Welcome to the second in a series of articles introducing the C# programming language. In the previous issue the basics of the language such as variables, methods and classes were covered. In this issue classes are covered in more detail highlighting an important feature called inheritance.

In this second installment of our series on GUI programming with the Qt C++ toolkit, we're going to see how to create a standard GUI application, with a menu, toolbar, status bar, and a central area.

This short tutorial is intended as a simple introduction to writing GTK+ applications in C and C++, using the current 2.0/2.2 version of libgtk. It also covers the use of the Glade user interface designer for rapid application development (RAD).

This series of articles aims to introduce the Objective-C programming language to readers of C Vu, who are users of C and C++. I will try to show how the language manages to add object-oriented facilities to the low-level features of C in a way that is radically different from that of C++.

In my previous article we learnt the important optimisation process, the steps that ensure any optimisation really is worthwhile. Being eager code monkeys, I can see that you're all desperate for practical code optimisation techniques.

So here they are - in this final part we'll investigate specific code techniques for optimisation. Just don't tell anyone that I showed you. To redress the theological balance, we'll also see how to avoid optimisation in the first place.

In the first part of this series, we looked at what it means to optimise code, and saw the cases for and against optimisation. In this article, we'll look at the process of optimisation. We'll see the correct, methodical approach that will lead to solid, worthwhile code optimisations.

“There is more to life than increasing its speed” - Mahatma Gandhi

We live in a fast food culture. Not only must our dinner arrive yesterday, our car should be fast, and our entertainment instant. Our code should also run like lightning. I want my result. And I want it now.

Ironically, writing fast programs takes a long time.

Optimisation is a spectre hanging over software development, as W.A. Wulf observed. “More computing sins are committed in the name of efficiency (without necessarily achieving it) than for any other single reason – including blind stupidity”.

It’s a well-worn subject, with plenty of trite soundbites bounding around, and the same advice being served time and time again. But despite this, a lot of code is still not developed sensibly. Programmers get sidetracked by the lure of efficiency and write bad code in the name of performance.

In these articles we’ll address this. We’ll tread some familiar ground and wander well-worn paths, but look out for some new views on the way. Don’t worry – if the subject’s optimisation it shouldn’t take too long...

To err is human.

Finding fault.

Software architecture

Software evolution or software revolution

A passing comment

What's in a name?

The outer limits

There and Back Again

How long is a piece of string?