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• This program isn't asking for the predetermined 5 numbers from the array?

  - by user1801781

  Okay, so this question is difficult to state. I'm a beginner at C++, and I rarely run into problems with these simple assignments, but something is majorly wrong here and I cannot identify it. I've been trying for hours. This program is supposed to read 5 numbers from an array that the user enters, and then print the largest one. (I know it's easier to just write a for-loop, but our professor wanted us to call a function). The only problem is that instead of asking for 5 numbers, it asks for 2. It works other than that, I JUST NEED IT TO ASK FOR 5 NUMBERS. haha. Your input would be greatly appreciated. I aspire to be a programmer one day, so don't be afraid to go harsh on me. #include <iostream> using namespace std; int largest_number(int score[], int max) { for (int i=1; i<5; i++) { cin >> score[i]; if(score[i] > max) max=score[i]; return (max); } } int main () { int score[5], max, z; cout << "Enter 5 numbers: " <<endl; cin >> score[0]; max = score[0]; z = largest_number(score, max); cout << "The largest number is: " << z <<endl; system("pause"); return 0; }

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• DOS "pause" in Linux?

  - by user2930466

  Firstly, I'm REALLY new to programming. I've just started my first programming class two weeks ago, and I apologize if I sound newbish. My professor wants me to implement a "press any key to continue..." thing in my program. Basically when I run a program, he wants one line to come up [like printf("jfdskaljlfja");] then what would come up is "press any key to continue," before the next line runs. he told us that the DOS equivalent is system("pause"), but he wants us to do it linux. This is what my code looks like: #include <stdio.h> int main() { printf("This is the first line of this program); system("pause"); printf("This is the second line); } Except he wants us to do this in Linux, so system("pause") won't work in this case. Is there a way to have it do exactly what pause does, but in linux terms? again, sorry if i sound newbish. thank you so much! Also, he doesn't really care if the code is efficient or anything, as long as it runs. Again, i'm really new to programming, so the simplest answer would be much appreciated :)

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• The Koyal Group Info Mag News¦Charged building material could make the renewable grid a reality

  - by Chyler Tilton

  What if your cell phone didn’t come with a battery? Imagine, instead, if the material from which your phone was built was a battery. The promise of strong load-bearing materials that can also work as batteries represents something of a holy grail for engineers. And in a letter published online in Nano Letters last week, a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University describes what it says is a breakthrough in turning that dream into an electrocharged reality. The researchers etched nanopores into silicon layers, which were infused with a polyethylene oxide-ionic liquid composite and coated with an atomically thin layer of carbon. In doing so, they created small but strong supercapacitor battery systems, which stored electricity in a solid electrolyte, instead of using corrosive chemical liquids found in traditional batteries. These supercapacitors could store and release about 98 percent of the energy that was used to charge them, and they held onto their charges even as they were squashed and stretched at pressures up to 44 pounds per square inch. Small pieces of them were even strong enough to hang a laptop from—a big, fat Dell, no less. Although the supercapacitors resemble small charcoal wafers, they could theoretically be molded into just about any shape, including a cell phone’s casing or the chassis of a sedan. They could also be charged—and evacuated of their charge—in less time than is the case for traditional batteries. “We’ve demonstrated, for the first time, the simple proof-of-concept that this can be done,” says Cary Pint, an assistant professor in the university’s mechanical engineering department and one of the authors of the new paper. “Now we can extend this to all kinds of different materials systems to make practical composites with materials specifically tailored to a host of different types of applications. We see this as being just the tip of a very massive iceberg.” Pint says potential applications for such materials would go well beyond “neat tech gadgets,” eventually becoming a “transformational technology” in everything from rocket ships to sedans to home building materials. “These types of systems could range in size from electric powered aircraft all the way down to little tiny flying robots, where adding an extra on-board battery inhibits the potential capability of the system,” Pint says. And they could help the world shift to the intermittencies of renewable energy power grids, where powerful batteries are needed to help keep the lights on when the sun is down or when the wind is not blowing. “Using the materials that make up a home as the native platform for energy storage to complement intermittent resources could also open the door to improve the prospects for solar energy on the U.S. grid,” Pint says. “I personally believe that these types of multifunctional materials are critical to a sustainable electric grid system that integrates solar energy as a key power source.”

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• networked storage for a research group, 10-100 TB

  - by Marc

  this is related to this post: http://serverfault.com/questions/80854/scalable-24-tb-nas-for-research-department but perhaps a little more general. Background: We're a research lab of around 10 people who do a lot of experiments that involve taking pictures at one of several lab setups and then analyzing it an one of several lab computers. Each experiment may produce 2 or 3 GB of data, and we are generating data at the rate of about 10 TB/year. Right now, we are storing the data on a 6-bay netgear readynas pro, but even with 2 TB drive, this only gives us 10 TB of storage. Also, right now we are not backing up at all. Our short term backup plan is to get a second readynas, put it in a different building and mirror the one drive onto the other. Obviously, this is somewhat non-ideal. Our options: 1) We can pay our university $400/ TB /year for "backed up" online storage. We trust them more than we trust us, but not a whole lot. 2) We can continue to buy small NASs and mirror them between offices. One limit, although stupid, is that we don't have an unlimited number of ethernet jacks. 3) We can try to implement our own data storage solution, which is why I'm asking you guys. One thing to consider is that we're a very transient population and none of us are network administration experts. I will probably be here only another year or so, and graduate students, who are here the longest, have a 5-6 year time scale. So nothing can require expert oversight. Our data transfer rates are low - most of the data will just sit on the server waiting for someone to look at it once or twice - so we don't need a really high speed system. Given these contraints, can someone recommend a fairly low-cost, scalable, more or less turn key shared data storage system with backup in a separate physical location. Does such a thing exist or should we just pay the university to take care of it for us? As a second question, our professor just got tenure and is putting together a budget. Here the goal is to ask for as much as you can and hope you get a fraction of it. So the same question, minus the low-cost. Without budget constraints, can you recommend a scalable turn-key backed up storage system. Thanks

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• The Top Ten Security Top Ten Lists

  - by Troy Kitch

  As a marketer, we're always putting together the top 3, or 5 best, or an assortment of top ten lists. So instead of going that route, I've put together my top ten security top ten lists. These are not only for security practitioners, but also for the average Joe/Jane; because who isn't concerned about security these days? Now, there might not be ten for each one of these lists, but the title works best that way. Starting with my number ten (in no particular order): 10. Top 10 Most Influential Security-Related Movies Amrit Williams pulls together a great collection of security-related movies. He asks for comments on which one made you want to get into the business. I would have to say that my most influential movie(s), that made me want to get into the business of "stopping the bad guys" would have to be the James Bond series. I grew up on James Bond movies: thwarting the bad guy and saving the world. I recall being both ecstatic and worried when Silicon Valley-themed "A View to A Kill" hit theaters: "An investigation of a horse-racing scam leads 007 to a mad industrialist who plans to create a worldwide microchip monopoly by destroying California's Silicon Valley." Yikes! 9. Top Ten Security Careers From movies that got you into the career, here’s a top 10 list of security-related careers. It starts with number then, Information Security Analyst and ends with number one, Malware Analyst. They point out the significant growth in security careers and indicate that "according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field is expected to experience growth rates of 22% between 2010-2020. If you are interested in getting into the field, Oracle has many great opportunities all around the world.  8. Top 125 Network Security Tools A bit outside of the range of 10, the top 125 Network Security Tools is an important list because it includes a prioritized list of key security tools practitioners are using in the hacking community, regardless of whether they are vendor supplied or open source. The exhaustive list provides ratings, reviews, searching, and sorting. 7. Top 10 Security Practices I have to give a shout out to my alma mater, Cal Poly, SLO: Go Mustangs! They have compiled their list of top 10 practices for students and faculty to follow. Educational institutions are a common target of web based attacks and miscellaneous errors according to the 2014 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report.    6. (ISC)2 Top 10 Safe and Secure Online Tips for Parents This list is arguably the most important list on my list. The tips were "gathered from (ISC)2 member volunteers who participate in the organization’s Safe and Secure Online program, a worldwide initiative that brings top cyber security experts into schools to teach children ages 11-14 how to protect themselves in a cyber-connected world…If you are a parent, educator or organization that would like the Safe and Secure Online presentation delivered at your local school, or would like more information about the program, please visit here.” 5. Top Ten Data Breaches of the Past 12 Months This type of list is always changing, so it's nice to have a current one here from Techrader.com. They've compiled and commented on the top breaches. It is likely that most readers here were effected in some way or another. 4. Top Ten Security Comic Books Although mostly physical security controls, I threw this one in for fun. My vote for #1 (not on the list) would be Professor X. The guy can breach confidentiality, integrity, and availability just by messing with your thoughts. 3. The IOUG Data Security Survey's Top 10+ Threats to Organizations The Independent Oracle Users Group annual survey on enterprise data security, Leaders Vs. Laggards, highlights what Oracle Database users deem as the top 12 threats to their organization. You can find a nice graph on page 9; Figure 7: Greatest Threats to Data Security. 2. The Ten Most Common Database Security Vulnerabilities Though I don't necessarily agree with all of the vulnerabilities in this order...I like a list that focuses on where two-thirds of your sensitive and regulated data resides (Source: IDC).  1. OWASP Top Ten Project The Online Web Application Security Project puts together their annual list of the 10 most critical web application security risks that organizations should be including in their overall security, business risk and compliance plans. In particular, SQL injection risks continues to rear its ugly head each year. Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall can help prevent SQL injection attacks and monitor database and system activity as a detective security control. Did I miss any?

