Fooling Around // Software Production Line

A friend of mine recently told that BrainBench has a promotion with a free C++ test (to be requested for free before March, 31) and I decided to spend an hour to take it. Here is the test description:

Our C++ test measures your knowledge of programming in C++. Designed for experienced programmers, this test covers the following topics: Construction and Destruction, Encapsulation and Classes, Exceptions, I/O, Inheritance, Non-core Features, Overloading, Standard Template Library, Templates, and Types.

I have been knowing about BrainBench since long ago, if my memory serves me right (since soon after their start, I suppose) and when I took Delphi test. I previously heard that some employers require that candidates pass this kind of test for the employer to have an evaluation of skills, for example from my email archive:

We will ask you to solve a small but fairly difficult low-level API problem in Delphi. If that task is completed in a timely manner, we will then arrange for a personal interview. Part of the personal interview may include passing a test paid for by iolo technologies, LLC from Brain Bench (www.brainbench.com). This test can be taken before or after the interview.

Not my case and seriously I think it makes more sense to evaluate a junior or lower intermediate this way. The test contained a lot of STL and C++ language specific questions which I, having been a C++ engineer for years, have never dealt with in real life. No wonder about STL because I have been ATL/WTL guy but this was true even non-STL questions. And I am pretty sure that many of those would be as surprising and unexpected for the folks I am nip and tuck on a daily basis…

What came to me as surprise was “Percentile”, higher than 99% of those who took a free test:

Score: 4.59
Percentile: Scored higher than 99% of previous examinees

Demonstrates understanding of most advanced concepts within the subject area. Appears capable of mentoring others on the most complex projects.

Strong Areas

• Exceptions
• Construction and Destruction
• Standard Template Library
• Types

Weak Areas

• None noted

Someone, maybe Julia Cow (or Crow? whatever), provided my voice mail number as her own and I started receiving messages from so called First National Collection Bureau. It would be quite amusing unless they keep throwing messages on a daily basis, including 5 second calls with a sexy breath on the other side of the phone line. I am reluctant to give them a long distance call just to try to prove I am not Julia and why would they believe? A quick googling did not show a method to leave them a message via network, so let’s get ready for more pressing attempts to collect debt.

Update (oh they ARE annoying!):

• How do you block calls from collection agency, meant for someone else? // Yahoo Answers
• How can I stop getting harassing phone calls from a collection agency looking for someone I don’t know? // Yahoo Answers
• US National Do Not Call Registry
• US National and State Do Not Call Lists

The good news they provide Caller-ID: 775-322-0444 so it is just easy to trash their calls.

Some time ago I subscribed to a Google Groups group and then later decided to unsubscribe. Due to some glitch I was no longer listed as a subscriber however email notifications keep coming. My attempt to resolve the issue through support was vain and I started trashing through marking as spam. It works great! I love GMail’s spam filter. Google generates emails which are delivered into my GMail inbox where automatically marked as spam and deleted in 30 days. I’d say it’s convenient enough!

Earlier or later I will be setting up Linux system for development, server and probably desktop software too. As the time goes this more and more seems to remain only a question of time. I already got first impression of Ubuntu Linux (and I was impressed in fact) and also checked some of the forums.

We have increasing requests for ports of our software onto Linux platform, for various reasons. Some people believe it would offer greater performance (and who known maybe they have a point in this, our server side software is a multi-threaded loader of network adapters, HDD and CPU, why wouldn’t it run faster on a not so much bloated OS core?), some what a free supported platform. While this particular task of porting is close to impossible, a scent of Linux does not go away and is just concentrating.

It is only difficult to start because things are very much different: IDE, API, things believed obvious once you got used to everything. Still C++ is C++ on Linux too.

What I would actually appreciate is some quick start resource with correspondence for Windows techniques with Linux. For example, I know well enough when to use registry and which key to take HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER. How things happen on Linux for similar tasks? There are “Program Files”, “Windows”, “Windows\system32″, “Documents and Settings” well known directories on Windows. I would like to have things in right places on Linux, what are they? These are even more important than APIs because if anything you get documentation on API and you can study until you got it right. Windows developers might suspect they should avoid keeping user data under Program Files because it’s a wrong place for thins kind of data, however this was never a problem until Vista and its File Virtualization and Virtual Store (see also The Windows Vista Developer Story: Application Compatibility Cookbook and First Look: New Security Features in Windows Vista). So it is always better to know things well in advance.

What is particularly interesting with Linux (well, before I actually got in touch with this) is its light versions on variety non-full-featured hardware. I got a cheap IP camera nearby which I use for testing and it discovered Linux inside through its DHCP activity where it clearly states Linux is inside. I got an ADSL modem with WiFi router and it is also using Linux. Yes I am aware of embedded versions of Windows and Windows Mobile and Pocket PC (which I even have experience developing for) but they don’t seem to spread all over around, at least I don’t notice.

Some links I found and believe to be useful on the topic:

• Planet Ubuntu
• Ubuntu Blog
• Ariejan.net / How to setup a Ubuntu development server - Part 1 (cached here)
• Ariejan.net / How to setup a Ubuntu development server - Part 2

Being permanently in a state of cutting hardware costs I appeared to be aside of great HDD usage scheme, Intel Matrix Storage Technology.

Earlier and simpler solution:

and more recent and complicated:

It’s just great to create performance and reliability/safety volumes. I just wonder in case of failure, will I be able to get a RAID 1 drive and put it into standalone computer, will I be able to see the data? Or I have to somehow use Intel’s software to recover (through restoration of broken RAID or whatever other way).

See Also:

• Intel® Matrix Storage Technology
• Intel Matrix RAID Guide on techarp.com

A customer did surprise with an unexpected inquiry: your software, it’s client part, does not install on Windows 98 Second Edition… Come on, it’s not in use already, is it? Nope, there are still installations. What is even more curious that the software DOES work on Windows 98 SE! However one has to install a few redistributables, such as DirectX Runtime for Windows 98.

j2 has been providing free inbound fax and voice mail US numbers since long ago, thanks for the service. However client side software evolved over the years. Particularly, I am eventually interested in opening faxes and messages that drop into my email and have  custom formats, .gsm for voice mail and .efx (there was also another .?fx) for fax.

Long ago the application was “download and use” without special installation requirements. It shown graphics, played back audio and allowed to save as .wav (well known format for audio and I believe well known GSM 6.10 codec was in use). I am not sure about ads, as far as I remember the ad was just an extra toolbar visible by default.

Later they packaged application into setup. You download, install, use, uninstall via Add/Remove Programs… There is no problem with this and basically this is correct and widely used method. Advertisements got somewhat more annoying though.

Recently I downloaded a fresh version… Installation procedure freezed to sync with the website, singup reminder became more annoying, export to WAV has been removed!!!  Uninstallation required reboot and on booting up at logon time it again froze to connect to website (before I could actually enable VPN connection). Oh, Yahoo Toolbar was included or it was not?

What is going to be next to make it absolutely unacceptable for eventual use?