04.29.06
Posted in ALPHA, Computer Science, KaladeaMUD, Programming at 6:14 pm by Nick
Time: 1 hour
Total: 72 hours
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Alright, so I exported the code (and SQL) and threw it up for the world to see. Sadly it is in a bad shape, as I made a last ditch effort something like six weeks ago to institute the character class that avatars were to be derived from. When I came back (within the last few days) it was hard to tell what I had done to it and what the errors were exactly.
The statistics are listed at the bottom of the display page. It resulted in a net gain of 2646 lines and 9 files. Sadly, I had to gather the stats by hand, so I’m thinking I may make a program that will tally lines.
In any event, here is Scratch MUD with all I have added (movement, rooms, help files, and a bit more):
http://www.nick-cash.com/download/cs2/final
— edit —
I have updated the KaladeaMUD project page on the right with a listing of added features, the stats, and a few comments.
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04.27.06
Posted in ALPHA, KaladeaMUD at 7:21 pm by Nick
Time: 1 hour
Total: 71 hours
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Despite the listed time for this, I’ve given it some serious thought. Ultimately, I would like to finish reading Designing Virtual Worlds, reread parts of MUD Programming, and finally learn some more Lua. An alternative to Lua would be Python. There are several reasons I like Python (very clean and neat scripting language), and the book MUD Programming uses Python for all game logic, while the basic kernel is coded in C++. This is a very flexible and efficient design.
Something I would also like to do is iron out a few more issues due to the design. Ultimately the design process on Kaladea could take a year or more. I am not very satisfied with the way it has turned out from Scratch, as I think the MySQL implementation (and a few other methods) are very bulky and annoying.
Thus, I have decided to scrap this current codebase. It has made some tremendous leaps, but it is currently just to unwieldly to work in the long run. I do, however, plan to keep the code around and use it for my CS II final project.
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04.17.06
Posted in ALPHA, College, Computer Science, Programming, School at 10:13 pm by Nick
Time: 4 hours
Total: 70 hours
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Wow, an update on all of this finally! Since I’m lucky I can count my time programming on homework towards my project.
Due to recent events, I missed quite a bit of class at UNI. I’m pretty sure I’m still ahead of the game though. The two updates are the two most recent homework assignments.
Assignment #4 called for expanding a Vector class O’kane had established previously. This was just a chance to use operation overloads. For the unknowning, C++ allows you to override various operators (+,-,/,*,++,- -). Thus, you can build your class into the language and not only write more concise code, but cleaner code. Its all quite nifty.
Assignment #5 was strange. I guess in class they were talking about sorting arrays (again) and O’kane decided to have them use the qsort() and bsearch() functions. The two standard functions are for array manipulation within C (and C++ for that matter). You specify your own comparison functiion and a few other details and it will do all of the hard work for you. It is also quite fast. We tested it on a 1.3 meg file full of medical terminology (used in a previous assignment as well). It took about a second to read and sort all 39,824 entries on my piece of crap computer. Looking up was also quick.
One of the strange thigns about the assignment was that we had to seek back to the stored file position and read it in again, so it was all directly from the file. This is good practice for new programmers who don’t know how to traverse text files very well. However, I became very good at it with the X-Log Library, as my crash guard used file seeking a bit.
You can find the source and typescripts in the links below. The typescripts hold the source code, a compilation statement, and a test run. However, the code looks a tad funky, so I suggest looking at the source files for the code itself:
Assignment #4 – http://www.nick-cash.com/download/cs2/4
Assignment #5 – http://www.nick-cash.com/download/cs2/5
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04.13.06
Posted in General at 4:26 pm by Nick
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/power/library/pa-nl29-directions/?ca=dgr=lnxw01GPQA
“…In the U.S., we’ve seen a decline in science and engineering degrees over
the past ten years, while the number of newly declared computer science majors
has actually declined by 32% over the last four years. Ever since the dot.com
bust, there’s been a steep drop-off. Clearly, women and under-represented
minorities are leaving at alarming rates or not even considering science and
engineering programs.
There are a couple of reasons: one is a myth, believed by parents, students, and
high school guidance counselors, that computer science and engineering jobs are
all being outsourced to China and India. This is not true. The percentage of the
total number of jobs in this space is quite small — less than 5%. According to
a government study, the voluntary attrition in the U.S. has outpaced the number
of outsourced jobs to emerging nations. Further, for every job outsourced from
the U.S., nine new jobs are actually created in the U.S.
