Cool registry tip..

It is fairly common to use a reg file to get data into a registry. I always wondered if there was a simple way to remove keys from a registry without doing all that hand traversal (it does not help that the standard reg editor does not have bookmarks). Found this tip which I found useful..

add.reg:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MicrosoftWindows NT\CurrentVersionImage File Execution Options\lodctr.exe]
"Debugger"="windbg.exe"

remove.reg (note the - after [ and before HKEY...):

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MicrosoftWindows NT\CurrentVersionImage File Execution Options\lodctr.exe]
"Debugger"="windbg.exe"

what platform?

Everytime I tell someone non-techy that I have a software job, the inevitable question I get out here is:
"What Platform do you work on?"
After the first time, I knew that they expect an answer like java, dotnet, oracle, sap or some such thing. If you answer with stuff like "we are building a framework for blah", "we build software for controlling fusion reactors", "we are decoding the gene sequence using some advanced algorithms" etc, all you will get is a condescending look :).

Writing good code...

The pragmatic programmers write great articles on writing good code. I especially liked this one Writing good OO code. How many time have you seen these seemingly obvious things violated? [Hint: 100s of times :)]

If you write code for a living, do take the time to read the article and save the poor souls who have to maintain your legacy :).

Xml prettifier in python

Since xml is the "format of the day" for any and everything, I find it more and more common to edit/generate/hack xml files in daily routine. Since xml is not exactly write/read friendly to humans, I end up writing tools to update and maintain these monsters :). Python has a good and friendly xml parsing api that I find useful. For starts, a prettifier can be written in a few lines of code:

import sys, StringIO
from xml.dom import minidom

def prettify(inxml):
    xmldoc = minidom.parseString(inxml)
    # use 2 spaces to indent instead of tabs
    lines = StringIO.StringIO(xmldoc.toprettyxml("  ")) 
    #remove redundant empty lines 
    lines = [ x for x in lines if x.strip() != ""]
    return "".join(lines)

Startups !

N friends/relatives have started some or the other companies/websites in the last 5 years; some fulltime, others partime. This post attempts to gather them all at one place for a better overall view ....

Full/parttime companies:

http://www.carwale.com - Jabal and Co
http://www.techbrix.com - Vamsee and co
http://www.tachyontech.net - KS and Rampi
http://www.propertywale.com - Jabal and Co
http://www.thecressidagroup.com - RK
http://www.stockfundas.com - Anand and Co

Websites:

http://www.shabdanjali.com (Online hindi magazine..)
http://www.indianhousehold.com

Some of these are pretty new; good luck, folks!

If you know me directly and I forgot to list your site, please drop me a mail/comment