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pakmannen

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Posts posted by pakmannen

  1. In answer to your question - I don't know! I program to create sites and only take what I need. That stuff is beyond me tbh. I have some formal Javascript, Visual Basic (and thus ASP as they have very similar structures) and Relational Database design training (that I did for fun/CV) and as from my point of view as long as you create a robust database it won't matter about the UI at all - it's the underlying queries that supply the responses and it's up to the UI programmer to package them properly. The Sitepoint discussion goes into areas I have nooooo idea about.

    Yeah, about that Sitepoint forum, it's a like a new world opening up I had no idea existed.. Basically, what happened was I'm part of quite a complex project, and maintainance was getting out of hands. Whenever you did something you'd break something else etc. Things were, to say the least, a mess. That's why I began looking at design patterns and frameworks which eventually led me to this whole MVC debacle. Suffice to say, it's rather complicated. :P Even if I think I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Actually, I've got the MVC part covered. Now I'm wrestling with how to structure Domain Logic. Working on an Active Record implementation which is trickier than I thought.

     

    I can recommend Martin Fowler's Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture if you want to get into this stuff.

  2. That's exactly what I NOT want, because a widescreen has more columns and less lines. When I code, I want to see as many lines as possible, while at the same time, most code wont ever reach the right side of the screen (even at 1024x768), so the extra columns are just wasted screenspace.

    Did you even read what I said? I said one that can tilt 90 degrees into "portrait mode". That means you get way more lines than columns. More than on a regular 4:3 screen. Edit - Like this one: http://www.eizo.com/products/lcd/l997/index.asp

  3. Depends what you want to code. It's mostly database stuff. I haven't done any in a while but I have used php5 a little.

    Well, take a look at the link I posted above, if you dare.. I'm trying to learn more about object oriented programming, and how you apply it to websites. The MVC pattern seems to be what most people advocates. Even if apparently no one agrees on what it really means.. <_< Just take a look at some of the replies I got.

  4. Well, I've been fiddling with it for a few days now. Read a lot of articles about it. (This is a php implementation we're talking about, and I know it differs slightly from, say, Java) It really doesn't help that people can't agree on how it should function, and that there are countless variations and a whole lot of unfamiliar terminology. (The deeper you dig..)

     

    I posted this rather long thread over at Sitepoint today. MVC Madness. Not sure if you guys would understand it without knowing php. I don't really know how similar it is to other languages.

     

    Basically it's a lot of information to digest; some things make perfect sense while I struggle to understand other parts. I think I'm just going to take a long walk or something.. Before I go completely nuts.. :)

  5. I have orderd this one: LG FLATRON L2000CN 20 Zoll TFT DVI black/silver (kontrast 2000:1, 6 Ms)

    I got it for 320 Euro, now it became a bit more expensive but I still got the old price. :)

     

    I selected this one, because it had good feedbacks, and from the technical parameters, it seems to be the best one. I also didn't want to get a widescreen. I rather have the extra 150 lines instead of a few pixels width more. :) But as it seems, this will be my last 4:3 screen, because it's pretty hard already to get one, and I expect that in a few years they will be completely extinct.

    You should get one of them widescreens that can tilt 90 degrees. That must be excellent for coding. :)

  6. Wow, thanks for all the great answers! This is good stuff.

     

    So, you guys know anything about the MVC pattern... :P (Sub Effect! You're a php coder! Please tell me you're awsome and will help me understand all my php5 questions!)

  7. Thanks for the replies and examples guys, I think I more or less understand what static does.

     

    I've been learning about "accessor methods" or something like that today. Let's see if I got this straight. Objects should be self-contained and their variables preferably private or protected. This means that you have to write Get() and Set() functions/methods to retrieve and update variables from outside the class. In php this looks like:

    class MyClass
    {
    public function __get($var)
    {
    	return $this->$var;
    }
    
    public function __set($var, $val)
    {
    	$this->$var = $val;
    }	
    }

    I've tried it and it works and such, but again I'm wondering why.. Why should objects be self-contained? Why can't their variables be public? Is it about security? Or is it just confusing with a lot of variables everywhere? Does it affect performance?