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• SQLAuthority News – #SQLPASS 2012 Seattle Update – Memorylane 2009, 2010, 2011

  - by pinaldave

  Today is the first day of the SQLPASS 2012 and I will be soon posting SQL Server 2012 experience over here. Today when I landed in Seattle, I got the nostalgia feeling. I used to stay in the USA. I stayed here for more than 7 years – I studied here and I worked in USA. I had lots of friends in Seattle when I used to stay in the USA. I always wanted to visit Seattle because it is THE place. I remember once I purchased a ticket to travel to Seattle through Priceline (well it was the cheapest option and I was a student) but could not fly because of an interesting issue. I used to be Teaching Assistant of an advanced course and the professor asked me to build a pop-quiz for the course. I unfortunately had to cancel the trip. Before I returned to India – I pretty much covered every city existed in my list to must visit, except one – Seattle. It was so interesting that I never made it to Seattle even though I wanted to visit, when I was in USA. After that one time I never got a chance to travel to Seattle. After a few years I also returned to India for good. Once on Television I saw “Sleepless in Seattle” movie playing and I immediately changed the channel as it reminded me that I never made it to Seattle before. However, destiny has its own way to handle decisions. After I returned to India – I visited Seattle total of 5 times and this is my 6th visit to Seattle in less than 3 years. I was here for 3 previous SQLPASS events – 2009, 2010, and 2011 as well two Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Summit in 2009 and 2010. During these five trips I tried to catch up with all of my all friends but I realize that time has its own way of doing things. Many moved out of Seattle and many were too busy revive the old friendship but there were few who always make a point to meet me when I travel to the city. During the course of my visits I have made few fantastic new friends – Rick Morelan (Joes 2 Pros) and Greg Lynch. Every time I meet them I feel that I know them for years. I think city of Seattle has played very important part in our relationship that I got these fantastic friends. SQLPASS is the event where I find all of my SQL Friends and I look for this event for an entire year. This year’s my goal is to meet as many as new friends I can meet. If you are going to be at SQLPASS – FIND ME. I want to have a photo with you. I want to remember each name as I believe this is very important part of our life – making new friends and sustaining new friendship. Here are few of the pointers where you can find me. All Keynotes – Blogger’s Table Exhibition Booth Joes 2 Pros Booth #117 – Do not forget to stop by at the booth – I might have goodies for you – limited editions. Book Signing Events – Check details in tomorrow’s blog or stop by Booth #117 Evening Parties 6th Nov – Welcome Reception Evening Parties 7th Nov - Exhibitor Reception – Do not miss Booth #117 Evening Parties 8th Nov - Community Appreciation Party Additionally at few other locations – Embarcadero Booth In Coffee shops in Convention Center If you are SQLPASS – make sure that I find an opportunity to meet you at the event. Reserve a little time and lets have a coffee together. I will be continuously tweeting about my where about on twitter so let us stay connected on twitter. Here is my experience of my earlier experience of attending SQLPASS. SQLAuthority News – Book Signing Event – SQLPASS 2011 Event Log SQLAuthority News – Meeting SQL Friends – SQLPASS 2011 Event Log SQLAuthority News – Story of Seattle – SQLPASS 2011 Event Log SQLAuthority News – SQLPASS Nov 8-11, 2010-Seattle – An Alternative Look at Experience SQLAuthority News – Notes of Excellent Experience at SQL PASS 2009 Summit, Seattle Let us meet! Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)   Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL PASS, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLAuthority News, T SQL, Technology

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• How customers view and interact with a company

  The Harvard Business Review article written by Rayport and Jaworski is aptly titled “Best Face Forward” because it sheds light on how customers view and interact with a company. In the past most business interaction between customers was performed in a face to face meeting where one party would present an item for sale and then the other would decide whether to purchase the item. In addition, if there was a problem with a purchased item then they would bring the item back to the person who sold the item for resolution. One of my earliest examples of witnessing this was when I was around 6 or 7 years old and I was allowed to spend the summer in Tennessee with my Grandparents. My Grandfather had just written a book about the local history of his town and was selling them to his friends and local bookstores. I still remember he offered to pay me a small commission for every book I helped him sell because I was carrying the books around for him. Every sale he made was face to face with his customers which allowed him to share his excitement for the book with everyone. In today’s modern world there is less and less human interaction as the use of computers and other technologies allow us to communicate within seconds even though both parties may be across the globe or just next door. That being said, customers view a company through multiple access points called faces that represent the ability to interact without actually seeing a human face. As a software engineer this is a good and a bad thing because direct human interaction and technology based interaction have both good and bad attributes based on the customer. How organizations coordinate business and IT functions, to provide quality service varies based on each individual business and the goals and directives put in place by its management. According to Rayport and Jaworski, the type of interaction used through a particular access point may lend itself to be people-dominate, machine-dominate, or a combination of both. The method by which a company communicates information through an access point is a strategic choice that relates costs and customer outcomes. To simplify this, the choice is based on what can give the customer the best experience interacting with the company when the cost of the interaction is also a factor. I personally see examples of this every day at work. The company website is machine-dominate with people updating and maintaining information, our groups department is people dominate because most of the customer interaction is done at the customers location and is backed up by machine based data sources, and our sales/member service department is a hybrid because employees work in tandem with machines in order for them to assist customers with signing up or any other issue they may have. The positive and negative aspects of human and machine interfaces are a key aspect in deciding which interface to use when allowing customers to access a company or a combination of the two. Rayport and Jaworski also used MIT professor Erik Brynjolfsson preliminary catalog of human and machine strengths. He stated that humans outperform machines in judgment, pattern recognition, exception processing, insight, and creativity. I have found this to be true based on the example of how sales and member service reps at my company handle a multitude of questions and various situations with a lot of unknown variables. A machine interface could never effectively be able to handle these scenarios because there are too many variables to consider and would not have the built-in logic to process each customer’s claims and needs. In addition, he also stated that machines outperform humans in collecting, storing, transmitting and routine processing. An example of this would be my employer’s website. Customers can simply go online and purchase a product without even talking to a sales or member services representative. The information is then stored in a database so that the customer can always go back and review there order, and access their selected services. A human, no matter how smart they are would never be able to keep track of hundreds of thousands of customers let alone know what they purchased or how much they paid. In today’s technology driven economy every company must offer their customers multiple methods of accessibly in order to survive. The more of an opportunity a company has to create a positive experience for their customers, in my opinion, they more likely the customer will return to that company again. I have noticed this with my personal shopping habits and experiences. References Rayport, J., & Jaworski, B. (2004). Best Face Forward. Harvard Business Review, 82(12), 47-58. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

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• C# Open Source software that is useful for learning Design Patterns

