Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 December 8

= December 8 =

Accessing or downloading the database of of location of places, cities in Wikipedia.
Accessing or downloading the database of locations of places, cities, airports shopping malls, peaks and rivers and other natural or man made features along with their common names in Wikipedia. Is there such a thing where one can download the names and latitudes and longitudes of places, cities mentioned as articles in Wikipedia? Where can one download a database if such a thing exists? Thank you 184.98.131.171 (talk) 01:22, 8 December 2013 (UTC)
 * I can think of two things that you might mean; please tell me which one, or describe your request more specifically if I've misunderstood you. (1) A complete database dump; see WP:DUMP.  It's easy if you have the hard drive space and the technical knowledge; I don't have either one.  (2) Just the names and coordinates.  I don't know if there's a way to get that.  Also Note that this is a kind of question that's better asked at WP:Help desk.  This isn't the "wrong" place to come, and you're not in trouble; it's just that the Help Desk regulars are probably able to give you a more solid answer than the Reference Desk regulars.  Nyttend (talk) 05:10, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

Sunken shipments of computers
Are there any known sunken shipments of computers, even small shipments? I was wondering what if any bacteria degrade them. CensoredScribe (talk) 01:50, 8 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Last April, somebody asked about data degradation on computers, and I linked to the failure analysis report for Air France 447, whose flight data computer spent several months at great depth in the Atlantic Ocean. The report details exactly how the deep ocean and the salt water caused damage to the electronics.  In the very deep ocean, the general rule of thumb is that it is an abiotic zone - it is very cold and depleted of oxygen - so few bacteria can survive.  (Exceptions exist: there are extremophiles and there are hydrothermal vents and all sorts of other examples - but most of the bottom of the very deep ocean is abiotic).  Most of the damage to the data recorder was due to salt water corrosion.  Nimur (talk) 02:06, 8 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Concerning the earlier discussion, wouldn't it be possible to mount data recorders and attached emergency-locators on the external skin of the aircraft with a mechanism that causes them to eject themselves from the aircraft shortly before or shortly after a crash especially involving the ocean? Bus stop (talk) 02:32, 8 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Although you have to remember that flight data recorders are vastly tougher than your average computer; your average laptop or desktop would presumably hold up far far far worse than a black box. Nyttend (talk) 05:12, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

wytec dragon12 assembly language
hello a class i am in requires writing in assembly to display stuff on the LED display on a wytec dragon12+ board. i have to read in a text file with the following info: AssignMarks    db      10,8,9,7 HybridMarks    db      9 TermTests      db      8,9 FinalExam      db      22

and do the following: a. Configure program constants; b. Read the file of marks; c. Call subroutine Calculate_Assignments_Hybrid_Average to calculate the integer average out of 50 of a set of assignment and hybrid marks; d. Call subroutine Calculate_Term_Tests_Final_Exam_Hybrid_Average to calculates the integer average out of 50 of a set of term test and final exam marks; e. Call subroutine Pass_Fail to determine from c. above if the overall average is a Pass or a Fail; f. Call subroutine Pass_Fail to determine from d. above if the overall average is a Pass or a Fail; g. Call subroutine Config_HEX_Displays to configure the Wytec Dragon12+ Demo board hardware to use the Hex Displays (You do not have to write that subroutine) h. Calling subroutine PF_Hex_Display that causes the Wytec Dragon12+ Demo board hardware to display P for Pass or F for Fail on the 7‐segment Hex Display as a result of e. and f. above. Four assignments – 10 marks each Hybrid Activities – total of 10 marks Two Terms tests – 10 marks each One Final Exam – 30 marks In order to pass, the student must have a grade of at least at least 50% or 'D- on Lab Exercises/Assignments/Hybrid activities (25/50) and at least 50% or 'D-' on Term Tests/Final Exam (25/50).

however, to begin i dont know how to read in the values from the .txt file. I have an  line, but how do I check each individual number from the file?Pops926 (talk) 05:45, 8 December 2013 (UTC)


 * As I understand the above, your program will not be reading from the txt file. I suspect that file I/O may be to advanced for the current assignment.  To simplify the problem, your instructor has provided the data in the form of assembly language data definitions.  By #include'ing the file into your program, the data becomes part of that program.  You only need to load and add the data by referencing the labels that have also been conveniently provided.  -- 24.254.222.118 (talk) 09:03, 8 December 2013 (UTC)


