Search Results

Search found 5185 results on 208 pages for 'just asking'.

Page 22/208 | < Previous Page | 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29  | Next Page >

• How To Run XP Mode in VirtualBox on Windows 7 (sort of)

  - by Matthew Guay

  A few weeks ago we showed you how to run XP Mode on a Windows 7 computer without Hardware Virtualization using VMware. Some of you have been asking if it can be done in Virtual Box as well. The answer is “Yes!” and here we’ll show you how. Editor Update: Apparently there isn’t a way to activate XP Mode through VirtualBox using this method. You will however, be able to run it for 30 days. We have a new updated article on how to Install XP Mode with VirtualBox Using the VMLite Plugin.   Earlier we showed you how to run XP mode on windows 7 machines without hardware virtualization capability. Since then, a lot of you have been asking to a write up a tutorial about doing the same thing using VirtualBox.  This makes it another great way to run XP Mode if your computer does not have hardware virtualization.  Here we’ll see how to import the XP Mode from Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate into VirtualBox so you can run XP in it for free. Note: You need to have Windows 7 Professional or above to use XP Mode in this manner. In our tests we were able to get it to run on Home Premium as well, but you’ll be breaking Windows 7 licensing agreements. Getting Started First, download and install XP Mode (link below).  There is no need to download Virtual PC if your computer cannot run it, so just download the XP Mode from the link on the left. Install XP mode; just follow the default prompts as usual. Now, download and install VirtualBox 3.1.2 or higher(link below).  Install as normal, and simply follow the default prompts. VirtualBox may notify you that your network connection will be reset during the installation.  Press Yes to continue. During the install, you may see several popups asking you if you wish to install device drivers for USB and Network interfaces.  Simply click install, as these are needed for VirtualBox to run correctly. Setup only took a couple minutes, and doesn’t require a reboot. Setup XP Mode in VirtualBox: First we need to copy the default XP Mode so VirtualBox will not affect the original copy.  Browse to C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode, and copy the file “Windows XP Mode base.vhd”.  Paste it in another folder of your choice, such as your Documents folder. Once you’ve copied the file, right-click on it and click Properties. Uncheck the “Read-only” box in this dialog, and then click Ok. Now, in VirtualBox, click New to create a new virtual machine. Enter the name of your virtual machine, and make sure the operating system selected is Windows XP. Choose how much memory you want to allow the virtual machine to use.  VirtualBox’ default is 192 Mb ram, but for better performance you can select 256 or 512Mb. Now, select the hard drive for the virtual machine.  Select “Use existing hard disk”, then click the folder button to choose the XP Mode virtual drive. In this window, click Add, and then browse to find the copy of XP Mode you previously made. Make sure the correct virtual drive is selected, then press Select. After selecting the VHD your screen should look like the following then click Next. Verify the settings you made are correct. If not, you can go back and make any changes. When everything looks correct click Finish. Setup XP Mode Now, in VirtualBox, click start to run XP Mode. The Windows XP in this virtual drive is not fully setup yet, so you will have to go through the setup process.   If you didn’t uncheck the “Read-only” box in the VHD properties before, you may see the following error.  If you see it, go back and check the file to makes sure it is not read-only. When you click in the virtual machine, it will capture your mouse by default.  Simply press the right Ctrl key to release your mouse so you can go back to using Windows 7.  This will only be the case during the setup process; after the Guest Additions are installed, the mouse will seamlessly move between operating systems. Now, accept the license agreement in XP.   Choose your correct locale and keyboard settings. Enter a name for your virtual XP, and an administrative password. Check the date, time, and time zone settings, and adjust them if they are incorrect.  The time and date are usually correct, but the time zone often has to be corrected. XP will now automatically finish setting up your virtual machine, and then will automatically reboot. After rebooting, select your automatic update settings. You may see a prompt to check for drivers; simply press cancel, as all the drivers we need will be installed later with the Guest Additions. Your last settings will be finalized, and finally you will see your XP desktop in VirtualBox. Please note that XP Mode may not remain activated after importing it into VirtualBox. When you activate it, use the key that is located at C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode\key.txt.  Note: During our tests we weren’t able to get the activation to go through. We are looking into the issue and will have a revised article showing the correct way to get XP Mode in VirutalBox working correctly soon.    Now we have one final thing to install – the VirtualBox Guest Additions.  In the VirtualBox window, click “Devices” and then select “Install Guest Additions”. This should automatically launch in XP; if it doesn’t, click Start, then My Computer, and finally double-click on the CD drive which should say VirtualBox Guest Additions. Simply install with the normal presets. You can select to install an experimental 3D graphics driver if you wish to try to run games in XP in VirtualBox; however, do note that this is not fully supported and is currently a test feature. You may see a prompt informing you that the drivers have not passed Logo testing; simply press “Continue Anyway” to proceed with the installation.   When installation has completed, you will be required to reboot your virtual machine. Now, you can move your mouse directly from Windows XP to Windows 7 without pressing Ctrl. Integrating with Windows 7 Once your virtual machine is rebooted, you can integrate it with your Windows 7 desktop.  In the VirtualBox window, click Machine and then select “Seamless Mode”.   In Seamless mode you’ll have the XP Start menu and taskbar sit on top of your Windows 7 Start and Taskbar. Here we see XP running on Virtual Box in Seamless Mode. We have the old XP WordPad sitting next to the new Windows 7 version of WordPad. Another view of everything running seamlessly together on the same Windows 7 desktop. Hover the pointer over the XP taskbar to pull up the Virtual Box menu items. You can exit out of Seamless Mode from the VirtualBox menu or using “Ctrl+L”. Then you go back to having it run separately on your desktop again. Conclusion Running XP Mode in a Virtual Machine is a great way to experience the feature on computers without Hardware Virtualization capabilities. If you prefer VMware Player, then you’ll want to check out our articles on how to run XP Mode on Windows 7 machines without Hardware Virtualization, and how to create an XP Mode for Windows 7 Home Premium and Vista. Download VirtualBox Download XP Mode Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Install XP Mode with VirtualBox Using the VMLite PluginUsing Windows 7 or Vista Compatibility ModeMake Safari Stop Crashing Every 20 Seconds on Windows VistaForce Windows 7 / Vista to Boot Into Safe Mode Without Using the F8 KeyHow To Run Chrome OS in VirtualBox TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Enable Check Box Selection in Windows 7 OnlineOCR – Free OCR Service Betting on the Blind Side, a Vanity Fair article 30 Minimal Logo Designs that Say More with Less LEGO Digital Designer – Free Create a Personal Website Quickly using Flavors.me

  Read the article

• How To Run XP Mode in VirtualBox on Windows 7 (sort of)

