I'm a veteran software engineer / technical lead working for an internet company. I think I've got an opportunity to really cash in at my job, and need guidance on how best to do this. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Nov 30, 2009 - 9 answers

What kinds of jobs exist for software engineers who want to work outdoors? Rain, wind, sunshine, sleet, yes please!! [more inside]
posted by mjg123 on Nov 6, 2009 - 10 answers

Any good books on web penetration testing? [more inside]
posted by jacobian on Oct 18, 2009 - 3 answers

How can I (non-programmer), create a customized installer? (see details please!) [more inside]
posted by stevyb on Oct 3, 2009 - 7 answers

What do I need to learn to write a Gmail Labs feature? [more inside]
posted by Matt Arnold on Sep 26, 2009 - 7 answers

What, anecdotally speaking, are Flex developers getting paid right now in Los Angeles or a similar city? [more inside]
posted by drjimmy11 on Aug 24, 2009 - 1 answer

As a freelance programmer, how do you handle code copyright? [more inside]
posted by pengale on Jul 10, 2009 - 5 answers

Which forums do the best web programmers hang out at? [more inside]
posted by jackson5 on Jun 26, 2009 - 16 answers

In software that's designed to process a set of files or records, why do you sometimes see that the last record in the set is processed first? Is this some kind of processing convention, programming limitation, or what? [more inside]
posted by cabingirl on May 15, 2009 - 10 answers

What's the modern day equivalent of old school "line number" BASIC as a tool for young children to play and learn with? [more inside]
posted by majick on Feb 21, 2009 - 41 answers

I've seen a quotation running around recently, attributed to Bill Gates: "Measuring programming progress by lines of code is like measuring aircraft building progress by weight." Did he really say that? [more inside]
posted by pwnguin on Feb 18, 2009 - 17 answers

Foreword: No ruby background aside from basic tutorials. Here's the deal. I've tired the Agile Web Dev (2nd edition) book for rails, very out of date. I need to learn something. I want to learn ruby on Rails. I've gone through the Rails guide on creating a rails blog (http://guides.rubyonrails.org/getting_started_with_rails.html). So, rather then buy it now (3rd edition of book as beta) or just wait, I want to get on the fast track to learn rails 2.2 (soon to be release 2.3) . Basically I'm looking for a online resource super cheap or free that provides quality information relating to rails and ruby. Help and suggestions welcome
posted by BoldStepDesign on Feb 3, 2009 - 6 answers

I have an old program that I would like to run. It's on a CD-ROM and it's something that I helped to design and create in 1998 but did not program. I just can't get it to open in Windows XP. Argh. And, other than the files themselves, I have a limited amount of information about the application. Any programmer detectives want to help? [more inside]
posted by jeanmari on Nov 18, 2008 - 19 answers

Is there a standard to preparing a software specification for an outsourced UI designer and programmer? [more inside]
posted by thegmann on Oct 18, 2008 - 4 answers

Help me pick a second major for my computer science degree. [more inside]
posted by hgws on Jul 5, 2008 - 22 answers

I'm looking for either free software or an API that could take a wav file and parse it. [more inside]
posted by ignignokt on Jun 16, 2008 - 5 answers

I have an idea for a cool (though not very utilitarian) open source app, but I have zero programming experience beyond some very elementary applescript. Can I still suggest the program on a site like sourceforge.net and still have "ownership" of the project? Not for profit, but just to guide its development.
posted by tamagosan on May 30, 2008 - 9 answers

I'm a senior software developer, and I'd like to start working in the green energy sector. What are the opportunities in this area? [more inside]
posted by Sloop John B on Apr 13, 2008 - 3 answers

I'm a web app programmer lacking good project/time management skills, and I'm not really in the best environment to pick them up. I'm OK at the lower-level tasks like daily to-do lists, but how can I learn to handle higher-level tasks like estimating time, prioritizing, and planning project life cycles? [more inside]
posted by cadge on Mar 31, 2008 - 10 answers

Can I make a living coding from home, and where can I find such a job? [more inside]
posted by brandnew on Mar 1, 2008 - 14 answers

Does anyone have experience using DirectX in a server-side application? Is it practical? If not, what alternatives are there? [more inside]
posted by Vorteks on Jan 4, 2008 - 10 answers

Describe your software development job. [more inside]
posted by mpls2 on Oct 28, 2007 - 28 answers

What is the best programming language to learn or (open) software to use for converting between text formats? [more inside]
posted by mjklin on Oct 19, 2007 - 13 answers

