Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 7h

A common thing people don't know about C is that this function is variadic: `int some_func();`

You can throw in any number of parameters (including none)!

You say "accepts 0 parameters" you have to do this:
`int some_func(void);`

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 1d

Yeah, I often see stuff like

rl.InitWindow(1280, 720, "My Window")
defer rl.CloseWindow()

🫠

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 1d

There's nothing quite like being able to just copy-paste procedures between two projects and the code just working.

In general, code is easier to reuse in code-bases that just use structs and procedures, compared to any kind of class hierarchy.

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 1d

People who try languages with a 'defer' keyword tend to overuse it.

It has a cost: The code is harder to read because it is no longer linear.

My rule: Only use defer when there are multiple ways to exit a scope, and you need some code to run regardless of which exit it takes.

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Reposted by Karl Zylinski

hby's stuff @hby.bsky.social · 5d

#pixelart #artpost

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 6d

An underrated skill in programming is learning to start over with the current problem.

I often see people trying to fix their current problem solution. Almost in denial of the solution's basic flaws.

Often its faster and better to just take some notes and start over.

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 6d

Last 2 hours to get my well-received eBook at 25% discount! Good for learning Odin, but also if you want to learn the general concepts of manual memory management. store.zylinski.se/b/tnwvO

Understanding the Odin Programming Language

Do you want to learn the Odin Programming Language and demystify low-level programming?Understanding the Odin Programming Language is a book that teaches both basic and advanced Odin concepts. You'll ...

store.zylinski.se

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Reposted by Karl Zylinski

Matt Hackett @richtaur.bsky.social · 9d

[David Lynch looking awesome in sunglasses] i hope you all are having a lot of fun working on your favorite projects

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 10d

This one also makes me happy:

"I never read, I get distracted easily. But the writing style here is so good, that I didn't have any issues reading through the whole thing in a couple days."

I really try to bring the reader on a learning journey, rather than state dry facts.

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 10d

I'm very happy about reviews like this one:

"Karl makes a great job at explaining Odin. I had a good experience with garbage collected language like Golang and the book really helped me to transition to a non garbage collected language like Odin."

25% off until October 9: odinbook.com

Understanding the Odin Programming Language

Learn the Odin Programming Language and demystify low-level programming

odinbook.com

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Reposted by Karl Zylinski

Johan Peitz - wishlist Icy Tower! @johanpeitz.com · 14d

📣 ICY TOWER IS COMING BACK
Stoked to announce that we're making a brand new Icy Tower game, ready for the 25th anniversary next year!

Check out the trailer, spread the news, and wishlist on Steam :D
s.team/a/3014860

More in thread 👇🧵

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 13d

Newsletter time! About rewriting parts of the Strings chapter in my book, and some updates on my 2D library + more! news.zylinski.se/p/odin-book-...

Writing about strings and lots of Karl2D updates

September really was a productive month!

news.zylinski.se

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Reposted by Karl Zylinski

Ahmed Khalifa @amidos2006.bsky.social · Oct 19

If you didn't play #HollowFloor, Go check it out on
#steam: store.steampowered.com/app/2815150/...
or
@itch.io: amidos2006.itch.io/hollow-floor

#indiegames #IndieGameDev #metroidvania #indiedev #indie #gamedev #screenshotsaturday #trailertuesday #wishlistwednesday #pico8 #platformer #challenging

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 19d

Updated CAT & ONION's Steam page with new descriptions that are more "me" and less dry.

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 20d

The book is on 25% sale until October 9, on my store: store.zylinski.se/b/tnwvO

Understanding the Odin Programming Language

Do you want to learn the Odin Programming Language and demystify low-level programming?Understanding the Odin Programming Language is a book that teaches both basic and advanced Odin concepts. You'll ...

store.zylinski.se

2

Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 20d

Read a sample of the book here: odinbook.com/sample.html

Understanding the Odin Programming Language Sample

Learn the Odin Programming Language and demystify low-level programming

odinbook.com

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 20d

There is also a new blog post that talks a bit about what happens when you iterate a UTF-8 string and how to manually decode it. It's a modified excerpt from the book: zylinski.se/posts/iterat...

Iterating strings and manually decoding UTF-8

This post is an adapted excerpt from Understanding the Odin Programming Language – the acclaimed eBook on learning Odin and understanding low-level concepts. It is on 25% sale until October 9, 2025! V...

zylinski.se

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 20d

I've made a video based on parts of the new Strings chapter. It explains how to manually decode UTF-8 by inspecting the memory of the string: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl1G...

Manually decoding UTF-8

YouTube video by Karl Zylinski

www.youtube.com

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 20d

Understanding the Odin Programming Language 1.8 is out! The biggest change is an overhauled strings chapter. It explains UTF-8 and runes in a much clearer way.

Release notes are here: odinbook.com#release_notes

Also, see this thread for some free goodies related to the update.

Understanding the Odin Programming Language

Learn the Odin Programming Language and demystify low-level programming

odinbook.com

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Reposted by Karl Zylinski

grapefrukt @grapefrukt.com · 22d

the "types of headaches" meme featuring various types of headaches and where they hurt in your head, the last one being "matching a photoshop blend mode in a shader" where the head is colored in entirely.

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 22d

Thank you!!

Your cat is looking healthy

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Reposted by Karl Zylinski

Rakhim Davletkali @rakhim.org · 23d

@zylinski.se Hey, thanks for a fantastic video series on Odin + Raylib! I'm learning Raylib with C, but your videos were very helpful regardless of programming language

(also, "we have cat at home" ↓)

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 26d

store.steampowered.com/app/1757300/...

Played this for 3.5 hours with 4 friends. So much fun! FTL, Freelancer and a shooter, all at once! One friend flies the ship, and you run around in the ship at the same time, repairing stuff etc. Amazing coop 💖

Jump Space on Steam

Jump Space (formerly Jump Ship) is a mission based co-op PvE for 1-4 players, where you are the crew of a spaceship. Transition seamlessly from crewing the ship to on-foot exploration and space walks....

store.steampowered.com

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Reposted by Karl Zylinski

Will Koehler @willk3d.com · 27d

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Karl Zylinski @zylinski.se · 28d

Did you try cleaning potential oxide on the pins? Like, spray a tiny bit of WD40 and brush a bit with a tooth brush