A Compiler Writing Playground

Posted on 25/01/2023

“Create Your Own Compiler” is an interactive tutorial that shows step by step how to write your own simple compiler that transforms JavaScript into Lisp. Along with that, we take a look at what a compiler actually is and the state of the art that is Roslyn.


Compilers are important, but most people go day by day using their favorite programming language and tools without
thinking too much about them, ignoring what happens under the covers.

However peeking into that black box and learning to write a compiler gives you super powers. It will allow you to write custom tools, min languages/DSLs, make your own fully fledged language, or as in “Create Your Own Compiler”, transform one language to another!

A prime example of why the latter, in other words transpilation, has proved indispensable is the case of Babel. Since not all browsers are able to cope with all the latest Javascript language features, Babel translates the newest Javascript code into backwards compatible versions of JavaScript in current and older browsers or environments.

Yet another example is the case of Typescript which adds optional typing (on that matter make sure to also check Sorbet –

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A new rule for those involved in federal acquisition

Posted on 23/01/2023

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The Office of Federal Procurement Policy has been banging this particular drum for years now. Not only are agencies allowed to engage in discussions with industry before they craft procurements, doing so is usually a good thing. Now that principle is enshrined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation via a new rule issued just last week. To go a little deeper, Federal News Network Deputy Editor Jared Serbu talked with Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Jared Attack: And Larry, like we said, this has been an ongoing message from OMB for, gosh, going back at least a decade when the Obama administration was working on its Mythbusters campaign. What’s new here exactly, as a practical matter out of this new federal register notice, I guess, other than the message that “we really, really mean it this time?”

Larry Allen: Well, Jared, I think that’s a reminder, what we’re talking about here is a new FAR rule that just came out very recently that specifically promotes communication, in

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Celsius Network defaults on payments to Core Scientific, causing financial unrest

Posted on 19/01/2023

Crypto lender Celsius Network’s legal journey has gained another chapter as Bitcoin (BTC) miner Core Scientific accused the company of refusing to pay its bills since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to court papers filed on Oct. 19.

Core Scientific, which is one of the largest publicly traded crypto companies, claims the default on payments is threatening its financial stability, already hurt by crypto winter and high energy costs.

In the court filings, Celsius alleges that Core Scientific delayed mining rig deployment and supplied them with less power than required under their contract. Celsius is reportedly seeking a court order holding Core in contempt and ordering it to fulfill its obligations. Meanwhile, Core requested the court to compel Celsius to pay past-due bills or allow it to serve the contract.

According to the bankruptcy court papers filed by Core Scientific:

“Celsius either needs to adhere to the contract, or Core and Celsius must terminate their relationship before Celsius causes yet another business partner to enter insolvency proceedings.”

As per the filing, Celsius owes Core $598,743.20 for post-petition PPT charges related to the August 2022 invoice, plus another $1,505,940.08 for post-petition PPT charges related to the September 2022 invoice, yielding

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NSA Urges Organizations To Shift To Memory Safe Programming Languages

Posted on 17/01/2023

In a press release published earlier today, the National Security Agency (NSA) said it would be making a strategic shift to memory safe programming languages. The agency is advising organizations explore such changes themselves by utilizing languages ​​such as C#, Go, Java, Ruby, or Swift. From the report: The “Software Memory Safety” Cybersecurity Information Sheet (PDF) highlights how malicious cyber actors can exploit poor memory management issues to access sensitive information, promulgate unauthorized code execution, and cause other negative impacts. “Memory management issues have been exploited for decades and are still entirely too common today,” said Neal Ziring, Cybersecurity Technical Director. “We have to consistently use memory safe languages ​​and other protections when developing software to eliminate these weaknesses from malicious cyber actors.”

Microsoft and Google have each stated that software memory safety issues are behind around 70 percent of their vulnerabilities. Poor memory management can lead to technical issues as well, such as incorrect program results, degradation of the program’s performance over time, and program crashes. NSA recommends that organizations use memory safe languages ​​when possible and bolster protection through code-hardening defenses such as compiler options, tool options, and operating system configurations. The full report is available here (PDF).

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COP27’s big breakthrough | Energy News Network

Posted on 15/01/2023

👋 Hello and welcome to Energy News Weekly!

This year’s COP27 climate conference wrapped up this weekend with a surprisingly big concession from some of the world’s biggest emitters — but climate advocates say oil and gas interests still weakened their win.

When global climate negotiators gathered this month for COP27, vulnerable countries like Pakistan, which suffered incredible flooding earlier this year, came ready to fight for climate repairs.

They wanted the world’s biggest emitters to pay up for the loss and damages their fossil fuel emissions had caused for decades. After all, many countries that stand to lose the most from climate change also cannot afford to mitigate its damage, but are responsible for only a small piece of the emissions that worsened it.

But as is typical when global powers are asked to own up to their past (and ongoing) transgressions, the US and other top powers kept rejecting climate-vulnerable countries’ calls. A breakthrough only came when Scotland — last year’s climate conference host — more than tripled the loss and damage funding it pledged a year ago.

From there, the dam fell: Just a day before the conference’s scheduled end, the European Union announced it would

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