Being passionate

On the tech side

Programming languages

My first topic of interest in computers has always been programming, even if I now work at a level that is, somewhat more respectfully, referred to as “development.” In this area, I've had the good fortune to use numerous languages, as projects came and went.

Naming just a few: BASIC, Turbo-Pascal, Delphi, Javascript, C++, Java, Haskell, Ruby. And I only mention here the main branches (for instance, in the BASIC area, I used a lot of BASIC 1.0, GW-BASIC, QBASIC, Visual Basic…), and only programming languages (which filters out, for instance, markup languages such as XML, XHTML and SVG, or formatting languages such as CSS and TeX).

The main benefit of this track record is, it allows one to make a clear distinction between the components of what is globally perceived as a language:

• The fundamental concepts, from which (for better or worse) the language derives its power
• The syntax, to which a language is far too often reduced (thus luring people into thinking Javascript sucks at OOP, for instance)
• The libraries, which are there to ease the developer's life by letting him focus on the problem at hand without reinventing the wheel every day

As always, the more you learn, the easier it becomes to learn more. As you keep assimilating new languages, the amount of truly new concepts dwindles quickly, and adding a new language to your skill set eventually boils down to understanding the couple of original concepts it has (which doesn't happen all that often), memorizing its syntactical specificities, and getting familiar with its bundled libraries.

You also come to realize that the most widespread languages are generally the less powerful (yet another confirmation, if need be, of the ubiquituous Kiwi's Law #1). For instance, C is just assembly language with makeup, and using it for anything else than kernel development is certified masochism (if you don't know better). Java and C++ are both very improvable, yet both have their own strengths and are in many ways complementary (I enjoy both); those rejecting one to glorify the other just didn't get it.

Another slashing truth: in many respects, Javascript is way more powerful than Java! Not in terms of libraries, but as concepts go. For instance, Javascript supports most of Java's features, but also stuff like higher-order functions and prototypes, two great features that Java (or C++, by the way) sadly lacks, yet that are almost universally found in functional languages like Lisp, Scheme, Caml or Haskell.

In short, I love discovering new programming languages, touching the good and bad sides of their designs. There is not, to this day, one single best language, but that doesn't mean this isn't going to change one day.

As for me, I make a point of learning a new language every chance I get. Ideally, at least one language a year. See my resolutions for 2006.

Web Technologies

I've been developing web sites, intranets and extranets since 1998 (and web pages since 1995). In these old times, we did “HTML as in the 90's,” a gentle euphemism, today ubiquituous, that actually stands for the “infamously crappy HTML” these pages largely deserve.

The thing is, nobody bothered reading W3C specs, everybody learnt HTML as they went, in low-standards magazines, on Microsoft's website, and webmasters pledged eternal allegiance to Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE, more commonly referred to as simply “IE”).

But since about 2001, comprehension has been dawning on us: IE hasn't improved at all (or barely so) since 1999, it therefore is so far behind available standards that it reminds us of pharaonic construction standards, and in addition of being a complete technical moron, it is a major security threat. Microsoft hasn't done a very good job (actually, they've done a pathetic one) at fixing these issues, and we'd all be in deep poo if other groups hadn't committed to providing smart, up-to-date, safe solutions for John Doe to surf the Web nicely and safely.

I'm not going to expound on Web standards benefits or open formats for three pages. If you're interested (and you should be, as the stakes far exceed the technical world, they're also deeply related to citizenship issues), take a look at such sites as the Web Standards Project, which do a nice job of explaining this stuff.

Among the groups that do a pretty sweet job, I obviously first think of Mozilla.org, the organization that federates the development of numerous open-source software, first and foremost the widespread Firefox (browser) and Thunderbird (e-mail, RSS, newsgroups). I've used them myself since their early beta versions, and I evangelize both actively.

Forefront players, not always as open-source software but still very high-quality, also include Konqueror (KDE's default browser), Opera and Safari, to name but a few.

Since 2002, I myself completely turned about by sticking exclusively to Web standards (XHTML 1.0 Strict, CSS 2.1, ECMAScript 3rd edition, DOM level 2, etc.) and using exclusively standards-aware products such as Firefox and Thunderbird.

What's great with standards is, you develop your site only once, and when you're done, when it's all neat and powerful and ergonomically sweet, you realize it works on all recent browsers, without changing a line.

Besides, make no mistake: the future of applications is the Web. Next-generation apps will all run via the Web, with what is currently named “rich clients,” i.e. small, light programs using Web technologies (e.g. Mozilla's XUL, very well positioned here). It is very much time to get on board, if you don't want to miss on the action not even 5 years from now.

I'm also a member of Mozilla Europe, and give a hand every way I can: on booths, on the website, on the e-mail response system, in the press, etc.

Compilation

Compilation is the set of technical processes that transform a program written in a given language to a lower-level language, that is, a language closer to the machine's. The lowest level of language is binary digits (bits), a fundamental representation of instructions sent to the microprocessor. Looking at it the other way around, the higher the abstraction level of a language, the higher its general level, as it allows the programmer to express complex problems in a simpler, more concise way.

It is entirely possible to write a “dump” compiler, that will only be of limited technical interest. What is fascinating about compilation is the optimization domain (and parallel programming, but then we're really playing with Grown-Ups™).

My interest in programming languages has always fostered the desire to create my own. Even if today this desire has gone, especially given the excellence of certain recent languages, I always have this interest in creating compilers. In 1997, I created a full-featured IDE (editor, interpretor, interactive debugger, etc.) for the custom language used in my IT college's algorithmics class. It was a bit unstable (even if I know several courses in the nation that use it daily), and a bit technically unsatisfactory for me. I still have a fleeting hope I'll rewrite it one day, putting a few advanced concepts to use.