     

    (For the curious, the __ thing before the function name indicates that it's "magical". I think it's a php thing but I'm not sure. It means when you do $object->var=$val; it automatically runs the __set() function, if you've written one. You don't need to type $object->__set($var)=$val;)

  8. I just came across static today actually, while installing php5 on my computer (which has better OO support, I'm told)

     

    I've played around a bit, and read some examples at php.net. Here's how I understand it: A function or a variable within a class can be static. This means you can use them without creating an object. In php it looks like this:

       class A
      {
       static function foo() { }
       function bar() { }
      }
      A::foo();
      $obj = new A;
      $obj->bar();

    And yeah, that obviously means you can't use $this-> in a static function, since no object exists. Your post made more sense when I sat down and tried some code. In the real world, when do you want to use a static something? It's always easier to understand things if you get a concrete example of its usage. Something php.net always manages to avoid.. :P Why put a function inside a class if you want it static?

     

    Oh, and what do you guys mean by "method"?

  9. Sure, you are not going to learn about type safety and compile-time checks with Python, but I do believe it is a very good way of learning the fundamentals of programming such as loops, iteration versus recursion, data structures (lists, arrays, hashtables etc), algorithms etc. I think working with dynamic languages is also very useful in its own right, since passing functions as arguments etc would be quite counterintuitive if you had never been exposed to it.

    After reading a bit on the python website, I think it seems a fine starting point, and also quite useful in that you can quickly whip up a program to do basic stuff like batch renaming files. I don't see anyone writing a java application for that sort of thing. It (python) does feel more like a scripting language though.

     

    Yes, I too would recommend Java hence my suggestion to Pak. However as an absolute beginner language I think it is a little clunky -- for example, you are going to have to write "public static void main(String[] args)" just to print Hello World, without actually knowing what "public", "static", or "void" mean, whereas with Python you will only need to use the features of the language you are currently learning.

    I do have php experience, so I know about a lot of the basic concepts like arrays, loops, conditions, functions and classes. Of course, php isn't nearly as strict as C++ or Java. There are no datatypes per se, you just create a variable and it can take any sort of value. As for your example, here are some guesses: "public" = the function can be accessed from other classes, "static" = um, not dynamic? :P, "void" = function does not return anything, "main" = constructor?

     

     

    A little. My advice: If anyone tries to teach you Ada, don't walk away; run! And don't look back! :P

     

    To be fair it's not a bad language, it's just really strict and formal. Which might be useful in combination with formal software engineering practices if you're writing software which will kill people if it crashes, but for the rest of us it's mostly a hindrance.

    Ha! Yeah I looked it up and it's apparently developed by the US army and used in planes and helicopters and spaceships and stuff. I do have a course in ADA, so we'll see how that goes. Mmm, strictness..

     

    Let me offer one piece of advice. First of all I tried unsuccessfully to learn programming for years in late junior high and early high school. I read countless books, tried to apply myself, etc. But the problem wasn't the "language" per se, it was the math. I failed to realize that mathematical logic was the basis of all programming and if you were bad at math, you are doomed to never be cut out for programming.

    Sure, you need logical thinking, and basic math knowledge, in order to get started. Same concept applies with php though.

     

    Well depends on what sorts of programming. Making a 3D game engine requires a lot of math. Rendering, physics...

    Since that's the sort of programming I'm going to do (physics simulations, computer graphics etc) I have, spread over five years, one and a half years of math ahead of me. :) Ahh..

     

    And having a creative mind is extremely useful with programming, because you can come up with neat ways to optimse things. Being awesome at math won't be of any use unless you can apply it creatively. So I believe that a creative mind is more important than maths. I don't doubt that our programmers on DarkMod have had to apply their mathmatical skills in creative ways to acheive the light gem, sound propagation, etc.