 * To clarify 'db' is an assembler instruction, which means 'define bytes'. It creates a block of data with the values specified; this can be accessed by assigning the label to a pointer, and then using the 'load byte from pointer' assembly instruction, for each byte. However, the defines don't provide the size of each data block; the best way around this is to load both the label you want, and the next one, and then subtract the two pointers. This will give you the size of each block in bytes, which in this case is the same as the number of entries. CS Miller (talk) 15:08, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

ADSL->SDSL questions
Hi, I am thinking of changing my ADSL connection to SDSL (its about 10% more than what I'm currently paying), and have a two questions about it. My current service is advertised as 16/1 Mbit/sec, but my ADSL modem reports that it has connected at 14 Mbit/sec down, and 1 Mbit/sec up. I assume that this is due to the phone line; I'm about 1 mile from my exchange, and there's no FTTC/FTTP here. CS Miller (talk) 14:42, 8 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Will most ADSL modems connect to a SDSL service?
 * I assume that I'll get 7.5Mbit/s up and down, as the available bandwidth is now equally split between up and down. Does SDSL support dynamically reallocating bandwidth according to the current load? I.e. if I'm downloading more than I'm uploading some of the upload frequency bands are reallocated to downloading?
 * Don't make those assumptions but check the specifications. Single-pair high-speed digital subscriber line suggests max speed of 2312 kbps symmetrical. Don't expect an ADSL modem to work with SHDSL or SDSL and the provider may supply a new modem (at a cost). It will not be dynamically changing the allocation of up and down load frequencies. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 10:53, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

Windows 7 dual-boot hibernate to switch OS
Hi, My PC is dual-boot between MS-Windows 7 and Debian 6.0 (both 64bit). The primary boot manager is the native MS-Windows one; grub is installed on a partition and Windows is set to chain into this for Debian. Is it possible, after doing a full hibernate in MS-Windows, to force the Windows boot manager to appear. This would allow me to boot in Debian instead, and later resume MS-Windows. I am aware when doing this, that I must not access partitions in both operating systems at the same time. CS Miller (talk) 14:49, 8 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Have you tried running VirtualBox then you can use Windows and Linux at the same time.Dja1979 (talk) 17:37, 8 December 2013 (UTC)


 * This and this, at the bottom suggest you can't do what you want using the Windows bootloader, because it checks for a hibernated OS before anything else. The only way, I think, would be to use GRUB as the main bootloader.-- Kateshortforbob talk  14:46, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

Blogging Names
I would like to write a blog under the name of the fictional narrator of such, but I notice whenever I post anything to my current blogger account, it gives my chosen username as author, is there any way of changing this for one particular blog, or would I have to create a new google account under the name of said fictional character, just for this?

94.13.255.20 (talk) 17:30, 8 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Per this, there is a way to do what (I think) you want. Assuming you have multiple blogs in one Google/Blogger user profile, you can edit the template of the particular blog you wish to change. This might require some experimentation, depending on the complexity of the template you are using.


 * Go to the template section of the blog, and choose edit HTML. You should be able to find the template tag which is used to substitute the author title/display name in each post, for example,  or  . There is a list of possible tags. You can replace the tag with your fictional name. Some of the templates have complex conditionals, and the tag might appear multiple times, so I would change one instance at a time, and preview the template before changing the next one.

-- Kateshortforbob talk  14:37, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

What is Linux logging by default?
Without installing any extra tools, what actions can be expected to be registered by a log-book (or similar) when running linux? Deleted files? Users logging in? Internet connection?OsmanRF34 (talk) 20:28, 8 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Log-ons are registered by default; the last command will list them. This also logs reboots and shutdowns, but not, IIRC power-ups. CS Miller (talk) 21:47, 8 December 2013 (UTC)
 * In itself, Linux doesn't log much at all. The linux kernel does not normally attach to a standard input or output.  Instead, print statements are pushed to the system log buffer, which users can access through e.g. dmesg.  If you have a desktop distribution based on Linux, like Ubuntu or debian, then your distribution is probably configured to start init as soon as possible; and init probably spawns many processes, including syslogd or something similar.  Those other processes can then also log to syslog.  More recent distributions may log using dmesg or other higher-level utilities.  So, your network daemon can log network activity; your desktop manager can log user-activity, and so on.  Nimur (talk) 23:16, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