  - by Matthew Guay

  A few weeks ago we showed you how to run XP Mode on a Windows 7 computer without Hardware Virtualization using VMware. Some of you have been asking if it can be done in Virtual Box as well. The answer is “Yes!” and here we’ll show you how. Editor Update: Apparently there isn’t a way to activate XP Mode through VirtualBox using this method. You will however, be able to run it for 30 days. We have a new updated article on how to Install XP Mode with VirtualBox Using the VMLite Plugin.   Earlier we showed you how to run XP mode on windows 7 machines without hardware virtualization capability. Since then, a lot of you have been asking to a write up a tutorial about doing the same thing using VirtualBox.  This makes it another great way to run XP Mode if your computer does not have hardware virtualization.  Here we’ll see how to import the XP Mode from Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate into VirtualBox so you can run XP in it for free. Note: You need to have Windows 7 Professional or above to use XP Mode in this manner. In our tests we were able to get it to run on Home Premium as well, but you’ll be breaking Windows 7 licensing agreements. Getting Started First, download and install XP Mode (link below).  There is no need to download Virtual PC if your computer cannot run it, so just download the XP Mode from the link on the left. Install XP mode; just follow the default prompts as usual. Now, download and install VirtualBox 3.1.2 or higher(link below).  Install as normal, and simply follow the default prompts. VirtualBox may notify you that your network connection will be reset during the installation.  Press Yes to continue. During the install, you may see several popups asking you if you wish to install device drivers for USB and Network interfaces.  Simply click install, as these are needed for VirtualBox to run correctly. Setup only took a couple minutes, and doesn’t require a reboot. Setup XP Mode in VirtualBox: First we need to copy the default XP Mode so VirtualBox will not affect the original copy.  Browse to C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode, and copy the file “Windows XP Mode base.vhd”.  Paste it in another folder of your choice, such as your Documents folder. Once you’ve copied the file, right-click on it and click Properties. Uncheck the “Read-only” box in this dialog, and then click Ok. Now, in VirtualBox, click New to create a new virtual machine. Enter the name of your virtual machine, and make sure the operating system selected is Windows XP. Choose how much memory you want to allow the virtual machine to use.  VirtualBox’ default is 192 Mb ram, but for better performance you can select 256 or 512Mb. Now, select the hard drive for the virtual machine.  Select “Use existing hard disk”, then click the folder button to choose the XP Mode virtual drive. In this window, click Add, and then browse to find the copy of XP Mode you previously made. Make sure the correct virtual drive is selected, then press Select. After selecting the VHD your screen should look like the following then click Next. Verify the settings you made are correct. If not, you can go back and make any changes. When everything looks correct click Finish. Setup XP Mode Now, in VirtualBox, click start to run XP Mode. The Windows XP in this virtual drive is not fully setup yet, so you will have to go through the setup process.   If you didn’t uncheck the “Read-only” box in the VHD properties before, you may see the following error.  If you see it, go back and check the file to makes sure it is not read-only. When you click in the virtual machine, it will capture your mouse by default.  Simply press the right Ctrl key to release your mouse so you can go back to using Windows 7.  This will only be the case during the setup process; after the Guest Additions are installed, the mouse will seamlessly move between operating systems. Now, accept the license agreement in XP.   Choose your correct locale and keyboard settings. Enter a name for your virtual XP, and an administrative password. Check the date, time, and time zone settings, and adjust them if they are incorrect.  The time and date are usually correct, but the time zone often has to be corrected. XP will now automatically finish setting up your virtual machine, and then will automatically reboot. After rebooting, select your automatic update settings. You may see a prompt to check for drivers; simply press cancel, as all the drivers we need will be installed later with the Guest Additions. Your last settings will be finalized, and finally you will see your XP desktop in VirtualBox. Please note that XP Mode may not remain activated after importing it into VirtualBox. When you activate it, use the key that is located at C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode\key.txt.  Note: During our tests we weren’t able to get the activation to go through. We are looking into the issue and will have a revised article showing the correct way to get XP Mode in VirutalBox working correctly soon.    Now we have one final thing to install – the VirtualBox Guest Additions.  In the VirtualBox window, click “Devices” and then select “Install Guest Additions”. This should automatically launch in XP; if it doesn’t, click Start, then My Computer, and finally double-click on the CD drive which should say VirtualBox Guest Additions. Simply install with the normal presets. You can select to install an experimental 3D graphics driver if you wish to try to run games in XP in VirtualBox; however, do note that this is not fully supported and is currently a test feature. You may see a prompt informing you that the drivers have not passed Logo testing; simply press “Continue Anyway” to proceed with the installation.   When installation has completed, you will be required to reboot your virtual machine. Now, you can move your mouse directly from Windows XP to Windows 7 without pressing Ctrl. Integrating with Windows 7 Once your virtual machine is rebooted, you can integrate it with your Windows 7 desktop.  In the VirtualBox window, click Machine and then select “Seamless Mode”.   In Seamless mode you’ll have the XP Start menu and taskbar sit on top of your Windows 7 Start and Taskbar. Here we see XP running on Virtual Box in Seamless Mode. We have the old XP WordPad sitting next to the new Windows 7 version of WordPad. Another view of everything running seamlessly together on the same Windows 7 desktop. Hover the pointer over the XP taskbar to pull up the Virtual Box menu items. You can exit out of Seamless Mode from the VirtualBox menu or using “Ctrl+L”. Then you go back to having it run separately on your desktop again. Conclusion Running XP Mode in a Virtual Machine is a great way to experience the feature on computers without Hardware Virtualization capabilities. If you prefer VMware Player, then you’ll want to check out our articles on how to run XP Mode on Windows 7 machines without Hardware Virtualization, and how to create an XP Mode for Windows 7 Home Premium and Vista. Download VirtualBox Download XP Mode Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Install XP Mode with VirtualBox Using the VMLite PluginUsing Windows 7 or Vista Compatibility ModeMake Safari Stop Crashing Every 20 Seconds on Windows VistaForce Windows 7 / Vista to Boot Into Safe Mode Without Using the F8 KeyHow To Run Chrome OS in VirtualBox TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Enable Check Box Selection in Windows 7 OnlineOCR – Free OCR Service Betting on the Blind Side, a Vanity Fair article 30 Minimal Logo Designs that Say More with Less LEGO Digital Designer – Free Create a Personal Website Quickly using Flavors.me

