So, for some time now, whenever I try to ‘batch build’ from within Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, I get the following error:

C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(2868,9): error MSB3021: Unable to copy file "x\Intermediate\y.dll" to "x\y.dll". Could not find file 'x\Intermediate\y.dll'.

Indeed, there is no file ‘x\Intermediate\y.dll’. But when I switch configurations and try to build the regular (non-batch) way, it builds fine.

Amused, and since I can live without the batch-build functionality, I have just let it be all this time, writing it off as one more of those weird wonders of Microsoft.

Java 7 introduced the AutoCloseable interface, which is roughly equivalent to the IDisposable interface of C#, to be used in synergy with the new try-with-resources statement, which is equivalent to the using-disposable construct of C#.

The problem with Java’s AutoCloseable interface is that its close() method is declared to throw a checked exception:

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void close() throws Exception

This is a problem if you are one of the many programmers who prefer unchecked exceptions over checked ones, because it forces you to deal with checked exceptions every time you write a try-with-resources statement, despite the fact that none of your classes ever throw any checked exceptions on close(). Simply declaring that your class implements AutoCloseable forces checked exceptions upon you.

In the movie “Sunshine” by Danny Boyle (IMDB) there is a scene which is impossible to comprehend unless you have some knowledge of physics. The protagonist Robert Capa (Cillian Murphy) finds himself trapped in an airlock from which he must escape at any cost. The airlock contains a space suit, and has one outer hatch towards space, and one inner hatch towards the interior of the spaceship, which is locked.

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Note in 2025:

This post was retrieved from my old blog via The Wayback Machine (archive.org). It used to link to the picture in higher resolution, but archive.org did not index the higher resolution image.

Yesterday I did maintenance on my web site and I re-organized lots of things.  I also decided to post a recent picture of me, which happens to be pretty good;  I know I still owe it to everyone to post pictures from past vacations, and from my recent wedding, but that will take some time to put together, while this picture can be posted now, so, here you go.

Note in 2025:

This content was retrieved from my old blog via The Wayback Machine (archive.org). Unfortunately, archive.org did not store some of the pictures, and any of the ZIP files.

A bunch of graphics demos that I created during the first half of the nineties, along with quite a bit of rambling about the techniques that I used, my thoughts on how things have changed since then, references to the original games which influenced the creation of the demos, etc.

Note in 2025:

This post was retrieved from my old blog via The Wayback Machine (archive.org). It is ancient. Do not be surprised if external links do not work anymore.

A short video clip (14 MB) which gives a nice indication of our work in progress has been circulating in gaming web sites lately.  Since it leaked sometime during the summer vacation it spread like wildfire, and now that everyone in the MMORPG gaming community has seen it, I guess I can go ahead and mention it.  I assure you that everything in this video clip is actual game functionality, nothing has been faked or scripted especially for the purpose of filming it.