After it became clear that Angry Birds was basically a true webapp with only a little Flash to overcome the limitations of web-based audio [1], more information came to light regarding the technology it is based on [2].

Node.js is really handy as an interactive shell for JavaScript. To load source code from a file, you must create a module. This post explains how.

Mailing lists are still a common way of communicating in teams. If the volume is high, a convenient option is to receive a digest that delivers several sent messages in a single email.

Update 2011-11-11: What JavaScript would be like with significant newlines

In JavaScript, automatic semicolon insertion allows one to omit a semicolon at the end of a line. While you always should write semicolons, knowing how JavaScript handles their omission is important knowledge, because it helps you understand code without semicolons and because it has effects even in code with semicolons.

Update 2011-05-21: Web gaming technologies: Angry Birds’ cross-compiled Java versus native JavaScript

Shortly after the Angry Birds webapp came out on 2011-05-11 [1], people were disappointed that it needed Flash. This post examines why that is.

Update 2011-06-17: ECMAScript.next: the “TXJS” update by Eich

At JSConf.US 2011, JavaScript creator Brendan Eich gave an update [1] on what features will make it into ECMAScript.next, the version after ECMAScript 5 [3].

This post examines two aspects of how variables work in programming languages: The scope and the extent of variables. Example source code is given in JavaScript, but should simple enough to be universally understandable.

Google’s Traceur allows you to use ECMAScript.next features right now: Write ECMAScript.next code and use a special script type. Then the first script you load is Traceur which ensures that all your new code is compiled to JavaScript on the fly.

This post shows how some musicians do amazing things with pianos, guitars, and zithers. This is one of the few instances where you really have to watch how someone makes music, in order to really appreciate it. So it’s good that all of the following material is available on YouTube. Videos embedded after the break.

Mark Pilgrim has written the post “The ‘book’ is dead” [via Daring Fireball] where he examines why revenue from technical books seems to be declining. It was triggered by a prior post from David Flanagan, in which he writes:

For 15 years I’ve been one of those lucky authors who has been able to support himself and his family almost entirely on book royalties. But the publishing industry has been in decline and my royalties checks have decreased more-or-less steadily since the dot-com bust, and I’ve now decided that I need to look for a salaried job.

Pilgrim’s post makes a few noteworthy points: