Real World Programming

[Pinky]

Hey, this is a great addition to the forums!

OK, so I'm a CS major, and I'm assuming some or many of you have graduated with Computer Science degrees. I was wondering what kind of real-world programming projects you have worked on. I mean like for a job, not just class assignments and personal studying. What kind of project was/is it, and what language(s) are you using?

I'm a curious guy

[Klashe]

Originally posted by Pinky:
Hey, this is a great addition to the forums!

OK, so I'm a CS major, and I'm assuming some or many of you have graduated with Computer Science degrees. I was wondering what kind of real-world programming projects you have worked on. I mean like for a job, not just class assignments and personal studying. What kind of project was/is it, and what language(s) are you using?

I'm a curious guy

Hmmmm....well. The main difference (that I can think of) btw real world and class programming is that sometimes, in the real world, you don't have the luxury of programming in just one language. Many times you have to tie in alots of different languages and front ends to get the result you want. Like my job, for example, I write simple script in a front end, tie that to some assembly, which calls a data interface process (usually written in C or ProC) which may or may not access a table in Oracle. It may sound a little overwhelming but it's fun. Sometimes, if the project is big enough, you split up the pieces and tie them together in the end. Communication between your programming partner (and the customer) is a MUST. Otherwise, when you are both finished, one might have to do some HEAVY recoding to fit the pieces together.

Also, you might be under the impression that once your out of school, the learning is over. Well, it's not. I think that the main reason why you go to school is to learn how to learn. This is a fast moving industry and if you don't assert yourself to learning the newer languages, you could find yourself standing still next to the new batch of college grads. I still have to find the time to learn XML and Java.

The main thing that I think college CS majors are missing is the group experience. Trust me, I do recruiting for our company too, and one of the first questions out of my mouth is, "Do you have any experience working in groups?" It's a big plus.

[Klashe]

Oh yeah, congrats on being the first brave soul to post a topic! I thought that would be up to us!

[Pinky]

Hey, someone had to start it out!

Thanks for the reply. So what kind of actual projects have you worked on?

[toonzwile]

Originally posted by Pinky:
I was wondering what kind of real-world programming projects you have worked on. I mean like for a job, not just class assignments and personal studying. What kind of project was/is it, and what language(s) are you using?

Well, since my boss decided i should do all the Tech work AND all the MIS work, i now get to write code in ASP/HTML/XML/Java everyday... man!! u know im excited!!!!

------------------
"I have slept many nights in places, with faces distorted
I have eaten the flesh and blood of air but still, I am here!
Though I shall never forget yesterday or today or tomorrow
And all the sorrow, from the blood shed that left many dead
I want you to know are you my flow and when I speak
Know I wept"
--- Unknown poet, Albanian or Serbian

[Simpson, Homer]

Originally posted by Pinky:
Hey, someone had to start it out!

Thanks for the reply. So what kind of actual projects have you worked on?

My "real world" programmign experience to date has been writing artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience type algorithims in VB and C++. at most, I need two languages (3 if you consider C and C++ different). I've also been asked to write some code to read web pages and extract certain information, then analyze the information using the aforementioned neural networks, and create a report out of it. This was done entirely in VB. Thankfully, I've worked at a small company and only had to work with one other person (and not a huge group of other programmers). The other good thing is that the other person I work with is a math major from MIT and not a CS major from some state school (I hate the way state schools teach CS; they just teach computer programming and not the theory of CS)



------------------
Athlon 500@700 w/stock cooling
400 W ATX PS
Matrox G400 32 MB Dual Head
512 MB CAS2 PC 133 (Infineon)
120 GB RAID array + 27 GB main drive (loaded with mp3s, divx movies, etc)
8x DVD Drive
8x CD Burner
19" Monitor
Intellimouse Explorer and Cordless Logitech Keyboard

'93 Acura Integra--soon to be replaced with a 2002 Honda S2000 (HELL YEAH!)

[Sol]

I have had about a year of programming in the real world. I worked on an Open Gl flight simulator for a friends company for about 5 months. I am now working on a Java based project. It is rather interesting and I have learned a lot from it. I can't really say much about it, but the one thing I like about real world programming is, if you cant figure it out, you can ask for help or look it up.

[Galen_of_Edgewood]

Originally posted by Simpson, Homer:
... The other good thing is that the other person I work with is a math major from MIT and not a CS major from some state school (I hate the way state schools teach CS; they just teach computer programming and not the theory of CS)

I'm attending the University of Texas at Dallas and they teach a decent amount of theory of Computer Science. Not enough, if you ask me. My OS concepts class wasn't heavy enough into the concepts of Operating Systems, especially when you take into consideration the project that we were assigned.

Now, my Advanced Algorithms and Data Structures class was an absolute blast since we stayed in the theory and pseudocode. We did no programming in any specific language. What programming we did do was in pure pseudocode, so that we could prove that we understood the algorithm and the way that it worked, not just our ability to program in a specific programming language.

Oh yeah, C and C++ are almost different enough that you have to call them seperate languages, at least, in my opinion (especially when doing simple output to the screen! Sheesh! printf, yuck...)

Oh yeah, Pinky, to answer your question:
For me, in my job, I've have been assigned, from time to time, the most wonderful task (read: tons o' sarcasm here) of altering/updating other people's code. This was in Visual Basic, C (not C++ , embedded chip), Java, and Perl. Tons o' fun....

Another thing that I did was working with two other Co-Ops on a program that would automate a task that would otherwise take a couple of months to create a single data structure by hand. One of the Co-Ops and I went to work on creating the GUI, and we used Visual Basic (first v3.0 and then moved up quickly to v5.0). It accessed an Access database (the other guy got that part) and put all of the values into the GUI. I ended up creating much of the GUI and the error checking. The third guy programed the code to generate the data structure in the correct format in Ada. This took us about 3 months, since we all worked about 20 hrs/week and it took forever to get v5.0 of Visual Basic.

