Polydeuces said:

Just went on Reddit and found alot of resources, tips, etc. Definitely recommend checking that site. There's even a reddit for daily programming challenges.

Click to expand...

Zoe said:

What's a good, free, source control/defect tracker/document management combination? Bonus points for VS integration.

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TheFatOne said:

So GAF I'm going to be learning Java this semester at school. I want to buy at least one really good Java book. Does anyone have any recommendations? What can I do to become a better programmer GAF other than practice. I really want to make sure I understand why things are the way they are, and why they work they way they do.

Click to expand...

Polydeuces said:

Just went on Reddit and found alot of resources, tips, etc. Definitely recommend checking that site. There's even a reddit for daily programming challenges.

Click to expand...

ferr said:

Is it your first programming class? Once you've gotten your feet wet and can handle creating things that you enjoy, independent practice becomes easy, but it takes a couple of classes to get to that comfort level.

If it's your first class, just try not to drown. Otherwise, code as much as you can, make games, make stupid programs that amuse you, etc, to become familiar with a language.

Click to expand...

MJLord said:

Hey guys I'm having some trouble writing a stack class template in C++.
I'm going to leave the code here for you to critique but the main points I'm struggling on are removing data when something is popped off the stack and I'm not sure if I am creating new nodes in a correct fashion.

Code:

#include <iostream>

template <class T>
class List {

private:
	struct treeNode{
		T data;
		treeNode *next;
	};

	treeNode start;

public:

	List(T rootData)
	{
		start.data = rootData;
		start->next = null;
	};

	void Push(T data)
	{
		treeNode temp = start;
		start.data = data;
		start->next = makeNode(temp.data);		
	}

	T Pop()
	{
		treeNode temp = start;
		start.data = temp->&left.data;

	}


	treeNode* makeNode(T nodeData)
	{
		treeNode newNode = new treeNode;

		newNode.data = nodeData;
		newNode->next = null;

		return &newNode;
	};
};

Click to expand...

TheFatOne said:

So GAF I'm going to be learning Java this semester at school. I want to buy at least one really good Java book. Does anyone have any recommendations? What can I do to become a better programmer GAF other than practice. I really want to make sure I understand why things are the way they are, and why they work they way they do.

Click to expand...

Godslay said:

I refresh my Java knowledge from time to time. I recently went through a SCJP book, which was a very good book. 6 is now 7, but I'm not sure if the book has updated yet. This is the book, it assumes you have read through something like HeadFirst Java:

http://www.amazon.com/SCJP-Certified-Programmer-Java-310-065/dp/0071591060/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338420701&sr=1-1


My personal favorite in order to learn the language a little more in-depth was the complete reference, which is surprisingly readable and technical at the same time. Additionally, it fills in Java 7 features which the previous book didn't cover:

http://www.amazon.com/Java-The-Complete-Reference-Edition/dp/0071606300/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338420839&sr=1-1

If you want videos, this series from UC Berkeley is very good, and covers a ton of material. You start at the basics and work with common data structures and algorithms in Java:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4BBB74C7D2A1049C

Click to expand...

jeremy70583 said:

So I'm finally going to get serious about working on a side project. I have narrowed it down to either web programming, or an iOS app. I'm looking to build a home setup. Work gives me a laptop, but I want to get something permanent at home. What would be recommended, build a desktop or buy an iMac? I do have a 27 inch monitor that I used to game on, but don't have a stand, guess I could mount it on a wall. Do you guys think a 27 inch iMac and 27 inch secondary monitor would be enough real estate?

Click to expand...

ferr said:

Depends on how you want to go about doing iOS programming. I'm looking into Unity 3D which is able to output to multiple platforms like iOS in a Windows based environment. No need for an apple environment until the i'm-taking-this-really-seriously stage.

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AbortedWalrusFetus said:

This is more of a question for DBA GAF than Programmer GAF, but perhaps some of you may be able to steer me in the right direction.

Recently we purchased a new server for our development/development database.

