group meetings, knowledge sharing meetings, company wide meetings, etc.

Jup. They do that. After an edition of the challenge where someone fainted and crashed due to the heat, they also added regulations for airflow. It might be hot outside-air, but that is still way better than inside-over air.

That would be like Mickey Mouse having a pet mouse, or Donald Duck feeding the ducks in the park, or Goofy having a pet dog named Pluto.

Awww mannn. Stupid rules.

I thought ghost busting was Beverly’s thing?

I used to put that one in the same category as the man-in-suit gorn from TOS: budget/tech restrictions. But even in the latest SNW episode, we see someone waking up on a piece of wreckage with gravity still perfectly fine, while also getting several zero gravity scenes in the same episode.

That’s a whole new level of poop knife.

Somehow I’m ok with the writers not finding a lore explenation for that problem. I don’t really want to know how every single alien wipes its ass.

But where and when is the crew supposed to go then? I don’t remember a single episode where someone mentioned they were off to drop some logs.

Heck, imagine being a species that does this the normal way, dropping that unit like a real warrior. Not getting those breaks will put a constipated look on your face all the time!

At least a good diff tool will ignore whitespace diffs.