SIDD Speaks

Ghostly Friends - Part I

2014-06-03T21:09:00.002+05:30

I am singing a story, One of the best,

Sitdown, relax and hear, Be my Guest :)

It begins with a boy and a girl, so blessed,

Even Facebook did suggest,

And he sent a friend request!

The boy was shy, waiting for a Hi,

But girl wasn't slow, sent the first Hello :)

Uncommon was this start,

But God had prepared the chart..

Boy talked smart,

Girl talked with all her heart..

Friendship began to art,

An hour in evening was the chatting part ;)

Months had gone by, Not seen the girl,

The boy now wondered, is she burl?

Is she Pearl?

Is she even a girl? :p

Kali-Chaudas was the day,

The most evil and dangerous they say..

Everyone stays in the bay,

Ghosts and evil spirits prey..

Boy was restless, wanted to see his chick

Gave her hints and started talking slick!

God was she quick, just smiled and sent her pic,

Boy couldn't stop staring & felt very proud of his pick :)

Special was the situation,

He named her Bhootdi(Bhootni) as per occasion..

Thus started a good foundation,

A sweet, sour, spicy and deep relation ;)

They began to open up,

began doing chap-chap and gupshup,

'Wow', 'Nice' and 'yes' changed to 'Ahaaa', 'Jorar' and 'Yup',

It just felt like tasting a sweet cough syrup.

Sometimes you are..

2013-05-05T15:20:00.006+05:30

Sometimes you are

As bright as day,
As light as play,
As deep as ocean,
As loose as lotion,
As cheerful as fountain,
As firm as mountain
As sad as vulture,
As rich as culture,
As lively as waterfall
As refreshing as cuckoo's call
As wild as a shark,
As deadly as a spark,
As cunning as a fox
As hardworking as an Ox,
As Pretty as Peacock
As Lazy as Bullock
As fiery as rocket
As unpredictable as cricket
As jovial as a clown
As irritating as a frown
As calm as snow,
You are the most dynamic person(ality) I know.. :)

Gujarati Poem - Lilu ghas...

2013-05-04T01:43:00.001+05:30

A very nice Gujarati Poem from a friend.. :)

"Lilu ghas
Zakalbindu na prem ma 6
Sury uge teni pratiksha ma
Vaheli savare kalrav sambhlay
Ae gopigit nahi to biju shu?
Vruksh pavanmay bne ane
Patangiyu puspa mai bane
Tevu prem vina bane kharu?
Be aankh sathe be aankh male
Tyare je bane ae premno
Sarvalo...gunakar k chantkar!
Mata ni aankh mathi
Tapki padela ashrubindu ma
Ghughavata samndar ne vali
Prem ni vyakhta sathe su sambhandh?
Prem sabd nathi..divay savendna 6...."

My Journey with studINC

2012-02-08T10:38:00.001+05:30

This is a story, starts with "Once upon a time...
It was 2 of February 2009.
A Boy came, had a great idea in mind,
Dissatisfied of knowledge hunger he whined,
"What do we learn here? the system is blind...
Let us unite, Let us align,
Let us each be teachers, Let us shine"

The message so sacred was passed to 11 mastermind,
Ans so was born studINC - A tech group divine.
With None as a ruler, They had new design,
Everybody was equal and "Leaders" was the name assigned.

Every night they would meet at nine,
Now they had a purpose, Now they were aligned.
They all learned, Every person refined,
They worked as a team, together and combined.
They had their structure, They had their rules, With every detail outlined,
Even the word "Professionalism" was now redefined.

"Why only us? College and Classmates should benefit too" one of them opined,
Let us deliver, "Learning, working and growing together" our motto remind.
They began to advance, "Rest" nowhere to find,
They started giving presentations, seminars on everything in their mind.
Google, Partitioning, Linux or web design,
They learned it, mastered it and left nothing behind.

As semesters advanced, the studies redlined,
"Subjects are tough.." they all repined.
Maths, OS, Java and UML were then assigned,
Semesters passed, and good grades consigned.

Now it was not only college they determined,
they thought great, wanted to target the whole mankind,
Internet was the answer and "www.offclassroom.com" was the domain name assigned.
Within an year, Website got the wind,
Passed one lac clicks and crossed skyline.

With Experience so special, so rare so fine,
I have something unique, it will always remind.
Thus goes this story, I wish I could rewind,
From 2 of February 2009.

