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  • Optimize Images Using the ASP.NET Sprite and Image Optimization Framework

    The HTML markup of a web page includes the page's textual content, semantic and styling information, and, typically, several references to external resources. External resources are content that is part of web page, but are separate from the web page's markup - things like images, style sheets, script files, Flash videos, and so on. When a browser requests a web page it starts by downloading its HTML. Next, it scans the downloaded HTML for external resources and starts downloading those. A page with many external resources usually takes longer to completely load than a page with fewer external resources because there is an overhead associated with downloading each external resource. For starters, each external resource requires the browser to make an HTTP request to retrieve the resource. What's more, browsers have a limit as to how many HTTP requests they will make in parallel. For these reasons, a common technique for improving a page's load time is to consolidate external resources in a way to reduce the number of HTTP requests that must be made by the browser to load the page in its entirety. This article examines the free and open-source ASP.NET Sprite and Image Optimization Framework, which is a project developed by Microsoft for improving a web page's load time by consolidating images into a sprite or by using inline, base-64 encoded images. In a nutshell, this framework makes it easy to implement practices that will improve the load time for a web page that displays several images. Read on to learn more! Read More >

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  • How to Change Ubuntu’s Window Borders with Emerald

    - by The Geek
    The look of your operating system is all about the panels and the window borders, so now that we’ve shown you how to customize your panels, it’s time to customize the window borders to make Ubuntu look the way you want it to. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to assume that you’ve got the Compiz compositing window manager running—which is what provides the custom window effects found in Ubuntu. This means the technique probably won’t work in a virtual machine, or a really old PC. This is the third installment of our series on customizing Ubuntu by geeky reader Omar Hafiz—be sure and check out the first article, where he explained how to make your panels transparent, and the second article, where he explained how to customize the fonts and colors of those panels Latest Features How-To Geek ETC How To Make Hundreds of Complex Photo Edits in Seconds With Photoshop Actions How to Enable User-Specific Wireless Networks in Windows 7 How to Use Google Chrome as Your Default PDF Reader (the Easy Way) How To Remove People and Objects From Photographs In Photoshop Ask How-To Geek: How Can I Monitor My Bandwidth Usage? Internet Explorer 9 RC Now Available: Here’s the Most Interesting New Stuff Never Call Me at Work [Humorous Star Wars Video] Add an Image Properties Listing to the Context Menu in Chrome and Iron Add an Easy to View Notification Badge to Tabs in Firefox SpellBook Parks Bookmarklets in Chrome’s Context Menu Drag2Up Brings Multi-Source Drag and Drop Uploading to Firefox Enchanted Swing in the Forest Wallpaper

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  • Ignoring Robots - Or Better Yet, Counting Them Separately

    - by [email protected]
    It is quite common to have web sessions that are undesirable from the point of view of analytics. For example, when there are either internal or external robots that check the site's health, index it or just extract information from it. These robotic session do not behave like humans and if their volume is high enough they can sway the statistics and models.One easy way to deal with these sessions is to define a partitioning variable for all the models that is a flag indicating whether the session is "Normal" or "Robot". Then all the reports and the predictions can use the "Normal" partition, while the counts and statistics for Robots are still available.In order for this to work, though, it is necessary to have two conditions:1. It is possible to identify the Robotic sessions.2. No learning happens before the identification of the session as a robot.The first point is obvious, but the second may require some explanation. While the default in RTD is to learn at the end of the session, it is possible to learn in any entry point. This is a setting for each model. There are various reasons to learn in a specific entry point, for example if there is a desire to capture exactly and precisely the data in the session at the time the event happened as opposed to including changes to the end of the session.In any case, if RTD has already learned on the session before the identification of a robot was done there is no way to retract this learning.Identifying the robotic sessions can be done through the use of rules and heuristics. For example we may use some of the following:Maintain a list of known robotic IPs or domainsDetect very long sessions, lasting more than a few hours or visiting more than 500 pagesDetect "robotic" behaviors like a methodic click on all the link of every pageDetect a session with 10 pages clicked at exactly 20 second intervalsDetect extensive non-linear navigationNow, an interesting experiment would be to use the flag above as an output of a model to see if there are more subtle characteristics of robots such that a model can be used to detect robots, even if they fall through the cracks of rules and heuristics.In any case, the basic and simple technique of partitioning the models by the type of session is simple to implement and provides a lot of advantages.

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  • Object oriented design importance

    - by user5507
    I started studying Object Oriented Design and Modelling using the this book by James Rumbaugh. It uses a tool called Object Modeling Technique (OMT). I have certain newbie questions. I searched the net, but couldn't get answers The book is pretty old. Don't know why the school told me to learn this. I know OMT is a predecessor of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). So its a waste? Whether the concepts change very much when we move from OMT to UML? I know OMT has Object, Dynamic and Functional Model. Wikipedia says UML is compatible with OMT and UML is a model too. As per wikipedia the UML models are Static and Dynamic and they are represented by different diagrams like class, object, activity, sequence..... I couldn't find the equivalence of this in OMT. I read that there are many object oriented development methods like OMT, Booch,.... Which one is used by Industry ? Where could I get a comparison of different Object oriented development methods?

