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st4u

ST 4U 367: Command Line Handlers in Pharo

April 8, 2013 10:15:32.267

Today's Smalltalk 4 You looks at command line handling in Pharo - how to set up and work with your own. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, click on the image below:

Command Line

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:

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IM 122: A Look Ahead to STIC 2013 (AAC)

April 7, 2013 20:47:36.121

Welcome to episode 122 of Independent Misinterpretations - a Smalltalk and dynamic language oriented podcast with James Robertson and David Buck.

This week Dave and I talked about teh upcoming STIC 2013 conference. The list of speakers is available now (schedule to be posted shortly) - but we took a look behind the scenes, to give you an idea as to what's coming.

You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes (or any other podcatching software) using this feed directly or in iTunes with this one.

To listen now, you can either download the mp3 edition, or the AAC edition. The AAC edition comes with chapter markers. You can subscribe to either edition of the podcast directly in iTunes; just search for Smalltalk and look in the Podcast results. You can subscribe to the mp3 edition directly using this feed, or the AAC edition using this feed using any podcatching software. You can also download the podcast in ogg format.

If you like the music we use, please visit Josh Woodward's site. We use the song Troublemaker for our intro/outro music. I'm sure he'd appreciate your support!

If you have feedback, send it to jarober@gmail.com - or visit us on Facebook - you can subscribe in iTunes using this iTunes enabled feed.. If you enjoy the podcast, pass the word - we would love to have more people hear about Smalltalk!

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IM 122: A Look Ahead to STIC 2013

April 7, 2013 20:46:55.104

Welcome to episode 122 of Independent Misinterpretations - a Smalltalk and dynamic language oriented podcast with James Robertson and David Buck.

This week Dave and I talked about teh upcoming STIC 2013 conference. The list of speakers is available now (schedule to be posted shortly) - but we took a look behind the scenes, to give you an idea as to what's coming.

You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes (or any other podcatching software) using this feed directly or in iTunes with this one.

To listen now, you can either download the mp3 edition, or the AAC edition. The AAC edition comes with chapter markers. You can subscribe to either edition of the podcast directly in iTunes; just search for Smalltalk and look in the Podcast results. You can subscribe to the mp3 edition directly using this feed, or the AAC edition using this feed using any podcatching software. You can also download the podcast in ogg format.

If you like the music we use, please visit Josh Woodward's site. We use the song Troublemaker for our intro/outro music. I'm sure he'd appreciate your support!

If you have feedback, send it to jarober@gmail.com - or visit us on Facebook - you can subscribe in iTunes using this iTunes enabled feed.. If you enjoy the podcast, pass the word - we would love to have more people hear about Smalltalk!

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[im122.mp3 ( Size: 11010268 )]

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law

How Bad is the CFAA?

April 7, 2013 13:50:26.097

Your kid has probably committed numerous felonies by the time they hit 18, and given the way the Feds went after Aaron Swartz, if your kid is outspoken about things that irritate the wrong federal prosecutor, well....

Seventeen highlights the absurdity of giving terms of service the force of law under the CFAA. It boasts a readership of almost 4.5 million teen readers with an average age of 16 and a half, and yet, until today, the average reader was legally banned from visiting Seventeen.com. That’s right, for a magazine dedicated to teen fashion, the publisher’s terms explicitly restricted online access to readers 18 and older. What’s worse, the Justice Department could choose to bring the might of the government to enforce this contract against a Seventeen reader who may never have even seen the agreement.

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posted by James Robertson

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general

Always Flash

April 6, 2013 20:50:35.833

I've come to the conclusion that Flash's true purpose is to consume CPU cycles. The display of video is just an obscure bug, and I'm sure that Adobe will eventually figure out a fix....

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A Long Time Ago...

April 6, 2013 19:55:54.002

My daughter is in college now - so this gives you an idea as to how long ago this photo was taken:

posted by James Robertson

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st4u

ST 4U 366: Errors and Exceptions in VA Smalltalk

April 5, 2013 11:08:53.575

Today's Smalltalk 4 You looks at the difference between exception handling and error handling in VA Smalltalk. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, click on the image below:

error handling.

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:


In most Smalltalk code, you look for exceptions when there's a chance that your code will fail - typically, when dealing with something like file handling. In VA Smalltalk, there are two patterns in use - exceptions, and errors. For some of the system libraries (networking code, for example), you mostly won't see exceptions on failure; you'll get an error object back instead. You need to know what to look for in order to deal with the situation properly. The common Smalltalk pattern might look like this:


"Catch exception"
input := self getValueFromUser.
[10/input]
  on: ZeroDivide
  do: [:ex | ex return: 1].


Here we have code that might get a divide by zero error, and we handle that when it happens. If you use some of the VA libraries, here's the alternative error pattern:


"look for error"
client := (SstHttpClient forTransportScheme: 'http') startUp.
response := client get: 'http://www.5678jnbf.com'.
response isSstError
  ifTrue: [Transcript show: 'Error'; cr].
client shutDown.

Here, we don't get an exception when trying to get a nonsense url (in practice, you would be getting a proper url, but looking out for server errors, socket errors, etc). Here we need to check the response object - is it an actual response, or an error object? This is more akin to the pattern you see in other languages, where you need to check the return value for error codes.

The important thing to keep in mind is that both exist in VA, and you simply need to know which one to look for with the library you are using

Need more help? There's a screencast for other topics like this which you may want to watch. Questions? Try the "Chat with James" Google gadget over in the sidebar.

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Speaker List for STIC 2013 is Up

April 4, 2013 20:16:19.409

The schedule should be available soon - for now, check out the list of confirmed speakers for STIC 2013. And then go register :)

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posted by James Robertson

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general

They're Back.....

April 4, 2013 11:45:11.504

Oh boy, the 17 year Cicada cycle is arriving again this May. I have to say, I haven't missed them :)

In places where they’re going to be present, it’s going to be spectacular. There could be as many as one billion cicadas emerging per square mile,” Michael Raupp, a professor of Entomology at the University of Maryland, told 1010 WINS

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posted by James Robertson

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js4u

JS 4U 259: Geometric Lines on Maps

April 4, 2013 10:23:26.930

Javascript 4 U

Today's Javascript 4 You looks at the using the geometry library for drawing in google maps. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube.

Join the Facebook Group to discuss the tutorials. You can view the archives here.

To watch now, click on the image below:

geometry

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:

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ST 4U 365: DateAndTime in Pharo

April 3, 2013 10:26:57.078

Today's Smalltalk 4 You looks at the DateAndTime class in Pharo. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, click on the image below:

DateAndTime

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:

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posted by James Robertson

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JS 4U 258: Drawing Overlays

April 2, 2013 15:11:55.933

Javascript 4 U

Today's Javascript 4 You looks at drawing overlays for maps. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube.

Join the Facebook Group to discuss the tutorials. You can view the archives here.

To watch now, click on the image below:

drawing overlay

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:

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posted by James Robertson

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ST 4U 364: Getting the Pharo Command Line

April 1, 2013 13:46:10.521

Today's Smalltalk 4 You looks at accessing the command line from Pharo - i.e., figuring out what it looked like. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, click on the image below:

command line

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:

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Follow PharoConf Events From Afar

April 1, 2013 10:21:51.203

Just keep track of the hash tags #pharoconf and #mooseday

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posted by James Robertson

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