  Read the article

• Collation errors in business

  - by Rob Farley

  At the PASS Summit last month, I did a set (Lightning Talk) about collation, and in particular, the difference between the “English” spoken by people from the US, Australia and the UK. One of the examples I gave was that in the US drivers might stop for gas, whereas in Australia, they just open the window a little. This is what’s known as a paraprosdokian, where you suddenly realise you misunderstood the first part of the sentence, based on what was said in the second. My current favourite is Emo Phillip’s line “I like to play chess with old men in the park, but it can be hard to find thirty-two of them.” Essentially, this a collation error, one that good comedians can get mileage from. Unfortunately, collation is at its worst when we have a computer comparing two things in different collations. They might look the same, and sound the same, but if one of the things is in SQL English, and the other one is in Windows English, the poor database server (with no sense of humour) will get suspicious of developers (who all have senses of humour, obviously), and declare a collation error, worried that it might not realise some nuance of the language. One example is the common scenario of a case-sensitive collation and a case-insensitive one. One may think that “Rob” and “rob” are the same, but the other might not. Clearly one of them is my name, and the other is a verb which means to steal (people called “Nick” have the same problem, of course), but I have no idea whether “Rob” and “rob” should be considered the same or not – it depends on the collation. I told a lie before – collation isn’t at its worst in the computer world, because the computer has the sense to complain about the collation issue. People don’t. People will say something, with their own understanding of what they mean. Other people will listen, and apply their own collation to it. I remember when someone was asking me about a situation which had annoyed me. They asked if I was ‘pissed’, and I said yes. I meant that I was annoyed, but they were asking if I’d been drinking. It took a moment for us to realise the misunderstanding. In business, the problem is escalated. A business user may explain something in a particular way, using terminology that they understand, but using words that mean something else to a technical person. I remember a situation with a checkbox on a form (back in VB6 days from memory). It was used to indicate that something was approved, and indicated whether a particular database field should store True or False – nothing more. However, the client understood it to mean that an entire workflow system would be implemented, with different users have permission to approve items and more. The project manager I’d just taken over from clearly hadn’t appreciated that, and I faced a situation of explaining the misunderstanding to the client. Lots of fun... Collation errors aren’t just a database setting that you can ignore. You need to remember that Americans speak a different type of English to Aussies and Poms, and techies speak a different language to their clients.

  Read the article

• Unable to either locate any wireless networks nor even connect to wifi

  - by Leo Chan

  I'm new to Linux. I currently have installed ubuntu 12.10. I had a previous problem with my wireless card (see url to see previous problem : How to enable wireless in a Fujitsu LH532?). It now shows Connect to hidden network and create new wireless network but now unfortunately it simply cannot find any wireless connections. I did have a very thorough look around about this problem such as wait a little longer since sometimes it cannot load all the wireless connections available that quickly. My wifi is a hidden network and I have used the connect to hidden network feature but it keeps asking for my wep key which has been checked 4 times (I counted) and it still seems to not work; It keeps asking for the WEP key. I did try both WEP 40/128-bit key and WPA & WPA2 since previously on my windows it worked; My family later decided to use WEP. I only have a quick fix using a usb wireless stick and I wish to have a more solid fix. Thanks Results from sudo iwlist wlan0 scan wlan0 Scan completed : Cell 01 - Address: 00:1E:73:C8:62:BD Channel:6 Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6) Quality=25/70 Signal level=-85 dBm Encryption key:on ESSID:"EnigmaHome" Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s Mode:Master Extra:tsf=000000cb3bb10a5c Extra: Last beacon: 696ms ago IE: Unknown: 000A456E69676D61486F6D65 IE: Unknown: 010482848B96 IE: Unknown: 030106 IE: Unknown: 0706484B20010B1E IE: Unknown: 2A0107 IE: Unknown: 32080C1218243048606C IE: Unknown: DD180050F2020101000003A4000027A4000042435E0062322F00 Cell 02 - Address: C8:3A:35:34:C1:60 Channel:6 Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6) Quality=22/70 Signal level=-88 dBm Encryption key:on ESSID:"Tenda" Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s 18 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s Mode:Master Extra:tsf=000001336e70ffdd Extra: Last beacon: 716ms ago IE: Unknown: 000554656E6461 IE: Unknown: 010882848B961224486C IE: Unknown: 030106 IE: Unknown: 32040C183060 IE: Unknown: 0706434E20010D10 IE: Unknown: 33082001020304050607 IE: Unknown: 33082105060708090A0B IE: Unknown: DD270050F204104A0001101044000101104700102880288028801880A880C83A3534C160103C000101 IE: Unknown: 050400010000 IE: Unknown: 2A0106 IE: Unknown: 2D1AEC0117FFFF0000000000000000000000000000000C0000000000 IE: Unknown: 3D1606000500000000000000000000000000000000000000 IE: Unknown: 7F0101 IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1 Group Cipher : CCMP Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP Authentication Suites (1) : PSK Preauthentication Supported IE: Unknown: DD180050F2020101000003A4000027A4000042435E0062322F00 IE: Unknown: 0B05010089127A IE: Unknown: DD1E00904C33EC0117FFFF0000000000000000000000000000000C0000000000 IE: Unknown: DD1A00904C3406000500000000000000000000000000000000000000 IE: Unknown: DD07000C4304000000 Cell 03 - Address: 00:1E:73:C8:62:BF Channel:6 Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6) Quality=47/70 Signal level=-63 dBm Encryption key:on ESSID:"\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00" Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s Mode:Master Extra:tsf=000000cb3bac614e Extra: Last beacon: 1064ms ago IE: Unknown: 00110000000000000000000000000000000000 IE: Unknown: 010482848B96 IE: Unknown: 030106 IE: Unknown: 050C010200000000000000000000 IE: Unknown: 0706484B20010B1E IE: Unknown: 2A0107 IE: Unknown: 32080C1218243048606C IE: Unknown: DD070050F202000100