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  • Receiving an MVP Award and Credibility

    - by Joe Mayo
    The post titled, The Problem with MVPs, by Steve Barbour was interesting because it makes you think about the thousands of MVPs around the world and what their value really is. Having been the recipient of multiple MVP awards, it’s an opportunity to reflect and judge my own performance. This is not a dangerous thing to do, but quite the opposite. If a person believes in self improvement, then critical analysis is an important part of that process. A lot of MVPs will tell you that they would be doing the same thing, regardless of whether they were an MVP or not; helping others in the community, which is also where I prefer to hang my hat. I’ve never defined myself as an expert and never will; this determination is left to others. In fact, let me just come out and say it, “I don’t know everything”. Shocked? Sometimes the gap between expectations and reality extends beyond a reasonable measure. Being labeled as a technical expert feels good for one's self esteem and is certainly a useful motivational technique. A problem can emerge though when an individual believes, too much, in what they are told. The problem is not with a pat on the back, but with a person does with the positive reinforcement. Is narcissism too strong a word? How often have you been in a public forum reading a demeaning response to a question that only serves in attempt to raise the stature of the person providing the response? Such behavior compromises one’s credibility, raises questions about validity of the MVP award, and is limited in community value. I’m currently under consideration for another MVP award on April 1st. If it happens, it will be good. Otherwise, I’ll keep writing articles, coding open source software, and whatever else I enjoy doing; with the best reward being that people find value in what I do. Joe

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  • Bruce Lee Software development.

    - by DesigningCode
    "Styles tend to not only separate men - because they have their own doctrines and then the doctrine became the gospel truth that you cannot change. But if you do not have a style, if you just say: Well, here I am as a human being, how can I express myself totally and completely? Now, that way you won't create a style, because style is a crystallization. That way, it's a process of continuing growth."- Bruce Lee This is kind of how I see software development. What I enjoyed in the the early days of Agile, things seemed very dynamic, people were working out all manner of ways of doing things. It was technique oriented, it was very fluid and people were finding all kinds of good ways of doing things.  Now when I look at the world of “Agile” it seems more crystalized.  In fact that seemed to be a goal, to crystalize the goodness so everyone can share.   I think mainly because it seems a heck of a lot easier to market.  People are more willing to accept a well defined doctrine and drink the Kool Aid.   Its more “corporate” or “professional”. But the process of crystalizing the goodness actually makes it bad.   But luckily in the world of software development there are still many people who are more focused on “how can I express myself totally and completely”.   We are seeing expressive languages, expressive frameworks, tooling that helps you to better express yourself, design techniques that allow you to better express your intent.    I love that stuff! So beware, be very cautious of anyone offering you new age wisdom based on crystals!

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  • How to Upload Really Large Files to SkyDrive, Dropbox, or Email

    - by Matthew Guay
    Do you need to upload a very large file to store online or email to a friend? Unfortunately, whether you’re emailing a file or using online storage sites like SkyDrive, there’s a limit on the size of files you can use. Here’s how to get around the limits. Skydrive only lets you add files up to 50 MB, and while the Dropbox desktop client lets you add really large files, the web interface has a 300 MB limit, so if you were on another PC and wanted to add giant files to your Dropbox, you’d need to split them. This same technique also works for any file sharing service—even if you were sending files through email. There’s two ways that you can get around the limits—first, by just compressing the files if you’re close to the limit, but the second and more interesting way is to split up the files into smaller chunks. Keep reading for how to do both. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC The How-To Geek Guide to Learning Photoshop, Part 8: Filters Get the Complete Android Guide eBook for Only 99 Cents [Update: Expired] Improve Digital Photography by Calibrating Your Monitor The How-To Geek Guide to Learning Photoshop, Part 7: Design and Typography How to Choose What to Back Up on Your Linux Home Server How To Harmonize Your Dual-Boot Setup for Windows and Ubuntu Hang in There Scrat! – Ice Age Wallpaper How Do You Know When You’ve Passed Geek and Headed to Nerd? On The Tip – A Lamborghini Theme for Chrome and Iron What if Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner were Human? [Video] Peaceful Winter Cabin Wallpaper Store Tabs for Later Viewing in Opera with Tab Vault

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  • TDD/Tests too much an overhead/maintenance burden?

