Programming languages and software development
By default, Git doesn’t automatically configure your local branch to track its remote counterpart. You need to explicitly set up this tracking relationship so that git pull and git push know which remote branch to synchronize with. Setting Up Tracking for an Existing Branch If you already have a local branch and want it to…
Cinnamon on Fedora offers solid theming options through the official repositories. Here’s a practical approach to building a cohesive desktop environment with matching window borders, icons, controls, and cursor themes. Installing Theme Packages Start by installing available theme packages from the Fedora and Cinnamon repositories: sudo dnf install cinnamon-themes cinnamon-control-center sudo dnf install papirus-icon-theme adwaita-icon-theme…
When you try to redirect output from a sudo command to a file using >, you’ll hit a permission error: $ sudo echo “echo hello” > /usr/local/bin/hello bash: /usr/local/bin/hello: Permission denied This happens because the shell processes the redirection operator > before sudo runs. The redirection happens in your unprivileged shell context, not as root….
Forcing HTTPS on your website protects visitor data and improves SEO. The most common method is using .htaccess with Apache’s mod_rewrite module to redirect all HTTP requests to HTTPS. Basic HTTPS redirect Add this to your .htaccess file in the document root: RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301] This performs a permanent…
If you need to scan documents on Windows, several solid open-source options exist. Here are the most practical choices. NAPS2 (Not Another PDF Scanner 2) NAPS2 remains the top recommendation for Windows scanning. It’s straightforward, actively maintained, and handles most scanner hardware without headaches. What it does: Scans from WIA and TWAIN-compatible scanners Saves to…
When a hard drive fails physically, data recovery becomes challenging but sometimes possible. If the drive isn’t recognized by the system or showing signs of mechanical failure, professional recovery services may be necessary—but they’re expensive. Before going that route, you can attempt recovery yourself using open-source tools. When to attempt DIY recovery You can safely…
Connecting your application to a MySQL database is fundamental to most backend systems. Rather than shelling out to the mysql command-line client, you’ll use language-specific connectors that provide proper connection pooling, error handling, and prepared statements. Language-Specific MySQL Drivers The best approach depends on your tech stack: Python Use mysql-connector-python for straightforward connections or PyMySQL…
GNU Screen is a terminal multiplexer that lets you manage multiple shell sessions within a single window. If you’re new to it, here are the best resources to get up to speed, plus practical tips for getting started. Getting Started with Screen For an introduction to the basics, start with A quick tutorial on screen….
The standard crontab -e command opens an interactive editor, which doesn’t work in automated scripts. To add crontab entries non-interactively, you need to pipe a list of cron jobs directly to crontab -. Basic approach The simplest method reads the existing crontab, appends your new entry, and writes it back: (crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo “@reboot…
The core problem here is legitimate: if you’re running multiple jobs on the same dataset where the mapper phase produces identical intermediate results, recomputing those results is wasteful. However, skipping the mapper phase entirely breaks MapReduce’s processing model. There are better approaches. Why You Can’t Just Skip the Mapper MapReduce assumes data flows through map…
HDFS doesn’t natively support directory-level replication factor inheritance. Even if you set a specific replication factor on a directory and its files, new files created in that directory will default to the cluster’s global dfs.replication setting (typically 3). This limitation can complicate multi-tier storage strategies where you want temporary or low-priority data on fewer replicas…
The sed stream editor is the go-to tool for deleting lines from files in Linux. It’s fast, works on large files without loading everything into memory, and handles complex patterns easily. Delete a Single Line by Line Number To delete the 4th line from a file: sed -i ‘4d’ ./file The -i flag edits the…
Fedora’s default repositories don’t include musl libc, but you have two practical options: install it from a community repository if available, or build from source. Building from source gives you full control and is the most reliable approach across Fedora versions. Option 1: Build from Source (Recommended) Start by installing the build dependencies: sudo dnf…
Merging branches is one of the most common Git workflows. The basic process is straightforward, but understanding the different merge strategies and when to use them prevents silent mistakes and keeps your history clean. The Basic Merge Flow To merge a feature branch into another branch: git checkout rc git merge dev-harry This checks out…
MPlayer has been largely superseded by mpv in most Linux distributions, but if you need the classic MPlayer with DVD navigation support, building from source remains the way to get libdvdnav integrated. Most distribution packages omit this feature due to licensing complexity. Prerequisites You’ll need a C compiler, build tools, and development libraries. On Fedora/RHEL-based…
When should the authors anonymize themselves in a paper submitted to a conference for review? Several general concepts: Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people of similar competence to the producers of the work (peers). — Wikipedia Single-blind describes experiments where information that could introduce bias or otherwise skew the…
Distributed systems need consensus — a way for multiple nodes to agree on state despite failures and network partitions. Understanding the key algorithms behind consensus is essential for anyone designing reliable systems. Paxos and Its Variants Paxos is the foundational consensus algorithm, proven to tolerate Byzantine failures. It works in three phases: prepare, accept, and…
Deleted photos from your Samsung phone aren’t necessarily gone forever—they remain on disk until overwritten. Here’s how to recover them. Act quickly to preserve data The moment you realize photos are deleted, stop using your phone. Every new photo, message, or app activity risks overwriting deleted data. Turn off WiFi and mobile data to prevent…
Filtering RSS feeds lets you reduce noise and focus on content that actually matters. Whether you want to exclude posts mentioning certain topics or only see items matching specific keywords, there are several practical approaches depending on your setup. Using dedicated feed filtering services Feed43 (https://www.feed43.com/) is one of the most reliable web-based tools for…
Measuring the execution time of a function is useful for profiling and optimization work. OCaml provides straightforward tools for this. Basic approach with Unix.gettimeofday The simplest method uses Unix.gettimeofday(), which returns wall-clock time as a float with microsecond precision: let time f = let t = Unix.gettimeofday () in let res = f () in…