  Read the article

• Change the Way Google Search Results Display in Firefox

  - by Asian Angel

  Are you tired of the default look for search results at Google? If you want a different and customized pleasing look for them, then join us as we look at the GoogleMonkeyR User Script. Note: User Style Scripts & User Scripts can be added to most browsers but we are using Firefox & the Greasemonkey extension for our example here. Before Here is the standard look for search results at Google…not bad but it really does not stand out that well either. Installing the User Script You may be asking yourself what makes this particular user script different from others. Take a look at the list of goodies that you get access to and you will understand: Multiple columns of results Removes “Sponsored Links” Add numbers to the results Auto-load more results Removes web search dialogues Open links in a new tab Favicons GooglePreview Self updating Can be configured from a simple user dialogue To get started click on the Webpage Install Button. Once you click on the Webpage Install Button you will see the following window asking for confirmation to add the user script to Firefox. Click Install to complete the process. GoogleMonkeyR in Action Refreshing the same search page shown above shows a noticeable difference already. The light blue background makes the search results stand out a bit better. This is an improvement from before but you will definitely want to have a look to see just how far you can go… Right click on the Greasemonkey Status Bar Icon, go to User Script Commands, and select GoogleMonkeyR Preferences. Once you have clicked on GoogleMonkeyR Preferences the search page will be shaded out and you will have access to the user script’s preferences. This is where you can really make your search results unique looking! Here are the changes that we started out with… After refreshing our search results things looked even better. A look at the entire page of results with our browser maximized and set for two columns. If you have the Auto load more results Option enabled new results will be added very quickly as you scroll down. Our set of search results after adding Favicons & GooglePreview Images. Conclusion If you have been wanting a more dramatic and pleasing look for the search results at Google then you can not go wrong with the GoogleMonkeyR User Script. Change as little or as much as you want to get that perfect look in your browser. Link Install the GoogleMonkeyR User Script Download the Greasemonkey extension for Firefox (Mozilla Add-ons) Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Make Firefox Quick Search Use Google’s Beta Search KeysMake Firefox Built-In Search Box Use Google’s Experimental Search KeysMake Firefox Show Google Results for Default Address Bar SearchesCombine Wolfram Alpha & Google Search Results in FirefoxHow To Run 4 Different Google Searches at Once In the Same Tab TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips VMware Workstation 7 Acronis Online Backup DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Explorer++ is a Worthy Windows Explorer Alternative Error Goblin Explains Windows Error Codes Twelve must-have Google Chrome plugins Cool Looking Skins for Windows Media Player 12 Move the Mouse Pointer With Your Face Movement Using eViacam Boot Windows Faster With Boot Performance Diagnostics

  Read the article

• Stuck due to "knowing too much"

  - by Ran Biron

  Note more discussion at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4037794 Welcome Hacker News Visitors! While HN is a fine forum for discussion and debate, Programmers - Stack Exchange is not. From the FAQ: If your motivation for asking the question is “I would like to participate in a discussion about ____”, then you should not be asking here. However, if your motivation is “I would like others to explain ____ to me”, then you are probably OK. (Discussions are of course welcome in our real time web chat.) Currently, this question is viewed by the membership of Programmers.SE as more likely to provoke unproductive discussion than constructive answers; while debates on its form and future are conducted, it will be locked to prevent arguments and vandalism. -- Shog9 I have a relatively simple development task, but every time I try to attack it, I end up spiraling in deep thoughts - how could it extending the future, what are the 2nd generation clients going to need, how does it affect "non functional" aspects (e.g. Performance, authorization...), how would it best be architectured to allow change... I remember myself a while ago, younger and, perhaps, more eager. The "me" I was then wouldn't have given a thought about all that - he would've gone ahead and wrote something, then rewrote it, then rewrote it again (and again...). The "me" today is more hesitant, more careful. I find it much easier today to sit and plan and instruct other people on how to do things than to actually go ahead and do them myself - not because I don't like to code - the opposite, I love to! - but because every time I sit at the keyboard, I end up in that same annoying place. Is this wrong? Is this a natural evolution, or did I drive myself into a rut? Fair disclosure - in the past I was a developer, today my job title is a "system architect". Good luck figuring what it means - but that's the title. Wow. I honestly didn't expect this question to generate that many responses. I'll try to sum it up. Reasons: Analysis paralysis / Over engineering / gold plating / (any other "too much thinking up-front can hurt you"). Too much experience for the given task. Not focusing on what's important. Not enough experience (and realizing that). Solutions (not matched to reasons): Testing first. Start coding (+ for fun) One to throw away (+ one API to throw away). Set time constraints. Strip away the fluff, stay with the stuff. Make flexible code (kinda opposite to "one to throw away", no?). Thanks to everyone - I think the major benefit here was to realize that I'm not alone in this experience. I have, actually, already started coding and some of the too-big things have fallen off, naturally. Since this question is closed, I'll accept the answer with most votes as of today. When/if it changes - I'll try to follow.

  Read the article

• IE9 and the Mystery of the Broken Video Tag

  - by David Wesst

  I was very excited when Microsoft released the Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate. As far as I was concerned, this was another nail in the coffin for IE6 and step in the right direction for us .NET web developers as our base camp was finally starting to support the latest and greatest future-web standards. Unfortunately, my celebration was short lived as I soon hit a snag while loading up an HTML5 site I was building in Visual Studio 2010. The Mystery After updating Internet Explorer, I ran my HTML5 site that had the oh-so-lovely HTML5 video tag showing a video. Even though this worked in IE9 Beta, it appeared that IE9 RC could not load the same file. I figured that it was the video codec. Maybe IE9 RC no longer supported the video codec I used to encode my video. Here's the code I used: <video width="854" height="480" id="myOtherVideo" autoplay="" controls=""> <source src="/DemoSite1/Media/big_buck_bunny.mp4"/> <div> <p>Your browser does not support HTML5 Video.</p> </div> </video> As you can see from the code, I had the "fail-safe" code inside the video tag. The idea there being that if the video tag, or the video files themselves, are not supported by the browser my video should fail gracefully. What was even more strange was the fact that it worked in all the other HTML5 browsers that supported video. The Investigation Whoa! DJ stop the music. How can any of that make sense? Would the IE team really take such huge strides forward only to forget to include a feature that was already in the beta? I don't think so. I did plenty of searching on the web and asking around on the web, but could not seem to find anyone else having the same problem. Eventually I came across this post talking about declaring the MIME type in the .htaccess file. That got me thinking: does my web server support the video MIME type? I was using VS2010, so how do I know what kind of MIME types are supported by default? Still, my page hosted in Cassini (the web development server in VS2010) works on the other browsers. Why wouldn't it work with IE9 RC? To answer that, it was time to open up the upgraded toolbox known as the Developer's Tools in IE9 and use the new Network Tab. The Conclusion If you take a closer look at the results displayed from the Network tab, you can see that IE9 RC has interpreted the video file as text/html rather than video/mp4. To make this work, I decided to use IIS to debug my HTML5 web application by setting the web project's properties. Then, I added the MIME types that I want to support (i.e. video/mp4, video/ogg, video/webm). Et voila! The Mystery of the Broken Video Tag is solved. After Thoughts After solving the mystery, I still had the question about why my site worked in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox 3.6. After asking around, the best answer that I received was from my colleague Tyler Doerksen. He said that IE9 likely depends on the server telling it what kind of file it is downloading rather than trying to read the metadata about the data it is trying to download before doing anything. I have no facts to back this up, but it makes sense to me. In a browser war where milliseconds can make your browser fall back a few places in the race for supremacy, maybe the IE team opted to depend on the server knowing what kind of content it is serving up. Makes sense to me. In any case, that is just an educated guess. If you have any comments, feel free to post on them below. This post also appears at http://david.wes.st

  Read the article

• How does interpolation actually work to smooth out an object's movement?

