Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 May 15

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1 May 15

[edit] May 15

[edit] Flowchart

Two questions. 1. does anyone wanna fix the image at Image:LampFlowchart.svg. If you look closely, the word "yes" is missing from a part of it. 2. Is there software or any tool that can generate a "normalized flowchart" like the preceeding one from a purely "pseudocode" description? Im thinking along the lines of a bunch of "if then" statements that are clear representations of the "logic" ... in case you want to send the text of the chart to someone in an email and still have it be comprehensible. NoClutter 02:09, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

I don't know about your question, but I did fix the image. Broken Segue 02:14, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

re 2: Graphviz may, but it may require fiddling to get the output precisely what you want. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 149.135.125.155 (talk) 09:13, 15 May 2007 (UTC).

The following is done with the Graph::Easy Perl module. You don't have to know Perl to use it. You can play with it online over here, and here is the manual. --TotoBaggins 16:58, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

graph         { flow: south; }
node.start    { shape: rounded; fill: #ffbfc9; }
node.question { shape: diamond; fill: #ffff8a; }
node.action   { shape: rounded; fill: #8bef91; }

[ Want flowchart software ] { class: start }
  --> [ Did you read our flowchart article? ] { class: question; }
   -- No --> [ Go read it ] { class: action; }

[ Did you read our flowchart article? ]
  --> [ See the software listed? ] { class: question; }
   -- Yes --> [ Follow links ] { class: action; }

[ See the software listed? ]
  -- No --> [ Scroll down to "Automatic" ] { class: action; }

[edit] HP laptop reset button?

I have an HP laptop. I'm sure exactly what breed it is, it's part of the entertainment series. Anyway, it won't turn on. This has happened before and it was fixed by finding some magic reset button under the battery - I didn't see this done, though. So my question: where do I find this button? Thanks in advance for your help! 202.180.72.232 03:53, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Question retracted. It fixed itself! It's a miracle! Aaadddaaammm 04:10, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] what on earth is happening to wikipedia!

someone has glitched the toolbar at the top of every page that allows me to acccess my talk page, watch list and contributions! it keeps hiding behind the globe symbol!--Lerdthenerd 08:49, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

I have no such problem. What browser are you using, what dimensions are you running the browser at (in pixels), and have you tried switching your skin? -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 08:56, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

it was normal an hour ago then it just went wierd, i think it might be a bug--Lerdthenerd 09:26, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

if you don't answer our questions, it's impossible for us to answer yours... -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 09:32, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

That happened a bit to me on IE 6, but now that I use Firefox it doesn't happen at all. --Lwarf 10:25, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

My problem is that I keep getting a program (index.php) every time I try to edit a page, including my own user page. Whether I download it or not, I still don't get to edit. All I can do is ask questions. --Manga 12:55, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

This is a common problem and it is usually something you did. It didn't "just happen". Whatever browser you are using (IE, Firefox, Opera...) has been told that it needs an external file handler for PHP files (notice the "php" at the end of the page address). I fix this problem at least twice a day on various users computers by selecting "open with" when it wants to download the page and selecting the browser. I make sure to check the "always open with this program" option. Every time, I ask over and over if the user did anything at all between the time it worked and it didn't work. They say no, absolutely not. Then, I say I'll just check the download and install history and see what they installed. Oh! Suddenly they remember installing something stupid like Limewire. --Kainaw ^(talk) 14:12, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Go to your preferences, and under Editing, uncheck "Use external editor by default". --h2g2bob (talk) 19:13, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Best device for writing on the go?

