Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with code

Tagging software for some National History Day kids?

rev- — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:50:32 -0800

Can anyone recommend software that allows basic tagging of data, such that if I say I'm interested in X, it will say, "You might also like A B ad C" because they are also tagged the same as X. The question is for a National History Day program. The national office picks a theme and everyone picks a topic that relates to that theme. The problem is that kids aged 10-16 are not particularly worldly or aware of so many neat topics. Consequently, judges see a lot of topics around Helen Keller, 1960's Civil Rights, and Navajo Code Talkers.

What if there was a web site that showed all topics and a kid could see a quick synopsis of the topic. And what if we plugged in a lot of "common" topics and build a tagging system around it. "Interested in Helen Keller? Have you thought about A, B or C?"

So, since I'm not a programmer, I was wondering if anyone's come across a simple tagging tool that would allow me to build something like that?

Thanks!

I want to learn how to create 8bit -16bit style animations, kind of like "Code Monkeys" on tv network G4. Where do I start?

Kyokusen — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:36:04 -0800

I want to learn how to create 8bit -16bit style animations, kind of like "Code Monkeys" on tv network G4. Where do I start? After searching for a bit someone on yahoo answers said that they use Photoshop, After Effects, and Final Cut Pro (don't have the last one because it's mac only) to do the bulk of the animating. I can get a hold of other programs too but i just don't know what to do first. If anybody could point me towards some good tutorials/programs for animating this type of work, it would be much appreciated.

Give a code monkey a ruler...

markovich — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:24:18 -0800

How do I make code LOOK beautiful? Occasionally, I see these snippets of code where everything looks very aligned and orderly, the variables all seem the same length, the functions are all neatly aligned. My code on the other hand always looks rough and shoddy. What do the people with neat code do to make it look so neat? I'm thinking about C++ here, but this applies to most types of code. Are there any rules I should be following to make my code also look so neat?

Troubleshoot my Honda's Check Engine light.

blastrid — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:09:43 -0800

My wife's '98 Honda Accord's engine light is on. Help me troubleshoot it to cross-check the mechanic's diagnosis. Mechanic A said the ECU (Engine Control Unit) spat out a code to replace the oxygen sensors, so they did (with non-Honda parts). The engine light remained on and gave the same code again, so Mechanic A concluded that the ECU is busted. We took it to a Honda dealer for a diagnostics check, and they received the same code and said it needs Honda-brand oxygen sensors, but that the ECU is fine. Back at Mechanic A, they put in Honda oxygen sensors for free, and the Check Engine light and the same code remains.

-I have heard that a car's computer/ECU rarely goes out. But does this sound like the culprit?
-I'm skeptical that they've reset it properly. I've done a bit of research online and have tried disconnecting the battery for 20 minutes, but the light STILL remains. Any other resetting ideas?
-Mechanic A quoted me a USED ECU incl. re-programming it for about $500, whereas a new one from Honda is $1400. Is there a high risk for going with a used ECU?

Math equation / algorithm for a database

JohnGL — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:05:55 -0800

I'm looking for some help with a math equation / algorithm I'm trying to create. I'm a programmer by trade and not very good at math so I'd like some help with this or perhaps a site where I could pay someone to come up with the equation I'm looking for. I considered rentacoder or elance however I'd be concerned if the companies there had the proper math knowledge. A lot of claims get made on those sites that turn out to be false. I'm trying to do is calculate the value or profitability of keywords based on some data that I have. I have a list of about 35 categories and in each category I have 500 keywords that belong to that category. I've provided a small sampling of the data I have (at the end of this post). The sampling has 5 categories and in each category it has the top 5 and bottom 5 from the lists of 500.

The category records have a '~' starting the row. The first field is the category name and the second field is the total dollar amount of products sold in that category in the last 2 weeks.

