Programming

Programming languages and software development

Linux System Configuration

Choosing the Right Timer: clock_gettime vs TSC in Linux
ByEric Ma Sep 5, 2013Apr 12, 2026

Measuring time accurately matters for performance profiling, benchmarking, and latency-sensitive applications. Linux provides several APIs with different tradeoffs in resolution, overhead, and reliability. Understanding which to use prevents subtle bugs in production code. POSIX Time APIs: gettimeofday and clock_gettime gettimeofday() and clock_gettime() are the standard POSIX calls for reading system time. gettimeofday() returns seconds and…

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System Administration & Cloud

Measuring System Performance: Lessons from Ousterhout
ByEric Ma Sep 4, 2013Apr 12, 2026

John Ousterhout, a professor of computer science at Stanford, maintains a collection of “Favorite Sayings” grounded in decades of building real systems—RAMCloud, Tcl, and extensive work in distributed systems. These aren’t abstract principles. They’re lessons that apply directly to the work of building, debugging, and shipping software at scale. Optimize After Measurement, Not Before The…

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Development Best Practices

WordPress Anti-Spam: Essential Plugins and Setup Tips
ByEric Ma Aug 8, 2013Apr 12, 2026

WordPress spam attacks come in three distinct categories: comment spam, user registration abuse, and brute-force login attempts. A layered defense using complementary plugins and server-level hardening handles all three effectively. Comment Spam Protection Akismet remains the industry standard for comment filtering. It ships with WordPress by default and uses machine learning trained on millions of…

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Development Best Practices

Configuring MediaWiki’s Main Page: Redirects and Best Practices
ByEric Ma Jul 16, 2013Apr 12, 2026

MediaWiki stores its main page configuration in the MediaWiki:Mainpage system message. By default, this points to “Main Page”, but you can change it to any title that suits your wiki’s purpose. This process involves updating the system message, creating your new homepage, and handling redirects properly to avoid breaking external links and SEO. Step 1:…

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Linux System Configuration

Customizing MediaWiki’s Sidebar: A Configuration Guide
ByEric Ma Jul 16, 2013Apr 12, 2026

MediaWiki’s sidebar is managed through the MediaWiki:Sidebar special page, a simple text-based system that controls navigation for your entire wiki. Changes take effect immediately across all pages. Accessing the Sidebar Configuration Navigate to the sidebar editor using one of these methods: Direct URL (replace example.com with your domain): With pretty URLs: https://example.com/w/MediaWiki:Sidebar Without pretty URLs:…

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Scripting & Utilities

SSH Tunneling on Windows: Creating a SOCKS Proxy with OpenSSH
ByEric Ma Jul 15, 2013Apr 12, 2026

SSH tunneling on Windows routes your traffic through a remote server over an encrypted connection, letting you bypass network restrictions and access resources as if you were on the remote network. The setup creates a SOCKS proxy that listens locally and forwards all traffic through the SSH tunnel. The traffic flow is straightforward: Your application…

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Testing & DevOps

Device-Specific Skins in MediaWiki: Setup & Configuration
ByEric Ma Jul 15, 2013Apr 12, 2026

Modern MediaWiki installations should prioritize responsive design, but you may still need explicit device-based skin switching for specific use cases. This guide covers both approaches and how to implement them correctly. Responsive Skins: The Recommended Approach The default solution is using a responsive skin that adapts automatically to screen size without separate configuration. Vector 2022…

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System Administration & Cloud

Enabling SEO-Friendly URLs in MediaWiki with Apache and Nginx
ByEric Ma Jul 15, 2013Apr 12, 2026

MediaWiki’s default URL structure — www.example.com/w/index.php?title=TITLE — works functionally but creates poor SEO signals and awkward shareable links. Clean URLs like www.example.com/w/TITLE improve search visibility, readability, and user experience while making pages easier to reference. LocalSettings.php Configuration Open LocalSettings.php in your MediaWiki root directory and add these settings: $wgScript = “/w/index.php”; $wgArticlePath = “/w/$1”; The…

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Databases & Storage

ASCII Table, Character Codes, and Linux Text Tools
ByEric Ma Jul 15, 2013Apr 12, 2026

ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It’s a 7-bit character encoding standard mapping numeric values (0-127) to printable characters and control codes. Since computers work with numbers at the lowest level, ASCII provides a universal way to represent text—each character has a unique numeric value. Standardized in 1963, ASCII remains foundational to…