I like writing things, but I don't get much of a chance to do it, since when I'm on my computer I'm too busy forum whoring, and I can't use pen and paper (my handwriting looks like a cross between a first grader and a semi-literate seismograph, depending on how fast I write.) I'm thinking a PDA would be the best solution to this, but what would be the best combination of usefulness, comfort, and size? I've never took a terribly deep look into PDAs before, so I could really use advice. I figure my three biggest things would be: Display- Obviously if i'm going to spend a lot of time looking at a small screen, it has to look at least somewhat nice, and be easy on the eyes. Size - If it's very big, I won't use it. I figure this won't be a problem with the PDA, but with the keyboard. Compatibility - I'd prefer to avoid Windows CE, mainly because, in my previous experience with it, it's an annoying ass OS, but also because my main computer(s) use Ubuntu Linux (Feisty), so they must be compatible with that (and thus, use OpenOffice Writer files).

Then for the keyboard, I'm also somewhat discriminating. Size- Needs be small enough to fold up and be about the same size as the PDA, but also comfortable to use. Durability - If I do decide to punch out a novel, it needs to last. Tactile feedback - I love my G15. I really do. Most fold up keyboards i've seen are flat, like laptop keyboards, which I can learn to live with, but i'd like something that's at least somewhat more comfortable. Cost- I'm broke. This also applies to the PDA.

What would be the best to go with? I'm thinking something old and used off CL, what brands/models should I look for? What type of keyboard should I get? What kind of case should I get to hold said PDA and keyboard? Thanks -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 09:08, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Hello PhoebaWright, your question is interesting and clearly stated. I'd like to have an answer as I've been asking it myself too long. I do scribble on pads and type back on MSWord. I consider'd PDAin' but screen and kbd do look small. I think that tech is slowly improving, see the DS where children may scribble without learning OCR script. Good luck!-- DLL ^{.. T} 18:34, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

I decided to relearn handwriting from scratch at age 23, after I had to teach students at my university and nobody could decipher the stuff I wrote on the board. To my big surprise it took less than a week and has been of great benefit not only for my students but also for my personal notes. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 84.187.9.82 (talk) 20:38, 15 May 2007 (UTC).

I never really learned handwriting in the first place, not to mention my hands become incredibly painful if I write for more than 5-10 minutes, a problem I've never had with typing. This would still be more convineant for me -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 21:25, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Installing Driver for USB card on Mac

I just recently bought an Edimax EW-7318Ug USB Wireless stick and am trying to get it to work. I downloaded the driver from the seller's website (other people seem to have had no problem with it, so I doubt it is the driver's problem), but, when I try to unzip the .zip file from the desktop (my default for all downloads) I get an error message at the end of the unzip saying that I could not open to desktop, and the action was not permissible (Error 1 - Operation not permitted). Can anyone help here?

Thanks, a struggling Mac beginner.

--Manga 13:00, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

I found this info:

open up terminal in the utility directory and copy the [missing word] into you home directory.

from terminal type:

unzip filename.zip -d directory name

Now I just need to find out what 'home directory' means, and how to access it. Any ideas?

--Manga 14:03, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Found it. Obviously, it was the one with the picture of a house as its icon. anyway, I unzipped it, and it created an empty folder on my desktop.... What should I do now?

--Manga 14:10, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, done it all now.....phew.....--Manga 14:48, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Actionscript error

I get this error in my Flash document: Left side of assignment operator must be variable or property. This is the part of the code it refers to: if (hittimer == 40 or hittimer == 30 or hittimer == 20 or hittimer == 10 or hittimer == 50 or hittimer == 60 or hittimer == 59 or hittimer == 51 or hittimer == 49 or hittimer == 41 or hittimer == 39 or hittimer == 31 or hittimer == 29 or hittimer == 21 or hittimer == 19 or hittimer = 11 or hittimer == 9) { ship._visible = 0; } else { ship._visible = 1; }

Any thoughts? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ipmin (talk • contribs) 15:26, 15 May 2007 (UTC).

