Topic: Computing (Page 8)
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π Timsort: Fastest Sorting algorithm
Timsort is a hybrid stable sorting algorithm, derived from merge sort and insertion sort, designed to perform well on many kinds of real-world data. It was implemented by Tim Peters in 2002 for use in the Python programming language. The algorithm finds subsequences of the data that are already ordered (runs) and uses them to sort the remainder more efficiently. This is done by merging runs until certain criteria are fulfilled. Timsort has been Python's standard sorting algorithm since version 2.3. It is also used to sort arrays of non-primitive type in Java SE 7, on the Android platform, in GNU Octave, on V8, and Swift.
It uses techniques from Peter McIlroy's 1993 paper "Optimistic Sorting and Information Theoretic Complexity".
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- "Timsort: Fastest Sorting algorithm" | 2018-10-24 | 10 Upvotes 1 Comments
- "Timsort" | 2011-11-09 | 189 Upvotes 27 Comments
π Transmeta Crusoe
The Crusoe is a family of x86-compatible microprocessors developed by Transmeta and introduced in 2000. Crusoe was notable for its method of achieving x86 compatibility. Instead of the instruction set architecture being implemented in hardware, or translated by specialized hardware, the Crusoe runs a software abstraction layer, or a virtual machine, known as the Code Morphing Software (CMS). The CMS translates machine code instructions received from programs into native instructions for the microprocessor. In this way, the Crusoe can emulate other instruction set architectures (ISAs).
This is used to allow the microprocessors to emulate the Intel x86 instruction set. In theory, it is possible for the CMS to be modified to emulate other ISAs. Transmeta demonstrated Crusoe executing Java bytecode by translating the bytecodes into instructions in its native instruction set. The addition of an abstraction layer between the x86 instruction stream and the hardware means that the hardware architecture can change without breaking compatibility, just by modifying the CMS. For example, Transmeta Efficeon β a second-generation Transmeta design β has a 256-bit-wide VLIW core versus the 128-bit core of the Crusoe.
Crusoe performs in software some of the functionality traditionally implemented in hardware (e.g. instruction re-ordering), resulting in simpler hardware with fewer transistors. The relative simplicity of the hardware means that Crusoe consumes less power (and therefore generates less heat) than other x86-compatible microprocessors running at the same frequency.
A 700Β MHz Crusoe ran x86 programs at the speed of a 500Β MHz Pentium III x86 processor, although the Crusoe processor was smaller and cheaper than the corresponding Intel processor.
Discussed on
- "Transmeta Crusoe" | 2020-06-13 | 126 Upvotes 100 Comments
π Fourth-Generation Programming Language
A fourth-generation programming language (4GL) is any computer programming language that belongs to a class of languages envisioned as an advancement upon third-generation programming languages (3GL). Each of the programming language generations aims to provide a higher level of abstraction of the internal computer hardware details, making the language more programmer-friendly, powerful, and versatile. While the definition of 4GL has changed over time, it can be typified by operating more with large collections of information at once rather than focusing on just bits and bytes. Languages claimed to be 4GL may include support for database management, report generation, mathematical optimization, GUI development, or web development. Some researchers state that 4GLs are a subset of domain-specific languages.
The concept of 4GL was developed from the 1970s through the 1990s, overlapping most of the development of 3GL, with 4GLs identified as "non-procedural" or "program-generating" languages, contrasted with 3GLs being algorithmic or procedural languages. While 3GLs like C, C++, C#, Java, and JavaScript remain popular for a wide variety of uses, 4GLs as originally defined found uses focused on databases, reports, and websites. Some advanced 3GLs like Python, Ruby, and Perl combine some 4GL abilities within a general-purpose 3GL environment, and libraries with 4GL-like features have been developed as add-ons for most popular 3GLs, producing languages that are a mix of 3GL and 4GL, blurring the distinction.
In the 1980s and 1990s, there were efforts to develop fifth-generation programming languages (5GL).