Specs:
2x 2.4GHz Intel Xeon E5-2609
32GB RAM
3x 146GB 15K RPM SAS Drives configured in RAID 5
OS: Windows Server 2008R2 Service Pack 1 64-bit

The old server is as following:
1x 2.8 GHz Intel Xeon (5+ year old processor, and I think despite the clock speed it's slower than the new)
4GB RAM
4x HDD 7200 RPM IDE drives in RAID 1, I think ~300GB capacity with the mirroring
OS: Windows Server 2003 32-bit (does this even come in 64-bit?)

Anyway, we have SQL Server 2008 on the old system and SQL Server 2008R2 on the new system.

We have a process that does about 50000 row updates per minute, and has been tested at up to 150,000 row updates per minute. On our old server configuration we have absolutely no problem running the process, neither at the 50k load or the 150k load. On our new machine, which has massively better specs, the process runs so slowly that we get a queue overflow and eventually a failure within about 30 minutes of running the process at best.

I simply can't figure it out. It's properly indexed, we've checked the query execution plans and they're the same on both systems, etc. For some reason the new hardware is simply processing updates at probably around a quarter of the speed of the old server. I've chalked it up to a configuration issue at this point, because it doesn't make sense that it could be a hardware issue. The only hardware issue I could think of is that the new server is configured in RAID 5, which could have a write penalty, but the drives are twice as fast as the old 7200RPM drives, and there's so much more memory that it should be able to minimize the amount of writes it actually needs to make, plus it's got a hardware RAID controller which should help alleviate some of the impact from the RAID 5. I've checked, SQL Server is using around 29GB of the available 32GB, so it's not as if some other process is hogging the memory.

So basically, configuration. Anyone have any tips as to what I may be doing wrong in the configuration to make my new server perform so poorly compared to the 5+ year old machine?

Click to expand...

MJLord said:

Hey guys I'm having some trouble writing a stack class template in C++.
I'm going to leave the code here for you to critique but the main points I'm struggling on are removing data when something is popped off the stack and I'm not sure if I am creating new nodes in a correct fashion.

Code:

linked list and stack code

Click to expand...

private:
	struct treeNode{
		T data;
		struct treeNode *next;
	};
	struct treeNode *top=NULL;

T Pop()
	{
		if (NULL == top){
		return NULL;
		}
		
		struct treeNode *temp = top; //store top in temp
		top = top->next; //pop current top off stack
            	return temp->data; //return node data
	}

jeremy70583 said:

Do you guys think a 27 inch iMac and 27 inch secondary monitor would be enough real estate?

Click to expand...

Kinitari said:

So I am almost done school, and I am now in the process of looking ahead toward employment. I'm spending a LOT of my time learning languages and whatnot, trying to get a grasp of some useful skillsets before I start looking. I want to know what advice GAF can give me, in terms of what I should start doing to increase the odds of my employment!

For market health sake, I live in Toronto - so while it's competitive, there are many many opportunities available for me

1. Skills
Right now I'll take next to -any- job I can, just to get into the field, but I also want to have the right foundation of skills to make that possible. As it is, with languages/skills/environments I'm comfy in:

C#, ASP.NET
HTML, CSS, javascript, jQuery
SQLServer, Oracle

What I am currently reading/working on getting good at:

MVC (specifically MVC4 with Razor, razor is a fucking godsend btw)
Linq/Lambda
XML/XSLT
more jQuery (about halfway through Novice to Ninja, amazing book)

What I think I should probably be reading up on more:

JSON/AJAX

2. What the fuck do I do?
Now, with my skillset - am I going in the direction with the stuff I am trying to pick up? Is there anything in particular someone who is looking to apply for entry level jobs should be looking to focus on? Is it normal to feel like I don't know -anything- when looking at the sheer amount of content out there?

What should I be looking to do for a portfolio? Is one even necessary? What sort of questions should I be expecting if I get an interview?

This is all pretty overwhelming to me, as this will be my transition from working crappy retail jobs, to working like... a salary job. The idea is terrifying to me, and I want to really be impressive, advice please!