  - by user22241

  I've asked a few similar questions over the past 8 months or so with no real joy, so I am going make the question more general. I have an Android game which is OpenGL ES 2.0. within it I have the following Game Loop: My loop works on a fixed time step principle (dt = 1 / ticksPerSecond) loops=0; while(System.currentTimeMillis() > nextGameTick && loops < maxFrameskip){ updateLogic(dt); nextGameTick+=skipTicks; timeCorrection += (1000d/ticksPerSecond) % 1; nextGameTick+=timeCorrection; timeCorrection %=1; loops++; } render(); My intergration works like this: sprite.posX+=sprite.xVel*dt; sprite.posXDrawAt=sprite.posX*width; Now, everything works pretty much as I would like. I can specify that I would like an object to move across a certain distance (screen width say) in 2.5 seconds and it will do just that. Also because of the frame skipping that I allow in my game loop, I can do this on pretty much any device and it will always take 2.5 seconds. Problem However, the problem is that when a render frame skips, the graphic stutter. It's extremely annoying. If I remove the ability to skip frames, then everything is smooth as you like, but will run at different speeds on different devices. So it's not an option. I'm still not sure why the frame skips, but I would like to point out that this is Nothing to do with poor performance, I've taken the code right back to 1 tiny sprite and no logic (apart from the logic required to move the sprite) and I still get skipped frames. And this is on a Google Nexus 10 tablet (and as mentioned above, I need frame skipping to keep the speed consistent across devices anyway). So, the only other option I have is to use interpolation (or extrapolation), I've read every article there is out there but none have really helped me to understand how it works and all of my attempted implementations have failed. Using one method I was able to get things moving smoothly but it was unworkable because it messed up my collision. I can foresee the same issue with any similar method because the interpolation is passed to (and acted upon within) the rendering method - at render time. So if Collision corrects position (character now standing right next to wall), then the renderer can alter it's position and draw it in the wall. So I'm really confused. People have said that you should never alter an object's position from within the rendering method, but all of the examples online show this. So I'm asking for a push in the right direction, please do not link to the popular game loop articles (deWitters, Fix your timestep, etc) as I've read these multiple times. I'm not asking anyone to write my code for me. Just explain please in simple terms how Interpolation actually works with some examples. I will then go and try to integrate any ideas into my code and will ask more specific questions if need-be further down the line. (I'm sure this is a problem many people struggle with).

  Read the article

• Auto-organized / smart inventory system?

  - by VeXe

  for the past week I've been working on an inventory system with Unity3D. At first I got help from the guys at Design3 but it wasn't too long till we split path, because I really didn't like the way they did their code, it didn't have any smell of OOP whatsoever. I took it further steps ahead - items take more than one slot, advanced placement system (items tries their best to find the best close fit), local mouse system (mouse gets trapped in active bag area), etc. Here's a demo of my work. What we would like to have in our game, is an auto-organizing feature - not auto-sort. We want this feature because our inventory's going to be in 'real-time' - not like in Resident Evil 1,2,3 etc where you would pause the game and do things in your inventory. Now imagine your self in a sticky situation surrounded by zombies, and you don't have bullets, you look around, you see that there are bullets nearby on the ground, so you go for them and try to pick them up, but they don't fit! you look at your inventory and find out that if you reorganize some of the items, it will fit! - now the player - in that situation doesn't have time to reorganize because he's surrounded with zombies and will die if he stops and organizes the inventory to make space (remember inventory in real-time, no pausing) - wouldn't it be nice for that to happen automatically? - Yes! (I believe this has been implemented in some games like Dungeon siege or something, so sure it's doable) take a look at this picture for example: Yes, so if you auto-sort the issue you will get your spaces but it's bad because: 1- Expensive: it doesn't need a whole sort operation to free those spaces, in the first picture, just slide the red item at the bottom to the very left, and you get the same spaces that you got from the auto-sort. 2- It's annoying to the player: "Who the F told you to re-order my stuff?" I'm not asking for "How to write the code" for this, I'm just asking for some guidance, where to look, what algorithms are involved? Is this something related to graphs and shortest path stuff? I hope not cuz I didn't manage to continue my college studies :/ But even if it is, just tell me and I will learn the stuff related. Notice there could be more than just one solution. So I guess the first thing I have to do is figure out if the situation is 'solvable' - if I know how to determine if a situation is solvable or not, then I can 'solve' it. I just need to know the conditions that makes it 'solvable'. And I believe there must be some algorithm/data structure for this. Here's a pic for more than one solution of trying to fit a 1x3 item: The arrows show just one of the solutions, but if you look you will find more than one. This is what I ultimately not auto-sorting but find a solution and applying it. Note that if I spend time on it I will come up with a way to solve it, but it wouldn't be the best way, it's like, holding a car wheel with your feet instead of your hands! XD Or just like trying to solve an issue that requires arrays, but you're not yet aware of their existence! So what is the right approach to this? Hope somebody helps, thanks a lot in advance :)

  Read the article

• How can I work efficiently on a desktop sharing workflow?

  - by OSdave

  I am a freelance Magento developer, based in Spain. One of my clients is a Germany based web development company and they're asking me something I think it's impossible. OK, maybe not impossible but definitely not a preferred way of doing things. One of their clients has a Magento Entreprise installation, which is the paid (and I think proprietary) version of Magento. Their client has forbidden them to download the files from his server. My client is asking me now to study one particular module of the application in order to interact with it from a custom module I'll have to develop. As they have a read-only ssh access to their client's server, they came up with this solution: Set up a desktop/screen sharing session between one of their developer's station and mine, alongsides with a skype conversation. Their idea is that I'll say to the developer: show me file foo.php The developer will then open this foo.php file in his IDE. I'll have then to ask him to show me the bar method, the parent class, etc... Remember that it's a read-only session, so forget about putting a Zend_Debug::log() anywhere, and don't even think about a xDebug breakpoint (they don't use any kind of debugger, sic). Their client has also forbidden them to use any version control system... My first reaction when they explained to me this was (and I actually did say it outloud to them): Well, find another client. but they took it as a joke from me. I understand that in a business point of view rejecting a client is not a good practice, but I think that the condition of this assignment make it impossible to complete. At least according to my workflow. I mean, the way I work or learn a new framework/program is: download all files and copy of db on my pc create a git repository and a branch run the application locally use breakpoints use Zend_Debug::log() write the code and tests commit to git repo upload to (test/staging first if there is one, production if not) server I have agreed to try the desktop sharing session, although I think it will be a waste of time. On one hand I don't mind, they pay me for that time, but I know me and I don't like the sensation of loosing my time. On the other hand, I have other clients for whom I can work according to my workflow. I am about to say to them that I cannot (don't want to) do it. Well, I'll first try this desktop sharing session: maybe I'm wrong and it can actually work. But I like to consider myself as a professional, and I know that I don't know everything. So I try to keep an open mind and I am always willing to learn new stuff. So my questions are: Can this desktop-sharing workflow work? What should be done in order to take the most of it? Taking into account all the obstacles (geographic locations, no local, no git), is there another way for me to work on that project?

