I'm finally using git. Right now I'm using it stupidly: I pull from the main branch, make changes, push the changes, and then deploy. I'd like to be smarter with this process, and in particular, I'd like to be able to have (1) a process that can handle changes in priority easily and that (2) includes a clear separation between code that still needs to be tested vs. code ready to go live.
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posted by jsturgill
on Jul 8, 2012 -
12 answers
I've been asked by a colleague as to how they can learn programming for their professional advancement. Because of the area they work in, the possible languages would be Python or R. Complicating factors are that they (a) don't feel confident about self-learning and so (b) would like something more like a traditional classroom or workshop approach but (c) are in a remote foreign location, far from any educational facility, at least in their native language. So what we're looking for is an online classroom of sorts.
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posted by outlier
on Jul 2, 2012 -
8 answers
Do I stay in the position I'm in, where I've been promised an significantly better environment but haven't seen anything realized yet; or do I get a new job which may not be quite as fantastic but is what I actually want to be doing?
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posted by anonymous
on Jun 30, 2012 -
15 answers
I have done some java but I am still a novice programmer and would need to start from a beginner's level. Could anyone please give recommendations for suitable good books. I will also try the official python tutorial as well, but I don't find online resources on their own to be as good as having a book to supplement helpful online materials.
posted by conrad101
on Jun 27, 2012 -
9 answers
What is the best way for me to learn R? In particular, what is the best website or online tutorials for learning to deal with large datasets.
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posted by aleatorictelevision
on Jun 20, 2012 -
13 answers
I want to make a map-based interactive data visualization (to be accessed on the Internet) and I have no idea where to start.
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posted by Defenestrator
on Jun 14, 2012 -
12 answers
Lynda.com has a very excellent video tutorial covering the essentials of Objective-C. Where else can I find tutorials of this caliber that cover the basics of Mac programming?
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posted by run"monty
on Jun 3, 2012 -
4 answers
My eleven year old daughter is showing interest in designing video games. What tools are out there for her to get her feet wet in placing elements on screen and creating interactions? Paid is fine as long as it's not exorbitant.
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posted by erebora
on Jun 2, 2012 -
17 answers
I'm a software developer in my early 30s, working in the defense industry. I'm pretty happy with my job, but wondering if I should move on. I would be looking to move to the San Francisco area. My question is, how do I know when to leave a pretty good job?
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posted by anonymous
on Jun 1, 2012 -
11 answers
I'd like to move to a company that makes software as it's primary product... what kind of skills will I need to add to my resume to get in the door?
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posted by underflow
on May 30, 2012 -
3 answers
Where in Toronto can I take a class on programming Access 2003 forms?
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posted by jb
on May 24, 2012 -
1 answer
Programmers and other IT folks: what advice can you give a programmer co-op student to help her get the most out of this summer job experience?
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posted by kitcat
on May 23, 2012 -
13 answers
I move back and forth between language, technologies and systems. I spend inordinate amounts of times getting back to speed. Is there any way I can ease this and reduce this time period?
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posted by gadha
on May 20, 2012 -
5 answers
What's the single best book for a beginning student of C++ to work through over a period of a month or two?
posted by killdevil
on May 16, 2012 -
11 answers
I need to go through text files, each containing hundreds of lines, and copy a specific part of each line, and then add all those parts together into one long line, each part separated by a comma. But how?
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posted by Unhyper
on May 9, 2012 -
13 answers
A year and a half ago, stuck in what I thought was a dead-end job, I decided to do a degree in computing/IT with the Open University. Six months later, I landed a job as a Test Analyst in the IT department of the company I was working for. I now have an actual career. I've been continuing with the degree, but I'm finding bits of it very dull and it's difficult to get motivated. Should I keep going?
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posted by xchmp
on May 8, 2012 -
18 answers
Amazon recently started featuring pull quotes on product reviews that are automatically compiled from 'similar' customer statements. For example, take a look at top of the reviews section for an
iPad.
At first I thought these might be manually maintained on popular products, but the pull quotes exist for some pretty obscure items with only a handful of reviews. They are obviously being procedurally compiled. I'm working on a project where this exact type of natural language processing could be very useful.
Is there a preexisting library available that offers functionality similar to what Amazon is doing here? Or could anybody point me in the right direction for understand the technology behind this better?
posted by csimpkins
on May 2, 2012 -
4 answers
I was given the task of filling out a job description for a programming environment. Should I respect the history of previous job descriptions when writing out this job description?