Merry Musical Christmas

2011-12-22T12:54:00.000+05:30

As the most wonderful time of the year - December & Christmas, is once again upon us, allow me to share few songs that will surely make up your mood perfect for season. So here are my suggestions:

1. Santa baby - Taylor swift

Title: Santa baby
Artist: Taylor Swift
Album: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection

2. Last christmas - Glee

Title: Last christmas
Artist: Glee
Album: Glee - The Music - The Christmas Album

3. Santa Claus is coming to town - Jackson 5 - The Jackson 5 Christmas Album

Title: Santa Claus is coming to town
Artist: Jackson5
Album: The Jackson 5 Christmas Album

4. All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

Title: All I Want For Christmas Is You
Artist: Mariah Carey
Album: Merry Christmas

5. Misletoe - Justin Bieber

Title: Misletoe
Artist: Justin Bieber
Album: Under the Mistletoe

I wish this list would never end, but thats all folks. Have a wonderful festive time.

Psst. Don't forget to roll in your favorite suggestions in comment box below.

Imagine Linux & You - Customizing Shortcuts

2011-12-21T03:21:00.000+05:30

Shortcuts are like elevators. It gets hefty things done on simple press of a button. It is much better, faster and efficient then the other alternative: Stairs..!! or in our case pointing and clicking.

But it is sad to know people often don't use shortcuts. Maybe they are difficult to remember or simply impractical to be a shortcut or both. The most outstanding example would be "Alt+F4" for closing a window. I mean come-on, do you really have to stretch your fingers 4" wide not to mention searching for F4 key (hidden among smallest keys on keyboard) for doing an task so frequent ?

But Hey, with Linux you can choose your own shortcut for any shortcut you dislike. Who says Alt+C to close a window isn't smart?

For changing shortcuts to "Actions" like rename, cut, copy and similar that you find in menus, follow this procedure.

On your Desktop, press Alt+F2. A "Run Application" box will open. Type "gconf-editor" and hit enter.

Launching Configuration Editor

Configuration Editor will open. Navigate to desktop > gnome > interface

There is a key: "can_change_accels" which is not enabled. Enable it by checking it. Accel is nothing but formal word for shortcut key in Linux

As its description suggests, you can now keep your cursor over any menu item and change its shortcut just by pressing new shortcut. E.G. in file browser, default shortcut for rename is F2. To change it, keep mouse over it.


Rename before

Press Ctrl+R. It will be changed. You can now rename files by shortcut "Ctrl+R" instead of F2.

Rename after

For changing other shortcuts related to Sound, Volume, Window Management, Launchers, Desktop, Accessibility, follow this procedure.

Go to Prefrences menu > Keyboard Shortcuts

Desktop Shortcuts

Window Management Shortcuts

You can change shortcuts for useful activities like

Launching home folder
Closing window
Maximizing window
Minimizing window
Logout
Search
Take a screenshot
Launching Calculator..!!

Was this helpful? Please let me know via comments :-)

BlogDay 2011

2011-08-31T04:43:00.002+05:30

Every year 31st August is special day for many... Its 5th BlogDay today. As their website explains it very well, I am Copy-Pasting some paras:

What is BlogDay?

BlogDay was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. On that day Bloggers will recommend other blogs to their blog visitors.
With the goal in mind, on this day every blogger will post a recommendation of 5 new blogs. This way, all blog readers will find themselves leaping around and discovering new, previously unknown blogs.

What will happen on BlogDay?

one long moment on August 31st, bloggers from all over the world will post recommendations of 5 new Blogs, preferably Blogs that are different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog readers will find themselves leaping around and discovering new, unknown Blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers.

So without further ado, Here is this years list:

Offclassroom

The website has a flair of its own. The topics cover form Love to Java. The posts have flavor of their own. So just visit the site and find a section of your choice and enjoy the treat.

OMG! UBUNTU

If you are into Linux Operating System, This is Best Ubnutu blog I have stumbled upon. Fantasy land is just a click away.

Magnetic Infinity

The blog is about personal experiences of a student .. rather different and special one. What keeps me attached is the language and emotions used. Its surely a joy ride.

Artescritorio

Who does not love Art? And a blog dedicated to Art just won my heart. (Psst. The blog is not in English. www.translate.google.com might come in handy).

Lolland

Humour suggestion surely completes this list. This site does not leave any Indian scenario go waste. Prepared to get Rolling-On-Your-Face-Laughing.

Well this completes this years BlogDay list.

Stay Tuned for new list Next Year.

Google Voice Search

2011-06-15T13:16:00.034+05:30

With Google, The innovation is always at Godspeed. Google announced on its official blog yesterday, the availability of Google voice search for Desktop users. until now it was limited to Mobile devices.

As this Release Article better explains,

Introducing
Voice Search
Now on your computer

It's easy to search out loud. All you need is a built-in or attached microphone. Just click the mic in the search bar and start talking.

