text
stringlengths 454
608k
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stringlengths 17
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stringlengths 9
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stringclasses 1
value | word_count
int64 101
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Perl::Critic::Policy::CodeLayout::RequireTrailingCommaAtNewline - comma at end of list at newline
This policy is part of the
Perl::Critic::Pulp add-on.
It asks you to put a comma at the end of a list etc when it ends with a newline,
@array = ($one, $two # bad ); @array = ($one, $two, # ok );
This makes no difference to how the code runs, so the policy is low severity and under the "cosmetic" theme (see "POLICY THEMES" in Perl::Critic).
The idea is to make it easier when editing the code since you don't have to remember to add a comma to a preceding item when extending or re-arranging lines.
If the closing bracket is on the same line as the last element then no comma is required. It can be be present if desired, but is not required.
$hashref = { abc => 123, def => 456 }; # ok
Parens around an expression are not a list, so nothing is demanded in for instance
$foo = ( 1 + 2 # ok, an expression not a list );
But a single element paren expression is a list when it's in an array assignment or a function or method call.
@foo = ( 1 + 2 # bad, list of one value ); @foo = ( 1 + 2, # ok );
A
return statement with a single value is considered an expression so a trailing comma is not required.
return ($x + $y # ok );
Whether such code is a single-value expression or a list of only one value depends on how the function is specified. There's nothing in the text (nor even at runtime) which would say for sure.
It's handy to included parens around a single-value expression to make it clear some big arithmetic is all part of the return, especially if you can't remember precedence levels. In such an expression a newline before the final ")" can help keep a comment together with a term for a cut and paste, or not lose a paren if commenting the last line, etc. So for now the policy is lenient. Would an option be good though?
An exception is made for a single expression ending with a here-document. This is slightly experimental, and might become an option, but the idea is that a newline is necessary for a here-document within parens and so shouldn't demand a comma.
foo(<<HERE # ok some text HERE );
This style is a little unusual but some people like the whole here-document at the place its string result will expand. If the code is all on one line (see "<<EOF" in perlop) then trailing comma considerations don't apply. But both forms work and so are a matter of personal preference.
foo(<<HERE); some text HERE
Multiple values still require a final comma. Multiple values suggests a list and full commas guards against forgetting to add a comma if extending or rearranging.
foo(<<HERE, one HERE <<HERE # bad two HERE );
If you don't care about trailing commas like this you can as always disable from .perlcriticrc in the usual way (see "CONFIGURATION" in Perl::Critic),
[-CodeLayout::RequireTrailingCommaAtNewline]
This policy is a variation of
CodeLayout::RequireTrailingCommas. That policy doesn't apply to function calls or hashref constructors, and you may find its requirement for a trailing comma in even one-line lists like
@x=(1,2,) too much. <>. | http://search.cpan.org/~kryde/Perl-Critic-Pulp/lib/Perl/Critic/Policy/CodeLayout/RequireTrailingCommaAtNewline.pm | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | refinedweb | 550 | 57.1 |
import "archive/zip".
const (comp Decompressor)
RegisterDecompressor allows custom decompressors for a specified method ID. The common methods Store and Deflate are built in.
type Compressor func(w io.Writer) (io.WriteCloser, error)
A Compressor returns a new compressing writer, writing to w. The io.WriteCloser's Close method must be used to flush pending data to w. The Compressor itself must be safe to invoke from multiple goroutines simultaneously, but each returned writer will be used only by one goroutine at a time.
type Decompressor func(r io.Reader) io.ReadCloser
A Decompressor returns a new decompressing reader, reading from r. The io.ReadCloser's Close method must be used to release associated resources. The Decompressor itself must be safe to invoke from multiple goroutines simultaneously, but each returned reader will be used only by one goroutine at a time.() (io.ReadCloser, error)
Open returns an io.ReadCloser that provides access to the File's contents. Multiple files may be read concurrently. }
FileHeader describes a file within a zip file. See the zip spec for details. }(r io.ReaderAt, size int64) (*Reader, error)
NewReader returns a new Reader reading from r, which is assumed to have the given size in bytes..
type Writer struct { // Comment is the central directory comment and must be set before Close is called. Comment string // contains filtered or unexported fields }
Writer implements a zip file writer.(w io.Writer) *Writer
NewWriter returns a new Writer writing a zip file to w.
func (w *Writer) Close() error
Close finishes writing the zip file by writing the central directory. It does not (and cannot) close the underlying writer.
func (w *Writer) Create(name string) (io.Writer, error)
Create adds a file to the zip file using the provided name. It returns an io (w *Writer) CreateHeader(fh *FileHeader) (io.Writer, error)
CreateHeader adds a file to the zip file using the provided FileHeader for the file metadata. It returns a io.Writer to which the file contents should be written.
The file's contents must be written to the io.Writer before the next call to Create, CreateHeader, or Close. The provided FileHeader fh must not be modified after a call to CreateHeader.
func (w *Writer) Flush() error
Flush flushes any buffered data to the underlying writer. Calling Flush is not normally necessary; calling Close is sufficient.
func (w *Writer) RegisterCompressor(method uint16, comp Compressor)
RegisterCompressor registers or overrides a custom compressor for a specific method ID. If a compressor for a given method is not found, Writer will default to looking up the compressor at the package level.
Code:
// Override the default Deflate compressor with a higher compression level. // Create a buffer to write our archive to. buf := new(bytes.Buffer) // Create a new zip archive. w := zip.NewWriter(buf) // Register a custom Deflate compressor. w.RegisterCompressor(zip.Deflate, func(out io.Writer) (io.WriteCloser, error) { return flate.NewWriter(out, flate.BestCompression) }) // Proceed to add files to w.. | https://static-hotlinks.digitalstatic.net/archive/zip/ | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | refinedweb | 493 | 51.75 |
You can click on the Google or Yahoo buttons to sign-in with these identity providers,
or you just type your identity uri and click on the little login button.
Please consider the following program:
class A(object):
def __init__(self):
print 'A constructed'
class B(object):
def __init__(self):
print 'B constructed'
class C(A, B):
pass
C()
When run, Python prints:
A constructed
This means the constructor of class B is not called, which is most likely not what the user wants. However, when pylint is run on this code, it does not issue W0231 (__init__ method from base class '<name>' is not called).
If C's constructor is overridden and there aren't calls to both superclass constructors, W0231 is issued (once or twice, depending on whether one or both calls are missing).
Ticket #9340 - latest update on 2009/11/23, created on 2009/06/15 by Maarten ter Huurne | https://www.logilab.org/ticket/9340 | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | refinedweb | 153 | 59.77 |
On Nov 15, 2007 1:07 PM, Nathan Beyer <[email protected]> wrote:
> Do you mean this?
>
> class MyObject {
> String field;
> MyObject(){
> super();
> }
> }
>
> MyObject mo = new MyObject();
>
> With regard to fields being in their default state, that's what
> happens by default. The only thing that changes this is if you inline
> field assigment with the declaration or assign the fields in the
> constructor.
Hi Nathan,
I want an object with all null values for all reference fields, and default
value(0/false) for primitive fields, even there's a constructor:
public class MyObject {
int i;
String s;
B b;
MyObject() { i = 100; s = "hello"; b= new B(); }
}
I want to have a MyObject myObject whose i = 0, s = null and b = null.
Yes, it's very like the initial state of de-serialized. What I have is the
class definition (e.g class MyObject above), and I want to "new" an instance
with all null/0 value of MyObject.class by some way. Is it possible? Thanks!
>
>
> As for creating a new instance without calling a constructor, that's
> what happens when an instance of something is de-serialized. No
> constructor is called; just the readObject() and related methods are
But I don't have an FileInputStream instance...
>
> invoked.
>
> -Nathan
>
> On Nov 14, 2007 11:58 PM, Andrew Zhang <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > Is it possible to new an object without invoking any constructor? I know
> the
> > question is a bit weird. What I want is to create an object with all
> > null/default value for its fields.
> > Reseting all fields to null by reflection is a possible solution, but is
> > there any existing special method (no matter it's low level or Harmony
> > specific) which can achieve this goal?
> > Thanks!
> >
> >
> > --
> > Best regards,
> > Andrew Zhang
> >
> >
> >
>
--
Best regards,
Andrew Zhang | http://mail-archives.apache.org/mod_mbox/harmony-dev/200711.mbox/%[email protected]%3E | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | refinedweb | 301 | 64.1 |
birkicht
Dear Benny, dear all,
after a reinstall of pythonista pip install is working well.
Sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your help.
I really appreciate your support!
best regards
Matthias
birkicht
Dear Benny,
after new update to stash 7.4, there is only one pip.py in the path site packages/stash/bin
The same error occurs like in stash 7.2:
StaSh v0.7.4 on python 3.6.1
Warning: you are running StaSh in python3. Some commands may not work correctly in python3.
Please help us improving StaSh by reporting bugs on github.
Tip: You can invoke almost any Python scripts, including UI and Scene, directly from StaSh
[~/Documents]$ pip install color
stash: <class 'SyntaxError'>: invalid token (pkg_resources.py, line 28)
[~/Documents]$
This is line 28 in pkg_resources.py
def _bypass_ensure_directory(name, mode=0777):
best regards
Matthias
birkicht
Dear Benny,
actually there are 5 files/folders with pip in there name.
a folder “pip” in /site packages/stash/tests
a file pip_1.py
two times the file pipista.py in site packages and local packages
a file test_pip.py in /site packages/stash/tests
BUT NO pip.py any more after deinstall and reinstall.
it is not always the same error after calling pip install.
Now:
StaSh v0.7.2 on python 3.6.1
Warning: you are running StaSh in python3. Some commands may not work correctly in python3. Please help us improving StaSh by reporting bugs on github.
Tip: Show a random tip with command totd
[~/Documents]$ which pip | xargs rm
[~/Documents]$ pip install color
<class 'SyntaxError'>: invalid token (pkg_resources.py, line 28)
[~/Documents]$ pip install colour
stash: pip: command not found
It is embrassing me to take your time, but I am not an expert.
Should I have to go for complete removing of phytonista?
Do I have to pay again when I do that?
best regards
Matthias
birkicht
Sorry, I don’t understand, that deinstalling/reinstalling does not help.
What’s wrong with my Phytonista?
best regards
Matthias
birkicht
pip --verbose install colour
Dear Benny,
thank for your fast response and your instructions. The error message is following:
—————————————————————
stash: <class 'SyntaxError'>: invalid syntax (pip.py, line 2)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/private/var/mobile/Containers/Shared/AppGroup/F47C5835-515B-4C73-93FB-38B132E4B000/Pythonista3/Documents/site-packages/stash/system/shruntime.py", line 545, in exec_py_file
code = compile(content, file_path, "exec", dont_inherit=True)
File "pip.py", line 2
python -m pip install SomePackage
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
—————————————————————
Should I deinstall StaSh and reinstall it. When YES, how do I do that tin the right manner?
best regards, Matthias
birkicht
Dear Benny,
thank you for your answer and the hint. After the new update I get the same error message.
When I used wget to install openpyxl, the shell worked well.
Only “pip install” is not working. This is a pitty, because a manual install of complex packages is very time intensive in comparison to pypi.
best regards
Matthias
birkicht
Dear Phytonistas,
I tried to install the PyPi package “colour” ver. 0.1.5
I did self update of StaSh.
When I run launch_stash.py, Pythonista crashes.
Second time running the script, the shell is present.
I tried to use python 2.7.
The following message occurs in both python environments:
StaSh v0.7.4 on python 3.6.1 (2.7):
Warning: you are running StaSh in python3.
Some commands may not work correctly in python3.
Please help us improving StaSh by reporting bugs on github.
Tip: Check the current StaSh installation and system information with version
[~/Documents]$ pip install colour
stash: <class 'SyntaxError'>: invalid syntax (pip.py, line 2)
[~/Documents]$
Do you have any clue, how to install site packages to pythonista?
Thank you very much for your suggestions.
Best regards
Matthias | https://forum.omz-software.com/user/birkicht/posts | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | refinedweb | 632 | 69.79 |
Composable networking for GraphQL
Apollo Link is a standard interface for modifying control flow of GraphQL requests and fetching GraphQL results.
This is the official guide for getting started with Apollo Link in your application. Apollo Link is a simple yet powerful way to describe how you want to get the result of a GraphQL operation, and what you want to do with the results. You've probably come across "middleware" that might transform a request and its result: Apollo Link is an abstraction that's meant to solve similar problems in a much more flexible and elegant way.
You can use Apollo Link with Apollo Client,
graphql-tools schema stitching, GraphiQL, and even as a standalone client, allowing you to reuse the same authorization, error handling, and control flow across all of your GraphQL fetching.
Introduction
In a few words, Apollo Links are chainable "units" that you can snap together to define how each GraphQL request is handled by your GraphQL client. When you fire a GraphQL request, each Link's functionality is applied one after another. This allows you to control the request lifecycle in a way that makes sense for your application. For example, Links can provide retrying, polling, batching, and more!
If you're new to Apollo Link, you should read the concepts guide which explains the motivation behind the package and its different pieces. The original blog post for the project is also a great first resource.
Installation
npm install apollo-link
Apollo Link has two main exports, the
ApolloLink interface and the
execute function. The
ApolloLink interface is used to create custom links, compose multiple links together, and can be extended to support more powerful use cases. The
execute function allows you to create a request with a link and an operation. For a deeper dive on how to use links in your application, check out our Apollo Link concepts guide.
Usage
Apollo Link is easy to use with a variety of GraphQL libraries. It's designed to go anywhere you need to fetch GraphQL results.
Apollo Client
Apollo Client works seamlessly with Apollo Link. A Link is one of the required items when creating an Apollo Client instance. For simple HTTP requests, we recommend using
apollo-link-http:
import { ApolloClient } from 'apollo-client'; import { InMemoryCache } from 'apollo-cache-inmemory'; import { createHttpLink } from 'apollo-link-http'; const client = new ApolloClient({ link: createHttpLink({ uri: '' }), cache: new InMemoryCache() });
The
createHttpLink is a replacement for
createNetworkInterface from Apollo Client 1.0. For more information on how to upgrade from 1.0 to 2.0, including examples for using middleware and setting headers, please check out our upgrade guide.
graphql-tools
You can also use Apollo Link with
graphql-tools to facilitate schema stitching by using
node-fetch as your request link's fetcher function and passing it to
makeRemoteExecutableSchema.
import { HttpLink } from 'apollo-link-http'; import fetch from 'node-fetch'; const link = new HttpLink({ uri: '', fetch }); const schema = await introspectSchema(link); const executableSchema = makeRemoteExecutableSchema({ schema, link, });
You can read more about schema stitching with
graphql-tools here.
GraphiQL
GraphiQL is a great way to document and explore your GraphQL API. In this example, we're setting up GraphiQL's fetcher function by using the
execute function exported from Apollo Link. This function takes a link and an operation to create a GraphQL request.
import React from 'react'; import ReactDOM from 'react-dom'; import '../node_modules/graphiql/graphiql.css' import GraphiQL from 'graphiql'; import { parse } from 'graphql'; import { execute } from 'apollo-link'; import { HttpLink } from 'apollo-link-http'; const link = new HttpLink({ uri: '' }); const fetcher = (operation) => { operation.query = parse(operation.query); return execute(link, operation); }; ReactDOM.render( <GraphiQL fetcher={fetcher}/>, document.body, );
With this setup, we're able to construct an arbitrarily complicated set of links (e.g. with polling, batching, etc.) and test it out using GraphiQL. This is incredibly useful for debugging as you're building a Link-based application.
Relay Modern
You can use Apollo Link as a network layer with Relay Modern.
import {Environment, Network, RecordSource, Store} from 'relay-runtime'; import {execute, makePromise} from 'apollo-link'; import {HttpLink} from 'apollo-link-http'; import {parse} from 'graphql'; const link = new HttpLink({ uri: '' }); const source = new RecordSource(); const store = new Store(source); const network = Network.create( (operation, variables) => makePromise( execute(link, { query: parse(operation.text), variables }) ) ); const environment = new Environment({ network, store });
Standalone
You can also use Apollo Link as a standalone client. That is, you can use it to fire requests and receive responses from a GraphQL server. However, unlike a full client implementation such as Apollo Client, Apollo Link doesn't come with a reactive cache, UI bindings, etc. To use Apollo Link as a standalone client, we're using the
execute function exported by Apollo Link in the following code sample:
import { execute, makePromise } from 'apollo-link'; import { HttpLink } from 'apollo-link-http'; import gql from 'graphql-tag'; const uri = ''; const link = new HttpLink({ uri }); const operation = { query: gql`query { hello }`, variables: {} //optional operationName: {} //optional context: {} //optional extensions: {} //optional }; // execute returns an Observable so it can be subscribed to execute(link, operation).subscribe({ next: data => console.log(`received data: ${JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)}`), error: error => console.log(`received error ${error}`), complete: () => console.log(`complete`), }) // For single execution operations, a Promise can be used makePromise(execute(link, operation)) .then(data => console.log(`received data ${JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)}`)) .catch(error => console.log(`received error ${error}`))
Note: to run Apollo Link on the server, ensure that you install
node-fetchand pass its default export to as the
fetchparameter to
HttpLink
execute accepts a standard GraphQL request and returns an Observable that allows subscribing. A GraphQL request is an object with a
query which is a GraphQL document AST,
variables which is an object to be sent to the server, an optional
operationName string to make it easy to debug a query on the server, and a
context object to send data directly to a link in the chain.
Links use observables to support GraphQL subscriptions, live queries, and polling, in addition to single response queries and mutations.
makePromise is similar to execute, except it returns a Promise. You can use
makePromise for single response operations such as queries and mutations.
If you want to control how you handle errors,
next will receive GraphQL errors, while
error be called on a network error. We recommend using
apollo-link-error instead.
Available Links
There are a number of useful links that have already been implemented that may be useful for your application.
apollo-link-http
Get the results for a GraphQL query over HTTP.
apollo-link-state
Allows you to manage your application's non-data state and interact with it via GraphQL.
apollo-link-rest
Allows you to use existing REST endpoints with GraphQL.
apollo-link-error
Handle and inspect errors within your GraphQL stack.
apollo-link-retry
Attempts an operation multiple times if it fails due to network or server errors.
apollo-link-batch
Batches and manipulates a grouping of multiple GraphQL operations.
apollo-link-batch-http
Batches multiple GraphQL operations into a single HTTP request as an array of operations.
apollo-link-context
Sets a context on your operation, which can be used other links further down the chain.
apollo-link-dedup
Deduplicates requests before sending them down the wire. This link is included by default on Apollo Client.
apollo-link-schema
Assists with mocking and server-side rendering.
apollo-link-ws
Send GraphQL operations over a WebSocket. Works with GraphQL subscriptions.
Customizing your own links
The links documented here and provided by the community have you covered for the most common use cases, but we've designed things so that it's easy to write your own. If you need your own versions of offline support or persisted queries, the
ApolloLink interface was designed to be as flexible as possible to fit your application's needs.
To get started, first read our concepts guide and then learn how to write your own stateless link. | https://www.apollographql.com/docs/link/index.html | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | refinedweb | 1,332 | 54.73 |
I have built a home thermostat with a BME280 sensor module.
I make use of an LCD to print the current temp and change my target temp with a rotary encoder.
I take temp measurements every 2 seconds and update the lcd characters every 200ms.
This is the code that reads the bme280 temp.
void readBME280(){ bme.takeForcedMeasurement(); temperature = bme.readTemperature(); if (!((temperature >= 0) && (temperature <= 35))) error = 1; }
If the temperature is out of the minimum and maximum acceptable values I set “error = 1”. If so I stop heating process and I print the “problematic” measurement on the lcd.
Here are parts of my loop() and updateLCD() functions.
loop()
currentMillis = millis(); if (!error){ if ((unsigned long)(currentMillis - previousMillis) >= 2000) { previousMillis = currentMillis; readBME280(); } } else // stop heating . . . if ((unsigned long)(currentMillis - previousLCDMillis) >= 200) { previousLCDMillis = currentMillis; updateLCD(); } . . .
updateLCD()
void updateLCD(){ if (!error){ //normal operation . . . } else{ //print "error:" //print temperature } }
I use these libraries
#include <Arduino.h> #include <SPI.h> #include <Wire.h> #include <U8g2lib.h> #include <Adafruit_Sensor.h> #include <Adafruit_BME280.h> #include <EEPROM.h>
After a few days of operation I got an error (error = 1) which means it got an unacceptable temp measurement. On the screen I saw a measurement = -214748368.0
That used to happen more often while I was testing my code and I noticed I had set the temperature variable as double. I changed it to float (like it was in Adafruit_BME280 examples) and I thought it got fixed but the problem appeared again after ~1week continuous operation.
What could cause this? What could -214748368.0 mean?
Could this mean it wasn’t able to communicate with the sensor? | https://forum.arduino.cc/t/float-variable-getting-low-value-with-bme280/561338 | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | refinedweb | 270 | 62.24 |
Certain characteristics of fields and/or methods can be specified in their declarations by the following keywords:
static
final
abstract
synchronized
native
transient
volatile
The declaration of static members is prefixed by the keyword static to distinguish them from instance members.
Static members belong to the class in which they are declared, and are not part of any instance of the class. Depending on the accessibility modifiers of the static members in a class, clients can access these by using the class name, or through object references of the class. The class need not be instantiated to access its static members.
Static variables (also called class variables) only exist in the class they are defined in. They are not instantiated when an instance of the class is created. In other words, the values of these variables are not a part of the state of any object. When the class is loaded, static variables are initialized to their default values if no explicit initialization expression is specified (see Section 8.2, p. 336).
Static methods are also known as class methods. A static method in a class can directly access other static members in the class. It cannot access instance (i.e., non-static) members of the class, as there is no notion of an object associated with a static method. However, note that a static method in a class can always use a reference of the class's type to access its members, regardless of whether these members are static or not.
A typical static method might perform some task on behalf of the whole class and/or for objects of the class. In Example 4.10, the static variable counter keeps track of the number of instances of the Light class created. The example shows that the static method writeCount can only access static members directly, as shown at (2), but not non-static members, as shown at (3). The static variable counter will be initialized to the value 0 when the class is loaded at runtime. The main() method at (4) in class Warehouse shows how static members of class Light can be accessed using the class name, and via object references having the class type.
A summary of how static members are accessed in static and non-static code is given in Table 4.1.
class Light { // Fields int noOfWatts; // wattage boolean indicator; // on or off String location; // placement // Static variable static int counter; // No. of Light objects created. (1) // Explicit Default Constructor Light() { noOfWatts = 50; indicator = true; location = "X"; ++counter; // Increment counter. } // Static method public static void writeCount() { System.out.println("Number of lights: " + counter); // (2) // Compile error. Field noOfWatts is not accessible: // System.out.println("Number of Watts: " + noOfWatts); // (3) } } public class Warehouse { public static void main(String[] args) { // (4) Light.writeCount(); // Invoked using class name Light aLight = new Light(); // Create an object System.out.println( "Value of counter: " + Light.counter // Accessed via class name ); Light bLight = new Light(); // Create another object bLight.writeCount(); // Invoked using reference Light cLight = new Light(); // Create another object System.out.println( "Value of counter: " + cLight.counter // Accessed via reference ); } }
Output from the program:
Number of lights: 0 Value of counter: 1 Number of lights: 2 Value of counter: 3
A final variable is a constant, despite being called a variable. Its value cannot be changed once it has been initialized. This applies to instance, static and local variables, including parameters that are declared final.
A final variable of a primitive data type cannot change its value once it has been initialized.
A final variable of a reference type cannot change its reference value once it has been initialized, but the state of the object it denotes can still be changed.
These variables are also known as blank final variables. Final static variables are commonly used to define manifest constants (also called named constants), for example Integer.MAX_VALUE, which is the maximum int value. Variables defined in an interface are implicitly final (see Section 6.4, p. 251). Note that a final variable need not be initialized at its declaration, but it must be initialized once before it is used. For a discussion on final parameters, see Section 3.22, p. 94.
A final method in a class is complete (i.e., has an implementation) and cannot be overridden in any subclass (see Section 6.2, p. 233). Subclasses are then restricted in changing the behavior of the method.
Final variables ensure that values cannot be changed, and final methods ensure that behavior cannot be changed. Final classes are discussed in Section 4.8.
The compiler is able to perform certain code optimizations for final members, because certain assumptions can be made about such members.
In Example 4.11, the class Light defines a final static variable at (1) and a final method at (2). An attempt to change the value of the final variable at (3) results in a compile-time error. The subclass TubeLight attempts to override the final method setWatts() from the superclass Light at (4), which is not permitted. The class Warehouse defines a final local reference aLight at (5). The state of the object denoted by aLight can be changed at (6), but its reference value cannot be changed as attempted at (7).
class Light { // Final static variable (1) final public static double KWH_PRICE = 3.25; int noOfWatts; // Final instance method (2) final public void setWatts(int watt) { noOfWatts = watt; } public void setKWH() { // KWH_PRICE = 4.10; // (3) Not OK. Cannot be changed. } } class TubeLight extends Light { // Final method in superclass cannot be overridden. // This method will not compile. /* public void setWatts(int watt) { // (4) Attempt to override. noOfWatts = 2*watt; } */ } public class Warehouse { public static void main(String[] args) { final Light aLight = new Light();// (5) Final local variable. aLight.noOfWatts = 100; // (6) OK. Changing object state. // aLight = new Light(); // (7) Not OK. Changing final reference. } }
An abstract method has the following syntax:
abstract <accessibility modifier> <return type> <method name> (<parameter list>)
<throws clause>;
An abstract method does not have an implementation; that is, no method body is defined for an abstract method, only the method prototype is provided in the class definition. Its class is then abstract (i.e., incomplete) and must be explicitly declared as such (see Section 4.8, p. 134). Subclasses of an abstract class must then provide the method implementation; otherwise, they are also abstract. See Section 4.8, where Example 4.8 also illustrates the usage of abstract methods.
Only an instance method can be declared abstract. Since static methods cannot be overridden, declaring an abstract static method would make no sense. A final method cannot be abstract (i.e., cannot be incomplete) and vice versa. The keyword abstract cannot be combined with any nonaccessibility modifiers for methods. Methods specified in an interface are implicitly abstract, as only the method prototypes are defined in an interface (see Section 6.4, p. 251).
Several threads can be executing in a program (see Section 9.4, p. 359). They might try to execute several methods on the same object simultaneously. If it is desired that only one thread at a time can execute a method in the object, the methods can be declared synchronized. Their execution is then mutually exclusive among all threads. At any given time, at the most one thread can be executing a synchronized method on an object. This discussion also applies to static synchronized methods of a class.
In Example 4.12, both the push() and the pop() methods are synchronized in class StackImpl. Now, only one thread at a time can execute a synchronized method in an object of the class StackImpl. This means that it is not possible for the state of an object of the class StackImpl to be corrupted, for example, while one thread is pushing an element and another is popping the stack.
class StackImpl { private Object[] stackArray; private int topOfStack; // ... synchronized public void push(Object elem) { // (1) stackArray[++topOfStack] = elem; } synchronized public Object pop() { // (2) Object obj = stackArray[topOfStack]; stackArray[topOfStack] = null; topOfStack--; return obj; } // Other methods, etc. public Object peek() { return stackArray[topOfStack]; } }
Native methods are also called foreign methods. Their implementation is not defined in Java but in another programming language, for example, C or C++. Such a method can be declared as a member in a Java class definition. Since its implementation appears elsewhere, only the method prototype is specified in the class definition. The method prototype is prefixed with the keyword native. It can also specify checked exceptions in a throws clause, which cannot be checked by the compiler since the method is not implemented in Java. The next example shows how native methods are used.
The Java Native Interface (JNI) is a special API that allows Java methods to invoke native functions implemented in C.
In the following example, a native method in class Native is declared at (2). The class also uses a static initializer block (see Section 8.2, p. 336) at (1) to load the native library when the class is loaded. Clients of the Native class can call the native method like any another method, as at (3).
class Native { /* * The static block ensures that the native method library * is loaded before the native method is called. */ static { System.loadLibrary("NativeMethodLib"); // (1) Load native library. } native void nativeMethod(); // (2) Native method prototype. // ... } class Client { //... public static void main(String[] args) { Native aNative = new Native(); aNative.nativeMethod(); // (3) Native method call. } //... }
Objects can be stored using serialization. Serialization transforms objects into an output format that is conducive for storing objects. Objects can later be retrieved in the same state as when they were serialized, meaning that all fields included in the serialization will have the same values as at the time of serialization. Such objects are said to be persistent.
A field can be specified as transient in the class declaration, indicating that its value should not be saved when objects of the class are written to persistent storage. In the following example, the field currentTemperature is declared transient at (1), because the current temperature is most likely to have changed when the object is restored at a later date. However, the value of the field mass, declared at (2), is likely to remain unchanged. When objects of the class Experiment are serialized, the value of the field currentTemperature will not be saved, but that of the field mass will be as part of the state of the serialized object.
class Experiment implements Serializable { // ... // The value of currentTemperature will not persist transient int currentTemperature; // (1) Transient value. double mass; // (2) Persistent value. }
Specifying the transient modifier for static variables is redundant and, therefore, discouraged. Static variables are not part of the persistent state of a serialized object.
During execution, compiled code might cache the values of fields for efficiency reasons. Since multiple threads can access the same field, it is vital that caching is not allowed to cause inconsistencies when reading and writing the value in the field. The volatile modifier can be used to inform the compiler that it should not attempt to perform optimizations on the field, which could cause unpredictable results when the field is accessed by multiple threads.
In the simple example that follows, the value of the field clockReading might be changed unexpectedly by another thread while one thread is performing a task that involves always using the current value of the field clockReading. Declaring the field as volatile ensures that a write operation will always be performed on the master field variable, and a read operation will always return the correct current value.
class VitalControl { // ... volatile long clockReading; // Two successive reads might give different results. } | https://etutorials.org/cert/java+certification/Chapter+4.+Declarations+and+Access+Control/4.10+Other+Modifiers+for+Members/ | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | refinedweb | 1,947 | 56.45 |
Create an empty list in Python with certain size
You cannot assign to a list like
lst[i] = something, unless the list already is initialized with at least
i+1 elements. You need to use append to add elements to the end of the list.
lst.append(something).
(You could use the assignment notation if you were using a dictionary).
Creating an empty list:
None] * 10l[None, None, None, None, None, None, None, None, None, None]l = [
Assigning a value to an existing element of the above list:
1] = 5l[None, 5, None, None, None, None, None, None, None, None]l[
Keep in mind that something like
l[15] = 5 would still fail, as our list has only 10 elements.
range(x) creates a list from [0, 1, 2, ... x-1]
# 2.X only. Use list(range(10)) in 3.X.l = range(10) l[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
Using a function to create a list:
def display(): s1 = [] for i in range(9): # This is just to tell you how to create a list. s1.append(i) return s1print display()[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
List comprehension (Using the squares because for range you don't need to do all this, you can just return
range(0,9) ):
def display(): return [x**2 for x in range(9)]print display()[0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64]
Try this instead:
lst = [None] * 10
The above will create a list of size 10, where each position is initialized to
None. After that, you can add elements to it:
lst = [None] * 10for i in range(10): lst[i] = i
Admittedly, that's not the Pythonic way to do things. Better do this:
lst = []for i in range(10): lst.append(i)
Or even simpler, in Python 2.x you can do this to initialize a list with values from 0 to 9:
lst = range(10)
And in Python 3.x:
lst = list(range(10))
varunl's currently accepted answer
>>> l = [None] * 10 >>> l [None, None, None, None, None, None, None, None, None, None]
Works well for non-reference types like numbers. Unfortunately if you want to create a list-of-lists you will run into referencing errors. Example in Python 2.7.6:
10a[[], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], []] a[0].append(0) a[[0], [0], [0], [0], [0], [0], [0], [0], [0], [0]]a = [[]]*
As you can see, each element is pointing to the same list object. To get around this, you can create a method that will initialize each position to a different object reference.
def init_list_of_objects(size): list_of_objects = list() for i in range(0,size): list_of_objects.append( list() ) #different object reference each time return list_of_objects a = init_list_of_objects(10) a[[], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], []] a[0].append(0) a[[0], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], []]
There is likely a default, built-in python way of doing this (instead of writing a function), but I'm not sure what it is. Would be happy to be corrected!
Edit: It's
[ [] for _ in range(10)]
Example :
for _ in range(2) ] for _ in range(5)] [[0.7528051908943816, 0.4325669600055032], [0.510983236521753, 0.7789949902294716], [0.09475179523690558, 0.30216475640534635], [0.3996890132468158, 0.6374322093017013], [0.3374204010027543, 0.4514925173253973]][ [random.random() | https://codehunter.cc/a/python/create-an-empty-list-in-python-with-certain-size | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | refinedweb | 536 | 76.56 |
On Coding Multiplatform Distributed Systems... 132
"I will firstly say though that none of this is meant as flamebait, or to detract from what any of the projects/products mentioned here have achieved. I just have a wishlist and I am looking for answers and opinions, not a holy war. I am sure that people use many of the things mentioned here on a regular basis for heavy duty apps quite happily and with great results.
There are a whole bunch of distributed programming frameworks around. RPC, ILU, CORBA, DCE, Java RMI and DCOM to name but the most common. Many of these are available on multiple platforms and there are a whole slew of interoperability tools to get them to talk to each other with varying degrees of success. Right now I will focus on CORBA as it is getting much more press than any other recently, and because it is the system that I personally know more about than the others..