  - by Fathom Savvy

  In college I took a class in Expert Systems. The language the book taught (CLIPS) was esoteric - Expert Systems: Principles and Programming, Fourth Edition. I remember having a tough time with it. So, after almost failing the class, I needed to create the most awesome Expert System for my final presentation. I chose to create an expert system that would calculate risk analysis for a person's retirement portfolio. In short, the system would provide the services normally performed by one's financial adviser. In other words, based on personality, age, state of the macro economy, and other factors, should one's portfolio be conservative, moderate, or aggressive? In the appendix of the book (or on the CD-ROM), there was this in-depth example program for something unrelated to my presentation. Over my break, I read and re-read every line of that program until I understood it to the letter. Even though it was unrelated, I learned more than I ever could by reading all of the chapters. My presentation turned out to be pretty damn good and I received praises from my professor and classmates. So, the moral of the story is..., by understanding other people's code, you can gain greater insight into a language/paradigm than by reading canonical examples. Still, to this day, I am having trouble with everyday design patterns such as the Factory Pattern. I would like to know if anyone could recommend open source software that would help me understand the Gang of Four design patterns, at the very least. I have read the books, but I'm having trouble writing code for the concepts in the real world. Perhaps, by studying code used in today's real world applications, it might just "click". I realize a piece of software may only implement one kind of design pattern. But, if the pattern is an implementation you think is good for learning, and you know what pattern to look for within the source, I'm hoping you can tell me about it. For example, the System.Linq.Expressions namespace has a good example of the Visitor Pattern. The client calls Expression.Accept(new ExpressionVisitor()), which calls ExpressionVisitor (VisitExtension), which calls back to Expression (VisitChildren), which then calls Expression (Accept) again - wooah, kinda convoluted. The point to note here is that VisitChildren is a virtual method. Both Expression and those classes derived from Expression can implement the VisitChildren method any way they want. This means that one type of Expression can run code that is completely different from another type of derived Expression, even though the ExpressionVisitor class is the same in the Accept method. (As a side note Expression.Accept is also virtual). In the end, the code provides a real world example that you won't get in any book because it's kinda confusing. To summarize, If you know of any open source software that uses a design pattern implementation you were impressed by, please list it here. I'm sure it will help many others besides just me. public class VisitorPatternTest { public void Main() { Expression normalExpr = new Expression(); normalExpr.Accept(new ExpressionVisitor()); Expression binExpr = new BinaryExpression(); binExpr.Accept(new ExpressionVisitor()); } } public class Expression { protected internal virtual Expression Accept(ExpressionVisitor visitor) { return visitor.VisitExtension(this); } protected internal virtual Expression VisitChildren(ExpressionVisitor visitor) { if (!this.CanReduce) { throw Error.MustBeReducible(); } return visitor.Visit(this.ReduceAndCheck()); } public virtual Expression Visit(Expression node) { if (node != null) { return node.Accept(this); } return null; } public Expression ReduceAndCheck() { if (!this.CanReduce) { throw Error.MustBeReducible(); } Expression expression = this.Reduce(); if ((expression == null) || (expression == this)) { throw Error.MustReduceToDifferent(); } if (!TypeUtils.AreReferenceAssignable(this.Type, expression.Type)) { throw Error.ReducedNotCompatible(); } return expression; } } public class BinaryExpression : Expression { protected internal override Expression Accept(ExpressionVisitor visitor) { return visitor.VisitBinary(this); } protected internal override Expression VisitChildren(ExpressionVisitor visitor) { return CreateDummyExpression(); } protected internal Expression CreateDummyExpression() { Expression dummy = new Expression(); return dummy; } } public class ExpressionVisitor { public virtual Expression Visit(Expression node) { if (node != null) { return node.Accept(this); } return null; } protected internal virtual Expression VisitExtension(Expression node) { return node.VisitChildren(this); } protected internal virtual Expression VisitBinary(BinaryExpression node) { return ValidateBinary(node, node.Update(this.Visit(node.Left), this.VisitAndConvert<LambdaExpression>(node.Conversion, "VisitBinary"), this.Visit(node.Right))); } }

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• What Counts For a DBA: Fitness

  - by Louis Davidson

  If you know me, you can probably guess that physical exercise is not really my thing. There was a time in my past when it a larger part of my life, but even then never in the same sort of passionate way as a number of our SQL friends.  For me, I find that mental exercise satisfies what I believe to be the same inner need that drives people to run farther than I like to drive on most Saturday mornings, and it is certainly just as addictive. Mental fitness shares many common traits with physical fitness, especially the need to attain it through repetitive training. I only wish that mental training burned off a bacon cheeseburger in the same manner as does jogging around a dewy park on Saturday morning. In physical training, there are at least two goals, the first of which is to be physically able to do a task. The second is to train the brain to perform the task without thinking too hard about it. No matter how long it has been since you last rode a bike, you will be almost certainly be able to hop on and start riding without thinking about the process of pedaling or balancing. If you’ve never ridden a bike, you could be a physics professor /Olympic athlete and still crash the first few times you try, even though you are as strong as an ox and your knowledge of the physics of bicycle riding makes the concept child’s play. For programming tasks, the process is very similar. As a DBA, you will come to know intuitively how to backup, optimize, and secure database systems. As a data programmer, you will work to instinctively use the clauses of Transact-SQL DML so that, when you need to group data three ways (and not four), you will know to use the GROUP BY clause with GROUPING SETS without resorting to a search engine.  You have the skill. Making it naturally then requires repetition and experience is the primary requirement, not just simply learning about a topic. The hardest part of being really good at something is this difference between knowledge and skill. I have recently taken several informative training classes with Kimball University on data warehousing and ETL. Now I have a lot more knowledge about designing data warehouses than before. I have also done a good bit of data warehouse designing of late and have started to improve to some level of proficiency with the theory. Yet, for all of this head knowledge, it is still a struggle to take what I have learned and apply it to the designs I am working on.  Data warehousing is still a task that is not yet deeply ingrained in my brain muscle memory. On the other hand, relational database design is something that no matter how much or how little I may get to do it, I am comfortable doing it. I have done it as a profession now for well over a decade, I teach classes on it, and I also have done (and continue to do) a lot of mental training beyond the work day. Sometimes the training is just basic education, some reading blogs and attending sessions at PASS events.  My best training comes from spending time working on other people’s design issues in forums (though not nearly as much as I would like to lately). Working through other people’s problems is a great way to exercise your brain on problems with which you’re not immediately familiar. The final bit of exercise I find useful for cultivating mental fitness for a data professional is also probably the nerdiest thing that I will ever suggest you do.  Akin to running in place, the idea is to work through designs in your head. I have designed more than one database system that would revolutionize grocery store operations, sales at my local Target store, the ordering process at Amazon, and ways to improve Disney World operations to get me through a line faster (some of which they are starting to implement without any of my help.) Never are the designs truly fleshed out, but enough to work through structures and processes.  On “paper”, I have designed database systems to catalog things as trivial as my Lego creations, rental car companies and my audio and video collections. Once I get the database designed mentally, sometimes I will create the database, add some data (often using Red-Gate’s Data Generator), and write a few queries to see if a concept was realistic, but I will rarely fully flesh out the database since I have no desire to do any user interface programming anymore.  The mental training allows me to keep in practice for when the time comes to do the work I love the most for real…even if I have been spending most of my work time lately building data warehouses.  If you are really strong of mind and body, perhaps you can mix a mental run with a physical run; though don’t run off of a cliff while contemplating how you might design a database to catalog the trees on a mountain…that would be contradictory to the purpose of both types of exercise.

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• how to read input with multiple lines in java

  - by Gandalf StormCrow

  Hi all, Our professor is making us do some basic programming with java, he gaves a website and everything to register and submit our questions, for today I need to do this one example I feel like I'm on the right track but I just can't figure out the rest .. here is the actualy question : **Sample Input:** 10 12 10 14 100 200 **Sample Output:** 2 4 100 And here is what I've got so far : public class Practice { public static int calculateAnswer(String a, String b) { return (Integer.parseInt(b) - Integer.parseInt(a)); } public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println(calculateAnswer(args[0], args[1])); } } Now I always get the answer 2 because I'm reading the single line, how can I take all lines into account? thank you For some strange reason everytime I want to execute I get this error: C:\sonic>java Practice.class 10 12 Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: Fact Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: Fact.class at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:20 at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native M at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.jav at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:307 at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Launcher. at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:248 Could not find the main class: Practice.class. Program will exit. Whosever version of answer I use I get this error, what do I do ? However if I run it in eclipse Run as Run Configuration - Program arguments 10 12 10 14 100 200 I get no output EDIT I have made some progress, at first I was getting the compilation error, then runtime error and now I get wrong answer , so can anybody help me what is wrong with this : import java.io.BufferedReader; import java.io.IOException; import java.io.InputStreamReader; import java.math.BigInteger; public class Practice { public static BigInteger calculateAnswer(String a, String b) { BigInteger ab = new BigInteger(a); BigInteger bc = new BigInteger(b); return bc.subtract(ab); } public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException { BufferedReader stdin = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in)); String line; while ((line = stdin.readLine()) != null && line.length()!= 0) { String[] input = line.split(" "); if (input.length == 2) { System.out.println(calculateAnswer(input[0], input[1])); } } } }

