Articles in the Opinion category

When Does XHTML Matter?

By Eric — 5 minute read

I noticed the other day that the pages on this site had double body tags in the HTML. As someone who favors standards it was kind of embarrassing. But what started as a quick fix turned into a few days of ruminating about how I'm putting this site together.

I …

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Object-Oriented vs. Database-Oriented

By Eric — 1 minute read

Having worked for Folio and NextPage, companies that have specialized in full-text indexing using custom search engines, I have an admitted knowledge liability with regard to relational databases. It never really made sense to have a relational database and our own search database coexisting in an application. But it never …

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Why Exceptions Are Better Than Returned Error Codes

By Eric — 3 minute read

I'm occasionally surprised that some programmers prefer an error handling system of returned error codes over exceptions. After spending several years with both approaches, I've become convinced that exceptions are a superior model. If you agree, great! If not, read on and let me try to persuade you. I'm always …

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