Slashdot Mirror

Python uses "self" and "other". Being a somewhat flexible language, you could probably get away with using "this" and "that" instead.

http://bytes.com/topic/python/answers/816999-do-i-need-self-other

We had a self-replicating automoton a long time ago. It's called cc.

Lawyer: "I'm not a software developer, but it's trivial to use that java library in a C# application"

There are ways to do exactly that. A quick Google search turned up this discussion.

If a company is selling a financial accounting package, and tries to state in their disclaimer that the software is "not fit for any particular purpose", I really can't see a judge signing off on that. Free software, because there is no contract between the parties, can get away with that. But when there's a contract you have to be much, much more explicit to avoid things like this.

The specific case (covered heavily - check Techdirt for one) in question has actually brought in a much larger problem to light. How should students treat code written as part of assignments or as part of their course-work in terms of licensing? Is there a precedent for licensing? Most research activities conducted by universities have already adopted licensing framework. Here's an example. There has been debate whether such licensing should be free. Just check Medical Research and you can open Pandora's box. One more example is Singapore's A-Star which is more of a group focused on preparing research for industry adoption including licensing and legal usage terms.

How about code released in books on Data Structures, Algorithms, Fundamental C programming? To my knowledge (do correct me if I am wrong), the code is usually licensed under the same copyright notice as the book itself. In some cases, the author changes this licensing and makes it available. One example is "Numerical Recipes in C" where the licensing terms of the code from the author(s) of the book is explicit and can be found on a google search.

When it comes to university assignments, it is no news that the same template (if not the same course material itself) tends to get recirculated over a periodic basis. In some cases this period is annual and in others, the frequency is different. The debate raised is ages old. For most data structure or standard assignments of programming, you could find most of the code online. You could use this as a starting point or choose to write your own and learn your fundamentals. That's up to the student and the professor who is teaching and grading.

There is some truth in the statement (IMHO) that the Academia is shielded from the real commercial world. It works positive in some cases and is counterproductive in fields like Engineering (not Theoretical Computer Science.) In this specific case, if the University were to read all the fine print they have on students sharing course material (for which they pay for) and lecture notes and assignments, they would find the right solution. Bringing this (issue between a student and the professor) out to Open forums seems more of a publicity stunt that is going to get someone infamous for some and noticeable for a few others.

Focusing on the larger issue, a Varsity must be clear on how course-work and assignments from the students will be licensed and treated. They already have set legal precedents for most research work (which in some cases is funded by commercial bodies.) Hopefully this issue raises a flag and lets varsities understand and embrace Open Source, encourage students to use it particularly in programming assignments. At the very least they should at least reserve procedures to let a student obtain due permission for displaying his/her works online under appropriate licensing. In the absence of a precedent and clear guidelines, such confusion and unnecessary nerve wracking experiences between a Professor and a Student are more likely to surface. I hope not.

One that does not use cookies

Web apps must track changes (user management, breadcrumbs, back links, etc) from page to page. Otherwise they are of little utility. Web apps make pages stateful by tracking a session in one of two ways: Storing session IDs in cookies or URLs. Cookies can be secured with encryption. URLs are plaintext. Session URLs are like writing your pin number on your bank card. So ... take your pick.

(There are actually other ways. But they suck worse: 1) Form value submission. *Everything* you click has to be a form with a hidden field to submit the session value... bye bye <a> tag. The forms also have to POST or the session will end up in the URL anyway ... see above. 2) Javascript cookies... need I say more? 3) Flash cookies... I think other posters have already pointed out security flaws in this approach 4) some other approach with huge drawbacks? )

Wouldn't the term "x--" evaluate to FALSE when x equals 0? So if the compiler isn't smart enough to realize I was being stupid, then this strange coincidence *might* save my ass and provide the desired effect to exit when x is 0.

But in case you were wondering... I checked and it doesn't compile with GCC 3.4.4 when compiled as C language code:

----> error-loop-initial-declaration-used-outside-c99-mode

Now... once I fixed the Language dependent error with declaring my variable within the for loop, it compiled fine and I was able to run it through the debugger and verify that it does IN FACT work as intended. :)

I don't know. I just use bytes.com (formerly "thescripts.com"). That's usually helpful.