Under each category are the keyword records that belong to that category. Normally this list has 500 records however I’m only displaying the top and bottom five (records 1-5 and 495-500). These records are always placed in order of popularity. Meaning record one is searched for more often than record two. The first field if the record is the keyword itself. The second field is the number of products sold in the past two weeks that contain that keyword (raw number not dollar amount however I might be able to get that data). Field three is the number of products currently being offered that contain that keyword. In other words how many products are competing for that keyword at any given moment. The last field is a number representing the popularity of the keyword in the regular search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.). It's a weight figure for how many people search for that term in a given month. I'm not sure how they come up with this number however here is a sampling for reference (sex: 1415948, harry potter: 242471, will smith: 91542, java books 378). I don't have this data but I was also thinking of including how many web sites compete for that keyword in Google to do a supply/demand comparison with field four. I can easily get that data and would like to include that in the computation.

Some thoughts I have about the data. The keywords are ordered by popularity like I said. This alone is only mildly helpful. I was thinking that the amount of product sold in a category could bring some value to that ranking. Meaning position 1 in a category that sells 1 million every 2 weeks is more valuable than position 1 in a category that sells $200,000 every 2 weeks. I also thought the search engine popularity weight number might also bring some value to that order. If the product ranks high in both areas then perhaps it is of greater overall value.

This is the data I have at the moment however I'm open to thoughts or suggestions. I might be able to get additional data if it's important however I'd like to stay with this if I can. I'm certain I have access to this data.

What I would like to do is take this data and compute a value for each keyword that tells me its profitability or value. I'd like to find out what keywords in this massive list are the best. I would place this 'profitability value' in the final field of each keyword record for someone to review. The category data (dollar amount sold in that category), keyword order (record 1 is more popular than record 2), and the data in record field 2 and 3 are the most important. The search engine information is less important (lets say 3 times less important).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your time. Have a great day.

~Antiques,6155459.31
victorian,50984,23124,313
sterling,506010,153977,327
furniture,54095,9618,3605
art deco,18234,13062,424
lamps,182309,56646,580
...
bedroom,11594,3241,709
chest of drawers,194,242,67
cottage,13730,6258,214
photo,1131344,159891,1765
pre columbian,673,246,10

~Art,33651005.64
aceo,4554,3924,40
obey,3365,1072,205
highwaymen,1875,233,136
thomas kinkade,1566,1379,320
florida,51435,11457,4226
...
boston,76336,20618,3296
mother,120329,19159,1857
vermont,7714,1723,593
poland,10018,3604,1210
cherry blossom,3410,1428,497

~Baby,1887275.00
clothes,78160,40211,2226
baby,405388,139070,4956
shoes,465883,245167,6373
winnie the pooh,17721,8714,2899
pottery barn,7237,6054,4391
...
nuk,276,126,38
cover,1884691,262594,1030
cradles,861446,30529,41
butterflies,100523,37077,5900
graco car seat,402,224,51

~Books,99187955.26
easton press,1826,907,63
stephen king,6545,3419,1282
harry potter,22159,7573,7007
nancy drew,4963,1447,757
bible,201307,11721,3081
...
electrical,14574,2904,235
blackjack,334947,9839,967
diary,66830,3756,347
judo,3198,307,356
jane eyre,2981,256,290

~Business & Industrial,203912902.60
john deere,22686,11873,4646
backhoe,979,572,180
tractor,23708,15907,669
bobcat,3999,980,1521
loader,5620,2906,33
...
buffer,2415,1075,64
boring bar,656,262,10
tig welder,763,422,96
rake,2649,625,62
flow meter,856,485,63

Apartment Code Puzzle

xz — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:29:51 -0800

Cypherfiler: Did anyone check out the NYT article about the amazing puzzle/scavenger hunt that was built into the NY apartment? possibly the coolest thing i've seen in years. i'm intrigued by the part of the cypher shown but i've got a little stuck... "The children’s bedrooms have radiator covers with poems written specifically for each child cut into them in code. The Caesar Shift cipher in the bedroom of the oldest child, Cavan, was broken by a friend."

