Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 February 2

= February 2 =

How to download winxip
How to download winzip for Window Vista Home Edition? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.18.60 (talk) 04:35, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Go to: http://www.winzip.com/win/en/downwz.htmClick on: "Download WinZip Now" (I presume you meant WinZip and not WinXip) :-) --Seren-dipper (talk) 05:00, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

my question is can we protect our wired modem with password
i am having wired modem.it can be directly connected using ethernet cable.is there any security mechanism to allow connection only by password so anonymous users don't get beniefit — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hariharansrc (talk • contribs) 05:16, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * There probably is a way to add password protection, but how to do it will depend on the exact type of "modem". Which modem do you have? --178.232.209.116 (talk) 05:28, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * If it's really with an Ethernet cable, what you have is an Ethernet connector and not a modem. But, yes, you can use software like Windows Firewall to block incoming connection attempts.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 18:20, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Resources for learning everything about Java EXCEPT writing Java code.
I am looking for free or complimentary (gratis) resources to help me learn "everything" about Java, and Java application development, EXCEPT the programming skill itself.The goal is to become able to fluently READ and fully understand Java source code, BUT NOT to WRITE it (I will never actually write any myself so I do not want to spend any time on learning to write it either).Another goal is to become aware of all the tools and processes that good (Java) programmers use (and to understand the reason why!).The resource(s) I am looking for should be aimed at learners with "average" intellectual capabilities (IQ 107 to 114) and with average computer literacy, yet it should presume NO prior programming experience in ANY programming language. Neither should it depend on access to any applications or software packages that requires the learner to pay money.I will use this to, among other things, help me and other users to communicate effectively with, and partake creatively in discussions among, the professional programmers that I intend to hire.(It is in no way a demand, and of course I do not yet actually know the subject I am talking about here (i.e.Java and programming), but: I can imagine that aquiring the above mentioned desired capability could be accomplished by something resembling a concise "glossary", covering: BUT instead of plain alphabetical presentation of those "glossary entries", they should be presented in such an order and such a way that none of the description ever employs a term or concept that is not already defined beforehand (and maybe the entries should even include some tiny (keyword) repetitions, or quick HTML-links and page/paragraph number references, to essential concepts that have already been described).<BR>Could you please help me by pointing me towards some such (free or gratis) learning material? --178.232.209.116 (talk) 05:24, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * 1) Java syntaks
 * 2) Java and general software development termiology
 * 3) Brief descriptions of the functionality in various Java libraries (primarily the free, but also with mention of the most widely used proprietary ones).
 * 4) Some details about:
 * 5) *Version control management.
 * 6) *Coordination, and interoperability, of various user language editions.
 * 7) *Source code documentation.
 * 8) *End user documentation.
 * "The goal is to become able to fluently READ and fully understand Java source code, BUT NOT to WRITE it" If you can fluently read something, you can write it. Fluency requires the ability to understand how to communicate in a language (real or artificial), and if you understand communication, 'reading' and 'writing' are two facets of the same process. AndyTheGrump (talk) 06:40, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * @AndyTheGrump: Learning to read will surely result in some ability to write, but I think of this kind of like passive versus active vocabulary of human languages. (Passive vocabulary are all the words and phrases that you would be able to understand, but that you would not be able to come up with yourself). And I am convinced that there is some time to be saved here, as the hired programmers will provide plentiful "words and phrases". To draw the allegory a bit further: One could surely be able to come up with some interesting plot ideas to help a crime novel writer on the way, even though one have no ability to produce anything publishable by oneself. :-) --(OA)178.232.209.116 (talk) 09:41, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I