Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 August 12

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August 12

Quintuply Hypnotized

Trying to get some live iTunes support is so hard...anyway, I was tinkering with titles and stuff, when I noticed my numerous System of a Down titles. Most were labeled "System of a Down," but some were labeled "System Of A Down." I tried editing all of the songs at once to have a lowercase "of" and "a," but something really strange happened. In the Cover Flow display, there are five Hypnotizes. I can't figure out why it multiplied, or what's keeping them from rejoining. Any suggestions?--The Ninth Bright Shiner 02:57, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

I suggest EasyTag for tagging your music. --antilived^{T | C | G} 10:08, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps trailing spaces? What happens if you delete the album title from all those songs, then replace it? What if you replace it with something other than "Hypnotize"? Tesseran 19:00, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Woo-hoo! I deleted the Album name and Artist name for all the songs, then put them back in. All sorted out! Thanks a bundle!--The Ninth Bright Shiner 19:46, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Types of processors

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROCESSORS???WHAT IS A DUAL CORE AND A QUAD CORE PROCESSOR

At the top left of this page there is a "search" box. Type CPU into it and press "Go". Also try searching for dual core and processor. Lots of information there! The blue words are links that you can click to find out more about related concepts. Weregerbil 08:06, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Pseudocodes, DFDs and Flowchart

Guys, its ADIDS.

Well i have another problem.

My Computer Studies teacher can't give detailed diagrams for how DFDs work and more and more diagrams for it. I dont also have flowchart examples. I am just doing my O levels so all I want is a non technical examples. Can any one post a link here for me?

PSEUDOCODES

Well. I had a problem writing a pseudocode/algorithm (formal) for i)finding out the avg,highest,lowest no.s from a set. ii) using various loop constructs (like for-next, loop-until,while-do,etc)

Can any one find me a review about such pseudocodes.

Wikipedia gives a much more difficult technical overview on such topics. SO HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!

ADIDS

There are plenty of examples on the net for a lot of these, and the ones on Wikipedia I think are actually pretty good. Take the [[while loop]] for example:

x = 0;        // a variable 'x' is reset to 0;
while (x < 3) // "while x is less than 3..."
{             // "...do the following BEGINing of loop"
   x++;       // "increment x"
}             // "ENDing of loop"
// Note that the loop statement is run from left to right, top to bottom, until the loop conditions fail to be met.

See do while loop, while loop, for loop, foreach.

And of course google any of those. Rfwoolf 14:11, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Data flow diagrams simply show the "flow" of data through a computer system. So for a program to find the square of a number, you get the original number from a user, shove whatever value that is through a process which squares it, and send the result to the screen for output:

[ keyboard ] ------------------> { square value } -------------------> [ VDU ]
               input number                         squared number

I've used [...] and {...} in place of "external" and "process" icons. The icons used are not always the same - use whatever your teacher says. I'd say take a look at your text book or ask your teacher for help on this one.

The iteration page has some information on looping and even has some pseudocode. Pseudocode is a human-readable form of the steps you need to go through to complete your algorithm. There's no standard for pseudocode, so I'm guessing your teachers are more worried about the algorithm. Imagine you're doing the process yourself, then write down the steps you went through:

for each item
   check if it's the maximum so far and remember the number if it is

You should probably then write it more like a computer language if you like. The first line makes sure max_number has a value which can then be compared to item.

max_number = first item in list_of_items
foreach list_of_items as item
   if item > max_number set max_number = item

--h2g2bob (talk) 14:17, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Completely unrelated note, but use boldface type sparingly, thanx. 68.39.174.238 22:47, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

How can I protect my Laptop's Ac/Dc adapter?

I recently had to replace my ac/dc adapter. At first when I jiggled it, there would be a power connection but eventually it went completely black no matter how much I jiggled it. MY question is what are some ways I can protect the AC/Dc adapter and prevent this from happening again? --Gary123 14:04, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

This wouldn't be an IBM ThinkPad by any chance ? They seem to have a problem that the plug receptor isn't mounted properly to the laptop case, but instead is only mounted to the circuit board. Thus, whenever you plug and unplug the adapter you put stress on the weak solder connections on the board, which were never meant to take those kind of forces. To compensate for this bad design and/or defective manufacturing, I'd permanently leave it plugged in at that end, and just wrap the adapter's wires around the laptop to travel. Unfortunately, if this is the problem, replacing the adapter won't help. If you meant the problem is where the adapter plugs into the wall, then I see two possibilities here:

1) The plugs don't fit properly in the outlet. This could be the (electrical) fault of the outlet (the slots are too big and/or the springs which push the metal contacts against the plug prongs are worn out). Or, the prongs on the plug might be too small or improperly spaced or bent.

2) There is an internal electrical fault in the "wall wart", caused by a loose connection between the prongs and the wires.

If the fault is with the outlet, replace it. If the fault is with the plug, replace it. In this case it might be covered under the laptop's warrantee, if any. StuRat 14:35, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

If it's a thinkpad they'll fix it, period --froth^t 17:01, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

BLAST IT I had this happen with a Apple laptop, I suspect what's described above is what happened... 68.39.174.238 22:48, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

I recently got a laptop fixed with this problem. It was not the plug but the adapter - however, both go out rather easily in laptops and it's somewhat of a hidden cost if you manhandle your power cord. -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 23:28, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Laptop AC adapter cords and plug receptors seem to be a common weak spot in many laptops; my last notebook was a Gateway Solo 1450 (I think, it was a while ago) and that particular plug broke regularly about once a month by the end, and I had to mail the computer back to them. Eventually I gave up and bought a thinkpad - joke's on me I guess. Kuronue 19:20, 18 August 2007 (UTC)