Best of 2014

The blog posts Hacker News loved most in 2014. 653 posts.

Software Engineering
392

Why CoffeeScript Isn't the Answer

CoffeeScript is an open source project that provides a new syntax for JavaScript. I have to say that I have a lot of respect for CoffeeScript and it got a lot of things right. The “golden rule” of CoffeeScript is “It’s just JavaScript” . That means there is a straightforward equivalent to every line of CoffeeScript…

393

Git add -p

The Pragmatic Programmer advocates you should know your editor inside and out. So why don't you know your version control system just as well? Discover git add "patch mode" and learn how to make more concisely crafted commits leading to a cleaner git history and more friends.

408

How to Learn Hacking

The “ hacking ” we'll be talking about in this document is exploratory programming in an open-source environment. If you think “ hacking ” has anything to do with computer crime or security breaking and came here to learn that, you can go away now. There's nothing for you here.

413

Types Are The Truth

In Chapter 9 of Types and Programming Languages , Pierce presents his exposition of the Simply typed Lambda-Calculus. It is a truly awesome chapter - each subsection in succession constructs a rich and very well detailed system of computation and Pierce is a master of precision, guiding the reader through the maze of…