Fred Palma | Computer Scientist

If you want to install and cofigure CVS on Red Hat Linux 7, the article called Installing and Configuring CVS on RedHat Linux 7 as an SCM Repository is a good recommendation. Thanks Kadu, thanks Colin Yu!

Introduction:
This article, the third one in a series on team development in IBM ® WebSphere® Studio Application Developer, focuses on installing and configuring CVS on RedHat Linux 7 as an SCM Repository. WebSphere Studio Application Developer (hereafter called Application Developer) works seamlessly with CVS, the dominant open-source, network-transparent version control system. CVS runs on most platforms, including Windows®, Linux, AIX®, and UNIX®. Installing it with Application Developer on RedHat Linux has several advantages:

* Linux is now the dominant open-source operating system.
* RedHat is one of the major distributors of Linux.
* CVS is included in the RedHat Linux 7 distribution.
* CVS for Linux is stable, reliable, and scalable, and is useful for individual developers and small teams as well as large, distributed teams.
* Application Developer runs on RedHat Linux 7.
* When using Application Developer, you can use CVS as a local repository or as a shared repository for the entire team.

However, installing and configuring CVS for Linux is not trivial and there is little good documentation available. The step-by-step instructions below should help system administrators configure CVS for Linux for developers using Application Developer.

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Tags: Development, Open Source by Fred
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You can use array_map and array_sum functions:

$sum = array_map(’array_sum’, array_map(null, $array1, $array2));

ex:

<?
$a = array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
$b=array(5,4,3,2,1);

$sum = array_map(’array_sum’, array_map(null, $a, $b));

print_r ($sum);
?>

Output:

Array ( [0] => 6 [1] => 6 [2] => 6 [3] => 6 [4] => 6 )

Tags: php by Fred
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To find out which packages you have installed in your Debian based distribution (like Ubuntu), you can use for example:
sudo dpkg  –list | grep package_name
ex: sudo dpkg  –list | grep postfix
or
sudo aptitude search package_name
ex: aptitude search postfix

About:
dpkg –l, –list package-name-pattern…
List packages matching given pattern.
aptitude search package-name-pattern
Searches for packages matching one of the patterns supplied on command line. All packages which match any of the given pattern will be displayed.

Tags: Linux by Fred
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This paper presents the evaluation and monitoring system of the Ministry of Social Development and the Fight against Hunger (MDS) in Brazil, whose establishment has been ongoing by Secretariat of Evaluation and Information Management (SAGI) since the Ministry was created in the beginning of 2004. This system is a government action to update the management of public policies, and it has established itself as an effort for the improvement of government actions.

In addition to its vast territory, Brazil has a highly decentralized administrative system, which further increases the challenge of implementing public policies in any given sector. The creation of a decentralized, participatory Brazilian social protection system in all 5,564 municipalities through a set of policies, programs, and actions can no longer make do without decision-making based on information and evidence. For this reason, since the establishment of the MDS, we have valued the need to create and implement an evaluation and monitoring policy which makes it possible to provide feedback to policies through the use of data and information. We believe strengthening a culture of transparency and accountability in public management and using the results of monitoring and evaluation to improve the performance of policies are the only way to increase efficiency and efficacy in the use of public resources. The principle of dealing with public resources requires zeal, but zeal is even more important when one deals with money whose recipients will be those in greater need. We must employ all efforts to make sure the investment effectively reaches those in need, thus making a difference in the lives of individuals and their community.

There are several challenges to be faced in the creation and operation of this system. This text briefly describes some of these challenges, including the institutional context and the procedures adopted, which have been decisive steps towards the establishment and integration, in the area of public administration, of technical knowledge and the management of public policies. Sharing experiences, initiatives and questions on this work, in our opinion, may be an important step towards perfecting and strengthening our social protection network, in synch with the extremely precious principles of transparency, public discussion, and political and administrative responsibility.

English | Français | Español | Português (PDF Format, 1,3 Mb)

Website (URL)

Source: UNESCO

More info: SAGI/MDS

Tags: Development, Softwares by Fred
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This script show you how to create a simple website counter using a file.

Create a file (counter.txt), containing the initial number 0 and save it as counter.txt.
Upload it to your server
CHMOD it to 777.

It will look like this:
0

The code:
//Print the current count
$File = “counter.txt”;
$counter = fopen($File, ‘r+’) ;
$data = fread($counter, 512) ;
$count = $data + 1;
print $count;
//Update the Text File With The New Count
fseek($counter, 0) ;
fwrite($counter, $count) ;
fclose($counter) ;

Tags: php by Fred
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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, today announced a new study to quantify the amounts and kinds of information being produced worldwide by businesses and consumers alike. The “How Much Information?” study will be completed by a multi-disciplinary, multi-university faculty team supported by corporate and foundation sponsorship. The program will be undertaken at the Global Information Industry Center (GIIC) at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), with support from the Jacobs School of Engineering and the San Diego Supercomputer Center.

“Experts say that we live in an information economy, but how much information is there, and do countries count and value information comparably? The previous generation of studies have reported information as countable bits and bytes, and documented large growth numbers” said IR/PS Dean Peter F. Cowhey. “The next generation of studies will count more precisely the impacts and implications of information growth, and do this internationally,” continued Cowhey.

The How Much Information (HMI) program is a three-year effort by specialists at University of California, San Diego, MIT and University of California, Berkeley. Previous theorists involved in developing baseline data are UC Berkeley professors Hal Varian and Peter Lyman, highly regarded for work in this field. Professor Varian noted “we are very pleased that GIIC is undertaking this next generation of studies.”

