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• What to do when there are no logical user stories but separate development tasks?

  - by Alex. S.

  We need to generate a release in 3 weeks, and for the planning we are doing today we don't have coherent logical user stories from the backlog tasks. Is valid to match say each development task is equivalent to an user story? Methodologically what is the correct way of handling this?, because anyway we are going to have standup meetings and we are going to control the progress of the project against those development tasks. For example, we have things like: . Adapt ETL to process numeric lists . Adjust licensing component . Remove DTC and so on. So, for the planning poker and iteration planning is valid to use those tasks? if not, what is the alternative?

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• Sorting Algorithm : output

  - by Aaditya

  I faced this problem on a website and I quite can't understand the output, please help me understand it :- Bogosort, is a dumb algorithm which shuffles the sequence randomly until it is sorted. But here we have tweaked it a little, so that if after the last shuffle several first elements end up in the right places we will fix them and don't shuffle those elements furthermore. We will do the same for the last elements if they are in the right places. For example, if the initial sequence is (3, 5, 1, 6, 4, 2) and after one shuffle we get (1, 2, 5, 4, 3, 6) we will keep 1, 2 and 6 and proceed with sorting (5, 4, 3) using the same algorithm. Calculate the expected amount of shuffles for the improved algorithm to sort the sequence of the first n natural numbers given that no elements are in the right places initially. Input: 2 6 10 Output: 2 1826/189 877318/35343 For each test case output the expected amount of shuffles needed for the improved algorithm to sort the sequence of first n natural numbers in the form of irreducible fractions. I just can't understand the output.

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• Should I avoid or embrace asking questions of other developers on the job?

  - by T.K.

  As a CS undergraduate, the people around me are either learning or are paid to teach me, but as a software developer, the people around me have tasks of their own. They aren't paid to teach me, and conversely, I am paid to contribute. When I first started working as a software developer co-op, I was introduced to a huge code base written in a language I had never used before. I had plenty of questions, but didn't want to bother my co-workers with all of them - it wasted their time and hurt my pride. Instead, I spent a lot of time bouncing between IDE and browser, trying to make sense of what had already been written and differentiate between expected behavior and symptoms of bugs. I'd ask my co-workers when I felt that the root of my lack of understanding was an in-house concept that I wouldn't find on the internet, but aside from that, I tried to confine my questions to lunch hours. Naturally, there were occasions where I wasted time trying to understand something in code on the internet that had, at its heart, an in-house concept, but overall, I felt I was productive enough during my first semester, contributing about as much as one could expect and gaining a pretty decent understanding of large parts of the product. I was wondering what senior developers felt about that mindset. Should new developers ask more questions to get to speed faster, or should they do their own research for themselves? I see benefits to both mindsets, and anticipate a large variety of responses, but I figure new developers might appreciate your answers without thinking to ask this question.

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• EAV - is it really bad in all scenarios?

  - by Giedrius

  I'm thinking to use EAV for some of the stuff in one of the projects, but all questions about it in stackoverflow end up to answers calling EAV an anti pattern. But I'm wondering, if is it that wrong in all cases? Let's say shop product entity, it has common features, like name, description, image, price, etc., that take part in logic many places and has (semi)unique features, like watch and beach ball would be described by completely different aspects. So I think EAV would fit for storing those (semi)unique features? All this is assuming, that for showing product list, it is enough info in product table (that means no EAV is involved) and just when showing one product/comparing up to 5 products/etc. data saved using EAV is used. I've seen such approach in Magento commerce and it is quite popular, so may be there are cases, when EAV is reasonable?