On the non-tech side

Languages

I'm an amateur linguist, insofar as I'm keen on foreign languages, and adamant about properly using any language, including my mother tongue: French (which certainly isn't the easiest!).

I've always been an avid reader, and I'm a compulsive perfectionist. I thus boast an advanced mastery of my mother tongue (so much for politically correct humility), both in writing and speaking.

Yet I am just as rigorous and passionate about other languages, especially English. I've worked hard at my English all the way back to junior high (1992), and have been regarded as actually bilingual (written/spoken, US/UK) for a few years now. I own many books entirely dedicated to the English language, or to its intricate relationship with French. Just so you get how far it goes, and at the risk of raising concern about my sanity, know I read with great interest the Merriam-Webster's Pocket Guide to Punctuation, a 330-page book entirely focused on punctuation rules!

I also make a point of watching all movies undubbed, and travel abroad whenever I get a chance. I also read a lot in English, and sometimes in other languages.

A year ago, I started taking Italian (which seems pretty easy), and taking back German, which I was pretty good at when getting out of high school. These two projects are, to this day, on hold. Yet I truly hope to find some time, and some personal discipline, to get them back on tracks soon.

And maybe one day, by decreasing order of current priorities, I'll learn Dutch, Japanese, Swedish, Russian…

Books

I read quite a lot, even if I now read less than when I was single and worked freelance. I have a sweet spot for a few american authors, and I'm very much into comics (European comics mostly, which are very different from U.S. ones, for instance).

On the book side, these last few years I mostly read novels by Orson Scott Card (the Ender, Homecoming and Alvin Maker series; the standalone novels and all the short stories), by Neal Stephenson (Zodiac, Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon, and the 3,000+ pages of the Baroque Cycle: QuickSilver, Confusion and The System of the World), Raymond E. Feist (the Riftwar-related series, Faerie Tale) and Robert Silverberg (Majipoor series). On the side, I generally read rather eclectic books (e.g. on fooding, on wine, on languages, on geopolitics…)

For further details, just pretend you asked me…

In the past, I avidly devoured almost all of Jules Verne's works, and most of Stephen King's (yet around when I turned 22, I grew tired of it). In those days, I also read most of the easy-reading fantasy novels in the Forgotten Realms series (none of which are worth much, save for those by R.A. Salvatore).

On the comics side, I own 400+ albums here, plus those that remained in the countryside. Though most of those titles are likely not to be available outside Benelux and France, know that I mostly own series published at Delcourt or Soleil (Travis, Carmen McCallum, Nash, Anahire, UW1, Lanfeust, Zentak, Little Blade…), with a few at Glénat and Humanoïdes Associés (Sanctuaire, Troisième Testament, Triangle Secret). I also have most of those in the Troisième Vague label at Lombard, the Blake & Mortimer's, the Nomad and HK series, and the big classics of the late 20th century: Thorgal, Largo Wynch, XIII… Finally, I own mangas and about 40 erotic albums of various styles (which visitors seem to enjoy!).

Movies

I used to go to the movies almost every night. Now, with a much richer social life, I go once or twice a week. When UGC launched its all-you-can-watch offer, I was among the very first subscribers! The great thing about living in Paris is, you can watch all movies undubbed (France has a very strong tradition of dubbing everything!), and in big theaters. The countryside is sporadically on par, but still…

Having a good memory of names and being curious about filmographies, I'm a recurrent visitor at IMDb. I especially like movies by (no particular order here) Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron, Hiyao Miyazaki, David Fincher, Michael Mann, Oliver Stone (yet will I ever forgive him for Alexandre?!)… As for actors and actresses, the list of those I like would be too long not to be boring.

The best thing in movies is maybe the delight of being surprised, with those movies you go to out of mere curiosity, without expectations, and then you get out taken deliciously off-guard. In this category, I'd put Oldboy, Closer and to a lesser extent 100 Girls.

Travels

I love to travel; had I the cash for it, I'd travel far away and often.

In practice, I've still been blessed with many opportunities to spend some time in many places:

• Most of France, even if I've skipped some of its Northen, Center and Southwestern parts. But in addition to simple trips, I lived in Southeastern France and the Riviera, in Normandy and in Paris.
• Many countries in Western Europe, with numerous trips to England and the Netherlands, and short stays in Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
• Hungary in 1996. I'd love to get back there.
• Turkey in 1998, and I definitely intend to go back many times.
• Tunisia in 2004. I'll get back there too…
• South Africa, specifically the Western Cape area, three times (1997, 1998, 2002), and it's not over yet.
• USA, specifically North California (Bay Area), where I'll certainly go back several times.
• Tahiti, in 1996.

Aside from these, I crave faraway destinations, including (in approximately prioritized order):

• Australia, especially Sydney
• New-Zealand
• Japan
• India
• Central Europe, especially Poland, the Czech Republic and the Balkans
• Northern Europe, especially Finland and Sweden
• South America, especially Brasil.

Resolutions for 2006

If I make it to 25% of this list, I'll call it a year!

• Actually dive back into Haskell.
• Finally read Muchnick's book, bought in 1998!
• Really dedicate more time to Mozilla Europe
• Become proficient at XUL, develop Thunderbird extensions and start proposing bugfixes and patches for Firefox/Thunderbird
• Collaboroate on OpenWeb, possibly on Pompage
• If it's no duplication of effort (see with Tristan), start writing this technical book for good, if at all possible with the help of Manu
• Finally write the contents of TheDelphiDeveloper
• Get J2SE and J2EE certifications
• Finally bring DelphID3 and, most of all, DelphiDoc, to completion
• Spend a couple weeks in California with Élodie
• Take back German, take Italian for good
• Swim regularly again, do some more sport stuff
• Read more French authors
• Make more?