Useful For

Hard-to-spell searches
Makes searching words you're not sure how to spell quicker and easier.

Longer searches
Search long queries, even really, really long queries, just by talking.

Searches that are just more fun to search out loud
Now you can ask your computer anything.

Searching without typing
Use it in the kitchen, in the garage or anytime your hands might be full.

Note: It will take several days for Voice Search to be available to everyone. Please note Voice Search is available for US English only.

Linux Mint 11 - Katya Review

2011-06-08T17:37:00.012+05:30

For famous Linux distribution - Linux Mint, version 11 code-named "Katya" has been released on May 26th 2011. Finally after hefty 864MB downloading, I finally gave it a spin.

Looks:

May I dare to describe the looks of Mint 11 when the tag line "From freedom came Elegance." says it all. The default theme "Mint-X-Metal" is a blend of Minty green and metallic shades. Let the pictures do the talking, (Click on the image to see actual sized image)

Home Screen

Mint Menu - Favorites panel

Mint Menu - All applications

Copy Dialogue

Window Switcher

Window Switcher - Close Up

File Browser - Nautilus

Default Wallpapers

Menu Shades

Applications:

Mint 11 features several necessary applications that do not ship with Ubuntu. Important applications include

GIMP (Image Editor)
MPlayer (Video Player)
Banshee (Music Player)
VLC Media Player (Nothing you don't know here.)
Firefox - 4
Sun Java 6
Pidgin Messenger
Libre Office 3.3.2
Revamped Software Center
Revamped Update Manager

LibreOffice Welcome screen

Software manager

Update Manager

Features:
Overlay scroll-bars is a new feature which aims to save scroll-bar space. This project initiated by Ubuntu, aims to shrink scroll bars to thin lines until you hover over them. On a mouse-over the scroll-bars appear.

Window maximizing via dragging it to top is also a new feature. To maximize any window, just drag it to top edge and it gets maximized.

Similarly dragging it towards left or right edge enables window to cover half of respective screen.

Summing it all up, It seems Linux Mint 11 is the best Distro offering traditional Gnome desktop with Fedora moving to Gnome3, Ubuntu moving to Unity.

If you are interested to feel the Mint, here are some useful Links.

For an average Joe it would be this I recommend.

Imagine Linux and You - Utilizing hardware

2011-02-17T00:53:00.011+05:30

What do you pay for when you buy a Computer ? Its simple "The hardware". So why not use it efficiently, more important why not use it wisely ?

And when we are on throat kill war of Windows VS Linux, Let us see who has the wisdom.

Boot time

Right down to boot times, Ubuntu takes 37 seconds and Windows takes 64 seconds. Linux takes away the trophy.

Ram Usage

Wise people always leave the fruit for others.

As the above picture shows,Ubuntu(Top portion) manages everything under just 195MB leaving 799MB for applications and Windows(Bottom Portion) Uses 796MB ram leaving 197MB for applications.

Clear as water, windows surely is more thirsty.

Processor Usage

They say engine is heart of any vehicle, similarly processor is the powerhouse of Computer. What we are concerned, is how much does OS use and how much is left out for applications.

Top portion shows Ubuntu CPU usage(17%) over a minute and bottom shows the same for Windows(24%).

Copy Speeds

Reset you timers, Copy a file, paste it and set go..!!

Copy times of an 100 MB file from pen-drive to hardisk are recorded as:

Time to copy 100 mb file(pendrive to Hard Disk) in Ubuntu: 5
Time to copy 100 mb file(pendrive to Hard Disk) in Windows: 7

Time to copy 100 mb file(Hard Disk to pendrive) in Ubuntu: 13
Time to copy 100 mb file(Hard Disk to pendrive) in Windows: 19

You see? Linux did it again.

Shut-Down Time

Its the last thing you do, click "Shut-down" and close the lid. But ever wondered what time it takes for computer to rest in peace ?

For Ubuntu its just 6 seconds while Windows takes full 31 seconds to stop beating.

As everything above are pure facts that I calculated, you can do so yourself. The choice is upon you. Choose Wisely!

*All tests are performed on Lenovo 3000 N 100 Laptop.
*Windows refer to Windows 7 Ultimate edition and Ubuntu refers to Ubnutu 10.04 Lucid Lynx.

Imagine Linux and You - Internet at your laps.

2010-12-30T17:02:00.021+05:30

"Imagine Linux and You" are series of posts dedicated to how using Linux helps a lot.

When it comes to internet you want to have it all, be it Images, videos, flash or music. So here is how simply you get grab of things when you use Linux.

Lets tackle it format wise.