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Languages & Frameworks

Modern C++ References: Best Practices and Guidelines
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

cppreference.com is the authoritative resource for C++ language and standard library documentation. It covers all C++ standards from C++98 through C++26 with clear examples and cross-references. Bookmark it as your primary reference. The official C++ standard drafts are available through the C++ standards committee. While final standards require purchase, draft versions and proposals are freely…

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Development Best Practices

Setting Up and Troubleshooting Windows 7 Enterprise MAK Activation
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

Windows 7 reached end of support in January 2020. If you’re maintaining legacy Windows 7 Enterprise systems with Multiple Activation Keys (MAK), here’s how to handle activation for those remaining machines. MAK activation applies to Windows 7 Enterprise editions obtained through Microsoft Volume Licensing agreements. Each MAK has a limited number of allowed activations, so…

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Development Best Practices

Printing PDF Annotations in Acrobat, Adobe Reader, and Foxit
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

Printing PDF annotations with fidelity across different readers requires understanding each tool’s specific workflow. The fundamentals haven’t changed much, but modern versions offer more reliable options than they did years ago. Adobe Acrobat (Full Version) Acrobat provides the most control over annotation printing, but requires explicit configuration before print. Enable annotation printing in preferences: Open…

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Security & Encryption

LaTeX Essentials: Key Commands and Document Setup
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

Every LaTeX document requires a basic framework. Here’s the minimum viable structure: \documentclass{article} \usepackage[utf-8]{inputenc} \title{My Document} \author{Author Name} \date{\today} \begin{document} \maketitle \section{Introduction} Your content here. \end{document} Common document classes: article — reports, papers, short documents report — longer documents with chapters book — book-length documents with front/back matter beamer — slide presentations letter — formal…

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Development Best Practices

HP Compaq Laptop BIOS Recovery Guide
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

A failed BIOS flash can leave your HP Compaq laptop completely unresponsive — white screen, no boot, just LED blinking. Before declaring it dead, try HP’s built-in crisis recovery mechanism. This procedure has recovered many laptops that appeared permanently bricked. The process works even when CMOS corruption prevents normal startup. You’ll need a USB flash…

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Development Best Practices

Configuring Thunderbird’s Default Sort Order and Reply Quoting
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

Thunderbird’s most powerful settings live outside the UI—buried in the config editor or preferences file. This guide covers setting emails to sort newest-first by default and enabling inline quoting for replies, two changes that significantly improve daily usability. Accessing the Config Editor Open the config editor at Edit → Preferences → Advanced → Config Editor,…

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Development Best Practices

Prevent Firefox from Closing When Last Tab Closes
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

By default, closing the last tab in Firefox also closes the entire browser window. You can change this behavior through Firefox’s preferences so the browser stays open with an empty window. Access about:config Open Firefox and type about:config in the address bar. Firefox displays a warning about modifying preferences—this is expected and safe. Click “Accept…

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Development Best Practices

Firefox Extensions Worth Using in 2026
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

Firefox’s extension ecosystem is mature enough that you should install conservatively. Each extension consumes memory, introduces potential compatibility issues, and creates another surface for security problems. The extensions listed here solve genuine problems; install only what you use. Ad Blocking uBlock Origin remains the standard. It uses significantly less memory than alternatives and supports complex…

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Web Development

Setting Up SSH Server on Windows 10, 11, and Server 2019
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

Running an SSH server on Windows enables remote administration, port forwarding, and integration with Unix-like workflows. Modern Windows provides native OpenSSH support that’s far superior to legacy third-party solutions. Installation Windows 10 (build 1809+), Windows 11, and Windows Server 2019+ include OpenSSH as an optional feature. Via Settings: Open Settings → System → Optional features…

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Languages & Frameworks

Java vs C++: Performance, Memory, and Design Tradeoffs
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

Java eliminated pointers entirely in favor of automatic garbage collection. C++ gives you manual control through pointers and references, which provides performance benefits but introduces memory leak risks if misused. In Java, object references are automatically managed — you don’t allocate or free memory explicitly. The garbage collector runs periodically and reclaims unreachable objects. This…

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Algorithms & Data Structures

Hash Tables in C: Building and Using Them Effectively
ByEric Ma Jul 13, 2013Apr 12, 2026

When building applications requiring fast key-value lookups, hash tables are fundamental. C offers several options—from POSIX standard library functions to specialized third-party libraries. The right choice depends on your dataset characteristics, memory constraints, and whether you need dynamic resizing. Standard Library: hsearch() The simplest option is hsearch() from <search.h> in POSIX-compliant systems. It provides basic…

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