Setting up a website - Cloud Computing
Hi there,

I need to set up a website and I understand that as far as server is concerned I have two options: to set it up in my own computer (Dell R5400) or use cloud computing. I will eventually need just a few web pages, perhaps no more than 5 to code everything I need. I am wondering if anybody with cloud experience could give me a push? What I want to know is this: 1. How is it realistic for a small operator like myself to subscribe for this service. (I hope I use the correct expression) 2. How easy it is to use it? 3. How expensive is it going to be for a small guy like me?

I am thinking about using Dell's service.

Thanks, AboutFace222601:7:7680:626:4CB:248E:F27F:DFDB (talk) 21:48, 8 December 2013 (UTC)


 * You don't need cloud computing to serve web pages. Get a web hosting account. 115.114.135.249 (talk) 08:22, 9 December 2013 (UTC)


 * You seem to be spending much effort in agonising over how to set up your website. Most people just rent space on servers that are designed for that purpose, and have (we hope) all the necessary protections built in.  See the article on Web hosting service for details of your options.  The Dell service seems to be designed for large companies (unless they have cheaper options that I've missed).  My advice would be to avoid "free hosting" unless it is bundled in with something you already pay for (such as your internet connection).  Some of the "free" providers may serve lots of adverts or delete your pages without warning.  Providers of cheap space on shared servers include 1and1, Justhost, iPage, GoDaddy, WebDotCom, Fatcow, WebHostingHub, Bluehost, Hostgator, 123-reg, Falcoda, Daily.org, Yahoo and many more (no ranking or preference intended).  There might be better companies in your country.  You will also need to register a domain name so that people can easily find your pages.  Many of the same companies offer this too, either separately or free with the hosting.  You should not need to pay more than a few dollars a month, depending on your choice of domain name (some are cheaper than others).  I've used a few of the cheapest for half a dozen different websites and have never had any problems with them (except for one transfer of domain registration that went wrong), though one occasionally hears of people who have had problems.  From what you write, I assume that you are coding your own pages, so don't need any ready-made templates that many companies also supply.    D b f i r s   09:48, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

You are correct. I am "agonizing." I think there is a reason for that. I want it to be the most flexible with a possibility of expanding it in the future. Thank you very much for your post. AboutFace_22AboutFace 22 (talk) 20:01, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
 * If you're starting out with just a few simple HTML pages, then I highly recommend you use simple, cheap web hosting like mentioned above. If you want to expand, do more complicated things, and have more control, then you can move up to a different solution later - migrating a simple web page to a new server will not be a hard task. Many hosting providers also offer several tiers of service, and will offer solutions to move your webpage from their cheap shared hosting to a dedicated virtual machine or even a physical machine that is located in their datacenter and you have total control over. K ati e R  (talk) 19:16, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Turning the Windows features On and Off
I just checked this option in my Windows 7 OS. In the section: Internet Information Services==>World Wide Web Services==>Security only one item is checked. It is "Request Filtering." Shall I turn other features on: (1) Basic authentication, (2) Client Certificate Mapping Authentication (3) Digest Authentication (4) IIS Client Certificate Mapping Authentication (5) IP security (6) URL authorization (I suspect that this might be an overkill although you never know) and (7) Windows Authentication?

Please advise. Thanks, -AboutFace_222601:7:7680:626:4CB:248E:F27F:DFDB (talk) 22:11, 8 December 2013 (UTC)


 * I'm not completely sure but I think this only affects authentication of remote users by Microsoft's IIS web server. In other words, these options don't matter unless you're serving a web site from this Windows 7 machine, and you're doing it with IIS and not, say, Apache, and you want to make parts of it viewable only by certain people (e.g., by requiring a user name and password). -- BenRG (talk) 09:07, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

You are absolutely correct! Once I read that it all came back to me. Definitely it is for remote clients. Thank you much. AboutFace_22168.178.73.174 (talk) 19:55, 9 December 2013 (UTC)