Videos

YouTube having 2 million pageviews a day, videos are a hot commodity. Latest songs, hacking tutorials or Justin Bieber there is no topic YouTube wont serve. But why am I emphasizing? Coz its easy to have them all.

Just

open any video
Goto "/tmp" directory.
There your video lies, waiting to be copied.

This works with every browser, and with every video site.

Images

While it comes to Images, I cant help myself talking of Facebook or Picasa. Who won't want their friends Navratri album saved into "Friends Photos" folder. But its quite an effort to

Visit album
Right click every photo
Select "save image as"
Click OK on save dialogue box.

Or lets take this website:http://fieroanimals.com/. It has several wallpapers in flash but they cannot be downloaded. So this is when Linux comes to rescue. Just

Visit album
Goto cache
Copy all the photos you want.

Music

When every website cries of Music piracy, People are really into downloading songs. But with Linux, you can step even further.

There are many websites who lets you listen to songs, Listen to online Radio but you can't actually download it. But as I pointed out earlier, Everything is first downloaded into your browser cache. So in case of music

Lisen to songs
Goto cache
Copy the song you just heard.

All this is possible due to a fact that Linux identifies files by reading them and not by extension. refer to Pic,

Screenshot above shows how Linux identifies files in cache VS how windows fails to identify files without extensions.

Thus with Cache and Linux, Nothing will escape your hands.

Java Practical Exam

2010-12-07T16:12:00.002+05:30

I recently faced Java Practical Exam. The problem given this time was:

Make a Java applet program to meet following requirements:

(I have made a untidy sketch. Refer to it.)

Keep two multiple choice lists.
keep four buttons ">",">>","<","<<" between lists.
When ">" button is pressed, the All selected items from Multiple choice list 1 should be moved from Multiple choice list 2.
When ">>" button is pressed, All items from Multiple choice list 1 should be moved to list 2.
When "<" button is pressed, the All selected items from Multiple choice list 2 should be moved from Multiple choice list 1.
When "<<" button is pressed, All items from Multiple choice list 2 should be moved to list 1.
There should be a text box to enter items.
Keep add button besides text box so that when button is pressed text entered in text box should be entered as element in list 1.
If entry in textbox is same as another entry in List 1, it should not be added to list.(duplicates not allowed).
Everytime user presses Add button, Text box should be cleared to blank.
The items in both lists should be sorted at all the time. Two radio buttons "Ascending" and "descending" should decide the elements to be sorted in Ascending or descending order.
Even while inserting element in list, it should be inserted at proper position so that list remains sorted after insertion.

Well I had the whole program done and HERE is the link.

Typing Tutor in C

2010-10-19T01:57:00.002+05:30

Coding is Fun. Don't believe me? Try the below program and verify yourself...

Pre-Requisites:

We need to measure time in order to calculate speed. This can be achieved by an inbuilt library "time.h". It has a datatype clock_t which is able to store absolute time. Thus using two clock_t variables: start and end, time interval(end - start) can be claculated. But this interval is number of CPU cycles and not time in seconds. Hence simply dividing it by number of clock cycles per second (2.3 GHz or whatever) will give time in seconds.clock() function is used to store values in start and end variables.

The Real Thing:

The core of program lies in user entering an input and calculating time user takes to enter that input. Thus pseudo code would be:

start = clock();
scanf("%s",input);
end = clock();

Further strcmp() function of "string.h" can be used to check whether user has entered proper input.

Thus I can think of two modes

Speed is main constraint. User has to enter sequence of characters as fast as possible. (Go for all time favorite a-z)
Accuracy is the main constraint. Display an awkward string (Your teachers name) which user must enter exactly the same.

So, turn on the PC and get going. I am finishing with some luring screenshots to make it more appealing.

Does'nt feel like stretching fingers? Grab the program HERE and start typing !!

OOP VS POP - From the programmers eye.

2010-10-11T19:45:00.004+05:30

"The complexity and efforts made to develop an application remains the same." Maybe I should call this "Law of conservation of Coding".

Let us see what does it mean.

Consider a scenario where an application is developed via POP as well as OOP.

1) The POP scenario:

This was the only choice before OOP. The programmer had to handle all the designing.No inheritance, No Encapsulation, just the simple functions. The efforts for developing the software were solely of coder. The Compiler handles little.

Advantages:

As coder governs major of applications development, there are less chances of bug from complier side. E.G. Chance of bug in compiling assembly language program is less than compiling C program. Thus more control of programmer over software is advantageous. POP is still used in developing small apps (widgets) with languages like Python, C.

Disadvantages:

This approach is certainly not for big applications.

2) OOP scenario

You might have read "Object Oriented" approach was invented to handle increasing complexity. Ever wondered HOW?

