Lincoln/Coverdale

I’ve been having a hell of a time with a data load script I’m writing at work. It’s something of the form:

$data_rows = get_a_bunch_of_data();
foreach ($data_rows as $data_row) {
  $data_row = do_something1($data_row);
  $data_row = do_something2($data_row);
  $data_row = do_something3($data_row);
  $data_row = do_something4($data_row);
}

and it consumes memory like cerebral plaque. PHP has some garbage collection mechanism through which it releases memory when a script is done running. We looked for some way to trigger this behavior at the end of each foreach iteration, but no dice. After hours of trying things and getting nowhere (it takes about 40 minutes just to see if there is improvement), we decided to make the innards of the loop it’s own function on the theory that garbage collection might be triggered when a function exits:

$data_rows = get_a_bunch_of_data();
foreach ($data_rows as $data_row) {
  $data_row = do_it_all(data_row);
}
function do_it_all(
  $data_row = do_something1($data_row);
  $data_row = do_something2($data_row);
  $data_row = do_something3($data_row);
  $data_row = do_something4($data_row);
  return $data_row;
}

and it worked!

I’ve been dinking around with blog software for a few days now. I started with Simple PHP Blog because it does not require a database backend (I’m a sucker for simplicity). Unfortunately, themes are short in supply and it’s templating system doesn’t seem mature enough for me to write my own in short order (I could take the time, but it’s bad enough that my days are spent developing web). The themes are also deficient in standards compliance. It bothered me enough that I knew I would spend hours rendering the code compliant and still be unhappy that the layout looks like crap. And then I found WordPress. I had heard of it before, but I didn’t know that the code could be freely downloaded for personal hosting. Not only is it rich in features, it boasts W3C compliance which calms my nerves enough to allow me to, you know, actually post stuff.

It seems to be a pattern in my life that I get excited about a project and spend lots of time reading up and preparing. I’ll buy materials and get advice from people and when I’m right at the point where I should be starting the project, I retreat. I make up all kinds of self-defeating excuses and avoid failure by avoiding effort. (I don’t know if it’s encouraging or sad that I am consciously aware of this.) Here’s a list of projects or ideas from the past few weeks that could go nowhere:

• this blog
• finishing my basement
• taking the Patent Bar exam
• learning how to program the iPhone
• reading Canterbury Tales in Middle English

I’d call 3/5 between now and August a success.

Edit: I totally forgot to include “writing a Facbook application” in the list above.