Caeser Shift works by "shifting" the alphabet a set number of letters along, so F becomes C, G becomes D, etc.

the code translates to (with odd 'errors'):

cavan, the archer's child
curioM, bright--your
quicE Gind pivots and
leaps like a dancer.
curiouMity;s light
is to love the question
as much as the answer.

can anyone figure out the code within the code? seems inexplicable that they'd just screw up those 4 letters, especially as they are the RIGHT letters if you translate the cypher backwards (if C becomes F instead, so M=S, E=K, and G=M).

why MEGM? (or SKMS or...)

Please help me sort this out

Lokheed — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:33:31 -0800

Sorting algorithm - how would you do this? I have a list of Type objects, somewhere around 100 - 120 objects in the list. This list determines the persistence order in which any of these objects will be saved to the database. Because of foreign key constraints, it is important that some objects be saved before others, and therefore be higher up in the list than others. So I have a shorter list, perhaps a dozen, of types in the correct order and I need to ensure that they appear in that relative order within the larger list. What is the most stable and efficient way to do this? I currently have a HashTable with a key of the required relative order and value of the current position within the Type array, and a simple bubble sort as follows:



            int hashTypesLength = hashTypes.Count - 1;

            int i;

            int j;

            Type tempType;

            int tempIndex;



            for (i = (hashTypesLength); i >= 0; i--)

            {

                for (j = 1; j <> (int)hashTypes[j])

                    {

                        tempType = typeOrder[(int)hashTypes[j - 1]];

                        tempIndex = (int)hashTypes[j - 1];



                        hashTypes[j - 1] = hashTypes[j];

                        typeOrder[tempIndex] = typeOrder[(int)hashTypes[j]];



                        hashTypes[j] = tempIndex;

                        typeOrder[(int)hashTypes[j]] = tempType;

                    }

                }

            }

This works, but is there a better way to approach this?

Do you know what the symbols in this crypt mean?

lorbus — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:28:27 -0800

In the Cimitero Monumentale in Milan lies a crypt of the Galimberti family. Cuboid in shape, it bears numerous engravings which appear scientific in nature. I can make out what appears to be smashing particles, parabolas, lenses, and spirals. Is there a hidden meaning to all of this? A message? Code? Here are some photos: Full, Front, Door Detail, Left, Right, and Back.

If you need bigger images just let me know.
Thanks.

programming a fantasy sports site

vega — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:18:41 -0800

Can you help me find a tutorial (or book) on the design and programming of a fantasy sports site? (My google-fu is failing me on this one) Also useful: If you can point out an open source program that I can study.

Dreamweaver/coding help

Sophie1 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:26:41 -0800

Dreamweaver filter - I have just set up a site using Dreamweaver and i am getting one piece of the code in the finished site. HELP!!! I'm a total noob at coding. Clearly. Here is the code. The text on the finished site (in Firefox but not when I preview) is "line decor" (without the quotes). What am I missing!!!!??? FYI - in order to have this text in here, I deleted the end >

file:///I|/CAREWebsite/pdf/mm_dashed_line.gif"><img src="file:///I|/CAREWebsite/pdf/mm_dashed_line.gif" alt="line decor" width="4" height="3" border="0" /

You can see it at the website here

I'm a researcher Jim, not a designer!

In an OOP world, what's the best way to handle a lot of sequential code?

grumblebee — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:19:40 -0800

Design-pattern (programming) question. I'm working on a huge app (many thousand lines of code), and one of the most complex parts of it is the initialization logic. There's a ton of code that needs to run sequentially and only once.

Currently, I'm handling all of this with singletons, but I wonder if there's a better way.

Here's the basic framework now (in pseudocode).

MainInit.getInstance().init();

/* inside MainInit's init() method... */

DataManager.getInstance().init();
CommandManager.getInstance().init();
GraphicsManager.getInstance().init();
... etc ... //maybe 40 more calls like this

This seems pretty straightforward and easy to maintain. I don't have any real problems with it. But it's sort of off-the-top-of-my-head. I've never worked on an app that needs so much initializing before.

Since it's not really about objects -- it's just about tons of code running in sequential order -- I'm not sure of the best, tried and true method of breaking it up into manageable chunks. And I can't find much about it in my Design Pattern books.

