Links to other programming websites

 


Links to other sites

This section has links to other interesting websites. These sites are about programming, web design or other software tasks.

  1. C/C++ Compilers
  2. Pascal and Delphi Compilers
  3. Other Compilers (any language)
  4. Linkers and Assemblers
  5. Interesting Software Products
  6. Sample code
  7. Information about Language Design
  8. Weblogs (online commentators)
  9. Computer History
  10. Website design and Web references
  11. Icons and Bitmaps for use in Websites
  12. Security measures (anti-virus, anti-spam)
  13. Domain Name Services and Web Hosts
  14. Download Sites
  15. European Shareware Conference
  16. Articles

1. C/C++ Compilers

These links are sites that have C or C++ compilers. Some of them are free, some are not, some are distributed under the GPL (Gnu Public Licence).

www.cs.virginia.edu/~lcc-win32 is a site with a portable C compiler (LCC-Win32 compiler). The binaries for this compiler are free for non-commercial use only. It is not distributed under the GPL.

www.cs.princeton.edu/software/lcc/ is also a site for the portable C compiler. This is a different version of the same compiler. LCC was made to be a portable compiler for any platform and was the subject of a book called A Retargetable C Compiler. LCC-WIN32 was a Windows spin-off, then the original LCC was ported to Windows as well.

2. Pascal and Delphi Compilers

These links are sites that have Pascal or Delphi compilers (Delphi is Borland's implementation of Pascal for Windows). Again some are free, some are not, and some are distributed under the GPL.

www.freepascal.org is a site for FPC (the Free Pascal Compiler). This is compatible with Borland Delphi and is distributed under the Gnu Public Licence. Binaries created with this compiler are distributed under a modified version of the LGPL (Library GPL). This permits the binaries to be distributed without source code.

www.thefreecountry.com/developercity/pascal.html is a site for free Pascal and Delphi Compilers. This is an interesting and well-put together site.

3. Other Compilers (any language)

These links are sites with compilers for a mixture of languages, or for languages other than C and Pascal.

www.bloodshed.net is a site with some free software tools, including C and Pascal compilers. This is an interesting site with information about compilers, free software, articles and is well worth exploring.

www.idiom.com/free-compilers/ is a catalog of free compilers, interpreters and language tools. There is a long list of languages and compilers, however the site may not be up to date as the copyright notice is 1998.

freebyte.com/programming/ is a link to free programming tools, including installers and help authoring tools. It is a well designed site and seems to be updated regularly. There is a lot to explore here.

4. Linkers and Assemblers

These links are sites with linkers and assemblers.

developer.intel.com/design/pentiumii/manuals/243191.htm is part of the Intel website with manuals containing the instruction set for the Pemtium microprocessor. The downloads are in PDF format and are about 7MB. This information is for specialist use only.

www.godevtool.com/ is a Win32 and assembler information page. The author of this page has links to an assembler, linker (alink) and resource compiler. This information is very useful, but is for specialist use only.

homepages.ihug.com.au/~entropy/os/os-faq-linker.html is a site with a catalog of linkers. This is very interesting and very specialist information.

5. Interesting Software Products

msdn.microsoft.com is a link to the MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network). This is a free on-line knowledge base with thousands of technical questions, bugs, problems, and solutions to do with Microsoft products. This is a really useful site. It is the same as the information you get if you subscribe to MSDN.

www.internetnews.com is not exactly a software site. Instead it's a link to technical news, which is handy if you want to know what's going on.

www.gnu.org, which is a free software site including C/C++, Pascal compilers available from the GNU foundation. These products are unsupported, so if you have a problem you have to figure it out yourself by reading the documentation or the source, or ask or pay someone to help.

www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/ covers Ghostscript, which is a GPL version of Postscript. There are two elements to Ghostscript - the command line Ghostscript processor and a Windows graphical interface program (Gview), and you need both. Ghostscript makes it possible to create, process and print postscript files and PDF files. Using Ghostscript you can create PDF files without buying the expensive Acrobat software.

6. Sample code

These links are sites which have sample code (any language).

www.javascriptsource.com is a library of Javascript code. The samples are free and the idea is you can cut and paste the samples into your web pages. You need some programming experience to use the samples.

www.pascal-central.com has lots of sample Pascal code, information about projects written in Pascal, and discussions about Pascal in general. This is a very professional looking site.

www.wotsit.org is one of the most detailed sources available on the web for file formats. The structure of most types of binary and data file is catalogued here.

Undocumented APIs is a list of APIs that Microsoft made public as a result of their legal battles with the USA's Department of Justice. This is an interesting list and may be worth printing out in case it accidentally gets removed from Microsoft's website.

7. Information about Language Design

These links are sites with information about design of computer languages, other interesting and obscure languages, and computer language type theory.

lsi.uniovi.es/~labra/APL.html#LanguageList is a list of Advanced Programming Languages and concepts of interest in language design. This is really just a catalog to other sites of interest, with a few of the author's comments.

http://www.erg.abdn.ac.uk/research/projects/lingo.html is information about the Recursiv Project which uses another computer language called Lingo.