Thats how! Shifting it to Complier or Environment(Java).

Compiler now does major tasks, programmer simply mentions "class A extends B" and when object is created, compiler has to

Create class object A
Create class object B
Link these two objects so that elements of B are accessible in A as if they are in same class
Take care when a method or variable of B overrides A.
Take care of access permissions and check them on every access

U see? The efforts or Complexity is just shifted to complier.

Advantages:

Suitable for big applications.

Its best when compiler is robust(JAVA)

Disadvantages:

What if complier is weak? scroll up to have a look at the large portion that complier has to do. Having to trust complier can be biggest disadvantage.

It is either you or the compiler who has to do some work. Who will it be?

Encounter with subtitles

2010-09-27T13:33:00.002+05:30

Being a movie freak, I have over 300GB movies. And obviously watching them is favorite pastime.

Its was all going well until today. Today I was having a nice movie and no subtitles. I ploughed the subtitle sites but found only subtitle. And here starts the game.

The subtitles were in two parts. "CD-1.srt" and "CD-2.srt". It meant that they were made according to format of 2 CD pack. Both the subtitles started from time zero. But I wanted second one to start from time right where first subs ended. What should I do? Then something hit my mind (not literally) and I thought of C programming.

(I wish I could start this paragraph with "I took out a pen and paper and....." )
I opened the text editor and began programming. Google, TC help and everything assisted me and after an hour I was ready with program that

Read the subtitles from subtitle file
Find and change the time(in curly brackets)
Copied them to another file

Here is the Pic that will make it very clear what needs to be done.

As you see, The program reads the upper sub file, just changes appearing time(in curly brackets) and writes it to another file shown below.

Here is the C program file.
Here is input file. Place it in same folder in which program is complied and exe file is generated (C:\TC\bin).

Next time.... There will be no next time.

The Tao of Polymorphism

2010-09-06T01:21:00.001+05:30

"In object-oriented programming (OOP), Inheritance is a way to compartmentalize and reuse code by creating collections of attributes and behaviors called objects which can be based on previously created objects." - Wikipedia

I dont know why everyone tend to use most difficult and hardest terms even for simple concepts. As for example above definition refers to Inheritance. We are not here to discuss Inheritance, but the advantages of Inheritance.

1.) Code re-usability: Using the code written somewhere in program.

Until C, Code re-usability can be achieved using making it into an function. Then the function would be called whenever it is needed. But in OOP, function is wrapped up into class. Required code cannot simply be called. Hence came the concept of Inheritance. Whenever any code stored in other class is needed, we make child class and child class automatically has the required code via - Inheritance.

To beat Code re-usability many point that required code can simply be "Copied" and "Pasted". This certainly solves the need but leads to Wiki-Long and repetitive code. What if later on repeated code is incorrect? Even "Search and Replace" feature would not help.

2) Maintainability - Extendability

Using Inheritance makes the code structured. Father - Child - Child and so on. Things are defined at appropriate level class. Thus the code looks neat. This means real easy debugging, easy to modify and easy to add new features.

3) Reduction in complexity

Now thats what everyone wants to hear. Programming is too complex!! Inheritance can surely lower the bar. Take an example.

You need to plan a trip. Now Lets review the idea to trip process.

Think of a place
Approach the people and talk about plan. Check who wants to come
Everyone sits together and decides of mode of transport
Meanwhile the others figure out route
Finally exact time of departure is decided

Analyzing the above process,

Initially the abstract idea is decided
Once it is finalized, More details are added at later stage. We cannot directly build a complete detailed class.
Task is divided into parts. We have different classes to do different jobs.

Thus as it is said that OOP was developed to handle the increasing complexity, it is fairly correct to assume that inheritance was backbone of it.

Enough with the flattery of Inheritance, There are also disadvantages of Inheritance. Can you think of one?

BlogDay 2010

2010-09-01T13:46:00.000+05:30

I am pretty sure that the above title is unfamiliar to you. Even I came to know about it today - actually a day late.

I can explain this but someone out there has done that in very simple manner.
Below paras are copy from the same.

What is BlogDay?

What will happen on BlogDay?

So get your hands rubbing, Here are my recommendations,

OMG! Ubuntu!
The blog is purely dedicated to Ubuntu. So if you are into Ubuntu there is no blog better than this.
Strength: Total coverage. Nothing in Ubuntu-sphere is left out. Awesome language.

Weakness: Many posts a day. Time demanding

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/

Lolland - The Indian Humour Site

Its the most hilarious site i have seen. The author really has the skill of picking out Local anecdotes and deliver it in most amusive and refreshing way.

http://lol-land.in/

Amitbhavani's blog

The blog is an normal technical blog but FAQ's and How-To's posts out-stands this blog.

http://www.amitbhawani.com/blog/

એક નજર આ તરફ...