  Read the article

• How to introduce a computer illiterate 50-year old to programming [closed]

  - by sunday

  The other day my dad asked me a question that I would have never expected from him. "How can I learn C++?" My dad is turning 56 this year and computers are a distant concept for him. He doesn't know how to use a phone very well besides calling numbers (no speed dial or contacts); though he has started to learn computers a little better - to the point that he knows how to open the internet (in Windows) and browse around (and has successfully completed several job applications entirely on his own online, of which he was offered positions too). But still, these are too narrow-windowed experiences to mean much, really. While he may not have the background, my dad knows how to read. And I mean reading as a skill, not just an ability. He has little to no college education (financial problems, family, etc.) and was fortunate enough to finish high school, but still taught himself to become a master electrician and has been one for almost 30 years now. He did the same with guitar, learning to play at a very professional level and has been praised for his skill. In high school, he picked up a weight lifting book - and was the only person in his high school at the time to qualify officially as an "athlete" by national standards. In all cases, he just needed something to read. Something to teach him. He absorbs information like a sponge. I have no doubt in my dad's motivation or capability of doing this, so my general goal is simply: Get my dad into the world of computers, and get him on the road to programming. I strongly believe that once I get him through the fundamentals, his drive and reading skill will keep him going on this own. So I'm asking you all: where should I start with all this? And what are the best resources out there? Should I get him to start Linux instead of Windows? Is C++ a bad idea? Remember, he needs to (IMO) learn computers first, and then get that first grasp (the "Hello world" experience) of programming. For money's sake and at top preference, I'd like free online resources that he can read, but by all means any good suggestions in print or paid-for-online are welcome (that I could possibly look into later to purchase). And also, I intend to start him off with C++ (no Python, Java, etc.), because I know it the best and will be able to help him along the way with code. (I have minimal knowledge right now in other languages). Edit: I'm getting a lot of persistent suggestions to use Python. The only reason I wanted to do C++ is that I KNOW it and can be THERE when my dad needs help. My VERY FIRST exposure to programming ever was Java. I learned Java, and I got good at it. I open to other suggestions, but please provide an effective application of your suggestions. EDIT #2: I understand my approach/thinking/knowledge could be lacking here. I'm a sophomore level undergraduate CS major. If you don't agree with anything in my post, tell me why - give me ideas, information - that's why I'm asking in the first place. To narrow down my general goal to specific reachable goals.

  Read the article

• Is changing my job now a wise decision? [closed]

  - by FlaminPhoenix

  First a little background about myself. I am a javascript programmer with 3.8 years of experience. I joined my current company a year and 3 months ago, and I was recruited as a javascript programmer. I was under the impression I was a programmer in a programming team but this was not the case. No one else except me and my manager knows anything about programming in my team. The other two teammates, copy paste stuff from websites into excel sheets. I was told I was being recruited for a new project, and it was true. The only problem was that the server side language they were using was PHP. They were using a popular library with PHP, and I had never worked with PHP before. Nevertheless, I learnt it well enough to get things working, and received high praise from my boss's boss on whichever project I worked on. Words like "wow" , "This looks great, the clients gonna be impressed with this." were sprinkled every now and then on reviewing my work. They even managed to sell my work to a couple of clients and as I understand, both of my projects are going to fetch them a pretty buck. The problem: I was asked to move into a project which my manager was handling. I asked them for training on the project which never came, and sure enough I couldnt complete my first task on the new project without shortcomings. I told my manager there were things I didnt know how to get done in the new project due to lack of training. His project had 0 documentation. I was told he would "take care" of everything relating to those shortcomings. In the meantime, I was asked to switch to another project. My manager made the necessary changes and later told me that the build had "broken" on the production server and that I needed to "test" my changes before saying things were done. I never deployed it on the production server. He did. I never saw / had the opportunity to see the final build before it went to production. He called me for a separate meeting and started pointing fingers at me, but I took full responsibility even if I didnt have to. He later on got on a call with his boss, in my presence, and gave him the impression that it was all my fault. I did not confront him about this so far. I have worked late / done overtime without them asking a lot, but last week, I just got home from work, and I got calls asking me to solve an issue which till then they had kept quiet about even though they were informed about it. I asked my manager why I hadnt been tasked with this when I was in office. He started telling me which statements to put where, as if to mock me, and that this "is hardly an overtime issue" and this pissed me off. Also, during the previous meeting, he was constantly talking highly about his work, at the same time trying to demean mine. In the meantime, I have attended an interview with another MNC, and the interviewers there were fully respectful of my decision to leave my current company. Its a software company, so I can expect my colleagues to know a lot more than me. Im told I can expect their offer anytime this week. My questions: Is my anger towards my manager justified? While leaving, do I tell him that its because of his actions that Im leaving? Do I erupt in anger and tell him that he shouldnt have put the blame on me since he was the one doing the deployment? This is going to be my second resignation to this company. The first time I wanted to resign, I was asked to stay back and my manager promised a lot of changes, a couple of which were made. How do I keep myself from getting into such situations with my employers in the future?

  Read the article

• StructureMap - Scan - Generic Interface with base implementation and specific.

  - by Morten Schmidt

  Hi I have an interface something like this: interface IGenericSetupViewModel<T> I then have a default implemtation of this, something like this class GenericSetupViewModel<T> : IGenericSetupViewModel<T> For some specific classes i have a specific implementation like this: class ContractSetupViewModel : GenericSetupViewModel<Contract> Now i want to make StructureMap return the correct instance, when asking for a ObjectFactory.GetInstance<GenericSetupViewModel<Contract>(); I would like to get ContractSetupViewModel returned, when asking for anything else, i would like to get an instance of GenericSetupViewModel<T> I tried doing this: StructureMap.ObjectFactory.Configure(x => { x.Scan(y => { y.TheCallingAssembly(); y.AddAllTypesOf(typeof(IGenericSetupViewModel<>)); y.ConnectImplementationsToTypesClosing(typeof(IGenericSetupViewModel<>)); }); }); However this results in me always getting a GenericSetupViewModel and never the ContractSetupViewModel. I dont want to have to specify all specific viewmodels so is there anyway i can get this scan to work ?

