The hex() function converts an integer to a hexadecimal string with a 0x prefix: i = 255 print(hex(i)) # Output: 0xff This works for negative numbers too: print(hex(-42)) # Output: -0x2a String formatting for control For more control over the output, use f-strings or the format() method with format specifiers: i = 255 print(f”Value: {i:x}”)…
This post addresses a fair question: with Stack Overflow, Reddit, and countless other Q&A platforms already established, why create a dedicated Q&A space? There are three practical reasons. Short-form technical tips Some knowledge doesn’t warrant a full blog post. A 2000-word article dilutes what should be a focused tip. Q&A format works better for these…
The strcmp() and strncmp() functions are fundamental string comparison utilities in the C standard library. Understanding their implementations reveals important aspects of character comparison, null-termination handling, and performance optimization. strcmp Implementation The glibc implementation of strcmp() performs lexicographic comparison of two null-terminated strings, returning: A negative value if the first string is lexicographically less than…
To enable debugging, configure your CMake build with CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE set to Debug. This tells CMake to invoke the compiler with the -g flag, generating debug symbols that tools like gdb and lldb need. From your project’s root directory: cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -B build cd build make The -B build flag creates a separate build directory, which…
The x86-64 architecture on Linux follows the System V AMD64 ABI calling convention. Understanding this is essential when writing assembly, optimizing code, debugging, or interfacing with C libraries. Register usage for arguments Integer and pointer arguments use these registers in order: RDI — first argument RSI — second argument RDX — third argument RCX —…
There are several ways to determine a file’s size in C, each with different trade-offs. Choose based on whether you have a file descriptor, stream, or just the filename. Using stat() with a Filename If you know the filename, stat() is the most straightforward approach: #include <sys/stat.h> #include <stdio.h> int main(const char *filename) { struct…
ANSI C is the standardized version of C defined in 1989, specifying the language’s syntax and semantics formally through a grammar. Understanding this grammar is essential for building tools that parse, analyze, or transform C code. Grammar Basics The ANSI C grammar is defined using Backus-Naur Form (BNF), a notation for specifying formal grammars. The…
The claim that scanf is dangerous gets thrown around frequently, but the reasons aren’t always clear. Most people point to %s causing buffer overflows and recommend fgets as the solution. That’s part of it, but not the core problem. The real issues with scanf break down into two categories: string handling and arithmetic input. String…
Converting strings to long integers is fundamental in C. The standard library provides strtol(), strtoul(), strtoll(), and strtoull() for this purpose. These functions handle the conversion robustly and let you detect parsing errors through their return value and endptr argument. Function Signatures All four functions share a similar interface: long strtol(const char *str, char **endptr,…
If you’re running a site with limited resources, a free CDN can significantly improve performance and reduce bandwidth costs. Here are the current options worth considering. Cloudflare https://www.cloudflare.com Cloudflare remains the most popular free CDN choice for good reason. Their free tier includes: Global edge network with automatic content caching and optimization DDoS protection and…
When you need to download a video playing in your browser, Chrome offers several solid options depending on your workflow and the video source. Browser Extensions Video Download Helper is a reliable choice for Chrome that works across most video hosting platforms. Install it from the Chrome Web Store and use it to capture videos…
WordPress’s Text/HTML editor can be extended with custom buttons for frequently used code snippets or shortcodes. This is useful for inserting boilerplate markup, custom shortcodes, or formatting helpers without manually typing them each time. Basic Implementation Add this code to your theme’s functions.php or a custom plugin: function add_custom_quicktags() { wp_add_inline_script( ‘quicktags’, “QTags.addButton(‘wiki_button’, ‘Wiki’, ‘[yadawiki…
If you’re evaluating hosting providers in 2026, the landscape has shifted considerably from the shared hosting dominance of the early 2020s. Before committing to a provider, understand what you’re actually getting and what limitations matter. Shared Hosting Limitations to Watch Traditional shared hosting providers like Hostgator, Bluehost, and Dreamhost still exist, but they come with…
WordPress has included automatic canonical URL generation since version 2.9. While this is usually beneficial for SEO, certain scenarios require disabling it — for example, when forum plugins generate incorrect canonical URLs that point all threads to a single page. The Problem Canonical URLs tell search engines which version of a page is authoritative. When…
When managing many systems, manually confirming host keys for each new connection gets tedious fast. You can configure SSH to automatically add unknown hosts to ~/.ssh/known_hosts without prompting. The Risk Trade-off Before implementing this, understand what you’re doing: disabling strict host key checking opens you to man-in-the-middle attacks. Only use this in trusted networks where…
Vim performs case-sensitive searches by default. If you search for error, it won’t match Error or ERROR. Here are several ways to enable case-insensitive searching. Toggle Case Sensitivity During Search The quickest method — append \c anywhere in your search pattern: /error\c This matches error, Error, ERROR, and any other casing. The \c flag applies…
Pasting external code into Vim often triggers unwanted autoindent behavior, adding extra indentation and breaking formatting. Vim’s paste mode disables all automatic indentation while inserting text, letting you paste code exactly as-is. Quick paste mode toggle Enable paste mode before pasting: :set paste Then paste your code. When done, disable it: :set nopaste This works,…
Google no longer displays author information in search results the way it did when Google+ existed. However, you can still control how your content appears in search results by using schema markup—specifically the author property in JSON-LD structured data. Current best practice: schema.org markup The modern approach uses JSON-LD structured data embedded in your page’s…
Firefox Sync lets you keep bookmarks, passwords, history, open tabs, and settings synchronized across all your devices. It’s built on Mozilla’s infrastructure and doesn’t require a separate account beyond your Firefox account. Prerequisites Firefox 22 or later (current versions are 2024+) A Mozilla Firefox Account Devices running Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, or Android Initial Setup…
GNOME Keyring stores encrypted credentials, SSH keys, and secrets for applications. If you need to disable it or start fresh after forgetting the password, you can remove the keyring database. Keyring Storage Locations The location of keyrings depends on your GNOME version and configuration: GNOME 3.0+: ~/.local/share/gnome-keyring/ or ~/.local/share/evolution/calendar/ Older GNOME: ~/.gnome2/keyrings/ XDG Base Directory…