This blog is work of Harshal Pushkarna - Excellent professional writer. Author is also the writer for famous magazine "Safari". Blog is in gujarati language and very impressive.

http://harshalpushkarna.blogspot.com/

As on this special post, I cannot end without my colleagues blogs.

Magnetic Infinity
   The blog is about personal experiences of a student .. rather different and special one. What keeps me attached is the language used. It seems blog is dormant for quite sometime but hoping for author to keep up.
http://magneticinfinity.blogspot.com/

Vandit's Blog
   Author is experienced computer engineering student and has shared his experiences.
http://www.iamvandit.co.cc/

ART of Friendship
   Its the most active blog than above two. Blog is all about experiences of Electrical student.
http://koolrups-thosedays.blogspot.com/

SIDD Speaks
   The most awesome blog I have ever seen. Author is well knowledgeable and knows how to explain with bit of humour. The blog is even most active blog.
http://www.sagarsiddhpura.blogspot.com/

Now thats called an ending.

Inheritance implementation in Java

2010-08-28T18:38:00.000+05:30

"Understanding a concept does not mean merely remembering the definition, it includes knowing the working or application of that concept." - Come closer to the screen, look at above sentence and try to understand (its the definition of understand) it. I know its recursive but I will clarify it with the example of Inheritance:

Assume your instructor has chosen you for questioning, and he demands: "Explain Inheritance?". You somehow manage to utter some words "reuse", "code", "hierarchical relationship" and get the clean cheat. You get seated and wipe-off the perspiration.

If this scenario is common then you are a victim. You merely know the definition or have faint idea but do you know at what stage is inheritance comes in to the picture? Apart from by-hearting the definition, it is equally important to know how a concept is implemented. Lets have a look @ how Inheritance is implemented in Java. Beginning with process of compilation,

Assume class "Child" is child of class "Parent". We define both classes as follows:

class Parent class Child extends Parent
{ {
int a; int b;
} }

Now going by definition, we know that sub class inherits all the members of parent class, hence "Child" class should have two members conceptually:
int a;
int b;

And to verify it we create an object and try to access member a, and it works.
child ob = new Child();
ob.a = 10;

Weighing both sides,

At code level there is no member 'int b' in child class
At execution level Child class has the member 'int b'.

This gap is filled at compilation level and Java handles Inheritance at compile time. Thus,

Compilation includes defining structure of each class. The moment javac senses one class to be child of another, it adds all members of super class to structure of child. Thus the class layout after compilation would be...

class Parent class Child
{ {
int a; int a;
} int b;
}

Getting This? YES or NO??? Ok, Repeating once more,

Inheritance (sub-class has all the members of super-class) is detected at compile time. If any class is found to be "child" of super-class, all members of super-class is added to structure of child-class. Finally all layouts is written to .class file and thus saved.

Now that's called Understanding Inheritance. I know you will let me know what have you inherited from this post via comments.

Sign Extension in Java

2010-08-19T23:19:00.009+05:30

Sign extension is a rule in Java by which widening conversion is carried out. While we are on the mood to know something, Let us see the whole process by an Example.

Consider the expression: "byte b=0xf0;". It is storing f0(hex) = 240(decimal) = 11110000(binary) in variable b. Thus the bits stored in b will be "11110000".

Now we perform "b=(byte)(b>>>4);" At first glance it looks like shifting "11110000" four times right with 0's filled in MSB, result is going to be "00001111". But its not..!! Lets see where does it have a catch. Following steps will occur in order,

1) Widening Conversion:

Widening conversion is done when byte is converted to integer, integer to long and so on. But there is a catch when we handle Widening conversion with negative numbers.

For any operation performed, first the operators are brought to same level - minimum integer level is required. hence when when we try to shift 'b' in byte, it is first converted to integer. This process of conversion of smaller width variable to larger width variable(E.G. byte to integer) is called Widening conversion.

Widening conversion follows the rules called "Sign Extension". It states that "On doing widening conversion, fill the leading bits with MSB". Thus if you are widening negative number, fill the first 24 bits with 1 and with 0 if you are widening positive number.

2) Shift Operation:

After 'b' is widened to integer, All the bits are shifted to right. Zeros are filled from left as it is Fill-Zero-Right-shift operation. "b=(byte)(b>>>4);" Simple as cake.

3) Truncation Operation:

As the name suggests this operation will simply cut-off first 24-bits and store last 8 bits in 'b'.

Thus the final result computes to b="11111111".

