Author: knielsen

Garbage collection and memory leaks

So, with automatic Garbage Collection, memory leaks are a thing of the past, right? Well, not quite, of course. Automatic Garbage Collection, like most other automated programming techniques, necessarily needs to approximate (ie. guess), and while the guesses of garbage collectors are generally very good, they cannot magically predict the future. The classic way that… Continue reading Garbage collection and memory leaks

Lightning talks at Open Source Days 2008

I am giving two lightning talks at Open Source Days on October 3-4. One on improving database I/O performance using clustered indexes with MySQL/InnoDB, and one on advanced profiling with OProfile. Hope to meet up with a lot of people there!

Giv tid!

Vores røde ananas-æbler står utroligt flot her en sensommer-eftermiddag: Jeg holder meget at træer. En af grundene er, at træer tager tid. At plante et æbletræ er at planlægge mange år frem i tiden. Og ingen forventer, at et træ kan vokse op på få måneder eller år. Det giver en ro at arbejde med… Continue reading Giv tid!

Does the Flash plugin play dirty tricks with the X keyboard?

For a client, I am using a web application written in Flash. This application behaves really strange with respect to the keyboard on Linux x86_64 (Ubuntu Hardy). I re-map the caps-lock key as a control key (a required action for any hardcore Emacs user to preserve sanity). Now the application has a hotkey CTRL-SHIFT-F to… Continue reading Does the Flash plugin play dirty tricks with the X keyboard?

BIT-aligned storage

I have been working on a set of efficient C++ classes for storing N-bit (N<=64) values at arbitrary bit offsets into a buffer. Essentially a way to address memory bit-wise, rather than the usual byte-wise or word-wise. The classes support either fixed-sized bitfield storage (eg. say 27-bit values), or compressed values where small numbers are… Continue reading BIT-aligned storage

Installing GCC-4.3.1

I sometimes see even seasoned developers be reluctant to use a different gcc version (ie. to reproduce a potentially compiler-specific issue or just to experiment with new optimisations or features). The reason is a fear of breaking their system by installing multiple compilers, or even by replacing their system compiler with a new one. But… Continue reading Installing GCC-4.3.1

Zepto Znote 6024W laptop

So I got a new laptop, a Zepto Znote 6024W. I got it with 2GB of RAM, a 7200RPM 120GB harddisk, 1440×900 screen, 2.4GHz Intel Core Duo CPU, and Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN. First overall impressions are quite good. The good stuff: Everything seems to work out-of-the-box with Ubuntu Hardy. You can customize the configuration when… Continue reading Zepto Znote 6024W laptop