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• Topics for covering in-depth programming knowledge

  - by black_belt

  I pursued my bachelors' degree in business administration, but my interest in Information Technology led me to acquire some knowledge of PHP programming and MySQL database. I find programming so interesting that I haven't applied for any job since my graduation. Currently I am staying home and just trying to acquire in-depth knowledge of PHP programming. So far I have developed couple of websites and web applications including Inventory+ Point of Sale Software and an Accounting system for small organizations. I aim to have knowledge that a Computer Science graduate should have, and for that I want to read books but I have no idea where to start from. Could you please suggest me some books and topics that I should study on? Thanks a lot :)

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• bug fixing appproach

  - by Shirish11

  I have been working on a project comprising of databases. I recently received a bug report for the remote execution of some queries. Usually you try to find out the actual cause for the bug to occur and then fix it. But sometimes what I do when I'm fed up of doing some research (and can't find suitable information on the internet) is just change the logic, which takes me much less time compared to the other option. Is this approach of mine correct or should I try to fix the original bug involving more R&D?

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• How does Requiring users to Periodically Change their Passwords Improve Security? [closed]

  - by Bob Kaufman

  I've had the same password for some sites for years with no regrets. Meanwhile, at work, I find myself being forced to change passwords every two to three months. My thinking is that if a password gets compromised, requiring that I change it several weeks out isn't going to protect me or the network very much. Moreover, I find that by being required to change passwords frequently, I degenerate into a predictable password pattern (e.g., BearsFan111, BearsFan222, ...) which results in easier to remember and easier to guess passwords. Is there a sound argument for requiring that passwords be changed periodically?

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• I'm a contract developer and I think I'm about to get screwed [closed]

  - by kagaku

  I do contract development on the side. You could say that I'm a contract developer? Considering I've only ever had one client I'd say that's not exactly the truth - more like I took a side job and needed some extra cash. It started out as a "rebuild our website and we'll pay you $10k" type project. Once that was complete (a bit over schedule, but certainly not over budget), the company hired me on as a "long term support" contractor. The contract is to go from March of this year, expiring on December 31st of this year - 10 months. Over which a payment is to be paid on the 30th of each month for a set amount. I've been fulfilling my end of the contract on all points - doing server maintenence, application and database changes, doing huge rush changes and pretty much just going above and beyond. Currently I'm in the middle of development of an iPhone mobile application (PhoneGap based) which is nearing completion (probably 3-4 weeks from submission). It has not been all peaches and flowers though. Each and every month when my paycheck comes due, there always seems to be an issue of sorts. These issues did not occur during the initial project, only during the support contract. The actual contract states that my check should be mailed out on the 30th of the month. I have received my check on time approximately once (on time being about 2-3 days within the 30th). I've received my paycheck as late as the 15th of the next month - over two weeks late. I've put up with it because I need the paycheck. There have been promises and promises of "we'll send it out on time next time! I promise" - only to receive it just as late the next month. When I ask about payment they give me a vibe like "why are you only worried about money?" - unfortunately I don't have the luxury of not worrying about money. The last straw was with my August payment, which should have been mailed on August 30th. I received it on September 12th. The reason for the delay? "USPS is delaying it man! we sent it out on the 1st!" is the reason I got. When I finally got the check in the mail, the postage on the envelope was marked September 10th - the date it was run through the postage machine. I've been outright lied to, at this point. I carry on working, because again - I need a paycheck. I orchestrated the move of our application to a new server, developed a bunch of new changes and continued work on the iPhone app. All told I probably went over my hourly allotment (I'm paid for 40 hours a month, I probably put in at least 50). On Saturday, the 1st, I gave the main contact at the company (a company of 3, by the way - this is not some big corporation) a ring and filled him in on the status of my work for the past two weeks. Unusually I hadn't heard from him since the middle of September. His response was "oh... well, that is nice and uh.. good job. well, we've been talking within the company about things and we've certainly got some decisions ahead of us..." - not verbatim but you get the idea (I hope?). I got out of this conversation that the site is not doing very well (which it's not) and they're considering pulling the plug. Crap, this contract is going to end early - there goes Christmas! Fine, that's alright, no problem. I'll get paid for the last months work and call it a day. Unfortunately I still haven't gotten last months check, and I'm getting dicked around now. "Oh.. we had problems transferring funds, we'll try and mail it out tomorrow" and "I left a VM with the finance guy, but I can't get ahold of him". So I'm getting the feeling I'm not getting paid for all the work I put in for September. This is obviously breach of contract, and I am pissed. Thinking irrationally, I considered changing all their passwords and holding their stuff hostage. Before I think it through (by the way, I am NOT going to do this, realized it would probably get me in trouble), I go and try some passwords for our various accounts. Google Apps? Oh, I'm no longer administrator here. Godaddy? Whoops, invalid password. Disqus? Nope, invalid password here too. Google Adsense / Analytics? Invalid password. Dedicated server account manager? Invalid password. Now, I have the servers root password - I just built the box last week and haven't had a chance to send the guy the root password. Wasn't in a rush, I manage the server and they never touch it. Now all of a sudden all the passwords except this one are changed; the writing is on the wall - I am out. Here's the conundrum. I have the root password, they do not. If I give them this password all the leverage I have is gone, out the door and out of my hands. During this argument of why am I not getting paid the guy sends me an email saying "oh by the way, what's the root username and password to the server?". Considering he knows absolutely nothing, I gave him an "admin" account which really has almost no rights. I still have exclusive access to the server, I just don't know where to go. I can hold their data hostage, but I'm almost positive this is the wrong thing to do. I'd consider it blackmail, regardless of whether or not I have gotten paid yet. I can "break" something on the server and give them the whole "well, if you were paying me I could fix it!" spiel. This works from a "well he's not holding their stuff hostage" point of view, but what stops them from hiring some one else to just fix the issue at hand? For all I know the guys nephew is a "l33t hax0r" and can figure it out for free. I can give in, document as much as I can and take him to small claims court. This is breach of contract, I'm not getting paid. I have a case, right? ???? Does anyone have any experience in this? What can I do? What are my options? I'm broke, I can't afford a lawyer and I can barely afford not getting this paycheck. My wife doesn't work (I work two jobs so she doesn't have to work - we have a 1 year old) and is already looking at getting a part time job to cover the bills. Long term we'll be fine, but this has pissed me off beyond belief! Help me out, I'm about to get screwed.

