Author Archives: Paul Butler

Python Debugging with Decorators

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Paul Butler

I’ve written a little python function which I have found to be very helpful for debugging. It takes a function, and returns a function which is identical to the original except that it prints a message to the console with … Continue reading →

Posted in Python | Leave a comment

SimpleDiff in Python

Posted on February 13, 2008 by Paul Butler

A while ago I posted a PHP implementation of a diff algorithm I came up with1. Since it was well received, and it’s a useful little algorithm to have, I created a Python version as well. There are a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Python | 8 Comments

Tail recursion in Python

Posted on December 13, 2007 by Paul Butler

After spending a lot of time in Scheme, it’s hard not to think in recursion from time to time. When I recently started to improve my Python skills, I missed having Scheme optimize my tail recursive calls. For example, consider … Continue reading →

Posted in Python | 17 Comments

JSSpamBlock 2.0, ImageScaler 1.1

Posted on October 20, 2007 by Paul Butler

Update: Due to lack of time and interest (on my part), I am no longer maintaining JSSpamBlock or ImageScaler. JSSpamBlock and ImageScaler were both originally one-day projects that turned out to be a bit more popular than I expected. Recently … Continue reading →

Posted in Image Scaler, JSSpamBlock | Leave a comment

JSSpamBlock-like protection for any website

Posted on October 11, 2007 by Paul Butler

Update: Due to lack of time and interest (on my part), I am no longer maintaining JSSpamBlock or ImageScaler. I just noticed a trackback from Brandon Cheketts about a PHP script he has released that lets you incorporate functionality similar … Continue reading →

Posted in JSSpamBlock | 1 Comment

ImageScaler 1.0

Posted on October 4, 2007 by Paul Butler

Update: Due to lack of time and interest (on my part), I am no longer maintaining JSSpamBlock or ImageScaler. This blog has been a bit slow since I started school, partly because of the extra work but also partly because … Continue reading →

Posted in Image Scaler | Leave a comment

Proper Image Resizing for WordPress

Posted on July 30, 2007 by Paul Butler

Update: Due to lack of time and interest (on my part), I am no longer maintaining JSSpamBlock or ImageScaler. WordPress has a cool WYSIWIG editor that lets you easily resize images by dragging the corner around. The problem is that … Continue reading →

Posted in PHP, WordPress | 25 Comments

Garden Path Sentences

Posted on June 27, 2007 by Paul Butler

I recently came across an interesting post on the Powerset Blog recently about garden path sentences. Garden path sentences are sentences that lead you down the wrong path through a string of words with multiple meanings. For example, The complex … Continue reading →

Posted in Python, Ruby | 8 Comments

Endless Google Search

Posted on June 6, 2007 by Paul Butler

April 2009 Update: Originally, I had an live example of this running. However, the Google API doesn’t seem to work any more (it was discontinued over two years ago). In any case, there are better examples online now. Try Live … Continue reading →

Posted in PHP, Web Apps | Leave a comment

JSSpamBlock Modifications

Posted on May 21, 2007 by Paul Butler

Update: Due to lack of time and interest (on my part), I am no longer maintaining JSSpamBlock or ImageScaler. The way JSSpamBlock has evolved since I first released it has reminded me why I love open-source. From day one, I … Continue reading →

Posted in JSSpamBlock | 8 Comments