Learning a second programming language? Try these 5 sites

Want to switch between programming languages? These sites show developers how to bridge the gap between languages and frameworks

Developers trying to jump from one language to another often hit the same wall: How do I do this? They can do it in their base language, but introduce them to a strange new world, and the going gets rough.

Programmers in this sticky position often benefit from seeing how the same concepts, designs, and algorithms can be implemented in parallel across multiple languages. Here are five sites that feature examples of how the most popular languages -- and a few you might not know -- tackle the same commands so very differently.

7 tools tuned for agile development success

Dev shops versed in agile development can choose from a wealth of rapidly improving project management tools to hone their processes

7 tools tuned for agile development success

Agile development remains an increasingly popular way for development teams to get work done. The iterative alternative to fully mapped-out waterfall processes has become widely accepted in recent years, bringing with it software tools designed to help agile practitioners hone their processes, collaborate efficiently, and monitor progress.

Companies like Atlassian, Axosoft, Microsoft, and others have been filling the niche for agile project management. Since we first rounded up agile project management tools in 2013, these tools have seen noteworthy improvements.

Here's another look at the more effective agile-oriented project management tools and what's been improved in them in the past year.

Fire Phone, Galaxy S5, iPad Mini 3, and more: 15 major mobile flops of 2014

It's been a banner year for smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches of the turkey variety; here are the 15 biggest flappers

It may be cliché to highlight turkeys at Thanksgiving, but it's a good time of year to look back at what to give thanks for — and what to learn from as a new year approaches.

With that in mind, it's been an extraordinary year for failed mobile products, smartphones, tablets, and more. I can't recall a larger gaggle of mobile turkeys. Let me carve them up for you!

Thinking of buying a security camera? Read this first

When things go bump in the night, you want to see what they are, without opening the door. But security cameras come with vulnerabilities too

I live in a fairly safe area. I haven’t heard about any crimes in my neighborhood since I’ve lived here. But like you, I read about crime every day online, and it seems that about half the time a security camera is used to identify and arrest the suspect. To be safe, I decided to select a security camera for my home.

4 cloud realities to be thankful for

The move to the cloud seems to be going smoother than many expected

The rapid growth of cloud computing continues. As we implement systems, migrate applications, and move infrastructure to the cloud, proceedings seem to be going better than most people expected.

Attack of the one-letter programming languages

From D to R, these lesser-known languages tackle specific problems in ways worthy of a cult following

Watch out! The coder in the next cubicle has been bitten and infected with a crazy-eyed obsession with a programming language that is not Java and goes by the mysterious name of F. The conference room has become a house of horrors, thanks to command-line zombies likely to ambush you into rewriting the entire stack in M or R or maybe even -- OMG -- K. Be very careful; your coworkers might be among them, calm on the outside but waiting for the right time and secret instructions from the mothership to trash the old code and deploy F# or J.

Linux admins: It's time to relearn the art of compiling apps

Expect package compatibility issues ahead, and the need to rely on the old way of installing open source software

It used to be that open source software was released only as source code and had to be compiled wherever it was needed. Obviously, that's changed. Today, some will even tell you that compiling source is an improper and problematic way to install software. Tomorrow, it may become more standard than they think.

Four ways Linux is headed for no-downtime kernel patching

These technologies are competing to provide the best way to patch the Linux kernel without reboots or downtime

Nobody loves a reboot, especially not if it involves a late-breaking patch for a kernel-level issue that has to be applied stat.

8 tech buzzwords that you need to know

Impress your friends at this year’s holiday gatherings by dropping a few of these terms

Buzzwords are a fact of life in the technology profession. Whether you’ve been in the industry for 30 years (remember WYSIWYG?) or for five (netiquette, anyone?), it’s a good bet you’ve incorporated tech-speak into your everyday conversation, maybe without even knowing it.  

As the global data tsunami continues to build, and a new wave of technologies from the consumer world hits IT, it’s not surprising that the buzzword count has surged. Here’s a look at eight of the hottest buzzwords being used today. 

IBM spins up a new bare-metal private PaaS

Bluemix Dedicated offers an isolated, single-tenant version of IBM's Bluemix SaaS, but only a subset of services

Like many cloud services, IBM's Bluemix PaaS has nominally been a multitenanted system -- a boon for sharing resources, but not so great if you worry about performance or security issues. The newest version of Bluemix, though, aims to win over those who want their cloud to be their cloud.