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• New grad; To overcome complete lack of experience, should I ditch a creative pet project in lieu of one that would demonstrate more applicable skills?

  - by Hart Simha

  I am currently working on a project on github that I think would be a good demonstration of my initiative, creativity and enthusiasm. It is an educational game I am developing in pygame that enables the user to learn to improve their development productivity by using vim, specifically with python, though learning to code faster with vim should be transferable to any language. I think this is something that might have a mass appeal and benefit to a lot of people in a measurable way. -However- I am graduating from college in a month (my degree is computer science with a minor in English), with no experience that is relevant to helping me get any kind of job in the field, and a gpa that doesn't tout my merits. I could pursue a career in game development, but it's not necessarily what I'm most interested in, and see myself applying to startups around the country. To the places I am looking at applying, showing that I have experience with pygame is going to be largely irrelevant, except in demonstration of my ability to code, period. A lot of skills that ARE more marketable, such a data modeling, GIS, mobile application, development, javascript, .net framework, and various web development technologies, are not going to be showcased by this project (on the upside, employers do like to see familiarity with git and python). I'm wondering if I should sink all my free time in the next couple of months into this project, since I'm motivated and interested in it, and if the value of being able to demonstrate ambition and 'good ideas' (for lack of a better term, and in my own opinion) will compensate for the absence of demonstrating more sought-after skills. I am probably at a point where I should either commit fully to this project now, or put it on the backburner in favor of something else, and I am leaning towards continuing with what I am already working on, because I think it's a great idea, and something achievable to me with enough dedication over the next couple months. But the most important thing to me is being able to get a job out of college, which I am exceedingly concerned about as the professional landscape which I am navigating for the first time is a lot more intimidating than I could have anticipated, with almost every job (even short-term contract positions) requiring years of experience which I lack. So in brief, the common denominator to answering the question "How can I overcome experience requirements for a job" seems to be "Show off your own project." I want to know WHICH project I should work on to best increase my chances of getting a job out of college, keeping in mind that I have no experience. I believe this question is applicable to any new grad that lacks demonstrable experience.

