Yes. Yes they are. This question might seem a bit silly to those of us who lived through, and paid attention to, the early releases of Windows in the 1980s and 1990s. But to someone who didn’t, these numbers can …
Read moreGetting the Windows screen resolution in C
How you go about getting the screen resolution is dependent on the operating system and/or hardware you’re using. There is no concept of screen resolution in the C standard library. If you’re running an operating system, you could use the …
Read moreWhat’s the point of callback functions?
A callback is a function that you supply, which will be called sometime later on. Different programming languages provide different ways of specifying callback functions. Callbacks are useful in many scenarios, but they generally fall into one of two categories: synchronous …
Read moreDoes developing maintainable code really matter?
Yes, it does matter. I read a question recently about the importance of software maintainability: “Does writing maintainable code really matter, when the company rarely adds new features, and they tend to scrap each version for an entirely new one …
Read moreAre compilers really better than human programmers at optimizing code?
The choice of the most appropriate and efficient algorithm is the most important optimization there is. And it needs to be implemented correctly, of course. A compiler can’t do this for you. It requires a human. And most of the …
Read more12 Tips for Software Engineers to Climb the Corporate Ladder
From someone who has been there, here are a dozen tips for software engineers who want to climb the corporate ladder: Be an outstanding software engineer. This can’t be overemphasized. Meet and exceed the expectations for your position. Make sure …
Read moreCan I return more than one thing from a C or C++ function?
Yes. Whether or not a function can return more than one value depends on the specific programming language you’re using and on whether you’re talking about pure functions or impure functions. Many programming languages, including C and C++, chose the traditional mathematical …
Read moreWhat is the third parameter I sometimes see defined in the main function?
The third parameter to the main function is not standard or portable in C or C++, but in practice, most modern compiler implementations allow an optional third parameter to main. The data type of this third parameter is pointer to …
Read moreWhy don’t they add a garbage collector to new versions of C and C++?
Let’s start by considering C++. As an opt-in option in C++, it is technically possible to add garbage collection to C++, as long as it is clearly specified how it integrates with the language and with the existing memory management …
Read moreWhat would happen if a bitwise operator like ^ were applied to objects of a C++ user-defined class?
The behavior depends on what conversions and operator overloads are defined for these types of objects. To simplify the discussion, let’s say that the objects you’re talking about are instances of class X. According to the C++ standard, bitwise operators …
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