Top "Theory" questions

Programming-language-agnostic Questions that focus on the theoretical aspects rather than the actual implementations.

Storing Images in DB - Yea or Nay?

So I'm using an app that stores images heavily in the DB. What's your outlook on this? I'm more of …

database image theory storage blob
Difference Between Cohesion and Coupling

What is the difference between cohesion and coupling? How can coupling and cohesion lead to either good or poor software …

oop architecture theory ooad
What is a lambda (function)?

For a person without a comp-sci background, what is a lambda in the world of Computer Science?

lambda language-agnostic computer-science terminology theory
What is an NP-complete in computer science?

What is an NP-complete problem? Why is it such an important topic in computer science?

algorithm language-agnostic mathematical-optimization theory np-complete
What is Turing Complete?

What does the expression "Turing Complete" mean? Can you give a simple explanation, without going into too many theoretical details?

theory turing-machines turing-complete
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
What good are SQL Server schemas?

I'm no beginner to using SQL databases, and in particular SQL Server. However, I've been primarily a SQL 2000 guy and …

sql-server-2005 schema theory
Using IS NULL or IS NOT NULL on join conditions - Theory question

Theory question here: Why does specifying table.field IS NULL or table.field IS NOT NULL not work on a …

mysql oracle theory left-join
What's "P=NP?", and why is it such a famous question?

The question of whether P=NP is perhaps the most famous in all of Computer Science. What does it mean? …

computer-science theory complexity-theory np-complete p-np
Why are C++ inline functions in the header?

NB This is not a question about how to use inline functions or how they work, more why they are …

c++ inline theory language-design c++-faq