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• Haskell: Left-biased/short-circuiting function

  - by user2967411

  Two classes ago, our professor presented to us a Parser module. Here is the code: module Parser (Parser,parser,runParser,satisfy,char,string,many,many1,(+++)) where import Data.Char import Control.Monad import Control.Monad.State type Parser = StateT String [] runParser :: Parser a -> String -> [(a,String)] runParser = runStateT parser :: (String -> [(a,String)]) -> Parser a parser = StateT satisfy :: (Char -> Bool) -> Parser Char satisfy f = parser $ \s -> case s of [] -> [] a:as -> [(a,as) | f a] char :: Char -> Parser Char char = satisfy . (==) alpha,digit :: Parser Char alpha = satisfy isAlpha digit = satisfy isDigit string :: String -> Parser String string = mapM char infixr 5 +++ (+++) :: Parser a -> Parser a -> Parser a (+++) = mplus many, many1 :: Parser a -> Parser [a] many p = return [] +++ many1 p many1 p = liftM2 (:) p (many p) Today he gave us an assignment to introduce "a left-biased, or short-circuiting version of (+++)", called (<++). His hint was for us to consider the original implementation of (+++). When he first introduced +++ to us, this was the code he wrote, which I am going to call the original implementation: infixr 5 +++ (+++) :: Parser a -> Parser a -> Parser a p +++ q = Parser $ \s -> runParser p s ++ runParser q s I have been having tons of trouble since we were introduced to parsing and so it continues. I have tried/am considering two approaches. 1) Use the "original" implementation, as in p +++ q = Parser $ \s - runParser p s ++ runParser q s 2) Use the final implementation, as in (+++) = mplus Here are my questions: 1) The module will not compile if I use the original implementation. The error: Not in scope: data constructor 'Parser'. It compiles fine using (+++) = mplus. What is wrong with using the original implementation that is avoided by using the final implementation? 2) How do I check if the first Parser returns anything? Is something like (not (isNothing (Parser $ \s - runParser p s) on the right track? It seems like it should be easy but I have no idea. 3) Once I figure out how to check if the first Parser returns anything, if I am to base my code on the final implementation, would it be as easy as this?: -- if p returns something then p <++ q = mplus (Parser $ \s -> runParser p s) mzero -- else (<++) = mplus Best, Jeff

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• Would Ruby on Rails be appropriate for this Foreign Language project?

  - by Lynne Overesch-Maister

  I'm a Spanish professor & computer groupie. About 15 years ago, I authored in HyperCard a series of verb conjugation programs that are now completely out of date with respect to System OS X. I would like to redo these programs myself because I had a lot of fun doing them last time (mostly I coded while my son played in Leaps and Bounds, you know, one of those places where parents take their kids & let them run wild through the tubes...). Colleagues have mentioned using Flash, Director, and various other solutions, but I saw a presentation on RoR at our SIDLIT conference today, and was inspired. I will be parsing and comparing strings (and there are other features on top of that, but that is the main one), "adding" strings relationally indexed in some kind of database(s). It will also have to handle various foreign characters (accents, upside down question marks, etc.). On top of the main process of the program, it will have to provide a practice vs. test mode, keep track of specific answers as well as totals right/wrong, and print a report. Would this be either easier and/or more efficiently done in RoR than in other languages. I am pretty sure that it will work on a Microsoft server, right? Because I think that is where most of our stuff is. I would be programming either on a Mac or a PC, whichever you think is easier. So, in summary, is RoR the way for me to go with this project? If I have some (little) experience programming in Hypercard and C, should I be able to pick RoR up fairly quickly? What things will I need to start (I already saw something called Redhills foreign key migration plugin, which I assume would be beneficial)? I still have my old scripts from hypercard, however what I would really like to do is to combine all six of my former tense-specific programs into one larger program. I figure that it wouldn't be too hard to reference the individual tenses in some way--could that be a class? Many thanks for any help you can give me on this forum.

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• Constraint Satisfaction Problem

  - by Carl Smotricz

  I'm struggling my way through Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach in order to alleviate my natural stupidity. In trying to solve some of the exercises, I've come up against the "Who Owns the Zebra" problem, Exercise 5.13 in Chapter 5. This has been a topic here on SO but the responses mostly addressed the question "how would you solve this if you had a free choice of problem solving software available?" I accept that Prolog is a very appropriate programming language for this kind of problem, and there are some fine packages available, e.g. in Python as shown by the top-ranked answer and also standalone. Alas, none of this is helping me "tough it out" in a way as outlined by the book. The book appears to suggest building a set of dual or perhaps global constraints, and then implementing some of the algorithms mentioned to find a solution. I'm having a lot of trouble coming up with a set of constraints suitable for modelling the problem. I'm studying this on my own so I don't have access to a professor or TA to get me over the hump - this is where I'm asking for your help. I see little similarity to the examples in the chapter. I was eager to build dual constraints and started out by creating (the logical equivalent of) 25 variables: nationality1, nationality2, nationality3, ... nationality5, pet1, pet2, pet3, ... pet5, drink1 ... drink5 and so on, where the number was indicative of the house's position. This is fine for building the unary constraints, e.g. The Norwegian lives in the first house: nationality1 = { :norway }. But most of the constraints are a combination of two such variables through a common house number, e.g. The Swede has a dog: nationality[n] = { :sweden } AND pet[n] = { :dog } where n can range from 1 to 5, obviously. Or stated another way: nationality1 = { :sweden } AND pet1 = { :dog } XOR nationality2 = { :sweden } AND pet2 = { :dog } XOR nationality3 = { :sweden } AND pet3 = { :dog } XOR nationality4 = { :sweden } AND pet4 = { :dog } XOR nationality5 = { :sweden } AND pet5 = { :dog } ...which has a decidedly different feel to it than the "list of tuples" advocated by the book: ( X1, X2, X3 = { val1, val2, val3 }, { val4, val5, val6 }, ... ) I'm not looking for a solution per se; I'm looking for a start on how to model this problem in a way that's compatible with the book's approach. Any help appreciated.

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• How to make this sub-sub-query work?

  - by Josh Weissbock

  I am trying to do this in one query. I asked a similar question a few days ago but my personal requirements have changed. I have a game type website where users can attend "classes". There are three tables in my DB. I am using MySQL. I have four tables: hl_classes (int id, int professor, varchar class, text description) hl_classes_lessons (int id, int class_id, varchar lessonTitle, varchar lexiconLink, text lessonData) hl_classes_answers (int id, int lesson_id, int student, text submit_answer, int percent) hl_classes stores all of the classes on the website. The lessons are the individual lessons for each class. A class can have infinite lessons. Each lesson is available in a specific term. hl_classes_terms stores a list of all the terms and the current term has the field active = '1'. When a user submits their answers to a lesson it is stored in hl_classes_answers. A user can only answer each lesson once. Lessons have to be answered sequentially. All users attend all "classes". What I am trying to do is grab the next lesson for each user to do in each class. When the users start they are in term 1. When they complete all 10 lessons in each class they move on to term 2. When they finish lesson 20 for each class they move on to term 3. Let's say we know the term the user is in by the PHP variable $term. So this is my query I am currently trying to massage out but it doesn't work. Specifically because of the hC.id is unknown in the WHERE clause SELECT hC.id, hC.class, (SELECT MIN(output.id) as nextLessonID FROM ( SELECT id, class_id FROM hl_classes_lessons hL WHERE hL.class_id = hC.id ORDER BY hL.id LIMIT $term,10 ) as output WHERE output.id NOT IN (SELECT lesson_id FROM hl_classes_answers WHERE student = $USER_ID)) as nextLessonID FROM hl_classes hC My logic behind this query is first to For each class; select all of the lessons in the term the current user is in. From this sort out the lessons the user has already done and grab the MINIMUM id of the lessons yet to be done. This will be the lesson the user has to do. I hope I have made my question clear enough.

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• Opinion on "loop invariants", and are these frequently used in the industry?