    - by MeshMan
    So you've heard it many times from those who do not truly understand the values of testing. Just to start things out, I'm a follower of Agile and Testing... I recently had a discussion about performing TDD on a product re-write where the current team does not practice unit testing on any level, and probably have never heard of the dependency injection technique or test patterns/design etc (we won't even get on to clean code). Now, I am fully responsible for the rewrite of this product and I'm told that attempting it in the fashion of TDD, will merely make it a maintenance nightmare and impossible for the team maintain. Furthermore, as it's a front-end application (not web-based), adding tests is pointless, as the business drive changes (by changes they mean improvements of course), the tests will become out of date, other developers who come on to the project in the future will not maintain them and become more of a burden for them to fix etc. I can understand that TDD in a team that does not currently hold any testing experience doesn't sound good, but my argument in this case is that I can teach my practice to those around me, but further more, I know that TDD makes BETTER software. Even if I was to produce the software using TDD, and throw all the tests away on handing it over to a maintenance team, it surely would be a better approach than not using TDD at all from the start? I've been shot down as I've mentioned doing TDD on most projects for a team that have never heard of it. The thought of "interfaces" and strange looking DI constructors scares them off... Can anyone please help me in what is normally a very short conversation of trying to sell TDD and my approach to people? I usually have a very short window of argument before falling at the knees to the company/team.

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  • Alternative to Game State System?

    - by Ricket
    As far as I can tell, most games have some sort of "game state system" which switches between the different game states; these might be things like "Intro", "MainMenu", "CharacterSelect", "Loading", and "Game". On the one hand, it totally makes sense to separate these into a state system. After all, they are disparate and would otherwise need to be in a large switch statement, which is obviously messy; and they certainly are well represented by a state system. But at the same time, I look at the "Game" state and wonder if there's something wrong about this state system approach. Because it's like the elephant in the room; it's HUGE and obvious but nobody questions the game state system approach. It seems silly to me that "Game" is put on the same level as "Main Menu". Yet there isn't a way to break up the "Game" state. Is a game state system the best way to go? Is there some different, better technique to managing, well, the "game state"? Is it okay to have an intro state which draws a movie and listens for enter, and then a loading state which loops on the resource manager, and then the game state which does practically everything? Doesn't this seem sort of unbalanced to you, too? Am I missing something?

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  • Hack Apart a Highlighter to Create UV-Reactive Flowers [Science]

    - by ETC
    College students have long been hacking apart highlighters to create glowing bottles of booze to line their dorm room walls. Far more interesting, however, is the application of the hack to flowers. Many of you may remember a science class experiment from years gone by where in you put food coloring in a beaker and then some freshly cut white flowers; returning to the experiment a day later yielded flowers colored to match the dye you added. This little experiment relies on the same technique, only instead of blue food coloring the flowers suck up UV-reactive highlighter dye. Check out the video below to see the experiment in action: Have a fun science experiment to share? Let’s hear about it in the comments. Make Flowers Glow in the Dark (with Highlighter Fluid and UV Light) [YouTube via Make] Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Learn To Adjust Contrast Like a Pro in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name? Should You Delete Windows 7 Service Pack Backup Files to Save Space? What Can Super Mario Teach Us About Graphics Technology? Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is Released: But Should You Install It? How To Make Hundreds of Complex Photo Edits in Seconds With Photoshop Actions Hack Apart a Highlighter to Create UV-Reactive Flowers [Science] Add a “Textmate Style” Lightweight Text Editor with Dropbox Syncing to Chrome and Iron Is the Forcefield Really On or Not? [Star Wars Parody Video] Google Updates Picasa Web Albums; Emphasis on Sharing and Showcasing Uwall.tv Turns YouTube into a Video Jukebox Early Morning Sunrise at the Beach Wallpaper

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  • Monogame - Shader parameters missing

    - by Layoric
    I am currently working on a simple game that I am building in Windows 8 using MonoGame (develop3d). I am using some shader code from a tutorial (made by Charles Humphrey) and having an issue populating a 'texture' parameter. I'm not well versed writing shaders, so this might be caused by a more obvious problem. I have debugged through MonoGame's Content processor to see how this shader is being parsed, all the non 'texture' parameters are there and look to be loading correctly. Shader code below #include "PPVertexShader.fxh" float2 lightScreenPosition; float4x4 matVP; float2 halfPixel; float SunSize; texture flare; sampler2D Scene: register(s0){ AddressU = Clamp; AddressV = Clamp; }; sampler Flare = sampler_state { Texture = (flare); AddressU = CLAMP; AddressV = CLAMP; }; float4 LightSourceMaskPS(float2 texCoord : TEXCOORD0 ) : COLOR0 { texCoord -= halfPixel; // Get the scene float4 col = 0; // Find the suns position in the world and map it to the screen space. float2 coord; float size = SunSize / 1; float2 center = lightScreenPosition; coord = .5 - (texCoord - center) / size * .5; col += (pow(tex2D(Flare,coord),2) * 1) * 2; return col * tex2D(Scene,texCoord); } technique LightSourceMask { pass p0 { VertexShader = compile vs_4_0 VertexShaderFunction(); PixelShader = compile ps_4_0 LightSourceMaskPS(); } } I've removed default values as they are currently not support in MonoGame and also changed ps and vs to v4 instead of 2. Could this be causing the issue? As I debug through 'DXConstantBufferData' constructor (from within the MonoGameContentProcessing project) I find that the 'flare' parameter does not exist. All others seem to be getting created fine. Any help would be appreciated.

