Computer Science Forums

I started a new forum called Computer Science Forums. It's a place where you can discuss any topics related (or unrelated) to the topic of computer science. Feel free to drop on by and say hello!

http://www.compsciforums.com

Apple Installs MobileMe Without Your Consent.

If you are on Windows and have installed iTunes 7.7 check your control panel and see if this has happened to you too.

Code Caddy: Source Code Storage Utility

One day I was sitting around trying to think of a cool idea for a website. I started off thinking of what tasks are a hassle in my day to day computer use. I found that making my computer science projects available to all of the computers I use on a daily basis a real hassle. There was no real easy way to transfer my projects between my desktop, work computer, computer lab, and girlfriend's computer. I could have used a thumbdrive, but I am constantly losing them which makes this solution not a very good one. I have emailed myself projects before, but this clutters up my inbox, and there is no way to neatly organize all of my files. I never really cared if anyone else would use it as long as I found it useful.

I decided to call my website Code Caddy. Like a golf caddy carries golf clubs, Code Caddy carries your code for you wherever you go. Code Caddy does more than hold your source code. It also enables you to organize your projects, and preview your code with syntax highlighting.





Give Code Caddy a shot and tell me what you think.

Bianchi Pista

EDIT: New Pictures.
This is with flash:

Without Flash:

My Beloved Wiener Dog

How To: Compile and Run Basic C++ Programs in Xcode

This tutorial is to help out anyone that wants to create a terminal based c++ program using Xcode for Mac OS X. This is mainly for the people in CS 150 at ODU, but I think many can benefit from this as a getting started guide. If you know some basic C++ already this guide will be easier to you, but no prior knowledge is required for this how-to.

1. Download Xcode

The program that Mac users need to develop their programs is called Xcode. Xcode is an IDE that is built specifically for OS X users. Other IDEs that you may be familiar with are Visual Studio, and Dev-C++ both of which are for Windows. To download Xcode go here and click the link on the right labeled "Tools Downloads". Next, you will need to select a version of Xcode that is supported by your version of OS X. 10.4 Tiger users should use Xcode 2.5 and 10.5 Leopard users should use Xcode 3.0. If you have not done so already you will need to register for Apple Developer Connection site in order to download (registration is free). This is a somewhat large download, so grab a coffee or something and then come back to step 2.

2. Installing Xcode

Now that we have downloaded Xcode we will need to install it. The file that you downloaded should be a DMG file. Double click the file to mount the disk image, and a new icon on your desktop should appear. Double click the new icon, and then double click the Xcode installer which should be called something like xcodetools.mpkg. Go through the options like you were installing a normal piece of software, and then when it is all done click finished. Hooray! Xcode is installed.

3. Starting a New Project

This is where it gets interesting. When I first started to try Xcode out this is where I got confused and hopefully you will not go through what I did. I am using Xcode 3.0 with Leopard, so if you are a Tiger user things may be a bit different. First, you will want to open Xcode. The Xcode application is not located in your applications folder, but in the Developer directory. Its location is Macintosh HD/Developer/Applications/Xcode. Double click the Xcode icon to open the application, and you will be greeted by a startup assistant. I just went through with the default options, but if you are picky about where you projects are saved etc. then feel free to change the options. When the welcome window pops up just close it by clicking the "x" at the top left of the window. Then, go to File in the menu bar and then select "New Project". Now the intuitive thing to do would be to select the "Application" drop down, but for us we actually want to select the "Command Line Utility" drop down item. From there you should select "C++ Tool" and click next. Give your project a name and specify a place to save your project. I will call mine "hello" and leave the Project Directory as it is. Now click finish and you project window should appear. Now we will start the coding of our project.

4. Coding Compiling and Running

One of the files in the window should jump out at you right away and that is main.cpp. Double click it to open it in the editor. As you can see it has a very simple Hello World application in it, and this is where you will put your project's code. Now lets compile and run our Hello World program. Click on the build button at the top left of the editor window. If it asks you to save just click save all and it will compile. Now go to your "Project Organizer" window and then double click the executable file which in this case is just "hello" without any file extension. A terminal window should now open and your program should run. Now you know how to program in C++ on a Mac!

5. Notes

There are a few things about coding in C++ on a Mac that are different than a PC. For example the command:

system("PAUSE");

does not work on a mac, and there is no easy way around it.

Secondly, you may have noticed that the example program used the command:

std::cout<<"Hello World";

instead of just

cout<<"Hello World";

this is because the example is not using the std namespace. So you can code in 2 different ways. Either option A:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main (int argc, char * const argv[]) {

     // insert code here...
     cout << "Hello, World!\n";
     return 0;
}

Or option B:

#include <iostream>

int main (int argc, char * const argv[]) {

     // insert code here...
     std::cout << "Hello, World!\n";
     return 0;
}

Note that the "\n" after Hello World is an indicator to start a new line after Hello World.

Christmas Parts On My Bike Finally

Here is my bike with new stuff on it.

New Bike

Hey I just got my Surly Steamroller and heres a pic. (totally stock, totally boring)

Painting My Bike

Finished Result

Finished Mock-up

Original

-9/25/07-

So here is my bike after the paint stripper and sanding. There is still a lot of paint remnants, but they are all smooth, and shouldn't cause any flaws in the new paint.

Leigh was kind enough to take a picture of me spraying some primer on the frame. I left my cranks on because I was too lazy to have the local bike shop do it, and too broke to buy the tool to do it myself. Same goes for the chain.

After a little while I had a pretty decent coat on the frame.

-9/26/07-

Today I decided to spray primer on the forks. I did a way better job here than I did on the frame. I was scared to put too much primer on the frame because I thought it would drip but I ended up putting too little.

There are still a few rough spots that you can see in this pic. I think a little wet sanding can fix that right up though.

Here you can tell that I under painted the frame just a little bit.
More updates tomorrow!

-9/27/07-

Today I put on a few more coats of primer and I think that it is starting to look really good. I took a picture of a same part of the frame as yesterday so that you can make a good comparison.

Here is a good shot of one of the harder spots to paint on the bike. This has been even harder due to my laziness with leaving the cranks on.


I have run out of primer, so the next thing I am going to do is wet sand the primer with some really fine grit paper. Once that is done and my glow in the dark paint shows up I will start spraying coats of that.

-10/01/07-

So I have completed the paint job and I am kinda stoked and kinda disappointed. I ordered 2 cans of glow paint thinking it would be enough for the whole bike, but each can was half the size of the primer and clear. So I ended up not being able to put on multiple coats of the glow paint and it looks really splotchy. However, in person its hard to tell that it is splotchy. I am stoked at the fact that it actually glows pretty well. My camera couldn't get any good pictures of the paint glowing, but I did get this awesome video of me "painting" my bike with light. Enjoy.

-10/12/07-

Since I was not too happy with the splotchy-ness of the first paint job I decided to try again. This time I am much more satisfied with the results.



I also sprayed a few smaller parts (seat post collar, bottle cage bolts, etc.) the same green color to match everything. I can't wait to get it all put together.

-10/14/07-

Finally, I have finished my bike! The paint really does look good and I am super excited about the results. Heres the pictures:
As an added bonus I got this bike over the weekend for just $40!

Duck Tape Prom Dresses and Tuxedos [PICS]

Duck brand duct tape puts on a contest every year for prom goers to strut their duct tape skills. It is truly incredible how much time these people have on their hands. Oh and the outfits are pretty incredible too.

read more | digg story