  Read the article

• Robot Simulation in Java

  - by Eddy Freeman

  Hi Guys, I am doing a project concerning robot simulation and i need help. I have to simulate the activities of a robot in a warehouse. I am using mindstorm robots and lego's for the warehouse. The point here is i have to simulate all the activities of the robot on a Java GUI. That is whenever the robot is moving, users have to see it on the GUI a moving object which represents the robot. When the roads/rails/crossings of the warehouse changes it must also be changed on the screen. The whole project is i have to simulate whatever the robot is doing in the warehouse in real-time. Everything must happen in real-time I am asking which libraries in Java i can use to do this simulations in real-time and if someone can also point me to any site for good information. Am asking for libraries in Java that i can use to visualize the simulation in real-time. All suggestions are welcome. Thanks for your help.

  Read the article

• What computer science topic am I trying to describe?

  - by ItzWarty

  I've been programming for around... 6-8 years, and I've begun to realize that I don't really know what really happens at the low-ish level when I do something like int i = j%348 The thing is, I know what j%348 does, it divides j by 348 and finds the remainder. What I don't know is HOW the computer does this. Similarly, I know that try { blah(); }catch(Exception e){ blah2(); } will invoke blah and if blah throws, it will invoke blah2... however, I have no idea how the computer does this instead of err... crashing or ending execution. And I figure that in order for me to get "better" at programming, I should probably know what my code is really doing. [This would probably also help me optimize and... err... not do stupid things] I figure that what I'm asking for is probably something huge taught in universities or something, but to be honest, if I could learn a little, I would be happy. The point of the question is: What topic/computer-science-course am I asking about? Because in all honesty, I don't know. Since I don't know what the topic is called, I'm unable to actually find a book or online resource to learn about the topic, so I'm sort of stuck. I'd be eternally thankful if someone helped me =/

  Read the article

• if (i == 2) or if (2 == i) ?

  - by Maroloccio

  I usually use if (i == 2) in preference to if (2 == i) On occasion, I would switch things around when writing xUnit-type tests from scratch so as to follow the assertion convention of "expected" preceding "actual". When adding to existing unit tests, I always follow the style I find. No matter what, I always try to keep things consistent. Today I checked out some code with a lot of "if (2 == i)" and started wondering: which style is more "popular" nowadays? is popularity language-dependent? The latter probably because I am aware of why the "if (2 == i)" became common in the first place (C heritage) and because I see some languages go as far as disallowing assignments within conditions (e.g. Python). I thought about downloading some sources: apt-get source linux-source eclipse openoffice.org expanding them and performing a quick grep: grep --color --include=*.java --include=*.c -ERI \ "if[[:space:]]*\([[:space:]]*[[:digit:]]+[[:space:]]==" . or creating a quick "poll": http://goo.gl/mod/ciMF after a bit of searching and asking around, I am still not sure. So I am asking you: which way to go?

  Read the article

• Suggestions for a PHP programmer wanting to create a timer app for an internet cafe

  - by grokker

  Hi, I was asked by a friend to make a timer app for his small internet cafe. He wants to have timers on each client PCs. The timers indicate how much time has been spent by the customer. On the PC that he uses, there's another program that has the overview of all the timers and there's a button for each client PCs that allows him to blacken out the screen. It's not automatic hence the button. The problem is I haven't done any desktop apps before so that's why I'm asking you guys (the awesome people at SO) for suggestions/advice on what language/tool to use. A little info about me: I did Java but haven't tried Swing though. I know a bit about Python and Ruby too. I don't mind learning new languages as long as I get to finish or get a prototype up and running. He doesn't mind if I could show him a prototype, it's actually for me. It gives me satisfaction to see I'm progressing. I'm not planning on asking him to pay me for doing this. Whatever he gives me is fine. P.S. He's using Windows XP

  Read the article

• When virtual inheritance IS a good design?

  - by 7vies

  EDIT3: Please be sure to clearly understand what I am asking before answering (there are EDIT2 and lots of comments around). There are (or were) many answers which clearly show misunderstanding of the question (I know that's also my fault, sorry for that) Hi, I've looked over the questions on virtual inheritance (class B: public virtual A {...}) in C++, but did not find an answer to my question. I know that there are some issues with virtual inheritance, but what I'd like to know is in which cases virtual inheritance would be considered a good design. I saw people mentioning interfaces like IUnknown or ISerializable, and also that iostream design is based on virtual inheritance. Would those be good examples of a good use of virtual inheritance, is that just because there is no better alternative, or because virtual inheritance is the proper design in this case? Thanks. EDIT: To clarify, I'm asking about real-life examples, please don't give abstract ones. I know what virtual inheritance is and which inheritance pattern requires it, what I want to know is when it is the good way to do things and not just a consequence of complex inheritance. EDIT2: In other words, I want to know when the diamond hierarchy (which is the reason for virtual inheritance) is a good design

  Read the article

• client-server syncing methodology [theoretical]

  - by Kenneth Ballenegger

  I'm in the progress of building an web-app that syncs with an iOS client. I'm currently tackling trying to figure out how to go about about syncing. I've come up with following two directions: I've got a fairly simple server web-app with a list of items. They are ordered by date modified and as such syncing the order does not matter. One direction I'm considering is to let the client deal with syncing. I've already got an API that lets the client get the data, as well as do certain actions on it, such as update, add or remove single items. I was considering: 1) on each sync asking the server for all items modified since the last successful sync and updating the local records based on what's returned by the server, and 2) building a persistent queue of create / remove / update requests on the client, and keeping them until confirmation by the server. The risk with this approach is that I'm basically asking each side to send changes to the other side, hoping it works smoothly, but risking a diversion at some point. This would probably be more bandwidth-efficient, though. The other direction I was considering was a more traditional model. I would have a "sync" process in which the client would send its whole list to the server (or a subset since last modified sync), the server would update the data on the server (by fixing conflicts by keeping the last modified item, and keeping deleted items with a deleted = 1 field), and the server would return an updated list of items (since last successful sync) which the client would then replace its data with. Thoughts?

