Gyassa

General code and thoughts from an owner of Gyassa

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Pseudo Blog maintained by sampwhite Hosted on GitHub Pages — Theme by mattgraham

Gyassa Pseudo Blog

Writings on software design, ratings, and the occasional bit of mathematics. Posts are listed below, newest first.

Posts

• The Uniqueness of the Prime 73 — Jul 14 2024
  A number-theory exploration of why 73 is a uniquely special prime, working through integers mod N, units, and quadratic residues.

• Dynamic Runtime Project — Mar 13 2019
  Continuing the data-driven design theme: storing schema and configuration as source-controlled data rather than database tables, and the search for like-minded developers.

• Dynamic Runtime Schema — Nov 14 2018
  On dynamically building schema definitions during an application’s runtime — and the difficulty of finding prior art under ambiguous terms like dynamic, runtime, and schema.

• Thoughts on Programming Languages — Sep 03 2017
  A decades-spanning retrospective on programming languages — static vs. dynamic, virtual machines, tool chains, and what an ideal replacement for Java might look like.

• Application Configuration — Jun 23 2017
  Treating real configuration as complex tables and documents rather than simple name-value pairs, extending the data-as-source-code theme.

• Global Reference Tables — Mar 19 2012
  Should reference data live in version control or in database tables? Argues for hardwiring it into source-controlled files, with a worked spice-table example.

• Evaluating Rating Systems — Aug 30 2011
  How do you tell whether a rating system actually works? Uses a multiplayer game simulation with known “true skill” to measure Elo-style ratings.

• Wonders of Ratings — Aug 23 2011
  On the surprising, under-appreciated potential of rating systems as a general mechanism for evaluating skill and quality in competitive environments.

• Rated Multiplayer Competitions — Jun 22 2011
  Frustration with randomly assembled PVP teams sparks the idea of applying chess-like rating systems to multiplayer competitions.

• Why Gyassa? — Sep 12 2010
  The story behind the company name — a nautical term for a lateen-sailed Nile cargo vessel, and why it sends the right message.

• First Post — Sep 02 2010
  Introducing Gyassa Software, founded by Samuel White and Eva Cordes, the original developers behind the Stellent / Oracle UCM content management system.