Programming Process

June 25, 2014

        Before we could create an excellent program, there are important steps that we should remember. I noticed that they are similar with the scientific method.

So yeah, first we need to understand the problem / observation and it is not an easy task. Most problems need serious thinking to be able to grasp it and not all the time we would be able to understand them. Think. Think. Think.

Second is to create an algorithms / create hypothesis that will solve the problem. Pseudo codes and Flowcharts. Writing and taking notes of steps is great so that we wouldn't forget them and we could arrange them in right sequence. When we were tasked to create flowcharts for in 4th year, it took me a long time to finish because I got confused by the different shapes to be used. I asked myself, "Why not just list down the steps? Bullet form would be best." Pseudo code is better, in my opinion.

Third, convert the algorithm to programming language / experiment. This would be the time to use an IDE (such as Lazarus, NetBeans, and Eclipse) to input the codes. Right now, I'm using NetBeans because it is the one our professor in IntPrg told us to use. I don't memorize all java keywords (there are a lot), so sometimes I commit lexical errors and make up my own words.

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*It is a programmer's task to make a user's life as easy as possible while he has a hard time creating programs. Haha. How sad.

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Programming Language

June 23, 2014
                

             Computers have their own languages, called programming languages. There are a lot. Just like us humans, we use different languages. As a BS-INSYS student, it is part of my job to learn some of the computers' languages. Oh life. As we've discussed, there are three (3) levels of programming language: Low level (ex. machine), Middle level (ex. assembly), High level. 

  

          Since I'm a beginner in programming, I've only used Visual Basic in 4th year high school and only started learning Java in IntroProg,  I'm going to study the High level since it is the closest to human language among the three. 

        *Actually, in high school we didn't really study Visual Basic well. Most of us "Copy-Pasted" codes from the internet because we wanted to finish ahead of time to play Counter Strike or DOTA. YEAH, our school computers have games installed on them and we were allowed to play them if we have finished our work. Hooray! HAHA.

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           We also talked about artificial intelligence and we all know that it isn't quite perfect yet. Like Siri, it's voice recognition is still buggy and it still doesn't know a lot. Unlike with Samantha, the OS in the future with AI from the movie Her, it's like you're talking with a real smart person. Oh, which I've realized is kind of creepy. 

Siri's trying to change the subject :(

I guess I should follow the 3rd important rule when giving instruction to a program:

1. Instructions have to be complete.

2. Instructions should be in correct sequence.

3. Instructions should be in programming language. 

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Software

June 18, 2014

              In grade school, the course that I wanted for college was "Computer Science". I loved playing with computers back then and thinking that there's a "computer" word in that course, I thought it would be great! As I stepped into high school, I learned that I suck in Math (I don't know what happened, I used to love it!) and that ComSci is loaded with hardcore math subjects. Ay patay.

           When it was time to choose a course, my cousin told me that IT was kind of lighter than ComSci. I was going to choose it but my classmate from high school told me that IS is also lighter and has a business side. It sounded cool to me, tech and business combined. So yeah, that's how I got here. Before, my mom asked me the differences between IT, IS, Computer Science and woopsy I didn't know. 

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SOFTWARE

           My laptop was originally installed with Microsoft Office 2007. When the latest version came out, the 2013 version, of course I wanted to update mine. I didn't want to spend anymore, so I downloaded it online and got it for free. Shhh. Microsoft Office is an example of a pre-built software.

             

            There are freeware that can be great alternatives for paid software. For MS Office, a great alternative would be Kingsoft Office, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, etc. 

            For large companies, they hire they're set of programmers as their staff to create in-house programs. For small companies, they find programmers to create out-source programs.

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           My sister's friend, who is an IT, works at a large tech company here in the Philippines. She also goes to work once a week only, like the friend of Sir Encarnacion. I heard that she has a big salary but she's kind of getting tired of her job already. It is really true what our professor said that the work of programmers is hard. Cry. So I guess I should really study and improve in our programming subject.

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Input Devices and Operating Systems

June 16, 2014

Scanner
         I was very young when we had a scanner, so I didn't get to use it. It's dead (broken) now and I only use my smartphone to "capture" a paper. I have downloaded an app on my smartphone that I use as an alternative "scanner". It is called "CamScanner" and it is free for Android smartphones.


  Here are screenshots of the app:

The finished product in B&W version

I'm lucky that my Starmobile has a 12MP which can usually capture texts clearly. Hihi, it's cheap btw. Most of smartphones now have high mega-pixel camera, so it wouldn't be a huge problem to capture small texts. Though shaky hands and light focus would be troublesome. Maybe it's not the same when you use a flatbed scanner, but it is good enough. Oh! I think it would be easier to use than a hand-held scanner.

Controller

           2K14. My friend influenced me to play it, so I installed it on my sister's laptop before. (My 6 year old laptop can't handle any hardcore games and RIP keyboard) Playing using the laptop keyboard was so hard because of the complicated and broken keys. I had to buy a CD-r King USB gamepad controller, with "shock" effect, similar look with the ones used on PS2.

Go CD-r king?

It good thing it's only Php 350.00. I didn't get to play the game a lot because I play alone and my sister didn't want me using her laptop. :(

Operating Systems

            I have tried Linux and Mac and found them confusing to use because I have Windows 7 installed on my laptop. In my opinion, it is the best version of Windows as of now. They removed the "start menu" on Windows 8 and changed it with the tiles (metro). WHY. But good to know that Microsoft is planning to resurrect it on a future update for Windows 8.1. 

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Output and Input Devices

June 11, 2014

Back to my previous post, I started using a computer since kindergarten but output devices and input devices were thoroughly discussed in grade school. So, yes most of us know what they are. Recalling what devices I can share a story with...