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  • Organizations &amp; Architecture UNISA Studies &ndash; Chap 7

    - by MarkPearl
    Learning Outcomes Name different device categories Discuss the functions and structure of I/.O modules Describe the principles of Programmed I/O Describe the principles of Interrupt-driven I/O Describe the principles of DMA Discuss the evolution characteristic of I/O channels Describe different types of I/O interface Explain the principles of point-to-point and multipoint configurations Discuss the way in which a FireWire serial bus functions Discuss the principles of InfiniBand architecture External Devices An external device attaches to the computer by a link to an I/O module. The link is used to exchange control, status, and data between the I/O module and the external device. External devices can be classified into 3 categories… Human readable – e.g. video display Machine readable – e.g. magnetic disk Communications – e.g. wifi card I/O Modules An I/O module has two major functions… Interface to the processor and memory via the system bus or central switch Interface to one or more peripheral devices by tailored data links Module Functions The major functions or requirements for an I/O module fall into the following categories… Control and timing Processor communication Device communication Data buffering Error detection I/O function includes a control and timing requirement, to coordinate the flow of traffic between internal resources and external devices. Processor communication involves the following… Command decoding Data Status reporting Address recognition The I/O device must be able to perform device communication. This communication involves commands, status information, and data. An essential task of an I/O module is data buffering due to the relative slow speeds of most external devices. An I/O module is often responsible for error detection and for subsequently reporting errors to the processor. I/O Module Structure An I/O module functions to allow the processor to view a wide range of devices in a simple minded way. The I/O module may hide the details of timing, formats, and the electro mechanics of an external device so that the processor can function in terms of simple reads and write commands. An I/O channel/processor is an I/O module that takes on most of the detailed processing burden, presenting a high-level interface to the processor. There are 3 techniques are possible for I/O operations Programmed I/O Interrupt[t I/O DMA Access Programmed I/O When a processor is executing a program and encounters an instruction relating to I/O it executes that instruction by issuing a command to the appropriate I/O module. With programmed I/O, the I/O module will perform the requested action and then set the appropriate bits in the I/O status register. The I/O module takes no further actions to alert the processor. I/O Commands To execute an I/O related instruction, the processor issues an address, specifying the particular I/O module and external device, and an I/O command. There are four types of I/O commands that an I/O module may receive when it is addressed by a processor… Control – used to activate a peripheral and tell it what to do Test – Used to test various status conditions associated with an I/O module and its peripherals Read – Causes the I/O module to obtain an item of data from the peripheral and place it in an internal buffer Write – Causes the I/O module to take an item of data form the data bus and subsequently transmit that data item to the peripheral The main disadvantage of this technique is it is a time consuming process that keeps the processor busy needlessly I/O Instructions With programmed I/O there is a close correspondence between the I/O related instructions that the processor fetches from memory and the I/O commands that the processor issues to an I/O module to execute the instructions. Typically there will be many I/O devices connected through I/O modules to the system – each device is given a unique identifier or address – when the processor issues an I/O command, the command contains the address of the address of the desired device, thus each I/O module must interpret the address lines to determine if the command is for itself. When the processor, main memory and I/O share a common bus, two modes of addressing are possible… Memory mapped I/O Isolated I/O (for a detailed explanation read page 245 of book) The advantage of memory mapped I/O over isolated I/O is that it has a large repertoire of instructions that can be used, allowing more efficient programming. The disadvantage of memory mapped I/O over isolated I/O is that valuable memory address space is sued up. Interrupts driven I/O Interrupt driven I/O works as follows… The processor issues an I/O command to a module and then goes on to do some other useful work The I/O module will then interrupts the processor to request service when is is ready to exchange data with the processor The processor then executes the data transfer and then resumes its former processing Interrupt Processing The occurrence of an interrupt triggers a number of events, both in the processor hardware and in software. When an I/O device completes an I/O operations the following sequence of hardware events occurs… The device issues an interrupt signal to the processor The processor