Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with basic

Help me learn PHP!

Funky Claude — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:03:14 -0800

I'm looking for basic scripts/example projects so I can hone my developing PHP skills... I am currently in the process of learning PHP, I'm following along with a book(PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites by Larry Ullman) but in my past experiences with learning new programming languages I have often found myself best served by writing small programs in addition to following along with a text.

So, what I'm looking for is some simple things I could write in PHP to help me get more familiar. Anyone know of a site that could provide me the resources I'm looking for? Or even any ideas of some stuff I could/should code?

What do I teach my kids instead of line number BASIC?

majick — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:32:14 -0800

What's the modern day equivalent of old school "line number" BASIC as a tool for young children to play and learn with? As with many of us of a certain age, I spent a lot of time writing software in line number BASIC learning how to break problems down into component algorithms and generally getting a sense of how electronic computing works. The advantages of such a language as a learning tool are pretty well known: the constrained vocabulary and relatively powerful primitives make it fairly easy to learn, although obviously not the kind of thing you'd want to write production software with. I'd like to share at least a sliver of this experience with my own children, but the chances of getting them to sit down in front of a crumbling TRS-80 or Apple II in order to learn are slim.

So instead I'm looking at other options. Ideally I'd like a language and execution environment that is somewhat multiplatform, has graphics and sound support, uses a language I know or can learn relatively easily in order to teach, and most ideally is procedural rather than OO. A few I am considering are:

LÖVE - a Lua system for creating games. Lua looks fairly approachable although I don't know enough of it to teach, and I'm not entirely sure about making young children wrap their brains around the idea of callbacks in order to get anything done.

Pygame - a framework for Python game creation. I only speak a little Python but it's learnable, I suppose, and the presence of an "immediate mode" interpreter is compelling in terms of being able to learn the basics interactively. However, I'm not at all convinced I want my kids using an OO language before they understand procedural programming. That seems like putting the cart way out in front of the horse in terms of depth of learning.

Squeak - a Smalltalk implementation. Yet another OO language, although at least a fairly pure one, and I can probably dust off my long-rusted Smalltalk skills to teach it. But honestly, who even knows or cares about Smalltalk any more?

Scratch seems like a Squeak-derived project of some kind, and the visual programming approach seems aimed at very young or only partially-literate learners. I'm not sure this is the kind of thing I'm interested in at all.

Processing has some of the attributes I'm looking for, but may not be an ideal learning language due to being extremely visual in emphasis, the OO, and the Java syntax.

Visual Basic is really BASIC in name only; it's not a language I want to teach, nor one I'd want my children to bother with, and it's tied utterly to a platform I don't particularly care about.

So, folks, I'm not seeing a very attractive range of tools. What am I missing? Aren't there tools for kids to just sit down, play with, and make things? Or is the entire concept of teaching fundamental computer literacy an obsolete one in the modern age of children surrounded by closed, sealed, consumer-oriented devices that are made by distant wizards?

Web design guides for the novice.

By The Grace of God — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 10:42:51 -0800

Looking for the best useful basic guides for web design, aimed at novice volunteers. I'm tasked with writing a guide for small volunteer groupings to do web design on a voluntary basis. Imagine someone who is able at using their computer, operating the Microsoft Office suite and able to get online, and able to do basic HTML. What are good guides to deal with stuff like accessibility, good design, promoting your website, blogs, and copyright issues?

I don't want to get into the scripting and more web development sort of stuff. I imagine that the most people would do is install a basic web template for a static page, maybe plus a self hosted blog for easy updating.

Creative Commons and other free guides strongly preferred. The guide doesn't need to be complete - if it goes into a few or just one of these issues, it's welcome.

Sci-fi kids book with BASIC code

pravit — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:10:00 -0800

Childhood BookFilter: A sci-fi choose-your-own adventure book with snippets of BASIC code that would be a complete game in the end. The book was a sci-fi children's novel, and along with the story, there were segments of BASIC code that you would key into the computer. I think the code snippets were worked into the context of the story somehow. At the end of the book, the code snippets would be a complete game that you could play, customized depending on which path you took.

If I remember correctly, the completed game involved some sort of robot that was trying to get through a labyrinth, but it could only see a limited distance in each direction. The graphics were probably ASCII graphics (think Rogue or Nethack).

