Wyatt-wjc
[1]Blog added to this page for week 9
Discussion question for week 6 added 3.7:
Concatenation—
From Wikipedia: Concatenation is a standard operation in computer programming languages (a subset of formal language theory). It is the operation of joining two character strings end to end. For example, the strings "foo" and "bar" may be concatenated to give "foobar". In programming languages, string concatenation is a binary operation usually accomplished by putting a concatenation operator between two strings (operands).
An overall definition I like: the linking together of a consecutive series of symbols or events or ideas etc; "it was caused by an improbable concatenation of circumstances"
As Sebastian has already stated Concatenation and Joining Strings should be considered the same.
Why is it interesting? It seems a lot easier to manipulate and maintain data that is in smaller chunks. So you could just have “foobar” and prevent the hassle but if you want to use “foo” and “bar” in other places Concatenation allows this.
Trimming Strings—
From Wikipedia: In programming, trim or strip is a string manipulation function or algorithm which removes leading and trailing whitespace from a string.
Why is it interesting? Creates more consistent data entry.
Weakly Typed—
From http://wiki.python.org/moin/StrongVsWeakTyping :
“A language is "weakly-typed" if it allows code to take a block of memory that was originally defined as one type and reinterpret the bits of this block as another type.”
Why is it interesting? Creates, as some have already stated, a more flexible language however this can cause a greater instability or so it seems.
Magic Quotes— From http://us2.php.net/magic_quotes :
“When on, all ' (single-quote), " (double quote), \ (backslash) and NULL characters are escaped with a backslash automatically.”
Why is it interesting? Makes it easier for newbies however there is a performance loss and “Because not all data needs escaping, it's often annoying to see escaped data where it shouldn't be.”
Literal Vs Interpreted— Literal means that the output of data is exactly as given input while Interpreted means that the output can be based upon an agreed upon parameter of the input.
Why is it interesting? Depends on how you interpret the definition…J
Discussion question for week 5 added 2.25:
As defined on Wikipedia web 2.0 is
“a phrase coined by O'Reilly Media in 2004,[1] refers to a perceived or proposed second generation of Web-based services—such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies—that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users.”
It seems that “it started as a phrase to refer to” something is usually a marketing tool to give attraction to an abstraction or set of ideas that have yet to become tangible. According to O’Reilly (http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html),
“The central principle behind the success of the giants born in the Web 1.0 era who have survived to lead the Web 2.0 era appears to be this, that they have embraced the power of the web to harness collective intelligence”
The collective intelligence of a group of like minded individuals can take an idea like Utube and turn it into something never before imagined. In this way I think that web 2.0 can be likened to the open source community, which has at the very core a collective intelligence that continues to challenge larger companies like Microsoft or the record and movie industries. The idea is that we can interact and create something much larger than ourselves. That creation really starts when what is offered in participation is not an exchange of money, either to pay for the privilege of being within the group, or in being paid for contributions as a traditional model allows, but rather for the pure joy and recognition of it. In that way this collective intelligence continues to open up an interactivity that should really be at the core of our democracy. Web 2.0 has given life to communities by allowing for greater mashing up of creativity without being stamped down upon by the fear of “piracy.” The communities that I hear about tend to develop a sense of fairness that exposes those who abuse the system while allowing others to stretch the boundaries of our traditional media. It is for all of this that I can agree with Paul Graham and how he interprets Web 2.0 (http://www.paulgraham.com/web20.html).
Discussion for Week 4 added 2.25:
PHPINFO gives a lot of information that can be used for debugging, comparison, or general knowledge to impress your friends and family. What is presented includes, "information about PHP compilation options and extensions, the PHP version, server information and environment (if compiled as a module), the PHP environment, OS version information, paths, master and local values of configuration options, HTTP headers, and the PHP License." (http://us3.php.net/phpinfo) As an example of comparison on a couple of items:
1 and 1 Host: PHP version 4.4.4, Linux system, display errors--on, html errors--on, server software Apache 1.3.33 (Unix)
St Web: PHP version 4.3.11, Linux system, display errors--on, html errors--on, server software Apache 2.0.53 (Fedora)
As time goes on there may be times when looking at the information again will help in set-up or troubleshooting. For now I recognize some things from the chapters we have read and am sure more will become familiar as we read on...--Wyatt
One of our questions for Week three:
How do I deal with finding errors? What are some strategies?
First of all I am just starting out with PHP so I have no real history to pull from. If I did it would be from what I have done in dealing with errors with Javascript, HTML, and CSS. So far though I have found it much easier to deal with errors in PHP as compared to Javascript. Javascript and using a debugger can be tough for many however with PHP there is an error given and a ref to the line of code. Having that alone saves tons of time. Looking at the code for that particular line there is also given some hint as to why the code didn't work. For example when submitting a form the following error comes up:
Notice: Undefined variable: title in /class/CIS-2430-VO01/wjc02280/weekthree/handle_form.php on line 21
You know to look on line 21 for an undefined variable under the name title. I can then figure out why the variable comes up as undefined by looking at how it is defined versus the proper way to do so.
If I don't have such a pinpointed ref for an error I would look at what wasn't working and then go back to my code and look for the most common mistakes. If I was unable to find anything obvious I would Google to see if others had come up with the same problem at some point in time. I am sure some forum with an answer might help me further. If I had taken the time to sign up for being part of a forum I might submit my problem with code examples. I would then walk away from it for a bit and come back with a fresh set of eyes. Or I might ask someone I know if they have ever had similar trouble.
To sum up my strategies include: 1. Using a debugger. 2. Looking for the obvious. 3. Google. 4. Forums. 5. Friends.
--Wyatt
The start of my wiki:
All energy starts with a vibration which could be translated into sound or, in this case, into words. The vibrations you are "reading" are creating great peace. You feel very light and wonderful, full of grace, your mind is empty of all thought. You are accepting and open to anything. A thought will now enter your mind; an over-riding thought that makes you feel you must complete an action. All else is meaningless except for this one action. Go withdraw money, any amount will do, from your bank, put it in an envelope and mail it to:
Iam Pullinurleg 1213 Fraud Rd. Lost Island, FL 82652
What else to put up on here? Well what we are supposed to put up I suppose, a link to my eportfolio:
https://callisto.ccv.vsc.edu:443/webapps/bbcms/portfolio/launch?pid=_2819_1&tid=_509_1
LOOKING GOOD MATE=-)
Hay Wyatt !!! - Great to see you enjoying the WIKI -- Yahhhhooooo [[2]JilMac]
Wyatt-wjc
