Monthly Archives: October 2007

SQL Toolbox

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Mashable has published a list SQL TOOLBOX: 20+ Tools and Lessons About SQL

Here are the items that I found interesting and useful. (I had my MySql and Microsoft Sql filter on, so I didn’t bother to look at anything Oracle related.)

25 SQL Commandments – These hints–many of them previously unpublished–can help you avoid the plague of poorly written SQL statements
This is a useful list of reminders and ideas to help you write the best performing SQL.

Comparison of different SQL implementations – Compares the SQL 2003 Standard, PostgrSQL 8.2.0, DB2 Express-C v. 9.1, MS Sql Server 2005, MySql 5.0.18, and Oracle 10g r2.

This should be very useful if you are trying to move a database between servers or trying to decide which database to use.

Instant SQL Formatter – Formats SQL for different Sql server implementations. Seems very useful. Especially if you are switching between databases.

MySql Cheat Sheet – Lists key MySql commands and syntax.

Sql on Rails – “Taking the VC out of MVC” – seems interesting, so mainly a note to myself to checkout later.

Help measure light pollution ( October 1 – 15, 2007 )

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Participate in the Great World Wide Star Count.  You can help measure the light pollution in your area and add those results to an overall global view of light pollution.  There are 5 simple steps.  Here is a copy from the Great World Wide Star Count website (www.windows.ucar.edu/citizen_science/starcount/)

1. Determine which constellation to observe
2. Find that constellation at night an hour after sunset (about 7-9pm local time)
3. Match your nighttime sky with one of our magnitude charts
4. Report what you see online
5. View results of this international event

Look and Feel update of ISpeakHindi.com

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A coworker of mine had created a new template for ISpeakHindi.com.  I got most of the site updated last night.  I had actually taken several pieces from various places and updating the look of the entire site was some what of a challenge.   First their were static pages for the front page, about us, and the dictionary (which was just over 20 pages).  Then there was a PHP script to manage the links directory.  That was straight forward.  Then there was creating a wordpress theme.

I’ve never created a wordpress theme, so I spent several minutes making changes to an existing theme.  Then I decided that I really should try this when I am more awake.  So, that will be tonight’s activity to update the wordpress theme to match the rest of the site.

Go over to www.ISpeakHindi.com and let me know what you think.

Human OCR and CAPTCHA

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Carnegie Mellon is doing an experiment that will use CAPTCHA as a sort of Human OCR. (CAPTCHA refers to those characters that you have to type when creating an account like on Yahoo to prove that you are human. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captcha And OCR refers to Optical Character Recognition or a way of digitizing printed materials en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_character_recognition)

Here is how the system would work.  The Captcha would consist of two words, one that was known to Carnegie and the other that was from a document that was not known.  It would be assumed that if two people typed in the known word correctly than the identity of the unkown one would also be know.

So the next time you are signing up for an account and have to type in those funny letters, you might be helping to digitize some old manuscripts.

You can read more at it.slashdot.org/it/07/10/02/1224204.shtml