It's possible I'm remembering things wrong and it wasn't actually a choose-your-own-adventure book, but it was definitely a sci-fi story with segments of BASIC code that you would key in, resulting in a playable game at the end.

The book was a bit old even when I was a kid, so when I keyed in the entire game it didn't actually work. All the same, I thought the concept was cool, and I'd like to take a look at it again if anybody remembers it. Thanks!

Stumped by VBA-ising an array formula in Excel

Mokusatsu — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:20:18 -0800

How to do a VBA version of the following array formula in Excel? The following array formula (entered with ctrl,shift,enter) will produce the string 'Bank statement'!H842, which is the name of a cell I would like to be able to manipulate via VBA: {="'Bank statement'!H"&MATCH(C1&D$39,'Bank statement'!A:A&'Bank statement'!C:C,0)} It creates a string out of the values in the cells C1 and D$39 and looks those up in an array made out of the A and C columns of the sheet 'Bank statement'.

Its function is to find the row of a payment from a certain payer on a certain day, and then return the address of the cell in column H of that row.

i.e. it will find the payment from Joe Bloggs on the 15/3/2008 for example, and return the address of the cell in column H on the row that payment appears.

This formula will put the address of that cell, which I'd like to use as a range variable in VBA.

I'm completely stumped by trying to make it work though. I've tried for a day or two to do it, asked every Excel VBA related usenet and Yahoo group and not gotten a solution. I'm more confident in MeFi though. :)

A macro I can run from a button click will suffice for now, but if I could have my every wish granted I'd also like to be able to make a pivot table hyperlink-clickable, so I could click on any entry in that pivot table (pivot table consists of payments arranged by date and payer) and navigate to that payment.

Simple French-language booklets for Kenyan French teacher of elementary students?

vanoakenfold — Fri, 23 May 2008 04:00:38 -0800

On a recent trip to Kenya, we visited a school who is in need of simple French language instruction booklets for elementary-age children. Most all of the language guides I've found are texts along the dense hardback or college variety, or come on DVD which wouldn't be at all feasible. Any ideas? They already know English. Just some simple, basic French core grammar structuring and lessons. They've recently been loaded up with young refugees fleeing from nearby French-speaking countries and are hoping to teach some to English-speaking kids. The teachers are very intelligent and college-educated but lack the resources I've got.

Basic web development?

LordSludge — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:11:11 -0800

Basic web development for a non-technical user? I have a friend with a very small business who's been asking me to create a website for him, and I just don't have time -- especially for the ongoing maintenance and changes. I can do the first steps to get the site up and running, but I want to set him up with something he can update himself.

The challenge is that he's pretty non-technical. He's okay with MS Office and basic computer functions, but he would be utterly lost if he had to deal with HTML, CSS, javascript, PHP, mysql, etc. (My preferred web-dev tool is a text editor -- write all the code by hand -- but then he would be utterly dependent on me to make changes in the future.) Dreamweaver and similar complex web-dev tools are right out. He'd love an online store, but I'd have to maintain that myself, so that's not going to happen. So we're really just talking a few decent looking pages of basic text, pictures, links, and such. I have an web hosting account on Dreamhost that I'm planning to host his site on, but that's not set in stone.

Something like MySpace (but without banner ads or the MySpace stigma) would actually be okay. Is there a site that offers business-oriented pre-fab web hosting? Free is best, but a small fee may be okay. My other option, that I'm leaning towards, is to set him up a basic site using *cough* Microsoft Word, walk him through how to update the site, etc. I know Word is lousy, but he kinda knows Word, and he's comfortable with it... Unless there's a far simpler/better GUI tool out there?

Suggestions? Remember, I'm considering using MS Word. It doesn't have to be "good"; it has to be simple.

Help teach me to sew a button. really slowly

sdis — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:02:12 -0800

Sewing and Internet Tutorials: Find me a *really good* *idiot-proof* internet tutorial on how to sew a button onto a suit jacket such that it will: A) Not fall off for a long long time, B) Look professional and all that, and C) Have some (small) length of somehow robust thread between the jacket and the button, like the other buttons. Apologies for the extreme basic-ness of the question (after reading the posts tagged with "sewing", this is a little embarassing).