would certainly disagree that writing and reading knowledge are the same. I can read many more programming language than I can write — I can see what they are doing, see how they function, but not have enough knowledge to generate syntax from scratch. I in fact have a similar familiarity with a number of "real" human languages as well, and this ability is reflected in college courses with names like "German for reading," which is all about "decoding" language, not "generating" it. --Mr.98 (talk) 12:22, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't know of any such materials. But I have a master in computer science so all I have learnt about these things have started from the point of beeing able to write the programs.  One  of the advantages of learning computer programing is your ability to experiment, it's hard to destroy something severly enough that a reboot doesn't fix the problem.  Even harder to destroy something enough that reinstalling doesn't fix it.  So you have the luxury of trying out things to see what happens, this of course implies beeing able to write programs.  OTOH there are advantages of your approach, not that you save on time by avoiding to learn to write jave, since that is not a saving.  But you can remove java from the above request and substitute application development instead.  The programmer needs to know that he works in java, the person buying the program don't.  Taemyr (talk) 11:28, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * @Taemyr: We don't just want to buy the program, we want to both be an "intimate" part of the development team AND see and understand, first hand, how the application is working and how it is developing. (Hence, knowing that which I suspect could be called "basic java syntax" could help satisfy my curiosity). But, for now, if we do substitute: "application development" for: "Java", as you prpopsed, a good reply (suggested learning resources) to this "new" request would be very valuable too! -- (OP) 89.8.92.153 (talk) 12:32, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Go to the library, check out Deitel's Java: How to Program. It's aimed at learning the language, but if you don't actually do any of the exercises, you'll just be getting a pretty great overview of the language, how it works, what's specific to it and what's not, etc. I was intending to learn the language but didn't quite have the time, but found that just reading the book gave me a pretty good clue of how things worked. (Which is NOT the same thing as knowing the language enough to program it.) As for free, I don't know, but these are what libraries are for, and this is an extremely common book. Having read it, I can read Java without too much difficulty, but this is no doubt because I have previous programming experience and can just "translate" it more or less in my head. But --Mr.98 (talk) 12:14, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * @Mr.98: When you said that the book gives: "great overview of the language, how it works, what's specific to it and what's not" I get the distinct impression that this book presumes at least some cursory prior experience with other programming languages. I need learning material that is intended for learners with ABSOLUTELY NO knowledge of programming except that: "'programming is the thing one has to do to tell a computer to do what you want it to do''" ;-) -- (OP) 89.8.92.153 (talk) 12:51, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * The book in question assumes absolutely no prior knowledge of languages. In fact, it barely assumes prior knowledge of computers! It is very basic, but it will do things like say, "Java works this way; some other languages work this other way." The book is intended for college undergraduates taking their first computer science courses, and doesn't presume any prior information. It's only downside in my mind is that it is a quite large book, on account of its not presuming much! --Mr.98 (talk) 14:11, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * What's your motivation for this? It's often (unfortunately) harder to read code than to write code. It's also hard to find code to read that's between 5-line example code and a whole software project, and the latter can't be read like a book; even contributors to the project may have only read a small portion of it.  Even a small application is too big to read through.  Paul (Stansifer) 14:36, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * I hope you realise your ability to fully understand the java code written by your employees is going to be limited by their talents and how professional they are in their work. For example: if their code works but is heavily obfuscated, you will get next to nothing from reading it.  If their code is poorly written and full of bugs, how will you be able to tell if you have no experience of making such things work.  Astronaut (talk) 15:39, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

