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  3. Forgotten skills...

Forgotten skills...

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  • R R Giskard Reventlov

    I've been doing this computing lark for quite a long time and still like to get my hands dirty crafting beautifully manicured code. What I don't do, nor do I recall ever having to do, is create a custom sort algorithm. I don't think I could without looking it up; oh, I know what many of them are called and recall, vaguely, the workings but I doubt I could articulate any of them without looking it up first. There are probably many other 'skills' I learnt in the dim and distant past but have now forgotten due to lack of use (like Visual Basic :-)). What did you learn and never get around to using or, in fact, ever need to use?

    "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures

    OriginalGriffO Offline
    OriginalGriffO Offline
    OriginalGriff
    wrote on last edited by
    #9

    Like you, sorting is something I haven't written any code for for donkeys years - not since I got started in Assembler and had no libraries. Now I use "prepared" code - which has the advantage that I know it works and if there is a problem it's my fault - I used it wrong! :laugh: I don't think I have used much of what I learned in school past "O" level or less (for non-UKians or the young, I passed my first O level when when I was about 14, but 16 was more normal). Almost nothing past the basics of the "formal learning" at Uni has been used for thirty or more years, but the "mind set" of coding that was started then is still very much in force and wouldn't have been learned at all without the "formal learning" that caused it and hasn't been used since. Visual Basic isn't a skill, it's a disease. :laugh:

    Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)

    "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
    "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

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    • D Duncan Edwards Jones

      "Z"[^] and I don't think I've knowingly used De Morgan's law[^] this decade. Also - in a non IT context - I've never had to give the hand signals for "I am slowing down" etc. I learnt for my driving test.

      I Offline
      I Offline
      Ian Shlasko
      wrote on last edited by
      #10

      Duncan Edwards Jones wrote:

      I don't think I've knowingly used De Morgan's law[^] this decade.

      Really? I use it all the time... I'd just forgotten what it was called until just now. (!x && !y) == !(x || y) Ahh, memories...

      Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
      Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

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      • G glennPattonWork3

        Quote:

        due to lack of use (like Visual Basic :) ).

        The lounge rules are keep it Kid Sister Safe. There is no need for language like that:

        Quote:

        like Visual Basic :)

        :wtf:

        N Offline
        N Offline
        Nish Nishant
        wrote on last edited by
        #11

        Someone else mentioned Java in this thread. Standards are dropping very fast here! :~

        Regards, Nish


        Check out 7 reasons C++ devs will love the VS 14 CTP by Nish Sivakumar Blog: voidnish.wordpress.com

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        • N Nish Nishant

          Triple Integrals. Remember spending hours learning and practicing those for tests in high school. Once I left high school, I've never ever had to use them.

          Regards, Nish


          Check out 7 reasons C++ devs will love the VS 14 CTP by Nish Sivakumar Blog: voidnish.wordpress.com

          I Offline
          I Offline
          Ian Shlasko
          wrote on last edited by
          #12

          :thumbsup: Calculus in general... No need for it. I leave the calculus to the quants (quantitative analysts)...

          Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
          Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

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          • P PIEBALDconsult

            I don't recall.

            You'll never get very far if all you do is follow instructions.

            J Offline
            J Offline
            jeron1
            wrote on last edited by
            #13

            PIEBALDconsult wrote:

            I don't recall.

            Looks like someone may have a future in politics. ;)

            "the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment "Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst

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            • R R Giskard Reventlov

              I've been doing this computing lark for quite a long time and still like to get my hands dirty crafting beautifully manicured code. What I don't do, nor do I recall ever having to do, is create a custom sort algorithm. I don't think I could without looking it up; oh, I know what many of them are called and recall, vaguely, the workings but I doubt I could articulate any of them without looking it up first. There are probably many other 'skills' I learnt in the dim and distant past but have now forgotten due to lack of use (like Visual Basic :-)). What did you learn and never get around to using or, in fact, ever need to use?

              "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures

              Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
              Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
              Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter
              wrote on last edited by
              #14

              We learned a lot of mainframe stuff first year - never ever used it. In fact never saw a mainframe based system since then...