Commercially there are a few good ORBs but they are terribly expensive. Developer kits for 'a well known brand' with good CORBA compliance start around 1500 - 1900 UK Pounds, for developer kits. Redistribution costs are around 1700 UK Pounds per processor. These kinds of costs don't really let people play with systems before buying although I know that most comercial ORB vendors will give you trials if they think you are a good bet to buy. Additionally most of the commercial ORBS support as few platforms as they possibly can.
On the Open Source side of things there are many, many implementations of CORBA to choose from, with their own special focus. CORBA compliance, speed, interoperability or whatever else that project's maintainers view as the most important goal(s). There is some great code out there, and a load of people spending every waking hour making it better.
What I cannot find at the moment is a system that targets multiple platforms and multiple languages. Want to use Perl to talk to C++ back ends? Well MICO/COPE is coming along. Want to use the same code on Windows NT as well? Too bad, NT support is very flaky (I have spent too many hours trying to get it working). Want to use Java Applets to talk to C? You have problems. Pick your favourite front/back end language combination and platform then try to find a solution. Problematic at best, and probably not possible at the moment.
Are these very strange requirements/wishes or would other people be willing to sacrifice ratified standards compliance and possibly performance for orthogonality of language/platform availability? I would like to be able to write code for Linux/Unices/Windows in my languages of choice (for me this would be Perl, Java and C++) without having to use multiple implementations on the different platforms.
The way things are shaping up I am thinking hard about rolling my own, because right now I have a need that I cannot fulfill from outside sources. Yes, not Invented Here strikes again, but I can't find a solution. Am I alone in this? What do you think? Do you have any solutions?"
If multiple platoforms is important to you (Score:2)
You could also look into free (and GPLed) ORBS like ORL's [att.com] (now AT&T Labs) omniOrb.
On NT I always use D/COM+ simply cause it's reliable (laugh all you want - it's true) and ubiquitous.
That all being said. I still primarily use sockets for cross machine communication and only use COM for IPC and inprocess componentisation.
My experience (Score:1)
Java anyone? (Score:1)
Yes I know some consider Sun Evil(tm), and that it can't compare with C performancewise. However, development time in java tends to be shorter and it is a helluva lot more stable (no messing around with pointers causing memory leaks and access violations) and it has RMI and CORBA capabilities in the core libs.
Do I come off as a java advocate? I didn't intend to; I hate advocacy. So please feel free to form your own opinion
--The Bogeymeister
general thought (Score:2)
if you plan on using a lot of things like that while still maintaining cross-platform-ness, i would chock that up as a Con for C++.
*donning asbestos suit*
--Siva
Keyboard not found.
ACE/TAO (from Washington University) (Score:4)
Java ? (Score:1)
-
Portability: Choose C (Score:2)
I love Java the promise od 'write once, run anywhere', but after all it's just a promise and has not been reached yet. C programs like Apache, GIMP, etc. are well known to be compatible with this 'write once, run anywhere' promise and also are extremely fast and powerfull.
So, why not you choose your favorite CORBA library written in C and join the development team to add the features you need? It seems fair to me.
Before any one flames me (Score:1)
I hope this is enough to keep C++ advocates in calm.
Re:Java ? (Score:1)
i dont know of the availability of any sort of distributed frameworks for perl however...
--Siva
p.s. mooo
Keyboard not found.
Use Corba (Score:2)
There is no other way in your enviroment at the moment.
I can recommend Orbacus ().
It's fast AND stable AND comes with source code.
You may also have a look at Smalltalk. It's
at least as crossplatform as Java and probably
still more mature. I can recommend Visualworks
now available from CinCom ().
They also have Corba support.
XML-RPC (Score:4)
I'd definatly have a look at XML-RPC [xml-rpc.com] ()
While implementations are not available in every language (of note, Java, Perl, and Python have implementations), it's simple enough to write your own easily.
I've writtern a few programs using it with Python and Delphi, with great results.
In essence, it's doing a procedure call, with the parameters and return values in an XML format, over HTTP. If you're famliar with both, it's dead simple to do, if not, it's a great excuse to learn
:)
Would you like your C with or without ANSI? (Score:2)
I haven't looked at Apache but I would really be surprised if it did not contain plentiful #ifdef's and tons of platform specific Makefile foo. Same with GIMP. Having personally done cross-platform porting for a commercial product, I can tell you C/C++ code porting is NOT a trivial task. Even with Java deficiencies, I'd rather Sun do the work of converting operating system depending things so I can spend my time making my code do something useful.
Re:Portability: Choose C (Score:1)
"all the promises Java failed to turn into reality"?
I wouldn't exactly say that. For platform independence, java beats C seven days a week. Sure, your do have to be a little careful when designing your app, but isn't that even more true for C as well?
--Bogey
confused on what you are doing (Score:1)
are you creating a framework to allow other people to write programs to run on this distributed system?
Are you going to be doing computation and need a way to communicate amongst all of the programs?
other?
In general you have two options for doing distributed stuff semi easily:
0) define a CORBA "system" where each application talks via an ORB (ie most languages have CORBA hooks and this allows people to write in their own "language of choice") So I will grab your corba stubs write my functions to interface properly and then I should be able to talk to the other nodes
1) use java
would be really curious to understand a bit better what you are actually doing. (ie detals
msew
What about IIOP (Score:1)
AFAIK There is a standard Protocol called IIOP (Internet Inter ORB Protocol) That lets different orbs work together.
Im not really shure about that, but thats what Ive filtered out.
If that is true you can use different orbs on different machines and they still work together.
Re:general thought (Score:1)
Hmm. While not directly relating to the original question (as far as I know, there is no Corba support or similar) there is an attempt to make a "common" Cross-Platform C++ Library at the WxWindows Project [ukonline.co.uk] Which may be of interest.
--
Maybe off base... (Score:1)
Bollocks (Score:1)
MS didn't 'ruin' java in anyway IMHO. One of the major reasons why I'm now such an advocate of Java is because of MS and their extensions that let me when I only want a windows application to choose an alternative RAD language (other choices like VB aren't attractive anymore).
I'm not a stupid programmer - if i want cross platform, I'll restrain from using WFC, JNI or J/Direct. Basically, I treat Java as a damn fine language, and also as a cool way to write crossplatform apps as long as I'm willing to give up features.
Saying that..the thing that Java has failed to deliver is features - because it's cross platform, features obviously aren't left up to programmers but to the VM vendors (and then really - only to sun cause unauthorised additions are 'evil').
For what this person is asking - I'd say java is the way to go if they value their time.
Re:CORBA allows best flexibility for dist systems (Score:1)
Don't laugh but... (Score:3)
Second - This is where I get burnt...
We've now written a good few distributed systems using NT and COM/DCOM. Whats different about this - well we also communicate freely with several Sun based products as well - this is perhaps where COM is kinda neat.
Many of our Sun applications come with their own APIs and already support remote connections. The drawback here is that they need C/C++ to talk freely. So - we create a small wrapper around this and make it into a COM component We then use VB as the glue to manipulate these smal components as well as to talk to our databases.
This all seems to work rather well - I know this will cause some laughs - but VB really is a great language for glueing things together and accessing databases either through ODBC or ADO. If you want fast crunching - create a component in C/C++ and expose it through an API.
The whole thing is easy(ish) to maintain but this is perhaps because we did a propper design first - I guess this is the main thing - get the design right.
We are currently looking into Java - but this - as has been previously stated - is not quite the cornucopia it promises - perhaps it's betterto forget the concept of one language - after all - a language is mearly a tool to getting a job done - so choose the right tool and the job is undertaken efficiently and correctly.
C-))
Distributed Systems (Score:1)
The project is spread over AIX/Solaris/NT running on a series of boxes in the UK an US. We use a combination of Orbix on the AIX box providing services in C++ talking to legacy data applications, and Java services running on NT/Solaris with OrbixWeb. The performance of the Java services has never been a problem with this application and I don't want to start an advocacy thread, but we see massive benefits in running with Java services. We can move these services around the hardware on the network without code changes when we see changes in usage profiles. In reality this means we can release test services to small numbers of users on low spec hardware and then roll the same services out onto more powerful kit.
My belief is that the tooling provided with the commercial Java based Orbs could easily be replicated within the Orb provided by Sun free as part of the J2E platform.
Given a blank sheet of paper I would very seriously consider using commercial Orbs for our legacy services (C++) and a pure Java solution for the rest of the network. Does anyone have experience of attempting to mix the J2E orb with other solutions?
Sounds like a job for EJB... (Score:1)
One of the more off the wall reasons for going to J2EE is also Sun's recent purchase of Forte. Forte have been around a long time now, and have a mature distributed computing platform in their TOOL environment. Its partitioning and high availability features are second to none, and Forte are extending these to Java with their application server/distributed computing development environment SynerJ.
Of course, if you want to target C code at a range of different platforms, TOOL will do the job for you... and will integrate with the Fusion XML-based messaging architecture.
IBM's WebSphere is more immature, but promises standards-based integration with TXseries and MQseries environments if you have to target legacy systems. Don't overlook legacy system integration - as any large distributed application development is likely to need to link to existing infrastructure and datasources...
This is not a new problem, and the tools do exist to help you solve your issues. However, they are likely to be proprietary or part of proprietary environments...
S.
With, of course.. (Score:3)
(more sleep-deprived posting from yours truly)
If you're not using ANSI, you're not really using portable C. C is highly portable if you comply with ANSI. And you know, if you don't know how to force your compiler to compile under strict compliance with ANSI, you really don't have any business coding in C/C++. Besides, practically every C compiler in existence supports the ANSI C standard (in that it allows you to compile ANSI C either by default or by conscious choice). Those C compilers which do not provide ANSI support are not in very widespread use.
Like graphics programming? =P Yes, the original poster was incorrect in their assertion that C is 100% portable (as an entire language). ANSI C is extremely portable, however. One might even go so far to say that except for those parts of your program which go beyond the scope of what ANSI covers, if you're not using ANSI C, you're not really using C at all.
Are you trying to tell me either a) that the Linux kernel doesn't support threading or b) that the Linux kernel is written in Java?
This in no way refutes the original poster's assertations. No one said that portability in C was easy
.. Obviously portable C code is going to include #ifdef's.. They're what helps make C so portable. Indeed, by using them and ANSI C, you can make your C programs 100% portable to every platform you so desire. Or are you in some way trying to suggest that taking advantage of every resource C makes available to you in order to make your code portable is stupid? That's about as "sound" a theory as PC Week saying that no one would apply 21 security patches to Red Hat Linux.
This quote, like the one before it, adds nothing useful to the conversation. If you'd rather "play it safe", that's your decision. Many of us, myself included, prefer the added speed, power, and flexibility inherent in, say, C++. I'm not frightened of pointers, thanks.
As far as source portability goes, CORBA isn't bad (Score:1)
The mapping between the IDL files (Interface Descriptions - kinda like header files) and the interface to the generated code is all pretty standardised. A few #defines and a couple of macros/small inline functions should solve the residual problems. The IDL files themselves are ORB-independent - that's the entire point! Finally, code compiled with one ORB on one platform can talk to another ORB with code in another language on another platform using IIOP.
As far as I can see (and I admit I've only really been playing so far), CORBA will be the least of my portability worries . . . the joys of multiple GUI interfaces and incompatible build environments will probably be far nastier!
CORBA will do most, if not all, of this. (Score:3)
I am part of a project that developed a CORBA facility, in conjunction with people from Norway. We each took the IDL and developed a client and server each, using different ORBs, platforms and languages (Delphi, C++, Java, DOS, Unix, NT), and managed to get them all talking to each other within 30 minutes of testing via the Internet.
In addition, there are products (albeit expensive) that bridge CORBA and COM, and I have had Visual Basic talking to my CORBA objects, and vice-versa.
As you said, there are plenty of open-source ORBs, each with their own set of benefits, but they should all be able to communicate via IIOP.
I'm fairly sure that omniOrb, ILU, MICO, Sun's JDK 1.2 and TAO/ACE will all co-exist happily, and are all gratis, and all apart from the JDK are open source.
Perhaps I am a bit biased, given that I've spent the last 5 years developing CORBA products...
Re:ACE/TAO (from Washington University) (Score:1)
write C++ code that will compile on different platforms without change. I've used it under NT
and Linux. You can also choose the level at which
to use it, from basic networking right up to full
blown CORBA. They have also provided platform independant function calls for stuff like multithreading.
The only disadvantages are that its quite large and takes a bit of learning. The docs are a bit on the academic side, but the mailling list is excellent, very prompt replies.
I believe they also working on a Java version but I haven't looked into that yet.
Re:Portability: Choose C (Score:1)
Wrong! The promise is : "compile once, run anywhere".
If you use C, it would be: "write once, compile anywhere".
C programs like Apache, GIMP, etc. are well known to be compatible with this 'write once, run anywhere' promise and also are extremely fast and powerfull.
Well.. no. GIMP will only compile if you have the GTK library available for your platform. Doh!
.. and Apache? I'm no Apache expert, but does it use BSD sockets? Well.. "write once, port a lot"
So, why not you choose your favorite CORBA library written in C and join the development team to add the features you need?
Ah yes.. and of course; the CORBA library exists for all platforms? Yeah, right.
What about Adaptive Communications Environment? (Score:1)
Another future possibility may be OpenMP [openmp.org] which allows a sequential and parallel shared memory version to reside in the same codebase using compiler extensions. Although there are specifications for several languages/platforms, I don't think anyone has tested for intervendor compatibility as yet. However, it is still evolving.
The major problem is that once you start wandering outside the most commonly used languages (C,C++,Java,Fortran) into more exotic variants (Amoeba, Occam, Z etc) you will be running across differences in conceptual models (actor, CSP, timed lambda calculus, etc) which is like mixing different mathematical coordinate systems
LL
Re:Portability: Choose C (Score:2)
You must be using some other Java! I am personally working on a distributed business object layer for "A Big Firm (tm)" which provides standard business functionality from any platform. For instance, we have java classes which run on our Unix backend for automated processing, but which can also be wrapped (trivially) in a COM wrapper and run inside an Excel spreadsheet. Not only that, we can build them into a swing applet an run it in a browser. All this without sacraficing any features, or writing complex "cross-platform enabling" code (like the usual spaghetti of #ifdefs found in C/C++. There is no way we could have got this level of portability and clean design from a C/C++ solution in the timeframe we have for this project.
I was very sceptical about Java initially, but although it is still a work in progress I would say it has power now to do some pretty amazing stuff. I will certainly never use C/C++ for anything along these lines again...just too much stress.
Cross platform development (Score:1)
Cross-platform nowadays means something different than it used to mean. In the early days cross-platform meant -multiple processor-, it now means -multiple processor, multiple OS-. Does it? If you want to develop cross platform - the hardware way, install Linux on all machines, of you want to be cross-platform Hardware and OS, use something like Java, JavaScript or ActiveX
Try to avoid CORBA, this is middleware, and middleware is glue for different platforms, and a pain-medicine. Though IF you HAVE to choose for an ORB, DO choose CORBA, more than 300 organizations participate in the CORBA development, there won't be an end to this the next 10 years - in my opinion CORBA has continuity and has the future.
Re:XML-RPC - Seconded! (Score:2)
This is the way to go. It is an open, simple, cross platform, language independant web-based protocol.
MS is basing its new SOAP [microsoft.com] "standard" for distributed objects around it, too - but don't let that put you off.
The good thing about a standard like this is that it is SO simple that you can write your own server, so you really understand how it is working, if you want.
It is highly scalable, too - all the solutions that have been developed for serving big web sites are immediatly useful, now.
See Userland [userland.com] for more info.
Speaking as a 'C++ advocate'.. (Score:3)
..I would have to say that if you hadn't mentioned C++ I wouldn't have been unable to maintain my relative calm.
;) However, I think that many are missing the entire point. The person who submitted this query doesn't want to stick to a single language. Therefore, I doubt they found the original post on this thread to be of much value. It did, however, seem to spawn off a number of subthreads, many of the posts in which could be accurately assessed as a part of a holy war, something else the person who submitted this query didn't want. A la:
Let's stay on the ball, here, people. A Java vs. C holy war is completely missing the point of this entire discussion.
Re:Portability: Choose C (Score:2)
Really? If that is true, why hasn't apache always run on NT? From [apache.org]:
(December 22nd 1996)
Apache has been ported to a very wide array of Unix boxes - in fact, we're not aware of any Unix boxes which Apache can't run on. This has been possible by making conservative architecture decisions, by modularizing the code as much as possible, and sticking to POSIX and ANSI wherever possible (and functional).
However, due to the code's legacy, and use of metaphors and systems which are Unix-specific (such as, having multiple processes all accept()ing connections to the same port), the road to porting to Windows NT has not been a pretty one.
Things are better now, but if C were completely portable (and useful in its entirely portable form) then this would never have happened, would it? Even now, I'd be highly surprised if the apache source code didn't have a few #IFDEFs in...
Having been involved in porting a commercial product from Tru64 Unix to Solaris and Linux (which shouldn't be nearly as hard as going to NT), I can say that it's not as easy as you might think - especially when intricate optimisation (not to mention multithreading) is involed.
Jon
Re:With, of course.. (Score:2)
To me, they're what signifies that C isn't truly portable. Or rather, it's port-able but not automatically port-ed, if you take my meaning. If you have to write code which conditions on which operating system it's on, then it's not portable IMO. If a piece of source code is portable, I should be able to compile it on a brand new operating system which supports that language, and have it work with *no* code changes. If you're conditioning code on operating system, that's not going to happen.
ANSI helps to an extent, but it's not a silver bullet - otherwise the book in front of me, "The Annotated ANSI C standard" wouldn't have sections for undefined or unspecified behaviour. Also, I believe there are other things that ANSI doesn't provide, in terms of library functions. Is select() ANSI, for instance? (It may be, but it's not in the index of the book, so I'm guessing not
:)
Sure, when you're coding something that can be done in ANSI C, it makes sense to do it, being careful not to use any of the undefined/unspecified behaviour. It just isn't always that easy, unfortunately.
Jon
PS: I realise all this is rather perpendicular to the original topic which is to do with frameworks than languages - but I'd be interested to know just how far ANSI C can take you.
Portability? - Don't commit to anything. [XOOF] (Score:1)
It was the 'real programmers' versus pinko compilers. (Search your favorite search engine [hotbot.com] for real programmers don't eat quiche to catch up on your hacking history.) 'Real programmers' only used assembler language and did not trust compilers. They did not believe. They are, of course, mostly extict now. Nothing, except for some drivers and low level code, gets implemented in assy any more.
What do we do these days? We do not even look at the compiler-genrated assembly code any more.
What's next you ask? Complete model-driven, implementation independent code generation, of course!
How? What? When? Where?
At this site [projtech.com] and this site [objectswitch.com].
How about being able to generate C++, Java, C?
Poor performance? No problem! Just swap the software architecture. Single process/single processor -> multi process/single processor -> multiprocessor/fully distributed. Whatever does the job...
Why commit to platforms? Switch from CORBA -> DCOM, Sybase -> Oracle, C++ -> Java and so on.. (and back again). If XOOF++ comes along, all you have to do is modify the affected part the software architecture and generate the new code. No changes to source models required to generate a code based on a different implementation!
Oh - did I mention that the resulting code is practically bug free? It does what you want, as fast as you want. No memory leaks, core dumps, etc.
It would behoove the open source community not to get stuck in the implementation layer and not become the 'real programmers' of the future. Once these models really catch on, it will be great to have a set of open source tools and models ready for the ultimate blow to proprietary code.
-- l2b
#include "std.disclaimer"
STOP! Don't do it! (Score:1)
Stop. Forget it. Forget distribution, cross-platform, whatever. Unless you're doing a major, million-dollar project for some telecoms company or something, you really can't justify the use of ORBs or any other distributed nasties like that.
In your question, you don't mention your requirements once. Or rather, you don't mention the users at all. What do they want? I'll lay money that they didn't say something like "We want a payroll system, oh and we want CORBA/DCE/Whatever distributed processing and we want loads more machines than we actually need".
Sorry to be dismissive, but I've worked on a number of projects that were 'distributed' or 'cross-platform' for no apparent reason. They all went way over time and way way over budget, and never really worked 100% anyway.
If you *really* want cross-platform, use Java. If you *really* want distributed processing, use plain old sockets and a simple text-based request/reply protocol like HTTP, or roll your own.
Go back to your requirements and ask yourself what technology you really need to meet the needs of the users. Then ask yourself again. Think about it.
In the words of Kent Beck and others at his level, "Do The Simplest Thing That Could Possibly Work".
Re:XML-RPC (Score:2)
Good to see others thinking the same
1) Vast array of HTTP servers ( Apache with mod-perl worked wonders in this case ) .
2) Debugging in human readable format using a browser
3) XML Parsers/Checkers available in most languages ( Perl and Java I know about )
4) Resource location using good old DNS. Rather than re-inventing the wheel ( CORBA springs to mind )
Re:Sounds like a job for EJB... (Score:1)
EJB is a really nice object-oriented distributed application framework.
It is extremely portable, anyone with real Java experience knows that Java portability on the server-side is excellent. In fact, I've been using BEA Weblogic server on NT, Solaris and Linux without any problem due to portability.
Some vendor offer really high-performance implementation, Weblogic for exaample. Clustering and fault-tolerance are becoming common on the high-end.
You have EJB server implementation wich cost 0$ up to 10,000$+ per cpu.
The actual really nice part about this framework, is that the stuff you develop will run as well on the small no cost EJB server up to the high-end one. The only thing that will change are the deployement attributes.
And with container managed entity-beans, you will no longer have to write a single SQL statement in your life!
For inter-langage interoperability, you can use CORBA to talk to most of the EJB server implementation. In fact Websphere use CORBA as it's protocol to talk to the beans.
This framework enable you to concentrate on the business logic instead of the plumbing.
Note that EJB 1.0 spec did not address some things that caused portability problem between different server, but the EJB 1.1 spec resolve most of these problems.
This technology is not perfect, but after using CORBA and EJB, I have to say that EJB is far more eassier to use and offer more portability than CORBA. It also enable one to develop application at least five time faster than with CORBA.
Re:ACE/TAO (from Washington University) (Score:1)
CORBA - Java (Score:1)
I work for an academic institution, and let me tell you, WE have wierd requirements. Our it shop is going full steam on CORBA and Java. Basically all client pieces we are writing and will be writing will be written in Java for heterogenous campus machines (you can never tell what's out there). Our middle tier is also Java, while our third tier is native or an ugly native/Java hybrid. It all works lovely though because we use CORBA and anything can talk to anything. We use Visigenic's orb product VisiBroker. I've heard of OmniOrb, an open source orb, as well as other custom ones for other open source applications (like Gnome and AllianceOS orbs).
Java's great because you have the exact same codebase pretty much wherever you run it. We can swap our objects around, load share them, etc. Our middle tier ties in to web servers running servlets, so we can present applications in browser if we want. The performance hit is really not that big a deal. It is certainly worth the automatic portability and flexibility. Plus Java bring some other cool stuff with it that is great for distributed computing (serialization for one).
I don't know if it will fit your requirements, but CORBA and Java is the basis for our distributed heterogenous system.
This is a bit much.. (Score:2)
(yet more sleep-deprived posting)
..for someone who isn't a C trainer on the clock to explain in full detail. Most decent books on C should teach you all about most of this stuff.
The only thing I'd ask you to keep in mind is that when a person talks about how portable a language is, they're usually talking about how portable software written in that language is rather than the language itself. Notable exceptions (sort of) include Perl, which is itself a C application. You should also note a distinct difference between the usage of the terms "portable", "extremely portable", and "100% portable". C is "extremely portable", not "100% portable".
No, C does not do the porting for you. C doesn't do a lot of things for you. Languages are written with certain concerns in mind. None of them are a silver bullet. If there was a silver bullet language, we wouldn't have so many. C focuses on performance, power, flexibility, portability, etc. If C did the porting for you, you'd likely take a performance hit. It's a constant trade-off. Saying C isn't portable is an incorrect statement. Saying you'd rather have a language that made your software portable for you is an opinion, and one anyone is welcome to, like all opinions. Just don't confuse the issue.
Vaporware that may solve your problem: V/JMS (Score:1)
I've worked in distributed networking for a long time, first in video games, then in multi-user VR. One thing I was always upset about was the low quality and high cost of available solutions to this problem (I wanted to stick to 3d engine design). On the other end of the spectrum were the "enterprise" solutions, where I was upset about the low performance and VERY VERY high cost.
To make a long story short, I'm about to release the first in a series of unencumbered open source libraries related to this problem. The initial release is of the distributed networking component.
It's an implementation of a Java JMS provider, where JMS is Sun's reference interface-only specification for enterprise messaging: Java Message Service. Available enterprise message bus software like JMS providers can price up into the 7 digits, and still suck.
We chose Java as a reasonable first pass at cross-platform, but the code was designed to port to ANSI C/C++ easily - we already have XP ANSI C/C++ versions of most of the applicable Java platform libraries. The network protocols are defined in ietf-draft format and have no Java dependencies whatsoever. We already intent to release native Win32 and Linux versions of the server, and possibly the client.
I could type for days about performance and features, but suffice to say it implements the full JMS Publish/Subscribe spec, with substantial extensions for security (one evaluating user is preparing for NSA certification, as we use secure protocols and provide features like compartmentalization across bridged secure networks), packet and real time streams managed using JMS "Topic" abstract addressing (one demo app is full duplex audio chat), and reliability (n-way hot failover, adaptive load balancing, and massive scalability across complex network topologies.) Its about to interact with LDAP servers for user authentication, it uses XML based configuration files, supports dependant handling auto-update according to site policies, is getting a JSP based remote admin feature, and washes dishes on alternate Thursdays.
BTW, if you want to send CORBA, DCOM, OLE, XML, or any other funky object, just encapsulate it. JMS tries to abstract away these issues - it's a good API.
If anyone is interested in this, the base API alpha release (including FULL source) should be early-end of next month, just email me. No mailing list yet, we're still setting up the public CVS server and new web site. I'm releasing a pre-pre-pre alpha next week, so its not like I still have 90% of the code left to complete.
Preemptive comment - Please minimize the "vaporware" status flaming, I mentioned that issue in my subject line. I'm giving away a substantial percentage of the IP I've personally developed over the last 5 years here, primarily 'cause I need more people to help me improve it and the rest of the VR system I'm building. I'm tired of making VC people rich, now I just want to see something cool make it to market. If I have to give it away, so be it...
Some thoughts (Score:1)
for an introduction to JavaSpaces, also check out Java RMI over IIOP which might be another way to go
Re:With, of course.. (Score:2)
ANSI unfortunately covers quite little when you think about it. It defines language semantics, not how it the language interacts with the system. This application deals with sockets. What does ANSI say about that? That is the exact thing I want a cross-platform language to specify in a uniform manner. What is your opinion of Java and C/C++ in this regard? You've tried to defend C but haven't said much about what you think of Java. Java is very close to achieving this.
The kernel is 100% portable C? You mean there are no CPU dependent modifications to the kernel when cross-compiling? I think we have to clear somehthing up here. Portable code DOES NOT need #ifdefs. #ifdefs are the hacks that people need to get around the inherent cross-platform deficiencies of C and C++. Did you know assembly is cross platform? Yeah, I can just #ifdef around the code for my specific CPU at the time. Get my point? We are trying to determine the BEST way to have a cross-platform system. Your #ifdefs are not the best way of doing this.
I still don't get why people say things like this...
and their comments do nothing more than criticize mine. Again, you must have lost the point of the original article which was CROSS-PLATFORM development. You are going to spend alot of time fiddling with getting C and C++ to work cross platform when the better choice for this application is to take Java for what it is, a good feature rich, cross-platform language.
Apparently I did get moderated up as I usually do. I have found very few reasons to actually log in. Having the chance for you to read my comments is not one of them.
Lightweight Distributed Objects (LDO) (Score:1)
[noting that no real requirements were mentioned, this is just a general answer]
Many people have suggested straight sockets, and, for the most part, I agree with them. Taking one example, telnet-based protocols have shown to be some of the most versatile, scalable, and approachable protocols around (FTP, SMTP, IRC, NNTP, HTTP,
...).
If you're looking for a more structured protocol, Lightweight Distributed Objects (LDO) [casbah.org] is a modular set of specifications for building structured protocols. LDO also includes modules for basic RPC and distributed objects.
-- Ken MacLeod
[email protected]
Xerox's ILU (Score:1)
I must have mised something here (Score:2)
Java runs just about anywhere
.. including Mainframes, so that should not be a problem.
Perl runs on Windows, Linux, and UNIX's, so that shoudl not be a problem.
For C++ you may want to try qt, as it runs on Windows and Unix and Linux.
Okay now the 'beef'.
Java-> avoid J++ as it is not pure Java it may not work everywhere. Stick to 100% pure Java. You can do most things in Java too, there is a very extensive set of API's. You can do threads, and sockets very easily. The only reason to use any other language would be speed.
Incidentally you never did mention what this program is supposed to do or what you are trying to program. If you are doing system level programming, then cross platform may be more difficult, but if you are doing a GUI program, try perl/tk fpor the front end and C++ for the back end. If you code right you can do it all in one language thou, and still make it cross platform, with only a few if (os = ) {} statements.
Some C++ advocates (Score:1)
Re:Maybe off base...PVM? (Score:1)
And post a link?
Thx.
Even better -- best of both worlds (Score:1)
You can be clever with threads, too, so that in your client you can make a call (that immediately returns) that dispatches a thread to perform the RMI call and do something when it returns. The thread is a standard Java thread, even though you're using C to instantiate it! I've done this with good success (admittedly not for a big huge highly important expensive project).
RMI is simple and easy to use. That doesn't mean that you have to be a slave to the restrictions of Java (performance, etc.) everywhere in your code. Your network calls aren't expected to be that fast, anyway, so the layer that makes them may as well be a Java one that has clean, well-enforced, standard semantics.
Re:XML-RPC (Score:1)
Corba. Since its human readable it requires
a more complicated parser and it needs more
bandwidth.
Re:What about IIOP (Score:1)
But you should't use vendor specific extensions
to Corba, which is not easy to achieve than you might think.
Re:STOP! Don't do it! (Score:1)
There are quite a few reasons to use distributed processing that make sense. First off, very few large or corporate systems exist in a vaccuum. Most new systems either get data from, send data to, control, expose to a new audience (web), or otherwise interact with other systems. So given that you need to send "messages" around, is rolling your own request/reply protocol on top of naked sockets or http the simplest thing?
I would argue that it is anything but. You have to build all sorts of features yourself that you could get for free from an orb or a Messaging system. There are RPC mechanisms being built on top of HTTP that emulate the other distributed processing mechanisms (interestingly enough Microsoft is ahead in this regard), but I don't get the sense that this is what you are recommending.
I think that you have to ask yourself, what do you do after you have implemented all of these stand-alone systems? How do you get them to work together?
DO: multiplatform (Score:1)
Re:Vaporware that may solve your problem: V/JMS (Score:1)
Smalltalk (Score:1)
Same code base with multiple languages? How about just doing it with one language. Smalltalk.
VisualWorks Smalltalk from Cincom [cincom.com] runs on a boatload of platforms including Linux and has distributed features. The application can be generated once and dropped on any platform and will run without modifications (Where did you think Sun got the idea?)
Also, IBM VisualAge for Smalltalk (VAST) has similar features that make it easy program distributed apps. However, you will have to "recompile" for each targeted OS. They have not release VAST for Linux yet, however it is coming soon since VisualAge for Java is on Linux (VA/J was written using Smalltalk).
In terms of development time, coding/testing a Java application would be faster then coding/testing a C/C++ application. Coding/testing a Smalltalk application would be faster then coding Java.
Open Source App Servers (Score:1)
Using this standard, you can write the logic of your app and use the app server's tools to deploy it, and not spend time worrying about partial failures, network synchronization, how fine grained access control is managed, and all the other problems associated with distributed programming. And it doesn't mean you have to be a java fanatic -- the latest ejb spec isn't even based on rmi, it aims for iiop compliance instead.
A couple of open source ejb app servers to consider:
EJBoss [ejboss.org]
JOnAS [bullsoft.com]
Also take a look at the ejb-friendly xml work at Enhydra [enhydra.org] and of course, the world's greatest servlet engine, Apache JServ [apache.org].
The Skinny on ACE/TAO (Score:1)
ACE/TAO actually provides several layers of abstraction to support distributed programming. At the high end there is CORBA, as implemented in TAO. TAO is built on ACE and capitalizes on ACE's services model. The services model is an abstraction layer which allows you to separate the transport mechanism from the service implementation. This layer allows you to write distributed services that can communicate via a variety of mechanisms such as sockets, fifos, pipes, whatever. Combined with the service configurator, which provides dynamic (at run time), configuration of applications, you are able to write very complex distributed applications.
The next layer down is an OS abstraction layer. If the stuff described above is too much for you, ACE provides THIN (as in inlined functions) wrappers around most OS functions related to interprocess communications, threading, shared memory, etc. This is very useful in writing _portable_ multiplatform code. For work with sockets, there are some very decent C++ abstractions of sockets that take care of the dirty work for you (such as mapping a string hostname to an inet address struct, binding, etc)
The footprint for ACE alone is about 700K for everything, and can be broken apart to some extent for smaller footprints. If you want CORBA on top of that, TAO adds an additional 1M (about).