So far all I've figured out is how to get a length of thread through the needle, at which point I don't really know whether to knot it or what, and then I criss-cross through the fabric/button I need to sew until there's a mess of string holding whatever things need to be held. At the end, there is some odd fumbling and looping over and over again until the thread seems like it will stay put. This is not particularly elegant. Help.

This goes to AskMeFi because the tutorials I've seen so far seem to assume knowledge I don't yet have (like "1) Thread the needle [got this part!]) 2)Sew the button on [could use more details, as mine arent looking so hot!], 3) Finish the knot![Totally lost here!]")

CRASH couse in .NET, C++ basics

lattiboy — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 16:35:35 -0800

I need a crash course that would help me understand (not a technical, but a "familiar" or "conversational" understanding) the framework and constraints of C++ and/or .NET. I know this is a very difficult/impossible task, but I'm in a bind. Okay, so I have an interview for a position tomorrow that encompasses all of of my customer service/management skills, but is much more involved with the programming department (I currently manage a small tech support department). This job isn't really technical at its core, but I would be working daily with programmers.

I was told in my phone interview that I didn't need to have any technical, code-level programming skills, but I would need to know the basic framework of a "modern Microsoft product" (I'm guessing C++ or possibly .NET). This is a horribly murky question and I do apologize, but this is honestly the only place in the world where I know I can get a coherent and helpful answer.

PS The salary involved would put me in a whole different economic strata, so any help is REALLY appreciated.

What are some Basic (higher-pH) beverages?

chrisamiller — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 17:22:52 -0800

Digestive chemistry: I have a mild case of Crohn's disease, and one of the things that seems to exacerbate my condition is eating or drinking things that are highly acidic. Other than milk, what are some higher-pH drinks that I can use to replace corrosive beverages like soda, coffee, and cranberry juice? Water is the obvious choice, and I drink lots of it, but I crave flavor once in a while. Unfortunately, beer is out too, as I'm looking for something I can drink at work.:)

Keep your fruity aromas. I want the basics!

theantikitty — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 16:50:12 -0800

Please help me suss out this whole "wine" business and figure out what I actually like. I'm looking for a good, basic, comprehensive resource for delineating the difference between types of wine. Unlike some previous posters, I am specifically not looking for a richly detailed "how to educate yourself about wine" resource. I don't want to invest a lot of time in this foray, and I certainly don't want to catch myself saying sentences like "Hmmm...I think I detect a hint of oak and lavender!" Most places I've found so far seem invested in that kind of education. However, I would like to know, in a restaurant or at the shop, at least vaguely, how certain wines are defined. IE: Wine X = sweet, etc, etc. That way, I can be sure to avoid qualities I know I won't like, and help to define certain characteristics I am unsure of. I'm not always sure how sweet "sweet" means, for instance. Even if the best way to be doing this is simply to sample wines, I'd like a basic roadmap. I just want to enjoy some darn wine! Thanks.

Is it nostalgia time already?

jdfan — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 20:52:44 -0800

Middle-ageNostalgiaFilter: Help me find a book I had as a young teen. I can't tell you very much about it but there's When I was in junior high I had access to the UMass Amherst Cyber (mainframe for you youngsters). I did a lot of learning and even more goofing off. Near constant companions were David Ahl's Computer Games (in the classic yellow) and another book of computer games. I'm looking for the other book.

Here's all I remember: it was saddle-stitched, had a yellow cover with black print (there was a drawing or something on the cover). I'd guess it was in the 5x7" size (about the size of a Traveller book from the same time, but thicker). If I recall correctly, it was pretty much all computer games. It would have been published between 1978 and 1982, I think. I'm guessing 1979 is probably the year but I didn't get it until 81 at the earliest.

I've searched Worldcat and some other resources and I'm coming up empty handed. I'm hoping one of you has it on your bookshelf and sez "oh, yeah, here it is."

Dumb calculus question...

killdevil — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 15:27:50 -0800

Stupid calculus question inside. So I have a detailed plot of a curve that looks rather like exponential decay, but no equation has been given to me to describe the curve.

