NYCJUG/2007-05-08

NYCJUG meeting; how long to learn J?; making logos using "plot"; recursion in J; publicizing J: ICFP, Dr. Dobbs article; efficiency as total time-to-solution; customizing user folders var USERFOLDERS_j_.

NYC JUG Meeting of 20070508

In this meeting, we talked about some more resources for beginners to learn J and how long it takes to get comfortable with the language, a little about the J IRC (Internet Relay Chat), customizing some of J's global variables like USERFOLDERS_j_ in one's startup script, using plot to draw interesting logos, floating point issues, recursion in J, how we should re-frame the general discussion in the computer world about efficiency to take into account total time-to-solution, and possibilities for publicizing the language like participating in the ICFP contest or writing articles for magazines like Dr. Dobbs.

Meeting Agenda for NYC JUG 20070508

1. Beginner's regatta: Pointers for beginners - both tips and pointers to pertinent
beginner info: what would this look like?

Geoff's question: how long should I expect it to take before I "get" J, at least
enough that I can puzzle through other people's code without having to grab the
dictionary every other symbol?  See "howLongToGetJ.doc".


2. Show-and-tell: J IRC?

JHP - is this a good avenue to follow?  What are the alternatives?

USERFOLDERS_j_ not with jconsole: one possible fix; see "userFoldersNotInJconsole.doc".

Some logos I've been working on: see "cosCplexPlane.jpg" and "sombrero2toQtrPower.jpg",
"CosCplxPlnTpose.png".


3. Advanced topics: floating point issues; see "SinMatMultCosCplxPln.png",
"CosCplxPlnDiffs.png".

Recursion in J (see "recursion.doc"; also "Agenda20070508.txt", item 3, Advanced topics:
"Recursion in J").


4. Learning and teaching J: letter to Vector re "Maths Challenge" based on our meeting
of a few months ago: suggestions?  See "mathsChall-reframingEfficiencyDiscussion.doc".


5. Publicizing and promoting J: magazine articles?  See Dr. Dobbs author guidelines
"DrDobbsAuthorGuidelines.doc": http://www.ddj.com/authors.htm#2.

The 10th ICFP Programming Contest?  See "ICFP Programming Contest announcement.doc".

Local schools?  See "CCNY Dept CS roster.doc".

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Knowledge is a process of piling up facts;
wisdom lies in their simplification.
  - Dr. Henry Fischer