You can download precompiled binaries of ACE & TAO for linux from.
phil
Re:Some C++ advocates (Score:1)
And as you said, I will concede to the goodness of C/C++. I used both of them long before java, and still do. There are pros and cons to both, times to use one, times to use the other. Seems to me the smart builder doesn't use just one tool, but knows which tool is the right one for the job. But they will generally not concede that there is any use to Java.
But I had the same difficulty in teaching objective-c, which DOES have pointers, and imho is a WAY nicer oo language than c++ any day. So I thinks it's not that java is java, it's that these people are resistant to any sort of change. They are either lazy or scared or both. Harsh, yes, but how else can you explain the one-sided (and borsderline irrational) arguments that you see by these people.
BTW, the aforementioned migration to java failed on all counts. A failure of java? of me? of them? hmm..
Yuck, yes this really is a problem. (Score:1)
CORBA is neat. It is very cool and fun for writing distributed NETWORK applications. CORBA at this point is only well supported for C++. Several people do have C bindings, but all that I have played with are weak compared to the C++. If I wasn't distributing my processing across a network I might think again about why I need CORBA.
Perl is nice, for any application of any size be prepared to write your own interface. Consider tcl, doesn't do that much, but it embedds itself really nicely and doesn't have any licencing issues to worry about.
Java, is cross platform ready, has some CORBA support, but I believe you have to be careful what orbs you use or write your own interface.
I have worked on several projects that did UNIX/NT work. Both were with companies with a fair ammount of money.
One solution was purchase roguewave (which finally supports linux!) and [roguewave.com]Iona/Orbix. Roguewave provide very nice C++ libraries, and they are cross platform, among UNIXen and NT. I would love for someone to copy these to the open source world. Orbix is very feature rich, deploys on UNIX and NT (no Linux booo), though at times can be buggy, especially if you try to integrate security into your application. But iona does provide easy programming intrerfaces. End users saw web pages in this particular application. Used CORBA to wrap legacy applications and then quickly integrate them into new applications. Also I have seen nice CORBA implementations on Mainframe which is extremly nice, since talking to mainframes is generally a nightmare. but CORBA isn't very portable either and you have to commit to a specific CORBA. [iona.com]
The second project stuck with C, used plain old Socket Communication. Went with writing an object layer in house (simple but did the job) then writing a tool to create the
Having seen what happens when you go vendor bound, building code interfaces in house with extensability and portability in mind gives you the greatest flexability in the future.
so that is my thoughts about how to tackle cross platfrom distributed appliations.
Re:This is a bit much.. (Score:1)
Okay, let's get some idea of what you mean by "portable" then. To a lot of people (I suspect), portable means "write once, compile and run anywhere" - and that's the goal of using ANSI C wherever possible, I would imagine. That's what Java does particularly well (in terms of language - the implementation of applet viewers is another matter, of course). That's using "portable" in the sense of "mobile" (a portable object being one that can be moved around at will).
What do you mean by portable? Do you mean you can change the code to make it run on another box (ie it's "able" to be "ported")?
As I've said before, C is good for portability when you want to do mostly processing, but when you start doing a lot of IO (particularly network and/or user IO) it loses out.
Jon
Java, C++ and CORBA (Score:1)
Instead, I suggest you reevaluate your requirements and restrict yourself to a given list of platforms and languages. IMO, if you go with Java, C++, and CORBA as the standard ORB, you'll be able to get enough done that the rest won't matter.
There exist many excellent CORBA ORBs, some have already been mentioned. One that hasn't is Voyager, a product of [slashdot.org]. It's Java-based, and while it isn't specific to CORBA Voyager objects can look like CORBA, RMI, or DCOM objects to remote clients. The core ORB is free to download and use (with some restrictions), and if you need more you can step up to the Professional version (which does cost $$$, yes).
Disclaimer: I work for ObjectSpace. But I wouldn't if I thought Voyager sucked.
:)
Errata: My email... (Score:1)
And yes, I meant "/.", not "./"...
:)
Some clarifications.. (Score:1)
I'd assume this is directed to me in particular.
;) I don't hate Java. Do I dislike it? Yes. Do I use it? No, because I dislike it. Why do I dislike it? It's just not my cup of joe. I also don't trust anything that comes from Sun just on basic principle. This is not to say that Java is a horrible language. It's good at what it was designed for, just as any good programming language should be. The kinds of applications I like to write, however, are better written in C/C++ or Perl. I don't use Java because I don't have a need to use Java. If I needed to use Java, I would.
I'd say a lot of posts on this thread are dedicated to just that.
;) I myself had heard of but never actually seen any BSD users acting like elitist snobs spitting on Linux and using FUD tactics to get more "mind share".. Well, not until recently. =P Point is, there are zealots in all camps, and objective people in all camps. Just judge each OS, language, or whatever on their own technical merits and not what J. Random Holier-Than-Thou (insert OS, or language, or whatever) User claims as the Gospel Truth.
You should take that in the context of the post I was replying to, and the fact that I found much of it quite offensive. Given that, I think I kept my relative cool. =P I have no problem with people advocating Java. Java programmers aren't necessarily idiots, just as people in general aren't necessarily idiots (even AOL users aren't necessarily idiots, contrary to popular belief). I'm not slamming Java, I was simply pointing out that just because C/C++ is a little more difficult to master, that doesn't make me an idiot for wanting to use it instead of Java, which takes care of a lot of things for me. Sometimes playing it safe is good. What language you use depends entirely on what you're trying to do. I prefer the added flexibility. It's just an opinion.
Perhaps I'm just too lazy to scan this thread at this point, but what point of mine doesn't it make for me? And yes, I already knew that.
No, not really, on both counts, although I could certainly care less how popular Java is. If people want to use it, that's fine. Just like Perl isn't for everyone, neither is C/C++ or anything else. People just use what suits their needs the best.
I'm sure some do. I don't. It is complex, in it's own way. I just don't like how it was designed. Trying to learn it effectively after learning C++ first probably contributed to this a little. It hurts my mind, not because I don't understand it, but because I don't like it. Again, it's just a matter of opinion. It's not like I wish I could block off downloads of Java development tools akin to how people like to protest in front of abortion clinics, not allowing people to go in.
;)
And no, there's nothing inflammatory about that post at all. *shrug*
Distributed systems (prereq: Group Communications) (Score:1)
SPREAD is a great systems. It provides a consistent API on all platforms and is open source. REALLY FAST TOO! It is a client/server architecture and client can by Java or C or C++ (our port it to your favorite language!) Server is in C.
Check it out at
What about "distributing" your component(s) (Score:1)
Say I write a CORBA "component" like for example a spelling checker and other people want to use it. One advantage of a COM based component (yeah, I guess COM has some advantages
;-) is that anyone can register the dll/exe and then have access to it because the COM infrastructure is going to be there.
But with CORBA, you need to have an ORB installed. Is this an unrealistic expectation? CORBA may be a standard, but how standard is it's installation on computers? Would it make more sense to distribute it as a static/shared lib instead?
-Willy
CORBA, or any form of RPC can be bad (Score:2)
This is long, but this is a problem I've been thinking about for a LONG time, so please bear with me and hear me out.
I nieve, nievely).
Now, the question to ask is where does RPC fit into all of this?.
As far as speed is concerned, there are two main problems.
One is minor in that almost any protocol that is supposed to be language and platform independent is going to have it..
Mozilla's NSPR and Cosm (Score:1)
The Netscape Portable Runtime offers non-GUI cross platform operating system facilities. It offers threads, I/O, memory management, networking, and shared library linking. Here are the docs at mozilla.org. It's been used in Netscape browsers and other enterprise products from the beginning, so it's well tested too. It's written in C.
There is also Cosm [mithral.com], which is a set of protocols for distributed things like cracking DES and sifting SETI data. Probably a little too focused for your needs, but it looks cool, so I'd plug it
;-)
Java Speed / Using a Database (Score:1)
1) For those who mention that you may not want to use Java because of speed issues, keep in mind that there are Java compilers available which can give you much better performance than interpretted bytecodes. It's write-once-compile-anywhere instead of run-everywhere. I'm sure there are issues with compiling bytecodes, though, but it's just an idea.
2) Another note is that, depending on your application, you may not need something so general as an ORB for use between your processes. For example, if your distributed processes are retrieving and updating shared data, why not use a network-accessible database? There are plenty of database interfaces available for many languages, and this might simplify your system if you have large, simple data structures. It's of course a speed loss and an increase in complexity, but databases are much more mature than ORBs. Think about whether or not a database might be better for your application.
Of course, I haven't addressed the problem of using the same code on multiple platforms; but I think others are doing a good job of that. But I have to agree that more information on your specific application might be helpful. Good luck!
Bamboo (Score:1)
Re:Maybe off base...PVM? (Score:1)
Re:Use Corba (Score:1)
Re:CORBA, or any form of RPC can be bad (Score:1)
Re:Drop CORBA (Score:1)
"Compile" means "Test".
"Test" means time and money down the toilet.
Lotta pain. Little gain. When it's hard to
adjust systems, kludges and work-arounds become
common. Then those systems become a nightmare.
I think you would love
"Dynamic Data Objects for Java(tm)"
if you don't want to compile even
when elements are added. I can
add checkboxes and datafields to
data objects, corresponding
"alter table add column..." statements
in the database, and add a few table
entries pointing to element names of
the new data. Then a resync, and
it's running... (Didn't see the "Compile"
word did you?)...
After using this inexpensive and simple
toolkit for Java why in the heck would I
ever want to go through CORBAtion again?
Context (Score:2)
We're working on a system that is intended to be a low-cost retail product. We'd rather not divulge the exact nature of the product yet (too early).
This is a server-based system that requires a web front-end with plans to add other front-end(s) in future. The design specifies that the product (server, not client) must at least run on: Solaris, Linux and Windows NT. As porting code is more difficult than writing it cross-platform in the first place we decided these versions should be developed in parallel.
The need for inter-process communication arose from a number of factors:
After testing a number of ORBs on NT, Solaris and Linux we came to see the scope of our nightmare (RMI, Mico, ACE/TAO, omniOrb, Cope, Orbix and a number of others). We started looking into using different ORBs on different platforms, this raised porting and cost issues. There were ways but they weren't pretty and most of it was damn expensive (for what we were doing).
This process was so depressing that we though hard and long about whether we really needed all of those platforms. The answer was yes. For sure.
Going back to the drawing board, we realised that we only needed a fraction of the features of CORBA and started to roll our own. It hasn't been easy, but it now works on all the platforms we intended. Also, since our code so far does not use any third-party components we can open source all or part of in the future.
Time will tell if we made the right decision. For now things are looking good. Watch this space.
------------------
note: I'd appreciate if you'd moderate this up such that people can see it
note(2): My web site contains no information about any of this whatsoever - but have at the pretty pictures anyway.
modula-3 with network objects (Score:1)
Modula-3:
Network objects paper:-
Obliq:
Re:Some clarifications.. (Score:1)
You cite that the fact it came from Sun is a problem. I would claim that Sun is somewhere in the middle between a Microsoft and GNU as far as contribution to free software. That should be irrelevant to an objective discussion of technical merits, at any rate.
You also acknowledge that Java is good at what it's designed to do. What exactly is that? Remember originally it was formulated for set-top boxes. Three years ago, people thought that Java was destined to take over the client, particularly with what I'd call "applet suites." That was a pipe dream, and Java's current successes and usage are almost all server-side. The point is Java has been over-marketed by Sun, but it is a fairly versatile platform nevertheless.
Actually, a lot of people feel Java is a markedly simpler implementation language than C++, largely due to garbage collection (hence no programmer memory management), which actually is more of a runtime feature supported by the language.
Some claims have been made that Java is twice as efficient to create Web-based systems, but such metrics are difficult to substantiate.
Syntactically, Java borrows heavily from C/C++, so I wouldn't argue it's dumbed-down in any respect. Considering language-level support for multithreading and rich standard libraries, there's little merit to any language superiority arguments here (or in many places).
This isn't an attack at all on your posts or position, but contribution to the thread at large. No "inflammation" intended.
:)
Re:Java anyone? (Score:1)
I have to give a big thumbs up to Java for portability.. I've spent the last 4 years developing a framework for managing NIS, DNS, and the like in Java. The Java GUI client works fine on many UNIXes, Win95/98/NT, OS/2, and even Power Macintosh, all without so much as a recompile. It uses RMI for the client-server communications, and it works like a dream.
The only problem is that it really isn't cross-platform in the most virtuous meaning of that term.. the platform is Java, and Sun controls the platform. Things like HTML/HTTP/CGI makes for a more generic and free (libre) cross platform environment, but you can do so many things with Java that would be impossible to do in the traditional web interaction patterns.
Re:Mozilla's NSPR and Cosm (Score:1)
While Cosm will do things like DES, that's not the goal of the project, which is to handle any and all Distributed Computing project, not just trivial client-server ones.
Cosm also has an OS/CPU layer that isolates all the functions of the kernel that are needed for Distributed Computing. This layer is in ways similar to NSPR and the dozens of other such libraries, each with a slightly different target set of functions.
Pick the tools for the job at hand (Score:1)
I've seen some very nifty toolsets. We've invented one or two ourselves - in at least one case, what we came up with is better than I've ever seen commercially, or open source. But, like any other toolset, it's geared toward only one sort of problem.
"Distributed computing" covers a lot of ground. If you need lots of transactions in an object-oriented framework, then yes, CORBA is worth a good hard look. If, on the other hand, you want to rework existing applications so that they trade data over a network, then a software bus architecture is something to look at. We implemented one of these, and it allowed us to change from a Smalltalk-based GUI to a C++/Interviews-based GUI without changing a single line of code in the back-end application. But this architecture was useful only because the problem could be decomposed into fairly large lumps with fairly high-level, low-volume traffic between them. An end-to-end heavy transaction system would lose big with this architecture.
So, tell us a little bit about the application and its architecture, and you might get more useful information (less flamage would be too much to hope for around here
Perhaps this will disappoint.. (Score:1)
To explain this, let's go back to where this whole "C++ advocates hating Java" scenario actually came from..
From the original AC (troller =P):
My response:
I never intended to get into any kind of Java vs. C/C++ discussion. I was simply annoyed at the insinuation that coding in C/C++ is a "waste of time" because it doesn't "do everything for you". Maybe I don't want to "play it safe" and have certain things like portability, etc. done for me. If I did, I'd be using another language, probably Java. =P This is why I didn't go into any technical merits. I never went about attacking Java, just the original AC poster.
;)
Well, it was originally designed as a programming language to run on all sorts of different small devices (yes, I know, I've forgotten all the important details.. Java fans leave me alone.. I'm not a history textbook, ok? =P). Something that could run on damn near anything. I don't believe it was originally intended for personal computing per se, IIRC, but I'd certainly say that it has lived up to its dream of cross-platform compatibility (and I'd rather have it running on my PC than my toaster any day).
That said, what it was designed to do and what Sun "meant" it to do are not necessarily the same thing. I also never said that it was good at everything it was designed to do (especially since it was designed to do different things throughout different parts of its life.. its certainly come a long way from when it was called "Oak", however.. =P).
Precisely.
Actually I've heard it argued that Java borrows more from Objective C than C++. I've never really followed Obj-C, however, so I'm not precisely qualified to substantiate or refute that claim. It's an interesting assertation, nonetheless. Personally, I must have multiple inheritance!
That said, Java was indeed meant to be an easy-to-use language. It shies away from the more complex aspects of C++, like multiple inheritance or pointers, and does everything in its power to take care of complex tasks itself so the coder doesn't have to (memory management, portability). Therefore, it's a little more difficult for your programs to lose, as you're denied the ability to make some of the more common programming errors (most of which revolves around incorrect usage of pointers.. honestly, how much learning of C or C++ involves having all of the aspects of pointers imprinted upon your mind?).
Anyway, as I haven't had anything to do with Java since 1.2, I don't think I'm particularly qualified to expound upon its current merits. Besides which, I don't really want to weigh C++ against Java right now, due to a lack of interest and time.
:) I'm sure someone more well-versed in both languages could give a more objective comparison of the two, anyway. All I can really say is that Java is a good language, it's just not for me.
Quite honestly.. (Score:1)
..you're wasting my time. Why don't you go see what Merriam-Webster [m-w.com] has to say? Actually, I'll save you the 2 - 10 second search:
You'll note the subjectiveness of the word "many". I could consider anything greater-than or equal to 1 to be "many", although for the purpose of this definition, I'd be considered rather stupid for equating "many" with "1" (as I probably would be in general, anyway), but certainly there is little room for debate that any number greater-than one could be considered to be "many" (remember, this is subjective, not objective).
Well, I guess "a lot of people" would be, um, dead wrong
.. The definition clearly states "many" not "all". Big difference, a la what I already said:
Hopefully you can figure out what that sentence means at this point, because I'm not going to bother explaining it further.
What does Merriam have to say about this?
So basically you're trying to tell me that Java is a physical manifestation that I can move about as will, sort of like a book on Java? Umm..?
I mean it the way the dictionary defines it, perhaps? Unlike some people, I don't attempt to refute the true definition of a word at every turn. Are you somehow trying to argue that you can't write portable C code? Sure, you can make modifications to make it even more portable, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't portable in the first place. The preprocessor is your friend.
While you are certainly entitled to your opinion, I'm still not interested, and repeating yourself ad nauseam isn't likely to change my mind, but rather to cause me to begin simply ignoring you. That said, this is not an RFC. Don't expect further responses.
Orbacus might meet your needs. (Score:1)
Since you've already pretty much decided on using Corba as your middleware, and you have a need for multilanguage and multiplatform support, I would suggest you took a look at Orbacus (). It has some features that you need. It is written in Java, so you can run it on any platform(at least theoretically). I ran a NT server with Gemstone app.server and a client on a Linux box with the Blackdown VM and the Gemstone class jars from the NT server, and had no problems, at least for that project. And, I don't think it would be much different for any other platforms. Just make sure you use a propper VM and class jars.
When it comes to the multilanguage part, Orbacus generated ORB class code for at least Java and C++, if I am not mistaken too badly. I don't know how easy it is to get an ORB code generator for Perl, but there might be someone out there who has done it.
You should check the Orbacus web site for the detailed spesifications.
Cheeers
Now for the disclaimer:
It has been 6 months since I used Orbacus, so, not everything I said might be completely correct.
And for the usual one:
"This disclaimer supersedes all previous ones.
The views expressed here does not nessecarily represent the views of my employer, the university, me or the view out my window. All things considered, the views might just as well be the views of my cat."
i think you're looking at the wrong layer (Score:1)
For example, HTTP is a pretty ubiquitous protocol, and there are programmer libraries for working with it in a whole lot of languages-- including all of the ones you mentioned.
There's a whole slew of other protocols with the same basic feature: widely deployed on multiple platforms and within multiple programming languages. I'm thinking SMTP, NNTP, etc.
The main disadvantage to these protocols for building distributed applications out of them is that they don't lend themselves well to applications that have certain characteristics which tend to drive design choices affecting scalability and performance.
Even then, you will usually find that parts of your application will depend on making use of those protocols.
More than likely, you have an application specific need for a particular kind of framework, and you should just bite the bullet on a middleware solution and live within its weird limitations.
Consider this, though: you can probably wall off the part of your distributed application that has the scary performance and scalability requirements by writing Perl/Python glue and Java servlets in the interface to your web server and other parts of your application that don't need the middleware.
Re:CORBA, or any form of RPC can be bad (Score:1)
long? yes. well tought out? yes.
I work in the guts of a distributed object infrastructure project, so this is the kind of discussion that my fellow geeks and I would spend HOURS on if management didn't walk by that offten. I think you clearly see the empty spot on the scatter diagram you drew out there, and are obviously on the right track to fill it in.
I also think you're reinventing the wheel. (don't we all at some point?
What you've described is the message passing protocols that existed before IPC. This is the style of programming that was taught by having to "run" your programs by carrying a shoe box of punched cards to the window by the machine room and giving it to an operator who would run it and give you back a stack of cards. This stack of cards of course might itself be a program which could then be fed back to the operator in one or more additional shoe boxes and the cycle began again.... I still write scripts that end by enqueing several more scripts for batch processing - and I WASN'T actively part of that era of computing. This style of communications is also still the big winner in the mainframe world of Transaction Monitors, ERPs, etc . . . look at IBM's hugely successful MQ Series [ibm.com] for example. (here is a better read [ibm.com] for the un-initiated.)
There are several implementations of frameworks for messaging protocols out there. One of my favorites in uni was the Paralell Virtual Machine architecture [lycos.com]. Another was the Message Passing Interface [lycos.com]. Many forms of paralell computation use the messaging model.
Messaging is also being brought into the Java world with JMS [sun.com] (no, not the great maker [blockstackers.com]) the Java Messaging System.
wow. This is the kind of discusion that makes me proud to login to
Multiplatform Distributed Systems (Score:1)
Um.. what..? (Score:1)
Perhaps I'm just dense, but what in the hell does this have to do with C++ advocates? Since you never mentioned once that these people knew C++, instead saying they knew C and you were trying to "advance" them into Objective C or Java, I don't see how this is even mildly on topic.
I would like to assert that while an intelligent programmer will have more than one language of choice, he will not , I repeat not program in every language imaginable
.. Thus, maybe he will never use Java throughout his entire life. Big.. deall..! By the way, did you really mean to say that "they" would assert that Java is useless, as you have, or were you trying to say that "they" would not assert that Java is useless?
So, again, I have to wonder if you are still talking about C programmers (which is off topic) or are now talking about C++ programmers (in which case your arguements make even less sense)..
Just because you think Obj-C and Java are totally badass and just flat-out wipe the floor with C++ doesn't mean that a C (or C++) programmer trying to learn either is going to agree with you. And since there is a third choice, C++, to "migrate" to, it seems like a biggoted statement to assert that C programmers who don't want to learn Obj-C or Java are "resistant to any sort of change" or "lazy or scared or both".. I myself managed to migrate from C to C++, which is a drastic change in philosophy and style, or had you not noticed that? Just because I don't want to go to your languages of choice, that makes me lazy, scared, resistant to change? Or are you trying to tell me that C++ isn't that much of a change? Well, surprise, it is. Obj-C, however, isn't much of a change. I'd rather use Java than Obj-C (which is practically worthless AFAIC).
Probably because they just didn't like the way it was designed? I'd imagine even many C programmers (those who haven't evolved into something else yet) would enjoy a good range of flexibility and not want to give it up so easily. I wouldn't know, because I learned Java after C++, not directly after C.
At any rate, how can you even talk about others having "borderline irrational" arguements when the topic of this particular subthread is C++ programmers, which by their very nature do not fit into the mold you ascribe to them (given that they were once C programmers to begin with, of course), and you're just talking about how a bunch of C programmers didn't want to learn Obj-C or Java. Maybe you should tell us if any of these "clueless idiots" ever managed to learn C++, hmm?
Since this was spun off from a comment I made, I find myself highly offended and directly insulted, as I do not like myself being referred to in such a manner. Or are you just completely abstracting the topic at this point to where it doesn't even apply to me anymore? That would make sense, since you're not even on the right topic. If not, then see this post [slashdot.org], which is the culmination of this subthread [slashdot.org], which you really should have let me spawn off from the comment [slashdot.org] you replied to before spouting off with your biggoted nonsense, as I believe it was a call for rational discussion, not your lopsided assertations. Again I have to wonder what makes you so holier-than-thou that you accuse others of borderline irrational arguements. Stay.. on.. the.. ball..!
*cough* (Score:1)
I really should stop trying to do anything useful when I first wake up. I think it's kind of obvious that I clicked on the wrong checkbox.
;) Blah. Time for.. more.. caf.. feine..
Re:Quite honestly.. (Score:1)
LOL! In other words, when you think most people will disagree with you, you just say it's subjective and leave it at that. I don't think most people would consider 2 to be many. If someone said they had worked with many computers and it turned out to be 2, I think you'd be rather disappointed, don't you?
As you've said you'll be ignoring me from now on (which together with your tag line says all I feel I need to know about your opinion of yourself with respect to others), I'll leave it at that...
Jon
Re:Xerox's ILU (Score:1)
Re:XML-RPC (Score:1)
The scheme is very flexible but it doesn't address most of the surrounding problems with distributed systems. Service discovery, location transparency et cetera. All of these would have to be built on top of XML-RPC.
Re:CORBA will do most, if not all, of this. (Score:1)
I'm not saying that this is a complete list or that any one of them is a brick wall. But together they are giving me a headache.
Perhaps a few free ORB developers should get together and pool efforts to come up with something orthogonal? Just a thought.
Cheers,
Re:Portability? - Don't commit to anything. [XOOF] (Score:1)
I also don't beleive that there is enough out there to warrant building an entire system out of yet. Just my own personal opinion.
Finally how does automatic system generation from higher level models help to create distributed systems?
Cheers,
Re:I must have mised something here (Score:1)
Cheers,
Re:CORBA, or any form of RPC can be bad (Score:1)
On the subject of synchronous calls I think you should go and look at the specifications for both RPC and CORBA. Both allow 'oneway' invocations to take place. Basically an asynchronous call.
On the subject of coupling I would have to ask whether or not you like that fact than libraries have specific interfaces that can be relied upon. This is the only restriction that RPC/CORBA/DCOM put upon your programs. The signature of a call has to be known, just like library calls. Yes this means that there is a higher degree of coupling than in a system where the data can be 'interpreted' by the callee but it also means that you don't have to attempt to interpret the data which gives you a performance boost. I don't want my libraries to have to interpret what I give them, and neither do I want my own systems to have such fuzzy interfaces. If I do want something like that then I'll implement it myself but I won't choose it as a feature.
Having said all of that however I would be interested to keep in contact and discuss your system with you.
Cheers,
Update (Score:1)
The article was originally posted about a month ago. Since then many things have happened.
I have started to roll my own CORBA-like implementation targeted at Perl and Java in the first instance. Focusing on platform compatibility (which is all but eliminated with the above two languages) and features on an 'as-and-when' needed basis. If a feature is required then it is implemented as close to the CORBA spec as possible. The major exception to this is marshalling/CDR adn transmission protocol which are very simple right now.
If anyone is interested in something like this then get hold of me on this address [mailto] since the system is being built to enabel the main system and not as a product the licensing for it is currently undecided but may eventually be open sourced.
Thanks for all the pointers and info so far...I'm still reading.
Cheers,
Coding for multiple platforms (Score:1)
I'm a little unclear on what this app will do/be -- is it a server application or a client application?
Writing generic servers are very difficult, since servers have a greater need to be optimized than clients, and optimization is necessarily a function of the specific platform.
Writing a multi-platform client is simpler. The stock answer nowadays is to make it web-based, and then concentrate on the server end, where you would use (for example) a Java-based application server. I would say, in general, that one of the cross-platform scripting languages is going to be your best bet. Perl, Tcl, and Python are all multi-platform (*nix, Win32, and Mac (Perl, possibly the other two)), and all support Tk bindings, so you can make your application graphical. Python has a C-like syntax, so users of C, C++, and Java should pick it up pretty quickly. Same for Perl. Tcl has its own syntax, but it is not difficult for a trained programmer to learn.
However, if you are looking to create code that can be compiled into executables for multiple platforms from one code-base, I think your best option is going to be Java. Sure, it's slow (for now), and there are implementation issues between platforms, but porting a Java application from one platform to another is still hugely more simple than porting a C app (I'm assuming Win32 to Unix or a similar port). With the new grahpical libraries (Swing and such) you can create much more sophisticated GUI's than you can with Tk. And, of course, you can also create command-line/text-based apps with Java.
My personal recommendation? Use Perl. The Perl interpreter is fast and extrememly powerful. Unless you're writing something that has to interact with a server in real-time, the startup/compilation phase of Perl scripts is unimportant--but, of course, once the script is loaded, it runs at the speed of the computer.
darren
Re:Suuuure.. (Score:1)
As for C++ stupidity, first they still have the same ambiguities as C. Here's another example from the FAQ: i = i++; How about typeid and templates. Here's yet another example:
int i=1;
cout
As for looking in the FAQ. It's called supporting one's statements with reference information. You clearly haven't done so much as try to do that. There are about four more C ambiguities there.
I still just don't get how you can't make a comparison between system calls in C++ and in Java. This is a very important and relevant part of the article. By skipping talking about this, our whole argument will become irrelevant to the original article.
Next point... if RedHat had a way of allowing you do download one patch that always made your system up to date, would you get it? Most people would. This is the point of Java. Getting one code base that doesn't have to be modified every so often for new architectures. What is your response to portable assembly code and #ifdefs?
The fact that you don't understand "hack" is usually synonymous with "kludge" makes me really wonder about your experience in programming. Are you one of the people who think's hack ONLY is supposed to mean some great inspired and clever programming? Are you still in high school? Once again I can support my arguments. Take a look in the Jargon File. The first definition of hack is...
hack 1.
Which is exactly what I've been saying all along. #ifdefs are work arounds and not the best way of doing cross-platform development.
Now that you start thinking about what the article actually was talking about, you can understand that I can still answer the person's question with advice of how to do it better... maybe a way they haven't thought of. I may seem like an egotistical bigot but that's just because I know what I'm talking about and can even support my arguments. You on the other hand must spew your opinions which have no basis and get by on personal attacks.
Your sig was just one more thing to inflame me. If you want to see bigotry, that was a GREAT definition.
I logged on because I like to argue and yes, this time having the chance for you to read my comment was worth logging on. So when you prepare your next reply to me... support your opinions. Didn't you ever hear that in school? What grade are you in anyway?
Re:XML-RPC (Score:1)
Of course, as another poster mentioned, there are still some issues to make it an object model... but those aren't impossible issues!
I should maybe mention, too, that KDE will soon have integrated XmlRpc. I don't think it will be ready for our upcoming KRASH release, but it will almost surely be in 2.0. Basically, *every* single KDE app will have the capability of being an XmlRpc server and/or client with very minimal amounts of coding -- in fact, the server part should be transparent to the majority of apps.
CORBA does work (Score:1)
IMO, there are some factual errors and misconceptions in the text, putting them in a different light might help.
# RPC, ILU, CORBA, DCE, Java RMI and DCOM to name but the most common.
This seems like comparing apples and oranges, partially. Some of them are specifications, some are implementations, and some are both. In particular, ILU is an implementation which supports (Sun) RPC, CORBA. AFAIK, DCE, DCOM, and Java RMI are supported in an experimental stage.
Java RMI is not necessarily exclusive with CORBA, as future RMI implementations in the JDK will use the CORBA wire protocol (i.e. IIOP). Also, DCE and DCOM have great similarities.
# Commercially there are a few good ORBs but they are terribly
# expensive.
(Some of) the terribly expensive ORBs are not good. In particular, Orbix has many features, but also many bugs and poor performance. There are some good commercial ORBs that are free for non-commercial use, e.g. ORBacus.
# Additionally most of the commercial ORBS support as few platforms as
# they possibly can.
This is true for "most" indeed. Again, ORBacus comes with full source, and supports a wide variety of platforms - it easily installs from source.
# On the Open Source side
... some great code out there
This is definitely true.
# What I cannot find at the moment is a system that targets multiple
# platforms and multiple languages.
This is a misconception. You don't need a single implementation that targets multiple platforms and multiple languages. For one language, using the same system on all platforms definitely helps (although portability of CORBA code is very high, across CORBA implementations). For a different language, you can use a different implementation: CORBA implementations *do* interoperate.
# Want to use Perl to talk to C++ back ends?
Well, with Perl you are quite stuck, AFAIK, which is unfortunate. There is COPE (on top of Mico, or ORBacus, or Orbix), and there is an ILU integration, but I don't think the code is portable between these two.
For C++, you can do whatever you please - no matter what you were using for Perl. C++ is very well supported in CORBA.
# Want to use the same code on Windows NT as well?
Don't know about ILU-Perl-NT, or COPE-XYZ-NT. C++ support on NT is also very good.
# Want to use Java Applets to talk to C? You have problems.
For Java Applets, I'd either use the VisiBroker for Java inside Netscape, or the JDK ORB, or any other CORBA-for-Java (which would work on any browser, but requires to download the CORBA runtime system). CORBA-based Java applets port to another ORB on the byte code level, since the API for the stubs is defined in terms of interfaces.
For C, you can chose either ILU, or ORBit. Both work great, and also on a wide variety of platforms (ILU probably on more than ORBit). Portability is adequate, you'll have to modify names of header files, and perhaps some function names, because the C mapping is not specified as thoroughly as the Java or C++ mappings.
[More on C Java]
# Problematic at best, and probably not possible at the moment.
Not true at all if you are willing to use different run-time systems for different languages. If you insist on getting both C and Java support from the same source, you'll probably have to use ILU. Due to the interoperability, there is no need to do so.
# Are these very strange requirements/wishes or would other people be
# willing to sacrifice ratified standards compliance and possibly
# performance for orthogonality of language/platform availability?
Neither, nor. The requirements stated above are all reasonable, and can be achieve without sacrificing standards compliance, or performance.
# I would like to be able to write code
... (for me this would be
# Perl, Java and C++) without having to use multiple implementations
# on the different platforms.
Well, *that* is the strange requirement. If that requirement is dropped (and it can be dropped easily), everything is possible.