    True, most types of programming require very little mathematical skill, but a lot of creative logical thinking.

  10. I read somewhere that C# was a mix of C++ and Java but yeah, I shunned away from it as soon as I read Microsoft. It's not that I have much against them but as you say, why start with a proprietary language?

     

    Java seems to be the most sensible option, since I want to learn OO from the start. I'll take a look at Python as well, thanks for that one OrbWeaver.

     

    Oh, any of you have experience with Ada?

  11. Now, I wasn't thinking primarily of the dark mod (I'm not promising ANYTHING) :laugh:

     

    The programming I'm going to study focuses on visualisation, which is a fancy way of saying computer graphics. That could mean anything from VR to be used by surgeons to Hollywood film effects. (Or computer games for that matter) I don't really want to jump headlong into that though :)

     

    I guess most people go with Java or one of the C languages these days when they start out. What is the difference between C, C++ and C#?

     

    Oh, and yeah, I do realize the importance of having your own little project when you learn stuff like this. That's sort of why I asked what your first programs were. I don't think I should endanger DarkRadiant just yet.. :P

  12. So, since I'm going to study a subject that includes programming I thought I'd try to learn a few of the basics in advance. I've never done any "proper" programming but I know php quite well. That means I know the basic syntax, functions, loops, conditions etc. Never had to deal with a compiler or any of that stuff. I know the theory behind object oriented programming, but since I've mostly concerned myself with php 4.x (which apparantly sucks at OO) I never bothered to study it carefully.

     

    I don't have any specific language in mind; I'd like to learn the stuff that applies to programming in general.

     

    What do I need to get going? What language would be a good starting point? (Just don't say Pascal..) Do you have any book reccomendations? How did you guys go about learning this stuff? What were your first programs? I want know everything! :)

  13. Doing fine, it's a lovely country. Particulary enjoyed hanging around the Blue Mountains for a while (google for cool pictures) and is looking forward to seeing the reef. In Brisbane atm, the last civilized place we're visiting (nothing but sandy beaches and paradise islands further north it seems) so I'll probably be out of touch for a while.

     

    I'm here for a week, so if there is anything, send me en email: jens.ljungblad@tjoff.com

  14. Hey guys. Glad to see things are moving along around here. Right, keep the work up while I, you know, cruise around Australia and everything.. Ahh

     

    I missed Dram in Sydney but will hopefully get to see Domarius in Brisbane, I'm counting on him filling me in on the latest office gossip.

  15. Watch out for dropbears! ;)

    Had to look that up and now I'm scared :blink:

     

    @Schatten: I'll leave the laptop at home, but I'm sure there are plenty of Internet cafés. I'll check in on you every now and then. Promise!

  16. So, I'm leaving for Australia in a few days, which some of you already know. I would suggest putting Schatten in charge of sounds, seeing how he's already taking care of a brand new reorganization. :P

     

    I have uploaded a rar (11.7 mb) containing four folders:

    • indep (unedited sfx files we are allowed to modify/use freely)
    • indep2 (more of the above, including some good footsteps)
    • pak (there are some looping problems, otherwise they're ready to go)
    • theo (the original footsteps, I think some are better than our current ones)

    You can download the file here: sounds.rar

    As I said, there are a bunch of unedited stuff, but feel free to play around with them. There are good free programs out there: Goldwave, Audacity etc. We should be able to pull a few metal doors, hits, creaks, footsteps and explotions from them.

     

    I'll be leaving in a week but I'll have limited time, so I thought I'd just take care of this and upload the files as soon as possible. Send me a PM if there are any problems.

  17. What happened to the old ladder sounds? They had lots of great creaking n' stuff.

     

    Now that I listen to our current footsteps, there are some sounds that are of worse quality than what we had before. I'm thinking of gravel & snow in particular.

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