If you lay out your code neatly, these problems will be much easier to spot. Can you see the error now? --TotoBaggins 15:57, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

if (   hittimer == 40 or hittimer == 30 or hittimer == 20
    or hittimer == 10 or hittimer == 50 or hittimer == 60
    or hittimer == 59 or hittimer == 51 or hittimer == 49
    or hittimer == 41 or hittimer == 39 or hittimer == 31
    or hittimer == 29 or hittimer == 21 or hittimer == 19
    or hittimer = 11 or hittimer == 9)
{  
    ship._visible = 0;
}  
else
{
    ship._visible = 1;
}

You can also make your code clearer by using a data structure to avoid having to explicitly mention all those magic numbers (caveat: I don't know Actionscript). --TotoBaggins 16:19, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

var invisible_times:Array = [  9, 10, 11,
                              19, 20, 21,
                              29, 30, 31,
                              39, 40, 41,
                              49, 50, 51,
                              59, 60 ];

ship._visible = invisible_times.indexOf(hittimer) == -1;

I see the error now. Was short an = sign. Thank youIpmin 20:53, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] XPS 710 H2C

How fast would the Dell XPS 710 H2C be if it had an extreme QX6800 processor, 1.5TB performance and physical accelerator? Would it like be so fast that it would be maybe 5 seconds max. that one pushes the power button it goes to the welcome center?Jk31213 15:42, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Boot time has more to do with hard disk speed than processor speed. The operating system has to read a lot of stuff from disk to initialize itself, but it doesn't necessarily have a lot of actual CPU work to do. --TotoBaggins 15:59, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

And what do you mean by 1.5TB performance? Or physical accelerator? My computer boots to the vista login screen in less than 5 seconds (see my userpage for specs).. maybe it's time for you to upgrade OSes. --⁪froth^t 18:15, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

He means "physics accelerator". --ST47Talk 20:39, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Online Database

I'm looking to set up a vast online database, (30Gb+) and need to find some software to sort out accessing and user accounts to control who edits them, and for searching it by fields from the internet publicly, but still have control over the database software, also, any advice on a good management console would be appreciated.

By the way, i'm using google adsense, and got my friend to click on an advert on my website to see if it would register, but my account didn't seem to pick it up, any solutions? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.29.174.142 (talk) 16:04, 15 May 2007 (UTC).

If you want something non-custom and user-friendly I think the commercial solutions like Access might come with graphical frontends. But my recommendation is to write it yourself and use a free solution like mysql or postgresql. --⁪froth^t 18:17, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Access is innappropriate for any thing approaching even 2 GB, as it becomes very unstable. I agree with MySQL, or PostgrSQL as open source alternatives to MSSQL. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Czmtzc (talk • contribs) 18:54, 15 May 2007 (UTC).

I agree with Czmtzc - an SQL database is required. This easily hooks into making a website (eg with PHP). Different accounts can have different access levels. As an example, see the PostgreSQL Manual for technical details. PostgreSQL and MySQL are free. --h2g2bob (talk) 23:57, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How does one destroy a web site?

In theory, what program would one use to destroy an entire website? And is this legal? 71.34.246.188 17:51, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Umm, rm ? -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 17:53, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

And it's not legal unless it's you control the website.. or the company that runs the website. For example if you destroyed google yet are a majority shareholder you could move to dismiss a civil suit against a certain hacker (you). Or just not press charges in the first place if it's your site. Otherwise if you get caught you'd be liable for damages. --⁪froth^t 18:13, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

On second thought, that might be a criminal charge, not a civil charge. It depends on the jurisdiction I believe, but I'm not a lawyer.. --⁪froth^t 18:14, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

There are a billion programs that can destroy a website. Anything that can destroy a computer can destroy a website. x42bn6 Talk Mess 18:33, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

See computer crime --h2g2bob (talk) 18:34, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

A website is only a bunch of files on a hard drive (server) somewhere else, even though you can use your own computer as a sit server. All you need to do to destroy a website is to enter, get permissions, and go on and delete them. There are also different kinds of attacks, like Man-in-the-middle attack, or denial-of-service attacks. I personally like the last one the best :) There's also programs at each of the articles for doing it. [Mac Δαvιs] ❖ 20:26, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

The question asked how "one" can destroy a website. A DOS is hard for "one" to do. --Kainaw ^(talk) 20:28, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Oh no, there are ways. [Mac Δαvιs] ❖ 16:45, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