For these three languages, there is a singe source, though: ORBacus offers built-in support for C++ and Java, and COPE runs on top of ORBacus as well (AFAIK). Starting with ILU 2.0b1, the same set of languages is supported. | http://slashdot.org/story/99/10/13/0251239/on-coding-multiplatform-distributed-systems | crawl-003 | refinedweb | 15,369 | 63.29 |
From: Preston A. Elder (prez_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-11-13 10:30:01
On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:22:00 +0000, Preston A. Elder wrote:
Anthony,
I take it from the fact you let this thread die, you have no intention of
implementing mutex interrupt semantics (as stated below, it is in
actuality quite easy, and you can disable it using your existing
semantics for disabling lock interruption - and does not need to be a
separate class).
I ask because if you don't, I will have to as I require the ability to be
able to interrupt not just a condition, but a mutex that is waiting, but
has not yet acquired a lock. In fact, as previously stated, I don't
think interruption is effective at all without such a feature (as
breaking out of a condition will not matter if the first thing it does
after it breaks the condition is try to acquire a contested mutex).
Unfortunately, if I have to implement this, I will have to do it as a
'band-aid' implementation in my own namespace, when really it does belong
as part of boost::thread.
PreZ :)
> On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 10:21:26 +0000, Anthony Williams wrote:
>
>> "Preston A. Elder" <prez_at_[hidden]> writes: The interface is the
>> same as the "cancellation" interface in N2320
>> (),
>> except renamed to "interruption".
>>
>> The interruption points are:
>>
>> thread::join, thread::timed_join
>> this_thread::sleep
>> condition_variable::wait, condition_variable::timed_wait
>> condition_variable_any::wait, condition_variable_any::timed_wait
>> this_thread::interruption_point
> I appreciate that, however that does not mean you can't go a step
> further :)
>
>>> - but unfortunately it does this by doing a broadcast to that
>>> condition which means two things.
>>
>> Firstly, the broadcast only happens on POSIX platforms --- on Windows,
>> the thread is notified directly.
> My point was, on any single platform, it broadcasts - which in and of
> itself is not a bad thing, my interruptable_mutex used a broadcast too,
> however the lock the condition was waiting on was not the lock the end-
> user would acquire (it was a private lock).
>
>> Condition variables are allowed spurious wake-ups, so the user of the
>> condition variable has to allow for this possibility. Yes, it is less
>> than ideal that all the other threads are woken too, for the reasons
>> you outline. At the moment I'm not sure of a better scheme.
>
> See below.
>
>
>>> Third, interruption should also apply to locks - which would in part
>>> solve the above situation. The problem with this of course is that it
>>> is less efficient to use a mutex/condition crafted to work with
>>> interruptions at the lock level.
>>
>> Yes, and that's why it doesn't happen. All the interruption points are
>> where the thread is waiting for some event (e.g. a condition to be
>> notified, a thread to finish, or a time to elapse). Locks should only
>> be held for a short period, so blocking for a lock should not be a long
>> wait. I don't agree that it should be an interruption point.
>
> I agree, but lets face it, sometimes locks are, by necessity NOT held
> for short periods. For example when writing to an I/O device that you
> want to ensure that there is only one entity writing to it at a time.
> In this case, the writer may hold that lock for significant amounts of
> time (lets avoid the design issue of moving the I/O to its own thread,
> lets for arguments sake say this is not possible for some reason).
>
> In this case, of course, you could create a condition and get woken up
> when you are allowed to write, but why not just lock the mutex and wait
> until you get the lock? Thats all you really want to do. Besides - 1)
> to even enter the condition you have to acquire the lock so you can
> release it, and 2) as soon as the condition is signalled, you will wait
> on that lock anyway.
>
>> If a thread is waiting on a condition variable, a signal is not
>> guaranteed to abort the wait:
>>
>> "If a signal is delivered to a thread waiting for a condition variable,
>> upon return from the signal handler the thread resumes waiting for the
>> condition variable as if it was not interrupted, or it shall return
>> zero due to spurious wakeup."
>>
>> The only way I know to ensure that the thread being interrupted wakes
>> from the condition variable is to broadcast the condition variable. The
>> alternative is that boost::condition_variable does not actually use a
>> pthread_cond_t in the implementation, and I'm not keen on that idea at
>> all.
> But if you do exactly what you do inside your check - ie. throw an
> exception from within the signal, that should break you out of any wait.
>
>>> 2) Move interruption to its own series of structures. Like I did,
>>> with an interruptable_mutex. The advantage of this is twofold:
>>> 1) It can be implemented in a non-platform specific manner, using
>>> existing data structures, so you implement the interruptable version
>>> once (utilizing boost::mutex and boost::condition) and you don't have
>>> to care about the underlying platform. This means it doesn't require
>>> any OS specific support.
>>> 2) It works exactly as the user thinks. An interruptable_mutex can
>>> be
>>> interrupted while blocked on something to do with it (meaning when
>>> trying to acquire a lock on it, OR when waiting on a condition with
>>> it).
>>
>> I'm not keen on this approach, as it really does mean that the thread
>> can only be interrupted at the defined points.
>
> Fine, then keep the interrupt in the thread - in fact, it is NICE to be
> able to interrupt a sleep() and so forth. However, change the way mutex
> works. Change mutex::lock() to something like:
>
> IF (!interruption_enabled)
> do hard-lock;
> ELSE
> interruption_checker check(internal_cond); res = lock.trylock();
> WHILE (!res)
> {
> internal_cond.wait(internal_mutex);
> IF (check.interrupted)
> throw thread_interrupted;
> res = lock.trylock();
> }
>
> Then unlock() becomes:
> lock.unlock();
> internal_cond.notify_one();
>
> This is more or less the crux of my interruptable_mutex anyway. The key
> is that while it still uses a broadcast to interrupt, when the condition
> wakes up, it will acquire the internal lock (ie. a lock on the mutex's
> own meta-data, NOT a the lock the user wants to acquire). This gives
> you an interruption point, but also means that if you weren't the thread
> to be interrupted, you can go back to waiting for the mutex to be
> available.
>
> Passing these to conditions is also pretty easy, for example,
> condition::wait() becomes something like:
>
>
> currently have, however if interruption is enabled, then you do your
> condition wait on the thread's internal ('meta-data') mutex, not on the
> 'main' mutex. Either way your condition ends by acquiring the mutex the
> user requested - and ends with something that will synchronize multiple
> threads and act as a mutex should. But in addition, you will have
> created an interruption point on mutex::lock(). This gives you a LOT of
> power and convenience.
>
> I still say that interruption semantics are incomplete without
> interruption of a mutex waiting to block. The above can be implemented
> in a platform non-specific manner without much trouble and just use the
> platform-specific version of mutex.
>
> Preston.
>
> If you can dream it, it can be done :)
>
> _______________________________________________ Unsubscribe & other
> changes:
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It is used to extracts characters from the stream as unformatted input and stores them into s as a c-string, until either the extracted character is the delimiting character, or n characters have been written to s (including the terminating null character).
Following is the declaration for std::basic_istream::getline.
basic_istream& getline (char_type* s, streamsize n ); basic_istream& getline (char_type* s, streamsize n, char_type delim); elements in the array pointed by s and the stream object.
In below example for std::basic_istream::getline.
#include <iostream> int main () { char name[256], title[256]; std::cout << "Please, enter your name: "; std::cin.getline (name,256); std::cout << "Please, enter your favourite movie: "; std::cin.getline (title,256); std::cout << name << "'s favourite movie is " << title; return 0; }
The output should be like this −
Please, enter your name: tutorialspoint Please, enter your favourite movie: ted tutorialspoint's favourite movie is ted | https://www.tutorialspoint.com/cpp_standard_library/cpp_basic_ios_getline.htm | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | refinedweb | 148 | 52.49 |
AttributeError in cherrypy.process.plugins - threading._Timer renamed to threading.Timer in Python 3.3
CherryPy 3.2 isn't compatible with Python 3.3 (beta).
When doing import cherrypy, the following error occurs:
import cherrypy
Traceback (most recent call last): File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module> File "./cherrypy/init.py", line 82, in <module> from cherrypy import process File "./cherrypy/process/init.py", line 14, in <module> from cherrypy.process import plugins, servers File "./cherrypy/process/plugins.py", line 424, in <module> class PerpetualTimer(threading._Timer): AttributeError: 'module' object has no attribute '_Timer'
This can be fixed by changing the word _Timer to Timer in process/plugins.py, since Python3.3 uses threading.Timer as the class reference as opposed to threading._Timer in Python3.2.
Timer class was renamed from _Timer to Timer in Python 3.3. This change adds a compatibility shim to detect this change and reference the base class accordingly. Fixes
#1163.
→ 01b6adcb3849
There's a similar issue in ./cherrypy/lib/caching.py for threading._Event for Python 3.3
Issue
#1181was marked as a duplicate of this issue. | https://bitbucket.org/cherrypy/cherrypy/issues/1163/attributeerror-in-cherrypyprocessplugins | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | refinedweb | 184 | 55.71 |
I'll wait it out then...
Have a nice holiday and thx for the clarification!
p.
Search Criteria
Package Details: picard-git 1.3.2.r473.gb0a70fe-1
Dependencies (5)
- mutagen (mutagen-hg)
- python2-pyqt4
- git (git-git) (make)
- chromaprint (chromaprint-fftw, chromaprint-git) (optional) – AcoustID integration
- python2-discid (optional) – CD-Lookup feature
Required by (3)
- picard-plugins-aux (requires picard)
- picard-plugins-git (requires picard)
- picard-plugins-search (requires picard)
Sources (1)
Latest Comments
piedro commented on 2016-08-20 17:18
I'll wait it out then...
Mineo commented on 2016-08-12 11:05
Picard does not work with the most recent mutagen at the moment ( /). I'm going on vacation for a week later today, so I can't update the PKGBUILD, but Freso should be able to update the package.
piedro commented on 2016-08-11 14:35
Hello?
Does this still work? I cannot compile anymore - I get this error...
File "/tmp/makepkg/picard-git/src/picard/picard/formats/mutagenext/compatid3.py", line 25, in <module>
from mutagen.id3 import ID3, Frames, Frames_2_2, TextFrame, TORY, \
ImportError: cannot import name BitPaddedInt
Any ideas or does anyone have the same problems?
thx for reading, p
Freso commented on 2016-03-06 12:21
Yo Mineo, can you make me co-maintainer and/or update the $source URL to reflect that the Picard repositories are now under the @metabrainz GitHub org.? :)
Mineo commented on 2015-09-24 07:13
phw: Done.
phw commented on 2015-09-23 11:18
A .install file similar to would be nice so icons get updated after installation.
JonnyJD commented on 2014-05-02 10:16
FYI:
The stable picard package now includes the plugins from the contrib folder.
It would be nice if the -git package would do the same.
See:
Freso commented on 2012-06-02 23:47
lockheed (and others): Picard's Git repository is managed on GitHub. If you want to have your own patchsets applied to the code, it's really easy to "fork" Picard, apply your patches, and tell your copy of this PKGBUILD to use your forked copy of the picard source tree instead of the official one: Simply find the line starting with "_gitroot" (line 15 at the moment) and replace "musicbrainz" with your GitHub user name. Save and "makepkg". Voila!
Montague commented on 2012-05-07 12:22
Thanks Mineo; and I just realized my last sentence didn't make much sense, I was typing too fast but glad you understood anyway :)! --> s/in the depends line this error/in the depends line would avoid this error/
Mineo commented on 2012-05-05 16:06
lockheed: No, I won't apply any patches to this, but if you need it, you can always modify the PKGBUILD before building your package.
Montague: I'll update the PKGBUILD. | https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/picard-git/ | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | refinedweb | 473 | 62.27 |
Elasticsearch is an open-source distributed search server built on top of Apache Lucene. It’s a great tool that allows to quickly build applications with full-text search capabilities. The core implementation is in Java, but it provides a nice REST interface which allows to interact with Elasticsearch from any programming language.
This article provides an overview on how to query Elasticsearch from Python. There are two main options:
- Implement the REST-API calls to Elasticsearch
- Use one of the Python libraries that does the above for you
Quick Intro on Elasticsearch
Elasticsearch is developed in Java on top of Lucene, but the format for configuring the index and querying the server is JSON. Once the server is running, by default it’s accessible at localhost:9200 and we can start sending our commands via e.g. curl:
curl -XPOST -d '{ "content": "The quick brown fox" }'
This commands creates a new document, and since the index didn’t exist, it also creates the index. Specifically, the format for the URL is:
so we have just created an index “test” which contains documents of type “articles”. The document has only one field, “content”. Since we didn’t specify, the content is indexed using the default Lucene analyzer (which is usually a good choice for standard English). The document id is optional and if we don’t explicitly give one, the server will create a random hash-like one.
We can insert a few more documents, see for example the file create_index.sh from the code snippets on github.
Once the documents are indexed, we can perform a simple search, e.g.:
curl -XPOST -d '{ "query": { "match": { "content": "dog" } } }'
Using the sample documents above, this query should return only one document. Performing the same query over the term “fox” rather than “dog” should give instead four documents, ranked according to their relevance.
How the Elasticsearch/Lucene ranking function works, and all the countless configuration options for Elasticsearch, are not the focus of this article, so bear with me if we’re not digging into the details. For the moment, we’ll just focus on how to integrate/query Elasticsearch from our Python application.
Querying Elasticsearch via REST in Python
One of the option for querying Elasticsearch from Python is to create the REST calls for the search API and process the results afterwards. The requests library is particularly easy to use for this purpose. We can install it with:
pip install requests
The sample query used in the previous section can be easily embedded in a function:
def search(uri, term): """Simple Elasticsearch Query""" query = json.dumps({ "query": { "match": { "content": term } } }) response = requests.get(uri, data=query) results = json.loads(response.text) return results
The “results” variable will be a dictionary loaded from the JSON response. We can pretty-print the JSON, to observe the full output and understand all the information it provides, but again this is beyond the scope of this post. So we can simply print the results nicely, one document per line, as follows:
def format_results(results): """Print results nicely: doc_id) content """ data = [doc for doc in results['hits']['hits']] for doc in data: print("%s) %s" % (doc['_id'], doc['_source']['content']))
Similarly, we can create new documents:
def create_doc(uri, doc_data={}): """Create new document.""" query = json.dumps(doc_data) response = requests.post(uri, data=query) print(response)
with the doc_data variable being a (Python) dictionary which resembles the structure of the document we’re creating.
You can see a full working toy example in the rest.py file in the Gist on github.
Querying Elasticsearch Using elasticsearch-py
The requests library is fairly easy to use, but there are several options in terms of libraries that abstract away the concepts related to the REST API and focus on Elasticsearch concepts. In particular, the official Python extension for Elasticsearch, called elasticsearch-py, can be installed with:
pip install elasticsearch
It’s fairly low-level compared to other client libraries with similar capabilities, but it provides a consistent and easy to extend API.
We can replicate the search used with the requests library, as well as the result print-out, just using a few lines of Python:
from elasticsearch import Elasticsearch es = Elasticsearch() res = es.search(index="test", doc_type="articles", body={"query": {"match": {"content": "fox"}}}) print("%d documents found" % res['hits']['total']) for doc in res['hits']['hits']: print("%s) %s" % (doc['_id'], doc['_source']['content']))
In a similar fashion, we can re-create the functionality of adding an extra document:
es.create(index="test", doc_type="articles", body={"content": "One more fox"})
The full functionality of this client library are well described in the documentation.
Summary
This article has briefly discussed a couple of options to integrate Elasticsearch into a Python application. The key points of the discussion are:
- We can interact with Elasticsearch using the REST API
- The requests library is particularly useful for this purpose, and probably much cleaner and easier to use than the urllib module (part of the standard library)
- Many other Python libraries implement an Elasticsearch client, abstracting away the concept related to the REST API and focusing on Elasticsearch concepts
- We have seen simple examples with elasticsearch-py
The full code for the examples is available as usual in a Gist:
8 thoughts on “How to Query Elasticsearch with Python”
Reblogged this on Dinesh Ram Kali..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great introductory post. Definitely got me started.
What Python version you are using?
Hi
when I wrote the post I think it was Python 3.4
Cheers
Marco
how do you get to know these syntax and all ??
Great place to begin, thank you for the GitHub gists too :)
How do you connect to a instance of AWS
For latest Elasticsearch you’ll need to add a ‘content-type’: ‘application/json’ header to work:
def search(uri, query):
“””Simple Elasticsearch Query”””
query = json.dumps(query)
headers = {‘content-type’: ‘application/json’}
response = requests.get(uri, data=query, headers=headers)
results = json.loads(response.text)
return results | https://marcobonzanini.com/2015/02/02/how-to-query-elasticsearch-with-python/ | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | refinedweb | 1,002 | 51.18 |
This set of C MCQs focuses on “Conditional Preprocessor Directives – 1”.
1. What will be the output of the following C code?
#include<stdio.h> #define max 100 main() { #ifdef max printf("hello"); }
a) 100
b) hello
c) “hello”
d) error
View Answer
Explanation: The code shown above results in an error. This is because the preprocessor #endif is missing in the above code. If the identifier is defined, then the statements following #ifdef are executed till #endif is encountered.
2. _______________ is the preprocessor directive which is used to end the scope of #ifdef.
a) #elif
b) #ifndef
c) #endif
d) #if
View Answer
Explanation: The #ifdef preprocessor directive is used to check if a particular identifier is currently defined or not. If the particular identifier is defined, the statements following this preprocessor directive are executed till another preprocessor directive #endif is encountered. #endif is used to end the scope of #ifdef.
3. What will be the output of the following C code?
#include<stdio.h> void main() { #ifndef max printf("hello"); #endif printf("hi"); }
a) hello
b) hellohi
c) error
d) hi
View Answer
Explanation: The code shown above illustrates the preprocessor directive #ifndef. If the identifier checked is not defined, then the statements following #ifndef are executed. Here, since the identifier max is not defined, the statement after #ifndef is executed. Hence the output is: hellohi
4. What will be the output of the following C code?
#include<stdio.h> #define san 557 main() { #ifndef san printf("yes"); #endif printf("no"); }
a) error
b) yes
c) no
d) yesno
View Answer
Explanation: The output to the above code will be no. Since we have used the preprocessor directive, #ifndef and defined the identifier san, “yes” is not printed. Hence only “no” is printed as output.
5. The preprocessor directive which checks whether a constant expression results in a zero or non-zero value __________
a) #if
b) #ifdef
c) #undef
d) #ifndef
View Answer
Explanation: #if checks whether a constant expression results in zero or not. If the expression is a non-zero value, then the statements between #if and #endif will be executed. If the constant expression results in a zero value, the statements between #if and #endif will not be executed.
6. What will be the output of the following C code?
#include<stdio.h> #define max 100 void main() { #if(max%10) printf("san"); #endif printf("foundry"); }
a) error
b) san
c) foundry
d) sanfoundry
View Answer
Explanation: The code shown above is an illustration of the preprocessor directive #if. The value of the defined identifier max is 100. On checking the condition (100510==), which is true, the statements after #if are executed till #endif is encountered. Hence the output is sanfoundry.
7. The preprocessor directive which is used to remove the definition of an identifier which was previously defined with #define?
a) #ifdef
b) #undef
c) #ifndef
d) #def
View Answer
Explanation: #undef is used to remove the definition of any identifier which had been previously defined in the code with #define.
8. What will be the output of the following C code?
#include<stdio.h> #define hello 10 void main() { printf("%d",hello); #undef hello printf("%d",hello); }
a) 10
b) hello
c) error
d) 1010
View Answer
Explanation: Error: hello undeclared. An error is thrown when the code shown above is executed because before the second call to the printf function, the macro hello was undefined using #undef.
9. What will be the output of the following C code?
#include <stdio.h> #define a 2 main() { int r; #define a 5 r=a*2; printf("%d",r); }
a) 10
b) 4
c) 2
d) 5
View Answer
Explanation: The macro ‘a’ is redefined in the code shown above. Hence the value of a, which is initially 2, is redefined to 5. The value stored in ‘r’ is the result of the expression (a*2), which is equal to 10. Hence the output of this code will be 10.
10. What will be the output of the following C code if the value of ‘p’ is 10 and that of ‘q’ is 15?
#include<stdio.h> int main() { int p,q; printf("Enter two numbers\n"); scanf("%d",&p); scanf("%d",&q); #if(4<2) printf("%d",p); #elif(2>-1) printf("%d",q); #else printf("bye"); #endif }
a) 10
b) 15
c) bye
d) error
View Answer
Explanation: The output of the code shown above is 15. The values given for ‘p’ and ‘q’ are 10 and 15 respectively. Since the condition given for #elif is true, the value stored in ‘q’ will be printed, that is 15.
Sanfoundry Global Education & Learning Series – C Programming Language.
Participate in the Sanfoundry Certification contest to get free Certificate of Merit. Join our social networks below and stay updated with latest contests, videos, internships and jobs! | https://www.sanfoundry.com/c-mcqs-conditional-preprocessor-directives/ | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | refinedweb | 812 | 61.97 |
localtime, localtime_r - convert a time value to a broken-down local time
#include <time.h>
struct tm *localtime(const time_t *timer);
For local localtime() function shall convert the time in seconds since the Epoch pointed to by timer into a broken-down time, expressed as a local time. The function corrects for the timezone and any seasonal time adjustments. [CX]
Local timezone information is used as though localtime() calls tzset() XBD Seconds Since the Epoch) corrected for timezone and any seasonal time adjustments, where the names in the structure and in the expression correspond.
The same relationship shall apply for localtime_r().
The local localtime_r() function is not required to set tzname. If localtime_r() sets tzname, it shall also set daylight and timezone. If localtime_r() does not set tzname, it shall not set daylight and shall not set timezone..
Getting the Local Date and Time
Getting the Modification Time for a File
The following example prints the last data modification timestamp in the local timezone for a given file.#include <stdio.h> #include <time.h> #include <sys/stat.h>
int print_file_time(const char , timestr, statbuf.st_mtim.tv_nsec); return 0; }
Timing an Event,.
POSIX.1-2008, Technical Corrigendum 1, XSH/TC1-2008/0363 [291] is applied.
POSIX.1-2008, Technical Corrigendum 2, XSH/TC2-2008/0201 [664] is applied.
return to top of pagereturn to top of page | http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/functions/localtime.html | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | refinedweb | 226 | 58.48 |
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how return 3 value in one function?
hi
I write this function in account voucher module :
----------------------------------------------------
def onchange_partner_id(self, cr, uid, ids, partner_id, journal_id, amount, currency_id, ttype, date,section_id, context=None):
if not journal_id:
return {}
res = self.recompute_voucher_lines(cr, uid, ids, partner_id, journal_id, amount, currency_id, ttype, date, context=context)
vals = self.recompute_payment_rate(cr, uid, ids, res, currency_id, date, ttype, journal_id, amount, context=context)
for key in vals.keys():
res[key].update(vals[key])
return res
section_id = False
if partner_id:
section_id = self.pool.get('res.partner').browse(cr, uid, partner_id, context=context).section_id.id
return {'value': {'section_id' : section_id}}
-----------------------------------------------------------------
but when I test it,
also 'for loop' is run. and 'if partner_id' doesn't run. I don't know what is problem?
I think problem is that I don't know haw can return multi value in one function.?!!
Thanks
Hi,
Python ignore the code after "return res".
for key in vals.keys():
res[key].update(vals[key])
return res #check where to put this line
section_id = False
if partner_id:
Thats why
'for loop' is run. and 'if partner_id' doesn't run
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please include which version(v7,v8orv9) are you using? | https://www.odoo.com/forum/help-1/question/how-return-3-value-in-one-function-102071 | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | refinedweb | 244 | 59.3 |
/* 1. reverse the second half 2. merge the second half into the first half */ public class Solution { public void reorderList(ListNode head) { if (head == null || head.next == null) { return; } ListNode slow = head, fast = head; while (fast.next != null && fast.next.next != null) { slow = slow.next; fast = fast.next.next; } ListNode prev = null, cur = slow.next; slow.next = null; // break the first half apart from the linked list while (cur != null) { ListNode next = cur.next; cur.next = prev; prev = cur; cur = next; } for (ListNode p = head, q = prev; q != null; ) { ListNode qNext = q.next; q.next = p.next; p.next = q; p = p.next.next; q = qNext; } } }
Share my simple Java implementation
Looks like your connection to LeetCode Discuss was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect. | https://discuss.leetcode.com/topic/37472/share-my-simple-java-implementation | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | refinedweb | 127 | 87.62 |
Basically I have just started to learn python, getting into it I started to learn networking. SO I am using this book violent python by T J O Conner
I am just on the introduction and have ALREADY bumped into an error (I know I said I'm a newb but not that much of a newb with programming as I know a bit about python)
- Code: Select all
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "socketintro.py", line 7, in <module>
s.connect(("192.168.95.148", 21))
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/socket.py", line 228, in meth
return getattr(self._sock,name)(*args)
socket.timeout: timed out
I cannot find anything on google, have tried to change the port, tried to set the timeout to 10 and even tried cancelling it out with # entirely.
this is the code :
- Code: Select all
import socket
socket.setdefaulttimeout(2)
s = socket.socket()
s.connect(("192.168.95.148", 80))
ans = s.recv(1024)
print ans
any help is appreciated! thanks | http://python-forum.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=20307&p=45875&sid=8a18c71cfbcfe6fb4fa7dba249b415b0 | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | refinedweb | 169 | 65.52 |
Amster Corporation has not yet decided on the required rate of return to use in its capital budgeting. This lack of information will prevent Amster from calculating a project's:
a. b. c. d. 2. (Ignore income taxes in this problem) The management of Penfold Corporation is considering the purchase of a machine that would cost $440,000, would last for 7 years, and would have no salvage value. The machine would reduce labor and other costs by $102,000 per year. The company requires a minimum pretax return of 16% on all investment projects. The net present value of the proposed project is closest to: Note: The present value of $1 invested at 16% for 7 periods is 4.039. a. $28,022 b. $96,949 c. $79,196 d. $274,000 3. (Ignore income taxes in this problem.) Heap Company is considering an investment in a project that will have a two year life. The project will provide a 10% internal rate of return, and is expected to have a $40,000 cash inflow the first year and a $50,000 cash inflow in the second year. What investment is required in the project? Note: the present value of $1 for 1 period at 10% is .909 and the present value of $1 received in 2 periods is .826. a. $74,340 b. $77,660 c. $81,810 d. $90,000
4. (Ignore income taxes in this problem.) Congener Beverage Corporation is considering an investment in a capital budgeting project that has an internal rate of return of 20%. The only cash outflow for this project is the initial investment. The project is estimated to have an 8 year life and no salvage value. Cash inflows from this project are expected to be $100,000 per year in each of the 8 years. Congener's discount rate is 16%. What is the net present value of this project?
Note: the present value of an annuity of $1 for 8 periods at 16% is 4.344. The present value of an annuity of $1 for 8 periods at 20% is 3.837. a. $5,215 b. $15,464 c. $50,700 d. $55,831 5. (Ignore income taxes in this problem.) Para Corporation is reviewing the following data relating to an energy saving investment proposal:
What annual cash savings would be needed in order to satisfy the company's 12% required rate of return (rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars)?
Note: the present value of an annuity of $1 for 5 periods at 12% is 3.605. The present value of $1 received at the end of the 5th periods at 12% is .567. a. $10,600 b. $11,100 c. $12,300 d. $13,900
SOLUTIONS 1. d. 2. a. 3. b. 4. c 5. c | https://www.scribd.com/document/179198249/Sample-Quiz-CH-13-doc | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | refinedweb | 469 | 71.14 |
.
std2
In particular, I’d like to share my impression of Alisdair Meredith’s talk about std2 (part 1, 2, part 3 is not yet available). It took three sessions and became more and more interactive with each one. Some ideas that I was very happy to hear:
- Modules-based approach, meaning that each header is replaced with a single import and deprecate headers. A good point up for debate is whether it’s better to go with one
stdmodule, a module per header or some intermediate balanced approach with modules per piece of functionality (work with streams, text-handling, various algorithms, etc.).
- Concept usages, which is good on its own but raises a big question on how to proceed with existing constraints and avoid pure concepts vocabulary in std. There is also the question of eliminating type traits with concepts and reflection.
Another good question about new namespace was raised: Is it possible to have two co-existing top-level namespaces? Is it possible to import symbols from one into other?
Alisdair discussed compatibility questions with the audience and suggested some additions. What we met in Aspen was a better but still compatible std, which we may expect to try in C++20 and delivered by C++23.
Reflection
Jackie Kay gave an exciting talk about reflection. For the end user, reflection opens up fantastic possibilities, while for the tool vendor it brings more or less pain depending on the implementation. I was very interested in the range of options, from the currently available schema-based generation, compile-time generation with libclang, and reflection macro like one from Boost.Hana and more, to some fresh suggestions like reflexpr and operator$/cpp3k.
I especially liked that the talk was full of samples which helped understand the suggestions better, as well as see some obvious and nonobvious pros and cons in each case. If you’d like to experiment with the solutions and see some benchmarks, check out Jackie’s repo at GitHub.
CMake
CMake was my primary build tool before JetBrains, and it’s currently the only project model in CLion. Still it’s possible to surprise me with some CMake-related talk. Case in point: Daniel Pfeifer’s talk on modern CMake was regarded as the Most Educational talk. A short summary of Daniel’s advice:
- Modern CMake is not about variables (which are easy to break, because you’ll get an empty string as soon as you make a typo in the variable), but about targets and properties, which are safer and you can work with them as if they were objects (in OOP sense).
- Don’t use commands that operate at directory level.
- Don’t use CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS, but better specify requirements and let CMake figure the compiler flags to use, as it’s the safer way to go.
- Use a Find Module for 3rd party libraries that do not support clients to use CMake (like Boost). Others provide packages that can be included by using Find Package (even when they are not using CMake for their own build, like Qt).
Daniel also talked about CTest, CPack and some code analysis tools, and really impressed me with a list of directions in which CMake can theoretically evolve in the future (that was Daniel’s personal wish-list but I do really support many ideas from there):
- PCH as usage requirements, so that CMake takes care of building the PCH and force-includes this header to the compilation units.
- Allow things like Protobuf, Qt-resources and other IDL to be treated like a language by CMake.
- Lua VM (execute CMake commands on Lua VM and allow CMake modules written in Lua).
Lightning talks
I was impressed by lightning talks as well. They were both fun and educational, and I even think that two 2-hour evenings are not enough; a third day of lightnings would be a great addition. By the way, we played this cute joke during lightnings:
There are of course lots of other bright talks I recommend watching; most of the recordings are already available. You may want to start with the talks recognized as this year’s best.
Over to Phil
It was also my first C++Now and I can attest to most of Anastasia’s first impressions. It’s a unique conference in so many ways: the setting, the people, the sessions, the after-sessions – even the accommodation (it’s a spa resort, if you stay on campus).
Of course in terms of content it was top-notch. This is primarily an experts-to-experts exchange (having its roots in BoostCon), and it shows. It’s not that the material is necessarily all too advanced for the average developer. Most of it was surprisingly accessible. But for many speakers (myself included, on this occasion) it was an opportunity to share what we’re doing or what currently interests us – often as a “thinking out loud” exercise where we invite active discussion and feedback – knowing that some of the best minds in the community are around.
Highlights for me were Tony Van Eerd’s “Postmodern C++” which was entertaining but also thought provoking in part; Peter Bindel’s “Mocking C++”, which pulled out all the stops in abusing the language to achieve what many thought was impossible in C++; and Mark Zeren’s “Rethinking Strings” which dovetailed nicely with some of my own thoughts that I have been presenting as part of my Functional C++ talks. Unfortunately I missed many that I had been looking forward to seeing as I was still spending a lot of time getting ready for my own talk, including: “constexpr ALL the things” (Jason Turner and Ben Deane), and “Postmodern Immutable Data Structures” (Juanpe Bolivar). It was sad leaving Aspen behind.
Next week I’ll be at NDC Oslo and the Italian C++ conference in Milan the weekend immediately after, giving three talks between them (“Functional C++ for Fun and Profit”, twice, and “Swift For The Curious”) and working at the booth in both locations. So if you’re around, please do come and say “Hi!”.
(now back to Anastasia)
CppChat
Jon Kalb also recorded a special episode of his CppChat during the event. It was a great gathering of people (and I was happy to join!) who discussed their impression of this year’s C++Now. Conference volunteers and speakers were happy to share their thoughts and give reasons for visiting C++Now.
Weather, deer and the mountains
I had been told of the wonderful mountains views in Aspen, but what I saw really impressed and delighted me.
I was prepared to see some bears, but instead met deer early in the morning near my hotel room. It has to be Spring in the mountains, but temperatures fell down during the after-lunch talk on Wednesday and it was snowing until Friday. Still, I enjoyed the warmed open swimming pool:
You may expect anything from C++Now, but one thing is for sure – there you’ll find great content and lots of new friends among highly professional C++ developers who care about the future of the language.
Nice talk about CMake, but I would like how Daniel can disable some warnings without CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS.
ex: set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS “${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} /w44101”)
Generally, to modify compiler flags,
target_compile_optionsis preferred. (In case of warnings, however, it’s better to leave the decision for the specific configuration and don’t hardcode it into the CMake script itself, it could be done via the variable or the CXXFLAGS environment variable) | https://blog.jetbrains.com/clion/2017/06/cnow-trip-report-by-jetbrains/ | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | refinedweb | 1,255 | 57.4 |
Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 74099
up2date fails with ImportError: No module named rpm
Last modified: 2007-04-18 12:46:44 EDT
From Bugzilla Helper:
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.1) Gecko/20020826
Description of problem:
When running up2date, the following error message is produced:
root@bioserver# up2date --nox
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/sbin/up2date", line 9, in ?
import rpm
ImportError: No module named rpm
The last time I used up2date, it worked properly.
Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
How reproducible:
Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1. type "up2date"
2.
3.
Actual Results: Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/sbin/up2date", line 9, in ?
import rpm
ImportError: No module named rpm
Expected Results: It should have connected to the rhn server.
Additional info:
whats the output of `rpm -q rpm-python`?
Sounds like rpm-python isnt installed properly.
All versions of up2date should be require rpm-python
however.
also, what version of up2date?
rpm -q up2date
I have found the solution to this problem. Other software
that we are running assumes that /usr/bin/python is version
2. /usr/bin/python had been re-linked to point to
/usr/bin/python2 to make this other software work. To make
up2date work again, I edited /usr/sbin/up2date and made
it explicitly point to /usr/bin/python1.5 .
I am having the same problem. How did you edit up2date to make it point to
python1.5?
Edit version in /usr/sbin/up2date; the link in /usr/bin/up2date is
merely a method of calling consolehelper to get the root password. | https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=74099 | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | refinedweb | 275 | 59.4 |
what happen when destroy() is called from service() of servlet???? plz help me...:confused:
Type: Posts; User: rita khatei
what happen when destroy() is called from service() of servlet???? plz help me...:confused:
you must set JAVA_HOME environment variable with jdk folder path without ending with ';', and set classpath with servlet-api.jar path .
note that classpath should start with .; then try ur servlet...
** code removed
are u satisfy with this???
all class variables are initialized in class instatiation phase that mean when object is created class level variables are initialized by their default values but in case of local variable "When you...
look in java int to String or vice verse is not possible. but in place of " " if u place ' ' and in place of String if u place char data type then ur code look like this ((int)((char)((int)'7')+'5'))...
what is ur question ??? plz tell me clearly i promise u to solve ur problem up to my maximum extend.
how to clear my java output console??? plz.... help me
/*program for implementing Desc command of oracle database in java*/
import java.sql.*;
public class jdbc2 {
public static void main(String arg[])throws ClassNotFoundException,SQLException...
why java is called as both compiled and interpreted language?? Is jvm act as interpreter??? | http://www.javaprogrammingforums.com/search.php?s=1de981dcdde614efe251354e21b79b92&searchid=1725225 | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | refinedweb | 214 | 77.03 |
Otherwise, if the build machine doesn't have radvd, then the configure test won't wire in anything for the radvd executable, and attempts to use that rpm for ipv6 will fail even on machines where radvd is present. error: Failed to start network ipv6net error: Cannot find radvd - Possibly the package isn't installed: No such file or directory Note that this is a build requirement; the runtime requirement is still optional, and the above failure is still expected for an rpm built with radvd but installed on a non-ipv6 machine. * libvirt.spec.in (with_network): Add BuildRequires for radvd. --- .gnulib | 2 +- libvirt.spec.in | 2 ++ 2 files changed, 3 insertions(+), 1 deletions(-) diff --git a/.gnulib b/.gnulib index c2090a8..a01e7c4 160000 --- a/.gnulib +++ b/.gnulib @@ -1 +1 @@ -Subproject commit c2090a84dc3997acada3166772afac94f2d3a25c +Subproject commit a01e7c4c58d3c6cad50974367ec60139cc919973 diff --git a/libvirt.spec.in b/libvirt.spec.in index 4a62c80..1e6b5b5 100644 --- a/libvirt.spec.in +++ b/libvirt.spec.in @@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ %define with_audit 0%{!?_without_audit:0} %define with_dtrace 0%{!?_without_dtrace:0} %define with_cgconfig 0%{!?_without_cgconfig:0} +%define with_ipv6 0%{!?_without_ipv6:0} # Non-server/HV driver defaults which are always enabled %define with_python 0%{!?_without_python:1} @@ -339,6 +340,7 @@ BuildRequires: libselinux-devel %endif %if %{with_network} BuildRequires: dnsmasq >= 2.41 +BuildRequires: radvd %endif BuildRequires: bridge-utils %if %{with_sasl} -- 1.7.4 | https://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2011-March/msg01079.html | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | refinedweb | 221 | 52.66 |
In doctests, I often need a temporary directory for the duration of the test. In the test setup/teardown code, I create it and clean it up afterwards. So the test setup/teardown methods looks something like:
import tempfile import shutil def setup(test): test.tempdir = tempfile.mkdtemp() # other stuff test.globs.update({'tempdir': test.tempdir}) def teardown(test): shutil.rmtree(test.tempdir)
In the doctests, I can now use the
tempdir variable that got injected into
the test globs (=globals):
The test setup created a temp directory for us: >>> print tempdir /tmp/kdf34klsdj3200880f/ This directory is placed inside the default temporary directory on our os, which is: >>> import tempfile >>> tempfile.gettempdir() '/tmp'
Well, not quite. The name of the tempdir is different all the time. And
/tmp can be
/var/tmp. And on osx it is something like
/var/folders/qC/qC6d69l0EDe-sx-yyKchqU+++TI/-Tmp- and sometimes
/private/var/folders/qC/qC6d69l0EDe-sx-yyKchqU+++TI/-Tmp-.
So you can opt to use
..., the doctest standard placeholder for
“something”. But that can hide something:
The ... matches a lot: >>> delete_files_but_not_too_much() deleted ... deleted ... So we think we just deleted two files, but the ... also matches complete sets of lines, so the following test could also pass: >>> delete_files_but_not_too_much() deleted ... deleted ... deleted ... deleted ... Oops.
You can pass a doctest output normalizer to your testrunner. For instance:
from zope.testing import renormalizing checker = renormalizing.RENormalizing([ # tempfile.gettempdir() is the OS's base tempdir (re.compile(re.escape(tempfile.gettempdir())), 'TMPDIR')]) # Don't forget to pass the checker to the testrunner.
This grabs the default base temporary directory where tempfile creates its
items. So
tempfile.mkdtemp() creates a temporary directory inside the
tempfile.gettempdir() folder. Your doctests can be more explicit this
way:
TMPDIR is the base temporary directory>>> delete_files_but_not_too_much() deleted TMPDIR/... deleted TMPDIR/...
You can do one better by also normalizing the actual created temporary
directory. The trick here is to call
mkdtemp() with a prefix option:
... def setup(test): test.tempdir = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix='mytest') ...
This creates directories like
/tmp/mytest888d987f3uewer/. We cannot
directly use the created tempdir’s name in a normalizer regex as the tempdir
is normally created in the setup method and the normalizer method is outside
it. The prefix helps us however in doing it anyway:
checker = renormalizing.RENormalizing([ # Normalize tempdirs. For this to work reliably, we need # to use a prefix in all tempfile.mkdtemp() calls. We # look for the base tempdir, followed by the prefix, # followed by several non-slash characters. (re.compile( '%s/mytest[^/]+' % re.escape(tempfile.gettempdir())), 'MYTEST'), # We probably also still need TMPDIR. Place it after # the more specific checks otherwise it matches first... (re.compile(re.escape(tempfile.gettempdir())), 'TMPDIR')])
Tadah, the doctest can now be really specific with no chance of erroneous hiding of lines:
MYTEST is the tempdir the setup prepared for us >>> delete_files_but_not_too_much() deleted MYTEST/file1.txt deleted MYTEST/file4.t): | http://reinout.vanrees.org/weblog/2009/11/26/test-tempfile-normalisation.html | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | refinedweb | 481 | 51.95 |
Created on 2012-12-30 21:39 by barry-scott, last changed 2016-06-24 14:59 by r.david.murray. This issue is now closed.
bundlebuild in pytthon 2.7 fails to create usable applications.
After examining the code there are a number of coding errors:
1. optimize will puts the -O in the wrong place in the argv
2. Modules.zip is never added to the path
The bunderbuilder in 2.6 can be made to work with 2.7 by
applying the following patch to the 2.6 code.
--- bundlebuilder.py~ 2012-12-30 21:32:40.000000000 +0000
+++ bundlebuilder.py 2012-12-30 21:32:40.000000000 +0000
@@ -337,7 +337,6 @@
"Python", # the Python core library
"Resources/English.lproj",
"Resources/Info.plist",
- "Resources/version.plist",
]
def isFramework():
Barry, can you provide a simple test case that demonstrates the failures you see?
I'm using the pysvn workbench sources to find the problem.
Test cases for Mac Apps are not that simple. You need a GUI
framework for starters.
But I'm happy to test any candidate fix using workbench.
As I said a code inspection of the changes since 2.6 will
show that this code cannot work.
It would be nice to have a simple self-contained example, especially one that could be converted to a testcase later on.
Using the pysvn workbench should be good enough to find the problem though (assuming it is open source). Is there a download URL for this project?
BTW. bundlebuilder is deprecated and is no longer present in py3k.
Also: IDLE.app for python 2.7 is build using bundlebuilder, and that app works just fine.
Why not use IDLE? Workbench is a lot of code and dependencies.
I expect that it works because idle.app was created using the --no-zipimport option that is new in 2.7.
However with zip import the code is badly broken.
Build IDLE.app with zip import and you should reproduce the bug.
Have you code inspected the module as I suggested to review the new code?
_getSiteCode is clearly wrong. The if is backwards and no else.
The following inserts are in the wrong order:
if %(optimize)s:
sys.argv.insert(1, '-O')
sys.argv.insert(1, mainprogram)
It probably works because IDLE.app only uses the stdlib (that is, anything imported from the main script is in the stdlib)
The bundlebuilder call for IDLE.app:
$(RUNSHARED) @ARCH_RUN_32BIT@ $(BUILDPYTHON) $(BUNDLEBULDER) \
--builddir=. \
--name=IDLE \
--link-exec \
--plist=Info.plist \
--mainprogram=$(srcdir)/idlemain.py \
--iconfile=$(srcdir)/../Icons/IDLE.icns \
--resource=$(srcdir)/../Icons/PythonSource.icns \
--resource=$(srcdir)/../Icons/PythonCompiled.icns \
--python=$(prefix)/Resources/Python.app/Contents/MacOS/Python \
build
I don't have time to look into this right now, maybe in a couple of weeks.
Closed as an out of date issue.
It's not obvious that this issue would be out of date by our normal policies; however, since bundlebuilder doesn't exist in python3 it seems reasonable to close it. What functionality python2 has at this point is what it has.
R. David, Would there be a better resolution than 'out of date'? The other resolutions didn't really seem to fit either.
Agree, that the issue is a moot point.
No, I think out of date is closest. It's no longer relevant because it no longer exists in python3, so its support date has effectively passed EOL :) | https://bugs.python.org/issue16821 | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | refinedweb | 570 | 70.09 |
How to reset Django admin password?
I am using Django (version 1.3) and have forgotten both admin username and password. How to reset both? And is it possible to make a normal user into admin, and then remove admin status?
Solutions/Answers:
Answer 1:
Answer 2:
python manage.py createsuperuserwill create another superuser, you will be able to log into admin and rememder your username.
- Yes, why not.
To give a normal user privileges, open a shell with
python manage.py shell and try:
from django.contrib.auth.models import User user = User.objects.get(username='normaluser') user.is_superuser = True user.save()
Answer 3:
You may try through console:
python manage.py shell
then use following script in shell
from django.contrib.auth.models import User User.objects.filter(is_superuser=True)
will list you all super users on the system. if you recognize yur username from the list:
usr = User.objects.get(username='your username') usr.set_password('raw password') usr.save()
and you set a new password (:
Answer 4:
You can create a new superuser with
createsuperuser command.
Answer 5:
This is very good question.
python manage.py changepassword user_name
Example :-
python manage.py changepassword mickey
Answer 6:
new setup should first run
python manage.py createsuperuser to create user. It seems like there is no default username password to login into admin.
Answer 7:
One of the best ways to retrieve the username and password is to view and update them. The User Model provides a perfect way to do so.
In this case, I’m using Django 1.9
- Navigate to your root directory i,e. where you “manage.py” file is located using your console or other application such as Git.
- Retrieve the Python shell using the command “python manage.py shell”.
- Import the User Model by typing the following command
“from django.contrib.auth.models import User”
- Get all the users by typing the following command
“users = User.objects.all()”
Print a list of the users
For Python 2 users use the command “print users”
For Python 3 users use the command “print(users)”
The first user is usually the admin.
Select the user you wish to change their password e.g.
"user = users[0]"
Set the password
user.set_password('name_of_the_new_password_for_user_selected')
Save the new password
"user.save()"
Start the server and log in using the username and the updated password.
Answer 8:
You may also have answered a setup question wrong and have zero staff members. In which case head to postgres:
obvioustest=# \c [yourdatabasename] obvioustest=# \x obvioustest=# select * from auth_user; -[ RECORD 1 ]+------------- id | 1 is_superuser | f is_staff | f ...
To fix, edit directly:
update auth_user set is_staff='true' where id=1;
Answer 9:
You may try this:
1.Change Superuser password without console
python manage.py changepassword <username>
2.Change Superuser password through console
Answer 10:
If you forgot create admin user first build one with
createsuperuser command on
manage.py then change the password.
Answer 11:
In case you do not know the usernames as created here. You can get the users as described by @FallenAngel above.
python manage.py shell from django.contrib.auth.models import User usrs = User.objects.filter(is_superuser=True) #identify the user your_user = usrs.filter(username="yourusername")[0] #youruser = usrs.get(username="yourusername") #then set the password
However in the event that you created your independent user model. A simple case is when you want to use email as a username instead of the default user name. In which case your user model lives somewhere such as your_accounts_app.models then the above solution wont work.
In this case you can instead use the get_user_model method
from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model super_users = get_user_model().objects.filter(is_superuser=True) #proceed to get identify your user # and set their user password
Answer 12:
Another thing that is worth noting is to set your user’s status
is_staff as active. At least, that’s what makes it works for me. For more detail, I created another
superuser as people explained above. Then I go to the database table
auth_user and search for that username to make sure its
is_staff flag is set to
1. That finally allowed me to log into
admin site.
Answer 13:
Create a new superuser with the command “python manage.py createsuperuser”.
Login as the new super user. Click on the ‘users’ link. Then click on the user you want to delete. click on delete user at the end of the form page.
Note – The above process will make changes to the activity logs done by that particular user.
Answer 14:
if you forget your admin then you need to create new user by using
python manage.py createsuperuser <username>
and for password there is CLI command
changepassword for django to change user password
python manage.py changepassword <username>
OR
django-admin changepassword <username>
OR Run this code in Django env
from django.contrib.auth.models import User u = User.objects.get(username='john') u.set_password('new password') u.save()
References
- Database Administration Tutorials
- Programming Tutorials & IT News
- Linux & DevOps World
- Entertainment & General News
- Games & eSport | https://loitools.com/blog/how-to-reset-django-admin-password-2/ | CC-MAIN-2020-10 | refinedweb | 847 | 52.76 |
In this section, we consider the very important problem of resolving two nearby frequencies using the DFT. This spectral analysis problem is one of the cornerstone problems in signal processing and we therefore highlight some nuances. We also investigate the circular convolution as a tool to uncover the mechanics of frequency resolution as the uncertainty principle emerges again.
#%qtconsole
from __future__ import division Nf = 64 # N- DFT size fs = 64 # sampling frequency f = 10 # one signal t = arange(0,1,1/fs) # time-domain samples deltaf = 1/2. # second nearby frequency fig,ax = subplots(2,1,sharex=True,sharey=True) fig.set_size_inches((8,3)) x=cos(2*pi*f*t) + cos(2*pi*(f+2)*t) # 2 Hz frequency difference X = fft.fft(x,Nf)/sqrt(Nf) ax[0].plot(linspace(0,fs,Nf),abs(X),'-o') ax[0].set_title(r'$\delta f = 2$',fontsize=18) ax[0].set_ylabel(r'$|X(k)|$',fontsize=18) ax[0].grid() x=cos(2*pi*f*t) + cos(2*pi*(f+deltaf)*t) # delta_f frequency difference X = fft.fft(x,Nf)/sqrt(Nf) ax[1].plot(linspace(0,fs,Nf),abs(X),'-o') ax[1].set_title(r'$\delta f = 1/2$',fontsize=14) above shows the magnitude of the DFT for an input that is the sum of two frequencies separated by 2 Hz. Using the parameters we have chosen for the DFT, we can easily see there are two distinct frequencies in the input signal. The bottom plot shows the same thing except that here the frequencies are only separated by 0.5 Hz and, in this case, the two frequencies are not so easy to separate. From this figure, it would be difficult to conclude how many frequencies are present and at what magnitude.
At this point, the usual next step is to increase the size of the DFT since the frequency resolution is $f_s/N$. Thus, the idea is to increase this resolution until the two frequencies separate. This is shown in the next figure.*4)
As the figure above shows, increasing the size of the DFT did not help matters much. Why is this? Didn't we increase the frequency resolution using a larger DFT? Why can't we separate frequencies now?
The problem here is a manifestation the uncertainty principle we previously discussed. Remember that taking a larger DFT doesn't add anything new; it just picks off more discrete frequencies on the unit circle. Note that we want to analyze a particular signal $x(t)$, but we have only a finite section of that signal. In other words, what we really have are samples of the product of $x(t),t\in \mathbb{R}$ and a rectangular time-window, $r(t)$, that is zero except $r(t)=1 \Leftrightarrow t\in[0,1]$. This means that the DFT is structured according to the rectangular window, which explains the
sinc shapes we have seen here.
The following figure shows the updated DFT using a longer duration rectangular window.
t = arange(0,2,1/fs) x=cos(2*pi*f*t) + cos(2*pi*(f+deltaf)*t)*8 in the figure above shows the DFT of the longer duration signal with $N=128$. The bottom plot shows the same signal with larger DFT length of $N=512$ and a clear separation between the two frequencies. Thus, as opposed to the previous case, a longer DFT did resolve the nearby frequencies, but it needed a longer duration signal to do it. Why is this? Consider the DFT of the rectangular windows of length $N_s$,
$$ X[k] = \frac{1}{\sqrt N}\sum_{n=0}^{N_s-1} \exp\left( \frac{2\pi}{N} k n \right) $$
after some re-arrangement, this reduces to
$$ |X[k]|=\frac{ 1}{\sqrt N}\left|\frac{\sin \left( N_s \frac{2\pi}{N} k\right)}{\sin \left( \frac{2\pi}{N} k \right)}\right|$$
which bears a strong resemblence to our original
sinc function. The following figure is a plot of this function
def abs_sinc(k=None,N=64,Ns=32): if k is None: k = arange(0,N-1) y = where(k == 0, 1.0e-20, k) return abs(sin( Ns*2*pi/N*y)/sin(2*pi*y/N))/sqrt(N) fig,ax=subplots() fig.set_size_inches((8,3)) ax.plot(abs_sinc(N=512,Ns=10),label='duration=10') ax.plot(abs_sinc(N=512,Ns=20),label='duration=20') ax.set_xlabel('DFT Index',fontsize=18) ax.set_ylabel(r'$|X(\Omega_k)|$',fontsize=18) ax.set_title('Rectangular Windows DFTs',fontsize=18) ax.grid() ax.legend(loc=0); # fig.savefig('[email protected]', bbox_inches='tight', dpi=300)
<matplotlib.legend.Legend at 0x5625670>
Note that the DFT grows taller and narrower as the sampling duration increases (i.e. longer rectangular window). The amplitude growth occurs because the longer window accumulates more "energy" than the shorter window. The length of the DFT is the same for both lines shown so only the length of the rectangular window varies. The point is that taking a longer duration rectangular window improves the frequency resolution! This fact is just the uncertainty principle at work. Looking at the
sinc formula, the null-to-null width of the main lobe in frequency terms is the following
$$ \delta f = 2\frac{N}{2 N_s} \frac{f_s}{N} =\frac{f_s}{N_s} $$
Thus, two frequencies that differ by at least this amount should be resolvable in these plots.
Thus, in our last example, we had $f_s= 64,N_s = 128 \Rightarrow \delta f = 1/2$ Hz and we were trying to separate two frequencies 0.5 Hz apart so we were right on the edge in this case. I invite you to download this IPython notebook and try longer or shorter signal durations to see show these plots change. Incidentally, this where some define the notion of frequency bin as the DFT resolution ($ f_s/N $) divided by this minimal resolution, $ f_s/N_s $ which gives $ N_s/N $. In other words, the DFT measures frequency in discrete bins of minimal resolution, $ N_s/N $.
However, sampling over a longer duration only helps when the signal frequencies are stable over the longer duration. If these frequencies drift during the longer sampling interval or otherwise become contaminated with other signals, then advanced techniques become necessary.
Let's consider in detail how the DFT of the rectangular window affects resolution by considering the circular convolution.
Suppose we want to compute the DFT of a product $z_n=x_n y_n$ as shown below,
$$ Z_k = \frac{1}{\sqrt N}\sum_{n=0}^{N-1} (x_n y_n) W_N^{n k} $$
in terms of the respective DFTs of $x_n$ and $y_n$, $X_k$ and $Y_k$, respectively, where
$$ x_n = \frac{1}{\sqrt N}\sum_{p=0}^{N-1} X_p W_N^{-n p} $$
and
$$ y_n = \frac{1}{\sqrt N}\sum_{m=0}^{N-1} Y_m W_N^{-n m} $$
Then, substituting back in gives,
$$Z_k = \frac{1}{\sqrt N} \frac{1}{N} \sum_{p=0}^{N-1} X_p \sum_{m=0}^{N-1} Y_m \sum_{n=0}^{N-1} W_N^{n k -n p - n m}$$
The last term evaluates to
$$ \sum_{n=0}^{N-1} W_N^{n k -n p - n m} = \frac{1-W_N^{N(k-p-m)}}{1-W_N^{k-p-m}} \hspace{2em} = \frac{1-e^{j2\pi(k-p-m)}}{1-e^{j 2\pi (k-p-m)/N}}$$
This is zero everywhere except where $k-p-m= q N$ ($q\in \mathbb{Z}$) in which case it is $N$. Substituting all this back into our expression gives the circular convolution usually denoted as
$$ Z_k = \frac{1}{\sqrt N} \sum_{p=0}^{N-1} X_p Y_{((k-p))_N} = X_k \otimes_N Y_k $$
where the double subscripted parenthesis emphasizes the periodic nature of the index. The circular convolution tells us to compute the DFT $Z_k$ directly from the corresponding DFTs $X_k$ and $Y_k$.
Let's work through an example to see this in action.) Nf = 32 # DFT size U = dftmatrix(Nf,Nf) x = U[:,12].real # input signal X = U.H*x # DFT of input rect = ones((Nf/2,1)) # short rectangular window z = x[:Nf/2] # product of rectangular window and x (i.e. chopped version of x) R = dftmatrix(Nf,Nf/2).H*rect # DFT of rectangular window Z = dftmatrix(Nf,Nf/2).H*z # DFT of product of x_n and r_n
idx=arange(Nf)-arange(Nf)[:,None] # use numpy broadcasting to setup summand's indices idx[idx<0]+=Nf # add periodic Nf to negative indices for wraparound a = arange(Nf) # k^th frequency index fig,ax = subplots(4,8,sharex=True,sharey=True) fig.set_size_inches((12,5)) for i,j in enumerate(ax.flat): #markerline, stemlines, baseline = j.stem(arange(Nf),abs(R[idx[:,i],0])/sqrt(Nf)) #setp(markerline, 'markersize', 3.) j.fill_between(arange(Nf),1/sqrt(Nf)*abs(R[idx[:,i],0]).flat,0,alpha=0.3) markerline, stemlines, baseline =j.stem(arange(Nf),abs(X)) setp(markerline, 'markersize', 4.) setp(markerline,'markerfacecolor','r') setp(stemlines,'color','r') j.axis('off') j.set_title('k=%d'%i,fontsize=8) # fig.savefig('[email protected]', bbox_inches='tight', dpi=300)
The figure above shows the rectangular window DFT in blue, $R_k$ against the sinusoid input signal in red, $X_k$, </font> for each value of $k$ as the two terms slide past each other from left to right, top to bottom. In other words, the $k^{th}$ term in $Z_k$, the DFT of the product $x_n r_n $, can be thought of as the inner-product of the red and blue lines. This is not exactly true because we are just plotting magnitudes and not the real/imaginary parts, but it's enough to understand the mechanics of the circular convolution.
A good way to think about the rectangular window's
sinc shape as it slides past the input signal is as a probe with a resolution defined by its mainlobe width. For example, in frame $k=12$, we see that the peak of the rectangular window coincides with the peak of the input frequency so we should expect a large value for $Z_{k=12}$ which is shown below. However, if the rectangular window were shorter, corresponding to a wider mainlobe width, then two nearby frequencies could be draped in the same mainlobe and would then be indistinguishable in the resulting DFT because the DFT for that value of $k$ is the inner-product (i.e. a complex number) of the two overlapping graphs.
The figure below shows the the direct computation of the DFT of $Z_k$ matches the circular convolution method using $X_k$ and $R_k$.
fig,ax=subplots() fig.set_size_inches((7,3)) ax.plot(a,abs(R[idx,0]*X)/sqrt(Nf), label=r'$|Z_k|$ = $X_k\otimes_N R_k$') ax.plot(a, abs(Z),'o',label=r'$|Z_k|$ by DFT') ax.set_xlabel('DFT index,k',fontsize=18) ax.set_ylabel(r'$|Z_k|$',fontsize=18) ax.set_xticks(arange(ax.get_xticks().max())) ax.tick_params(labelsize=8) ax.legend(loc=0) ax.grid() # fig.savefig('[email protected]', bbox_inches='tight', dpi=300)
In this section, we unpacked the issues involved in resolving two nearby frequencies using the DFT and once again confronted the uncertainty principle in action. We realized that longer DFTs cannot distinguish nearby frequencies unless the signal is sampled over a sufficient duration. Additionally, we developed the circular convolution as a tool to visualize the exactly how a longer sampling duration helps resolve frequencies.
As usual, the corresponding IPython notebook for this post is available for download here. | https://nbviewer.jupyter.org/github/unpingco/Python-for-Signal-Processing/blob/master/Frequency_Resolution.ipynb | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | refinedweb | 1,902 | 53.92 |
tl;dr
Quickly spin up multiple VMs with useful DNSs on your local machine and automate complex environments easily.
Here’s a video:
Introduction
Maintaining Docker at scale, I’m more frequently concerned with clusters of VMs than the containers themselves.
The irony of this is not lost on me.
Frequently I need to spin up clusters of machines. Either this is very slow/unreliable (Enterprise OpenStack implementation) or expensive (Amazon).
The obvious answer to this is to use Vagrant, but managing this can be challenging.
So I present here a very easy way to set up a useful Vagrant cluster. With this framework, you can then automate your ‘real’ environment and play to your heart’s content.
$ pip install shutit
$ shutit skeleton
# Input a name for this module.
# Default: /Users/imiell/shutit_resins
[hit return to take default]
# Input a ShutIt pattern.
Default: bash
bash: a shell script
docker: a docker image build
vagrant: a vagrant setup
docker_tutorial: a docker-based tutorial
shutitfile: a shutitfile-based project
[type in vagrant]
vagrant
How many machines do you want (default: 3)? 3
[hit return to take default]
What do you want to call the machines (eg superserver) (default: machine)?
[hit return to take default]
Do you want to have open ssh access between machines? (default: yes) yes
Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/imiell/shutit_resins/.git/
Cloning into ‘shutit-library’...
remote: Counting objects: 1322, done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (33/33), done.
remote: Total 1322 (delta 20), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 1289
Receiving objects: 100% (1322/1322), 1.12 MiB | 807.00 KiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (658/658), done.
Checking connectivity… done.
# Run:
cd /Users/imiell/shutit_resins && ./run.sh
to run.
[follow the instructions to run up your cluster.
$ cd /Users/imiell/shutit_resins && ./run.sh
This will automatically run up an n-node cluster and then finish up.
NOTE: Make sure you have enough resources on your machine to run this!
BTW, if you re-run the run.sh it automatically clears up previous VMs spun up by the script to prevent your machine grinding to a halt with old machines.
Going deeper
What you can do from there is automate the setup of these nodes to your needs.
For example:
def build(self, shutit):
[... go to end of this function ...]
# Install apache
shutit.login(command='vagrant ssh machine1')
shutit.login(command='sudo su - ')
shutit.install('apache2')
shutit.logout()
shutit.logout()
# Go to machine2 and call machine1's server
shutit.login(command='vagrant ssh machine2')
shutit.login(command='sudo su -')
shutit.install('curl')
shutit.send('curl machine1.vagrant.test')
shutit.logout()
shutit.logout()
Will set up an apache server and curl a request to the first machine from the second.
Examples
This is obviously a simple example. I’ve used this for these more complex setups which are can be instructive and useful:
Chef server and client
Creates a chef server and client.
Docker Swarm
Creates a 3-node docker swarm
Contribute to shutit-library development by creating an account on GitHub.github.com
OpenShift Cluster
This one sets up a full OpenShift cluster, setting it up using the standard ansible scripts.
shutit-openshift-cluster - Vagrant-based standup of an OpenShift Origin cluster using ansiblegithub.com
Automation of an etcd migration on OpenShift
This branch of the above code sets up OpenShift using the alternative Chef scripts, and migrates an etcd cluster from one set of nodes to another.
shutit-openshift-cluster - Vagrant-based standup of an OpenShift Origin cluster using ansiblegithub.com
Docker Notary
Setting up of a Docker notary sandbox.