There is no substitute for the official Java SE Documentation. If you are new to Java, there are specific tutorials and training materials specifically designed for you. (Or, if you are an expert programmer in another language, a different set of tutorials exists). The official documentation is well written, and includes tutorials and a "New to Java" training course. All of the material is licensed but is made available at no charge. Nimur (talk) 17:25, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Actually, there is no substitute for writing programs in the language you are trying to learn. Writing code is how you learn to code (meaning both the writing and reading of code).  You claim you want to be "intimate" with the development process &mdash; if you want to learn Java, you have to write Java code.  Reading the books is simply grossly insufficient.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 18:18, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

It's quite difficult even for skilled programmers to understand big programs purely by reading them. Browsing tools like Eclipse (IDE) can help with Java, but you often really have to run the code under a debugger to observe the control flow. 71.141.88.54 (talk) 19:21, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Does a registered agent of an IRC network serve as the HQ?
http://www.dal.net/?page=DMCA says that DALnet's registered agent is in San Diego

Would it be fair to say that DALnet has its headquarters in San Diego, like one would say that Microsoft is based in Redmond, Washington or that Mastercard is based in Harrison, New York? WhisperToMe (talk) 06:08, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * No. That appears to be the address of a UPS store, probably offering a mail forwarding service.
 * The HQ might be taken as the registered office, if DALnet is registered as a corporation, or as the location where it performs most of its business (e.g. where its management meets, if they meet in a physical place, or where its servers are, if they are directly owned by DALnet and not rented and remotely administered). Headquarters has more information. --Colapeninsula (talk) 10:46, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * IRC networks are usually decentralized and don't have a "command structure" or "headquarters." Several server owner-operators usually work collaboratively to provide the network service, but aren't bound by any organizational requirements.  DALnet in particular lists each server and the humans who own it.  Nimur (talk) 17:27, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * The copyright on the website is held to "DALnet IRC Network" - But I'm not sure how it is organized or how it holds the copyright. If the IRC network is able to hold a copyright, does it mean it would have to be registered as a corporation? WhisperToMe (talk) 17:34, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * DALnet has a registered agent "(on file with the US Copyright Office)." His contact information is mentioned on their DMCA contact page.  I am not sure to what extent he is legally responsible for anything on DALnet, including DMCA takedown-notices.  In the United States, a registered agent is a "convenience" point-of-contact but has very little actual legal responsibility.  In a sense, a good analogy to the IRC network is a crowd of people.  They are an "organization," insofar as they are all standing near each other; some of the people know each other; and there may be any manner of interactions and transactions occurring between any n members of the crowd; but there's not actually an "organization structure" or a "boss" who is "in charge" of the crowd.  In the same way, DALnet is a group of server administrators who have agreed to connect their computers together, and to allow other members of the general public to connect to each individual server.  Why did the "crowd" pick Sven Nielsen to be their "point of contact"?  Well, he's been around the crowd for a while.  Nimur (talk) 21:58, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * According to the resume, he's also the founder of the network. Also, http://www.dal.net/admin/teams.php indicates that there is an administrative hierarchy. http://www.dal.net/?page=administration has the founder and the "Director of IRC Operations." WhisperToMe (talk) 02:10, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

How to identify who accesses a certain file on a shared drive?
Hi!

We have an inner network in our workplace. There is a shared drive that you can write to from any computer in the building. There is a DOC file on this drive that various people edit with OpenOffice when they have to. The problem is that once USER1 opens it USER2 can only open it in read-only mode. Sometimes people open the DOC, forget about it and leave it there. Then if sombody want to edit it the only thing we can do is call every room and ask to check if they have it open on their computer.

Is there a way to know what IP accesses a certain file without admin privileges? I'm sure the network administrators could do it but I don't want to call them every time this problem occurs. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.70.54.59 (talk) 10:54, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * This looks like Revision_control - it probably depends exactly how this is implemented as to how to resolve this. Somewhere the information on who has checked out the file is recorded - you just need to access that information. Without knowing which system is in use it's difficult to assess further. Exxolon (talk) 21:10, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

What information do you need? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.70.54.59 (talk) 15:24, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Command prompt
Is it possible to make a .bat script only perform an action at a certain time? I've been experimenting but can't seem to find a way. This is what I've tried so far @ECHO OFF
 * start

IF %time%==12:00:00.00 echo Hello cls goto start I don't want to use Windows task scheduler, I wan to do this from the .bat itself. Thanks :) 82.43.92.41 (talk) 11:26, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Your code will only work if that line (%time%) is executed with the 10 milliseconds from 12:00:00.00 to 12:00:00.01 - and the system clock may not be accurate enough to ever return exactly that time anyway. Try (for example)  to limit the resolution to one second.   explains how to get substrings (ie first 8 characters). Mitch Ames (talk) 12:09, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * You may want to use the command.  Polling something in a tight loop is not ideal.  Paul (Stansifer) 14:22, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * You could also try

set done=no
 * start

choice /c:y /d:y /t:60 if %time~0,2%==12 goto action1 if %time~0,2%==10 goto reset goto start
 * reset