Output Devices:

Monitor 

Image Credit: Jestineyong

CRT (Cathode-Ray-Tube) was the first type of monitor that I got to use in school and we owned 2 of it back then. This is the box-type monitor which would take a lot of space in anyone's table. I remember my classmates and I playing with the monitor in class, turning it off, rubbing our hands on it then immediately touch one another. We would feel the "electric shock" and laugh, usually. Some got pissed, woops! 

Now, my family do not use any desktop computers. We left our last CRT at our previous home and only use laptops. 

Image Credit: ShopTechPartners

Printer 
"Assignments assignments assignments" - is what usually come to my mind when we talk about printers. We own an HP Ink Jet printer since 2010 that we got at a reasonable price. Sometimes, it malfunctions because the components inside get dirty. Good thing though that it has a "clean" option and it would clean itself. I didn't like it in high school when my classmates ask me to print for them because I was too lazy to set-up the printer and they will consume our ink. The ink is more expensive actually than the printer itself. Although there are ink "refills", which my high school uses to save money, we opt to use the hp made inks to avoid voiding our warranty. 

We actually wanted to buy a Laser Jet printer so that the printing process would be faster, but it is more expensive than a Ink Jet printer.

Speakers

Image Credit: Amazon

For laptops and tablets, they have in-built speakers in the machines. When I play music on my laptop, it doesn't really have the "Bass Effect" that I want but it's alright. We do not own any speakers except the small portable one that we use for our iPods. 

Input Devices:

Keyboard

Image Credit: Aramedia

Sir Encarnacion said there hasn't been a lot of updates for this device,and yes I agree. Almost every keyboard / laptop keyboard has the same keys and same appearances with one another. Except mine.

Yikes!!!

One day, I was typing an assignment when suddenly the keys of "D" and "Fn" popped up out of nowhere! And damn I didn't know how to put it back. Sad to say, the Fn , CAPSLOCK, left control and the left keys aren't working anymore but luckily the D still does.




Mouse

Image Credit: Logitech

We kept on changing our wired mice before because most of them get damaged and malfunction easily. I miss the ball at the bottom of the mouse, I kept removing it on its place and played with it. 

Suddenly, I do not miss it anymore. Ew.

We also had retractable mice but also didn't last long. Since we only use laptops today, we use track-pads daily instead. But we own a wireless mouse if ever we need to Photoshop pictures, play games, edit music and edit videos because it is easier to control.

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So yeah, I noticed that these devices even a camera can be found all in one on a laptop. Except a PRINTER. I hope that in the future, they'll manufacture a printer also built-in on a laptop. That would be extremely great.

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Portable Drives

From the previous lesson, we've discussed about hard drives. Hard drives store our files permanently - images, videos, music, doc files, etc. - unless we reformat the drive or delete the files, ourselves. What if we want to backup, transfer, copy or share files? Today, different portable/removable drives are being produced. 

FLOPPY DISC (600KB - 1.4MB)

Image Credit: DVD Your Memories

                                                                                          

*i discovered that there are 3 sizes of a floppy disc. I still remember my eldest sister using 3.5" floppy discs to store her files for school. I always slide the silver rectagle of the floppy disc and my sister would always get md at me. Now, this is not very useful for us anymore. It would only be able to contain several doc files or at least an image. There's only few people who still have floppy disc drives. 

COMPACT DISC (600MB - 700MB)

Image Credit: Taranhacks

*These are usually used for installer of programs, installer of games, albums of different artists, etc. We actually have a lot of collection of cds because my mom and dad used to love buying albums of their favorite artists. These are still available in stores for at least Php 4 - Php 5 each.

DIGITAL VERSATILE DISC (4.2 GB)

Image Credit: Aayam

*It was originally called "Digital Video Disc" because it was usually used contain videos. Later on, people also stored different kinds of files such as game installers, pictures, programs, etc. It is still popular today especially in 'bangketas' where vendors sell pirated films. 

FLASH DRIVE (1GB - 64GB)

Image Credit: Webexplorations

*This is the most common portable drive used today especially for students, teachers, and workers. It is mistakenly called a "USB" because we plug it in USB ports. I personally have 2 flash drives - one for personal files and the other for school works. I can say that this is very handy and easy to use. 

EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES (160GB - 6TB)                    

Image Credit: Technologyguide

*This is almost the same as an internal hard drive except that it is portable and smaller in size. It has a slower data transfer rate than internal hard drives. We own 4 external hard drives, yeaaah. 

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The Three Components

I've started using a computer for our computer class in kindergarten, but of course I had no idea at that time about any of the PC components. I used a computer solely for gaming purposes.  

The best game ever!

Now, I use a computer not just to play Solitaire anymore - I use it to interact on social websites, download files, listen to music on iTunes, create my essays on MS Word, stalk my favourite actors/actresses online, browse photos, etc. Will my computer able to handle all the tasks properly?

There are a lot of components in a computer, but I learned about the 3 most important components of a computer that we should consider:

✓ RAM         

✓ Hard drive 

✓ Processor

RAM                                                                 HARD DRIVE

  - the primary storage                                                         - the secondary storage

  - stores files temporarily                                                    - stores files permanently

  - copies files faster than hard drive                                     - copies files slower than ram

PROCESSOR

        - brain of the computer

- executes tasks

*My friend and I actually consider this when we hunt for cheap efficient phones. We knew that they were important but I wasn't sure about their different purposes. We just know that they need to have high "values".

Lastly, I learned that you can make your computer faster by upgrading/adding RAM in the motherboard (it's cheaper than buying a processor). I have a 5 year old laptop and I'm thinking of upgrading its ram since it would be a waste to leave it behind and I cannot afford to buy a new one right now. I hope that buying these components will be more affordable in the future!

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