The programs range from complex instructions for displaying pop-up windows to a 36-line memory-management utility from the open-source game Rooms of Doom that software writers love because it's more compact than the 72-line alternative.
"Many people think of Internet advertising as an intrusive, interruptive experience, with dancing aliens jumping across the screen and perpetual pop-up windows, " Moloney says, adding that Scottrade favors ads that provide information that is meaningful to customers, such as a real-time stock chart it offers through an ad on Yahoo.