Real Math (symbolic math, like mathematicians do) and a spreadsheet-like feedback loop

See https://slott56.github.io/replacing-a-spreadsheet/. This document is really exciting (to me).

This is still shaky -- I'm still learning -- but it's a very cool combination of Python components sympy and Jupyter Lab. As a bonus, Jupyter{Book} appeals to me as a writer. There's an aspect of literate programing …

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OpenMarine and Signal-K

I heard about these less than a week ago.

This is very interesting. Very interesting.

I have a partially complete IoT anchor alarm.

The idea of leveraging the boat's other devices through a Signal-K interface is …

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Recommended Books

I get asked about good books for beginners. Here's an example:

"What Python books do you recommend for novices so they can learn from beginner to advanced?"

For me, this is nearly impossible to answer.

"Beginner" is often undefined. I have to turn this around and ask what you already …

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The "The reader won't know what that means" Comment

Date Tags writing

I have to admit, it's very difficult to respond to this comment. I have to fight down the urge to say things like "The Reader is not an idiot," or "At some point, we have to assume they've seen a computer before."

AFAIK there's little or no useful data data …

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The Awkwardness of Fundamental Definitions

Date Tags writing

A pragmatic description of a language (like Python) from axiomatic -- or really axiom-like -- foundations is exasperatingly hard. I don't think I have any answers, but I sure do have a lot of challenges. I think there's a path that involves a lot of "don't look down -- just edge along the …

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Diagrams and UML notation

When I started in this business I was given a flowcharting template.

See https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/flowcharting-templates. I'm pretty sure I had one of these: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_690078.

Since then, things have changed a little.

I fondly recall using the Rational Rose …

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Inelegant Python

See https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/find-the-smallest-positive-number-missing-from-an-unsorted-array/ This seems to be a popular coding interview problem.

The Python code shown on the site seems almost maliciously misleading.

The full problem is this:

You are given an unsorted array with both positive and negative elements. You have to find the smallest positive …
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