I'm cool with non design-pattern solutions, too. I know patterns aren't for everything. I just need a really good way of organizing this sort of code.

Off the rails...

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:09:14 -0800

Any good Rails 2.0 books for beginners? The books I have access to are for Rails 1.2. I'm running into brick wall after brick wall getting the opening chapter examples in these books to work with Rails 2.0.2, missing plug-ins, missing template files, scaffolding doesn't work, etc.

Instead of installing the Rails 1.2 gem, I'd like to bite the bullet and learn Rails 2.0. Unfortunately, the Rails Way book apparently is for established Rails coders, of which I am not one.

I'd call myself reasonably familiar with Java, PHP, etc. and don't need to learn programming, I just need to get up to speed quickly on how Rails does its magic without poring through oblique Google search results on how to cobble a 2.0 app together from a 1.2 app.

Are there other Rails 2.0 books or online documentation out now, which have working code examples of a small web application, from start to finish?

Is there a name for this?

msali — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:56:44 -0800

Is there a name for this multilingual phenomena? I was recently introduced to the concept of code switching, and inspired by another question posted earlier today, I decided to ask about something that I experience frequently, and wanted to know if someone can put a name on it (I am looking at you, Languagehat).
When recounting a story I have read, television I have watched, or a conversation I have had, I frequently have a hard time recalling what language I read, watched or spoke. For example, I could be telling a friend about a story I read on the internet, and when queried about what country/language the story came from, I simply cannot tell.
For the sake of background, I should note that I am actively and passively trilingual (I am a translator, hence the frequent use of various languages). I use/write/consume all three languages on a daily basis, thereby leading to a bit of confusion as to which language I am actually operating in. I hope this isn't too vague, but I wonder, what is it called when you don't know what language you did something in? I thank you in advance for any and all elucidations.

You lost me at 'compile'...

lemonade — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:11:06 -0800

I've inherited a code....and now I need to move it to a 64-bit machine...how to get it to compile? $&*$%^&! I have a program written in C that I've been modifying and running on my regular Windows 2000 machine using MS Visual C++ 6.0. Now I need to be able to compile and run the code on a Windows XP Professional 64 machine, using MS Visual Studio 2005.

I have been able to get the code to compile by copying the .dsw file, but when it runs it has stack errors, which I suspect are from the way the variables are defined. I have been told that there is a way to compile in a 32-bit way, by setting a flag or something...can anyone help me out with this, in very easy language? Or link me to instructions? I'm familiar with computers and several programming languages, but compiling options are beyond me.

I do not need the program to use the 64-bit capability of the machine, just want to be able to compile and run the same code I was running before, error-free. Thanks!

Clear temp files Quick and Dirty

sonicbloom — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:48:02 -0800

I'd like to create a batch file to clear out my cookies and Temporary Internet Files folder. I'd like a script that I can double click on whenever I feel the need to clear cookies or Temp Internet Files. I know how to clear them manually on IE. I just want an easier way. This is only for IE at work (although I'm a religious Opera user). I don't know any visual basic. I assume a batch file command might work.

Database application freelancer seeking programming language advice

mrbloo — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:34:51 -0800

I'm planning on starting a database freelancing business. I understand a lot of people prefer Microsoft Access or FileMaker. With the current evolving trend of applications going on the web and add to that my somewhat good experience with PHP, HTML, Javascript and CSS I'm seeking a cross platform efficient application environment. This is why I believe Access and FileMaker are not an option, I'm also more experienced with high level languages than I am with Access or FileMaker. I am currently looking into alternatives. I have been looking at different frameworks and toolkits. These are generally what I have come up with;

- PHP-GTK (Required GTK+ and PHP)
- Python (With wxPython/pyGTK)
- Perl (Perl/Tk)

All those options and similar and require a toolkit and or an interpreter to be installed on the system to work. I'm looking for a cleaner (and possibly compiled or packaged) applications. So I came across other tools such as;

- Mozilla Gecko (XULRunner)
- Adobe Air

Those seem like the most viable options, however, it would be best if the code was compiled, since each of these applications require a lot of virtual memory. Lastly, I came across boo and mono. I like the idea a lot, however there is still the issue of writing and compiling boo code. I only got introduced to boo yesterday.