Contribute to shutit-notary-trust-sandbox development by creating an account on GitHub.github.com
Help Wanted
If you have a need for an environment, or can improve the setup of any of the above please let me know: @ianmiell
Learn More
My book Docker in Practice:
Get 39% off with the code: 39mie<< | https://hackernoon.com/1-minute-multi-node-vm-setup-413dfc836fc9 | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | refinedweb | 648 | 59.6 |
I agree with this 1. The importance of 'computational thinking' as a math standard 2. Python as a vehicle for this But it is important to make a distinction: a) a math formula represents a relation between objects and the objects math speaks about (with very few exceptions) do not have a finite representation, only an approximate representation (think of rational numbers, Hilbert spaces, etc.) b) an algorithm represents a process on how to manipulate those objects and/or their approximate representation. While math and math teaching could benefit from focusing more on process and computations (and there python can play an important role) rather than relations, it is important not to trivialize things. For example: In math a fraction is an equivalence class containing an infinite number of couples (x,y) equivalent under (x,y)~(x',y') iff x*y' = y*x'. Any element of the class can be described using, for example, a python tuple or other python object. The faction itself cannot. It is important to not to loose sight of the distinctions. Math is gives us the ability to handle and tame the concept of infinite, something that computers have never been good at. Massimo ________________________________________ From: edu-sig-bounces+mdipierro=cs.depaul.edu at python.org [edu-sig-bounces+mdipierro=cs.depaul.edu at python.org] On Behalf Of michel paul [mpaul213 at gmail.com] Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 10:09 PM To: kirby urner Cc: edu-sig at python.org Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] Algebra 2 My spin in Pythonic Math has been to suggest "dot notation" become accepted as math notation I absolutely agree with this. In about 5 weeks I'll be giving a California Math Council presentation that I titled Fractions are Objects, not Unfinished Division Problems. I submitted the proposal with the attitude of 'who cares? Let's just see what happens.' Surprise! They accepted. OK, so now I have to have something to say. : ) I think the theme of 'dot notation' as a kind of standard math notation would be valuable. Generally, I want to present 1. The importance of 'computational thinking' as a math standard 2. Python as a vehicle for this Thanks very much for any helpful suggestions along these lines. - Michel 2008/10/6 kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com<mailto:kirby.urner at gmail.com>> 2008/10/4 michel paul <mpaul213 at gmail.com<mailto:mpaul213 at gmail.com>> For math classes I think it's more pertinent to focus on functional interactions and not on IO issues, and that was what I was trying to get at. I'm enjoying this thread. My spin in Pythonic Math has been to suggest "dot notation" become accepted as math notation, and with it the concept of namespaces, which I tell my students is one of the most important mathematical concepts they'll ever learn. We look at how several languages deal with the problem (of name collisions, of disambiguation), including Java's "reverse URL" strategy e.g. net.4dsolutions.mathobjects.vector or whatever.[1] I tend to look at .py modules as "fish tanks" i.e. ecosystems, with both internal and external (import) dependencies, with the user of said fish tank being somewhat the biologist, in testing to find out what's in there, what the behaviors are. Starting with the math module is of course apropos, discussing the functions, not shying away from trig even pre high school, no reason to withhold about cosine just because they're "young" (this is actually a prime time to gain exposure to these useful and time-tested ideas). Because of my "fish tank" idea, and using the math module as a model, I don't encourage "self prompting" i.e. using raw_input for much of anything. We need to "feed the fish" directly, i.e. pass arguments directly to functions, with f ( ) looking like a creature with a mouth, ready to eat something. fish( ). Regarding GOTO, sometime last month I think it was, I told the story of assembler (JMP) and spaghetti code, Djikstra to the rescue, further developments. It's through story telling that we get more of the nuance. I'm a big believer in using this "time dimension" even if not doing anything computer (hard to imagine) i.e. the lives of mathematicians, their historical context, why they did what they did -- critical content, not side-bar dispensible, not optional reading.[2] Metaphor: education systems are like those old Heinlein moving sidewalks (science fiction), where you can't jump on the fast-moving one at the center from zero, have to slide from walk to walk, each one a little faster, and likewise when a approaching a destination, start to slow down. By including more content from geek world, getting more of a footprint for the circus I work in, I'm giving a sense of one of those fast moving sidewalks at the core of our infrastructure (coded reflexes, superhumanly fast business processes). Math pre-college should be a door into all sorts of careers (starring roles) that include numerate activities. It's not about Ivory Tower PhD mathematicians having exclusive access to future recruits, shoving the rest of us aside because our skills are "impure" (not pure math). What passes for "pure math" would be something to study in college, after getting a broad sampling ahead of time, good overview, the job of a pre-specializing curriculum. In the meantime, if your school doesn't give a clear window into computer science in over four years of numeracy training, then hey, its probably a *very* slow moving sidewalk (more 1900s pedantic and plodding than fast paced like TV).[3] Kirby [1] Like when I do the IEEE lecture on Nov 4 at the Armory (theater), I'll be talking about coxeter.4d versus einstein.4d versus bucky.4d -- three namespaces, named for thinkers, in which the concept of "four dimensional" makes sense -- but in quite different language games. (a) [2] I like telling the story of those Italian Renaissance era polynomial solvers, a proprietary model in which mathematicians were like race horses, gained owner-patrons who would stable them, let them work out, then they'd have like "cock fights" in the village square, to see how could solve whatever third of fourth degree polynomial fastest. Without this kind of focus, polynomials wouldn't have the momentum they still have to this day, as a key math topic pre-college (and another kind of "math object" from a Pythonic math point of view).(b) [3] Marshall McLuhan wasn't just blowing smoke. People who grow up on a lot of TV are geared differently and in the early 21st century a lot of what "school" is about is asserting the value system of a pre-TV era (pre computer, pre calculator...). To "side with the kids" would be entirely subversive of traditional classroom thinking, would involve a lot more learning how to make televisions (multi-track) not just passively viewing it. In my model numeracy classes, making "math shorts" (like on Sesame Street) and uploading 'em to YouTube, for peers to admire (peers thousands of miles away perhaps -- no problemo) is a big part of the action. (a) FYI here's the bio of Kirby that went out to subscribers: An IEEE Oregon Section event "R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe" with exclusive presentation by local Buckminster scholar and consultant to the playwright, Kirby Urner Tuesday, November 4, 2008 on the Mezzanine at Portland Center Stage Gerding Theater at the Armory 128 NW Eleventh Avenue, Portland, OR 97209 Hors d'oeuvres Reception: 5:30 p.m. Presentation and Discussion: 6:00 p.m. Theater Performance: 7:30 p.m. $49 per person. Tickets are limited. Please register by October 14, 2008. For more information and to register go to <link here>. We regret that we cannot offer refunds for cancellations received after October 14. ----- R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe Written and directed by D.W. Jacobs from the life, work and writings of R. Buckminster Fuller. Presentation: How has the literature developed since the publication of 'Grunch of Giants' in 1983 and what are likely outcomes and future directions projects Fuller started over a lifetime of heavy lifting? of. (b) yes, tell them early that we have no "closed form algebraic solution" to fifth degree polynomials, but that doesn't keep Python from being useful in implementing some of the progessive approximations for root-finding, such as you get under the hood with Mathematica et al. I've got a prototypical Polynomial class out there somewhere that self solves pretty well, maybe others here do too. _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig at python.org<mailto:Edu-sig at python.org> | https://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/2008-October/008802.html | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | refinedweb | 1,470 | 62.17 |
Getting Started with Pony¶
Installing¶
To install Pony, type the following command into the command prompt:
pip install pony
Pony can be installed on Python 2.7 or Python 3. If you are going to work with SQLite database, you don’t need to install anything else. If you wish to use another database, you need to have the access to the database and have the corresponding database driver installed:
- PostgreSQL: psycopg2 or psycopg2cffi
- MySQL: MySQL-python or PyMySQL
- Oracle: cx_Oracle
- CockroachDB: psycopg2 or psycopg2cffi
To make sure Pony has been successfully installed, launch a Python interpreter in interactive mode and type:
>>> from pony.orm import *
This imports the entire (and not very large) set of classes and functions necessary for working with Pony. Eventually you can choose what to import, but we recommend using
import * at first.
If you don’t want to import everything into global namespace, you can import the
orm package only:
>>> from pony import orm
In this case you don’t load all Pony’s functions into the global namespace, but it will require you to use
orm as a prefix to any Pony’s function and decorator.
The best way to become familiar with Pony is to play around with it in interactive mode. Let’s create a sample database containing the entity class
Person, add three objects to it, and write a query.
Creating the database object¶
Entities in Pony are connected to a database. This is why we need to create the database object first. In the Python interpreter, type:
>>> db = Database()
Defining entities¶
Now, let’s create two entities – Person and Car. The entity Person has two attributes – name and age, and Car has attributes make and model. In the Python interpreter, type the following code:
>>> class Person(db.Entity): ... name = Required(str) ... age = Required(int) ... cars = Set('Car') ... >>> class Car(db.Entity): ... make = Required(str) ... model = Required(str) ... owner = Required(Person) ... >>>
The classes that we have created are derived from the
Database.Entity attribute of the
Database object. It means that they are not ordinary classes, but entities. The entity instances are stored in the database, which is bound to the
db variable. With Pony you can work with several databases at the same time, but each entity belongs to one specific database.
Inside the entity
Person we have created three attributes –
name,
age and
cars. The
name and
age are mandatory attributes. In other words, they these attributes cannot have the
None value. The
name is a string attribute, while
age is numeric.
The
cars attribute is declared as
Set and has the
Car type. This means that this is a relationship. It can keep a collection of instances of the
Car entity.
"Car" is specified as a string here because we didn’t declare the entity
Car by that moment yet.
The
Car entity has three mandatory attributes:
make and
model are strings, and the
owner attribute is the other side of the one-to-many relationship. Relationships in Pony are always defined by two attributes which represent both sides of a relationship.
If we need to create a many-to-many relationship between two entities, we should declare two
Set attributes at both ends. Pony creates the intermediate database table automatically.
The
str type is used for representing an unicode string in Python 3. Python 2 has two types for strings -
str and
unicode. Starting with the Pony Release 0.6, you can use either
str or
unicode for string attributes, both of them mean an unicode string. We recommend using the
str type for string attributes, because it looks more natural in Python 3.
If you need to check an entity definition in the interactive mode, you can use the
show() function. Pass the entity class or the entity instance to this function for printing out the definition:
>>> show(Person) class Person(Entity): id = PrimaryKey(int, auto=True) name = Required(str) age = Required(int) cars = Set(Car)
You may notice that the entity got one extra attribute named
id. Why did that happen?
Each entity must contain a primary key, which allows distinguishing one entity from the other. Since we have not set the primary key attribute manually, it was created automatically. If the primary key is created automatically, it is named as
id and has a numeric format. If the primary key attribute is created manually, you can specify the name and type of your choice. Pony also supports composite primary keys.
When the primary key is created automatically, it always has the option
auto set to
True. It means that the value for this attribute will be assigned automatically using the database’s incremental counter or a database sequence.
Database binding¶
The database object has the
Database.bind() method. It is used for attaching declared entities to a specific database. If you want to play with Pony in the interactive mode, you can use the SQLite database created in memory:
>>> db.bind(provider='sqlite', filename=':memory:')
Currently Pony supports 5 database types:
'sqlite',
'mysql',
'postgresql',
'cockroach' and
'oracle'. The subsequent parameters are specific to each database. They are the same ones that you would use if you were connecting to the database through the DB-API module.
For SQLite, either the database filename or the string ‘:memory:’ must be specified as the parameter, depending on where the database is being created. If the database is created in-memory, it will be deleted once the interactive session in Python is over. In order to work with the database stored in a file, you can replace the previous line with the following:
>>> db.bind(provider='sqlite', filename='database.sqlite', create_db=True)
In this case, if the database file does not exist, it will be created. In our example, we can use a database created in-memory.
If you’re using another database, you need to have the specific database adapter installed. For PostgreSQL Pony uses psycopg2. For MySQL either MySQLdb or pymysql adapter. For Oracle Pony uses the cx_Oracle adapter.
Here is how you can get connected to the databases:
# SQLite db.bind(provider='sqlite', filename=':memory:') # or db.bind(provider='sqlite', filename='database.sqlite', create_db=True) # PostgreSQL db.bind(provider='postgres', user='', password='', host='', database='') # MySQL db.bind(provider='mysql', host='', user='', passwd='', db='') # Oracle db.bind(provider='oracle', user='', password='', dsn='') # CockroachDB db.bind(provider='cockroach', user='', password='', host='', database='', )
Mapping entities to database tables¶
Now we need to create database tables where we will persist our data. For this purpose, we need to call the
generate_mapping() method on the
Database object:
>>> db.generate_mapping(create_tables=True)
The parameter
create_tables=True indicates that, if the tables do not already exist, then they will be created using the
CREATE TABLE command.
All entities connected to the database must be defined before calling
generate_mapping() method.
Using the debug mode¶
Using the
set_sql_debug() function, you can see the SQL commands that Pony sends to the database. In order to turn the debug mode on, type the following:
>>> set_sql_debug(True)
If this command is executed before calling the
generate_mapping() method, then during the creation of the tables, you will see the SQL code used to generate them.
Creating entity instances¶
Now, let’s create five objects that describe three persons and two cars, and save this information in the database:
>>> p1 = Person(name='John', age=20) >>> p2 = Person(name='Mary', age=22) >>> p3 = Person(name='Bob', age=30) >>> c1 = Car(make='Toyota', model='Prius', owner=p2) >>> c2 = Car(make='Ford', model='Explorer', owner=p3) >>> commit()
Pony does not save objects in the database immediately. These objects will be saved only after the
commit() function is called. If the debug mode is turned on, then during the
commit(), you will see five
INSERT commands sent to the database.
db_session¶
The code which interacts with the database has to be placed within a database session. When you work with Python’s interactive shell you don’t need to worry about the database session, because it is maintained by Pony automatically. But when you use Pony in your application, all database interactions should be done within a database session. In order to do that you need to wrap the functions that work with the database with the
db_session() decorator:
@db_session def print_person_name(person_id): p = Person[person_id] print p.name # database session cache will be cleared automatically # database connection will be returned to the pool @db_session def add_car(person_id, make, model): Car(make=make, model=model, owner=Person[person_id]) # commit() will be done automatically # database session cache will be cleared automatically # database connection will be returned to the pool
The
db_session() decorator performs the following actions on exiting function:
- Performs rollback of transaction if the function raises an exception
- Commits transaction if data was changed and no exceptions occurred
- Returns the database connection to the connection pool
- Clears the database session cache
Even if a function just reads data and does not make any changes, it should use the
db_session() in order to return the connection to the connection pool.
The entity instances are valid only within the
db_session(). If you need to render an HTML template using those objects, you should do this within the
db_session().
Another option for working with the database is using the
db_session() as the context manager instead of the decorator:
with db_session: p = Person(name='Kate', age=33) Car(make='Audi', model='R8', owner=p) # commit() will be done automatically # database session cache will be cleared automatically # database connection will be returned to the pool
Writing queries¶
Now that we have the database with five objects saved in it, we can try some queries. For example, this is the query which returns a list of persons who are older than twenty years old:
>>> select(p for p in Person if p.age > 20) <pony.orm.core.Query at 0x105e74d10>
The
select() function translates the Python generator into a SQL query and returns an instance of the
Query class. This SQL query will be sent to the database once we start iterating over the query. One of the ways to get the list of objects is to apply the slice operator
[:] to it:
>>> select(p for p in Person if p.age > 20)[:] SELECT "p"."id", "p"."name", "p"."age" FROM "Person" "p" WHERE "p"."age" > 20 [Person[2], Person[3]]
As the result you can see the text of the SQL query which was sent to the database and the list of extracted objects. When we print out the query result, the entity instance is represented by the entity name and its primary key written in square brackets, e.g.
Person[2].
For ordering the resulting list you can use the
Query.order_by() method. If you need only a portion of the result set, you can use the slice operator, the exact same way as you would do that on a Python list. For example, if you want to sort all people by their name and extract the first two objects, you do it this way:
>>> select(p for p in Person).order_by(Person.name)[:2] SELECT "p"."id", "p"."name", "p"."age" FROM "Person" "p" ORDER BY "p"."name" LIMIT 2 [Person[3], Person[1]]
Sometimes, when working in the interactive mode, you might want to see the values of all object attributes. For this purpose, you can use the
Query.show() method:
>>> select(p for p in Person).order_by(Person.name)[:2].show() SELECT "p"."id", "p"."name", "p"."age" FROM "Person" "p" ORDER BY "p"."name" LIMIT 2 id|name|age --+----+--- 3 |Bob |30 1 |John|20
The
Query.show() method doesn’t display “to-many” attributes because it would require additional query to the database and could be bulky. That is why you can see no information about the related cars above. But if an instance has a “to-one” relationship, then it will be displayed:
>>> Car.select().show() id|make |model |owner --+------+--------+--------- 1 |Toyota|Prius |Person[2] 2 |Ford |Explorer|Person[3]
If you don’t want to get a list of objects, but need to iterate over the resulting sequence, you can use the
for loop without using the slice operator:
>>> persons = select(p for p in Person if 'o' in p.name) >>> for p in persons: ... print p.name, p.age ... SELECT "p"."id", "p"."name", "p"."age" FROM "Person" "p" WHERE "p"."name" LIKE '%o%' John 20 Bob 30
In the example above we get all Person objects with the name attribute containing the letter ‘o’ and display the person’s name and age.
A query does not necessarily have to return entity objects. For example, you can get a list, consisting of the object attribute:
>>> select(p.name for p in Person if p.age != 30)[:] SELECT DISTINCT "p"."name" FROM "Person" "p" WHERE "p"."age" <> 30 [u'John', u'Mary']
Or a list of tuples:
>>> select((p, count(p.cars)) for p in Person)[:] SELECT "p"."id", COUNT(DISTINCT "car-1"."id") FROM "Person" "p" LEFT JOIN "Car" "car-1" ON "p"."id" = "car-1"."owner" GROUP BY "p"."id" [(Person[1], 0), (Person[2], 1), (Person[3], 1)]
In the example above we get a list of tuples consisting of a
Person object and the number of cars they own.
With Pony you can also run aggregate queries. Here is an example of a query which returns the maximum age of a person:
>>> print max(p.age for p in Person) SELECT MAX("p"."age") FROM "Person" "p" 30
In the following parts of this manual you will see how you can write more complex queries.
Getting objects¶
To get an object by its primary key you need to specify the primary key value in the square brackets:
>>> p1 = Person[1] >>> print p1.name John
You may notice that no query was sent to the database. That happened because this object is already present in the database session cache. Caching reduces the number of requests that need to be sent to the database.
For retrieving the objects by other attributes, you can use the
Entity.get() method:
>>> mary = Person.get(name='Mary') SELECT "id", "name", "age" FROM "Person" WHERE "name" = ? [u'Mary'] >>> print mary.age 22
In this case, even though the object had already been loaded to the cache, the query still had to be sent to the database because the
name attribute is not a unique key. The database session cache will only be used if we lookup an object by its primary or unique key.
You can pass an entity instance to the
show() function in order to display the entity class and attribute values:
>>> show(mary) instance of Person id|name|age --+----+--- 2 |Mary|22
Updating an object¶
>>> mary.age += 1 >>> commit()
Pony keeps track of all changed attributes. When the
commit() function is executed, all objects that were updated during the current transaction will be saved in the database. Pony saves only those attributes, that were changed during the database session.
Writing raw SQL queries¶
If you need to select entities by a raw SQL query, you can do it this way:
>>> x = 25 >>> Person.select_by_sql('SELECT * FROM Person p WHERE p.age < $x') SELECT * FROM Person p WHERE p.age < ? [25] [Person[1], Person[2]]
If you want to work with the database directly, avoiding entities, you can use the
Database.select() method:
>>> x = 20 >>> db.select('name FROM Person WHERE age > $x') SELECT name FROM Person WHERE age > ? [20] [u'Mary', u'Bob']
Pony examples¶
Instead of creating models manually, you can check the examples from the Pony distribution package:
>>> from pony.orm.examples.estore import *
Here you can see the database diagram for this example:.
During the first import, there will be created the SQLite database with all the necessary tables. In order to fill it in with the data, you need to call the following function:
>>> populate_database()
This function will create objects and place them in the database.
After the objects have been created, you can try some queries. For example, here is how you can display the country where we have most of the customers:
>>> select((customer.country, count(customer)) ... for customer in Customer).order_by(-2).first() SELECT "customer"."country", COUNT(DISTINCT "customer"."id") FROM "Customer" "customer" GROUP BY "customer"."country" ORDER BY 2 DESC LIMIT 1
In this example, we are grouping objects by the country, sorting them by the second column (the number of customers) in the reverse order, and then extracting the first row.
You can find more query examples in the
test_queries() function in the pony.orm.examples.estore module. | https://docs.ponyorm.org/firststeps.html | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | refinedweb | 2,768 | 63.7 |
Niclas Hedhman wrote:
>
> "N. Sean Timm" wrote:
>
> > >>
>
> Do I?? I must admit that I don't comprehend the Namespace idea to its fullest,
> and I often am mistaken between name space, default name space and resulting
> name space (XSLT).
>
> So someone who is a bit more versed in these things, please work out the
> following dilemma.
>
> The Site map needs the flexibility to add components that have their own
> configuration structure.
> For instance;
> <map:chooser
> <param name="order" value="allow,deny" />
> <param name="all" value="false" />
> <allow host="com" />
> <allow host="com.my" />
> <allow host="se" />
> <deny host="controller.asiaconnect.com.my" />
> </map:chooser>
Yuch. There is no need to "clone" http.conf syntax, we have structure
and order, let's use it!
<map:chooser
<allow>
<host>com</host>
<host map:
<host>se</host>
</allow>
<deny>
<host>controller.asiaconnect.com.my</host>
</deny>
</map:chooser>
> Would that mean, to avoid all the possible collisions, and use of XSLT and
> other things, I would need to declare a namespace so that the above instead
> look like;
> <map:chooser
> xmlns: >
> <cac:param
> <cac:param
> <cac:allow
> <cac:allow
> <cac:allow
> <cac:deny
> </map:chooser>
>
> (The attributes would default to the tag name space, no?)
>
> And I could reduce that with a default namespace;
> <map:chooser
> >
> <param name="order" value="allow,deny" />
> <param name="all" value="false" />
> <allow host="com" />
> <allow host="com.my" />
> <allow host="se" />
> <deny host="controller.asiaconnect.com.my" />
> </map:chooser>
>
> Now, since at least the latter two is equivalent (as I understand NS), how
> would this affect the Configurations in Cocoon.
> I have noticed that I need to do a
> Enumeration list=conf.getConfigurations( "map:choosers" );
> But, what if the map: prefix is changed (not likely for the sitemap in general,
> but for smaller components yes.)
> Enumeration list = conf.getConfigurations("cac:allow");
> Only works if cac, is used. How do I proceed when the declaration is in the
> default NS, and so on...?
> Do I look it up?
Your approach to namespaces is mechanical. A namespace is "not" part of
the name. In a namespace-aware configuration you would ask for
Configuration conf = getConfigurations("choosers",
"");
Anyway, since having namespace-aware configuration is (for what I can
see now) useless, I'd say we keep the default namespace for anything
that should not be touched by the sitemap.
This is why "value" is in the sitemap namespace: it should be
transparent to the Configuration objects passed to components.
--!
------------------------- --------------------- | http://mail-archives.apache.org/mod_mbox/cocoon-dev/200007.mbox/%[email protected]%3E | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | refinedweb | 409 | 57.37 |
, ...
BRK(2) OpenBSD Programmer's Manual BRK(2)
NAME
brk, sbrk - change data segment size
SYNOPSIS
#include <unistd.h>
char *
brk(const char *addr);
char *
sbrk(int incr);
DESCRIPTION, e.g. ``etext + rlp->rlim_max.'' (see end(3) for
the definition of etext).
RETURN VALUES
brk() returns a pointer to the new end of memory if successful; otherwise
-1 with errno set to indicate why the allocation failed. The sbrk()
function returns a pointer to the base of the new storage if successful;
otherwise -1 with errno set to indicate why the allocation failed.
ERRORS), malloc.
OpenBSD 2.6 December 11, 1993 1 | http://www.rocketaware.com/man/man2/brk.2.htm | crawl-002 | refinedweb | 102 | 55.95 |
How to get Multipass selected in Render Settings
On 20/03/2016 at 11:50, xxxxxxxx wrote:
User Information:
Cinema 4D Version: 17
Platform: Windows ;
Language(s) : PYTHON ;
---------
Hi, guys!
How to get Multipass selected in Render Settings?
i try this code, but it don't works. What's wrong?
import c4d def main() : rd = doc.GetActiveRenderData() vp = rd.GetFirstMultipass() while vp: if vp.GetTypeName() == 'Object Buffer' and vp.GetBit(c4d.BIT_ACTIVE) : print vp.GetName() vp = vp.GetNext() if __name__=='__main__': main()
On 20/03/2016 at 18:14, xxxxxxxx wrote:
Have you simply checked to see if vp.GetBit(c4d.BIT_ACTIVE) works (without name checking)?
If not, it is possible that this state is not set for MultipassObjects.
On 21/03/2016 at 06:33, xxxxxxxx wrote:
Hi,
the bit you are looking for is actually BIT_VPDISABLED instead of BIT_ACTIVE. Also note the inverted logic of that bit (true means "not enabled").
Hope you don't mind, I have moved the thread into the Python subforum.
On 24/03/2016 at 15:25, xxxxxxxx wrote:
Thanks, guys! | https://plugincafe.maxon.net/topic/9403/12591_how-to-get-multipass-selected-in-render-settings | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | refinedweb | 178 | 70.39 |
Arduin. Hence the name.
In previous episodes, we've looked at various methods of expanding the capabilities of Arduino C/MRI; be it by using shift registers, or emulating larger boards. But at some point you're going to need more than just one board, and that's where things get confusing.
The logical answer, you would think, is to connect multiple Arduino's to your computer. Simple. One USB cable for each one. The problem is, JMRI is not designed to address more than one C/MRI system at once. Trust me, I've done everything including hacking the XML config files to make it work! It doesn't.
So how then does one do it? Well, the original C/MRI system used a shared serial bus, and that is what we'll do to.
RS485
RS485 is a electrical standard designed for connecting multiple masters together on a single bus. We've all heard of RS232 which is ye olde tried-and-tested two device connection. RS485 bumps things up a notch by allowing more than just two devices on a network, and allowing any of them to be the boss; there are no fixed master and slave roles. It also uses differential signals, excellent for long distances or split grounds.
Each node connects to the bus using a small bus transceiver IC. These little 8 pin chips (such as the MAX485 and its many clones) have a pair of pins to control the direction, or mode of communication. That is, at any point in time you can be either talking or listening on the bus.
This is a half-duplex bus, which means you can't both talk and listen at the same time, but that's just fine for us. It also means that only one device may be transmitting at any point in time, and that's where things get a little complicated. We basically run the bus like we wish children would run: don't talk unless you're asked to.
RS485 is pretty common and you may well have used it already. Both NCE and Digitrax use RS485 for their cab busses, though in vastly different ways. DMX lighting control networks use it. Miniatur Wunderland use it for their lighting control networks. It's used in aircraft cabins, and was used on old Macs to connect printers. Even TV studios use it. It's well proven.
And now ArduinoC/MRI uses it too.
How to set up RS485 with Arduino C/MRI
Ingredients:
- 1 or more Arduinos
- 1x MAX485
- 1x USB to RS485 adapter, easily found on ebay
- Latest release of Arduino C/MRI, installed in Arduino/Libraries/ArduinoCMRI
- Latest release of Auto485, installed in Arduino/Libraries/Auto485
Instructions:
Connect the USB/485 adapter to your computer. Wire up the MAX485 as follows:
- VCC and GND to +5V and GND
- A and B to the respective terminals on the USB/RS485 adapter
- RO (read out) to RX on the Arduino
- DI (data in) to TX on the Arduino
- /RE and DE are both connected to pin 2 on the Arduino.
That's it.
Now we need to write some code for it:
#include <Auto485.h> #include <CMRI.h> #define CMRI_ADDR 0 #define DE_PIN 2 #define LED_PIN 13 Auto485 bus(DE_PIN); // Arduino pin 2 -> MAX485 DE and RE pins CMRI cmri(CMRI_ADDR, 24, 48, bus); // defaults to a SMINI with address 0. SMINI = 24 inputs, 48 outputs void setup() { pinMode(LED_PIN, OUTPUT); bus.begin(9600); } void loop() { // 1: main processing node of cmri library cmri.process(); // 2: update output. Reads bit 0 of T packet and sets the LED to this digitalWrite(LED_PIN, cmri.get_bit(0)); // 3: update input. Flips a bit back and forth every second cmri.set_bit(0, (millis() / 1000) % 2 == 0); }
So what does all this do? Well the magic starts on the very first line when we
#include <auto485.h> — Auto485 is a cute wee library I wrote that lets you transparently talk over an RS485 bus using just the standard Arduino Stream functions like
.printl(),
.write(),
.available(),
.read(),
.peek(),
.poke(), etc. Auto485 will sit in the background and handle toggling the /RE and DE pins to ensure the MAX485 is correctly in transmitting or receiving mode, all without us having to write any tedious state logic ourselves.
The next few lines are normal Arduino C/MRI stuff.
Auto485 bus(DE_PIN); is where we actually set up the Auto485 bus. Into its constructor we pass the Arduino pin number that is connected to the /RE and DE pins on the MAX485. This is how it knows which pin to toggle. The resulting bus object implements Stream, so is just the same as creating additional HardwareSerial or SoftwareSerial objects.
When we set up the CMRI object, we pass in the Stream object created above, and so now the code knows to use this for all serial communications, instead of the default Arduino serial port.
The only other important line is
bus.begin(9600); this is exactly the same as how you would normally call
Serial.begin(9600) in a normal Arduino sketch. Without this line you will spend hours wondering why nothing is being read to or from the bus. Trust me, guess what I spent most of today trying to solve :(
The rest of the sketch is bog standard Arduino C/MRI stuff; nothing has changed here. The best part about this is that you can add RS485 support to your projects with only two new lines! That's pretty cool.
Practical Example
To prove this all works I wired up 3 Arduinos with the above sketch, changing the CMRI_ADDR for each one so that I now had 3 distinct nodes, each with their own address. Notice how each board only has the blue and white A/B wires of the RS485 bus going between them. The USB cables are just for power. At far right we have the USB to RS485 adapter board.
Then in JMRI I set up 3 inputs, and 3 outputs.
And that was it. Toggling the state buttons on the Lights panel toggles the LEDs on each board, and meanwhile the input states under the Sensors Panel toggle off and on each second, completely automatically.
I hope that explains roughly how to use Arduino C/MRI and Auto485 in order to connect up multiple Arduinos to JMRI. From here you have all the foundations to create a truly expansive control system for your railroad. Just imagine, each Arduino could control servos to toggle points, monitor RFID readers to track trains, read push buttons on the edge of the layout, drive relays or play sound files. Watch this space as I have some exciting developments in the works. | http://www.utrainia.com/65-arduinocmri-and-rs485 | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | refinedweb | 1,123 | 71.95 |
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….….2 000 1. MARKET ECONOMY………………………………………………………………….3 1.1 Business………………………………………………………………………… 1.2 The Economics of Business……………………………………………………. 1.2.1 Planned Economies………………………………………………………… 1.3 Supply, Demand, Price and Competition……………………………………… 2. THE FORMS OF BUSINESS OWNERSHIP……………………………………… 22 2.1 Sole Proprietorships……………………………………………………………. 2.2 Partnerships……………………………………………………………………. 2.3 Corporations…………………………………………………………………… 3. MONEY AND BANKING……………………………………………………………… 41 3.1 What is Money? 3.2 The Supply of Money 3.3 The Banking Industry 3.3.1 Other Financial Institutions…………………………………………………. 3.3.2 Services Provided by the Financial Institutions……………………………… 4. SECURITIES MARKETS……………………………………………………………….61 4.1 How Securities Are Bought and Sold………………………………………..… 4.2 The Role of the Stockbroker……………………………………………………. 5. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT………………………………………………………….71 5.1 What is Financial Management?………………………………………………. 5.2 Sources of Unsecured Short-Term Financing…………………………………. 5.3 Sources of Secured Short-Term Financing……………………………………. 5.4 Sources of Long-Term Financing……………………………………………… 6. ACCOUNTING………………………………………………………………………… 89 6.1 Accounting and Accountants…………………………………………………. 6.2 The Accounting Equation, The Balance Sheet and the Income Statement….. 7. MANAGEMENT………………………………………………………………………105 7.1 Management Resources……………………………………………………….. 7.2 Basic Management Functions…………………………………………………. 7.3 Levels and Areas of Management……………………………………………… 7.4 Key Management Skills………………………………………………………… 8. MARKETING…………………………………………………………………………..126 8.1 The Value Added by Marketing………………………………………………… –1–
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 8.2 The Marketing Concept. Its Evolution and Implementation…………………. 8.3 Markets and Their Classifications……………………………………………… 8.4 Developing Marketing Strategies………………………………………………
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………….146
–2–
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
INTRODUCTION
The study of business, a major component of our economy, is increasingly important to all. Everyone in our economy interacts with business – through the products we buy, the advertisements we hear, the jobs we hold and the money we invest. From many perspectives, it is important that young people understand the role of business in our society and begin to comprehend what their relationship is to business and the economy in which they live. The fundamental objectives of this book focus on introducing students to the world of business and helping prepare them for a more meaningful and beneficial interaction with businesses and our economy. A basic understanding of the business world and the knowledge of economics are needed by everyone who plans a career in business. The materials presented are designed to facilitate the accomplishment of the following main goals: - Aid students in acquiring a vocabulary of business and economic terms; - Provide students with an understanding of the many activities, problems and decisions involved in operating a business successfully under the present economic conditions; - Help students enrich their economic culture. This book comprises eight basic chapters (1 - 4 chapters are written by Olga Calina, 5 - 8 chapters – by Adela Talpă) and each chapter is accompanied by many other sub-chapters. Each new theme contains the explanation of business and economic terms in English, their translation into Romanian and Russian. The texts are followed by many activities such as pair-work, group-work, individual work, and by such communicative instructive methods as simulation, role-play, problematization, case study, etc. This book is intended primarily for the students of cycle I who study English for economic purposes and for all the others who are interested to study business in English and such aspects of economic realities as management, marketing, accounting, finance, etc. This book also presents some historical data on the money and banking industry development, the accounting origin and others. As this is a language course we can give only a general view of the economic sectors, we do recommend those ones interested in enhancing the sectorial knowledge to consult the books on the reference list. We wish to express a great deal of appreciation to all the teachers at the Chair of Applied Modern Languages who have supported us in publishing this book. The Authors
–3–
A. Talp ă , O. Calina
1. MARKET ECONOMY
“Every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free to pursue his own self-interest” Adam Smith
Learning objectives: 1. Distinguish the main economic systems 2. Understand the definition of business, its risks and rewards 3. Evaluate the chances of starting and operating a business in the Republic of Moldova Study and Learn the Words:
English shares (n) free enterprise a large park where people go to enjoy themselves and where much of the entertainment is connected with one subject: e.g. A westernstyle theme park a thing that happens as a result of sth else English equivalents Romanian acţiuni, titluri de valoare iniţiativă liberă Russian акции частное предпринимательство
theme park
parc de distracţie
shareholder (n) competition (n) by-product (n) raw materials to furnish to process tangible goods legal advice automatic transmission power seats remote-control side mirror stick shift to go rough sales revenue to deduct challenge (n) to retail to wholesale income (n) not to go well (about business) seats whose position can be changed automatically
acţionar concurenţă produs secundar materie primă a aproviziona a prelucra bunuri materiale consultaţie juridică cutie de viteză automată
акционер конкуренция побочный продукт сырьё предоставлять перерабатывать материальные товары юридическая консультация автоматическая коробка передач
telecomandă oglinda laterală cutie de viteză manuală venit din vânzări a scădea sarcina grea a vinde cu amănuntul a vinde angro, a vinde cu ridicata venit
дистанционное управление боковое зеркало ручная коробка передач доход от продаж вычитать трудная задача продавать в розницу продавать оптом доход
–4–
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
outright (adv) ownership (n) to rent immediately proprietate, drept de proprietate a închiria, a da cu chirie, a arenda собственность, право собственности арендoвать, давать в аренду
There are four types of economic systems: 1) Traditional economy is one in which economic behaviour is based primarily on tradition, custom and habit. 2) Command/planned economy is one in which some central authority or state determines economic behaviour. 3) Market economy is one in which markets play a dominant role in taking economic decisions process. 4) Mixed economy is one in which both free markets and governments have significant effects on the allocation of resources and the distribution of income. Perhaps the most important characteristic of American business is the freedom of individuals to start a business, to work for a business, to buy or sell ownership shares in a business, and to sell a business outright. Within certain limits imposed mainly to ensure public safety, the owners of a business can produce any legal product or service they choose and sell it at any price they set. This system of business, in which individuals decide what to produce, how to produce it, and at what price to sell it, is called free enterprise. It is rooted in the traditional and constitutional right to own property. The American system of free enterprise ensures, for example, the right of Walt Disney to start an entertainment company, to hire an assortment of artists, and to experiment in developing theme parks. Their system gives the current executives at Disney and its shareholders the right to make a profit from the company's success, it gives Disney's management the right to compete with 20th Century Fox, and it gives movie-goers the right to choose between films produced by the two companies and many others. Competition like that between Disney and 20th Century Fox is a necessary and extremely important by-product of free enterprise. Because many individuals and groups can open businesses, there are sure to be a number of firms offering similar products. But a potential customer may want only one such product—say, a Jeep Cherokee or a Chevrolet S-10 Blazer—and not be interested in purchasing both. Each of the firms offering similar products must therefore try to convince the potential customer to buy its product rather than a similar item made by someone else. In other words, these firms must compete with each other for sales. Business competition, then, is essentially a rivalry among businesses for sales to potential customers. In free enterprise, competition works to ensure the efficient and effective operation of American business. Competition also ensures that a firm will survive only if it serves its customers well. Several airlines, for example, have failed because they were unable to serve customers as efficiently and effectively as their competitors did.
