Articles by David Bolton
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The State of Structured Query Language (SQL) in 2019
In 1974, Abba won the Eurovision song contest with “Waterloo.” That same year saw the birth of Structured Query Language (SQL). Created as a standardized language for relational database manageme… -
XML vs. JSON: What's the Difference for Developers?
Programming is not just about writing code. If you have a few years of programming experience under your belt, you'll have no doubt encountered the issue of moving data between processes or compu… -
Blast from the Past: Retrieving Old Game Source Code
Way back in 1985, I created games on the ZX Spectrum/Timex and CBM-64. A friend and I set up a small software house, and in addition to creating our own games, we also (and more lucratively) conv… -
State of C Programming Language in 2019
In four years’ time, C will reach its 50th birthday, an anniversary also shared with PL/M and Prolog. Unlike those two, C remains immensely popular, it’s in the top ten of virtually every program… -
5 Programming Languages You May Not Have Heard Of
Before the Web became ubiquitous, it was difficult to promote a new programming language. The most popular ones were either pushed by a manufacturer (such as Fortran, originally developed by IBM… -
Examining Undefined Behavior in C++ Programming
Programming languages such as C and C++ have quirks and undefined behavior. These memory safety violations, integer overflows, and unending loops can really wreck your program (and your day!). So… -
5 Reasons to Eliminate Technical Debt at All Costs
Technical debt is the entropy and clutter in your codebase. It increases as developers add new code or modify existing programs, and it means that future developers will have more trouble wrangli… -
Exploring Microsoft's Adoption of Python in Visual Studio
You don't usually think of Microsoft and Python in the same sentence. But now, in Visual Studio 2017, you can develop applications in Python, making Visual Studio probably the best Python IDE aro… -
The Risks of Hiring Rockstar Developers for a Team
Software development can be a complicated process. Never mind the complexities of the technology itself; people on the team need to work together well, and that’s not always easy. Fortunately, hi… -
5 Reasons to Avoid Hiring Rockstar Developers
Software development can be a complicated process. Never mind the complexities of the technology itself; people on the team need to work together well, and that’s not always easy. Fortunately, hi…