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- "Fourth-Generation Programming Language" | 2022-04-27 | 120 Upvotes 103 Comments
π I never realized how useful netcat is
netcat (often abbreviated to nc) is a computer networking utility for reading from and writing to network connections using TCP or UDP. The command is designed to be a dependable back-end that can be used directly or easily driven by other programs and scripts. At the same time, it is a feature-rich network debugging and investigation tool, since it can produce almost any kind of connection its user could need and has a number of built-in capabilities.
Its list of features includes port scanning, transferring files, and port listening, and it can be used as a backdoor.
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- "I never realized how useful netcat is" | 2009-09-16 | 190 Upvotes 32 Comments
π Do What the Fuck You Want to Public License
WTFPL is a GPL-compatible permissive license most commonly used as a free software license. As a public domain like license, the WTFPL is essentially the same as dedication to the public domain. It allows redistribution and modification of the work under any terms. The title is an abbreviation of "Do what the fuck you want to Public License".
The first version of the WTFPL, released in March 2000, was written by Banlu Kemiyatorn for his own software project. Sam Hocevar, Debian's former project leader, wrote version 2.
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- "Do What the Fuck You Want to Public License" | 2022-09-13 | 18 Upvotes 4 Comments
- "Do What the Fuck You Want to Public License" | 2013-05-19 | 38 Upvotes 63 Comments
- "WTFPL" | 2010-03-01 | 64 Upvotes 34 Comments
π Pravetz Computers
Pravetz (ΠΡΠ°Π²Π΅Ρ in the original Cyrillic, series 8 and series 16) were Bulgarian computers, manufactured mainly in the town of Pravetz. Some components and software were produced in Stara Zagora, Plovdiv, and other Bulgarian cities.
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- "Pravetz Computers" | 2021-02-11 | 171 Upvotes 50 Comments
π OFFSystem
The Owner-Free File System (OFF System, or OFF for short) is a peer-to-peer distributed file system in which all shared files are represented by randomized multi-used data blocks. Instead of anonymizing the network, the data blocks are anonymized and therefore, only data garbage is ever exchanged and stored and no forwarding via intermediate nodes is required. OFF claims to have been created with the expressed intention "to cut off some gangrene-infested bits of the copyright industry."
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- "OFFSystem" | 2020-05-01 | 127 Upvotes 93 Comments
π KlΓ‘ra DΓ‘n Von Neumann
KlΓ‘ra DΓ‘n von Neumann (born KlΓ‘ra DΓ‘n; 18 August 1911 β 10 November 1963) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, self-taught engineer and computer scientist, noted as one of the first computer programmers. She was the first woman to execute modern-style code on a computer. KlΓ‘ra made significant contributions to the world of programming, including work on the Monte Carlo method, ENIAC, and MANIAC I.
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- "KlΓ‘ra DΓ‘n Von Neumann" | 2024-06-28 | 168 Upvotes 52 Comments
π Overlapping Markup
In markup languages and the digital humanities, overlap occurs when a document has two or more structures that interact in a non-hierarchical manner. A document with overlapping markup cannot be represented as a tree. This is also known as concurrent markup. Overlap happens, for instance, in poetry, where there may be a metrical structure of feet and lines; a linguistic structure of sentences and quotations; and a physical structure of volumes and pages and editorial annotations.
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- "Overlapping Markup" | 2026-01-18 | 68 Upvotes 11 Comments
- "Overlapping Markup" | 2022-12-12 | 92 Upvotes 47 Comments
π Finger Binary
Finger binary is a system for counting and displaying binary numbers on the fingers of one or more hands. It is possible to count from 0 to 31 (25 β 1) using the fingers of a single hand, from 0 through 1023 (210 β 1) if both hands are used, or from 0 to 1,048,575 (220 β 1) if the toes on both feet are used as well.
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- "Finger Binary" | 2015-08-30 | 72 Upvotes 45 Comments
- "Finger binary" | 2013-12-07 | 50 Upvotes 48 Comments