What I learned this week: blockchain and golang flag and WCF headers

Things I learned this week:

I learned how to set headers on a response in Microsoft's WCF. This helps by letting requests that result in web pages appear in browsers, instead of being downloaded as files. Most requests return data, so only a few request types need headers set.

I attended the PSU "distinguished speakers" lecture on BitCoin and blockchain. I have a much better understanding of BitCoin now. Some folks are concerned that BitCoin will have deflationary aspect as there are a finite number. I'm not worried. If BitCoin were the only currency, the concern is valid. We can create other crypto-based currencies (we already have) so the economy is bigger than any one currency.

My progress with the Go programming language continues. This week I added the "flag" package to my virtual processor, to add a command-line option for tracing execution. I was a little disappointed that "flag" doesn't handle non-options (like Ruby's argparse does) but maybe I just need to learn "the Go way" of doing things.

This week I learned about Go and Python and IDLE

This week I learned about the Go language ('golang' for search engines) as I worked on my assembler and virtual processor. I like the Go language; it is an improved version of C without the complexity of C++. I wonder what would have happened if Go had been introduced prior to C++.

I also learned about IDLE, the Python editor (and debugger!). I found debugging a little confusing, most likely because my long experience with debuggers is mostly Visual Studio. (Although I did write an interactive debugger for 8080 assembly language programs, back when the Heathkit H-89 was popular. I called it 'BEDBUG', for "BEtter DeBUGer". The name was suggested by my father.)

And on a third project, I find I need an RS-232 breakout box. I used to have one, a Heathkit PMK-130 that I had assembled myself. I don't know where it is now; I suspect that I sold it some years ago. (And now breakout boxes are rarities, with only one model available on Amazon.com.)