Top "Language-agnostic" questions

Use this tag for PROGRAMMING QUESTIONS that are independent of any particular programming language.

Why is quicksort better than mergesort?

I was asked this question during an interview. They're both O(nlogn) and yet most people use Quicksort instead of …

algorithm sorting language-agnostic quicksort mergesort
Simple way to understand Encapsulation and Abstraction

Learning OOP concepts especially interested to understand Abstraction and Encapsulation in depth. Checked out the below already Abstraction VS Information …

oop language-agnostic encapsulation abstraction
What is difference between monolithic and micro kernel?

Could anyone please explain with examples difference between monolithic and micro kernel? Also other classifications of the kernel?

language-agnostic terminology kernel
Is a GUID unique 100% of the time?

Is a GUID unique 100% of the time? Will it stay unique over multiple threads?

language-agnostic guid
Converting RGB to grayscale/intensity

When converting from RGB to grayscale, it is said that specific weights to channels R, G, and B ought to …

image-processing colors computer-vision language-agnostic rgb
Ball to Ball Collision - Detection and Handling

With the help of the Stack Overflow community I've written a pretty basic-but fun physics simulator. You click and drag …

graphics language-agnostic collision-detection physics
What is the meaning of the term "thread-safe"?

Does it mean that two threads can't change the underlying data simultaneously? Or does it mean that the given code …

multithreading language-agnostic programming-languages concurrency
Peak signal detection in realtime timeseries data

Update: The best performing algorithm so far is this one. This question explores robust algorithms for detecting sudden peaks in …

algorithm language-agnostic time-series signal-processing data-analysis
What does it mean to "program to an interface"?

I have seen this mentioned a few times and I am not clear on what it means. When and why …

language-agnostic oop interface
How to explain callbacks in plain english? How are they different from calling one function from another function?

How to explain callbacks in plain English? How are they different from calling one function from another function taking some …

function callback language-agnostic terminology