True. For example, one can ping of death (ancient and unpatched) servers using a single box. --h2g2bob (talk) 19:34, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

This is the original poster; could you please give some details on exactly HOW one would get the payload (something designed to wipe out an entire hard drive) onto the server and cause it to execute without utilizing e-mail, as you don't e-mail to a server, please? In theory, of course. 71.34.246.188 00:18, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, the only webpages you need to know how to destroy are ones you own. Wikipedia will not help you to commit crimes. Just because it might fly at other forums doesn't mean it will here -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 02:04, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Please trust me on this, if you're asking that basic question then you have no business whatsoever inquiring.. you're far from being able to do it. --⁪froth^t 05:23, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Find where the site is hosted, break into it, find out which computer is it hosted, use a fire axe or something and hack it (pun not intended). --antilived^{T | C | G} 08:32, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Um, it's the original poster: I wasn't planning to destroy any websites for real; just I'm curious. What do you mean "fire axe"? An axe on fire? 66.224.229.18 15:08, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Your intentions aren't important, it would be a violation of wiki policy to give instructions on something that's highly illegal. Would you expect us to tell you how to grow weed or manufacture meth? How about how to get away with insurance fraud? Of course not -_ Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 22:25, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Good thing there's an encyclopedia nearby! --LarryMac | Talk 15:12, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Data transfer between two modems

Hi, how would I transfer data between two modems, with nothing but an RJ11 line in between? I have Windows on both machines, and in hyperterminal both modems respond to ATZ. How do I establish a connection to get ready for ZMODEM file transfer? --Kjoonlee 18:29, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

I can't get Ethernet to work; is there a better way to do what I want, with the same resources? --Kjoonlee 18:30, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Should I just do ATH1 on one end and ATA on the other? --Kjoonlee 18:34, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Have you tried a crossover ethernet cable? That would probably work better directly from PC to PC than modem to modem -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 19:23, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

One of the computers is a Win98 machine with no PCMCIA cards and no ethernet. USB storage doesn't work (no drivers) so in order to transfer drivers I need to use what I have. :( --Kjoonlee 19:45, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

In order to get two modems to talk they both have to partake of the modem hookup protocol (that thing where they squeal various tones and encodings at one another until they agree what they'll both talk). By directly connecting them (without an intermediate PBX) you probably can't have one dial and the other answer,and modems only go into the syncup mode after they've done one or t'other. Some modems have s-registers which will force them into that mode, but you'd need the manuals for both modems to get them into that condition. In your circumstance I'd either:

just take the hard drive out of the old machine, set it as a slave, and graft it into the newer one, and then just copy the desired files over. Things get a bit harder if one or both machines are laptops (you'd need IDE cables/size-adapters that you might not ordinarily have).
boot the old machine with a linux liveCD (ubuntu linux or knoppix work very well), which will support a USB drive, and copy the files from the '98 partition to the USB disk that way

--Finlay McWalter | Talk 19:59, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

The problem is that both machines are laptops, and the old machine doesn't have working USB mass storage support (no drivers). I don't have any USB floppy drives or USB CD-ROM drives either. :( --Kjoonlee 20:01, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Why are you still using Win98? I can almost guarantee that something like Puppy Linux or Damn Small Linux would work better for you, since it would have support for more modern things, while still not demanding too much from the computer. -_ Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 20:12, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

You can buy a super-cheap USB IDE drive enclosure and a laptop-regular IDE converter (like this). Take the hard drive out of the old laptop and connect it into the enclosure using the converter. Then plug this into the USB port of the new laptop. Or you can find a cheap drive enclosure that natively takes laptop drives (like this). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:22, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Do both PCs have serial ports? If so, you can get an RS-232 crossover cable and skip the modems completely. --LarryMac | Talk 20:35, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Why am I still using Win98? Because I haven't installed Debian yet ;) --Kjoonlee 20:59, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

I might try the laptop enclosure thing. The newer PC doesn't have a serial port. --Kjoonlee 20:59, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

I tried searching for "two modems" and it seems I need a dialtone simulator (voltage provider) to do what I had wanted. I think I'll have to use a USB floppy or a USB enclosure. Thanks everyone. :) --Kjoonlee 21:18, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Instead of using a phone simulator (which can be hard and expensive to find), do you have two phone lines you can use? Maybe one at your friends and another at home? Then no other equipment is needed. —EncMstr 22:14, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Have you tried doing serial-serial (or parallel-parallel) transfer?

