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Columns come, and columns go.
April 01, 2006
URL:http://www.drdobbs.com/comings-and-goings/184406487
Please join me in welcoming Pete Becker as a regular contributor to these pages. Starting with this issue, Pete is launching a new monthly C++ column, appropriately entitled "The New C++." Those of you familiar with the late, great C/C++ Users Journal, a sister publication that recently merged into DDJ, should be familiar with both Pete and his CUJ column of the same name. But while Pete's CUJ column focused on TR1 (for background information, see "The Technical Report on C++ Library Extensions," by Matthew H. Austern, DDJ, June, 2005), DDJ's "The New C++" is more wide ranging, covering all things C++, not just TR1 stuff.
Pete is eminently qualified to write the column, having been a member of the C++ Standards Committee since its inception, and Project Editor for the C++ Standard itself. For the past few years, Pete has been a library design and implementation specialist at Dinkumware, although (as you'll hear in this month's installment) he recently moved cross country and started a consulting business.
It's worth mentioning that this isn't Pete's first foray into DDJ. In a classic "my, how time flies" moment, Pete's first DDJ article was published in August 1993 and focused on, you guessed it, C++.
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And speaking of columns, Michael Swaine's long-running "Programming Paradigms" has been retired. No, not Michael—just the column.
Although "Programming Paradigms" has been among the industry's most-popular regular features for nearly two decades, Michael says he's ready for a change. Consequently, he's been reassigned to new DDJ projects, some of which you'll be seeing over the next couple of issues.
Writing a column—particularly a technical column—is hard work and my hat's off to anyone who meets the challenge year in and year out, while still delivering accurate, meaningful, and entertaining content. Al Stevens did it for years, as has Michael.
And don't worry, "Swaine's Flames" will continue. After all, Michael pouring drinks at the Foo Bar, while battling—and some would say losing—wits with his cousin Corbett is DDJ to the core.
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For the audiophiles among us, I hope you've had a chance to strap on your earbuds and listen to the podcasts we've been producing, which are available at http://www.ddj.com/podcast/. They're delivered in a variety of formats, including short (5 minutes or less) interviews with industry experts on topics such as software configuration management, Office XML Formats, dual-core software development, and the like. Other short (also less than five minutes) podcasts include technology news of the day on subjects such as new algorithms for robot vision, solid-state lighting, the new MPEG Standard, and more.
For the more patient, longer (say, 10-20 minutes) podcasts include Windows and .NET tutorials covering topics such as migrating data access to .NET, assessing the VB6 assessment tool, and the like. And finally, more product-focused podcasts include Contivo Builder and MDA-oriented development, Oracle tools for agile business processes, and the like.
We'd really like to hear from you about what sort of podcasts serve your needs best, and what you'd like to hear more of—or less of, for that matter. (Okay, so I don't sound like Morgan Freeman, but my mother thinks I sound great.) Check 'em out, and drop us some e-mail.
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Finally, we've opened up a digital newsstand of sorts on Amazon.com where you can download PDF documents that range from complete issues of DDJ to compendiums of articles along the lines of The Best of Computer Language, The Best of AI Expert, The Best of BYTE, and so on. For instance, Volume 2 of The Best of Computer Language focuses on "Algorithms" while Volume 3 is "A Stan Kelly-Bootle Reader." You'll also find collected articles we've published on topics such as Eclipse in issues of Dr. Dobb's Digest.
The easiest way to find these e-zines isn't very, well, easy. Go to Amazon.com, select "Books," select "e-Books & Docs," and do a search for "CMP Media." No telling what will pop up, but you should get a list of available e-zines. As for what it takes to actually post those e-docs on Amazon.com's system, well, I'll leave that for another day.