set done=no goto start
 * action1

if %done%==no goto action2 goto start
 * action2

echo Action goes here set done=yes goto start
 * My batch file programming skills are a little rusty but the idea is that you check for the full hour, set a variable to make sure the program is only run once that hour, reset that variable at some other time (here: 10). Choice is a hack for a wait command, I don't know of any other pre-installed wait command under Windows but they might exist. Jørgen (talk) 15:12, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks everyone 82.43.92.41 (talk) 17:14, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Strokebased to Outline conversion (svg to ttf)
If I were to design a font for a script like neo-assyrian cuneiform, I would write a program that outputs SVG files from a simple homemade description language where to place one of the five types of wedges in an x-y grid that defines that particular cuneiform sign. Then I want to convert all these single-sign SVG strokebased files to a unicode truetype font file so I could use it in a word processor or in a web document. The problem is, truetype is outline-based. One simple but ugly solution would to convert the SVG-files to large bitmaps and then use a bitmap-to-vector tracing program like potrace to get the outline into Fontforge, but in the process I would loose the "sharpness" of the stroke based SVG files. Is there a program that can convert a SVG stroke based (which contains overlapping segments) into a outline-based format like TTF, without going through a bitmap-rendering step? If not, where can I find info about writing this kind of program myself? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.11.220.249 (talk) 13:26, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * I apologize for not knowing much about making fonts, but in Inkscape, you can select a stroke-based image and go to Path > Stroke to Path, and it will convert it to a totally path-based (outline-based) image without any change in appearance. I'm not sure if that helps at all, but I just wanted to put that out there, in case it was something that you had overlooked. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:14, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

FontForge will automagically convert to outline upon import, IIRC. ¦ Reisio (talk) 19:34, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

A use case diagram to represent an ATM system
Give me a sample of a use case diagram that can represent an ATM system,please in details. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.204.255.175 (talk) 17:38, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Welcome to . Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misinterpretation, but it is our policy here not to do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn nearly as much as doing it yourself. Please attempt to solve the problem or answer the question yourself first. If you need help with a specific part of your homework, feel free to tell us where you are stuck and ask for help. If you need help grasping the concept of a problem, by all means let us know. See further our articles on ATM, use case, and business process modeling. Nimur (talk) 18:02, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Gah! AutoCAD!
Don't you love when something works on one computer... then you go home and do it on your own computer and it behaves totally different? I'm having one of those days.

I've been taught that in autocad (2010, I have 2009, but don't see how this would make the command function wrong), you can use a command (say, ellipse), then type "from", select a point and type in the X and Y values to have it offset that distance from the point you selected.

Well, on my home computer, "from" might as well not ask me to specify a point; it uses the 0,0 origin as the from point no matter where I select, and the X and Y values send me off course to the wrong point.

What'd I do to deserve this? -  ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ  <sup style="color:#3AAA3A;">τ <sub style="color:#3AAA3A;">¢  18:23, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Invested time in closed source commercial software. ¦ Reisio (talk) 19:35, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Industry standard for engineering. I didn't have to pay for it, but I have to use it. -  ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ  <sup style="color:#3AAA3A;">τ <sub style="color:#3AAA3A;">¢  20:01, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * ELLIPSE is a documented command, but FROM is not. (The ELLIPSE command should automatically display a prompt for "starting location" and you can use the mouse or type an input coordinate).  Perhaps when you typed "FROM", you were using a plugin, or a feature that isn't supported anymore?  Nimur (talk) 19:38, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * You use from after typing a command to have the object offset from a known point, as opposed to at a known point. From isn't a "command" in that you don't use it on its own. -  ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ  <sup style="color:#3AAA3A;">τ <sub style="color:#3AAA3A;">¢  20:01, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Here is the "from" documentation: Offset from Temporary Reference Points. "Alternately, press Shift and right-click to display the object snap menu, and then choose From."  Does the alternative method work?  Nimur (talk) 20:36, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * The documentation you gave did solve my problem. It's that you must type "@" before typing the x-coordinate after a from. Many thanks. -  ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ  <sup style="color:#3AAA3A;">τ <sub style="color:#3AAA3A;">¢  20:54, 2 February 2011 (UTC)