TheJoey.Net

As I said in the last two posts, Google I/O was truly inspiring. It got me to thinking about how I program, what languages I chose to do it in, and what I can do to become a better software developer. Two things I will be doing are getting more proficient with Java (especially for my Master’s Thesis) and learning Python. I’ve begun going through and learning some of the syntax and nuances of Python and found I follow a pretty similar (and effective) pattern for each language I learn. (It’s worth noting that in the following, I assume the reader has at the very least read about programming and has some language to learn in mind.)

First, pick up a book. I usually go with the for the Absolute Beginner series. It taught me PHP/MySQL and did it in a very effective, modular way. The authors don’t assume you know how to program, but the books aren’t so slow that if you have, you’re bored. They also provide the tools you need to set up your environment, resources, and all of the book’s sample code on a CD. Each chapter takes you through 2 or 3 smaller programs, and builds a full one at the end. In my opinion, they have the perfect combo of code and text.

Then, build one program. Just one- and continue to expand it as you learn new syntax. I build a “Guess the number” game. It’s a simple problem with an easy solution that you can expand on. My plan of action for this program goes like this, following along with the book I’m using.

• Basic print statement. Something like "I'm thinking of a number..."
• Variable assignment. Hard code the first number you want the user to guess. That way you know the right number and can check your logic for the next step. x= 3.
• Get input from the user/store it in a variable. guess= get_input("What's your guess").
• If statements. If guess == x: print something, else: print something else.
• While loop. Do something like prompt to user to see if they want to guess again, accepting yes or no. while keepGoing != no: doing it again

These five basic steps show you the important basics- input, output, and flow of control. The next few steps could be language dependent, but you can also take some liberties and get creative.

• Change x to a random value. If the user wants to guess again, the number will now change. x= rand(0, 10).
• Allow the user to enter five guesses at a time. This will do a couple of things for you- make use of an array, and use a for loop.

while i <= 5:
   guesses[i]= get_input("What's one of your guesses?")
   i= i+1

for guess as guesses:
   if guess == x: print something,
   else: print something else

• Write a function/method to check if the guess is correct. It might be a trivial thing to do here, but you’re really just doing it to learn the syntax.
• Create a ‘Guesser’ class. This of course assumes you’re using an object oriented language. Write one class with functions to prompt the user, store the input and make the guess, etc.
• Finally, try storing the results in a file. Keep a counter for how many times the user, plays, and for each time, store each guess, the actual answer, and if they got it right or not.

With these steps, you’re learning a new control structure, how to use arrays, write to files, and most importantly how to modularize your code through functions and classes. I think with that, you will know enough basic stuff about the language to go off and write some other less trivial programs.

After that, it’s really up to you to dig deeper into the particular language you are learning to really make use of its power. The Absolute Beginner books take you beyond the above exercises and do some language specific things. With PHP, it was creating a web app and connecting to a MySQL database. With Python, it looks like you build a basic game. With Java, you should probably explore Generics or threads. Either way, once you learn the basic syntax, it’s time to harness the true power of the language.

My last piece of advice is to pick up the O’Reilly cookbook for that particular language. They’re usually for a more advanced user of the language, but are extremely helpful in doing specific things. The PHP and Java Cookbooks have helped me immensely.

posted on June 2nd, 2008 in Code, Computer Stuff| No Comments »

Surprise, shock and amazament are just some of the reactions I got when I told my friends this: “I made the switch to a Mac.” Now I’ve express my excitement about Macs before, but never actually thought I’d make the switch. The catalyst was that my third Windows laptop in 5 years crapped out on me. I knew it was time for a change.

There are probably numerous articles out there about ‘making the switch’ and peoples’ experiences, good and bad, about it, So I won’t do that. I will be writing more frequently about stuff for Mac, and more than likely comparing them to stuff for Windows, because deep down I’m still a Microsoft man. But at four days, I will give my first impressions.

• This will obviously take some getting used to. The interface is drastically different from Windows and I was actually able to pick up on stuff pretty quickly. But the whole file system, app navigation, etc. is not native to me (but I’ve got to say the app navigation is awesome).
• Spaces and Expose are my best friends. It makes app navigation so easy. Also, F3, which shrinks all of the windows so you can easily select one- genius.
• The Dashboard. The widgets are great. I thought I had everything at my fingertips with a simple Google search. Now I literally have all the info I want with the push of a button.
• As a programmer I feel the development environment will be very different, and hard to adjust.
• However, with amazing Mac only programs like Coda and Things, I think I’ll survive.
• I still hate iTunes. Sorry guys, I just don’t like it. I need to find a good alternative (hopefully Microsoft will get on releasing WMP 11 or Zune Player for Mac soon, but I won’t count on it).
• Syncing my Blackberry seems to be a pain. I did it once successfully and now it gets stuck when I try to sync my Tasks. I’ll have to do something about that. I hope PocketMac supports Entourage 12 (2008) soon.

