Everything Is a File? | Shop Talk #84

Everything Is a File? | Shop Talk #84

What does it really mean when programmers say "everything is a file"? In Shop Talk #84, Dave Plummer and Glen Hodges answer viewer questions inspired by the recent fopen() discussion and explore one of the most influential ideas in computing: abstraction. The conversation begins with a question about why computer science classes often feel disconnected from real-world software development before diving deep into file descriptors, FILE pointers, pipes, devices, mmap, Unix philosophy, and the surprising design decisions that shaped modern operating systems. Topics include: • Why CS classes don't always reflect the real world • Learning programming in the age of AI • Neurodiversity and problem solving • fopen(), FILE*, and file descriptors • Pipes, devices, and streams • DOS versus Unix approaches to I/O • Why "everything is a file" became such a powerful idea • Whether we'd design operating systems the same way today Plus a few slot-machine questions, Flying Spaghetti Monster sightings, and other classic Shop Talk detours. #ShopTalk #Programming #Unix #ComputerScience #DavePlummer

Are We Teaching Programming Wrong? | Shop Talk #83

Are we teaching programming wrong? In Shop Talk #83, Dave Plummer and Glen Hodges explore how programmers learned to think about computers in the early days of personal computing—and whether something important has been lost along the way. The discussion begins with a viewer question about systems thinking and how younger generations can develop the same understanding of computers that earlier programmers gained by working closer to the hardware. From there, Dave and Glen dive into programming education, abstraction layers, memory management, operating systems, Windows internals, neurodiversity, career development, and the skills that still matter in modern software engineering. Topics include: • Learning to code in the 1980s versus today • Systems thinking and engineering mindset • What modern programmers may be missing • Memory allocation, malloc, and abstraction • Understanding what happens under the hood • Windows internals and software complexity • Neurodiversity and problem solving • Career advice for developers • Viewer questions from Dave's Garage and Dave's Attic Plus: the bozoliveshere registry key, Saskatchewan stories, microphones, Joni Mitchell, and a few classic Shop Talk detours. This episode was built from more than 3,000 viewer comments and hundreds of audience questions. Thanks to everyone who comments on Dave's Garage, Dave's Attic, and Shop Talk. Leave your questions in the comments for a chance to be featured in a future episode. #ShopTalk #Programming #SoftwareEngineering #ComputerScience #DavePlummer

Windows: What's Really Happening Under the Hood? | Shop Talk #82

Dave and Glen explore what’s really happening under the hood of modern computers. From memory allocation and malloc to page faults, caches, printf, BitLocker, networking APIs, and software complexity, this episode digs into the systems most people use every day but rarely understand.Along the way, they answer viewer questions about low-level programming, operating systems, security, engineering tradeoffs, and why software often behaves in unexpected ways.Topics include:When to write your own memory allocatorWhy malloc isn't magicFreeing memory twicePage faults vs cache missesPractical uses of printfBitLocker and securityNetwork programming with select()Operating system internalsEngineering lessons from earlier computing erasShop Talk is driven by viewer questions and comments from Dave's Garage and Shop Talk. Leave your questions below for a chance to be featured in a future episode.#ShopTalk [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/shoptalk] #Programming [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/programming] #SoftwareEngineering [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/softwareengineering] #ComputerScience [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/computerscience] #Windows [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/windows]

Why Is Windows Built Like This? | Shop Talk #81

Shop Talk #81 explores the strange engineering decisions that still shape modern Windows systems today.Dave and Glen dig into GUIDs, COM, APIs, the Windows Registry, backwards compatibility, CPU scheduling, interrupts, abstraction layers, and why software architecture often becomes far more complicated than users expect.The conversation expands into how old engineers approached system design, whether modern abstraction layers hide too much complexity, and why low-level computing knowledge still matters.This episode was built directly from viewer questions and comments. 00:00 - Hey I’m Dave02:46 - Did you ever have some of your code be part of an exploit?04:03 - Considering today’s sheer mass of driver stacks… How would you organize this with the benefit of hindsight?05:06 - You didnt tell us what format the binary UID was in?06:29 - How does a person even get through the maze of gate keepers that exest to even use a solution like you did?07:23 - Has your ESP32 idle monitor led to any optimizations to other code running on the ESP32?07:52 - Am I the only one here who never knew that GUID is pronounced gwid?09:01 - 1) What about the counterpart function, StringToIID()? 2) Out of curiosity, did you ever have any experience with SOM, and if so, what are your takes on SOM vs. COM?09:57 - Have you considered using a bitmask instead of the if with 4 potential checks?10:48 - Why didn’t Windows just use 128 bit ID’s that were interpreted as {uint32, uint32, uint32, uint32} ?12:01 - I am wondering would you be able to make content how to use/read C?12:58 - When are you getting a gang together to give us a proper and correct windows alternative?13:56 - Great stuff except for your misrepresentation of Morse code…14:56 - Why did it have to be Morse code?15:26 - How did the agent get the command in the first place ?18:22 - Might try initializing the array with hyphens, then unroll that loop.19:07 - Where can I get a mezmerizer?20:23 - Is it nibble, or is it nybble?20:46 - Did your optimized function produce uppercase or lowercase hex digits?21:12 - Are you saying you’re the reason why MS always historically represents UUIDs with capitals letters?21:29 - Would have you really get rid of sprintf instead of printf, since IIDtoString should have converted IID to a string instead of print the outcome to the console?21:57 - Can you do a video on COM?22:31 - Looking at your code my first thought was why is this even in a loop, why not just unroll it?23:13 - Couldn’t that function be written with zero branching instructions?23:39 - Were you guys over medicated or under supervised?25:38 - I’d bet all of your electronic toys are cheaper than a boat?26:37 - So are you saying that the guid is unique to each installation/computer since I heard you mention it tied to a mac address?27:16 - Didn’t Microsoft use target big-endian systems also?27:37 - This may be a silly question, but why do these things need to be converted to strings anyway?28:17 - For converting to hex, you index into an array?29:20 - I wonder if your significant little improvement was the one of the reasons Microsoft was able to succeed in the marketplace?29:32 - How do you actually quantify 100% faster? It now takes no time?29:46 - Maybe its a 35000RPM drive because they didn’t use a synchronous motor?30:14 - Next two topics logging and ntp. ?30:38 - When is the Dave’s Garage shirt with Memory is a sort of a compression algorithm with a sense of nostalgia! coming out?30:51 - You mean that Transcend wifi sd card lurking in my drawer wont work any more?31:05 - Canadian Tire Money?31:26 - What the H E double hockey sticks is Canadian Tire Money?31:51 - We’re letting the Americans know about Canadian Tire money now?33:30 - Why was I not already subscribed?