  - by Michael Aaron Safyan

  I was thinking back to my freshman year at college (five years ago) when I took an exam to place-out of intro-level computer science. There was a question about loop invariants, and I was wondering if loop invariants are really necessary in this case or if the question was simply a bad example... the question was to write an iterative definition for a factorial function, and then to prove that the function was correct. The code that I provided for the factorial function was as follows: public static int factorial(int x) { if ( x < 0 ){ throw new IllegalArgumentException("Parameter must be = 0"); }else if ( x == 0 ){ return 1; }else{ int result = 1; for ( int i = 1; i <= x; i++ ){ result*=i; } return result; } } My own proof of correctness was a proof by cases, and in each I asserted that it was correct by definition (x! is undefined for negative values, 0! is 1, and x! is 1*2*3...*x for a positive value of x). The professor wanted me to prove the loop using a loop invariant; however, my argument was that it was correct "by definition", because the definition of "x!" for a positive integer x is "the product of the integers from 1... x", and the for-loop in the else clause is simply a literal translation of this definition. Is a loop invariant really needed as a proof of correctness in this case? How complicated must a loop be before a loop invariant (and proper initialization and termination conditions) become necessary for a proof of correctness? Additionally, I was wondering... how often are such formal proofs used in the industry? I have found that about half of my courses are very theoretical and proof-heavy and about half are very implementation and coding-heavy, without any formal or theoretical material. How much do these overlap in practice? If you do use proofs in the industry, when do you apply them (always, only if it's complicated, rarely, never)?

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• How do I write sql data into a textbox after a submit type event

  - by Matt

  Finishing up some homework and Im having trouble with figuring out how to take information generated in sql column(a primary key set up to assign a record number to a customer example 1046) at submit and writing it to my redirected recipt page. I call it recipt.aspx. Any takers Professor says to use a datareader...but things go bad after that. public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page { String cnStr = "EDITED FOR THE PURPOSE OF NOT DISPLAYED SQL SERVERta Source=111.11.111.11; uid=xxxxxxx; password=xxxx; database=xxxxxx; "; String insertStr; SqlDataReader reader; SqlConnection myConnection = new SqlConnection(); protected void submitbutton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { myConnection.ConnectionString = cnStr; try { //more magic happens as myConnection opens myConnection.Open(); insertStr = "insert into connectAssignment values ('" + TextBox2.Text + "','" + TextBox3.Text + "','" + TextBox4.Text + "','" + TextBox5.Text + "','" + bigtextthing.Text + "','" + DropDownList1.SelectedItem.Value + "')"; //magic happens as Connection string is assigned to connection object and passes in the SQL statment //associate the command to the the myConnection connection object SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(insertStr, myConnection); cmd.ExecuteNonQuery(); Session["passmyvalue1"] = TextBox2.Text; Session["passmyvalue2"] = TextBox3.Text; Session["passmyvalue3"] = TextBox4.Text; Session["passmyvalue4"] = TextBox5.Text; Session["passmyvalue5"] = bigtextthing.Text; Session["I NEED SOME HELP RIGHT HERE"] =Textbox6.Text; Response.Redirect("receipt.aspx"); } catch { bigtextthing.Text = "Error submitting" + "Possible casues: Internet is down,server is down, check your settings!"; } finally { myConnection.Close(); TextBox2.Text = ""; TextBox3.Text = ""; TextBox4.Text = ""; TextBox5.Text = ""; bigtextthing.Text = ""; } //reset validators? } The recipt page public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page { protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) { if(Session["passmyvalue1"] != null) { TextBox1.Text = (string)Session["passmyvalue1"]; TextBox2.Text = (string)Session["passmyvalue2"]; TextBox3.Text = (string)Session["passmyvalue3"]; TextBox4.Text = (string)Session["passmyvalue4"]; TextBox5.Text = (string)Session["passmyvalue5"]; TextBox6.Text = I don't know ; } } } THanks for the help

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• C++ Exam Question

  - by Carlucho

  I just took an exam where i was asked the following: Write the function body of each of the methods GenStrLen, InsertChar and StrReverse for the given code bellow. You must take into consideration the following; How strings are constructed in C++ The string must not overflow Insertion of character increases its length by 1 An empty string is indicated by StrLen = 0 class Strings { private: char str[80]; int StrLen; public: // Constructor Strings() { StrLen=0; }; // A function for returning the length of the string 'str' int GetStrLen(void) { }; // A function to inser a character 'ch' at the end of the string 'str' void InsertChar(char ch) { }; // A function to reverse the content of the string 'str' void StrReverse(void) { }; }; The answer I gave was something like this (see bellow). My one of problem is that used many extra variables and that makes me believe am not doing it the best possible way, and the other thing is that is not working.... class Strings { private: char str[80]; int StrLen; int index; // *** Had to add this *** public: Strings(){ StrLen=0; } int GetStrLen(void){ for (int i=0 ; str[i]!='\0' ; i++) index++; return index; // *** Here am getting a weird value, something like 1829584505306 *** } void InsertChar(char ch){ str[index] = ch; // *** Not sure if this is correct cuz I was not given int index *** } void StrRevrse(void){ GetStrLen(); char revStr[index+1]; for (int i=0 ; str[i]!='\0' ; i++){ for (int r=index ; r>0 ; r--) revStr[r] = str[i]; } } }; I would appreciate if anyone could explain me toughly what is the best way to have answered the question and why. Also how come my professor closes each class function like " }; " i thought that was only used for ending classes and constructors only. Thanks a lot for your help.

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• Refactoring Singleton Overuse

  - by drharris

  Today I had an epiphany, and it was that I was doing everything wrong. Some history: I inherited a C# application, which was really just a collection of static methods, a completely procedural mess of C# code. I refactored this the best I knew at the time, bringing in lots of post-college OOP knowledge. To make a long story short, many of the entities in code have turned out to be Singletons. Today I realized I needed 3 new classes, which would each follow the same Singleton pattern to match the rest of the software. If I keep tumbling down this slippery slope, eventually every class in my application will be Singleton, which will really be no logically different from the original group of static methods. I need help on rethinking this. I know about Dependency Injection, and that would generally be the strategy to use in breaking the Singleton curse. However, I have a few specific questions related to this refactoring, and all about best practices for doing so. How acceptable is the use of static variables to encapsulate configuration information? I have a brain block on using static, and I think it is due to an early OO class in college where the professor said static was bad. But, should I have to reconfigure the class every time I access it? When accessing hardware, is it ok to leave a static pointer to the addresses and variables needed, or should I continually perform Open() and Close() operations? Right now I have a single method acting as the controller. Specifically, I continually poll several external instruments (via hardware drivers) for data. Should this type of controller be the way to go, or should I spawn separate threads for each instrument at the program's startup? If the latter, how do I make this object oriented? Should I create classes called InstrumentAListener and InstrumentBListener? Or is there some standard way to approach this? Is there a better way to do global configuration? Right now I simply have Configuration.Instance.Foo sprinkled liberally throughout the code. Almost every class uses it, so perhaps keeping it as a Singleton makes sense. Any thoughts? A lot of my classes are things like SerialPortWriter or DataFileWriter, which must sit around waiting for this data to stream in. Since they are active the entire time, how should I arrange these in order to listen for the events generated when data comes in? Any other resources, books, or comments about how to get away from Singletons and other pattern overuse would be helpful.

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• C++ exam question on string class implementation

  - by Carlucho

  I just took an exam where i was asked the following: Write the function body of each of the methods GenStrLen, InsertChar and StrReverse for the given code bellow. You must take into consideration the following; How strings are constructed in C++ The string must not overflow Insertion of character increases its length by 1 An empty string is indicated by StrLen = 0 class Strings { private: char str[80]; int StrLen; public: // Constructor Strings() { StrLen=0; }; // A function for returning the length of the string 'str' int GetStrLen(void) { }; // A function to inser a character 'ch' at the end of the string 'str' void InsertChar(char ch) { }; // A function to reverse the content of the string 'str' void StrReverse(void) { }; }; The answer I gave was something like this (see bellow). My one of problem is that used many extra variables and that makes me believe am not doing it the best possible way, and the other thing is that is not working.... class Strings { private: char str[80]; int StrLen; int index; // *** Had to add this *** public: Strings(){ StrLen=0; } int GetStrLen(void){ for (int i=0 ; str[i]!='\0' ; i++) index++; return index; // *** Here am getting a weird value, something like 1829584505306 *** } void InsertChar(char ch){ str[index] = ch; // *** Not sure if this is correct cuz I was not given int index *** } void StrRevrse(void){ GetStrLen(); char revStr[index+1]; for (int i=0 ; str[i]!='\0' ; i++){ for (int r=index ; r>0 ; r--) revStr[r] = str[i]; } } }; I would appreciate if anyone could explain me toughly what is the best way to have answered the question and why. Also how come my professor closes each class function like " }; " i thought that was only used for ending classes and constructors only. Thanks a lot for your help.