I'm very reluctant about getting into Java, C, C++, or C# simply because of the complexity of it compared to the languages above. However, if you have another opinion please feel free to share. I'm open to ideas and criticism.

I'm confused as to what would be my best option here for a cross platform programming language and framework/toolkit (GUI) for creating portable database (and possible Point of Sale) applications for my town's local small businesses. What would you recommend?

I'm having issues with my AddThis button on my blog.

bamassippi — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:13:49 -0800

I'm having issues with my AddThis button on my blog. So I'm trying to add the AddThis button to the front page of my blog so that readers can email/save/send individual blog posts, though it continues to save my homepage and the AddThis.com website is very unclear as to how to adjust the code.

I know that other readers may have experienced the same issues... how did you solve it? How should I adjust my code? (I'm using WordPress by the way.)

cemr kc TOCEC DRSC QEI CWOVVC VSUO MKXXON FSOXXK CKECKQO

Countess Elena — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:43:41 -0800

Tell me what cipher I need for my daily commute. I want to write privately in my little notebook, without worrying what words might catch someone's eye. Yes, I know nobody actually bothers looking at what anyone else is doing on the subway, but there's hardly even room in the car to move an elbow, and it makes me more self-conscious than usual. Besides, I have an Issue about keeping my drafts hidden and secret. I want to feel comfortable carrying around a notebook with my rough drafts and other sensitive material in my purse, while I travel around to the office and various office-related duties.

It doesn't need any actual security. It just needs to be opaque enough for the casual gaze or snoop, and by its codeness, say "this is none of your business." I tried rot13 for this purpose, but I felt like I was tapping things out in Morse code. The writing I did in rot13 was strained and telegraphic.

Can you suggest a cipher that lends itself to being written quickly and fluently? Or do I just have to practice a simple shift like rot13 until I get the facility to do that?

Now for a FarAway() function, and we can code up a fairytale!

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:37:33 -0800

How do I convert RSS feed timestamps to relative timestamps or "time ago", for example: "12 minutes ago?" I've got a bunch of aggregated RSS feeds, and I would like to display relative timestamps - "timeago", "timesince" or "fuzzy time", it seems there are many names for it - in the HTML output, like Recent Activity does for registered Mefi users.

Here's an example (self-link). Those of you who have seen Electicker will note that the site already does this (self-link), but those feeds are run through Feeddigest and I'd like to move the legwork to my own server (if only for the more frequent updates).

Do any of you know about an elegant way to do this, preferably in PHP or even Yahoo! Pipes? Note that I will want to do this for a whole bunch of feeds from various sources and native timezones, so I'm guessing there will need to be some timezone conversion (to UTC or something) involved.

Thanks in advance!

Compiler, instruction,... Whats your function?

jmnugent — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:20:10 -0800

I want to conquer my apparent inability to comprehend or write code. I'm looking for stories (or real life applicable tips from those of you who write code for a living) where you had the "A HA, I understand this finally" epiphany moment. I realize this might sound like an overly generic question, which is why there is .... For the past 10 years or so, my computer background has been all support type jobs, mainly Windows and system/network administration. There have been a few times when I've been asked to hack some code, but it was all pre-existing HTML, XML or small scripts and I was able to figure it out.

Fast forward to now. The new job I've had for approx 6 months at an ISP where most of the systems are Unix (BSD) based and there is a lot of custom perl scripting . I've tried over the past several years to explore the code writing arena (java, perl, php, css,etc) but I've never been able to make any significant headway. (nothing beyond "hello world")

The problem I have is code writing is severely intimidating to me. I've explored our system scripts folder.. and had co-workers attempt to explain the inner workings of the different scripts to me and it literally gives me a headache. Its like looking at a page of klingon writing. My brain seizes up. Seg fault. Game over. (its also very intimidating to me that other people are able to (seemingly) just walk right over and pick up a book and learn code in a weekend.

