Software Security, Open Source, and the xz affair
Recently, the Free and Open Source (FOSS) community, and especially the Linux ecosystem part of it, has been shocked by a malicious backdoor being inserted in the xz compression library, apparently with a goal to compromise SSH (Secure Shell) connections. You can read about the details in articles from the Register, Ars Technica, and a […]
Battleships Server / Client for Education
I've been teaching a first year introductory module in Python programming for Engineering at Ulster University for a few years now. As part of the later labs I have let the students build a battleships game using Object Oriented Programming - with "Fleet" objects containing a list of "Ships" and so on where they could […]
Semi Open Book Exams
A few years ago, I switched one of my first year courses to use what I call a semi-open-book approach. Open-book exams of course allow students to bring whatever materials they wish into them, but they have the disadvantage that students will often bring in materials that they have not studied in detail, or even […]