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• Javascript question

  - by Craig

  I am supposed to make this simple program. It produces a multiplication problem, and when the user types the correct answer, it is supposed to produce another question. Instead it goes into an infinite loop and never stops, the answer field and the button go away. Also, I am supposed to make the comment about the users answer, one of 4 different sayings. Without using Arrays how would I do that? My professor is no help, really getting aggravated as I have no where else to turn. <html> <title>HW 9.27 and 9.28</title> <head> <script type="text/javascript"> var number1; var number2; var answer3; var answer2; function problem() { number1 = Math.floor(1 + Math.random() * 9); number2 = Math.floor(1 + Math.random() * 9); document.writeln("How much is " + number1 + " times " + number2 + " ?"); answer2 = (number1 * number2); } function answer1() { var statusDiv = document.getElementById("status"); answer3 = document.getElementById("answer").value; if (answer3 != answer2) statusDiv.innerHTML = "No. Please try again"; else if (answer3 == answer2) { statusDiv.innerHTML = "Very good!"; problem(); } } problem(); </script> </head> <body> <form> <input id="answer" type="text" /> <input type="button" value="Solve!" onclick="answer1()" /> <div id ="status">Click the Solve button to Solve the problem</div> </form> </body> </html>

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• No device file for partition on logical volume (Linux LVM)

  - by Brian

  I created a logical volume (scandata) containing a single ext3 partition. It is the only logical volume in its volume group (case4t). Said volume group is comprised by 3 physical volumes, which are three primary partitions on a single block device (/dev/sdb). When I created it, I could mount the partition via the block device /dev/mapper/case4t-scandatap1. Since last reboot the aforementioned block device file has disappeared. It may be of note -- I'm not sure -- that my superior (a college professor) had prompted this reboot by running sudo chmod -R [his name] /usr/bin, which obliterated all suid in its path, preventing the both of us from sudo-ing. That issue has been (temporarily) rectified via this operation. Now I'll cut the chatter and get started with the terminal dumps: $ sudo pvs; sudo vgs; sudo lvs Logging initialised at Sat Jan 8 11:42:34 2011 Set umask to 0077 Scanning for physical volume names PV VG Fmt Attr PSize PFree /dev/sdb1 case4t lvm2 a- 819.32G 0 /dev/sdb2 case4t lvm2 a- 866.40G 0 /dev/sdb3 case4t lvm2 a- 47.09G 0 Wiping internal VG cache Logging initialised at Sat Jan 8 11:42:34 2011 Set umask to 0077 Finding all volume groups Finding volume group "case4t" VG #PV #LV #SN Attr VSize VFree case4t 3 1 0 wz--n- 1.69T 0 Wiping internal VG cache Logging initialised at Sat Jan 8 11:42:34 2011 Set umask to 0077 Finding all logical volumes LV VG Attr LSize Origin Snap% Move Log Copy% Convert scandata case4t -wi-a- 1.69T Wiping internal VG cache $ sudo vgchange -a y Logging initialised at Sat Jan 8 11:43:14 2011 Set umask to 0077 Finding all volume groups Finding volume group "case4t" 1 logical volume(s) in volume group "case4t" already active 1 existing logical volume(s) in volume group "case4t" monitored Found volume group "case4t" Activated logical volumes in volume group "case4t" 1 logical volume(s) in volume group "case4t" now active Wiping internal VG cache $ ls /dev | grep case4t case4t $ ls /dev/mapper case4t-scandata control $ sudo fdisk -l /dev/case4t/scandata Disk /dev/case4t/scandata: 1860.5 GB, 1860584865792 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 226203 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00049bf5 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/case4t/scandata1 1 226203 1816975566 83 Linux $ sudo parted /dev/case4t/scandata print Model: Linux device-mapper (linear) (dm) Disk /dev/mapper/case4t-scandata: 1861GB Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B Partition Table: msdos Number Start End Size Type File system Flags 1 32.3kB 1861GB 1861GB primary ext3 $ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb Disk /dev/sdb: 1860.5 GB, 1860593254400 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 226204 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00000081 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sdb1 1 106955 859116006 83 Linux /dev/sdb2 113103 226204 908491815 83 Linux /dev/sdb3 106956 113102 49375777+ 83 Linux Partition table entries are not in disk order $ sudo parted /dev/sdb print Model: DELL PERC 6/i (scsi) Disk /dev/sdb: 1861GB Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B Partition Table: msdos Number Start End Size Type File system Flags 1 32.3kB 880GB 880GB primary reiserfs 3 880GB 930GB 50.6GB primary 2 930GB 1861GB 930GB primary I find it a bit strange that partition one above is said to be reiserfs, or if it matters -- it was previously reiserfs, but LVM recognizes it as a PV. To reiterate, neither /dev/mapper/case4t-scandatap1 (which I had used previously) nor /dev/case4t/scandata1 (as printed by fdisk) exists. And /dev/case4t/scandata (no partition number) cannot be mounted: $sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/case4t/scandata /mnt/new mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/mapper/case4t-scandata, missing codepage or helper program, or other error In some cases useful info is found in syslog - try dmesg | tail or so All I get on syslog is: [170059.538137] VFS: Can't find ext3 filesystem on dev dm-0. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer, Brian P.S. I am on Ubuntu GNU/Linux 2.6.28-11-server (Jaunty) (out of date, I know -- that's on the laundry list).

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• Company Review: Google Products

  Google, Inc offers an array of products and services to all of its end-users. However their search capabilities are the foundation for Google’s current success and their primary business focus. Currently, Google offers over twenty different search applications that allow users to search the internet for books, maps, videos, images, products and much more. Their product decisions have allowed users demands to be met while focusing on the free based model. This allows users to access Google data free of charge and indirectly gives Google a strong competitive advantage of other competitors along with the accuracy of the search results. According to Google, Inc, they offer the following types of searching capabilities: Alerts Get email updates on the topics of your choice Blog Search Find blogs on your favorite topics  Books Search the full text of books  Custom Search Create a customized search experience for your community  Desktop Search and personalize your computer  Dictionary Search for definitions of words and phrases Directory Search the web, organized by topic or category Earth Explore the world from your computer Finance Business info, news and interactive charts GOOG-411 Find and connect for free with businesses from your phone  Images Search for images on the web Maps View maps and directions News Search thousands of news stories Patent Search Search the full text of US Patents Product Search Search for stuff to buy Scholar Search scholarly papers Toolbar Add a search box to your browser Trends Explore past and present search trends Videos Search for videos on the web Web Search Search billions of web pages Web Search Features Find movies, music, stocks, books and more mapping Google’s free based business model is only one way it differentiates itself from its competition. There is also a strong focus on the accuracy of search results and the speed in which they are returned to the end-user. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a structured method used to help connect user needs to the design features of a project proposed to address those needs. This method is particularly useful in accounting for needs that are not easily articulated or precisely defined according to the U. S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. Due to the fact that QFD is so customer driven Google is always in a constant state of change in attempt to reengineer its search algorithms, and other dependant systems so that end-users requirements are constantly being met. Value engineering is a key example of this, Google is constantly trying to improve all aspects of its products, improve system maintainability, and system interoperability. Bridgefield Group defines value engineering as an organized methodology that identifies and selects the lowest lifecycle cost options in design, materials and processes that achieves the desired level of performance, reliability and customer satisfaction. In addition, it seeks to remove unnecessary costs in the above areas and is often a joint effort with cross-functional internal teams and relevant suppliers. Common issues that appear when developing large scale systems like Google’s search applications include modular design of a product and/or service and providing accurate value analysis. A design approach that adheres to four fundamental tenets of cohesiveness, encapsulation, self-containment, and high binding to design a system component as an independently operable unit subject to change is how the Open System Joint Task Force defines modular design. More specifically M. S. Schmaltz defines modular software design as having a large collection of statements strung together in one partition of in-line code; we segment or divide the statements into logical groups called modules. Each module performs one or two tasks, and then passes control to another module. By breaking up the code into "bite-sized chunks", so to speak, we are able to better control the flow of data and control. This is especially true in large software systems. Value analysis is a process to evaluate products and services based on effectiveness, safety, and cost. Value analysis involves assessing the quality as well as the cost of a product or service as defined by the Healthcare Financial Management Association.  “Operations Management deals with the design and management of products, processes, services and supply chains. It considers the acquisition, development, and utilization of resources that firms need to deliver the goods and services their clients want.” (MIT,2010) Google, Inc encourages an open environment between all employees, also known as Googlers. This is reinforced by a cross-section team or cross-functional teams comprised from multiple departments assigned to every project so that every department like marketing, finance, and quality assurance has input on every project. In addition, Google is known for their openness to new ideas regardless of the status or seniority of an employee. In fact, Google allows for 20% of an employee’s time can be devoted to developing new ideas and/or pet projects. HumTech.com defines a cross-functional team as a collection of people with varied levels of skills and experience brought together to accomplish a task. As the name implies, Cross-Functional Team members come from different organizational units. Cross-Functional Teams may be permanent or ad hoc. Google’s search application product strategy primarily focuses on mass customization. This is allows Google to create a base search application and allows results to be returned to the end-users quickly based on specific parameters and search settings. In addition, they also store the data that is returned in case other desire the same results based on other end-users supplying the same customized settings. This allows Google to appear to render search results in virtually real-time to the user while allowing for complete customization of the searching criteria. Greg Vogl, a professor at Uganda Martyrs University, defines mass customization as when a business gives its customers the opportunity to tailor its products or services to the customer's specifications. The IT staff at Google play a key role in ensuring that the search application’s product strategy is maintained simply because the IT staff designs, develops, and maintains all of their proprietary applications. In fact, they also maintain all network infrastructure to ensure that it is available to all end-users. References: http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/ http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/publications/ftat_user_guide/sec5.htm http://www.bridgefieldgroup.com/bridgefieldgroup/glos9.htm#V http://www.acq.osd.mil/osjtf/termsdef.html http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~mssz/Pascal-CGS2462/prog-dsn.html http://www.hfma.org/publications/business_caring_newsletter/exclusives/Supply+and+Inventory+Terms+Defined.htm http://mitsloan.mit.edu/omg/om-definition.php http://www.humtech.com/opm/grtl/ols/ols3.cfm http://www.gregvogl.net/courses/mis1/glossary.htm