Click to expand...

dabig2 said:

Code:

T Pop()
	{
		if (NULL == top){
		return NULL;
		}
		
		struct treeNode *temp = top; //store top in temp
		top = top->next; //pop current top off stack
            	return temp->data; //return node data
	}

Click to expand...

Notrollious said:

Any tips on learning new languages, or is it just practice practice practice? I'm trying to learn Objective C, and I purchased an ebook on it.

Just keep pressing on with examples I guess?

Click to expand...

Notrollious said:

Any tips on learning new languages, or is it just practice practice practice? I'm trying to learn Objective C, and I purchased an ebook on it.

Just keep pressing on with examples I guess?

Click to expand...

Slavik81 said:

In C++, this extra 'struct' keyword is unnecessary. Since it's also less clear to add it than to leave it out, I wouldn't bother to include it.

Click to expand...

Zoe said:

What's a good, free, source control

Click to expand...

Zoe said:

defect tracker

Click to expand...

Zoe said:

document management combination?

Click to expand...

InsaneZero said:

Git

Bugzilla and Git

Bugzilla and a specially organized Git repository?


I haven't even heard of that last one until now.

Click to expand...

Megalodactyl said:

Do you guys do anything to get you into the right mindset to program? I've been having trouble getting into the right frame of mind lately.

Click to expand...

MJLord said:

Code:

	treeNode* makeNode(T nodeData, treeNode* nextPointer)
	{
		treeNode newNode;

		newNode.data = nodeData;
		newNode.next = nextPointer;

		return &newNode;
	};

Click to expand...

	treeNode* makeNode(T nodeData, treeNode* nextPointer)
	{
		treeNode* newNode = new treeNode();

		newNode->data = nodeData;
		newNode->next = nextPointer;

		return newNode;
	};

Megalodactyl said:

Do you guys do anything to get you into the right mindset to program? I've been having trouble getting into the right frame of mind lately.

Click to expand...

Apoc29 said:

To make it work, you could do this:

Code:

	treeNode* makeNode(T nodeData, treeNode* nextPointer)
	{
		treeNode* newNode = new treeNode();

		newNode->data = nodeData;
		newNode->next = nextPointer;

		return newNode;
	};

Using the new operator creates the object on the heap, but then you'd need to make sure you call delete on the node when you're done with it to prevent a memory leak.

Click to expand...

Lathentar said:

Code:

	List(T rootData)
	{
		top.data = rootData;
		top->next = NULL;
	};

How does this even compile?

Click to expand...

MJLord said:

Code:

List(T rootData)
	{
		top.data = rootData;
		top->next = NULL;
	};

This doesn't work as a constructor. You are assigning a variable to a pointer to nowhere. It should be

Code:

List(T rootData)
	{
                top = new treeNode();
		top.data = rootData;
		top->next = NULL;
	};

This way you are reserving space to your new top value.

Code:

void Push(T data)
	{
		if(top != NULL) //if top is empty
		{
			treeNode temp = *top; //store top into temp
			top->data = data; //new data is placed into top
			top->next = makeNode(temp.data, temp.next); //create new node and point top to it 	
		} else {
			top->data = data;
			top->next = NULL;
		}
	}

If top is null, you should create it first reserving space like the previous code snippet I posted or using the makeNode function corrected by Apoc29.

Code:

T Pop()
	{		
		treeNode *temp = top; //store top in temp
		top = top->next; //pop current top off stack
                return temp->data; //return node data
	}

You should delete the old top pointer because you are not freeing the memory occuped by it. Do something like:

Code:

T Pop()
	{		
		T data = top->data; //store top data in an auxiliary var
                treeNode* temp = top; //store top node in temp
		top = top->next; //pop current top off stack
                delete temp; //Free the allocated memory
                return data; //return node data
	}

Click to expand...

onesvenus said:

And finally just a nomenclature advice, what you are building is not a list. When you say list there are some assumptions done, like for example that it supports random insertion and traversal.
With just pop and push methods it's a stack.
In general, take a look at how pointers work and understand them. They are a very useful tool but they can also be a pain when not dealing with them correctly.