This will suffice for today... And in case of queries, please drop a reply.

Combating one of the most common Programming Mistake

2010-08-18T19:26:00.000+05:30

Lets begin with question.

Do you know the most common programming mistake? Try to recollect the times when you used to compile your baby size programs and print Hello World.

Didn't get it? Its omittance of semicolon at the end;

What I am about to share is solution to just another big common mistake, staking programmers scared sleeps.

The scenario:

After hapless efforts, tonnes of Page Dn and Page Up, when your eyes swell of digging screen and at last you encounter the villain: "if(x=0)". You take a deep breath and after adding the required '=' the program finally complies.

The Solution:

In order to avoid this just use a simple rule: always put conditions with constants on left: "if(0==x)". It might look bit odd but has the 'miracle' thing. It will always generate error if you put single '='. Here's how,

Lets assume you forget to put the second '=' (No way if you have read this post) and you try to compile, it would throw an error because "if(0=x)" is illegal in language - you cannot assign variable to constant.

Hence always keep these practices:

Use (0==x) in conditions
Read this blog everyday before brushing

That said will save you real time.

How to create 'Special' folder.

2010-08-09T21:07:00.000+05:30

Want to create a folder that can never be

Created(By others)
deleted(By others)
Renamed
Moved
Copied

Read on…….

You cannot create a folder named any of these keywords : CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, and LPT9.

This is because Windows will not let you create a folder of any of the keywords mentioned above for a simple reason that these keywords are used by Windows internally and are reserved Keywords. CON is used for CONSOLE, PRN for PRINTER, AUX for AUXILIARY DEVICE, LPT’s for PARALLEL PORTS and such. Microsoft has taken this initiative to avoid any conflict that may arise as a result of using these keywords.

But who cares……..

Now how to create this folders? Here are the steps

Start>RUN
Type>cmd
Type>cd (Navigate to folder where you want to create special folder using cd command)
Type>mkdir con//.//

And Holla!!!! The folder is created.

If you are fed up enjoying this and have thought of deleting those daemons, ask in comments.

"Tab Candy" - New feature in Firefox 4

2010-08-09T20:18:00.000+05:30

Without a doubt “Web browser” is most speedy developing software ever. New features are being added everyday and one such feature is “Tab Candy” introduced in upcoming version of popular browser Firefox 4. Before exploring the subject let us know what scenario lead to its necessity.

We often find ourselves reading articles, Checking emails, Social Networking, Downloading etc. all in several tabs open in one browser window. Its fine up-to 8 to 10 tabs but when it gets more, the problem arises. To tackle this situation “Tab Candy” was proposed.

Tab Candy is basically tab grouping. You put Email tabs into one bunch, Facebook-Orkut-what-not into second, News–Reader into third and so on. Make them as you wish.

To see it in action is even more fascinating, just press Tab candy button and you zoom out with thumbnails of all tabs. Pick similar tabs and drag them outside boundary to form another group.

Click on any tab to zoom in and viola! Only tabs from that group are shown. Feel like someone is buzzing you, zoom out and select Social-Networking group, only tabs in that group will be shown.

Thus it is very much similar to Desktop-switching concept used in Linux where many windows are open at a time but they can grouped and one group shown at a time. This certainly keeps us on track without irrelevant things.

Whats more, you can setup a layout with groups at predefined position and thus resulting into something like this

The future?

Tab Candy project is further developed to enable tab-group sharing, so that I Click-Click-Click at home, reach the office, Click-Click-Click and session is restored. Search feature is also being added to interface.

See it in motion @ http://bit.ly/9d3xFi

Working with 100+ tabs easily-effectively-efficiently(read that again) is the “Whats next” of browser.

Batch scripts in action - Java LAB

2010-07-22T20:22:00.000+05:30

As I mentioned in earlier blog the batch scripts are very helpful. Below is another incident when Command-prompt-programming comes to rescue.

Java newbies know the usual procedure to compile and run Java program

Open Notepad
Write program(Optional) and save it as something.java
Open CMD
Run following command "set path=c:\program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\bin"
Navigate to your folder having something.java
Run command "javac something.java"
Run command "java something"

Thats a lot of procedure. Lets put Batch to help.

One more thing. I got to make folder "Lab_DATE" every lab and do respective practicals in them. Hence I created "start.bat" with following obvious commands.

mkdir Lab_

cd Lab_

cmd notepad

set path=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\bin

But it had a problem. The CMD window closed after executing last command. I needed it live after changing the path. Try it and you will know.

