Date: 06/29/06 (Java Web)    Keywords: programming, java

Simon Phipps, chief open-source officer for Sun, said the Sun is “months” away from releasing its trademark Java programming language under an open-source license. He said Sun is ruminating over two major issues: how to keep Java compatible and ensure no particular company uses market forces as muscle for its own implementation, a move that [...]

Source: http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/open-source-java-months-away-says-sun-executive/

Date: 06/30/06 (Java Web)    Keywords: programming, java

Most Java programmers attempt to use Ruby like they use Java, similar to the mistakes C/C++ programmers commit when transitioning to Java. However Ruby provides a cleaner programming paradigm which if embibed can be effectively used to solve your problems. But you need a good introduction, right? Here is a good introduction to Ruby for Java [...]

Source: http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/introduction-to-ruby-for-java-developers/

Date: 07/08/06 (Computer Geeks)    Keywords: programming, software, database, java

I am currently attending uc berkeley majoring in computer science. As part of the program at Berkeley, we get a lot of choice in the upper division computer science courses we take. Two upper division cs courses get chosen from a short list of six, two more from a short list of about fifteen, and two more from a long list which consists of technical electives in various related disciplines like math, engineering, and operations research. This variety is great -- if not a little overwhelming.

I'm just an undergraduate student with no clue of the Big Wide World around me; I want to make choices that are both practical and fun. When I graduate, I want to either work on a software team, or as a server-side internet developer. Here are some of the core courses I am thinking about taking - only there's not room in my schedule to take them. So my question is, I assume people reading this have spent some time in the Big Wide World, so, what courses would you look for in someone you were hiring into your company? (oh, and the mandatory courses I've already taken are Structure and Interpretation of computer programs, in Scheme, Data Structures, in Java, and Machine Structures, in C and Assembly.)  Let's say you were sitting across the table from me, looking at my resume. Which one(s) of these courses would most pique your interest? Assume that as a student, I'm interested in all of the courses listed below, so the advice "take what you are most interested in" unfortunately won't help me much. Thanks for any feedback!

List of courses on my personal short list, needs to be pruned:
User Interface Design and Development
Software Engineering
Foundations of Computer Graphics
Operating Systems and System Programming
Programming Languages and Compilers
Introduction to Database Systems
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Introduction to Communication Networks
Computing with Data
Industrial Design and Human Factors
Industrial and Commercial Data Systems
Introduction to Design of Human Work Systems and Organizations

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/computergeeks/946943.html

Date: 07/11/06 (Computer Geeks)    Keywords: programming

I recently got a Cingular 2125 that has WM 5 Smartphone Edition on it. I want to learn how to do some programming for it. Thing is though that there's alot of literature online about SP 2003 programming, but not alot on WM 5. I did do some reading on SP 2003, but is all that basically useless given the new WM5? Or are the programming styles similar, akin more to .Net 1.0 - 1.1 vs 1.1 - 2.0?

Basically can I take 2003 knowledge and apply it to developing programs for WM5? Or are the two of them completely separate beasts? Thanks.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/computergeeks/948574.html

Date: 07/12/06 (C Sharp)    Keywords: programming

I recently got a Cingular 2125 that has WM 5 Smartphone Edition on it. I want to learn how to do some programming for it. Thing is though there's alot of literature online about SP 2003 programming, but not alot on WM 5. I did do some reading on SP 2003, but is all that basically useless given the new WM5? Or are the programming styles similar, akin more to .Net 1.0 - 1.1 vs 1.1 - 2.0?

Basically can I take 2003 knowledge and apply it to developing programs for WM5? Or are the two of them completely separate beasts? Thanks.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/csharp/69855.html

Date: 07/14/06 (Algorithms)    Keywords: programming

(This question doesn't use any code, but I do think it's related to logic programming, so is included in this community.)