finishes execution of the current instruction before responding to the interrupt The processor tests for an interrupt – determines that there is one – and sends an acknowledgement signal to the device that issues the interrupt. The acknowledgement allows the device to remove its interrupt signal The processor now needs to prepare to transfer control to the interrupt routine. To begin, it needs to save information needed to resume the current program at the point of interrupt. The minimum information required is the status of the processor and the location of the next instruction to be executed. The processor now loads the program counter with the entry location of the interrupt-handling program that will respond to this interrupt. It also saves the values of the process registers because the Interrupt operation may modify these The interrupt handler processes the interrupt – this includes examination of status information relating to the I/O operation or other event that caused an interrupt When interrupt processing is complete, the saved register values are retrieved from the stack and restored to the registers Finally, the PSW and program counter values from the stack are restored. Design Issues Two design issues arise in implementing interrupt I/O Because there will be multiple I/O modules, how does the processor determine which device issued the interrupt? If multiple interrupts have occurred, how does the processor decide which one to process? Addressing device recognition, 4 general categories of techniques are in common use… Multiple interrupt lines Software poll Daisy chain Bus arbitration For a detailed explanation of these approaches read page 250 of the textbook. Interrupt driven I/O while more efficient than simple programmed I/O still requires the active intervention of the processor to transfer data between memory and an I/O module, and any data transfer must traverse a path through the processor. Thus is suffers from two inherent drawbacks… The I/O transfer rate is limited by the speed with which the processor can test and service a device The processor is tied up in managing an I/O transfer; a number of instructions must be executed for each I/O transfer Direct Memory Access When large volumes of data are to be moved, an efficient technique is direct memory access (DMA) DMA Function DMA involves an additional module on the system bus. The DMA module is capable of mimicking the processor and taking over control of the system from the processor. It needs to do this to transfer data to and from memory over the system bus. DMA must the bus only when the processor does not need it, or it must force the processor to suspend operation temporarily (most common – referred to as cycle stealing). When the processor wishes to read or write a block of data, it issues a command to the DMA module by sending to the DMA module the following information… Whether a read or write is requested using the read or write control line between the processor and the DMA module The address of the I/O device involved, communicated on the data lines The starting location in memory to read from or write to, communicated on the data lines and stored by the DMA module in its address register The number of words to be read or written, communicated via the data lines and stored in the data count register The processor then continues with other work, it delegates the I/O operation to the DMA module which transfers the entire block of data, one word at a time, directly to or from memory without going through the processor. When the transfer is complete, the DMA module sends an interrupt signal to the processor, this the processor is involved only at the beginning and end of the transfer. I/O Channels and Processors Characteristics of I/O Channels As one proceeds along the evolutionary path, more and more of the I/O function is performed without CPU involvement. The I/O channel represents an extension of the DMA concept. An I/O channel ahs the ability to execute I/O instructions, which gives it complete control over I/O operations. In a computer system with such devices, the CPU does not execute I/O instructions – such instructions are stored in main memory to be executed by a special purpose processor in the I/O channel itself. Two types of I/O channels are common A selector channel controls multiple high-speed devices. A multiplexor channel can handle I/O with multiple characters as fast as possible to multiple devices. The external interface: FireWire and InfiniBand Types of Interfaces One major characteristic of the interface is whether it is serial or parallel parallel interface – there are multiple lines connecting the I/O module and the peripheral, and multiple bits are transferred simultaneously serial interface – there is only one line used to transmit data, and bits must be transmitted one at a time With new generation serial interfaces, parallel interfaces are becoming less common. In either case, the I/O module must engage in a dialogue with the peripheral. In general terms the dialog may look as follows… The I/O module sends a control signal requesting permission to send data The peripheral acknowledges the request The I/O module transfers data The peripheral acknowledges receipt of data For a detailed explanation of FireWire and InfiniBand technology read page 264 – 270 of the textbook