              I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)

              "It never ceases to amaze me that a spacecraft launched in 1977 can be fixed remotely from Earth." ― Brian Cox

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              • N Nish Nishant

                Someone else mentioned Java in this thread. Standards are dropping very fast here! :~

                Regards, Nish


                Check out 7 reasons C++ devs will love the VS 14 CTP by Nish Sivakumar Blog: voidnish.wordpress.com

                W Offline
                W Offline
                WiganLatics
                wrote on last edited by
                #15

                tbf we were degrading rather than evangelising though. ;)

                N 1 Reply Last reply
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                • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

                  We learned a lot of mainframe stuff first year - never ever used it. In fact never saw a mainframe based system since then...

                  I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)

                  W Offline
                  W Offline
                  WiganLatics
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #16

                  I believe the modern term is 'cloud' ... :~

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                  • R R Giskard Reventlov

                    I've been doing this computing lark for quite a long time and still like to get my hands dirty crafting beautifully manicured code. What I don't do, nor do I recall ever having to do, is create a custom sort algorithm. I don't think I could without looking it up; oh, I know what many of them are called and recall, vaguely, the workings but I doubt I could articulate any of them without looking it up first. There are probably many other 'skills' I learnt in the dim and distant past but have now forgotten due to lack of use (like Visual Basic :-)). What did you learn and never get around to using or, in fact, ever need to use?

                    "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures

                    R Offline
                    R Offline
                    Rob Philpott
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #17

                    I think I've used most things I've learned with the exception of some weird stuff at University. Perhaps what is more interesting is what I used to use daily, but can't remember any more. Unix, C++, COM, VBXs, segmented memory on 16bit etc. Best forgotten for the most part.

                    Regards, Rob Philpott.

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                    • W WiganLatics

                      tbf we were degrading rather than evangelising though. ;)

                      N Offline
                      N Offline
                      Nish Nishant
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #18

                      Well, when I was young, we weren't even allowed to use that kind of language in here. Times sure have changed.

                      Regards, Nish


                      Check out 7 reasons C++ devs will love the VS 14 CTP by Nish Sivakumar Blog: voidnish.wordpress.com

                      W J 2 Replies Last reply
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                      • N Nish Nishant

                        Well, when I was young, we weren't even allowed to use that kind of language in here. Times sure have changed.

                        Regards, Nish


                        Check out 7 reasons C++ devs will love the VS 14 CTP by Nish Sivakumar Blog: voidnish.wordpress.com

                        W Offline
                        W Offline
                        WiganLatics
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #19

                        Yep, these days bad language is OK... as long as it's ironic ;P

                        1 Reply Last reply
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                        • I Ian Shlasko

                          Duncan Edwards Jones wrote:

                          I don't think I've knowingly used De Morgan's law[^] this decade.

                          Really? I use it all the time... I'd just forgotten what it was called until just now. (!x && !y) == !(x || y) Ahh, memories...

                          Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
                          Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

                          G Offline
                          G Offline
                          glennPattonWork3
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #20

                          I use quite a bit, I do hardware more than software. I still think it's odd to be honest. :confused:

                          I K 2 Replies Last reply
                          0
                          • N Nish Nishant

                            Triple Integrals. Remember spending hours learning and practicing those for tests in high school. Once I left high school, I've never ever had to use them.

                            Regards, Nish


                            Check out 7 reasons C++ devs will love the VS 14 CTP by Nish Sivakumar Blog: voidnish.wordpress.com

                            C Offline
                            C Offline
                            CPallini
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #21

                            Lucky boy. :-D

                            THESE PEOPLE REALLY BOTHER ME!! How can they know what you should do without knowing what you want done?!?! -- C++ FQA Lite

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                            • R R Giskard Reventlov

                              I've been doing this computing lark for quite a long time and still like to get my hands dirty crafting beautifully manicured code. What I don't do, nor do I recall ever having to do, is create a custom sort algorithm. I don't think I could without looking it up; oh, I know what many of them are called and recall, vaguely, the workings but I doubt I could articulate any of them without looking it up first. There are probably many other 'skills' I learnt in the dim and distant past but have now forgotten due to lack of use (like Visual Basic :-)). What did you learn and never get around to using or, in fact, ever need to use?

                              "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures

                              S Offline
                              S Offline
                              S Houghtelin
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #22

                              By choice,SQL, Novell. By not using, Pascal, MS Debug, BASIC, AS400 command line. (There are probably even more that I can't remember I even used. I don't use recursion by the reason that 8 and 16 bit microcontrollers have very limited memory so I just got comfortable with not having to use it.