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• Separate Action from Assertion in Unit Tests

  - by DigitalMoss

  Setup Many years ago I took to a style of unit testing that I have come to like a lot. In short, it uses a base class to separate out the Arrangement, Action and Assertion of the test into separate method calls. You do this by defining method calls in [Setup]/[TestInitialize] that will be called before each test run. [Setup] public void Setup() { before_each(); //arrangement because(); //action } This base class usually includes the [TearDown] call as well for when you are using this setup for Integration tests. [TearDown] public void Cleanup() { after_each(); } This often breaks out into a structure where the test classes inherit from a series of Given classes that put together the setup (i.e. GivenFoo : GivenBar : WhenDoingBazz) with the Assertions being one line tests with a descriptive name of what they are covering [Test] public void ThenBuzzSouldBeTrue() { Assert.IsTrue(result.Buzz); } The Problem There are very few tests that wrap around a single action so you end up with lots of classes so recently I have taken to defining the action in a series of methods within the test class itself: [Test] public void ThenBuzzSouldBeTrue() { because_an_action_was_taken(); Assert.IsTrue(result.Buzz); } private void because_an_action_was_taken() { //perform action here } This results in several "action" methods within the test class but allows grouping of similar tests (i.e. class == WhenTestingDifferentWaysToSetBuzz) The Question Does someone else have a better way of separating out the three 'A's of testing? Readability of tests is important to me so I would prefer that, when a test fails, that the very naming structure of the tests communicate what has failed. If someone can read the Inheritance structure of the tests and have a good idea why the test might be failing then I feel it adds a lot of value to the tests (i.e. GivenClient : GivenUser : WhenModifyingUserPermissions : ThenReadAccessShouldBeTrue). I am aware of Acceptance Testing but this is more on a Unit (or series of units) level with boundary layers mocked. EDIT : My question is asking if there is an event or other method for executing a block of code before individual tests (something that could be applied to specific sets of tests without it being applied to all tests within a class like [Setup] currently does. Barring the existence of this event, which I am fairly certain doesn't exist, is there another method for accomplishing the same thing? Using [Setup] for every case presents a problem either way you go. Something like [Action("Category")] (a setup method that applied to specific tests within the class) would be nice but I can't find any way of doing this.

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• projective geometry: how do I turn a projection of a rectangle in 3D into a 2D view

  - by bonomo

  So the problem is that I have a 3D projection of a rectangle that I want to turn into 2D. That is I have a photo of a sheet of paper laying on a table which I want to transform into a 2D view of that sheet. So what I need is to get an undistorted 2D image by reverting all the 3D/projection transformations and getting a plain view of the sheet from the top. I happened to find some directions on the subject but they don't suggest an immediate instruction on how this can be achieved. It would be really helpful to get a step-by-step instruction of what needs to be done. Or, alternatively, a link on a resource that breaks it down to little details. Thank you

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• Is it possible to test a theory?

  - by user363295

  We are a group of students who are working on a theory in software engineering (talking about the theory takes a lot of time so I just skip that). Implementing the theory is impossible, due to technical limitations, but it can be proven on a paper logically. We've been pushed to do a testing on it, so it can be proved that way too (although we bleieve that's not possible!), now: Basically, is it possible to test something like this? If it is, what type of testing should we use? I heard,its possible to handout a brief about it to some experts and asking about their opinion (not sure if that's true), is that a testing method? if it is, what does it called? and how exactly can be done?

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• Determining an application's dependencies

  - by gpuguy

  I have developed an application using Windows Forms in C++ (IDE MS VC++ 2010). Some parts of the application also use MFC, and OpenCV. I want to send the application to my cleint for interim testing on his own machine. I have not developed any installer for the application, so I will be sending him an .EXE file. I want the client to not face any difficulties in replicating the environment, and therefore not lose any time. Can somebody suggest me what software (such as MS VC++ Runtime, .NET Framework, Windows SDK, etc.) should be installed on the client's machine for successfull testing of the application? Note: The OS (Windows 7) and hardware are exactly the same on both sides.