Well those are my first impressions. I’d like to do a write up on Coda, Things, and some other applications when I have time, but with the Spring semester starting in less than two weeks, I can’t promise anything.

posted on January 19th, 2008 in Computer Stuff, Software, Tech| No Comments »

Last week, popular web development website A List Apart (ALA) released the results of it’s 2007 Web Design Survey. I’ve spent the last few days reading over the 82 page document and found a good amount of the results interesting.

• Over 80% of the respondents were White Males
• 48% came from the USA
• When asked if they were excited by their field, 43.6% said Fequently, 35% said Very Frequently, meaning 78.6% like what they do most of the time.
• About 20% want to start their own business as their next move.
• Of that 20%, 89.9% were men.
• 47.9% are in the salary range of $20,000 - $80,000, where 52.3% have been in the industry 5 years or less.
• 1/2 of the people in my age group (21-24) make less than $20,000. Something to consider is most people who graduate college are 21 or 22.
• ALA found that Job Satisfaction increases with age. I think this is because when starting out, (for me anyway), you’re not doing the cool and exciting stuff you’d like to. My internships consisted mostly of fixing HTML, and not any real development.
• Of those who saw an age bias, Under 21 and 21-24 combined made up for 70.2% of the respondents.
• 22% of female respondents saw gender bias, where only 1.5% of male respondents did. (NOTE- that is 22% of the females, which made up ~16% and 1.5% of the males, which made up ~84%).

What was most surprising to me was how big the gap between male and female respondents is. I knew the computing field is male dominated, but I didn’t think it was that one sided. This survey also gave me a pretty good idea of what I can expect as a salary once I get out of Grad School. You can download and review the results here, and if you are a web professional, I strongly recommend it. It’s extremely informative.

posted on October 23rd, 2007 in Computer Stuff, Design, Links, News, Thoughts, Websites| No Comments »

Over the summer I did a good amount of web design. I have been developing websites for almost 7 years now and have been inventing and reinventing my process as I’ve gotten older, more mature, and a better developer. This summer I got to evaluate my process to see what I should change about it- how I can make it better. I’ve come up with a five step process to take me from start to finish. Number one, Planning, is by far the most important part.

A problem I often run into is that user requirements, what a client defines as necessary for their website, change a lot. Recently one client I was working with changed the entire scope of the site, changing the necessary information being posted on it and thus changing just about everything about the site. That is why it is critical to nail down the details as much as possible before any coding starts. Sit down with your client, face-to-face when possible, and ask them to describe in as much detail as possible what they want their website to accomplish. Take down notes and write any of your questions or thoughts down. Then try to formulate something for them. This doesn’t have to be on the spot, and probably shouldn’t be. Schedule a follow-up meeting to make sure you interpreted what the client said correctly.

At the follow-up meeting, propose something. Most clients will not be computer savvy and will rely on your input. Don’t be afraid to make suggestions as to what you think will work or more importantly, what won’t. They see you as the expert (because you are) and the input is usually welcomed and valued. It’s also important at this follow-up to make any final pre-development changes and tie up lose ends. Add the proposed website/requirements to a contract and both of you sign it and initial each page.

Once this happens, and you have requirements nailed down and decided on, it’s time to move to part II- the mock up.

posted on September 1st, 2007 in Computer Stuff, Design| No Comments »

Twitter, a website that allows you to post short (140 characters or less) updates, has been becoming more and more of a productivity tool. I have been a Twitter user since April, but haven’t really started using it until just recently. With integration for Google Calendar, Remember the Milk and GTalk among other things, using Twitter isn’t just a fun little app anymore. It’s a tour de force of productivity for those who use it right.

First thing first: Anything I can do from IM is a great thing. While it’s AIM support has been on and off and is currently off indefinitely, the recently added GTalk support is awesome. I can send updates from GMail or my desktop quite easily now, as well as eliminate those direct message emails I get by just allowing Twitter messages to go to IM. Plus, I have GTalk for my Blackberry, which is an added bonus.

With a number of different bots, I have all the information I want at my fingertips. Weather, sports, headlines, etc. Not to mention an alarm with Twitter Timer, integration with GCal and especially Remember the Milk. My favorite Tasks web app got better because now I can easily, from anywhere, send a task to my phone.

Finally, with TwitterBerry, I can easily send updates from my blackberry, without the extra resources required for GTalk. This program was the final nail in the “Use Twitter to GTD” coffin. In the coming days I will be scouring the internet for more Twitter Resources, and frequently checking Retweet for news on new Twitter Bots. So…How do you use Twitter?

posted on August 4th, 2007 in Computer Stuff, Productivity, Websites| No Comments »