------------------
So they are no longer two, but one. -Matthew 19:6 (NIV)

[Klashe]

Originally posted by Pinky:
Hey, someone had to start it out!

Thanks for the reply. So what kind of actual projects have you worked on?

Well, my company does phone menu programming. You know, whenever you call your bank you get that annoying voice that says, "Press one to get balance information, Press two if you like butterflies." Well, there's a lot of database work behind that. The front end that I mentioned is pretty much "If /then /goto". Very basic stuff. But behind that is the Data INterface process which is where the real meat is. That's in C and sometimes ProC (which is C with embedded Oracle/SQL statement).

Most of the time people use Oracle, but sometimes they use something else and that's when we are forced to use ODBC.

I just started (about 6 months ago, when I graduated) so they limit me to the simpler projects. I just did this one for Kentucky, it's a hunting registering program: "If you killed a turkey, Press 1. If you killed a Deer, press two." Pretty funny. Some of the bigger projects we work on is Disney, Blue Cross, and lots of school stuff.

One tip, when you get out into the real world, and you are an engineer, you have to set LOTS of timeframes and deadlines. Don't make the mistake of underestimating your completetion time. However long you THINK it will take you....double it. That way you give yourself some manuevering room if something goes wrong (something always does). By this way, you are never missing deadlines. Project Managers will get on your butt for doing that. Give yourself lots of space. If you get done early, then you are seen as being an efficient worker.

[100%TotallyNude]

Originally posted by Klashe:
Most of the time people use Oracle, but sometimes they use something else and that's when we are forced to use ODBC.

"Forced"? That'a an odd way of putting it. Your statement implies that when you are interfacing to Oracle you don't use ODBC, which I take to mean you are using the native OCI interface. Are you telling me that OCI is easier than ODBC???




------------------
Now sporting a pIII 733 flip-chip on an i815 w/Mushkin 256M 133 fsb rig under a GOrb...

[Klashe]

Originally posted by 100%TotallyNude:
"Forced"? That'a an odd way of putting it. Your statement implies that when you are interfacing to Oracle you don't use ODBC, which I take to mean you are using the native OCI interface. Are you telling me that OCI is easier than ODBC???

No, normally we connect to Oracle using a ProC dip, but lately our customers have had the option of
Using databases besides oracle so we have been “forced” into using ODBC to accommodate our customers. I only used “forced” because ProC is our preferred way of accessing Oracle.

[Mr. Silver]

Originally posted by Pinky:
Hey, this is a great addition to the forums!

OK, so I'm a CS major, and I'm assuming some or many of you have graduated with Computer Science degrees. I was wondering what kind of real-world programming projects you have worked on. I mean like for a job, not just class assignments and personal studying. What kind of project was/is it, and what language(s) are you using?

I'm a curious guy

Heh heh, I haven't even graduated from high school yet, so I wouldn't know :P. But I'm curious too about what kind of languages companies want their techies to know, because I'm hoping to make some cash this summer working as an apprentice to a web master.



------------------
~Project Argentum~
AMD Athlon T-Bird 700
Abit KT7
Kingston PC100 128 MB RAM
Maxtor 20.4 GB 5400 RPM
ATi Radeon 32 MB DDR
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Value
Creative Labs Modem Blaster 56k PCI
Memorex 48x CD-ROM
Enlight 7237 300 Watt
Acer 15" Monitor
MidiLand Mli 940 Speakers


~Wit and sarcasm are dangerous in the hands of a professional.

[100%TotallyNude]

Originally posted by Mr. Silver:
Heh heh, I haven't even graduated from high school yet, so I wouldn't know :P. But I'm curious too about what kind of languages companies want their techies to know...

Heed these words: Learn XML.


------------------
Now sporting a pIII 733 flip-chip on an i815 w/Mushkin 256M 133 fsb rig under a GOrb...

[Mr. Silver]

Originally posted by 100%TotallyNude:
Heed these words: Learn XML.

Yup, I've heard of that language. I don't know much about it, but it's worth taking a look. Thanks.



------------------
~Project Argentum~
AMD Athlon T-Bird 700
Abit KT7
Kingston PC100 128 MB RAM
Maxtor 20.4 GB 5400 RPM
ATi Radeon 32 MB DDR
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Value
Creative Labs Modem Blaster 56k PCI
Memorex 48x CD-ROM
Enlight 7237 300 Watt
Acer 15" Monitor
MidiLand Mli 940 Speakers


~Wit and sarcasm are dangerous in the hands of a professional.

[turp182]

XML isn't so much a language as it is a standard for describing data. But it's very useful.

One project I worked on involved streaming video. We wanted to stream video as easily as possible from a W2K Server.

So, I put together a component in VB that can convert AVI/MPG and such to MWF compressed files ready for streaming. The component also interacts with the streaming server to register the videos.

How does it work? The user transfers the video to a specific directory (it's all internal network/WAN, you don't want to transfer these videos over the internet). They then fill out a form on out intranet specifying the name of the video and some other details. After they submit the form the system kicks in, sending the data to the component as XML, converting the video, setting it up for streaming, and it even creates a web page that can be used to view the video. Finally it sends an e-mail to the person who registered the video to give them the various URLs and OBJECT tags need to incorporate the video into their own web pages.

Tools Used: VB6, W2K Server, Stream Tools on the server, ASP, IIS, and Oracle (for storing all video data).

This was one of the cooler projects. I have done lots of other VB schtuff.

Peter

------------------
We got it at the Wazmo...
www.thewazmo.com