8. Weblogs (online commentators)

These are links to websites where the owners pass intelligent comments on software development or similar topics. These sites are rarer than you might think! They are updated when the owners feel inspired, usually every few weeks.

http://www.joelonsoftware.com is run by an ex-Microsoftie who runs his own software business. There are some highly intelligent articles here which shed light on the software development process. Articles cover all aspects of business, not just programming.

http://www.useit.com is run by a user-interface guru who has strong views on how web sites and programs should be made more usable. I think the name "useit" is short for "usability in IT".

http://www.goingware.com/tips/ is a useful collection of articles on the theory and practice of software development and website development. The site is created by Michael Crawford.

9. Computer History

www.ex.ac.uk/BABBAGE/ is a website about Charles Babbage, who designed a mechanical computer during the reign of Queen Victoria (in the early to middle 1800s). One of his calculating engines has been finished and is on exhibition at a museum in London.

ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Babbage.html has more information about the life of Charles Babbage. Together with his assistant, Countess Ada, they developed the ideas behind the first computer and the concepts that would be required to program it.

www.bambi.net/bob/homebrew.html is a website about an American homebrew computer club in the 1970s. This was a time when hobbyists armed only with a soldering iron and a bag of ICs could design their own computer circuits (this was how Apple started). This site is interesting if you're keen on electronics.

10. Website design and Web references

These links are websites which tell you about HTML, scripting languages, and the basics of website design.

www.coolhomepages.com is a database of cool home pages. The author updates it regularly and there are snapshots of the sites so you don't have to visit each one (this saves a lot of time). This site is excellent if you want inspiration for creating a new website. Also it has a flash-free zone, so you don't need the Macromedia flash plug-in.

www.w3.org/TR/html401 is the official definition of HTML 4.01, the latest commonly accepted version of HTML. Both version 4 of MS Internet Explorer and Netscape should be able to render HTML 4.01 without any problems. However this document is quite detailed, so it's best used as a reference instead of something you can browse through.

www.thefreecountry.com has free web design tools and scripts. There is a lot to read through in this site.

www.hwg.org is the HTML Writers Guild which is an association of web authors. They have information on website design and educational material that explain how HTML should be written. This is worth a look if you're interested in website design.

11. Icons and Bitmaps for use in Websites

www.specialweb.com/original/ (Celine's GIFs) is a collection of creative buttons, icons, backgrounds and other images suitable for web sites. The author has generously made the images free and some of them are really imaginative.

www.iconbazaar.com has a good collection of icons and GIF files, which are licenced for use in web pages. Some of the icons available in Ubercode were licenced from this site.

12. Security measures (anti-virus, anti-spam)

These links are for software and hardware that help security. For example, anti-virus programs, anti-trojan programs, anti-spam programs, hardware and software firewalls and other solutions.

free.grisoft.com is the home of the very useful AVG anti-virus program. It is free of charge for home use, and is frequently updated when new viruses and trojans come out.

http://www.anti-virus-software.com is a detailed list of anti-virus software, anti-trojan and anti-spyware programs. It also has "tracks-erasing" programs that remove the temporary files created during internet access. There are many interesting applications here, including a (dubious looking) keylogger!

Both http://www.virusscan.jotti.org/ and http://www.virustotal.com are on-line anti-virus scanners. You can upload a suspect file to these sites and have it scanned by about 20 different anti-virus programs. This is useful for checking out false alarms.

13. Domain Name Services and Web Hosts

These links are sites which handle domain name registrations, DNS (Domain Name Services), or provide useful information about web hosting.

whois.bw.org/ is a link to the Bill Weinman Whois system, which is much better than the register.com and networksolutions.com whois systems. The latter two do not cover all the whois databases. Also they are very expensive if you use them as registrars, and they make it very difficult to transfer your domain names anywhere else. Register.com used to charge $75/yr for a domain name which is about 10x the going rate.

Joker.com is an excellent domain name registrar. They are good value, and you can park names here and point them to other sites. If you have a web host, you can set up the Joker name servers to point to the host at no extra charge. It was a real pleasure finding this registrar after dealing with register.com and networksolutions.com

how-to-find-a-web-host.html is a link to an article I wrote on finding a web host. The process is not that easy, as there are wide differences in pricing and reliability. If you're looking for a host, this article is worth a read.

whreviews.com is a link to Dan Lemnaru's web review page. During the months I was looking for a new web host, this was the best source of information I found. If you're looking for web hosting then visit this site and read the information!

14. Download sites

These links are sites which offer downloads of source code and sample programs. Some of them have links to yet more sites.

www.myzips.com is a download site which has sample programs and downloadable applications.

www.microsoft.com/downloads/ is a link to the Microsoft downloads site. There's lots of useful stuff here that is free!

Serial.html is an article about the danger of downloading from websites offering serial numbers and so-called software 'cracks'.

15. European Shareware Conference

Here are reviews I wrote of the European Shareware Conferences that I have attended:

ESWC 2006 in Cambridge, UK

ESWC 2007 in Cologne, Germany

16. Articles

This is a set of links to articles and papers I have written:

On Pricing Software (sequel to an article on Joel on Software) (2004)

On finding a web hosting company (2005)

Programming Article for International Developer magazine (2006)

On Starting a uISV (2007)

Postscript

If any of these links are outdated, or if you have any questions or requests, send an email using the links at the end of the page.