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• Could these people get arrested? [closed]

  - by Vinicius Horta

  I have seen many of what is called 'private servers' mmorpg (multiplayer online games), which uses stolen sources,modified executable, clients and server. People launch up their own server using VPS or dedicated server and distribute online service among players disclaiming it has educational purposes only, saying they are studying the game engine and selling items for players disclaming it as 'donations', so it seems like they are getting donations to keep studying. We all know it's a comercial method. All of it is copyrighted material from enterprise ABCD. (ABCD = Fictional name, I'm not mentioning names). At their website they include the following: "Private Server XXXX" does not allow/support any conection to any company/organization associated with the game "XXXX". If you are anyway affiliated with enterprise "XXXXXXX", or any other company/organization associated with the game "XXXX" you may not view/open/read/execute/play/download any part of "Private Server XXXX" nor view "Private Server XXXX" website, if any company/organization requests you to investigate our website/server, you may not view "Private SERVER XXXX" or execute any action mentioned above. Any person caught disobeting this disclaimer will be punish to the fulleste extent of law. Can this guys get arrested? Do they disclaimer works? If I'm owner of enterprise X and I know people stole my source and are using them but they have such disclaimer I'm not allowed to investigate them?

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• memory and time intensive php task

  - by Goddard

  Sorry if this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything usable. I'm working on a project for a client and currently I have to loop through the users table which is about 3000 records and still growing. I have to do some calculations on a nightly basis which I am going to be using cron/php. The calculations script uses about 3.5mb of memory and takes about 1 second to run. When loading individual users my current php setup handles this fine, but if I try and loop through the user list my php script execution time runs out. I've read after doing some searching that I can make the page reload itself after each user calculation and just keep my previous place in the loop and this sounds like a good idea, but I wanted to hear some opinions from others that have handled similar situations and how you handled these types of tasks. Thanks.

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• Event Driven Programming 101

  - by JHarley1

  Good Morning, I previously asked the Q. of how Event Handlers Work (which I got a great answer for). I would now like to understand the basics of how are events are associated with on-screen objects? An explanation of how Events are associated with on Screen Objects: The application registers the Event, the Event Handler and the Component with the GUI Server. When an Event is detected the GUI Server has to link an Event to a Window and then to a Component, it then consults the Event / Component Table to identify which Handler (s) to be executed. I am having problems finding resources/papers that have mention of this process - especially of a Event / Component Table - can anyone clarify?

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• sharing life experience

  - by gcc

  I am a student of computer engineering. I have never done any programming before, and as you can understand, I don't know how to study it or how to make my own programs. My English is weak [edited for clarity - ed], and so if you don't like the choices I list, please feel free to provide others. How should I study? How should I learn programming languages? Study completely from a book. Don't study from a book, just try writing code. A mix of the two; study from a book, then try writing code. Study half the book, then write the code by hand on paper. Listed to the teacher, then try to solve general problems (those not from any specific chapter). I have send that question to stackoverflow before when I am at first year. Now, I want to construct webpage to guide fresh students by giving advise of yours and mines.Maybe, you wonder Why I want to construct webpage , I just want help the other student. I am giving a link to that question < http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3389465/how-should-i-study-programming-languagess If you have other advice, feel free. EDIT: This web cite, I think , is constructed to share member's life experience and also I know these experiences is valuable . So I have no right to want your opinion, But I want your opinion / experience even if you think it is not so helpful to other

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• Are dynamic languages at disadvantage for agile development?

  - by Gerenuk

  From what I've read agile development often involves refactoring or reverse engineering code into diagrams. Of course there is much more than that, but if we consider the practices that rely on these two methods, are dynamically typed languages at disadvantage? It seem static typing would make refactoring and reverse engineering much easier? Refactoring or (automated) reverse engineering is hard if not impossible in dynamically typed languages? What does real world projects tell about usage of dynamically typed languages for agile methodology?