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  • Monster's AI in an Action-RPG

    - by Andrea Tucci
    I'm developing an action rpg with some University colleagues. We've gotton to the monsters' AI design and we would like to implement a sort of "utility-based AI" so we have a "thinker" that assigns a numeric value on all the monster's decisions and we choose the highest (or the most appropriate, depending on monster's iq) and assign it in the monster's collection of decisions (like a goal-driven design pattern) . One solution we found is to write a mathematical formula for each decision, with all the important parameters for evaluation (so for a spell-decision we might have mp,distance from player, player's hp etc). This formula also has coefficients representing some of monster's behaviour (in this way we can alterate formulas by changing coefficients). I've also read how "fuzzy logic" works; I was fascinated by it and by the many ways of expansion it has. I was wondering how we could use this technique to give our AI more semplicity, as in create evaluations with fuzzy rules such as IF player_far AND mp_high AND hp_high THEN very_Desiderable (for a spell having an high casting-time and consume high mp) and then 'defuzz' it. In this way it's also simple to create a monster behaviour by creating ad-hoc rules for every monster's IQ category. But is it correct using fuzzy logic in a game with many parameters like an rpg? Is there a way of merging these two techniques? Are there better AI design techniques for evaluating monster's chooses?

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  • Why is there never any controversy regarding the switch statement? [closed]

    - by Nick Rosencrantz
    We all know that the gotostatement should only be used on very rare occasions if at all. It has been discouraged to use the goto statement countless places countless times. But why it there never anything like that about the switch statement? I can understand the position that the switch statement should always be avoided since anything with switch can always be expressed by if...else... which is also more readable and the syntax of the switch statement if difficult to remember. Do you agree? What are the arguments in favor of keeping the 'switch` statement? It can also be difficult to use if what you're testing changes from say an integer to an object, then C++ or Java won't be able to perform the switch and neither C can perform switch on something like a struct or a union. And the technique of fall-through is so very rarely used that I wonder why it was never presented any regret of having switch at all? The only place I know where it is best practice is GUI code and even that switch is probably better coded in a more object-oriented way.

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  • How to set TextureFilter to Point to make example Bloom filter work?

    - by Mr Bell
    I have simple app that renders some particles and now I am trying to apply the bloom shader from the xna samplers ( http://create.msdn.com/en-US/education/catalog/sample/bloom ) to it, but I am running into this exception: "XNA Framework HiDef profile requires TextureFilter to be Point when using texture format Vector4." When the BloomComponent tries to end the sprite batch in the DrawFullscreenQuad method: spriteBatch.Begin(0, BlendState.Opaque, SamplerState.PointWrap, null, null, effect); spriteBatch.Draw(texture, new Rectangle(0, 0, width, height), Color.White); spriteBatch.End(); //<------- Exception thrown here It seems to be related to the pixel shaders that I am using to animate the particle. In a nutshell, I have a texture2d in vector4 format that holds particle positions, and another one for velocities. Here is a snippet from that area: GraphicsDevice.SetRenderTarget(tempRenderTarget); animationEffect.CurrentTechnique = animationEffect.Techniques[technique]; spriteBatch.Begin(SpriteSortMode.Immediate, BlendState.Opaque, SamplerState.PointWrap, DepthStencilState.DepthRead, RasterizerState.CullNone, animationEffect); spriteBatch.Draw(randomValues, new Rectangle(0, 0, width, height), Color.White); spriteBatch.End(); What I comment out the code that calls the particle animation pixel shaders the bloom component runs fine. Is there some state that I need to reset to make the bloom work?

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  • BlitzMax - generating 2D neon glowing line effect to png file

    - by zanlok
    Originally asked on StackOverflow, but it became tumbleweed. I'm looking to create a glowing line effect in BlitzMax, something like a Star Wars lightsaber or laserbeam. Doesn't have to be realtime, but just to TImage objects and then maybe saved to PNG for later use in animation. I'm happy to use 3D features, but it will be for use in a 2D game. Since it will be on black/space background, my strategy is to draw a series of white blurred lines with color and high transparency, then eventually central lines less blurred and more white. What I want to draw is actually bezier curved lines. Drawing curved lines is easy enough, but I can't use the technique above to create a good laser/neon effect because it comes out looking very segmented. So, I think it may be better to use a blur effect/shader on what does render well, which is a 1-pixel bezier curve. The problems I've been having are: Applying a shader to just a certain area of the screen where lines are drawn. If there's a way to do draw lines to a texture and then blur that texture and save the png, that would be great to hear about. There's got to be a way to do this, but I just haven't gotten the right elements working together yet. Any help from someone familiar with this stuff would be greatly appreciated. Using just 2D calls could be advantageous, simpler to understand and re-use. It would be very nice to know how to save a PNG that preserves the transparency/alpha stuff. p.s. I've reviewed this post (and many many others on the Blitz site), have samples working, and even developed my own 5x5 frag shaders. But, it's 3D and a scene-wide thing that doesn't seem to convert to 2D or just a certain area very well. I'd rather understand how to apply shading to a 2D scene, especially using the specifics of BlitzMax.

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  • SQL Bits X – Temporal Snapshot Fact Table Session Slide & Demos

    - by Davide Mauri
    Already 10 days has passed since SQL Bits X in London. I really enjoyed it! Those kind of events are great not only for the content but also to meet friends that – due to distance – is not possible to meet every day. Friends from PASS, SQL CAT, Microsoft, MVP and so on all in one place, drinking beers, whisky and having fun. A perfect mixture for a great learning and sharing experience! I’ve also enjoyed a lot delivering my session on Temporal Snapshot Fact Tables. Given that the subject is very specific I was not expecting a lot of attendees….but I was totally wrong! It seems that the problem of handling daily snapshot of data is more common than what I expected. I’ve also already had feedback from several attendees that applied the explained technique to their existing solution with success. This is just what a speaker in such conference wish to hear! :) If you want to take a look at the slides and the demos, you can find them on SkyDrive: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=377ea1391487af21&resid=377EA1391487AF21!1151&parid=root The demo is available both for SQL Sever 2008 and for SQL Server 2012. With this last version, you can also simplify the ETL process using the new LEAD analytic function. (This is not done in the demo, I’ve left this option as a little exercise for you :) )

