Ant did not include IF THEN ELSE, unless you added the contrib package.
If you understood the paradigm, you could write branches in Ant files simply using properties and guards on properties ("unless"). Using IF in Ant was basically admission of not having understood Ant.
This said, I used Ant for a very limited amount of time.
As of Ant 1.9.1, you can use 'if' and 'unless' attributes on any task or element in a target. I stopped using Ant a long time ago, but this was a pleasant discovery when I had to pick up an old Ant based project recently.
I agree, that is what I meant: there were people who installed Contrib to have <if> element, but in reality you did not need that you could just use Ant's built-in features like you said. In my opinion installing Contrib to use <if> was a demonstration of not having understood how Ant works.
For new .NET SDK style projects you hardly ever need to customize the defaults and I know it's used for more stuff than .NET, but I just wanted to give an example where it actually doesn't suck. Also, you may not need to do everything in MSBuild, for some more complex stuff, you can use something like Cake (https://cakebuild.net/) in .NET for example and skip the programming in XML.
.NET made into my toolbox before it was announced to the world, thanks to be working at a MSFT partner that was selected to be part of the Portuguese launch event for .NET with ready made products.
Never seen any big corp using alternative .NET build tools, rather wrestling MSBuild, or before it came to be, nmake.
You say that, but people in OCaml keep bemoaning the use of mostly declarative s-expressions in the Dune build system. Imagine the reaction if MSBuild used an actual Scheme.
On a related note, I used to have a gaming PC. I don't game much any more, so every time I booted up the darn thing, I had to wade through a thick bramble of notifications, updates, ads. It got so bad that lost my will to game altogether.
Enough was enough, I sold the PC, and replaced it with a Steam Deck. What a breath of fresh air! No notifications, no OneDrive, no would-you-like-to-use-Edge, no Copilot, no Windows Updates, Windows Store Updates, Driver Updates, Firmware Updates, Browser Updates, let-me-show-you-what's-new-popovers.
Install phone company app, login, and click migrate eSIM to this phone. Whole process can take up to 5min depending on how fast wifi is to connect to your phone company.
I don't install the samsung dishwasher app or the mcdonalds value points app or the Mountain Dew summer of fun app ... why would I install some random national carrier telco app ?
The flip-side to that is what if your phone had been stolen or lost? You're out of luck with a physical SIM, but eSIM could be transferred to a new device.
When my wife’s German T-Mobile eSIM vanished during transfer to a new phone, their portal for downloading a new one required a token sent to that very phone number we just lost access to.
This meant we had to do a trip to their store where they said that there’s no process for the store to supply us with an eSIM, but they’ll setup a new traditional SIM which we could then convert to eSIM. Ridiculous! At least it was all free - apart from the time spent.
That was a few years ago, though. So, I very much hope they’ve improved on the process.
How do they know it's you, what makes you able to download the subscription token onto your device but not me? Do you need to receive a letter, or email via WiFi somewhere? Do mobile carriers accept unauthenticated devices to let them download SIMs, or does it require WiFi always?
You scan the QR code and then download. Sometimes there is like a code you have to enter. It's a prepaid SIM, the carriers--particularly in East Asia or Africa--aren't particularly concerned with authenticating that much.
The only tangible difference between then and now is that many more problems have already been solved. This certainly leaves fewer holes where an enthusiastic developer can flex their muscle.
Then again, I did spend some time in e.g. lisp and Haskell just for the heck of it. And there ate still plenty more unsolved problems outside of the mainstream today.
There are still a ton of vertical markets that have crap for technology stacks, e.g. public transit. There is tons of opportunity out there to improve processes and optimize work.
I like mapy.com as a Google Maps replacement. It's essentially a very good OSM renderer, with a great website and app, including offline access, routing, and real-time traffic. Also very good bike/hike routing, if that's your jam.
But there's no substitute for GMap's POI database.
I second mapy. I've replaced Google maps with this one ~5 years ago and never looked back. You can download specific maps for a country and within that specific federal states to reduce space consumed. I use it mostly for biking and hiking - you can plan tours with scaling duration/kilometers which is nice for a region you are unfamiliar with. Like parent wrote, offline access, routing, RT traffic. Can recommend.
> But there's no substitute for GMap's POI database.
I was surprised to see that Kagi uses Apple's POIs for searching maps. It seems to be pretty decent, and Apple is at least a little more privacy-friendly. Lately I've been using Kagi to search for businesses then opening the directions in Google Maps.
I tried using OSM directions, but the walking time calculations are always really far off from what Google Maps says. I don't drive anymore, only walk and public transit, so I can't really speak to how well OSM's driving directions are.
This rings true to me, but I'm not a frontend dev. So I'm not a good judge if what makes good frontend code. Where I do know my stuff, I'm not at all impressed by LLM code.
So perhaps LLMs are just entry level devs in general. Who can't learn. Who won't ever gain seniority. It would make sense, after all, they were trained on the Internet and Stack Overflow, which is mostly filled with entry level questions and answers.
> Keep in mind the cost of a smartphone camera is $0.
Many people buy a more expensive smartphone specifically for the better camera module. These are expensive devices! It's good marketing that you perceive that as "free", but in reality,
I spend way less money on my fancy camera (new models every five years), than my iPhone-loving friends on their annual upgrades.
reply