A software development specific question regarding the age old experience vs. education argument. [more inside]
posted by saraswati on Jul 4, 2007 - 16 answers

Will managed code (.NET) work for me when I'm writing computationally intensive software? [more inside]
posted by jpdoane on Mar 21, 2007 - 8 answers

One stop communications software? I use my laptop as a secondary moniter. I'd love one peice of software that could run full screen, and moniter or otherwise show the status of a few different services. 1-2 POP3 accounts, 1-2 RSS feeds, an MSN account, etc. [more inside]
posted by tiamat on Mar 17, 2007 - 8 answers

Software design question - Why do people still write PC archiving and cataloging software? [more inside]
posted by Pastabagel on Dec 15, 2006 - 8 answers

The company I work for has expressed interest in purchasing a software product I've been developing privately. How do I go about doing this so I don't get screwed? [more inside]
posted by saraswati on Dec 11, 2006 - 9 answers

Why is recipe software so hard to write? [more inside]
posted by twiki on Nov 29, 2006 - 29 answers

I am an experienced software engineer and was laid off recently. I'm currently applying for positions. My ideal would be a telecommuting gig, which is the type of position I had most recently. A certain job mailing list I subscribe to has a lot of promising positions, but many of them are marked "onsite". Here's my question: shall I apply for some of these "onsite" positions in the hope that my qualifications will impress the hiring person enough to consider hiring me as a telecommuter? Or would this just be a waste of time for everyone concerned? [more inside]
posted by SomePerlGeek on Sep 5, 2006 - 7 answers

Any CORBA experts here? I have an IDL/exceptions question. [more inside]
posted by knave on Aug 23, 2006 - 7 answers

simple question... which has faster SOFTWARE rendering capabilities, allegro or sdl.... or if you know of something faster than the 2, do tell
posted by xteraco on Aug 11, 2006 - 5 answers

Exceptions or return values, and why?
posted by knave on Aug 10, 2006 - 20 answers

Need a tinker-free Linux/MySql install for Ruby On Rails. Also, seeking advice for getting started in RoR. [more inside]
posted by Afroblanco on Jun 27, 2006 - 19 answers

How do I approach software companies for information on getting future jobs? [more inside]
posted by jacalata on Jun 21, 2006 - 7 answers

How do I get a cross platform (Mac/PC) application developed? [more inside]
posted by Turtles all the way down on May 26, 2006 - 23 answers

What are the best books to teach the fundamentals of software design and architecture? [more inside]
posted by agropyron on Feb 15, 2006 - 12 answers

Recommended open-source development tools for web services? [more inside]
posted by middleclasstool on Jan 28, 2006 - 9 answers

I have to learn some pretty tricky software and I know it's going to be a rough ride - what philosphies and techniques do you use to stop yourself being discouraged when you hit what appears to be an almost insurmountable hurdle? [more inside]
posted by forallmankind on Jan 12, 2006 - 12 answers

Are Tetris clones legal?
posted by Tlogmer on Nov 28, 2005 - 4 answers

What are some basic software-development facts that someone interacting with developers should know? [more inside]
posted by clarahamster on Aug 18, 2005 - 11 answers

I'm doing some research for a paper about the ways in which computer science has been coping with program complexity throughout its short yet interesting history, and I'm worrying I might have overlooked some fundamental developments. [more inside]
posted by koenie on Aug 16, 2005 - 10 answers

I’ve been assigned to evaluate the feasibility of using Lucene for our website, a large, high-use government site with rapidly-changing data. [more inside]
posted by MrMoonPie on Apr 27, 2005 - 3 answers

Is there any way to bookmark or flag a particular point in a video file (avi specifically, but any other format is good) and then to be able to have the video start at that point automatically when opened?
posted by humuhumu on Jan 18, 2005 - 5 answers

Perl, semaphores, linux, problems [mi] [more inside]
posted by pissfactory on Oct 4, 2004 - 5 answers

Does PHP5's newfound SOAP functionality truly support complex types? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by Danelope on Aug 17, 2004 - 0 answers

Can some recommend an open-source version control system that will run locally? CVS seems a bit unwieldy, and other online reviews are geared toward large applications/development groups. Windows based if possible, but Linux is fine, too.
posted by grefo on Apr 10, 2004 - 9 answers

Does anyone have a good solution for copying files (say... image files) from a CDROM to a user's local disk using a Flash interface (and any appropriate add-on)? It should be cross-platform happy, and specifically able to be developed on the Mac.
posted by jpburns on Jan 14, 2004 - 0 answers