Why Old Tech Feels More Trustworthy | Shop Talk #80

Shop Talk #80 explores why old technology often feels more understandable — and sometimes more trustworthy — than the systems we use today. Dave and Glen dig into retro payphones, massive 1980s hard drives, cloud dependency, hardware ownership, restoration projects, and the strange comfort of machines that users could actually understand and repair themselves. The discussion eventually expands into bigger questions about modern software complexity, AI systems, security vulnerabilities, and whether we’re slowly losing visibility into the technology we rely on every day. This episode was built directly from viewer questions and comments. Topics include: #ShopTalk #DavesAttic #RetroComputing #AI #VintageComputers 00:00 - Hey im dave 00:30 - How did we come to this? 03:00 - Does Dave have a list of projects waiting to be done? 04:32 - Your channel is undoubtedly the most rewarding thing that came out of MS, 04:52 - You’re wearing socks and sandals? 05:23 - Wow , you’re awesome ! Can I come over and play? 06:13 - Where did you buy this phone and how did you find out about it? 07:04 - Wouldn’t it be possible to gut the innards of the phone and just wire it to a residential phone? 07:56 - Where can we get one, how much would it cost, and do you help with the setup? 09:08 - So does it work with actual phones or just your virtual phone network? 10:19 - If you call someone from that phone what does the caller ID say? 12:12 - Is your pay phone hardware susceptible to that old hack where a quarter is drilled with a small hole..? 13:03 - Are you going to get the payment card working? 13:55 - Where did you get KEYS ? 14:45 - “Does it even have games?” 15:22 - The key difference between this thing and the modern cloud services disease? … 15:56 - Your Decwriter has an odd color to it…? 16:39 - Did you have to modify the mains feed and/or add battery backup to protect against power failure to prevent damage? 17:21 - The hard disk only spins at 30-FIVE-00 RPM? 19:04 - What does the 3 foot long ribbon cable in the back connect? 19:28 - Do the front panel LEDs show anything meaningful? 19:42 - How much would this have cost brand new, configured this way, in 1979-1983? 20:24 - What are you testing in this video? Other than trolling the bad way of doing things? 20:37 - You (almost?) pulled out the FPU board from the powered on machine?! Whoa! 20:56 - Where’s your static discharge strap? 21:59 - Did that machine arrive that clean or did you have a marathon scrub-fest before starting it up? It’s incredibly dust-free. 22:28 - I watched this to hear a discussion about copyfail. Was it mentioned even once? 22:43 - Are you planning an episode on the recent Copy Fail vulnerability? 23:25 - Do big companies believe they know more of what the user ‘needs’ than the user compared to when we were all younger? 25:04 - This old fart wants nothing to do with AI in my day-to-day life. 25:29 - We should have been talking about this 30 years ago and we didn’t. Is it too late now? 26:08 - The thumbnail with Heather Locklear is pure comedy gold. Well done, sir. 26:58 - What is a toonie ? Loonies were/are a coin, but toonies ? 28:20 - What happened to Robotron: 2084 AI? 28:48 - Phil who? 29:44 - A a re-seat of the boards (snugly) with a blow from an air can will fix the problem. 30:38 - you know it’ll never boot again, right? 31:28 - What good is it if you can’t show it off, right? 32:42 - How long did it take to be able to make a call? 33:58 - Can you please make a video showing how you did it and where to get the firmware 34:13 - Has Dave’s wife ever asked Dave, WHAT did you buy now? 35:01 - Does it do anything without a disc pack inside? 35:34 - I enjoyed it greatly though I understood less than 50% of what you said. 36:44 - Why hasn’t this guy been given an honorary Doctorate? 37:33 - The Friendly Coder… 37:55 - Outakes, behind the scenes, he said WHAT?!?