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  • Difference between Detach/Attach and Restore/BackUp a DB

    - by SAMIR BHOGAYTA
    Transact-SQL BACKUP/RESTORE is the normal method for database backup and recovery. Databases can be backed up while online. The backup file size is usually smaller than the database files since only used pages are backed up. Also, in the FULL or BULK_LOGGED recovery model, you can reduce potential data loss by performing transaction log backups. Detaching a database removes the database from SQL Server while leaving the physical database files intact. This allows you to rename or move the physical files and then re-attach. Although one could perform cold backups using this technique, detach/attach isn't really intended to be used as a backup/recovery process. Commonly it is recommended that you use BACKUP/RESTORE for disaster recovery (DR) scenario and copying data from one location to another. But this is not absolute, sometimes for a very large database, if you want to move it from one location to another, backup/restore process may spend a lot of time which you do not like, in this case, detaching/attaching a database is a better way since you can attach a workable database very fast. But you need to aware that detaching a database will bring it offline for a short time and detaching/attaching does not provide DR function. For more information about detaching and attaching databases, you can refer to: Detaching and Attaching Databases http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190794.aspx

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  • What is the correct term for - server/client database sync via API?

    - by Daniel
    Forgive the vague question title. I've been programming mobile apps for 3 years now, and I've got a little too far from the web services and server side code then I probably should have. Anyway, I'm doing a personal project now and I want to create an web API for it. One of my requirements is to check for updates from my app, so I would send a timestamp to the API. I've used many APIs that my clients prepared for me and only now am I appreciating their work ! What is the term or technique used to create an API backed by a database which tracks changes via dates/timestamps, basically an effective way for me to query changes occurring since a timestamp. Simply put, I want that my app can call my API in order to sync new data and changed data from the server, to the app. The app would only have a timestamp of the last time it synced with the server. Would I have a log table for each data table in my database which adds a record for each change? Then I could query all changes with a timestamp superior to the one passed to the API. Can anyone point me in the right direction on this?

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  • Formatting minified jQuery, JavaScript using the Internet Explorer 9 Developer Toolbar

    - by Harish Ranganathan
    Much has been talked about the F12 developer toolbar in IE and the support it provides for web developers.  Starting IE8, the Developer Toolbar is a menu item that helps you view the page source, scripts, profiling and many other details of the rendered page.  It even allows script debugging from within and that makes it a truly powerful web developer tool bar. With IE9, the developer toolbar got even better with the Networking Tab that allows you to inspect the traffic/time taken and drill down into the Request/Response headers and other specifics. The script tab allows you to view the scripts used in the page. One of the challenges of working with JavaScript / jQuery when they are minified, is that, it becomes really hard to read.  Minified JavaScript is a compression technique and also a best practice for delivering faster web pages.  However, when you would like to debug, minified JavaScript files become very hard since they aren't properly formatted.  Take the case of the above sample, which is a basic MVC 3 Web Application.  It uses the minified jQuery and modernizr files. Once we select the above scripts, the script source looks as follows:- But with the “Format JavaScript” option in the Configuration icon, Once you click on the “Format JavaScript”, you can see the formatted JavaScript as per screen below:- This makes the script readable and also easy for debugging.  Cheers !!!

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  • Organizing Business and Presentation entities

    - by simoneL
    Background I am developing a WPF project. This is the basic structure: User Interface (WPF Project); Interfaces (class library, contains all the interfaces and the entities used by the application; Modules (every module contains the logic of a specific argument, e.g. File Management, and can eventually contains Wpf User Controls). In the WPF Controls, to facilitate the binding operations I have created a BaseViewModel class which contains a Raise method that automates the binding mechanism (for further details, I used a technique similar to that one described in this article). The problem Understand which is the best way to separate Presentation form from the Business form in the entities classes. The case In the Interfaces project I have, for instance, the class User public class User { public virtual string Name { get; set; } // Other properties } In one of the modules I need to use the User class and to bind its properties to the User Interface controls. To do so I have to use a custom implementation of the get and set keywords. At first point, I thought to create a class in the Module called, for instance, ClientUser and override the properties that I need: public class ClientUser : User { private string name; public override string Name { get { return name; } set { Raise(out name, value); } } // Other properties } The problem is the Raise method, which is declared in the BaseViewModel class, but due to C# single inheritance constraint, I can't inherit from both classes. Which is the right way to implement this architecture?

