The transparent_union type attribute enables you to specify atransparent_union type, that is, a union data type qualified with__attribute__((transparent_union))__.

This is an actual example of some real documentation from ARM’s RealView Compiler Toolkit – used to build high-performance ARM binaries.

What this roughly translates to is this:

A transparent_union type is a type with a transparent_union attribute.

Well, no shit, Sherlock!  What the fuck does the attribute do to the type or the handling thereof?

To contrast, here’s what GCC’s manual says in the first sentence:

This attribute, attached to a union type definition, indicates that any function parameter having that union type causes calls to that function to be treated in a special way.

This is somewhat better – with one sentence of (not wasted space), I already know that the transparent_union attribute has something to do with function parameters, and, additionally, causes some special handling thereof.

That said, I’m still not clear (in one sentence) what this attribute does, but GCC is certainly off to a better start.

ARM, work on your documentation please.

I started a new job, finally.  I was getting super bored with my old position and was looking for change, and more responsibility.  I wanted to be in a leadership position (who doesn’t?), and there was no way up in my old team, so I asked to transfer out.  That never happened…

Eventually, though, shit hit the fan. Director level shit…  The whole team got transferred (unwillingly, no less).  But, since my boss knew of my request to try something new, I didn’t get pawned off.  Instead of taking the easy road into one position where I probably would have fallen into anonymity (again), I decided to gamble with unemployment, and in the meantime, interview my ass off with as many people as possible.

I interviewed with one guy, the head of new technologies for hardware engineering.  He handed me my ass in about the first question.  It actually kind of sucked, because I’ve always wanted to do hardware engineering.  He showed me a 5 page resume of a Ph. D. candidate, then said “I walked this guy out in the first 10 minutes.”  I really appreciated him giving it to me straight: “do you think, if I handed you a project, and said ‘Go’ that you could deliver a working prototype in 3 weeks time?”

“uuuuhm, no. I’m not your guy. I have no experience, and would be getting into this to learn as much as possible. I’d probably fit better in a Junior level position.”

That’s right, I was honest.  I owned the fact that I could not survive in that group (even though it’s a dream job).  The rest of the interview was actually really chill.  He basically asked my interests, my background, and what I was looking or hoping for.  I spilled my guts, and put it in this way: “Obviously, I’m not the guy for your team, but do you know anyone in any other teams that might be looking for a guy like me?”

That lead to other names, and those names lead to other names.

I interviewed with as many people as possible.  Some of them said “no,” some of them gave me quizes, and others said nothing.  All of this was expected, and actually not too much of a bother.

Finally, I tapped my last resource: my lovely fiance.  She knows more people in recruiting than I could ever dream.

She put me in touch with another person. I followed up.  I talked to a manager from a different team, and he sounded stoked about my experience, my interests, and my skills.

We setup an interview.  Actually, two full days of interviews: 8 hours or so each.  Apparently, I aced them all.  I didn’t know all the answers (who could possibly?), but I was personable, and able to talk it all through.

Before I got back to my office, I had landed the new job. I was SO stoked, I could barely contain myself.

To top it all off, my best man, the other “Ryan” of The Ryans, would be sharing an office with me. And, even on top of that, my best friend from grade school would be starting 2 offices down within the week.

Holy shit, it’s all coming together!

Nowadays, you can find me working for iPod, learning more than I’ve ever learned, travelling to China, staying up late, and loving it.  This new job is more of a time commitment than I’ve ever had, but it’s also more fun, more rewarding, more interesting, and I’m working with way better people than ever before — that’s really all that matters!

The Moral: When looking for a new job, above all: make sure the people fit you.

A: Because “I can debug a kernel panic in someone else’s driver with no source information, only assembly code and my knowledge of HowShitWorks(TM),” was too long.

Welcome Home?

All day wasted to meetings and email. Although not all the meetings were a waste.

What we do is an a la carte service for events and/or corporate branding, providing an interactive photography service.  The technology behind it all is my creation, called phoTag.

Read more about phoTag here.