Industry experts from AT&T, Cisco Systems, IBM, LSI, Oracle, Seagate Technology LLC, and PARC will work as part of the “How Much Information” team, representing the leading firms in the enterprise software, network and information storage industries. Each company brings a unique perspective on information growth seen by their professionals in the field and in the use of their information technologies in industry, public sector organizations, and the home.

“We have designed this research as a partnership between industry and academics to take the next steps in understanding how to think about, measure, and understand the implications of dramatic growth in digital information,” said Professor Roger Bohn of UC San Diego, co-leader of the new program. “As the costs per byte of creating, storing, and moving data fall, the amounts rise exponentially. We know that overall information technology increases productivity and human welfare, but not all information is equally valuable.” Bohn’s co-leader, Dr. James Short, noted that recent industry studies have reported larger and larger amounts of information being produced and stored in networks, companies and homes. “We will continue to document the growth in information,” Short said, “but at the end of the day we are studying how information works. How information works is about measuring and counting the uses and applications driving the massive increases in networking and data growth, allowing businesses and consumers to use information more effectively to make better decisions.”

Updates on the research will be announced over the course of the next three years, with the initial report slated for publication at the end of 2008. For more information and to view updates on the research, please visit http://giic.ucsd.edu.

Multi-Year Study With Sponsorship From AT&T,Cisco Systems, IBM, LSI, Oracle, Seagate Technology and PARC to Examine the Quantity and Quality of Global Information

By Barry Jagoda from UCSD News

Tags: research by Fred
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Innovation is a multilevel phenomenon. Not only characteristics of firms but also environment within which firms operate matter. Although this has been for long recognized in the literature, a quantitative test that explicitly concerns the hypothesis that framework conditions affect innovativeness of firms remains lacking. Using a large sample of firms from many developing countries, we estimate a multilevel model of innovation that integrates explanatory factors at different levels of the analysis. Apart from various firm’s characteristics, national economic, technological and institutional conditions directly predict the likelihood of firms to innovate.

by M. Srholec from UNU-MERIT

http://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2008/wp2008-040.pdf

Tags: Development, economy by Fred
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Google’s Vic Gundotra said he wanted to move the web forward

For Google the future is about beefing up the browser and its bottom line.

This honest explanation of what motivates the search giant was given at Google IO, its developers conference being held in San Francisco.

One of the “reasons we invest in moving the web forward is if it benefits Google economically,” admitted Vic Gundotra, engineering vice president.

But he also stressed: “The more money Google makes, the more it pours back into open source projects.”

High on the agenda at IO was Android, Google’s open source software platform being designed for smart phones.

A demo at the conference revealed some new applications for its Android mobile operating system.

These include a way to unlock phones by drawing a specific shape on the touch screen, a compass tool that automatically orientates maps when a user looks at photographic images of a city, a magnifying tool to zoom in on web content and a mobile version of the video game Pac Man.

The Android touchscreen is reminiscent of the iPhone

The phone being used at the conference relied on fingertip touch but Andy Rubin, who is overseeing the project, said Android could also be tailored to work with a tracking ball.

The first phones powered by Android are due out in the second half of this year.

With about three billion mobile phones already on the market, some analysts believe Google could make about $5 billion annually within five years.

‘Key goals’

Google’s engineering head Mr Gundotra played down any notion that Android is set to take on the iPhone even though it looks and acts a lot like Apple’s phone.

“I wouldn’t say that at all. I think the iPhone is just a world-class device with a great web browser that delivers in many respects on one of Google’s key goals; to bring the web to the mobile device.”

“I am a very avid user of Apple products. I buy everything they make. We wish every mobile phone was as good as the iPhone. Apple demonstrates there is plenty of opportunity to go around.”

A demo of Pacman on the Android platform was shown

Many of the developers at IO had come to hear about Google’s App Engine, which was launched six weeks ago as one of a host of development platforms aimed at encouraging developers to put the browser ahead of the desktop.

Ten thousand people signed up for beta testing while another 150,000 went onto a waiting list.

The reason so many developers want to work with the engine is because it uses the same infrastructure that Google uses for many of its applications.

Create something

During a conference presentation, Kevin Gibbs, the technical lead for the project, announced to cheers and applause that the engine would now be open to everyone and there was no waiting list.

Google hopes Earth in a browser will be as popular as Google Maps

“You can log in immediately and start using it, so please create something and let us know what you think.”

Google also unveiled a rough draft pricing plan which will be finalised and become effective later in the year.

Under the new structure, developers start with a free quota of 500MB and enough computer processing power and bandwidth for about five million page views per month.

Mr Gibbs estimated that an application which received a total of 10 million page views would cost the developer about $40 (£20) a month.

The web has won

As a company known primarily for search, Google is trying to extend its reach and lure developers away from designing applications for the desktop and opt for the web instead.

“We want to accelerate the capability of the browser,” Mr Gundotra said during his keynote speech to developers.

Google employees are on hand to demonstrate the browser is the dominant force

“The web is maturing at an amazing rate and it’s getting better and better. I don’t think there’s any question that in terms of the question ‘What has become the dominant platform?’, the web has won.”

Demonstrating the power of the web and the browser, Google said its Google Earth 3D visualisation software could now be embedded on web sites using a simple plug-in.

Google Earth technical lead Paul Rademacher said he expected it to be popular with property sites, where people can get 3D views of houses, and on travel sites where consumers can see the view from a hotel room.

“Now inside a web page, you’ll be able to fly through San Francisco or see a 3D model of a cabin with exactly the view out the window of the mountains.”

Tags: Development, Google by Fred
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