1.1. Business
Business is the organized effort of individuals to produce and sell, for a profit, the goods and services that satisfy society's needs. The general term business refers to all such efforts within a society (as in "American business") or within an industry (as in "the steel business"). However, a business is a particular organization, such as American Airlines, Inc., or Sunnyside Country Store & Gas Pumps, Inc. –5–
A. Talp ă , O. Calina No person or group of persons actually organized American business as we know it today. Rather, over the years individuals have organized their own particular businesses for their own particular reasons. All these individual businesses, and all the interactions between these businesses and their customers, have given rise to what we call American business. A person who risks his or her time, effort, and money to start and operate a business is called an entrepreneur. To organize a business, an entrepreneur must combine four kinds of resources: material, human, financial, and informational. Material resources include the raw materials used in manufacturing processes, as well as buildings and machinery. Human resources are the people who furnish their labour to the business in return for wages. The financial resource is the money required to pay employees, purchase materials, and generally keep the business operating. And information is the resource that tells the managers of the business how effectively the other resources are being combined and utilized. Businesses are generally of three types. Manufacturing businesses (or manufacturers) are organized to process various materials into tangible goods, such as delivery trucks or towels. Service businesses produce services, such as haircuts or legal advice. And some firms—called middlemen—are organized to buy the goods produced by manufacturers and then resell them. For example, the General Electric Company is a manufacturer that produces clock radios. These products may be sold to a retailing middleman, which then resells them to consumers in its retail stores. Consumers are individuals who purchase goods or services for their own personal use rather than to resell them. All three types of businesses may sell either to other firms or to consumers. In both cases, the ultimate objective of every firm must be to satisfy the needs of its customers. People generally don't buy goods and services simply to own them; they buy products to satisfy particular needs. People rarely buy an automobile solely to store it in a garage; they do, however, buy automobiles to satisfy their need for transportation. Some of us may feel that this need is best satisfied by an airconditioned BMW with stereo cassette player, automatic transmission, power seats and windows, and remote-control side mirrors. Others may believe that a Ford Taurus with a stick shift and an AM radio will do just fine. Both products are available to those who want them, along with a wide variety of other products that satisfy the need for transportation. When firms lose sight of their customers' needs, they are likely to find the going rough. But when the businesses that produce and sell goods and services understand their customers' needs and work to satisfy those needs, they are usually successful. In the course of normal operations, a business receives money (sales revenue) from its customers in exchange for goods or services. It must also pay out money to cover the various expenses involved in doing business. If the firm's sales revenue is greater than its expenses, it has earned a profit. So profit is what remains after all business expenses have been deducted from sales revenue. A negative profit, which results when a firm's expenses are greater than its sales revenue, is called a loss. The profit earned by a business becomes the property of its owners. So in one sense profit is the return, or reward, that business owners receive for producing goods and services that consumers want. Profit is also the payment that business owners receive for assuming the considerable risks of ownership. One of these is the risk of not being paid. Everyone else—employees, suppliers, and lenders—must be paid before the owners. And if there is nothing left over (if there is no profit), there can be no payments to owners. A second risk that owners run is the risk of losing whatever they have put into the business. A business that cannot earn a profit is very likely to fail, in which case the –6–
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES owners lose whatever money, effort, and time they have invested. For business owners, the challenge of business is to earn a profit in spite of these risks.
Verb collocations: To run a business = to be in charge of a business (e.g. to run a hotel, to run a store) To run a newspaper = to be the chief editor of a newspaper To run a test = to do a test To run a risk = to risk To run a temperature = to have a temperature that is higher than normal. Use the above phrases of words in your own sentences.
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
WORD STUDY The word BUSINESS has several meanings. Depending on the meaning this word can be countable or uncountable. It is uncountable when it refers to: - the activity of making, buying, selling or supplying goods or services for money. Syn.: trade, commerce. E.g. big business, small business, to do business, to go into business - the work that is part of your job. E.g. to be away on business. - something that concerns a particular person or organization, their responsibility. E.g. It is my business to organize the exhibition. - a matter, an event, a situation E.g. the business of the day. It is countable when it refers to: - a commercial organization such as a company, shop or factory. E.g. to have several businesses. I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Find the words in the text that are the synonyms of: 1. to buy = 6. intermediary= 2. to persuade= 7. fundamental goal= 3. to employ= 8. businessman= 4. to go bankrupt= 9. to provide sb with sth= 5. to produce= 10. merchandise= B) Find in the text the English equivalents for the following words and phrases: 1. Economie de piaţă/ рыночная экономика 2. Economie mixtă/ смешаная экономика 3. Economie planificată/ плановая экономика 4. A vinde la un preţ/ продавать по цене 5. Furnizor/ поставщик 6. Creditor/ кредитор 7. A nu avea success, a merge prost (despre afaceri)/ не иметь успеха, идти плохо (о делах) 8. A satisface necesităţile clienţilor săi/ удовлетворять нужды своих клиентов 9. A-şi asuma un risc/ взять на себя риск 10. A fi disponibil pentru cineva/ быть в наличии для кого-либо 11. A fi interesat în cumpărare/ быть заинтересованным в покупке 12. Venit din vânzări/ доход от продаж. II. COMPREHENSION Give answers to the following questions: 1. What economic system is characteristic of the Republic of Moldova? 2. What is the most important characteristic of American business? 3. What is the important by-product of free enterprise? 4. What is business and who organized the modern American business?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 5. What resources must be combined in order to start a business? What do you think, what kind of resources is of greatest importance nowadays? Give your reasons. 6. What types of businesses do you know? To your mind, what type is widespread in our Republic and why? 7. What is the ultimate objective of every firm? Do you agree with it? 8. What is profit and what is a loss? In your opinion, if the firm’s expenses are equal to its sales revenue, can such firm still function or not? 9. What risks are assumed by businessmen? 10. Do you agree or disagree with the statement: “Life in general is a risky business”?
III. What is the usual antonym in the following pairs? 1) to sell 7) to fire 2) producer 8) intangible goods 3) to wholesale 9) to prosper 4) profit 10) to gain 5) borrower 11) to add(e.g. 2+5) 6) employer 12) failure IV. DISCUSSION 1. Is it easy or difficult to start and operate a business in our Republic? 2. What does one need in order to start his/her own business and to be a successful entrepreneur? Choose out of these 3 most important things and give your reasons: - business knowledge - courage - leadership - financial support - tremendous drive (= a very strong desire to do sth) - impertinence - true entrepreneurial spirit - brilliant ideas - communication skills - patience 3. If you had a chance to start a business, in what sphere would you like to work?
1.2. The Economics of Business
Learning objectives: 1. Grasp the economics and economy concepts 2. Analyze Adam Smith’s view about self-interest pursued by private individuals 3. Recognize the four main features of laissez-faire capitalism 4. Comprehend how the 3 basic economic questions are answered in the free-market economy Study and Learn the Words:
English to decide on sth to stem from to argue English equivalents to choose to prove Romanian a izvorî din Russian происходить
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
to pursue to endeavor to employ one’s capital to promote an end capital goods to derive sth from crucial (adj) umpire (n) conflicting interpretations to intent on one’s interest orderly economic system to cast “dollar votes” going price to ease production interest (n) off on a urmări to try, to make efforts to use one’s capital to achieve a goal mijloace producţie to get sth from sth important arbitrator arbitru interpretare contradictorie to give all your attention to sth that interests you organized economic system to make one’s choice by paying dollars present, current price to reduce production dobândă, procent ofertă; aprovizionare cerere invers процент предложение; снабжение спрос наоборот de средства производства третейский судья противоречивое толкование преследовать
supply of sth (n) demand for sth (n) conversely (adv) hence
offer
as a result
Economics is the study of how wealth is created and distributed. By wealth we mean anything of value, including the products produced and sold by business. "How wealth is distributed" simply means "who gets what." According to economic theory, every society must decide on the answers to three questions: 1. What goods and services—and how much of each—will be produced? 2. How will these goods and services be produced? (That is, who will produce them and which resources will be used to do so?) 3. For whom will these goods and services be produced? (This is the question "Who gets what?") The way in which a society answers these questions determines the kind of economic system, or economy, that society has chosen. In the United States, their particular answers have provided them with a mixed economy, which is based on laissez-faire capitalism, or private enterprise. Their free enterprise business system is the practical application of this economic system. Laissez-Faire Capitalism Laissez-faire capitalism stems from the theories of Adam Smith, a Scot. In 1776, in his book The Wealth of Nations, Smith argued that a society's interests are best served when the individuals within that society are allowed to pursue their own self-interest. Every individual endeavors to employ his capital so that its produce may be of greatest value… And he is in this led by an INVISIBLE HAND to promote an end which was no part of his intention. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of Society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES In other words, Smith believed that each person should be allowed to work toward his or her own economic gain, without interference from government. In doing so, each person would unintentionally be working for the good of society as a whole. And society would benefit most when there was the least interference with this pursuit of economic self-interest. Government should therefore leave the economy to its citizens. The French term laissez faire implies that there shall be no interference in the economy; loosely translated, it means "let them do" (as they see fit).
The features of laissez-faire capitalism are: Private Ownership of Property Smith argued that the creation of wealth (including products) is properly the concern of private individuals, not of government. Hence the resources that are used to create wealth must be owned by private individuals. Economists recognize three categories of resources: land, labor, and capital, also known as the factors of production. Land includes the land and the natural resources on and in the land. Labour is the work performed by people. Capital includes financial resources, buildings, machinery, tools, and equipment that are used in an organization's operations. We have referred to these resources as material, human, and financial resources, and we shall continue to do so. Today, business people use the term capital to mean both capital goods and the money needed to purchase them. The private ownership and use of both kinds of capital give us the names capitalism and private enterprise for our economic system. Smith argued further that the owners of the factors of production should be free to determine how these resources are used. They should also be free to enjoy the income and other benefits that they might derive from the ownership of these resources. Economic Freedom Smith's economic freedom extends to all those involved in the economy. For the owners of land and capital, this freedom includes the right to rent, sell, or invest their resources and the right to use their resources to produce any product and offer it for sale at the price they choose. For workers, this economic freedom means the right to accept or reject any job they are offered. For all individuals, economic freedom includes the right to purchase any good or service that is offered for sale by producers. These rights, however, do not include a guarantee of economic success. Nor do they include the right to harm others during the pursuit of one's own self-interest. Competitive Markets A crucial part of Smith's theory is the competitive market composed of large numbers of buyers and sellers. Economic freedom ensures the existence of competitive markets, because sellers and buyers can enter markets as they choose. Sellers enter a market to earn profit, rent, or wages; buyers enter a market to purchase resources and want-satisfying products. Then, in a free market, sellers compete for sales and buyers compete for available goods, services, and resources. This freedom to enter or leave a market at will has given rise to the name freemarket economy for the capitalism that Smith described. Limited Role of Government In Smith's view, the role, of government should be limited to providing defense against foreign enemies, ensuring internal order, and furnishing public works and education. With regard to the economy, government should act only as rule maker and umpire. As rule maker, government should provide laws that ensure economic freedom and promote competition. As umpire, it should act to settle disputes arising from conflicting interpretations of its laws. Government, according to Adam Smith, should have no major economic responsibilities beyond these. – 11 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina What, How and for Whom in the Free-Market Economy
Smith's laissez-faire capitalism sounds as though it should lead to chaos, not to answers to the three basic economic questions. How can millions of individuals and firms, all intent only on their own self-interest, produce an orderly economic system? One response might be simply, “They can and they do." Most of the industrialized nations of the world exhibit some form of modified capitalist economy, and these economies do work. A better response, however, is that these millions of individuals and firms actually provide very concrete and detailed answers to the three basic questions. What to Produce? This question is answered continually by consumers as they spend their dollars in the various markets for goods and services. When consumers buy specific products, they are casting "dollar votes" for these products. These actions tell resource owners to produce more of this product and more of the capital goods with which the product is manufactured. Conversely, when consumers refuse to buy a product at its going price, they are voting against the product, telling producers to either reduce the price or ease off on production. In each case, consumers are giving a very specific answer concerning a very specific product. How to Produce? The two parts of this question are answered by producers as they enter various markets and compete for sales and profits. Those who produce for a particular market answer the question "Who will produce?" simply by being in that market. Their answer, of course, is "We will.” Competition within various markets determines which resources will be used. To compete as effectively as possible in the product markets, producers try to use the most efficient (least-cost) combination of resources. When a particular resource can be used to produce two or more different products, then producers must also compete with each other in the market for that resource. And, if the price of one needed resource becomes too high, producers will look for substitute resources— say, plastics in place of metals. The resources that will be used to produce are those that best perform their function at the least cost. For Whom to Produce? In a market economy, goods are distributed to those who have the money to purchase them. This money is earned by individuals as wages, rents, profit, and interest—that is, as payment for the use of economic resources. Money is therefore a medium of exchange, an artificial device that aids in the exchange of resources for goods and services. The distribution of goods and services ("who gets what") therefore depends on the current prices of economic resources and of the various goods and services. And prices, in their turn, are determined by the balance of supply and demand. I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE Find antonyms (1-7), synonyms (8-14) in the text to the following words and phrases: 1. public (adj) 8. to try 2. to prohibit 9. profit 3. rarely 10. at wish 4. to accept a job 11. to secure 5. to do good 12. to resolve conflicts 6. to spend money 13. to replace 7. exactly translated 14. to help II. COMPREHENSION A) Give words to the following definitions: 1. The system through which a society answers the 3 economic questions.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 2. The study of how wealth is created and distributed. 3. An economic system characterized by private ownership of property, free entry into markets, and absence of government interference. 4. Capital goods and the money needed to purchase them. 5. The right to buy any good or service that is offered for sale by producers. 6. A place in which buyers and sellers of a good or service meet. 7. Land, labour and capital. 8. An economic system in which individuals and firms are free to enter and leave markets at will. 9. A person who settles disputes arising from conflicting interpretations of some official acts. 10. An artificial device that aids in the exchange of resources for goods and services.
B) Answer the following questions: 1. What economic system is there in the USA? 2. Speak about the history of Laissez-faire capitalism. What are its features? 3. What does the right of private property entitle the owner to do? 4. What is land, labour and capital? 5. What is economic freedom? What does it mean for the owners of land and capital, for workers and for all individuals? 6. What are competitive markets? 7. What is the role of government in this economic system? 8. What are the 3 economic questions that every society must answer in order to set up an economic system? 9. What economy do most of the industrialized nations of the world exhibit? 10. Who answers the questions “What to produce?’ ‘How to produce?’, and “For whom to produce?”? C) Finish the sentences: 1. The 3 basic economic questions are… 2. By pursuing his own interest every individual…. 3. For workers economic freedom means… 4. The question “What to produce?” is answered by… 5. If the price of one needed resource becomes too high, the producer…. 6. Prices are determined by… III. DEBATE Which of the 2 points of view concerning Adam Smith’s famous statements about self-interest do you adhere to? Form two teams. Each team should set forth as many arguments as possible to defend their statements. Team A Adam Smith’s statements regarding self-interest are actually statements about greed. The capitalist economic system is effective only because of the greedy behaviour of individuals who are concerned with their own “self-interest”. Team B Smith did not feel self-interest and selfishness were the same, and people are wrong to believe that they are. Smith meant that it is only natural that every person tries to better his own condition. Also, one person’s gain is not necessarily obtained at the other person’s expense.
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
IV. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR Fill in prepositions where necessary: 1. According ____ economic theory, every society must decide ____ the answers ____ 3 questions. 2. The American particular answers have provided them _____ a mixed economy based ____ private enterprise. 3. Government should leave the economy ____ its citizens. 4. Entrepreneurs can produce any product and offer it ____ sale ____ the price they choose. 5. Buyers and sellers can enter ____ a market and leave it ____ will. 6. When consumers refuse to buy a product ____ its going price, they are voting _____ the product. 7. The distribution of goods and services depends ____ the current prices of economic resources. 8. If a product is sold ___ high price, the demand ____ this product decreases.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 1.2.1. Planned Economies
Learning objectives: 1. Comprehend how the 3 basic economic questions are answered in planned economies 2. Differentiate between market economy and planned economies 3. Understand what every operating economy represents in reality Study and Learn the Words:
English at least to some degree utilities (n) real property projected needs professed aims waste (n) to advocate to set prices to fare to outweigh static (adj) to attain subsidy (n) to wind up (wound, wound) to resort to staff (n) unemployment (n) debt (n) on behalf of sb planned needs aims that have been publicly made known devastare to propagate, to sustain to establish prices a o duce a depăşi not changing developing to stop running company and close completely personnel şomaj datorie din partea cuiva or a atinge, a ajunge la subvenţie, subsidiu a it a recurge la прибегнуть к безработица долг от имени кого-л. достичь субсидия English equivalents Romanian cel puţin în oarecare măsură servicii publice proprietate imobiliară Russian по крайней мере в той или иной степени коммунальные услуги недвижимость
разорение поживать перевешивать
As we have briefly discussed the workings of supply and demand in a market economy, let us look quickly at two other economic systems that contrast sharply with the capitalism of Adam Smith. These systems are sometimes called planned economies, because the answers to the three basic economic questions are determined, at least to some degree, through centralized government planning. Socialism In a socialist economy, the key industries are owned and controlled by the government. Such industries usually include transportation, public utilities, communications, and those producing important materials such as steel. (In France, the major banks are nationalized, or transferred to government control. Banking, too, is considered extremely important to a nation's economy.) Land and raw materials may also be the property of the state in a socialist economy. Depending on the country, private ownership of real property (such as land and buildings) and smaller or less vital businesses is permitted to varying degrees. People usually, may choose their own occupations, but many work in state-owned industries. What to produce and how to produce it are determined in accordance with national goals, which are based on projected needs, and the availability of resources—at least for government-owned industries. The distribution of goods and services is also controlled by the state to the extent that it controls rents and wages. Among the professed aims of socialist countries are the equitable – 15 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina distribution of income, the elimination of poverty and the distribution of social services such as medical care to all who need them, smooth economic growth, and elimination of the waste that supposedly accompanies capitalist competition. Britain, France, Sweden, and India are democratic countries whose mixed economies include a very visible degree of socialism. Other, more authoritarian countries may actually have socialist economies; however, we tend to think of them as communist because of their almost total lack of freedom. Communism If Adam Smith was the father of capitalism, Karl Marx was the father of communism. In his writings (during the mid-nineteenth century), Marx advocated a classless society whose citizens together owned all economic resources. He believed that such a society would come about as the result of a class struggle between the owners of capital and the workers they had exploited. All workers would then contribute to this communist society according to their ability and would receive benefits according to their need. The People's Republic of China, Cuba, and North Vietnam are generally considered to have communist economies. Almost all economic resources are owned by the government in these countries. The basic economic questions are answered through centralized state planning, which sets prices and wages as well. In this planning, the needs of the state generally outweigh the needs of its citizens. Emphasis is placed on the production of capital goods (such as heavy machinery) rather than on the products that consumers might want, so there are frequent shortages of consumer goods. Workers have little choice of jobs, but special skills or talents seem to be rewarded with special privileges. Various groups of professionals (bureaucrats, university professors, and athletes, for example) fare much better than, say, factory workers. The so-called communist economies thus seem to be far from Marx's vision of communism, but rather to practice a strictly controlled kind of socialism. There is also a bit of free enterprise here and there. For example, in the former Soviet Union, the farmers' markets (rinki in Russian) not only were allowed but were also essential to the nation's food supply. However, like all real economies, these economies are neither pure nor static. Every operating economy is a constantly changing mixture of various idealized economic systems. Some evolve slowly; others change more quickly, through either evolution or revolution. And, over many years, a nation, such as Great Britain, may move first in one direction—say, toward capitalism—and then in the opposite direction. It is impossible to say whether any real economy will ever closely resemble Marx's communism.
I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Explain the meaning of the following phrases: 1. to contrast sharply 2. the key industries 3. public utilities 4. banks are nationalized 5. smooth economic growth 6. to change through either evolution or revolution B) Find English equivalents: 1. În dependenţă de ţară/в зависимости от страны 2. Avere imobiliară/недвижимость 3. Într-o măsură oarecare/в той или иной степени 4. Ramurile industriei care aparţin statului/отрасли промышленности, принадлежащие государству 5. În concordanţă cu scopurile statului/в соответствии с целями государства
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 6. Printre scopurile proclamate/среди провозглашённых целей 7. Distribuirea echitabilă a venitului/справедливое распределение дохода 8. Lichidarea devastării, care ipotetic însoţeşte concurenţa capitalistă/ликвидация разорения, которое предположительно сопровождает капиталистическую конкуренцию 9. Practic lipsa totală a libertăţii/практически полное отсутствие свободы 10. Deficitul frecvent al mărfurilor de larg consum/частый дефицит товаров широкого потребления.
II. COMPREHENSION A) Answer the following questions: 1. Why are socialism and communism sometimes called planned economies? 2. Who owns the key industries in a socialist economy? 3. Does private ownership of property exist in a socialist economy? 4. Where can people work in socialist countries? 5. Who controls the distribution of goods and services in a socialist society? 6. What economies do Britain, France, Sweden and India have? 7. Who was the father of communism and what did he advocate? 8. What countries are considered to have communist economies? 9. Who answers the 3 economic questions in a communist society? 10. Do the so-called communist economies correspond to Marx’s vision of communism? 11. What does every operating economy represent in reality? B) Read the text more carefully and mark the statements with TRUE or FALSE: 1. Planned economy is an ecomomy in which the answers to the 3 basic economic questions are given by private individuals. 2. The key industries of any country are transportation, utilities, communications, and banking. 3. What to produce and how to produce it in a socialist economy depends on the availability of resources. 4. One of the professed aims of socialist countries is the distribution of social services to all who have money to pay for them. 5. India is a social democratic country. 6. In a communist society there is a slogan „Everybody will contribute according to their ability and will receive according to their need”. 7. In a communist society prices and wages are set by the state. 8. Workers in a communist economy can choose any job they like. 9. Land and raw materials may belong to the state in a socialist economy. 10. There is no free enterprise in planned economies. 11. In a communist economy capital goods are produced in larger quantities than consumer goods. 12. In the real world no economy attains „theoretical perfection”. III. Match the words in column A with their definitions in column B: A B 1. subsidy a) The state of a company which is unable to pay its debts and has to be wound up. 2. overstaffing b) Inability to find a job 3. c) A component of the market forces which when it prevails unemployment makes prices of goods rise. – 17 –
4. supply 5. demand 6. ownership 7. bankruptcy
d) e) f) g)
A. Talp ă , O. Calina A payment by a government to producers of certain goods to enable them to survive in a difficult economic situation. Rights over property Employment of personnel in excess of the real necessities A component of the market forces which when it prevails makes prices of goods fall
IV. Fill in the gaps with the words from the list at the end of the text: A market economy is based on private ...(1) in contrast to planned economy where ...(2) ownership prevails. In a free market economy efficiency is the key word, while on the other hand planned economy most likely leads to ...(3). In a free market economy inefficient businesses go ...(4), whereas in a planned economy businesses are ... (5), thus allowing them to survive in spite of their non-satisfactory economic performance. This enables the latter type of economy to resort to ...(6), that is employing more personnel than actually required. Market economy leads to high ... (7) of goods and services, while on the other hand planned economy will not focus on offering high quality goods and services to ... (8). This is due to the fact that in the latter type of economy there is actually no ... (9), as there are ...(10) monopolies and therefore the options of customers are severely restricted. On the other hand in a market economy companies freely ...(11) for a larger ...(12) share, and are thus forced to be efficient and ...(13) staff according to real necessities and ... (14) their resources with utmost care. Bankrupt; compete; competition; customers; inefficiency; manage; state; overstaffing; ownership; quality; market; employ; government; subsidized. V. On the basis of the above text complete the table giving the characteristic features of 2 types of economic systems, the first one has already been done for you: Market economy - private ownership Planned economy - state ownership -
VI. Match the following 3 defintions with the words: Capitalism, Socialism, Communism. 1. An economic system in which everyone has an equal right to a share of a country’s wealth and the government owns and controls the main industries. __________________ 2. An economic system in which the state controls the means of producing everything on behalf of people. __________________ 3. An economic system in which a country’s businesses and industry are controlled and run for a profit by private owners rather than by government. _____________________ VII. DISCUSSION Give extensive answers to the following questions: 1. What are the professed aims of a socialist economy? 2. Do you know the countries in which poverty does not exist?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 3. Is it ever possible to eliminate poverty completely or it is something unreal?
VIII. DEBATE Work in groups. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Give your reasons: 1. The rich cannot exist without the poor. 2. The state has an obligation to take care of homeless and poor people. 3. The only thing that can remove poverty is sharing. 4. Poverty is not just being without food. It is the absence of affection.
1.3. Supply, Demand, Price and Competition
Learning objectives: 1. Comprehend how supply and demand determine the price 2. Characterize the four forms of competition 3. Analyze the possible advantages and disadvantages competition both for the customers and for the sellers Study and Learn the Words:
English to affect bushel shift (n) inflation (n) generic product brand name Bayer warranty (n) recession (n) to follow suit wariness (n) scrutiny (n) English equivalents to influence a unit for measuring grain, fruit change a general rise in the prices of goods and services not using the name of the company that made it the name given to a product by the company that produces it the name of a famous pharmaceutical company guarantee to follow an example Romanian Russian
of
recesiune, criză precauţiune, prudenţă cercetare, verificare meticuloasă împrumut, credit
экономический спад осмотрительность, осторожность внимательный осмотр; наблюдение, исследование заём, ссуда
loan (n)
WORD STUDY to rise, to raise, to arise – 19 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina The verb to rise (rose, risen) is used without object. It means to move from a lower to a higher position: E.g. She rose from the chair. Gas rose in price. Unemployment is rising.
The verb to raise must have an object and it means to lift sth to a higher position or to increase it: E.g. She raised her eyes from her work. Government has raised taxes. to raise money = to collect money The verb to arise (arose, arisen) means to happen, to occur, to start to exist. E.g. A new crisis has arisen. Now complete the following sentences with the 3 studied verbs. Use them in the appropriate tenses. 1. Our supplier ___________ the price of electric equipment. 2. If any misunderstandings ___________ I’ll let you know. 3. The prices of raw materials ________________ recently. 4. The management of the company decided _______________ the salaries. 5. It will be necessary ____________ money if we want to extend the business. 6. We keep them informed of any changes as they ______________ . 7. This book _____________ many important questions. 8. Several new industries _____________ in the town. 9. Those who agree are asked ___________ a hand. 10. Profits _____________ last year by 25%. The supply of a particular product is the quantity of the product that producers are willing to sell at each of various prices. Supply is thus a relationship between prices and the quantities offered by producers, who are usually rational people, so we would expect them to offer more of a product for sale at higher prices and to offer less of the product at lower prices. The demand for a particular product is the quantity that buyers are willing to purchase at each of various prices. Demand is thus a relationship between prices and the quantities purchased by buyers, who are rational people too, so we would expect them to buy more of a product when its price is low and to buy less of the product when its price is high. This is exactly what happens when the price of fresh strawberries rises dramatically. People buy other fruit or do without and reduce their purchases of strawberries. They begin to buy more strawberries only when prices drop. Forms of Competition A free-market system implies competition among sellers of products and resources. Economists recognize four different degrees of competition, ranging from ideal competition to no competition at all. These are pure competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. Pure (or perfect) competition is the complete form of competition. It is the market situation in which there are many buyers and sellers of a product, and no single buyer or seller is powerful enough to affect the price of that product. The above definition includes several important ideas: - there is a demand for a single product;
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES - all sellers offer the same product for sale; - all buyers and sellers know everything there is to know about the market; - the market is not affected by the actions of any one buyer or seller. In pure competition the sellers and buyers must accept the going price. But who or what determines the price? Actually, everyone does. The price of each product is determined by the actions of all buyers and all sellers together, through the forces of supply and demand. It is this interaction of buyers and sellers, working for their best interest that Adam Smith referred to as the “invisible hand” of competition. Neither sellers nor buyers exist in a vacuum. What they do is interact within a market. And there is always one certain price at which the quantity of a product that is demanded is exactly equal to the quantity of that product that is produced. Suppose producers are willing to supply 2 million bushels of wheat at a price of $5 per bushel and that buyers are willing to purchase 2 million bushels at a price of $5 per bushel. In other words, supply and demand are in balance, or in equilibrium, at the price of $5. This is the "going price" at which producers should sell their 2 million bushels of wheat. Economists call this price the equilibrium price or market price. Under pure competition, the market price of any product is the price at which the quantity demanded is exactly equal to the quantity supplied. In theory and in the real world, market prices are affected by anything that affects supply and demand. The demand for wheat, for example, might change if researchers suddenly discovered that it had very beneficial effects on users' health. Then more wheat would be demanded at every price. The supply of wheat might change if new technology permitted the production of greater quantities of wheat from the same amount of acreage. In that case, producers would be willing to supply more wheat at each price. Either of these changes would result in a new market price. Other changes that can affect competitive prices are shifts in buyer tastes, the development of new products that satisfy old needs, and fluctuations in income due to inflation or recession. For example, generic or "no-name" products are now available in supermarkets. Consumers can satisfy their needs for products ranging from food to drugs to paper products at a lower cost, with quality comparable to brand name items. Bayer was recently forced to lower the price of its very popular aspirin because of competition from generic products. Pure competition is only a theoretical concept. Some specific markets may come close, but no real market totally exhibits perfect competition. Many real markets, however, are examples of monopolistic competition. Monopolistic competition is a market situation in which there are many buyers along with relatively many sellers who differentiate their products from the products of competitors and it is very easy to enter into this market. The various products available in a monopolistically competitive market are very similar in nature, and they are all intended to satisfy the same need. However, each seller attempts to make its product somewhat different from the others by providing unique product features — an attention-getting brand name, unique packaging, or services such as free delivery or a "lifetime" warranty. Product differentiation is a fact of life for the producers of many consumer goods, from soaps to clothing to personal computers. Actually, monopolistic competition is characterized by fewer sellers than pure competition, but there are enough sellers to ensure a highly competitive market. By differentiating its product from all similar products, the producer obtains some limited control over the market price of its product. An oligopoly is a market situation (or industry) in which there are few sellers (2-8). Generally these sellers are quite large, and sizable investments are required to enter into their market. For this reason, oligopolistic industries tend to remain
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina oligopolistic. Examples of oligopolies are the American automobile, industrial chemicals, and oil refining industries. Because there are few sellers in an oligopoly, each seller has considerable control over price. At the same time, the market actions of each seller can have a strong effect on competitors' sales. If one firm reduces its price, the other firms in the industry usually do the same to retain their market shares. If one firm raises its price, the others may wait and watch the market for a while, to see whether their lower price tag gives them a competitive advantage, and then eventually follow suit. All this wariness usually results in similar prices for similar products. In the absence of much price competition, product differentiation becomes the major competitive weapon. A monopoly is a market (or industry) with only one seller. Because only one firm is the supplier of a product, it has complete control over price. However, no firm can set its price at some astronomical figure just because there is no competition; the firm would soon find that it had no sales revenue, either. Instead, the firm in a monopoly position must consider the demand for its product and set the price at the most profitable level. The few monopolies in American business don't have even that much leeway in setting prices because they are all carefully regulated by government. Most monopolies in America are public utilities, such as we find in electric power distribution. They are permitted to exist because the public interest is best served by their existence, but they operate under the scrutiny and control of various state and federal agencies.
I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Match the words with their definitions:
1. to range from A to B 2. beneficial 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. recession packaging warranty to retain supplier a) the act of taking goods to the people who have ordered them b) the amount of freedom you have in order to do sth in the way you want to c) to continue to have sth d) to vary from one thing to another e) a person or company that provides goods or services f) having a helpful or useful effect g) a written agreement in which a company selling sth promises to repair or replace it if there is a problem with it within a particular period of time h) a difficult time for the economy of a country when there is less trade and more people are unemployed. i) materials used to wrap goods that are sold in shops j) careful and thorough examination
8. leeway 9. scrutiny 10 delivery
B) Find in the text the antonyms to the following words: 1. supply 2. generic product 3. customer 4. to be reluctant to do sth 5. deflation 6. to reduce the price 7. to ban II. COMPREHENSION A) Mark the statements with TRUE or FALSE: 1. Monopoly is a form of competition. 2. There is no product differentiation in pure competition. 3. All sellers offer the same product for sale in monopolistic competition.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 4. American automobile industry is an example of pure competition. 5. Product differentiation is a fact of life for the consumers of many goods. 6. A monopolist can set any price he/she wants. 7. In oligopoly there can be 6 sellers. 8. There are more sellers in monopolistic competition than in pure competition. 9. Because of competition from generic products many famous companies are forced to lower the prices of their brand-name products. 10. Oligopolists usually offer similar prices for similar products.