  Read the article

• Realizing program with decision tree logics

  - by Vytas999

  The system realizes a game “Think animal”. Main use case is: 1. System offers user to think about any animal and the system will try to guess it 2. The system starts asking questions from the start of decision tree. Ex., “Question: It has fur?”, and provides possible answers – yes or no. 3. If the user answers Yes, the system proceeds to these steps: a. System tries to guess animal that has that feature, ex. “My guess: Is it bear?” and provides with possible answers – yes or no. b. If the user answer is Yes, the system offers to think off another animal 4. If the user answers is No, the system moves to No node in decision tree and moves to 2 step (and starts from asking from new node). 5. If system runs out of nodes (i.e., empty yes or no node was reached): a. the system announces that it has given up, and ask user to enter: i. What animal he had in mind ii. What is his characteristic feature b. User enters requested data c. The system creates a new node and links it to yes or no of last active node. Where i can get some information and some examples, when implementing decision tree logics in MS SQL Server and C#..? Any information will be usefull. Thanks

  Read the article

• How to react when asked a question you already know during an interview

  - by DevNull

  The short story:- If you are asked a tough algorithmic/puzzle question during an interview, whose solution is already known to you, do you:- Honestly tell the interviewer that you know this question already? -- this could result in bursting the interviewer's ego and him increasing the complexity level of the subsequent questions. Do an Oscar deserving performance and act as if you are thinking and trying hard and slowly getting to the solution? -- depending on your acting skills, could majorly impress the interviewer making the rest of the interview easier. Long story:- OK, this question comes as a result of what happened to me in a recent telephonic interview that I gave - the interview was supposed to be all algorithmic. The interviewer started with an algorithmic question which I had luckily already seen here on Stackoverflow. The best solution to that problem is not very intuitive and is more of a you-get-it-if-you-know-it kind. Now, just to not disappoint the interviewer too much, I took a few seconds as if I was pondering on the problem and then blurted out the answer which I knew too well having read and admired it on SO already. But I guess that gave it away to the interviewer that I already knew this question and since then, he started asking me for more efficient solutions and I kept coming up with approaches (even if not correct or more efficient, but I did touch a lot of different data structures and algos) and he kept asking for more efficient solutions and generally seemed put off by my initial salvo which was unexpected. What should I have done? Cheers!

  Read the article

• Value objects in DDD - Why immutable?

  - by Hobbes

  I don't get why value objects in DDD should be immutable, nor do I see how this is easily done. (I'm focusing on C# and Entity Framework, if that matters.) For example, let's consider the classic Address value object. If you needed to change "123 Main St" to "123 Main Street", why should I need to construct a whole new object instead of saying myCustomer.Address.AddressLine1 = "123 Main Street"? (Even if Entity Framework supported structs, this would still be a problem, wouldn't it?) I understand (I think) the idea that value objects don't have an identity and are part of a domain object, but can someone explain why immutability is a Good Thing? EDIT: My final question here really should be "Can someone explain why immutability is a Good Thing as applied to Value Objects?" Sorry for the confusion! EDIT: To clairfy, I am not asking about CLR value types (vs reference types). I'm asking about the higher level DDD concept of Value Objects. For example, here is a hack-ish way to implement immutable value types for Entity Framework: http://rogeralsing.com/2009/05/21/entity-framework-4-immutable-value-objects. Basically, he just makes all setters private. Why go through the trouble of doing this?

  Read the article

• is there a Universal Model for languages?

  - by Smandoli

  Many programming languages share generic and even fairly universal features. For example, if you compared Java, VB6, .NET, PHP, Python, then you would find common functions such as control structures, numeric and string manipulation, etc. What has been done to define these features at a meta-language (or language-agnostic) level? UML offers a descriptive reference of software in every aspect, but the real-world focus seems to be data processes. Is UML relevant? I'm not asking "Why we don't have a single language that replaces the current plethora." We need many different tools (at least in this eon). I'm not asking that all languages fit a template -- assembly vs. compiled languages are different enough to make that unfeasible (and some folks call HTML a language, though I wouldn't). Any attempt would start with a properly narrow scope. In line with this, I wouldn't expect the model to cover even a small selection with full validity. I would expect however that such a model could be used to transpose from one language to another (with limited goals -- think jist translation).

  Read the article

• Enum and Dictionary<Enum, Action>

  - by Selcuk

  I hope I can explain my problem in a way that it's clear for everyone. We need your suggestions on this. We have an Enum Type which has more than 15 constants defined. We receive a report from a web service and translate its one column into this Enum type. And based on what we receive from that web service, we run specific functions using Dictionary Why am I asking for ideas? Let's say 3 of these Enum contants meet specific functions in our Dictionary but the rest use the same function. So, is there a way to add them into our Dictionary in a better way rather than adding them one by one? I also want to keep this structure because when it's time, we might have specific functions in the future for the ones that I described as "the rest". To be more clear here's an example what we're trying to do: Enum: public enum Reason{ ReasonA, ReasonB, ReasonC, ReasonD, ReasonE, ReasonF, ReasonG, ReasonH, ReasonI, ReasonJ, ReasonK } Defining our Dictionary: public Dictionary<Reason, Action<CustomClassObj, string>> ReasonHandlers = new Dictionary<Reason, Action<CustomClassObj, string>>{ { Reason.ReasonA, HandleReasonA }, { Reason.ReasonB, HandleReasonB }, { Reason.ReasonC, HandleReasonC }, { Reason.ReasonD, HandleReasonGeneral }, { Reason.ReasonE, HandleReasonGeneral }, { Reason.ReasonF, HandleReasonGeneral }, { Reason.ReasonG, HandleReasonGeneral }, { Reason.ReasonH, HandleReasonGeneral }, { Reason.ReasonI, HandleReasonGeneral }, { Reason.ReasonJ, HandleReasonGeneral }, { Reason.ReasonK, HandleReasonGeneral } }; So basically what I'm asking is, is there a way to add Reason, Function pair more intelligently? Because as you can see after ReasonC, all other reasons use the same function. Thank you for your suggestions.

  Read the article

• Building a ctypes-"based" C library with distutils

  - by Robie Basak

  Following this recommendation, I have written a native C extension library to optimise part of a Python module via ctypes. I chose ctypes over writing a CPython-native library because it was quicker and easier (just a few functions with all tight loops inside). I've now hit a snag. If I want my work to be easily installable using distutils using python setup.py install, then distutils needs to be able to build my shared library and install it (presumably into /usr/lib/myproject). However, this not a Python extension module, and so as far as I can tell, distutils cannot do this. I've found a few references to people other people with this problem: Someone on numpy-discussion with a hack back in 2006. Somebody asking on distutils-sig and not getting an answer. Somebody asking on the main python list and being pointed to the innards of an existing project. I am aware that I can do something native and not use distutils for the shared library, or indeed use my distribution's packaging system. My concern is that this will limit usability as not everyone will be able to install it easily. So my question is: what is the current best way of distributing a shared library with distutils that will be used by ctypes but otherwise is OS-native and not a Python extension module? Feel free to answer with one of the hacks linked to above if you can expand on it and justify why that is the best way. If there is nothing better, at least all the information will be in one place.

  Read the article

< Previous Page | 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29  | Next Page >