Andy Balaam's Home

Me

Blog

Things (mostly code-related) I am thinking about, and progress on open source projects.

Matrix

Join my Matrix room: #andybalaam:matrix.org

Mastodon

Toot or DM @andybalaam@mastodon.social

Writing, video, audio

Publications

Articles and papers on software engineering and science, published in 'Overload' and 'ECAL' among others.

Videos on Peertube

Videos on Lisp, programming languages, Raspberry Pi and other programming topics.

Videos on YouTube

Videos on Lisp, programming languages, Raspberry Pi and other programming topics.

Live Streaming on Owncast

Live coding Matrix in Rust and anything else I feel like.

Live Streaming on Twitch

Live coding Matrix in Rust and anything else I feel like.

Linux Dev Time podcast

Linux podcast.

Justice Worriers podcast

Continually worrying about Justice, sometimes from a Christian perspective.

Movies podcast

The Good Robot Andys: movie talk with 'clueless' Andy Balaam and 'expert' Andy Cockerill.

Wrestles with God

Some reasonably honest writings about being a Christian e.g. 'Horror and the absence of God'.

Imagine podcast

Me droning on about death, God etc. with annoying music in the background.

Why contribute?

Why do I work on Open Source projects for free? It's a gift to you.

Poems

Some poems

Tweets

Archive of my Twitter activity before I deleted my account

Software

Santa Circles

A "secret santa"-style gift exchange web site (Rust).

Rabbit Escape

A game a bit like Lemmings for mobile and desktop (Java, Android, Swing).

git what

A command to print a summary of your git branches (Bash).

Smolpxl

Play lots of games online, and learn how to make your own.

Cell

A tiny programming language designed to demonstrate how to write a language (Python)

rust-smpp

An implementation of the SMPP protocol for sending text messages (Rust)

FreeGuide

A TV guide program that downloads programme info with XMLTV (Java).

tunnel

Guide a flying saucer through a tunnel (Rust+WASM).

Graft

Graft - craft animations by writing simple code

short

A command line program that truncates each input line to fit in a specified width.

GSSMP

A C/Gtk+ music player that remembers your place.

My Address Book

A simple web-based, LDAP-backed contact manager in Python and LDAP.

Evt Calendar

Evt Calendar - a CalDAV-backed web and command-line calendar in Python + web.py.

QDSync

Quick and Dirty Sync - no fuss: just make two directories the same (Python).

NNDB

A C++ library that provides in-memory data storage and retrieval using STL-style syntax that resembles strongly-typed SQL.

Subs Scheme

Subs, a Scheme Lisp interpreter written in C++, based on Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs.

Diffident

An interactive command-line diff program that allows you to edit files as you compare them (Python, Curses).

IGCC

Interactive GCC - a real-eval-print loop for C/C++ (Python, GCC).

CCGTK

CCGtk - a CruiseControl status applet for Linux. (Python, GNOME/GTK).

Pepper

A ficticious multi-paradigm programming language inspired by Scheme Lisp, Python and C++.

JSLintPlugin

A jEdit plugin to run JSLint which I adopted.

Code Samples

My own implementations of basic data types e.g. heap, hashtable, written to help me understand them.

poemtube

An example of a web site with a REST API

Browser Selections Inventory

Tool for exploring code to make the browser select text.

datecalc

A language even simpler than Cell, designed for a workshop (Python)

Snake

Simple snake games written in lots of different languages

duckmaze

A maze game with a duck that can move walls (Python, PyGame).

mop(e)snake

A classic snake game that doesn't feature any of the extra features, bonuses, wrap-around levels or any such frivolities (Python, PyGame).

Gnome Attacks

Destroy buildings to land your spaceship (C, Gtk+).

Troncode

Write programs to play a simple light cycle game and participate in competitions (Python, PyGame).

Sootl

Stay Out Of The Light - prototype avoidance game (Elm).

Foursies

A deceptively simple board game for 2 players (Elm).

crosstheroad

A game of crossing a road (Elm).

Secret Message

Secret Message - a web-based game of encoding and decoding secret messages

Zoomy

A picture-zooming game for 2-year-olds (Genie, GNOME).

Classical

A simulation of objects moving under gravity (JavaScript, SVG, XHTML).

PGAL

A library to parallelise a Genetic Algorithm developed by Ian Macinnes with help from me (C++, SQL).

GALab

(Abandoned) agent-based genetic algorithm UI. Developed with Mike Ducker (Java, Swing).

fractalbiscuit

Explore the mandelbrot set in a snackish way (Processing, Java).

migratedata

Data transformer for migrating from PostNuke to WordPress (Python, SQL, XML).

RandomBG

A little script to show a different photo each day on your GNOME desktop background (Python).

DIYBlog

Have a blog or planet using only FTP web space (Python).

CMS

A sort-of WYSIWYG wiki (PHP, JavaScript).

Natrail

NOW DEFUNCT - try traintimes.org.uk - A fast, simple version of UK national rail enquiries (Perl, PHP).

Graph Bugs

A tiny JavaScript program that animates ants so they converge to plot the graph of a function.

Haskellbrot

A simple Haskell program that creates the Mandelbrot set and some related fractals (Haskell).

Music

Mnemonic

Instrumental industrial metal music by Pete Beresford and me.

Miscellany

Breathing Space poems

A collection of lockdown poems by Pia Balaam, available online and in print (site by me).

Alison Balaam - Counsellor

Person-centred counselling (site designed by me).

Rainbow Gardens

Ben Coventry's gardening business (site designed by me).

Wish list

Just in case you were interested...

Wide Jenga

The game I invented and in which I currently hold the world record.

No. Coeffs

A small branch of maths concerning the number of terms there are in a simplified polynomial.

Ideas for projects

Some thoughts about things I'd like to do if I get time.

Comics

Some comics I drew.

Contact

Email

Click the link to find out how to enter the humans-only zone, or use "andybalaam" at this domain.

Matrix

Join my Matrix room: #andybalaam:matrix.org

Mastodon

Toot or DM @andybalaam@mastodon.social

Info

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The background image is "Read where you are" by: unsplash-logodelaram bayat