Say you have sets of things, so that each set contains different elements and each set has n things.
(1 2 3)
(a b c)
(x y z)

How do you determine how many possible ways there are to arrange the items in the set?
For instance, one way is:
( (1 a x) (2 b y) (3 c z))

As it turns out, I've counted the number of arrangements for 3 sets that each have 3 items, and there are 36 of them. This went against my first instinct that there would be 27. But now I understand why there are 36 though: imagine you had 3 sets of 2 items each. There are 6 solutions to that problem. There are 6 ways to permute (1 2 3). And 6 * 6 = 36.

I am wondering if there is a general formula for determining how many possibilities there are. For instance, if I have 4 sets of 6 items each, how many possible solutions are there? 7 sets of 5 elements each? And so on?

The answer has computing implications, in that the magnitude of the answer needs to be taken into consideration when planning out a program I'm writing. Thanks for any help!

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/algorithms/81789.html

Date: 07/15/06 (Java Web)    Keywords: programming

A free 10-week “AJAX Programming” online course is about to start from August 4th, 2006. This course is for anyone who wants to learn AJAX for the first time or increase their knowledge on AJAX. In this 10-week course, students learn basic concept of AJAX as well as how to use various AJAX frameworks [...]

Source: http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/free-10-week-ajax-programming-online-course/

Date: 07/19/06 (Java Web)    Keywords: php, programming, java, google

Java increased its lead as the leading programming language according to TIOBE’s index. PHP maintained its 4th position while Ruby moved up 13 positions to 17th. From this month they will also measure the hits of Google Blogs. The languages that benefit from this are Java, Visual Basic, Ruby, and VB.NET. Link

Source: http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/java-gains-in-popularity/

Date: 08/02/06 (Algorithms)    Keywords: programming

Hello everyone. Longtime member-first time poster here. I was wondering if any of you could aid me in some research I'm doing while on my summer student placement. I am attempting to find a suitable algorithm that satifies the following requirements for use in a project:

The algorithm is to be used for returning a set of 0-1 decisions from a set of options.

There are an unlimited number of possible items (aka Interventions) to choose from, but for the purpose of aiding the search for a suitable algorithm an arbitrary limit of 1000 has been chosen.

The decision can only be a sequence of Yes-No/0-1 answers.

The may be some dependencies involved between items.

Can support up to 8 constraints, of differing designations i.e. Cost, Risk or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as the metric of water leakage.

Only one variable can be minimised/maximised at any one time e.g. minimise risk for set cost or vice versa.

It certainly seems to be a binary integer programming problem. I have looked into the possibility of using a 0-1 Multidimensional Knapsack Problem (MKP) but have found little information on how to model one, or a decent example. I'm using ILOG OPL Dev Studio 4.2.

Thanks in advance.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/algorithms/81985.html

Date: 08/02/06 (C Sharp)    Keywords: programming, java, spam

A little off topic:

Anyone in the Houston area, or know anyone in the Houston area, looking for a Java or C# programming job? Experienced programmers only, please. This is not spam, my company works with both C# and Java, we need programmers with knowledge in either, or preferably both. If you are interested or know of someone who is please comment and I will send you my email address.
Thanks!

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/csharp/71578.html

Date: 08/02/06 (Asp Dot Net)    Keywords: programming, java, spam

A little off topic:

Anyone in the Houston area, or know anyone in the Houston area, looking for a Java or C# programming job? Experienced programmers only, please. This is not spam, my company works with both C# and Java, we need programmers with knowledge in either, or preferably both. If you are interested or know of someone who is please comment and I will send you my email address.
Thanks!

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/aspdotnet/73319.html

Date: 08/04/06 (C Sharp)    Keywords: programming

I may have a few development projects to undertake in the next while which I will be using to build up my work experience to acquire a programming job in the future. By education, I'm primarily a C++ programmer. But in this day and age, I find that a lot of the jobs at my level (entry-level) are looking for everything but C++.

My question is whether or not C# has enough of a following to make it a good language to gain experience in, (as in, are there a reasonable number of jobs out there for entry level C# programmers), or if I should be turning my focuses elsewhere?