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posted by DetriusXii
on Apr 30, 2012 -
9 answers
What programming environments provide the level of navigation, analysis, and refactoring power for their languages that Eclipse does for Java?
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posted by Koray
on Apr 29, 2012 -
20 answers
I would like to get a new job in Chicago. What are some things I can do over the summer to maximize my odds at finding employment in the windy city? My field is software engineering.
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posted by Green With You
on Apr 23, 2012 -
8 answers
How do mobile developers detect screen sizes, types and other information about the display of various phones in the wild?
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posted by loquacious
on Apr 17, 2012 -
3 answers
Pay less for online classes or more for sitting in a classroom? Get clicky for career-switching details...
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posted by mild deer
on Apr 12, 2012 -
10 answers
Is there a way to find out the filename associated with a specific FILE * pointer? (OS: Red Hat EL 5)
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posted by tckma
on Apr 12, 2012 -
28 answers
Is there a programmatic way to detect whether a given song is exclusively instrumental?
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posted by xulu
on Apr 11, 2012 -
5 answers
I would like to scrape information from an RSS feed into an Excel-readable text file for a completely legal non-copyright violating use. In a better world, I'd have access to the database that generates the feed, but since this ain't a perfect world it appears that scraping is my best bet. Are there tools that will help me automate this, or programming tutorials that will help me figure it out myself (it's been 15 years since I last write any code beyond simple SQL queries)?
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posted by croutonsupafreak
on Apr 4, 2012 -
9 answers
LearningProgramming(PHP)Filter: I have a form with a select field (with about 70 options) and a couple of radio buttons. The final result differs according to what has been selected. I'm pretty sure the worst possible way to do this would be to use a lot of IF and IF ELSE statements but I'm not sure what would be the "correct" way to do it.
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posted by Memo
on Apr 4, 2012 -
13 answers
Which aspects of computer science are profitable and worthwhile? Help a high schooler going off to college...
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posted by ptsampras14
on Apr 3, 2012 -
32 answers
Need suggestions on creating an interactive map of congressional districts. I'd like to have a map embedded on my site (only Us) with zoom-able and click-able Congressional districts. When a district is selected, I'd like to display the relevant Senator & Congressman.
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posted by Raichle
on Apr 2, 2012 -
9 answers
I'm a novice programmer. Someone just took a recent Python web project of mine, rewrote it in Ruby, and published it as his own work. My code was open, and I don't really mind, but I'd like credit. How can I ask politely but firmly and avoid triggering a defense mechanism? Lots of details inside.
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posted by ecmendenhall
on Mar 29, 2012 -
16 answers
Does it make sense to block off a few months to develop the skills needed to pursue a modest career/business developing indie games and mobile apps for Android, or am I better off just getting an entry-level job at a call center and make a
decent amount of money doing sales or tech support?
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posted by porcupine
on Mar 28, 2012 -
15 answers
So I've used Python here and there to solve system administration tasks and create some small web applications (again to solve any issue related to work). Living in the sys admin world, I typically turn to Bash. Bash because I know it well and I can throw out a solution quickly. Problem is I'm starting to interview more and more for "DevOps" positions, what's the best and fastest way to bring my Python (or insert language) abilities up a notch?
I admit that I typically write in Python with one screen trained on the library docs. I've got a solid understanding of data and control structures. I thought maybe coming up with a weekend project might help but I'd like to hear other people's thoughts. Reading good code always helps, but doing is always better for me. I guess the real question is creating something that does x always makes you understand a language at a deeper level (if such thing exists).
posted by snuffaluffagus
on Mar 23, 2012 -
11 answers
What are some examples of small web apps that earn their creators a side-income? What are the stories behind them?
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posted by philipy
on Mar 22, 2012 -
12 answers
SQLNoobFilter: I am trying to find all unique combinations on a table. Does my simple query do the trick or is there more to it?
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posted by amazingstill
on Mar 14, 2012 -
5 answers
Hello, brightminded and helpful mefi's.
I have an idea for (IMO) an awesome new website that I believe will be huge. Is it still feasible in this day and age for a person to buy a stack of books and learn the coding skills needed for a website with very robust features, to say the least? Or will I have to acquire the funding to hire the people to do this? Funding is non-existent at the point in time.
posted by DesmondDoomsday
on Mar 5, 2012 -
11 answers
