Mason Wheeler

Seattle, WA

http://tech.turbu-rpg.com

A lifelong programmer who's been coding in Delphi since its initial release and currently makes a living at it.

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How do you prove you're from the future?

time-travel asked Mar 20 '15 at 11:41

worldbuilding.stackexchange.com

248 votes

How are globals any different from a database?

state globals asked May 24 '16 at 19:42

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

236 votes

How can you do anything useful without mutable state?

functional-programming state asked Jun 20 '09 at 0:52

stackoverflow.com

139 votes

Where does this concept of “favor composition over inheritance” come from?

object-oriented inheritance composition asked Apr 4 '11 at 22:54

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

129 votes

How do I apply a diff patch on Windows?

windows diff patch asked Feb 5 '09 at 18:33

stackoverflow.com

93 votes

Why is there a scarcity of lithium?

nuclear-physics big-bang geophysics popular-science asked Jun 16 '11 at 0:14

physics.stackexchange.com

53 votes

How do languages with Maybe types instead of nulls handle edge conditions?

type-systems null asked May 2 '14 at 21:47

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

49 votes

Why was the Itanium processor difficult to write a compiler for?

history compilers asked Apr 16 '15 at 20:19

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

44 votes

Why is the language of ancient Rome called “Latin” instead of “Roman”?

vocabulary history place-names asked Jul 5 '16 at 18:33

latin.stackexchange.com

42 votes

Where does the term “Red/Black Tree” come from?

data-structures history asked Oct 27 '11 at 20:44

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Top Answers

403

Should I return from a function early or use an if statement?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

203

Can I adapt code I wrote for work and release it as open source

workplace.stackexchange.com

132

Is it premature optimization to add database indices?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

129

Does path coverage guarantee finding all bugs?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

119

What coworker habit do you find most annoying?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

111

I found that the company I work for is putting a backdoor into mobile phones

security.stackexchange.com

109

Is it a good idea to design an architecture thinking that the User Interface classes can be replaced by a command line interface?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

107

Could using ALT + F4 to close a game corrupt Save data?

gaming.stackexchange.com

102

Are exceptions as control flow considered a serious antipattern? If so, Why?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

101

Why are bit masks called “masks” and what purpose do they serve?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

How can a new programmer impress the software engineer (boss)?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Why does Java have a method declared void?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Are unit tests really that useful?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

What's the use of .Any() in a C# List<>?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

The difference between “concurrent” and “parallel” execution?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Why are some C programs written in one huge source file?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

What is the use of converting source code to Java bytecode?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

NoSQL within SQL Server

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

What happened to Borland Delphi?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

What to say when you don’t know the answer to an interview question?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Which programming language do you really hate?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Why does C provide language 'bindings' where C++ falls short?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Should I plan ahead, or figure out programs as I'm writing them?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Does this class design violate the single responsibility principle?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

What justifies the use of an IDE versus a standard editor?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Engineering interview candidate refuses to use whiteboard

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

What is a closure?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Why does Facebook convert PHP code to C++?

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Logging failed login attempts exposes passwords

softwareengineering.stackexchange.com

Is paying off your mortage a #1 personal finance priority?

money.stackexchange.com

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Mason Wheeler

How do you prove you're from the future?

How are globals any different from a database?

How can you do anything useful without mutable state?

Where does this concept of “favor composition over inheritance” come from?

How do I apply a diff patch on Windows?

Why is there a scarcity of lithium?

How do languages with Maybe types instead of nulls handle edge conditions?

Why was the Itanium processor difficult to write a compiler for?

Why is the language of ancient Rome called “Latin” instead of “Roman”?

Where does the term “Red/Black Tree” come from?