I would like to find the instantaneous slope of the curve at any given point along its length. Am I correct in assuming that this is really just the first derivative? (I took calculus a long time ago).

I have been provided with a method for finding slope at any point along the curve by physically drawing a tangent to the point and computing ITS slope. Given my desire to use basic calculus to solve this instead, is there an easier/better way for me to calculate slope that doesn't involve irritating sketching of tangent lines and use of straight edges?

A concise, simple-to-grok explanation of what I need to do will win the day....

Should I play with my TS1000?

Mach5 — Fri, 19 May 2006 08:31:14 -0800

So, I just received a Timex Sinclair 1000 (WITH the 16k memory upgrade! and flight simulator!) as a gift. Should I open the box and play to my hearts content? Or will this monolith of computing power be worth enough in the future, to justify it staying trapped and suffocated in its yellowed shinkwrap? My mom got it for me off ebay as a graduation present, and yes, my mom rocks. The box is a bit dusty, but shrinkwrapped and mostly mint. As a total dork, I'm itching to rip it open and start playing with it, but I am vaguely aware that people like to pay lots of money for old things.

How do I programtically access and modify music metadata entries through iTunes?

mr_silver — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 06:40:15 -0800

Has anyone ever managed to use iTunes and COM to access the iTunes database and modify MP3 meta-data tags? I need to change the genre for every track by a certain artist and since I have a list of over 800 artists, it is not something I can do by hand. Genres in my iTunes database (and MP3's) are a mess and so I've decided to try and fix it.

Following some simple coding, I've managed to work out what the most common genre entry in the FreeDB database is for many of the artists in my collection and I'm going to populate every song by that artist with this new genre. For example the most common entry in FreeDB for "Faithless" is "Dance" and for "Groove Armada" is "Lounge". I know this isn't a perfect solution, but it is better than the mess I currently have.

So I have a tab seperated file which contains artist name and genre and what I plan to do is walk through the entire iTunes database looking at the artist for each song. If I find an artist that matches one in my tab seperated file then I'll "correct" the genre entry in iTunes to be the same as that in the text file.

Herein lies the problem. Having looked at the iTunes documentation I haven't a clue how to:

1. Walk through every single song from within iTunes
2. Extract the artist value from that song
3. Write the genre value to that entry (which I assume will also update the ID3 v1 and v2 tag on the actual file, right?)
4. Exit modifications and the database without corrupting anything.

I'm using Visual Basic to perform this. Searching on the web has found me very little so I'm looking to see if anyone on AskMefi has any ideas.

Help me find a lightweight laptop for basic lab work

Mossy — Tue, 07 Dec 2004 17:22:23 -0800

I'm looking for a light laptop (< 4lbs) to do basic work when at labs. cd/dvd a bonus (not required), hd > 10 Gb, RAM ideally >= 256 Mb, wireless inbuilt or pcmia slot. Budget ~$500. Extendable battery availability would be nice. Does anyone have any recommendations on good 2nd/3rd gen models?

What can I do to prepare for an entry-level programming job?

ttrendel — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 06:56:14 -0800

I'll be graduating next August with a Computer Science degree and will be looking for an entry-level programming job. I am very comfortable with Java and reasonably comfortable with C++ and Visual Basic. I do not have any work experience in programming and won't have the chance to gain any before graduation(the unconventional schedule of my current job is what is allowing me to finish my degree in the first place). What can I do over the course of the next year to boost my employability? What other skills should I try to pick up over the next year?

(who) do you ((think you)) are?

Katemonkey — Tue, 27 Jan 2004 04:06:07 -0800

When I was in high school (91-95), I learned three computer languages -- BASIC, LOGO, and a third that I don't remember the name of.

It involved putting everything in nested parentheses, so you'd end up with some code that looked like this: (((object a)go to)object b)

I looked on google, and found something about LISP and SCHEME, but I couldn't find anything that would narrow it down a bit further. I know that we used a piece of software that would make certain we had the right amount of parentheses (by highlighting each closed parenthesis when we included it), and that the software ran on Macintoshes. We learned how to form graphics with the software -- circles within circles, that sort of thing.

Anyone know what it was? Because it's bugging me, and I kinda think learning that helped me later on in life with keeping track of nested tables and HTML in general.