….
The growth is everywhere. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has identified
computer-based jobs as one of the hottest areas, and those involving specific
skill sets — systems analysts, database administrators, computer scientists —
as some of the fastest-growing occupations through 2012, with growth rates
anywhere from 40 to 70% in the U.S. alone. Further, at least 1.5 million
additional IT field professionals will be needed by the end of this year.
Another factor: approximately 70 million baby-boomers will leave the workforce
over the next 15 years, with only 40 million new workers coming in, and that
will make the shortage of computer-skilled folks even more dramatic. Canada and
EMEA foresee similar retirement rates. And even looking at India or China or
Russia, where there are explosions of activity, they are trying to move as
quickly as possible from agricultural to manufacturing to services economies. In
developed nations in Europe and North America, about 70% of the economy is based
on services and knowledge workers, and this is where India, China, and Russia
would like to be. …”
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04.01.06
Posted in General at 5:19 pm by Nick
For the idea of preservation, this is copied from my Xanga.
I suppose an update would be nice (especially after my strange and mysterious last post). The story will creep out eventually, and its not really a secret. If it were, I would write this anyway.
For those who don’t know, my mom has been has been sick for quite a while. Sick is more of an understatement with all of the problems she had. Over the past 8 months we have been struggling to get her healthy, and really it was just too much. Her liver failed, which ultimately caused her kidneys to fail, which promotes a great many more problems.
Roughly 3:30am on Saturday, April 1st, 2006, my mother (Cynthia K. Cash) past away. However, she went peacefully.
–
This whole ordeal has been a rollercoaster of emotions. While my last post was written in fury, I’m far beyond that. The pale veil of numbness, while appart several days ago, is also gone. The weakly repaired fissure that is apparant in my soul is still strong, though a new one next to is will need mending. And even though it will eventually be mended, the painful scar will always be a reminder; and the two scars will be side by side, reminding me where I have been, where I need to go, and what I must realize:
Death is a part of life, and it cannot be avoided.
I will miss my mother more than words can describe. Despite the troubles kids always have with parents, I’m sure I had far fewer than most. Many people have said I’ve had to grow up too fast, which is true. Many more say I try to grow up too fast, which is also true. My mother realized both, and treated me accordingly. I will never have more respect for anyone than my parents, who’s troubles have been greater than anyones I have ever known, or expect to know. It is truely an honor to be their child, no matter what I have said in the past, or what i will say in the future. They will always amaze me.
Out of this there is only one outcome: to keep going. To keep moving. To keep living. To continue in this world and accomplish all that is possible. That is what she wanted.
I must reach for the stars… And someday, they will be mine.
–
I figure my family (especially my brothers) will get mad at me for posting this. “The whole world doesnt need to know!” they’ll say. But seriously, what is the problem. Won’t people notice? Will they not ask? And if they did ask, why would I not tell? This is no secret.
My only regret is that I never got to build my parents their house like I promised I would. They laughed about it, I laughed about, but I really did plan on making it. ::sigh::
And thus I end this post, holding back tears, with that large lump in my throat that keeps me from speaking. I have nothing more to say.
—————- other post —————-
Fuck this. Fuck it all. ::sigh::
–update–
You know, why can’t my family just get a break for once. There is another matter, despite the obvious one, of which I speak. But seriously, haven’t we had enough? Why? Why? My mind ponders the question constantly, and yet I still don’t get it. The past is painful, the present is painful, and the future will no doubt be pretty fucking painful. What is it with this world? Is it something sick and twisted, meant only to inflict pain upon its inhabitants?
I know that in order to understand happiness, one must understand true pain. To understand life’s purpose (which is quite dubious), one must go through hardship. But after a time, isn’t that enough? Is it not enough to realize the truth about this world, or at least attempt to understand it? Is it not enough to care about people and things close to your heart? Is it not enough to admit you are not strong enough?
On another note, I thought I was prepared. But how can you possibly be prepared for someone to tell you your mother is going to die? The answer is you cant. No matter how strong you think you are, you will crumble.
And I, my friends, have crumbled.
“There can be nothing said over tragedies that can reconcile one’s soul besides the bearer of the ill fated sadness… they will one day learn to live and bare with it.”
~CGW/Lhur
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