kchodorow

Hello, Lumpy World!

Overview: how to generate 3D terrain for iOS. This assumes basic knowledge of iOS programming (how to create a project and add files to it.) I’ve been working on an iOS app that uses cocos3d and Robert’s hill-generating algorithm, which make nice hills that remind me of early Mario levels. For example: You can downloadContinue reading “Hello, Lumpy World!”

The Basics of Signal Handling

Signals are one of the most basic ways programs can receive messages from the outside world. I’ve found limited tutorial-type documentation on them, so this post covers how to set them up and some debugging techniques. The easiest way to get a feel for signal handling is to play with a simple C program, likeContinue reading “The Basics of Signal Handling”

Labeling Git Branches

I came across git branch descriptions today and it is so freakin useful that I wanted to share. My branches usually look like this: $ git branch add-feature feature-add * implement-foo implement-foo2 temp temp2 It is… not the clearest. Luckily, you can add descriptions to branches: $ git checkout implement-foo2 $ git branch –edit-description —PopsContinue reading “Labeling Git Branches”

Music Gremlins is Approved!

My iPad app is approved and going live on July 1st! Music Gremlins is an ear-training game where you beat gremlins by matching the notes that they play. Different types of gremlins demand different strategies. As a musician, I found it very difficult to practice relative pitch and this makes it easier and more fun.Continue reading “Music Gremlins is Approved!”

It’s turtles all the way down

“Turtles all the way down” is a concept that Java handles very nicely: public class Turtle { Turtle prevTurtle; public Turtle(Turtle prevTurtle) { if (prevTurtle == null) { throw new RuntimeException(“It’s turtles all the way down.”); } this.prevTurtle = prevTurtle; } } (Probably there should be a special FiniteTurtleException, but I wanted to keep theContinue reading “It’s turtles all the way down”

Adding an Assertion Macro in Objective-C

TL;DR: #define CHECK(val) NSAssert((val), @#val) // Then use: CHECK(/* something (hopefully) true */); Long version: iOS made the the somewhat bizarre choice that dereferencing a null pointer is not an error. The program just ignores that line and keeps going. Now this causes fewer crashes (yay-ish), but when I developing I’d really like the programContinue reading “Adding an Assertion Macro in Objective-C”

MongoDB: The Definitive Guide 2nd Edition is Out!

The second edition of MongoDB: The Definitive Guide is now available from O’Reilly! It covers both developing with and administering MongoDB. The book is language-agnostic: almost all of the examples are in JavaScript. Upgrading from a previous edition? If you have read the first edition, the new edition covers a lot of new material (itContinue reading “MongoDB: The Definitive Guide 2nd Edition is Out!”

First Two Weeks at Google

I’ve been at Google two weeks now and I’m loving it so far. My team is great and the work’s very interesting, but I can’t talk about what I’m doing, so: There’s a ton of orientation stuff new employees have to do, which hasn’t been much fun. There was a scavenger hunt (which is theContinue reading “First Two Weeks at Google”

Stock Option Basics

Here’s what I wish I’d known when I started working at 10gen. Disclaimer: don’t take this as financial advice, consult someone who actually knows what they’re talking about before making any financial decisions, this is for entertainment purposes only, etc. Also, the numbers used below do not match any startup that I know of, they’reContinue reading “Stock Option Basics”

Recruiting in all the wrong places

A recruiter had an email exchange at me the other day. It started with the standard recruiter email: Hi Kristina, How are you enjoying 10Gen? Any interest in going to something earlier stage? I’m working with a client in <field I’m not interested in>. Obviously the specificities of that are fascinating. Let me know ifContinue reading “Recruiting in all the wrong places”