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• Career development as a Software Developer without becoming a manager.

  - by albertpascual

  I’m a developer, I like to write new exciting code everyday, my perfect day at work is a day that when I wake up, I know that I have to write some code that I haven’t done before or to use a new framework/language/platform that is unknown to me. The best days in the office is when a project is waiting for me to architect or write. In my 15 years in the development field, I had to in order to get a better salary to manage people, not just to lead developers, to actually manage people. Something that I found out when I get into a management position is that I’m not that good at managing people, and not afraid to say it. I do not enjoy that part of the job, the worse one, takes time away from what I really like. Leading developers and managing people are very different things. I do like teaching and leading developers in a project. Yet most people believe, and is true in most companies, the way to get a better salary is to be promoted to a manager position. In order to advance in your career you need to let go of the everyday writing code and become a supervisor or manager. This is the path for developers after they become senior developers. As you get older and your family grows, the only way to hit your salary requirements is to advance your career to become a manager and get that manager salary. That path is the common in most companies, the most intelligent companies out there, have learned that promoting good developers mean getting a crappy manager and losing a good resource. Now scratch everything I said, because as I previously stated, I don’t see myself going to the office everyday and just managing people until is time to go home. I like to spend hours working in some code to accomplish a task, learning new platforms and languages or patterns to existing languages. Being interrupted every 15 minutes by emails or people stopping by my office to resolve their problems, is not something I could enjoy. All the sudden riding my motorcycle to work one cold morning over the Redlands Canyon and listening to .NET Rocks podcast, Michael “Doc” Norton explaining how to take control of your development career without necessary going to the manager’s track. I know, I should not have headphones under my helmet when riding a motorcycle in California. His conversation with Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell was just confirming everything I have ever did with actually more details and assuring that there are other paths. His method was simple yet most of us, already do many of those steps, Mr. Michael “Doc” Norton believe that it pays off on the long run, that finally companies prefer to pay higher salaries to those developers, yet I would actually think that many companies do not see developers that way, this is not true for bigger companies. However I do believe the value of those developers increase and most of the time, changing companies could increase their salary instead of staying in the same one. In short without even trying to get into the shadow of Mr. Norton and without following the steps in the order; you should love to learn new technologies, and then teach them to other geeks. I personally have learn many technologies and I haven’t stop doing that, I am a professor at UCR where I teach ASP.NET and Silverlight. Mr Norton continues that after than, you want to be involve in the development community, user groups, online forums, open source projects. I personally talk to user groups, I’m very active in forums asking and answering questions as well as for those I got awarded the Microsoft MVP for ASP.NET. After you accomplish all those, you should also expose yourself for what you know and what you do not know, learning a new language will make you humble again as well as extremely happy. There is no better feeling that learning a new language or pattern in your daily job. If you love your job everyday and what you do, I really recommend you to follow Michael’s presentation that he kindly share it on the link below. His confirmation is a refreshing, knowing that my future is not behind a desk where the computer screen is on my right hand side instead of in front of me. Where I don’t have to spent the days filling up performance forms for people and the new platforms that I haven’t been using yet are just at my fingertips. Presentation here. http://www.slideshare.net/LeanDog/take-control-of-your-development-career-michael-doc-norton?from=share_email_logout3 Take Control of Your Development Career Welcome! Michael “Doc” Norton @DocOnDev http://docondev.blogspot.com/ [email protected] Recovering Post Technical I love to learn I love to teach I love to work in teams I love to write code I really love to write code What about YOU? Do you love your job? Do you love your Employer? Do you love your Boss? What do you love? What do you really love? Take Control Take Control • Get Noticed • Get Together • Get Your Mojo • Get Naked • Get Schooled Get Noticed Get Noticed Know Your Business Get Noticed Get Noticed Understand Management Get Noticed Get Noticed Do Your Existing Job Get Noticed Get Noticed Make Yourself Expendable Get Together Get Together Join a User Group Get Together Help Run a User Group Get Together Start a User Group Get Your Mojo Get Your Mojo Kata Get Your Mojo Koans Get Your Mojo Breakable Toys Get Your Mojo Open Source Get Naked Get Naked Run with Group A Get Naked Do Something Different Get Naked Own Your Mistakes Get Naked Admit You Don’t Know Get Schooled Get Schooled Choose a Mentor Get Schooled Attend Conferences Get Schooled Teach a New Subject Get Started Read These (Again) Take Control of Your Development Career Thank You! Michael “Doc” Norton @DocOnDev http://docondev.blogspot.com/ [email protected] In a short summary, I recommend any developer to check his blog and more important his presentation, I haven’t been lucky enough to watch him live, I’m looking forward the day I have the opportunity. He is giving us hope in the future of developers, when I see some of my geek friends moving to position that in short years they begin to regret, I get more unsure of my future doing what I love. I would say that now is looking at the spectrum of companies that understand and appreciate developers. There are a few there, hopefully with time code sweat shops will start disappearing and being a developer will feed a family of 4. Cheers Al tweetmeme_url = 'http://weblogs.asp.net/albertpascual/archive/2010/12/07/career-development-as-a-software-developer-without-becoming-a-manager.aspx'; tweetmeme_source = 'alpascual';

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• Summit Time!

