Top "Language-agnostic" questions

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

Recursion or Iteration?

Is there a performance hit if we use a loop instead of recursion or vice versa in algorithms where both …

performance algorithm language-agnostic recursion
The "backspace" escape character '\b': unexpected behavior?

So I'm finally reading through K&R, and I learned something within the first few pages, that there is …

c language-agnostic printf special-characters backspace
Best ways to teach a beginner to program?

Original Question I am currently engaged in teaching my brother to program. He is a total beginner, but very smart. (…

python language-agnostic
Difference between parameter and argument

Is there a difference between a "parameter" and an "argument", or are they simply synonyms?

language-agnostic parameters arguments terminology
Way to go from recursion to iteration

I've used recursion quite a lot on my many years of programming to solve simple problems, but I'm fully aware …

recursion iteration language-agnostic computer-science theory
Modelling an elevator using Object-Oriented Analysis and Design

There are a set of questions that seem to be commonly-used in interviews and classes when it comes to object-oriented …

oop design-patterns language-agnostic
Simple Deadlock Examples

I would like to explain threading deadlocks to newbies. I have seen many examples for deadlocks in the past, some …

multithreading language-agnostic deadlock
How many parameters are too many?

Routines can have parameters, that's no news. You can define as many parameters as you may need, but too many …

parameters language-agnostic
What is the coolest thing you can do in <10 lines of simple code? Help me inspire beginners!

I'm looking for the coolest thing you can do in a few lines of simple code. I'm sure you can …

language-agnostic introduction
Why shouldn't I use "Hungarian Notation"?

I know what Hungarian refers to - giving information about a variable, parameter, or type as a prefix to its …

language-agnostic naming-conventions hungarian-notation