Click to expand...

Notrollious said:

Alright I'm running into an issue in xcode where I run my program, but I get this:

and then it gives me a bunch of stuff in assembly language.

Code:

int main(int argc, const char * argv[])
{

    @autoreleasepool
    {
        char *choice = NULL;
        double *temperature =NULL;
        Temperature *myTemp;
        myTemp = [Temperature alloc];
        myTemp = [myTemp init];
        
        NSLog(@"Convert to F or C?");
        scanf("%c", choice);
        
        if (*choice == 'f')
        {
            NSLog(@"Enter the temperature");
            scanf("%lf",temperature);
            [myTemp ConvertTempF: *temperature];

        }
        else if (*choice == 'c')
        {
            NSLog(@"Enter the temperature");
            scanf("%lf",temperature);
            [myTemp ConvertTempC: *temperature];
        }
        else
        {
            NSLog(@"Error, invalid choice");
        }
        
    }

    return 0;
}

This is my first real foray into Objective-C so I could be going about this the wrong way. Not included is the interface and implementation portion. I think reading the input from the keyboard is the issue here, but I don't know what to do...

Click to expand...

rhfb said:

Another thing you can do is clean up the three lines

Code:

        Temperature *myTemp;
        myTemp = [Temperature alloc];
        myTemp = [myTemp init];

Into a single line (good to know because you will be doing this a lot...

Code:

        Temperature *myTemp = [[Temperature alloc] init];

and ya, looks like the issue is with your first scanf line (should be &choice right? I know like no C so don't blame me if this is wrong!!!).

Click to expand...

mugurumakensei said:

He declared choice as a character pointer. In this case, his problem is he didn't allocate memory for choice to point to.

Click to expand...

rhfb said:

Ah ok, like I said, I know basically no C

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mugurumakensei said:

It's not C. It's Objective-C. Though, the point remains the same I guess.

Click to expand...

mugurumakensei said:

I'd say your problem is that you're not allocating/initializing the temperature and choice variables.

Two solutions, keep the current types and allocate the temperature and choice variables, or change the types to char and double respectively then use the address of operator in the function calls that need a character or double pointer.

Click to expand...

MooMoo said:

Assuming that Objective C is fairly similar to C (sorry, only know C and Java!), your first proposed solution will still throw an error. In short, an initialization of a pointer variable requires you to use previously initialized variables. If you were to do an initialization like double *temp = 20.0, all this is doing is setting the variable temp to point to whatever is in the memory address location 20; anything could be in this memory location and if you're lucky enough your code will throw an error. This is why the original code is throwing an error; he's setting the pointer variables to point to NULL and when he calls scanf(), he's basically trying to deference null, which you can't do (i.e. a seg fault).

The second solution is sound though and in this case he wouldn't need to bother initializing the variables.

Correct me if my explanation is wrong though

Click to expand...

Notrollious said:

Derp, knew it was something simple. Didn't need to use the pointer..

Code:

int main(int argc, const char * argv[])
{

    @autoreleasepool
    {
        char choice = 0;
        double temperature = 0.0;
        Temperature *myTemp = [[Temperature alloc] init];
        
        NSLog(@"Convert to F or C?");
        scanf("%c", &choice);
        
        if (choice == 'f')
        {
            NSLog(@"Enter the temperature in celsius");
            scanf("%lf", &temperature);
            [myTemp ConvertTempC: temperature];

        }
        else if (choice == 'c')
        {
            NSLog(@"Enter the temperature in fahrenheit");
            scanf("%lf", &temperature);
            [myTemp ConvertTempF: temperature];
        }
        else
        {
            NSLog(@"Error, invalid choice");
        }
        
    }

    return 0;
}

That works. Needed to reference them (right?).

Click to expand...

Notrollious said:

I'm used to c++, so whenever receiving input with scanf I need to reference the variable, like

Code:

scanf("%lf", &variable);

instead of

Code:

scanf("%lf", variable);

right?

Click to expand...