This is the third, and possibly final, post in my series on Microsoft Windows console mode character encodings. It describes how to use Unicode reasonably cleanly, without the “chcp 65001” hack discussed in Part 2. Again, the idea is that you are writing a command-line computer program in C or C++, and you want it…… Continue reading Win32 I/O character encoding part 3
Why throwing a game is against the rules
On November 29, 2012 (six years ago today), there was an NBA basketball game that got some attention. It was a nationally televised game featuring two powerhouse teams: the San Antonio Spurs (Tim Duncan, etc.), versus the Miami Heat (Lebron James, etc.). To the dismay of many, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich more-or-less threw the game,…… Continue reading Why throwing a game is against the rules
Win32 I/O character encoding part 2: chcp 65001
In a previous post, I summarized the character encodings used by Windows console mode programs. This is a short post about a not-very-good mitigation technique for some of the resulting problems. In a future post, I’ll go over some better solutions. Sometimes on an internet forum, someone will complain about a third-party Windows console program…… Continue reading Win32 I/O character encoding part 2: chcp 65001
Examining the SHA-1 collision files
SHA-1 is a cryptographic hash function. You give it a computer file, and it produces a 160-bit hash that is completely determined by the input file, but not in any obvious way. In early 2017, a group of researchers, using advanced mathematics and 6500 CPU-years of computer searching, found the first ever SHA-1 collision: two…… Continue reading Examining the SHA-1 collision files
How long does it take to fall through a ball of ice?
Planet FrictionlessIceball has a straight, narrow tunnel connecting two points on its surface. How long does it take to slide through the tunnel? Simplifying assumptions As with most story problems, we have to make some simplifying assumptions. But I think they’re fairly reasonable. We assume the faller starts out motionless, at one end of the…… Continue reading How long does it take to fall through a ball of ice?
About that JPEG/ZIP/Shakespeare hybrid file
The other day, a Twitter user (David Buchanan, @David3141593) posted a message that gained some attention. It has an attached JPEG file, with an image of William Shakespeare. If you save a copy of the JPEG file, and unzip it as if it were a ZIP file, it unzips into the complete works of Shakespeare.…… Continue reading About that JPEG/ZIP/Shakespeare hybrid file
How is a JPEG image’s color type determined?
In order to decode and display a JPEG image, you have to know what “color type” (or “color model”) it uses. There are several possibilities that your software probably ought to handle: Grayscale YCbCr (transformed from RGB) RGB YCCK (transformed from CMYK) CMYK Unfortunately, if you look at all the bits and bytes that make…… Continue reading How is a JPEG image’s color type determined?