The applications I'd be writing as part of my job will involve standard business practices (scheduling, POS, etc).

Any insight people can offer is much appreciated :)

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/csharp/72540.html

Date: 08/07/06 (Computer Geeks)    Keywords: programming

I'm looking to delve into programming for games. I wanted to go and develop maps and stuff for Quake 4, but for whatever reason I can't get the editor to work correctly so that's on the backburner indefinately. I was wondering if anyone knows if its easier to develop stuff using the Source engine, specifically Counter-Strike, or the Unreal engine (used in UT2k4.) I'm not looking to make the next commercial mod, but I would like to be able to create my own maps with a little bit of ease, and then move on from there.
As far as I go, I haven't built maps since using the Build Engine with Duke Nukem 3d, and I have some programming experience, specifically with .Net stuff. I'm not expecting to create Dust3 or Face4, but I'm in desperate need of a way to stimulate myself, as work is NOT doing it for me anymore. TIA.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/computergeeks/963011.html

Date: 08/30/06 (Web Technology)    Keywords: programming

Men's cable TV channel launches broadband player, offers original online programming, content tied to cable lineup.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6110826.html

Date: 09/05/06 (Open Source)    Keywords: programming

Open source really is all about programming. Programmers work hard in the fall, and in the spring, and in the winter. So open source events happen when people are most likely able to get to them.

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=774

Date: 09/05/06 (Open Source)    Keywords: programming

What we need is something exciting, something in AJAX, that will teach the rudiments of AJAX programming. Something we can teach in high schools or in junior colleges. Followed up by contests, with prizes, and by big challenges which can lead to jobs.

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=776

Date: 09/18/06 (Web Technology)    Keywords: programming

Video sharing site will help distribute Warner's music videos, artist interviews and original programming.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6116579.html

Date: 09/25/06 (PHP Community)    Keywords: php, programming

Here is the article in question

Basically, his argument is: PHP doesn't have multi-threading, and that means it's "doomed" as a programming language. Er, yeah...

If anyone here wants to follow up on the entry in question, accounts on Tech Republic are free.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/php/497074.html

Date: 09/25/06 (Web Development)    Keywords: programming, browser

I have this site which clearly needs optimization and I am working on that part. However, there is also an issue whereby the content is updated frequently and my boss is pretty upset about the fact that at times it requires a hard refresh of the browser to see the changes. While most of the internet viewing world understands this, he's worried that the client will grumble about it. And his worries are probably well-founded, if I know this client.

So I got it in my brain that I should consider some sort of tag/script/http programming that will refresh content on its own. Does this exist? What can I do? I have, so far, tagged the site not to cache but, of course, this causes problems with slow loading. On that topic, I had considered a preloader, but am not fond of having to use those and therefore, my images will have to be optimized and I must find a way to use less images. With the brain of a designer and not a developer, I did not employ the correct foresight in this regard. No big deal, there's always time for fixing that so long as the site remains online virtually constantly.

And so, what I want is to remove the no cache tag and find a way to "expire" the site and force the internet to reload fresh data as often as possible. Meta tags seem to be the easiest option, but after some extensive reading, I'm under the impression that they aren't always effective. I also did some reading about writing HTTP header data but I am also unaware of  how this is done.

Basically, if the client looks at the site and then over the course of the coming hours, I update the content, when he looks the next time, I need for him to see the new content on the first try, no refresh needed.

Any ideas?

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdev/355636.html

Date: 09/27/06 (Java Web)    Keywords: programming, xml

Allen Holub (Author of Compiler Design in C and famous OO Guru) said: “XML is perhaps the worst programming language ever conceived. I’m not talking about XML as a data-description language, which was its original design. I’m talking about perverting XML for programming applications. It’s inappropriate to use XML as a scripting language (e.g., ANT), [...]

Source: http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/say-no-to-xml-as-programming-language/