  - by Ajarn Mark Caldwell

  Boy, how time flies!  I can hardly believe that the 2011 PASS Summit is just one week away.  Maybe it snuck up on me because it’s a few weeks earlier than last year.  Whatever the cause, I am really looking forward to next week.  The PASS Summit is the largest SQL Server conference in the world and a fantastic networking opportunity thrown in for no additional charge.  Here are a few thoughts to help you maximize the week. Networking As Karen Lopez (blog | @DataChick) mentioned in her presentation for the Professional Development Virtual Chapter just a couple of weeks ago, “Don’t wait until you need a new job to start networking.”  You should always be working on your professional network.  Some people, especially technical-minded people, get confused by the term networking.  The first image that used to pop into my head was the image of some guy standing, awkwardly, off to the side of a cocktail party, trying to shmooze those around him.  That’s not what I’m talking about.  If you’re good at that sort of thing, and you can strike up a conversation with some stranger and learn all about them in 5 minutes, and walk away with your next business deal all but approved by the lawyers, then congratulations.  But if you’re not, and most of us are not, I have two suggestions for you.  First, register for Don Gabor’s 2-hour session on Tuesday at the Summit called Networking to Build Business Contacts.  Don is a master at small talk, and at teaching others, and in just those two short hours will help you with important tips about breaking the ice, remembering names, and smooth transitions into and out of conversations.  Then go put that great training to work right away at the Tuesday night Welcome Reception and meet some new people; which is really my second suggestion…just meet a few new people.  You see, “networking” is about meeting new people and being friendly without trying to “work it” to get something out of the relationship at this point.  In fact, Don will tell you that a better way to build the connection with someone is to look for some way that you can help them, not how they can help you. There are a ton of opportunities as long as you follow this one key point: Don’t stay in your hotel!  At the least, get out and go to the free events such as the Tuesday night Welcome Reception, the Wednesday night Exhibitor Reception, and the Thursday night Community Appreciation Party.  All three of these are perfect opportunities to meet other professionals with a similar job or interest as you, and you never know how that may help you out in the future.  Maybe you just meet someone to say HI to at breakfast the next day instead of eating alone.  Or maybe you cross paths several times throughout the Summit and compare notes on different sessions you attended.  And you just might make new friends that you look forward to seeing year after year at the Summit.  Who knows, it might even turn out that you have some specific experience that will help out that other person a few months’ from now when they run into the same challenge that you just overcame, or vice-versa.  But the point is, if you don’t get out and meet people, you’ll never have the chance for anything else to happen in the future. One more tip for shy attendees of the Summit…if you can’t bring yourself to strike up conversation with strangers at these events, then at the least, after you sit through a good session that helps you out, go up to the speaker and introduce yourself and thank them for taking the time and effort to put together their presentation.  Ideally, when you do this, tell them WHY it was beneficial to you (e.g. “Now I have a new idea of how to tackle a problem back at the office.”)  I know you think the speakers are all full of confidence and are always receiving a ton of accolades and applause, but you’re wrong.  Most of them will be very happy to hear first-hand that all the work they put into getting ready for their presentation is paying off for somebody. Training With over 170 technical sessions at the Summit, training is what it’s all about, and the training is fantastic!  Of course there are the big-name trainers like Paul Randall, Kimberly Tripp, Kalen Delaney, Itzik Ben-Gan and several others, but I am always impressed by the quality of the training put on by so many other “regular” members of the SQL Server community.  It is amazing how you don’t have to be a published author or otherwise recognized as an “expert” in an area in order to make a big impact on others just by sharing your personal experience and lessons learned.  I would rather hear the story of, and lessons learned from, “some guy or gal” who has actually been through an issue and came out the other side, than I would a trained professor who is speaking just from theory or an intellectual understanding of a topic. In addition to the three full days of regular sessions, there are also two days of pre-conference intensive training available.  There is an extra cost to this, but it is a fantastic opportunity.  Think about it…you’re already coming to this area for training, so why not extend your stay a little bit and get some in-depth training on a particular topic or two?  I did this for the first time last year.  I attended one day of extra training and it was well worth the time and money.  One of the best reasons for it is that I am extremely busy at home with my regular job and family, that it was hard to carve out the time to learn about the topic on my own.  It worked out so well last year that I am doubling up and doing two days or “pre-cons” this year. And then there are the DVDs.  I think these are another great option.  I used the online schedule builder to get ready and have an idea of which sessions I want to attend and when they are (much better than trying to figure this out at the last minute every day).  But the problem that I have run into (seems this happens every year) is that nearly every session block has two different sessions that I would like to attend.  And some of them have three!  ACK!  That won’t work!  What is a guy supposed to do?  Well, one option is to purchase the DVDs which are recordings of the audio and projected images from each session so you can continue to attend sessions long after the Summit is officially over.  Yes, many (possibly all) of these also get posted online and attendees can access those for no extra charge, but those are not necessarily all available as quickly as the DVD recording are, and the DVDs are often more convenient than downloading, especially if you want to share the training with someone who was not able to attend in person. Remember, I don’t make any money or get any other benefit if you buy the DVDs or from anything else that I have recommended here.  These are just my own thoughts, trying to help out based on my experiences from the 8 or so Summits I have attended.  There is nothing like the Summit.  It is an awesome experience, fantastic training, and a whole lot of fun which is just compounded if you’ll take advantage of the first part of this article and make some new friends along the way.

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• The Presentation Isn't Over Until It's Over

  - by Phil Factor

  The senior corporate dignitaries settled into their seats looking important in a blue-suited sort of way. The lights dimmed as I strode out in front to give my presentation.  I had ten vital minutes to make my pitch.  I was about to dazzle the top management of a large software company who were considering the purchase of my software product. I would present them with a dazzling synthesis of diagrams, graphs, followed by  a live demonstration of my software projected from my laptop.  My preparation had been meticulous: It had to be: A year’s hard work was at stake, so I’d prepared it to perfection.  I stood up and took them all in, with a gaze of sublime confidence. Then the laptop expired. There are several possible alternative plans of action when this happens     A. Stare at the smoking laptop vacuously, flapping ones mouth slowly up and down     B. Stand frozen like a statue, locked in indecision between fright and flight.     C. Run out of the room, weeping     D. Pretend that this was all planned     E. Abandon the presentation in favour of a stilted and tedious dissertation about the software     F. Shake your fist at the sky, and curse the sense of humour of your preferred deity I started for a few seconds on plan B, normally referred to as the ‘Rabbit in the headlamps of the car’ technique. Suddenly, a little voice inside my head spoke. It spoke the famous inane words of Yogi Berra; ‘The game isn't over until it's over.’ ‘Too right’, I thought. What to do? I ran through the alternatives A-F inclusive in my mind but none appealed to me. I was completely unprepared for this. Nowadays, longevity has since taught me more than I wanted to know about the wacky sense of humour of fate, and I would have taken two laptops. I hadn’t, but decided to do the presentation anyway as planned. I started out ignoring the dead laptop, but pretending, instead that it was still working. The audience looked startled. They were expecting plan B to be succeeded by plan C, I suspect. They weren’t used to denial on this scale. After my introductory talk, which didn’t require any visuals, I came to the diagram that described the application I’d written.  I’d taken ages over it and it was hot stuff. Well, it would have been had it been projected onto the screen. It wasn’t. Before I describe what happened then, I must explain that I have thespian tendencies.  My  triumph as Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady at the local operatic society is now long forgotten, but I remember at the time of my finest performance, the moment that, glancing up over the vast audience of  moist-eyed faces at the during the poignant  scene between Eliza and Higgins at the end, I  realised that I had a talent that one day could possibly  be harnessed for commercial use I just talked about the diagram as if it was there, but throwing in some extra description. The audience nodded helpfully when I’d done enough. Emboldened, I began a sort of mime, well, more of a ballet, to represent each slide as I came to it. Heaven knows I’d done my preparation and, in my mind’s eye, I could see every detail, but I had to somehow project the reality of that vision to the audience, much the same way any actor playing Macbeth should do the ghost of Banquo.  My desperation gave me a manic energy. If you’ve ever demonstrated a windows application entirely by mime, gesture and florid description, you’ll understand the scale of the challenge, but then I had nothing to lose. With a brief sentence of description here and there, and arms flailing whilst outlining the size and shape of  graphs and diagrams, I used the many tricks of mime, gesture and body-language  learned from playing Captain Hook, or the Sheriff of Nottingham in pantomime. I set out determinedly on my desperate venture. There wasn’t time to do anything but focus on the challenge of the task: the world around me narrowed down to ten faces and my presentation: ten souls who had to be hypnotized into seeing a Windows application:  one that was slick, well organized and functional I don’t remember the details. Eight minutes of my life are gone completely. I was a thespian berserker.  I know however that I followed the basic plan of building the presentation in a carefully controlled crescendo until the dazzling finale where the results were displayed on-screen.  ‘And here you see the results, neatly formatted and grouped carefully to enhance the significance of the figures, together with running trend-graphs!’ I waved a mime to signify an animated  window-opening, and looked up, in my first pause, to gaze defiantly  at the audience.  It was a sight I’ll never forget. Ten pairs of eyes were gazing in rapt attention at the imaginary window, and several pairs of eyes were glancing at the imaginary graphs and figures.  I hadn’t had an audience like that since my starring role in  Beauty and the Beast.  At that moment, I realized that my desperate ploy might work. I sat down, slightly winded, when my ten minutes were up.  For the first and last time in my life, the audience of a  ‘PowerPoint’ presentation burst into spontaneous applause. ‘Any questions?’ ‘Yes,  Have you got an agent?’ Yes, in case you’re wondering, I got the deal. They bought the software product from me there and then. However, it was a life-changing experience for me and I have never ever again trusted technology as part of a presentation.  Even if things can’t go wrong, they’ll go wrong and they’ll kill the flow of what you’re presenting.  if you can’t do something without the techno-props, then you shouldn’t do it.  The greatest lesson of all is that great presentations require preparation and  ‘stage-presence’ rather than fancy graphics. They’re a great supporting aid, but they should never dominate to the point that you’re lost without them.

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