                              It was broke, so I fixed it.

                              1 Reply Last reply
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                              • R R Giskard Reventlov

                                I've been doing this computing lark for quite a long time and still like to get my hands dirty crafting beautifully manicured code. What I don't do, nor do I recall ever having to do, is create a custom sort algorithm. I don't think I could without looking it up; oh, I know what many of them are called and recall, vaguely, the workings but I doubt I could articulate any of them without looking it up first. There are probably many other 'skills' I learnt in the dim and distant past but have now forgotten due to lack of use (like Visual Basic :-)). What did you learn and never get around to using or, in fact, ever need to use?

                                "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures

                                K Offline
                                K Offline
                                Keith Barrow
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #23

                                I think I was in, or close to, being in the position of being able to draw the logic gates for an extremely basic microprocessor. We were certainly examined on the logic-circuitry various parts of these during my degree . In the EE & Assembly exam I drew out the diagram of an instruction decoder - guaranteed marks if you were prepared to learn it and could follow the logic through enough sort out where you'd gone wrong and/or check it. Never used any of it again, pity as I found it interesting.

                                Alberto Brandolini:

                                The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • R R Giskard Reventlov

                                  I've been doing this computing lark for quite a long time and still like to get my hands dirty crafting beautifully manicured code. What I don't do, nor do I recall ever having to do, is create a custom sort algorithm. I don't think I could without looking it up; oh, I know what many of them are called and recall, vaguely, the workings but I doubt I could articulate any of them without looking it up first. There are probably many other 'skills' I learnt in the dim and distant past but have now forgotten due to lack of use (like Visual Basic :-)). What did you learn and never get around to using or, in fact, ever need to use?

                                  "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures

                                  R Offline
                                  R Offline
                                  Roger Wright
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #24

                                  Ada.

                                  Will Rogers never met me.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • R R Giskard Reventlov

                                    I've been doing this computing lark for quite a long time and still like to get my hands dirty crafting beautifully manicured code. What I don't do, nor do I recall ever having to do, is create a custom sort algorithm. I don't think I could without looking it up; oh, I know what many of them are called and recall, vaguely, the workings but I doubt I could articulate any of them without looking it up first. There are probably many other 'skills' I learnt in the dim and distant past but have now forgotten due to lack of use (like Visual Basic :-)). What did you learn and never get around to using or, in fact, ever need to use?

                                    "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures

                                    L Offline
                                    L Offline
                                    Lost User
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #25

                                    Sports.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • R R Giskard Reventlov

                                      I've been doing this computing lark for quite a long time and still like to get my hands dirty crafting beautifully manicured code. What I don't do, nor do I recall ever having to do, is create a custom sort algorithm. I don't think I could without looking it up; oh, I know what many of them are called and recall, vaguely, the workings but I doubt I could articulate any of them without looking it up first. There are probably many other 'skills' I learnt in the dim and distant past but have now forgotten due to lack of use (like Visual Basic :-)). What did you learn and never get around to using or, in fact, ever need to use?

                                      "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures

                                      A Offline
                                      A Offline
                                      Andy Brummer
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #26

                                      Deriving the Bloch wave bands and Brillouin zones for silicon from the underlying lattice group.

                                      Curvature of the Mind now with 3D

                                      R 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • A Andy Brummer

                                        Deriving the Bloch wave bands and Brillouin zones for silicon from the underlying lattice group.

                                        Curvature of the Mind now with 3D

                                        R Offline
                                        R Offline
                                        R Giskard Reventlov
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #27

                                        You win. :)

                                        "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures

                                        A 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • R R Giskard Reventlov

                                          I've been doing this computing lark for quite a long time and still like to get my hands dirty crafting beautifully manicured code. What I don't do, nor do I recall ever having to do, is create a custom sort algorithm. I don't think I could without looking it up; oh, I know what many of them are called and recall, vaguely, the workings but I doubt I could articulate any of them without looking it up first. There are probably many other 'skills' I learnt in the dim and distant past but have now forgotten due to lack of use (like Visual Basic :-)). What did you learn and never get around to using or, in fact, ever need to use?

                                          "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures

                                          T Offline
                                          T Offline
                                          Tim Carmichael
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #28

                                          RPG

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