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• If a variable has getter and setter, should it be public?

  - by Oni

  I am an about to graduate Computer Science student so probably this is a stupid question. If I have a class with a variable that is private and the class have getter and setter for that variable. Why don't make that variable public? The only case I think you have to use getters and setters is if you need to do some operation besides the set or the get. Example: void my_class::set_variable(int x){ /* Some operation like updating a log */ this->variable = x; } Thanks in advance!

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• Start building websites using Java

  - by Alex coady

  I'm a web developer and I've used PHP, along with MySQL, Javascript, jQuery etc; all of which I'm very confident with and can use on a professional level. What I'm wanting to do however, is to start using Java instead of PHP as I'm creating sites that need to be scalable. I really need a starting point. I can program in Java, I understand the language but have never used it for the web. Links, tutorials, examples would be a great help. I have also considered using Scala (the language Twitter is written in).. but don't really understand the benefits. Please no jargon; I need clear information that essentially takes me through the process of creating a very simple website using Java; I'm more than capable of building the site once that's done.. I think. I've previously used Eclipse so if assume I can. Thanks in advance!

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• Is ICCP certification valuable for a programming career?

  - by HerbN

  In looking at various professional societies the AITP lead me indirectly to the ICCP Certified Computer Programmer certification (and others from the ICCP). I had never heard of this program, but both the AITP and, more significantly to me, ACM have members on the ICCP board. Is anyone familiar with this certification? The webpage isn't confidence inspiring to be honest, but looking at it the program seems aimed at those in the Fortune 1000 internal software world. Anyone ICCP certified in some way? Does it make a positive different for a career in software development?

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• Futures/Monads vs Events

  - by c69

  So, the question is quite simple: in an application framework, when performance impact can be ignored (10-20 events per second at max), what is more maintainable and flexible to use as a preferred medium for communication between modules - Events or Futures/Promices/Monads ? Its often being said, that Events (pub/sub, mediator) allow loose-coupling and thus - more maintainable app... My experience deny this: once you have more that 20+ events - debugging becomes hard, and so is refactoring - because it is very hard to see: who, when and why uses what. Promices (i'm coding in javascript) are much uglier and dumber, than Events. But: you can clearly see connections between function calls, so application logic becomes more straight-forward. What i'm afraid. though, is that Promices will bring more hard-coupling with them... p.s: the answer does not have to be based on JS, experience from other functional languages is much welcome.

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• Android Application for Final Year Project [closed]

  - by user1070241

  I hope this is the right place to post this question. Basically, I'm about to choose a Final Year Project for my third and final year in BSc Computer Science. I have worked with different apps and therefore I do have some experience with the Android SDK Platform in general. However, my question is this, how do you think an Android based project would go down with potential employers? I personally don't think the complexity of this project is lower than other projects proposed by my university. Please let me know what you think, and do share any experiences that you have had with this, if any. Thank you very much.

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• What are the industry metrics for average spend on dev hardware and software? [on hold]

