Introduction to The Coded Message#

Hi, I’m Jimmy Hartzell! By profession, I am a systems programmer (with a focus in Rust). By hobby, I am a fiction writer. And by neurotype, I have ADHD.

This is my personal blog! All of these topics, I post about here. It therefore has technical and non-technical articles!

Featured Articles, Series, and Tags#

Programming and Computers:

• C++ Move Semantics Considered Harmful (Rust is better), on how C++’s move semantics are not only clumsy, but cause serious negative consequences for the design of smart pointers and handles
• My Reaction to Dr. Stroustrup’s Recent Memory Safety Comments, in which I wade into the debate about government endorsement of memory safe programming languages
• What do bits mean? (blog series), on what the 0’s and 1’s in computers mean, how computers use them to store various kinds of information, and why.
• Rust is Beyond OOP (blog series), on how Rust does not support traditional pillars of object-oriented programming, which I argue is a good thing
• Rust vs C++ (blog series), on how Rust is generally better than C++, including detailed reasons why I have this opinion, beyond just memory safety
• Rust: A Better C++ Than C++ (e-book), the previous blog series compacted into MDBook format and set up as a garden.
• What is an operating system? (blog series), in which I talk about what an operating system is and how they work

ADHD and organization:

• Complexities of Defining ADHD, on philosophical difficulties with defining ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence
• Write Everything Down (blog series), on my personal organization philosophy and system

Fiction:

• Are you sure?, a flash fiction piece
• The Letter from the Trees, a short documentary first contact Sci Fi story
• The Curse of Coffee, a short urban fantasy story

Gardens#

Inspired by “The Garden and the Stream: A Technopastoral”, I have a few pages that are intended to grow over time, more like Wikipedia than Twitter, more like old-style webpages than a blog, more like books than newspapers or magazines, designed to be read in a slow trickle by people coming across my website, rather than booming across the Internet and then being nearly forgotten. I intend to increase how many of these I have over time.

Programming:

• Rust vs. C++ Comparison: an MDBook
• Recommended Programming Reading
• Rust Opinions
• C++ Network Programming: Study Questions and Practice/Learning Projects

Not programming:

• About Me
• Résumé (as PDF)
• Reading Log: Books I’ve Read
• Humorous Thoughts
• Political views

Subscription and Engagement#

Feel free to leave comments, or to admonish me privately with admonymous. Subscribe via newsletter or via RSS (or RSS for just technical posts). The code on this website is available under the MIT license.

Statement on AI#

I do not consent to AI “training” on this website. I believe that my positive consent should be legally required under a fair interpretation of existing law, and certainly under any future AI regulations.