Hacker News: georgeam

Ask HN: Python library for regex with “extent-of-match”

georgeam — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 16:41:50 +0000

From CS Theory, all regular expressions can be converted to deterministic finite automata. I would like a python library that tells me the precise point at which a string "loses hope" of matching a regular expression. Eg.

Given a regular expression like aba*

And a string like abbab

I want an output that says the match failed at an index of 2.

meaning that the first ab match (or more technically, are the prefix of a match), but the remaining bab "kill" the possibility of a match.

Anyone know of a python library that does this?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31705850

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by georgeam in "Tell HN: Salary data is for sale"

georgeam — Fri, 07 Jan 2022 14:51:12 +0000

If I remember correctly, Massachusetts has a law that says that potential employers are not permitted to ask candidates what their previous salary was. The intent of this law is to ensure that people who have been discriminated against in the past will not continue to be discriminated against by new employers who "copy" the treatment of previous employers.

(a) Can anyone confirm that I'm remembering this correctly?

(b) Is this behavior by Equifax not a violation of the Massachusetts law (at least as far as it concerns citizens of Massachusetts, and in the spirit if not in the letter of the law)?

New comment by georgeam in "Bruce Perens: Building a 'billion dollar' startup with Crystal and Lucky [video]"

georgeam — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 14:37:18 +0000

I've listened to only 2/3 of it, but: he promotes Crystal+Lucky (crystal is compiled) as good replacements for Ruby and Rails. The second part of his talk is about promoting a new variant of open license called PostOpen, which will require commercial users of Post Open software to pay 1% for using, 1.5% for using without sharing modifications. There is a 10% fee for worse offense. All percentages are percentages of revenue. This is partly aimed at large companies that host open source software with few modifications as a service and charge for it. Money goes to PostOpen and possibly conventional Open Source developers.

New comment by georgeam in "Mise-en-place for knowledge workers"

georgeam — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 18:38:48 +0000

I think I obtain a lot of the benefits of focus without quite being this extreme. I use a lot of virtual desktops. One virtual desktop per logical activity. For example as a student it would be one desktop per course I'm studying. As a software engineer, each git-repo that I touch gets its own virtual desktop (especially when one application involves many git repos). Each virtual desktop has its own editor process, terminal, and browser window for documentation and tabs related to that activity only. This means I can change my focus just by switching to another virtual desktop. And the tabs and editors and such on other desktops are not visible (they are not even in the panel) while I'm not working on them. So unlike you, I have lots of bystander applications, and each one is exactly where I left it. They just aren't visible until I switch to that activity. So I would argue that they don't distract me at all.

I also have things set up so that there is a keystroke that raises the editor on the current desktop to the top. Another for the browser and another for the terminal. When I switch to another desktop, the same keystroke raises a different editor process for that desktop, etc. So within a desktop, I switch between these apps using the same keystrokes regardless of which desktop I am on. And there is only one way to switch desktop. I can't switch to another desktop via choosing another application on another desktop, because the other applications that are not on the current desktop are completely invisible.

When I'm working on something with a Scala backend, an Elm frontend, and C/C++ embedded device, and when I need to go back and forth often between these sub-applications making related changes, I can't afford to close and reopen each one when I change the language/repo. I can change desktops very often this way. eg. Add a new field to the frontend. Immediately add it to the backend and the embedded also. But they are in different repos. etc. etc.

If I have one editor opening all three projects it is a nightmare to navigate between files. But one editor for each language and repo is the sweet spot for me. And it means my documentation for Elm is all in a separate browser window from my documentation for Scala (which is on another desktop) etc etc.

Sorry this was so long, but I think all the details add up to making it an efficient system.

New comment by georgeam in "How I Practice Piano"

georgeam — Sun, 09 May 2021 13:36:30 +0000

Here is a book I happen to own (and I recommend highly), on the general topic of how to practice piano effectively.

"The Practice Revolution: Getting great results from the six days between lessons", by Philip Johnston. It contains a lot of advice including some overlap with some of the comments in this thread.

New comment by georgeam in "The most effective malaria vaccine yet discovered"

georgeam — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 02:27:51 +0000

Not to be too nit-picky, but a thousand dollars would help or save many children, not just one. $20 will get you a mosquito net on Amazon.

New comment by georgeam in "The most effective malaria vaccine yet discovered"

georgeam — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 02:07:17 +0000

With the bees will go lots of foods that depend on them for pollination. Bees are very essential for agriculture.

New comment by georgeam in "My apartment was built on toxic waste"

georgeam — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 14:59:55 +0000

The article mentions that there is a 500 gallon tank of some toxic material buried at a unknown location in the property. 500 gallons is very small -- 66 cubic feet, which is about 4 ft by 4 ft by 4 ft.

In my opinion, that makes it completely plausible that a problem relating to that tank could be so localized that it will only affect one tenant.

I'm not saying her problem was due to the 500 gallon tank. All I'm saying is that if it is, then it is not unbelievable that it affected only one (or a small number) of tenants.

