Articles by David Bolton

  • Go to article Eclipse IDE: Getting Started, Plugins, and More

    Eclipse IDE: Getting Started, Plugins, and More

    With the recent quarterly release of the Eclipse IDE, it’s a good time to see how both the IDE and the larger Foundation are progressing. I started using Eclipse about 14 years ago, not long after a consortium…
  • Go to article PHP: A Quick Introduction to a Complex Language

    PHP: A Quick Introduction to a Complex Language

    PHP is a quarter-century old… and for the first 20 years, it had no written specification. That’s astounding, and probably explains why it was a bit of a challenge for many developers to get their heads around…
  • Go to article Speeding Up a SQL Application: a Walkthrough

    Speeding Up a SQL Application: a Walkthrough

    Not so long ago, I had to figure out why an old desktop application, written mainly in Delphi and using a proprietary file-based database, felt a bit slow when moved to SQL (with a bit of C# added on the front-…
  • Go to article Five 'Gotchas!' in a Nightmare Delphi, C++ Project

    Five 'Gotchas!' in a Nightmare Delphi, C++ Project

    This is a tale of the "fun" I've had creating some software. It involves taking a Microsoft technology called Virtual Channel and using it with an older programming language, Delphi. I want to show what can hap…
  • Go to article Python Debugging: How to Improve Your Skills

    Python Debugging: How to Improve Your Skills

    When you work with visual programming languages such as Delphi, C#, and VB.NET, you're a bit spoiled for debugging options as they’re nicely integrated into their IDEs. But when it comes to Python, debugging “o…
  • Go to article Asynchronous Programming in Python: A Walkthrough

    Asynchronous Programming in Python: A Walkthrough

    When we talk about program execution, “asynchronous” means that the program doesn't wait for a particular process to complete, but carries on regardless. An example of asynchronous programming is a program writ…
  • Go to article Programming for .NET Core: A Beginner's Walkthrough

    Programming for .NET Core: A Beginner's Walkthrough

    Since its first appearance in 2002, the .NET framework has been a major success for Windows. Along the way, it spawned the .NET Compact Framework on Windows CE, as well as the .NET Micro Framework (targeted at…
  • Go to article Testing and Automating an Old Code Base

    Testing and Automating an Old Code Base

    At work, I'm part of a team that maintains a software product in the proptech sector. It’s popular (i.e. it sells well, generates revenue, and dominates its particular sub-market), and as a result, we’ve had to…
  • Go to article The Fall and Rise of Dart, Google's 'JavaScript Killer'

    The Fall and Rise of Dart, Google's 'JavaScript Killer'

    Seven years ago, Google unveiled Dart, a general-purpose programming language. Version 1.0, released in late 2013, was meant as a replacement for JavaScript in browsers; it also had its own virtual machine (VM)…
  • Go to article Exploring Magic Methods in Python 3 is Vital for Programmers

    Exploring Magic Methods in Python 3 is Vital for Programmers

    The Python documentation, although generally pretty good, lacks a reference list to so-called “magic methods.” A method is the name for a function in a Python class, and many built-in methods are “magic” becaus…
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