The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 24,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 9 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Option  Explicit 

Sub  Test() 
Dim  myFolder  As  MAPIFolder 
Dim  Item  As  Variant  'MailItem 
Dim  xlApp  As  Object  'Excel.Application 
Dim  xlWB  As  Object  'Excel.Workbook 
Dim  xlSheet  As  Object  'Excel.Worksheet 
Dim  xlRow  As  Long 
Dim  Lines()  As  String 
Dim  aLine  As  String 
Dim  FileName  As  String 
FileName =   "C:\Data\inbox.xls" 
Dim  I  As  Long 
     
'Try access to excel 
On  Error  Resume  Next 
Set  xlApp = GetObject(,   "Excel.Application"  ) 
If  xlApp  Is  Nothing  Then 
	Set  xlApp = CreateObject(  "Excel.Application"  ) 
	If  xlApp  Is  Nothing  Then 
		MsgBox   "Excel is not accessable" 
		Exit  Sub 
	End  If 
End  If 

On  Error  GoTo  0 
'Add a new workbook 
Set  xlWB = xlApp.Workbooks.Add 
Set  xlSheet = xlWB.ActiveSheet 
      
'Access the outlook inbox folder 
Set  myFolder = GetNamespace(  "MAPI"  ).GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox) 

'Visit all mails 
For  Each  Item  In  myFolder.Items 
	If  TypeOf  Item  Is  MailItem  Then 
		If  Item.Subject  Like  "*keyword*"  Then 
			xlRow = xlRow + 1               
			Lines = Split(Item.Body,   ","  ) 
             
			For  I = 0  To  UBound(Lines) 
				aLine = Trim(Lines(I))                     
				aLine = Replace(aLine, vbCr,   ""  ) 
				aLine = Replace(aLine, vbLf,   ""  ) 
                   
				xlSheet.Cells(xlRow, I + 1) = aLine 
			Next 
              
               
		End  If 
	End  If 
Next 
    
    
With  xlApp 
	With  xlWB 
		.SaveAs FileName:=FileName 
		.Close 
	End  With 
	.Quit     ' Close our copy of Excel 
End  With 

Set  xlApp =  Nothing         ' Clear reference to Excel 

End  Sub 

Took me a while to get this working. Requires a hosted version of WordPress; I don’t think this sort of thing is possible if you’re using a free WordPress.

1. Edit the main wordpress query to set ascending order on category pages
   1. Go to Appearance > Editor and open functions.php (“Theme Functions”)
   2. Add the following code after the <?php
   3. Click Update file
2. View a category page – your posts should now be in ascending order
3. Check the home page – the posts should still be in descending order
4. On the category page you probably have an “older posts” button at the bottom of the page, which should really now read “newer posts”. An easy way to avoid this problem is to use infinite scrolling
   1. Go to Settings > Reading
   2. Check “scroll infinitely”

Here’s the code you need


add_action( 'pre_get_posts', 'my_query' );

if ( is_category() ){
$wp_query->set( 'order', 'ASC' );
}
}


Does white space matter?

You bet it does.

Is it easy to define the rules for something as simple as when you should and should not insert a blank line?

No. I’ve never written or read a concise and unambiguous declaration of what should be a simple style tip.

Let’s go back to my assertion that white space matters. Does it? Why does it?

It matters because when you write code you aren’t writing your shopping list. You’re not writing for the compiler. You’re not writing instructions for a machine. You are writing for an audience. You are writing code that will be read by another coder and it is your job to express yourself clearly.

Express your intent. Express the nature of the problem that you are trying to solve. Express the forces compelling you to choose one solution above any other. Explain the details of your solution in a way that the reader will be able to follow without having to unpick your work. Don’t make the reader have to go back to the very beginning and rebuild the same understanding that you have achieved, following all the same reasoning you had to work through.

You are writing to explain yourself to a reader.

Writers of fiction understand how to present their words in ways that make it easy for the reader to tune into their ideas. Along with all the rules of grammar and the conventions of expression and idiomatic speech that are quite different in English compared to Java, there are also widely followed rules of style that apply equally to computer languages as they do to creative prose.

Here’s one rule that relates very closely to the use of white space in code: The paragraph.

Stephen King writes about the use of paragraphs in his book “On Writing”. Think about the way you layout code as you read this.

Before leaving the basic elements of form and style, we ought to think for a moment about the paragraph, the form of organization which comes after the sentence. To that end grab a novel… Open the book in the middle and look at any two pages. Observe the pattern – the lines of type, the margins, and most particularly the blocks of white space where paragraphs begin or leave off.

 

You can tell without even reading if the book you’ve chosen is apt to be easy or hard, right? Easy books contain lots of short paragraphs and lots of white space. Hard books, ones full of ideas, narration, or description, have a stouter look. A packed look. Paragraphs are almost as important for how they look as for what they say; they are maps of intent.

 

In expository prose, paragraphs can (and should) be neat and utilitarian. The ideal expository graf contains a topic sentence followed by others which explain or amplify the first.

 

Even in the informal essay it’s possible to see how strong the basic paragraph form can be. Topic-sentence-followed-by-support-and-description insists that the writer organize his thoughts.

 

Writing is refined thinking. If your thesis is no more organized than a high-school essay, you’re in big trouble.

Here’s what the author’s bible, Strunk and White’s ‘The Elements of Style’, has to say:

Ordinarily a subject requires division into topics, each of which should be dealt with in a paragraph. The object of treating each topic in a paragraph by itself is, of course, to aid the reader. The beginning of each paragraph is a signal that a new step in the development of the subject has been reached.

 

In general, remember that paragraphing calls for a good eye as well as a logical mind. Enormous blocks of print look formidable to readers, who are often reluctant to tackle them. Therefore, breaking long paragraphs in two, even if it is not necessary to do so for sense, meaning, or logical development, is often a visual help. But remember, too, that firing off many short paragraphs in quick succession can be distracting.

When you look at densely packed code, do you instinctively know you’re in for a rough time?

Can you tell just by the shape of the code in a method or a class that you’re going to have to re-write it, before you even read any of the individual words?

Do you take care to break up related blocks of code like loops and return statements by inserting blank lines at carefully chose points?

Do you notice deviations from symmetry in neighbouring lines of code and re-organise your method parameters and return types to achieve symmetry and a consistent level of abstraction?

If you don’t, then I urge you to read Clean Code and to watch the Clean Coders videos.

Finally, I urge any programmer who wants to write clean code to read Strunk and White. People have been writing, and writing about writing, for a very long time, and some important lessons about writing well can quickly be learned and applied when writing code.