  - by RationalGeek

  I'm trying to budget for my dev shop and compare our budget items to industry expectations. I'm hoping to find some information on what percentage of a dev's salary is generally spent on tooling, both hardware and software. Where can I find such information? If instead there is a source that looks at raw dollars that is useful, too. I can extrapolate what I need from that. NOTE: Your anecdotal evidence from your own job will not be very helpful. I'm looking for industry average statistics from a credible source. EDIT: I'm reluctant to even keep this question going based on the passionate negative responses of commenters, but I do think this is valuable information (assuming anyone will care to answer) so let me make one attempt to clarify why I'm looking for this information, and then leave it at that. I'm not sure why understanding and validating my motives is a necessary step to providing the information, but apparently that is the case, so I will do my best. Firstly, let me respond to the idea that us "management types" shouldn't use these types of metrics to evaluate budgets. I agree in part. Ideally, you should spend whatever is necessary on developers in order to keep them fully happy and productive. And this is true of all employees. However, companies operate in a world of limited resources, and every dollar spent in one area means a dollar not spent in another. So it is not enough to simply say "I need to spend $10,000 per developer next year" without having some way to justify that position. One way to help justify it is to compare yourself against the industry. If it is the case that on average a software shops spends 5% (making up that number) of their total development budget (salaries being the large portion of the other 95%, for arguments sake), and I'm only spending 3%, it helps in the justification process. So, it is not my intent to use this information to limit what I spend on developers, but rather to arm myself with the necessary justification to spend what I need to spend on developers to give them the best tools I can. I have been a developer for many years and I understand the need for proper tooling. Next, let's examine the idea that even considering the relationship between a spend on developer salaries and developer tooling is ludicrous and should be banned from budgetary thinking. As Jimmy Hoffa put it in their comment, it's like saying "I'm going to spend no more than 10% of median employee salary on light bulbs and coffee from now on.". Well, yes, it is like saying that, and from a budgeting perspective, this is a useful way to look at things. If you know that, on average, an employee consumes X dollars of coffee a year, then you can project a coffee budget based on that. And you can compare it to an industry metric to understand where you fall: do you spend more on coffee than other companies or less? Why might this be? If you are a coffee supply manager, that seems like a useful thought process. The same seems to hold true for developers. Now, on to the idea that I need to compare "apples to apples" and only look at other shops that are in the same place geographically, the same business, the same application architecture, and the same development frameworks. I guess if I could find such a statistic that said "a shop that is exactly identical to yours spends X on developer tooling" it would be wonderful. But there is plenty of value in an average statistic. Here's an analogy: let's say you are working on a household budget and need to decide how much to spend on groceries. Is it enough to know that the average consumer spends 15% on groceries and therefore decide that you will budget exactly 15%? No. You have to tweak your budget based on your individual needs and situation. But the generalized statistic does help in this evaluation. You can know if your budget is grossly off from what others are doing, and this can help you figure out why this is. So, I will concede the point that it would be better to find statistics that align to my shop, though I think any statistics I could find would be useful for what I'm doing. In that light, let's say that my shop is mostly focused on ASP.NET web applications. That doesn't map perfectly to reality because large enterprises have very heterogenous IT environments. But if I was going to pick one technology that is our focus that would be it. But, if you were to point me at some statistics that are related to a Linux shop doing embedded Java applications, I would still find it useful as a point of comparison. SUMMARY: Let me try to rephrase my question. I'm trying to find industry metrics on how much dev shops spend on developer tooling, both hardware and software. I don't so much care whether it is expressed as a percentage of total budget or as X dollars per dev or as Y percentage of salary. Any metric would be useful. If there are metrics that are specific to ASP.NET dev shops in the Northeast US, all the better, but I would be happy to find anything.

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• Emulate Historical Figures i.e. Einstein - Is this possible using linguistic logic for my http://www.ustimeline.com Education System

  - by Johnnylight

  After hearing about the success of IBM's Watson I started thinking perhaps emulating human language is now possible? My goal is to create Virtual Historical characters to represent the main characters in my Adventur-Cation The Great American Adventure program such as Einstein or Crazy Horse. The goal is to build an intelligent system capable of indexing the internet and storing the data using a schema using modern knowledge on linguistic theory (phonemes, morphemes, syntax) to build a system capable to returning a semantically sound response very similar to the response made by the same person if still alive today. The goal would be to use the same engine/system for all characters. Each characters would have their own digital representation and voice, and would organize data differently based on tags/keywords stored about the individual. Imagine a Max Headroom Einstein. Based on the success of Watson, I believe something like this may now be possible. Would be an interesting way to study history and would be a vehicle of entertainment as well. Can anyone confirm if this has already been attempted? Is anyone interested in exploring this using Cognitive Science, Psychology, Artificial Intelligence, Historical data captured on the internet, and Linguistic theory?

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