New comment by georgeam in "Ever Given Everywhere"

georgeam — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 14:31:32 +0000

Nice idea and execution! Just one small suggestion. Could you consider increasing the height of the map? Even if it means putting the top white-background banner as a vertical column on the left edge. I was trying to find a location which required navigating due north, and one has to make very many short swipes because of the limited height of the map. Compared to when you're navigating East-west, in which case you can make wide sweeping swipes. Also it would allow you to see more context for any given location. Thanks. Nice work!

New comment by georgeam in "Tracking Coronavirus by Smell Test"

georgeam — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 16:49:31 +0000

Do you mind sharing how many mg (milligrams) of zinc are in the one you have which advises to limit use to 7 days? I noticed that the Mayo clinic site says the maximum dose per day for an adult is 40 mg. I'm curious whether this 40 mg is safe for indefinite use, or such a 40 mg limit would also be for a maximum of 7 days.

New comment by georgeam in "Can we stop Covid-19 using Bluetooth?"

georgeam — Sun, 08 Mar 2020 06:06:40 +0000

I agree -- I would say the government should recognize the utility of the idea and request an emergency technical team from both Apple and Google to join up in a public-health emergency response consortium (to ensure interoperability) and brainstorm this idea. And Microsoft too, if they are still making windows phones.

New comment by georgeam in "Can we stop Covid-19 using Bluetooth?"

georgeam — Sun, 08 Mar 2020 05:59:55 +0000

In principle it could be installed as a system/default app on Android and iOS by Google and Apple respectively. Even more reach for people that haven't installed Facebook.

New comment by georgeam in "Folding@home takes up the fight against COVID-19"

georgeam — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 14:14:16 +0000

Kudos to Google for doing this. It is so much more effective to marshall a small number of extremely powerful cloud providers backed by very qualified and active techies, than a large number of weak providers (people using their home machines).

New comment by georgeam in "OpenSSH 8.2"

georgeam — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 15:47:38 +0000

Likewise, I would be glad to see it in 20.04. According to this page, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FocalFossa/ReleaseSchedule, feature freeze for 20.04 is on the 27th of February so I don't see any reason why Openssh 8.2 can't make it into the LTS. Unless there are other considerations I'm not aware of.

New comment by georgeam in "Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?"

georgeam — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 13:56:20 +0000

For natural unprocessed eggs you're right. But for most eggs in the US and Canada, the coat has been washed off, as indicated by ihodes in sister thread. So refrigeration is important there.

New comment by georgeam in "Hackers Hit Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a ‘SIM Swap’"

georgeam — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 12:11:51 +0000

I'm a strong believer in solving problems at the single point of failure. If you solve it at the Twitter level, what about any other internet/cloud based service that is designed just like Twitter? It would still be a problem. If you solve it at the phone company level, all the companies that operate like Twitter are protected.

Even better still, solve it at both levels, but definitely don't let phone companies off the hook.

New comment by georgeam in "Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation"

georgeam — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 20:52:09 +0000

I would also like to see a feedback option for wrong word (same spelling). For example I searched for "melee" meaning (close to) "chaotic fight", and one of the entries referred to a person called "MeLee". It should be possible to flag this and either automatically or manually review the entry.

New comment by georgeam in "Flying-V: Flying long distances energy-efficiently"

georgeam — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 15:54:56 +0000

See youtube https://youtu.be/MvekG31FbJM?t=9 for an artists conception of the seating layout.

Ask HN: What are your ideas for rideshare security?

georgeam — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 03:08:46 +0000

A young woman has just been murdered in South Carolina after getting into the wrong car while waiting for a ride. What security mechanisms or protocols can be implemented to improve safety and security of rideshare customers?

One possibility is to show the customer on their phone (before the driver arrives) a photo of the driver who will be picking you up, a separate photo of the car that will be picking you up, and a License plate number of that car.

Another possibility is a randomly generated passphrase (using ordinary English words as suggested by xkcd author and the diceware author) which is generated and sent to the driver and the passenger, would be helpful and would have prevented this woman's death. Eg. the driver is supposed to say a meaningless phrase to the passenger, and the passenger likewise is supposed to say a different meaningless passphrase back to the driver. This establishes that both individuals are the individuals that are known to the rideshare company.

If usability of passphrases is an issue, a thirdr possibility is to randomly generate a graphic and send it to only the phones of the driver and the customer. Both must ask the other party to see their phone, and if the graphics don't match or one of the parties does not have a graphic, you don't get in the car. By graphic I just mean something that maybe looks like an avatar in two or three colors with geometric shapes, but fills a phone screen. It should be bold enough to show someone on your phone from a safe distance. The choice of colors and shapes and their relative positioning should have lower probability of matching than the probability of winning a lottery, while being easy to match visually in seconds.

What are your ideas? Reactions?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19533535

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

New comment by georgeam in "Lion Air crash: Boeing 737 plane crashes in sea off Jakarta"

georgeam — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 04:38:37 +0000

Airliners.net: http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1407217