So I've come to the conclusion(s) that:

1.) I'm either missing something fundamentally crucial to understanding
or
2.) My brain isnt wired that way (which explains the headaches) and I should instead be investing my time in things more abstract and visual.
or
3.) Coders are very bad teachers
or
4.) ... ????

Its very frustrating to be so good at so many other things in my life, but have something like this elude me. I would very much enjoy the feeling of accomplishment of being able to code something sweet enough that someone else comments "Hey, thats pretty awesome"

Questions, Comments?.. I have the night off so I'll be here to answer them.

online portfolio creation?

sacho — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:26:55 -0800

i'm a freelance writer and want to create a simple website with an online portfolio for my work. id prefer for the pieces to be embedded in the website and not have to be downloaded. right now i have all the files as pdfs, if that matters. i realize that this is a pretty simple order, but the catch is that i want to learn how to do this myself; i don't want to be beholden to a designer whenever i want to change or add something. what do i know about web design? very little. i know how to google the html code for bold or whatever and cut and pasted it in and that's about it. so i guess the question is: is there a cheap or free site that can do this for me (i'm thinking like the tumblr or vimeo of online portfolios...or something) or is there a simple few things i can learn to do this myself. thanks!

Remote Control Code

tnoetz01 — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 17:06:37 -0800

I'm looking for the remote control code for a Philips/Magnavox MDV560 VR DVD/VCR combo. I'm looking for the remote control code for a Philips/Magnavox MDV560 VR DVD/VCR combo to use with my universal remote control. I haven't been able to find a working code anywhere. I know the universal remote works, and the DVD/VCR works well too so I probably just need the right code.

Looking for an online image rating system.

DulcineaX — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:24:35 -0800

I'm looking for some code or a survey/rating system to rate images for inclusion in a student art journal. Difficulty: no money, no support from college IT. I apologize in advance for the length, but I'm trying to be exacting in my descriptions here.

Some background: I'm an editor of my college's student-run journal of literature and art. Every year the staff takes submissions from students, judges the entries, and then publishes a book containing the best work of the student body. In previous years, the judging (for artwork) has worked like this: I create a web gallery with photos of all the art submissions (usually about 650). Each member of the staff goes through the website image by image, and enters their rating (on a scale of 1 - 10) for each piece in an Excel file. We then all send the Excel files to our advisors, who manually add up all the votes. There's a lot more that happens after that, but that's the relevant part.

For many reasons, we need to change this system. What I'm looking for is either some code or a complete survey system that would allow each editor to enter their votes onto the web gallery itself, rather than using separate individual Excel files. My hope is that each page of the gallery would have the image, and a scale of 1 - 10 below that, with radio checkboxes. The editors would vote on all the pieces, and all the votes would be entered in a database that would allow us to view the total score for each piece, as well as how each editor voted. I've found a few complete survey packages, but they all seem to be more than what we need (as well as costing a lot more money than a student-run arts journal has available).

I don't have that much coding knowledge, but I can follow instructions pretty well if I'm pointed in the right direction. We have our own webhost and have MySQL, PHP, etc. available. One big complication is that the school's IT department is absolutely unavailable to us (our website isn't even hosted by the school), but like I said, I can generally figure things out if I know where to look. We could pay for a small survey system if that's what it comes down to, but as I said most of the ones I've looked at are for larger-scale projects than this.

Thanks for any advice/suggestions/input/whatever. If I can provide any more info please ask.

Being Digital's Fortress

roger ackroyd — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:54:09 -0800

Did anyone ever crack the Negroponte Code? In 1995, long before One Laptop per Child, tech evangelist Nicholas Negroponte authored a book, Being Digital, that challenged readers to crack an "unbreakable" binary code of his own devising. Negroponte was so certain this code couldn't be broken that he offered a $100,000 prize out of his own pocket. (The offer was later revoked for legal reasons – details at the bottom of this ancient interview.)

Does anyone know the current status of Negroponte's challenge?

This was keeping me up last night.