Interesting Links: 8.12.07

• The absolute bare minimum every programmer should know about regular expressions: Regular expressions are strings formatted using a special pattern notation that allow you to describe and parse text. Many programmers (even some good ones) disregard regular expressions as line noise, and it’s a damned shame because they come in handy so often.
• Power replacements for built-in Windows utilities: Power users need power utilities, and Windows’ default system programs barely get the job done. Over time third-party developers have stepped up and built superior replacements to programs like Notepad, Paint, Windows Explorer and the Command Prompt.
• Introduction to Cygwin, part I – Introduction and setup: Cygwin is a Windows command line on steroids which runs tons of well-known, age-old, useful Linux Unix commands.
• Introduction to Cygwin, part II – More useful commands: This installment will continue the Cygwinnery with some more useful commands at the trusty green shell prompt.
• Introduction to Cygwin, Part III – Scripts, packages and more: This third and final installment will tackle adding packages to your Cygwin installation, creating scripts from a set of commands, and a few Cygwin and Unix resources.
• CSS Layouts: The Fixed. The Fluid. The Elastic. : Which Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) layout is best? Is one more accessible than the other? More usable? What are the drawbacks and how are they dealt with?
• New elements in HTML 5: Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) 5 introduces new elements to HTML for the first time since the last millennium.

It’s been another one of those weeks where way too much is going on during the week so I collect bookmarks to read and post about individually, but we know that doesn’t happen. So here is a week in review:

1. Regular expression can seem scary, but they can be very useful in the right situation.
2. If the default system applications in Windows can’t do something that you’d like to do then look for alternatives. You will find a plethora of great alternatives (and they are usually free too).
3. Cygwin is an interesting thing, and I won’t lie: I still don’t think I have quite got my head around when/why I’d use it. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve tried to do a “ls” at the Windows crapline command line.
4. CSS layouts can be an easy thing to code, but the initial planning to decide which type of layout to use is always the biggest challenge. This is a great summary of the trade offs for each type of layout.
5. HTML 5 is still a ways off in the future, I realize that, but I am still intrigued by the possibilities that it might will bring when it’s ready. Mark my words, Microsoft will join the development effort eventually.