Articles by David Bolton
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4 Problems with Processor Thread Programming
Threads are a useful way to get more out of your CPU. Technically known as a “thread of execution,” a thread is the smallest possible sequence of programmed instructions handled by a scheduler. M… -
Managing SQL Server in Code: A Brief Walkthrough
Microsoft's flagship relational database, SQL Server, is now 28 years old and still going strong. It comes with a decent set of management tools, ranging from SQL Management Studio to SQLCMD, a c… -
A Quick Guide to Denormalizing Databases
A relational database stores data in multiple tables. Each table has columns describing the type of information, and each row is an instance of that data. Codd's 12 Rules apply to relational data… -
5 XML Alternatives to Consider
It’s been two decades since Extensible Markup Language (XML), a markup language for encoding documents, made its debut. While XML has enjoyed considerable success during that time, many programme… -
Add Two-Factor Authentication to Your Apps
Recent years have seen repeated website hacks, with hackers capturing many user details. Even a tech-savvy firm like Uber isn’t immune: the ride-sharing giant faces scrutiny for a 2016 hack that… -
5 Reasons Java Users Should Consider Kotlin
Although it’s been six years since Kotlin first appeared, the programming language recently gained momentum when Google announced it would receive first-class support on Android. The latest itera… -
Is Flat Design Actually Awful?
Since 2007, the rise of mobile operating systems (and mobile apps) has changed how tech companies approach design. For the preceding twenty years (or so), the desktop had dominated as the “defaul… -
Exploring the Dart Programming Language
It’s been almost six years since Dart, a general-purpose programming language developed within Google, made its debut. Since then, it’s slowly risen in the rankings: the August edition of the TIO… -
5 Ways to Improve Your Programming Skills
Even with forty years of programming experience under my belt, the only thing I'm really certain about is that there are definitely better programmers out there than me. But I'm not giving up, an… -
Building Google Android Apps: A Walkthrough
Google’s Android operating system is now more than a decade old. Its next iteration, codenamed “Q,” will certainly appear before the end of the year. (In keeping with Google’s longtime naming tra…