Introduction

With the caveat "all beginnings are difficult", I undertake to start the new blog "Code Chronicles". What is the inspiration for this blog, you ask? With over 15 years of programming experience behind me, I believe I have had interesting coding experiences and have developed interesting ways to look at and solve problems. Maybe they are not novel, and maybe there are other alternate approaches to these problems, but I think readers will find them instructive nonetheless. There is a situational backdrop as well; as a professional who works for other people I often find myself thrust into situations not of my own making. As a result of the current economic climate, my last company, which valued my services immensely, went out of existence and, as a result, I have been laid off and am currently unemployed. I will have to approach companies now from ground zero, with no previous shared experiences (at least not on the same exact projects), and convince them that I am the resource that they absolutely must have, despite the existence of many other similar resources competing for the same companies.

I must have a positive approach, and believe that efforts that I am taking part in now WILL move me forward towards the goal of finding employment even though it is eluding me currently. The best way forward is to take stock of myself and present what I have to offer the software community; by dwelling on my solutions of the past, I can at least provide insight to some possible trajectories in my future. Therefore, this blog will not engage in self-pity, but will only touch on the aspects of the situation (or former situations) that will be uplifting to others. Mostly, however, this blog will be about coding problems and solutions, and I plan to provide fragments of code as examples where possible to illustrate the solution (but nothing that would entail legal liabilities, in giving away company secrets, for example). I will try to keep the problems as context-free as I can, while being able to demonstrate the usefulness of a solution to a particular application. When one is given lemons, they tell you to make lemonade. I hope the lemonade that I offer here is tasty, thirst-quenching, and also healthy for all customers!