Help was the first thing that came to this computer engineers mind. Running "cmd /?" yields help. Thankfully there is /K switch that keeps terminal live after executing command. Finally tweaking start.bat to

mkdir Lab_

cd Lab_

cmd /C notepad

cmd /K set path=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\bin

did the trick... "Cut the crap" in my words.

I am still searching for some script that would write my Java program ;-)

Batch scripts in action - Algorithms LAB

2010-07-22T13:43:00.000+05:30

Lets have a look @ batch scripts aka batch programming.

I have algorithm lab - C programming.

On very first day new instructions were given - You must create new folder every time named "Lab_DATE" and do respective programs in them. First assignment was to write a C program that performed Quick sort.

As soon as task was fixed, my lab-mates pounced on traditional C editor - Blue-screen and rectangular cursor. I rather prefer to write my program in notepad and then later debug and run in C environment. Notepad is quick, easy copy and paste ;-) , clean interface and much more.

So my actions were prefixed to be performed in every lab,

Create new folder every time
Open notepad and write program
Open that program in C

I thought of making a batch script that would do all these for me.

Quickly, I opened notepad and typed these commands.

mkdir Lab_

cd Lab_

notepad test.c

C:\tc\bin\tc.exe test.c

Next thing to do is save it as "start.bat". Job's done.

Just two lazy clicks on start.bat

Creates "Lab_" folder
Goes into folder
Starts notepad with test.c file
Once program is written and notepad is closed, the program opens in C editor ready for CTRL+F9.

Jobs well done but I am still finding script that would write a Quick sort program Quickly ;-)

Evolution Of Languages

2010-07-21T21:44:00.001+05:30

I read the first chapter of Java-The complete Refernce.

Apart facts, this topic was most interesting.

Long ago, Before computers were invented . . . Just joking, Not so long ago lets us see evolution of first language Fortran

Scenario: Computers were limited to big companies.Average people still did not have the smell of computers. Small softwares were needed. Assembly language prevailed at that time and there was dire need of another programming language which was easy to debug.

Hence evolved Fortan.

Years passed. Now computers were becoming public. But yet no language was able to tackle new problems. Moreover Fortan was using GOTO - the most dark word in world of programming. So code had many GOTO's and jumps made larger programs intractable. It was called Spaghetti code. Lets see birth of revolution "C".

Scenario: There were several languages, Each for different purposes but none robust. Hence there was a need of ONE-FOR-ALL language that had definite structure.

Hence evolved C.

It was a total revolution. It was structured, It was robust, It was efficient and it was one-for-all. But one factor that C had and none language possessed was the feeling of "Programmers Language".

C was dominant for many following years. But environment was changing. Lets see evolution of C++ the first OOP language.

Scenario: Hardware was out in public. Programs were becoming gigantic and difficult to handle. Procedure orientation could not handle the growing complexity. At the same time new concept of OOP was introduced to handle prevailing complexity.

Finally something struck Stroustroup's mind and C++ evolved.

Everybody was happy with C++. Once again the same thing - Environment was changing.

Computers were common now. Internet was about to bloom. But now C++ was lagging the upcoming need, Portablity.

Scenario: Machines were out and so was variety among them. Variety of processors, variety of OS were bothering software vendors. Every new architecture or OS would require new COMPILER - difficult piece of software. At the same time internet was blooming. This opened a new dimension to software world. Web apps were failing to satisfy large diverse internet audience in multiple factors like security, ability to run on all OS and all architecture, Compactness and ability to run quickly.

Thus some brains @ Sun started to work and finally announced Java.

Java had it all. Portability to run on any PC, Structured, Ability to handle complexity, Robustness and blah blah blah....

Lets see what do current scenario demands. I am ready for it ;-)

SIDD Speaks

Ghostly Friends - Part I

Sometimes you are..

Gujarati Poem - Lilu ghas...

My Journey with studINC

Merry Musical Christmas

Imagine Linux & You - Customizing Shortcuts

BlogDay 2011

What is BlogDay?

What will happen on BlogDay?

Google Voice Search

Introducing Voice Search Now on your computer

Linux Mint 11 - Katya Review

Imagine Linux and You - Utilizing hardware

Imagine Linux and You - Internet at your laps.

Java Practical Exam

Typing Tutor in C

OOP VS POP - From the programmers eye.

Encounter with subtitles

The Tao of Polymorphism

BlogDay 2010

What is BlogDay?

What will happen on BlogDay?

Inheritance implementation in Java

Sign Extension in Java

Combating one of the most common Programming Mistake

How to create 'Special' folder.

"Tab Candy" - New feature in Firefox 4

Batch scripts in action - Java LAB

Batch scripts in action - Algorithms LAB

Evolution Of Languages

Introducing
Voice Search
Now on your computer