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  • Red Dot Scope Makes Sighting In Long Lenses a Snap

    - by Jason Fitzpatrick
    If you’ve ever used a high power lens, you know how tricky it can be to sight a distant subject as the field of view through the lens is so tiny. This hack takes care of that problem by using a zero-magnification red dot rifle scope. Chris Malcolm enjoys photographing birds and other wildlife with high power lenses. The problem, when shooting with huge 500mm lens and other high power lenses, is that they’re practically telescopes and acquiring a fast moving target like a bird using a through-the-lens technique is very tricky. Malcolm’s solution hinges on mounting a zero-magnification red dot rifle scope in parallel with the lens. His mock up is a bit unpolished (although we can understand not wanting to run out and buy a brand new black scope just for the experiment) but works great to get him on target. Hit up the link below to read more about his build, how be created the rail mount for the scope, and why he opted to mount it to the barrel of the lens and not the hot shoe mount on the camera. 500mm Reflex Lens with Red Dot Sight [via DIY Photography] Make Your Own Windows 8 Start Button with Zero Memory Usage Reader Request: How To Repair Blurry Photos HTG Explains: What Can You Find in an Email Header?

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  • Inline Image in ASP.NET

    - by Ricardo Peres
    Inline images is a technique that, instead of referring to an external URL, includes all of the image’s content in the HTML itself, in the form of a Base64-encoded string. It avoids a second browser request, at the cost of making the HTML page slightly heavier and not using cache. Not all browsers support it, but current versions of IE, Firefox and Chrome do. In order to use inline images, you must write the img element’s src attribute like this: 1: <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhEAAOALMAAOazToeHh0tLS/7LZv/0jvb29t/f3//Ub/ 2: /ge8WSLf/rhf/3kdbW1mxsbP//mf///yH5BAAAAAAALAAAAAAQAA4AAARe8L1Ekyky67QZ1hLnjM5UUde0ECwLJoExKcpp 3: V0aCcGCmTIHEIUEqjgaORCMxIC6e0CcguWw6aFjsVMkkIr7g77ZKPJjPZqIyd7sJAgVGoEGv2xsBxqNgYPj/gAwXEQA7" 4: width="16" height="14" alt="embedded folder icon"/> The syntax is: data:[<mediatype>][;base64],<data> I developed a simple control that allows you to use inline images in your ASP.NET pages. Here it is: 1: public class InnerImage: Image 2: { 3: protected override void OnInit(EventArgs e) 4: { 5: String imagePath = this.Context.Server.MapPath(this.ImageUrl); 6: String extension = Path.GetExtension(imagePath).Substring(1); 7: Byte[] imageData = File.ReadAllBytes(imagePath); 8:  9: this.ImageUrl = String.Format("data:image/{0};base64,{1}", extension, Convert.ToBase64String(imageData)); 10:  11: base.OnInit(e); 12: } 13: } Simple, don’t you think?

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  • Flash AS3 sidescrolling tiles optimization

    - by Galvanize
    I'm trying to make a sidescrolling game in Flash that will run on a low performance laptop. While studying the subject from Tonypa I saw that he builds a Bitmap by making copys of the BitmapData of each tile from the Tile Sheet and placing it on the bigger Bitmat with the size of the screen. But when I came to think on how to scroll my map I ran into some optimization doubts. I came up with two choices: Create a MovieClip, place a Bitmap instance for each tile that is shown on the screen + 1 row in it, then move them all. Then when the tile ran off the screen I would move it to end of the MovieClip and replace their BitmapData for the next row in my map. Use a Bitmap with copys of each tile in it (as shown in Tonypa's tutorial) but 1 extra row, move the whole Bitmap, and when it comes the time to replace rows, redraw the whole Bitmap and move it back to the origin position. The first idea is how a co-worker of mine suggested, the second one is my own, but none of us has enough technical knowledge to be sure on a technique that would be optimal in performance, can anyone help?

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  • Strict Pomodoro and other time management Chrome extensions

    - by kerry
    I have recently begun using the Pomodoro Technique to increase my productivity. However, I still find myself getting sucked in to the vortex of useless information that is the internet. With that in mind I began searching for a useful chrome extension to replace the Android Pomodoro app I have been using to manage my ‘doros. I even considered writing it myself. Luckily, I stumbled on one that had a similar featureset to what I was looking for. Strict Pomodoro is an excellent Chrome extension for practicing Pomodoro. Though lacking a few key features, such as the ability to set the duration of your pomodoros and breaks, it still has a key feature that helps me stay on task. It blocks time sucking websites. You can set filter lists and it will keep you from accessing them during a Pomodoro. Effectively reminding you to stay on task. Also, the author readily admits that it was quickly put together and new features may be added down the road. For now, it is still an excellent option. For those of you who do not practice Pomodoro but are trying to stay on task. The StayFocusd extension will effectively manage the amount of time you spend on useless (non-productive) sites. It also has a rich feature set that may be better for your work habits. OK, breaks over. Time to get back to work. 25 minutes at a time.

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