Back before the fancy ethernets and interwebs came about, I found myself in the same situation on occasion. I used one of two relatively quick methods to transfer files. The best is a laplink-compatible or 'direct connect' parallel cable, which works well in windows 95+ to share files. The second is through forcing two modems to negotiate with each other. I accomplished this with nothing more than a phone patch and generic AT commands, set one modem to auto-answer and start a dial on the other, plug them in and wait for them both to chat. This worked well in hyperterminal, but the speeds are less than impressive. --Jmeden2000 17:22, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

I am surprised that only one person mentioned a direct serial link. It is silly to use two modems to get a serial link when you can just plug a serial cable in between them directly, this is usually called a Null modem. EDIT: I missed that one machine has no serial port, you can get a usb->serial adapter -- Diletante 18:48, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What is a "normal file"?

Such as what is being checked for when you call aFileName.isFile() in java, with regards to the system specific details?? [1] Thanks, Mathmo ^Talk 22:28, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

A file that contains a sequence of octets meant for normal processes to read, as opposed to a directory, a symbolic link, a device file, a named pipe, etc. Which of these are available depends of course on the file system being used. --Tardis 22:35, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

What you write is what people usually mean by "normal file", and is what the linked documentation implies, but is actually not true for Java. The rule seems to be "return false iff it is a directory or non-existant, or is a symlink to one of those". --TotoBaggins 16:52, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

# cat IsFile.java

import java.io.File;
public class IsFile {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        for (int i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
            File f = new File(args[i]);
            System.out.println((f.isFile() ? " IS FILE: " : "NOT FILE: ")
                               + args[i]);     
        }
    }
}

# ll

brw-r--r--  1 root root 0, 0 May 16 12:29 block-node
crw-r--r--  1 root root 0, 0 May 16 12:30 character-node
prw-r--r--  1 root root    0 May 16 12:30 fifo-node
drwxrwxr-x  2 root root 4.0K May 16 12:37 a-directory
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root   11 May 16 12:37 dir-symlink -> a-directory
-rw-rw-r--  1 root root    0 May 16 12:39 normal-file
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root   11 May 16 12:39 normal-file-symlink -> normal-file
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root    7 May 16 12:41 dangling-symlink -> nowhere

# java IsFile normal-file normal-file-symlink block-node character-node
              fifo-node a-directory dir-symlink dangling-symlink
              non-existent-file

 IS FILE: normal-file
 IS FILE: normal-file-symlink
 IS FILE: block-node
 IS FILE: character-node
 IS FILE: fifo-node
NOT FILE: a-directory
NOT FILE: dir-symlink
NOT FILE: dangling-symlink
NOT FILE: non-existent-file

[edit] Cell Phones

I recently purchased a razrv3 unlocked cell phone from ebay. I have found the sites with information on how to set it up. I have not been able to find out what mobileQQ is. Can you help me with this? Also, I know when the flip is closed while on speaker ,it should not disconnect the call, but it does and I have read about this problem on faqs I have visited . No where can I find any information on how to fix this problem. Can you find any information for me on this? It would be most appreciative if you can find answers for me. Thank you in advance.71.30.204.158 21:06, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Could mobileQQ be related to the Chinese IM program Tencent QQ? FiggyBee 00:58, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes mobileQQ is Tencent QQ for mobiles, so it seems the phone was originally from China... --antilived^{T | C | G} 08:18, 16 May 2007 (UTC)