B) Choose the best variant (sometimes 2 variants are possible): 1. Competition offers consumers choices in a) price c) style b) quality d) all of the above 2. In order for competition to exist there must be a) many products b) 2 or more companies in the same business c) 2 or more companies in different businesses d) profits 3. An oligopoly exists when the control of the goods and services is in the hands of a) 1 large company c) 2 big companies in the same business b) several small companies d) 10 sizable companies 4. Many real markets are examples of a) monopoly c) monopolistic competition b) oligopoly d) pure competition 5. By differentiating his product the producer obtains a) many consumers c) profit b) control over price d) monopoly 6. Product differentiation is characteristic of a) monopoly c) monopolistic competition b) oligopoly d) pure competition 7. Barriers to enter the market are characteristic of a) monopoly c) monopolistic competition b) oligopoly d) pure competition III. DISCUSSION 1. Comment on the statement: „Business competition encourages efficiency of production and leads to improved product quality”. 2. List the possible advantages and disadvantages of competition. 3. What kind of competition is there in the market of mobile communication in our country? 4. Give examples of monopolies in our country. Why are monopolies prohibited in some countries? IV. CASE STUDY Read the following text and answer the questions: Business Philosophy at the J.M. Smucker Company „With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good”. Based on Smucker’s recent success and growth in the jam, jelly, preserves and marmalade industry, it would be hard for anyone to doubt that statement. The total jam and jelly sales for Smucker’s – 23 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina is over $1billion a year. By first chasing and then surpassing jelly giants Kraft, Inc. and Welch’s, Smucker’s now has a 37 percent share of the total jam and jelly market and is the leading manufacturer in the industry. The J.M.Smucker Company, based in Orrville, Ohio, is a family-run operation. In 1897 Jerome Monroe Smucker decided to bring in extra income by making apple cider and apple butter from old family recipes. On the same property where today’s modern factory now stands, Jerome carefully monitored the quality of his products, personally signing the paper tied over each container of apple butter. Now, at all of Smucker’s ten plants around the country, a devotion to quality remains a key element of Smucker’s business. Soon after Jerome began his business, other members of the Smucker family became involved. They took most of their earnings and poured them back into the company. In 1969 the Smucker family decided to take their company public. They retained 30% of the stock, selling 25% to institutions and pension funds and the rest to individual investors. Paul Smucker (the chief executive and grandson of the founder) and his sons are not taking their number-one position in the jam and jelly market for granted. They know they must fend off foreign jam companies, as well as variety of domestic competitors. Smucker’s must also respond to the new waves of health awareness and calorie consciousness in the USA, as well as changes in consumers’ tastes. Part of the Smucker’s strategy for keeping on top is the introduction of new products. Recently, Smucker’s has had a number of successful new entries into the market. „Simply Fruit”, a fruit with no preservatives or artificial flavours and no extra sugar added, has been well received. Smucker’s is also happy with the sales of its Fresh Pack Strawberry Preserves, available for only a few weeks each year. The Smuckers pride themselves on innovations of all kinds. Smucker’s, sensing the coming of a trend, was the first company in the jam amd jelly industry to print nutritional information on individual product label. It was the first company to use re-sealable lids on its jars. Smucker’ even has a special „invention group” that gets together to discuss ideas. All ideas, no matter how outrageous, are encouraged. All negative comments in these meetings are prohibited. Quality, integrity, and customer relations make up the foundation of Smucker’s company philosophy. Quality comes first, earnings and sales growth come after. Paul Smucker personally writes thank-you notes to all new shareholders. He also suggests that they tell a friend to try Smucker’s products. Smucker’s refuses to purchase advertising time during any television show that contains violence or sex scenes. It wants to mantain its wholesome, old-fashioned image. Smucker’s also pays for full-time federal government inspectors to monitor the entire jam and jelly manufacturing process. Because of this, Smucker’s is the only company to carry the Agricultural Department’s top U.S. Grade A designation on all its products.
COMMENTARY: Preserve (n) = a type of jam made by boilig fruit with a large amount of sugar To chase = to catch up with sb To surpass = to become better than sb else Apple cider = a drink made from the juice of apples that does not contain alcohol Plant = factory Earnings = the profit the company makes To pour sth into sth = to provide a large amount of money for sth To take the company public = to start selling shares of the company on the stock exchange
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES To fend off = to defend or protect yourself from competitors who are attacking you Preservative (n) = a substance used to prevent food from decaying Outragious (adj) = very unusual and slightly shocking Integrity = the quality of being honest Wholesome (adj) = good for your health Grade A designation = having the status of offering the best quality
Questions: 1. What is the business that the J.M. Smucker Company is in? Can such business be profitable in our country? 2. How many plants of this company function and where are they situated? 3. How much percent of shares did this company sell to individual investors? 4. Economists recognize 4 different degrees of competition. In which type of competitive situation does Smucker’s participate? 5. What is the Smucker’s strategy for mantainig the leading position in the industry? 6. What are the major components of Smucker’s business philosophy that have helped this organization survive for over 90 years? 7. Why has Smucker’s been able to compete against jelly giants such as Kraft and Welch’s?
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
2. THE FORMS OF BUSINESS OWNERSHIP
„That business does not prosper which you transact with the eyes of others” Sir Roger L’Estrange
Learning objectives: 1. Define the three most common forms of business ownership: sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporation 2. Be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of sole proprietorships 3. Grasp the unlimited liability concept 4. Analyze how the sole proprietorships function both in the USA and in the Republic of Moldova Study and Learn the Words:
English sole proprietorship partnership (n) corporation (n) instance (n) to account for (ph.v) corner grocery catering services appliance store to seek sth income tax to get one’s hands on sth unlimited liability assets (n) to seize continuity (n) mortgage loan to be incapacitated on occasion janitor (n) expertise (n) to quit to leave one’s job a credit for which only real estate is pledged to be unable to live or work normally sometimes caretaker to take sth using force continuitate, succesiune credit ipotecar преемственность ипотечный кредит to find or get sth răspundere nelimitată active, avere неограниченная ответственность активы, имущество to ask sb for sth impozit pe venit a small shop that sells food and other things, esp. the one situated near people’s houses the work of providing food and drinks for meetings or social events magazin de electrocasnice particular example, case a constitui, a reprezenta, a se cifra la составлять English equivalents Romanian întreprindere individuală parteneriat, asociere societate pe acţiuni Russian индивидуальное предприятие партнёрство, товарищество акционерное общество
магазин бытовой техники подоходный налог
cunoştinţe, îndemânare
знание дела, компетенция
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES The three most commmon forms of business ownership in the United States are the sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporation. In terms of ownership, corporations are generally the most complex, and sole proprietorships are the simplest. In terms of organization, however, all three usually start small and simple. Some, like IBM, grow and grow.
2.1. Sole Proprietorships
A sole proprietorship is a business that is owned (and usually operated) by one person. Sole proprietorship is the oldest and simplest form of business ownership, and it is the easiest to start. In most instances, the owner (the sole proprietor) simply decides that he or she is in business and begins operations. Some of the largest of today's corporations, including Ford Motor Company, H.J. Heinz Company, and J.C. Penney Company, started out as tiny sole proprietorships. There are more than twelve million sole proprietorships in the United States. They account for more than two-thirds of the country’s business firms. Sole proprietorships are most common in the retailing, agriculture, and service industries. Thus the specialty clothing shop, corner grocery, and television repair shop down the street are likely to be sole proprietorships. Most of the advantages and disadvantages of sole proprietorships arise from the two main characteristics of this form of ownership: simplicity and individual control. Advantages of Sole Proprietorships Ease and Low Cost of Formation and Dissolution No contracts, agreements, or other legal documents are required to start a sole proprietorship. Most are established without even an attorney. A state or city license may be required for certain types of businesses, such as restaurants or catering services, that are regulated in the interest of public safety. But beyond that, a sole proprietor does not pay any special start-up fees or taxes. Nor are there any minimum capital requirements. If the enterprise does not succeed, or the owner decides to enter another line of business, the firm can be closed as easily as it was opened. Creditors must be paid, of course. But the owner does not have to go through any legal procedure before hanging up an "Out of Business" sign. Retention of All Profits All profits earned by a sole proprietorship become the personal earnings of its owner. This provides the owner with a strong incentive to succeed—perhaps the strongest incentive—and a great deal of satisfaction when the business does succeed. It is this direct financial reward that attracts many entrepreneurs to the sole proprietorship form of business. Flexibility The sole owner of a business is completely free to make decisions about the firm's operations. Without asking or waiting for anyone's approval, a sole proprietor can switch from retailing to wholesaling, move a shop's location, or open a new store and close an old one. A sole owner can also respond to changes in market conditions much more quickly than the operators of other forms of business. Suppose the sole owner of an appliance store finds that many customers now prefer to shop on Sunday afternoons. He or she can make an immediate change in business hours to take advantage of that information (provided that state laws allow such stores to open on Sunday). The manager of one store in a large corporate chain may have to seek the approval of numerous managers before making such a change. Furthermore, a sole proprietor can quickly switch suppliers – 27 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina to take advantage of a lower price, whereas such a switch could take weeks in a more complex business. Possible Tax Advantages The sole proprietorship's profits are taxed as personal income of the owner. Thus a sole proprietorship does not pay the special state and federal income taxes that corporations pay. (As you will see later, the result of these special taxes is that a corporation's profits are taxed twice. A sole proprietorship's profits are taxed only once.) Also, recent changes in federal tax laws have resulted in higher tax rates for corporations than for individuals at certain income levels. Secrecy Sole proprietors are not required by federal or state governments to publicly reveal their business plans, profits, or other vital facts. Therefore, competitors cannot get their hands on this information. Of course, sole proprietorships must report certain financial information on their personal tax forms, but that information is kept secret by taxing authorities.
Disadvantages of Sole Proprietorships Unlimited Liability Unlimited liability is a legal concept that holds a sole proprietor personally responsible for all the debts of his or her business. This means there is no legal difference between the debts of the business and the debts of the proprietor. If the business fails, the owner's personal property—including house, savings, and other assets—can be seized (and sold if necessary) to pay creditors. Unlimited liability is thus the other side of the owner-keeps-the-profits coin. It is perhaps the major factor that tends to discourage would-be entrepreneurs from using this form of business organization. Lack of Continuity Legally, the sole proprietor is the business. If the owner dies or is declared legally incompetent, the business essentially ceases to exist. In many cases, however, the owner's heirs take over the business and continue to operate it, especially if it is a profitable enterprise. Limited Ability to Borrow Banks and other lenders are usually unwilling to lend large sums to sole proprietorships. Only one person—the sole proprietor—can be held responsible for repaying such loans, and the assets of most sole proprietors are fairly limited. Moreover, these assets may already have been used as the basis for personal borrowing (a mortgage loan or car loan) or for short-term credit from suppliers. Lenders also worry about the lack of continuity of sole proprietorships: Who will repay a loan if the sole proprietor is incapacitated? The limited ability to borrow can keep a sole proprietorship from growing. It is the main reason why many business owners change from the sole proprietorship to some other ownership form when they need relatively large amounts of capital. Limited Business Skills and Knowledge Managers perform a variety of functions (including planning, organizing, and controlling) in such areas as finance, marketing, human resources management, and operations. Often the sole proprietor is also the sole manager—in addition to being a salesperson, buyer, accountant, and, on occasion, janitor. Even the most experienced business owner is unlikely to have expertise in all these areas. Consequently, the business can suffer in the areas in which the owner is less knowledgeable, unless he or she obtains the necessary expertise by hiring assistants or consultants. Lack of Opportunity for Employees The sole proprietor may find it hard to attract and keep competent help. Potential employees may feel that there is no room for advancement in a firm whose owner assumes all managerial responsibilities. And when those who are hired are ready to take on added responsibility, they may find that the only way to do so is to quit the sole proprietorship and either work for a larger firm or start up their own business.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Find in the text the words that are synonyms of: 1. very small 6. to lure 2. lawyer 7. to change from sth to sth 3. proprietor 8. to stop 4. promotion 9. very important, essential 5. stimulus 10. responsibility B) Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right:
1. contract 2. license 3. tax on sth 4. start-up fee 5. flexibility 6. business hours 7. dissolution 8. heir 9. assistant 10. savings 11. loan 12. earnings a) the ability to change very quickly in order to suit new conditions b) money that is lent to sb by a bank or another financial organization c) a person who helps or supports sb in their work d) money that you have saved, especially in a bank e) an official written agreement between two parties f) money that you pay in order to set up a new business g) the profit that a company makes h) an official document that shows that permission has been given to do, own or use sth i) the act of officially ending a business j) the hours in a day that a shop or company is open k) money that you have to pay to the government l) a person who has the legal right to receive sb’s property and continue the work after their death
C) Find in the text the English equivalents for the following phrases of words: 1. atelierul pentru reparaţia televizoarelor/мастерская по ремонту телевизоров 2. a lua decizii/принимать решения 3. a cere aprobarea managerului/спрашивать разрешения менеджера 4. a achita un împrumut/выплатить заём 5. a reacţiona la schimbările în condiţiile de piaţă/реагировать на изменения в рыночных условиях 6. viitor antreprenor/будущий предприниматель 7. un credit pe termen scurt/краткосрочный кредит 8. magazin de electrocasnice/магазин бытовой техники 9. a se folosi de informaţia/воспользоваться информацией 10. a-şi asuma răspunderea adăugătoare /взять на себя дополнительную ответственность II. COMPREHENSION A) What do these numbers in the text refer to? 3; 1; 2/3; 12; 2; 5. B) Choose the item that best completes each sentence: 1. Most United States businesses are a) corporations b) partnerships c) sole proprietorships 2. Unlimited liability means that the owner a) has unlimited ability to borrow b) must be liable for his/her company debts – 29 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina c) cannot be held responsible for his/her company debts 3. All the following are advantages of a sole proprietorship EXCEPT a) the owner is only answerable to himself/herself b) there is no requirement to submit profit accounts c) the possibility to have competent employees 4. If a sum of money was lent to a sole proprietorship, the responsibility to repay the loan is assumed a) by the owner himself/herself b) by the owner’s family members c) by the owner’s staff 5. The major factor that discourages from starting up a sole proprietorship is a) limited ability to borrow b) unlimited liability c) limited business knowledge 6. Employees don’t want to work for a single owner because a) they are given too many responsibilities b) they are not paid as they deserve c) they don’t have the chance to be promoted.
III. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words whose parts of speech are given in brackets in order to facilitate your task: 1. There are _________ advantages of sole proprietorships. (Numeral) 2. It is _________ and relatively _________ to start and end such form of business. (Adjectives) 3. All the ___________ go to the owner of business. (Noun) 4. The sole proprietor is free _____________ ______________ about everything what refers to his/her firm. (Verb + noun) 5. The sole proprietor pays __________ the tax on his personal income. (Adverb) 6. The single owner is sure that competitors ____________ nothing about his/her business plans, profits or other vital facts. (Verb) IV. Now describe the disadvantages of a sole proprietorship using just one sentence for each of them. V. DISCUSSION 1. What is a start-up fee for a would-be entrepreneur in our country? 2. Try to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of a sole proprietorship by putting them on the scales. To your mind, what pan outweighs – the one with advantages or another one with disadvantages? Give your reasons. VI. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR Comparative and Superlative Degrees: A) Complete the sentences using a comparative form; the first one has been done for you: 1. It’s too noisy here. Can we go somewhere quiter? 2. This coffee is very strong. I like it a bit ____________ 3. The hotel was very cheap. I expected it to be ________________ 4. I was surprised how easy it was to get a loan. I thought it would be _______________
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 5. You are standing too near the camera. Can __________________ away?
you
move
a
bit
B) Use the superlative degree and underline the correct variant: 1. (large) company in the world is (IBM, General Motors, Chrysler). 2. (rich) country in the world is (Russia, USA, Luxembourg). 3. (tall) building in Europe is in (Germany, France, Great Britain). 4. (USA, India, China) has (large) population. 5. (high) waterfall in the world is in (South Africa, USA, Venezuela).
2.2 Partnerships
Learning objectives: 1. Define the word partnership 2. Know different types of partners within a partnership and distinguish between a general and a limited partner 3. Comprehend the importance of the articles of partnership 4. Be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of a partnership Study and Learn the Words:
English to translate receipt (n) to pool real estate personal estate to incur debts prospective partner to file to draw up Secretary of State the terms of the partnership to list to spell out to maintain accounts to extend credit concerned (adj) franchise (n) English equivalents to change sth into a different form Romanian intrare, venit a uni, a pune în comun avere imobiliară avere mobilă a face datorii would-be partner a depune, a prezenta a întocmi Secretar de stat condiţiile parteneriatului a face o listă to explain sth in a clear way to lend money preocupat, interesat a formal permission given by the government to sb who wants to operate a business dead partner a ţine contabilitatea Russian приход объединять недвижимое имущество движимое имущество влезть в долги предоставить составлять Государственный секретарь условия партнёрства предоставить список вести бухгалтерию обеспокоенный, зaинтересованный
deceased partner
The major disadvantages of a sole proprietorship stem from its one-person control—and the limited amount that one person can do in a workday. One way to reduce the effect of these disadvantages is to have more than one owner. Multiple ownership translates into more time devoted to managing, more management expertise, and more capital and borrowing ability. – 31 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina The Uniform Partnership Act, which has been adopted by many states, defines a partnership as an association of two or more persons to act as coowners of a business for profit. There are approximately 2 million partnerships in the United States. They account for about $370 billion in receipts. However, this form of ownership is much less common than the sole proprietorship or the corporation. In fact, partnerships represent only about 10 percent of all American businesses. Although there is no legal maximum, most partnerships have only two partners. (However, most of the largest partnerships in accounting, law, and advertising have many more than two partners.) Often a partnership represents a pooling of special talents, particularly in such fields as law, accounting, advertising, real estate, and retailing. Also, a partnership may result from a sole proprietor taking on a partner for the purpose of obtaining more capital.
Types of Partners All partners need not be equal. Some may be fully active in running the business, whereas others may have a much more limited role. General Partners A general partner is one who assumes full or shared operational responsibility of a business. Like sole proprietors, general partners are responsible for operating the business. They also assume unlimited liability for its debts, including debts that have been incurred by any other general partner without their knowledge or consent. The Uniform Partnership Act requires that every partnership have at least one general partner. This is to ensure that the liabilities of the business are legally assumed by at least one person. General partners are active in day-to-day business operations, and each partner can enter into contracts on behalf of all the others. Each partner is taxed on his or her share of the profit—in the same way a sole proprietor is taxed. (The partnership itself pays no income tax.) If one general partner withdraws from the partnership, he or she must give notice to creditors, customers, and suppliers to avoid future liability. Limited Partners A limited partner is a person who contributes capital to a business but is not active in managing it; his or her liability is limited to the amount that he or she has invested. In return for their investment, limited partners share in the profits of the firm. Not all states allow limited partnerships. In those that do, the prospective partners must file formal articles of partnership. They must publish a notice regarding the limitation in at least one newspaper. And they must ensure that at least one partner is a general partner. The goal of these requirements is to protect the customers and creditors of the limited partnership. Partners can also be nominal, ostensible, active, secret, dormant, or silent. What type of partner individuals choose to be depends a great deal on how much involvement they want in a particular business or what special abilities they bring to a firm. The six different types of partners have the following characteristics: 1 Nominal partner: not a party to the partnership agreement or a true partner in any sense; by adding his or her name to the partnership, becomes liable as if he or she were a partner if persons have given credit to the firm because of such representation 2. Ostensible partner: active and known to the public as a partner 3. Active partner: active in management but may or may not be known to the public 4. Secret partner: active, but not known to the public as a partner 5. Dormant partner: inactive and not known as a partner 6. Silent partner: inactive, but may be known to the public as a partner The Partnership Agreement
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
Some states require that partners draw up articles of partnership and file them with the secretary of state. Articles of partnership are a written agreement listing and explaining the terms of the partnership. Even when it is not required, an oral or written agreement among partners is legal and can be enforced in the courts. A written agreement is obviously preferred because it is not subject to lapses of memory. The articles generally describe each partner's contribution to, share of, and duties in the business. They may outline each partner's responsibility—who will maintain the accounts, who will manage sales, and so forth. They may also spell out how disputes will be settled and how one partner can buy the interests of another. Advantages of Partnerships Ease and Low Cost of Formation Like sole proprietorships, partnerships are relatively easy to form. The legal requirements are often limited to registering the name of the business and purchasing whatever licenses are needed. It may not even be necessary to consult an attorney, except in states that require written articles of partnership. However, it is generally a good idea to get the advice and assistance of an attorney when forming a partnership. Availability of Capital and Credit Partners can pool their funds so that their business has more capital than would be available to a sole proprietorship. This additional capital, coupled with the general partners' unlimited liability, can form the basis for a good credit rating. Banks and suppliers may be more willing to extend credit or grant sizable loans to such a partnership than to an individual owner. This does not mean that partnerships can easily borrow all the money they need. Many partnerships have found it hard to get long-term financing simply because lenders worry about enterprises that take years to earn a profit. But, in general, partnerships have greater assets and so stand a better chance of obtaining the loans they need. Retention of Profits As in a sole proprietorship, all profits belong to the owners of the partnership. The partners share directly in the financial rewards. Thus they are highly motivated to do their best to make the firm succeed. Personal Interest General partners are very much concerned with the operation of the firm—perhaps even more so than sole proprietors. After all, they are responsible for the actions of all other general partners, as well as for their own. Combined Business Skills and Knowledge Partners often have complementary skills. If one partner is weak in, say, finances, another may be stronger in that area. Moreover, the ability to discuss important decisions with another concerned individual often takes some of the pressure off everyone and leads to more effective decision making. Possible Tax Advantages Like sole proprietors, partners are taxed only on their individual income from the business. The special taxes such as the state franchise tax that corporations must pay are not imposed on partnerships. Also, at certain levels of income, the new federal tax rates are lower for individuals than for corporations. Disadvantages of Partnerships Unlimited Liability As we have noted, each general partner is personally responsible for all debts of the business, whether or not that particular partner incurred those debts. General partners thus run the risk of having to use their – 33 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina personal assets to pay creditors. Limited partners, however, risk only their original investment. Lack of Continuity Partnerships are terminated in the event of the death, withdrawal, or legally declared incompetence of any one of the general partners. However, that partner's ownership share can be purchased by the remaining partners. In other words, the law does not automatically provide that the business shall continue, but the articles of partnership may do so. For example, the partnership agreement may permit surviving partners to continue the business after buying a deceased partner's interest from his or her estate. However, if the partnership loses an owner whose specific skills cannot be replaced, it is not likely to survive. Effects of Management Disagreements The division of responsibilities among several partners means the partners must work together as a team. They must have great trust in each other. If partners begin to disagree about decisions, policies, or ethics, distrust may cloud the horizon. Such a mood tends to get worse as time passes – often to the point where it is impossible to operate the business successfully. To reduce disagreements, a number of issues can be settled when forming the partnership. Frozen Investment It is easy to invest money in a partnership, but it is sometimes quite difficult to get it out. This is the case, for example, when remaining partners are unwilling to buy the share of the business that belongs to the partner who is leaving. To prevent such difficulties, the procedure for buying out a partner should be included in the articles of partnership. In some cases, a partner must find someone outside the firm to buy his or her share. How easy or difficult it is to find an outsider depends on how successful the business is.
I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Explain the meaning of the following phrases of words: 1. to incur debts 2. partnerships find it hard to get long-term financing 3. to stand a better chance of doing sth 4. to be highly motivated to do one’s best 5. distrust may cloud the horizon 6. to have a good credit rating 7. to have complimentary skills 8. frozen investment B) Find in the text synonymous phrases to the following: 1. to conclude a contract 2. to give big loans 3. to be reluctant to purchase sth 4. to inform lenders 5. to leave a partnership C) In each horizontal group underline the odd word (which does not belong to the group of synonyms): 1. partner sole proprietor owner master 2. heir successor legatee legator 3. profit income revenue receipt 4. dispute difference discharge disagreement
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5. mortgage 6. to found 7. responsible 8. termination 9. 10. expertise
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES capital investment fund
to establish liable dissolution extension ownership explanation
to form up answerable cancellation property experience
to put up languorous disjunction estate competence
II. COMPREHENSION A) Answer the following questions: 1. What is a partnership? 2. What is the legal maximum of co-owners in a partnership? 3. What are the two main types of partners and what is the difference between them? 4. How is each partner taxed? 5. What must the general partner do if he wants to withdraw from a partnership? 6. What are the articles of partnership and what do they describe? 7. What are the similarities and the differences between advantages and disadvantages of a sole proprietorship and partnership? 8. Why is it sometimes difficult to get your money out of business when you want to withdraw from a partnership? B) Mark the statements with TRUE or FALSE: 1. A partnership can consist only of limited partners. 2. Partnerships are the least popular form of business ownership. 3. Partnerships are taxed twice. 4. The status of a general partner is equal to the status of a limited partner. 5. A partnership can comprise no more than 4 partners. 6. The share in the profit of a partner depends on the size of his/her capital investment. 7. The problem sharing in a partnership leads to more effective decision making. 8. If a partnership fails, the debts are paid with the personal assets of both general and limited partner. C) Underline the correct variant to complete the definition: 1. This partner doesn’t exist in reality, his name is added to the partnership in order to obtain a loan from a bank – (dormant, limited, nominal). 2. This partner is active and everybody knows him as a partner – (active, ostensible, general). 3. This partner is not active and risks only the original investment – ( silent, limited, secret). III. DISCUSSION 1. If you had a chance to start a business, would you like to be a sole proprietor or to work in a partnership? 2. When forming a partnership what kind of partner would you like to be – a general or a limited one? Give your reasons. 3. What do you think about family business when all the partners are family members? – 35 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina Would you form a partnership with your spouse or any other close relative? What conflicts may arise in such a partnership? 4. To your mind, compatibility between partners – is it important or not so much?
IV. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE The word ACCOUNT Match the meaning of the words in bold with their definition in the right:
1. The consulting company has won 2 new accounts in Singapore 2. On no account should these products be released before they are checked. 3. Labour accounts for 45% of the manufacturing costs. 4. Mrs Baker is our regular customer and she may buy on account. 5. By all accounts, we will benefit greatly if we are going to expand next year. 6. Agents buy and sell on their own account. 7. I cannot account for this unexpected decrease in sales. 8. Our development project has to be adjusted on account of the shortage of personnel. 9. Our solicitor has received a detailed account of all our new customers’ business deals. 10. A good manager should take the good performance of his employees into account. a) b) represents on credit
c) because of d) for themselves e) big customers
f) explain g) consider h) under no circumstances i) report j) people say
V. CASE STUDY Imagine that you have a partnership with your best friend. A serious conflict arose between you due to his/her dishonest behaviour towards you. Right now you don’t have the money to buy his/her share of business and you don’t want to sell your share to him/her because your business is rather profitable. What would you do in this situation? VI. TRANSLATION 1. Asociatul meu a făcut datorii fără ştirea mea şi acum eu trebuie să le achit. Мой партнёр влез в долги без моего ведома и теперь мне придется их выплачивать. 2. Înainte de a forma parteneriatul eu m-am consultat cu avocatul meu. Прежде чем создать партнёрство, я проконсультировался со своим адвокатом. 3. Uneori este destul de dificil să te retragi din parteneriat. Иногда бывает очень трудно выйти из партнёрства. 4. Eu şi asociatul meu am hotărât să punem în comun capitaluri pentru a primi un credit mai mare de la bancă. Мой партнёр и я решили объединить наш капитал, чтобы получить более весомый кредит в банке. VII. ROLEPLAY Work in pairs. Imagine that you are a sole proprietor and you own a restaurant. You want to offer 30 percent partnership to your chef. Discuss with him the terms on which you are going to start a mutually profitable business. Use the following questions: – 36 –
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES How will the profits be divided between partners? Who will approve payments and sign checks? Will profits be poured back into business or distributed to partners? Which employees will report to which partners? How will the responsibilities be divided between partners? What happens if one partner is dissatisfied with the way another partner handles a particular responsibility? How much time will each partner be required to devote to business? If the business goes rough, how will the partners decide whether to give up or to try to turn it around? How will the conflicts be settled? Will they be ended by deferring to the partner with the most expertise in the matter or by a neutral expert third party?
2.3. CORPORATIONS
Learning objectives: 1. Define such form of business ownership as corporation 2. Comprehend how a corporation is formed, who owns it, and who is responsible for its operation 3. Be aware of stockholders’ rights 4. Recognize the basic structure of a corporation Study and Learn the Words:
English to derive from sth to plague restraint (n) to hinder to despose of property binding (adj) on sb to issue stock return (n) the nation (n) lenient (adj) headquarters (n) to entitle sb to sth common stock English equivalents to come or develop from sth to create problems Romanian Russian
restricţie, limită a împiedica a dispune de proprietate care angajează din punct de vedere juridic a emite acţiuni
ограничение мешать, препятствовать распоряжаться собственностью обязательный с юридической точки зрения выпускать акции снисходительный штаб-квартира, главный офис простые акции
income the USA îndulgent, îngăduitor sediu principal to give sb the right to do sth
acţiuni obişnuite, ordinare
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
preferred stock claim on sth issue (n) proxy (n) Board of directors to set a goal to develop a plan to trade corporate officer chairman (n) treasurer (n) to carry out a strategy to report to sb stockbroker (n) to raise capital legal person natural person unless to recruit in effect perpetual (adj) to take sth over eternal, interminable to gain control of a company by buying its shares to collect money if not to find new employees for a company de fapt financial manager a realiza o strategie a fi în subordinea cuiva agent de schimb (pentru acţiuni) persoană juridică persoană fizică question, matter procură Consiliu de administraţie a stabili un scop a elabora un plan a comercializa funcţionar al corporaţiei preşedinte acţiuni privilegiate pretenţie, drept привилегированные акции претензия, право доверенность Совет директоров поставить цель разработать план торговать служащий корпорации председатель правления реализовать стратегию подчиняться кому-л, давать отчёт биржевой маклер, брокер юридическое лицо физическое лицо
a person who is in a position of authority in a corporation
в сущности, в действительности
The advantages of a partnership over a sole proprietorship derive mainly from the added capital and expertise of the partners. However, some of the basic disadvantages of the sole proprietorship also plague the general partnership. Unlimited liability and restraints on capital resources and borrowing, for example, can hinder a partnership's growth. A third form of business ownership, the corporation, succeeds in overcoming some of these disadvantages. Corporation is an artificial person created by law, with most of the legal rights of a real person. These include the right to start and operate a business, to own or dispose of property, to borrow money, to sue or be sued, and to enter into binding contracts. Unlike a real person, however, a corporation exists only on paper. There are more than 3.2 million corporations in the United States. They comprise only about one-fifth of all businesses, but they account for more than nine-tenths of all sales revenues and more than three-quarters of all business profits. Corporate ownership: The shares of ownership of a corporation are called its stock. The people who own a corporation's stock—and thus own part of the corporation— are called its stockholders, or sometimes its shareholders. Once a corporation has been formed, it may sell its stock to individuals. It may also issue stock as a reward to key employees in return for certain services, or as a return to investors (in place of cash payments). A close corporation is a corporation whose stock is owned by relatively few people and is not traded openly (that is, in stock markets). A person who wishes to – 38 –
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES sell the stock of such a corporation generally arranges to sell it privately, to another stockholder or a close acquaintance. An open corporation is one whose stock is traded openly in stock markets and can be purchased by any individual. General Motors, the largest industrial company in the USA, is an example. Most large firms are open corporations, and their stockholders may number in the millions. For example, AT&T is owned by more than 3 million shareholders.
Forming a corporation The process of forming a corporation is called incorporation. The people who actually start the corporation are its incorporators. They must make several decisions about the corporation before and during the incorporation process. Where to Incorporate A business is allowed to incorporate in any state it chooses. Most small and medium-sized businesses are incorporated in the state where they do the most business. However, the founders of larger corporations, or of those that will do business nationwide, may compare the benefits provided to corporations by various states. Some states are more hospitable than others, and some offer low taxes and other benefits to attract new firms. Delaware is acknowledged as offering the most lenient tax structure. A huge number of firms (more than 75,000) have incorporated in that state, even though their corporate headquarters may be located in another state. An incorporated business is called a domestic corporation in the state in which it is incorporated. In all other states where it does business, it is called a foreign corporation. Scars, Roebuck, for example, is incorporated in New York, where it is a domestic corporation. In the remaining forty-nine states, it is a foreign corporation. A corporation chartered by a foreign government and conducting business in the United States is an alien corporation. Volkswagen, Sony, and Toyota are examples of alien corporations. The Corporate Charter Once a "home state" has been chosen, the incorporators submit articles of incorporation to the secretary of state. If the articles of incorporation are approved, they become the firm's corporate charter. A corporate charter is a contract between the corporation and the state, in which the state recognizes the formation of the artificial person that is the corporation. Usually the charter (and thus the articles of incorporation) includes the following information: - Firm's name and address - The incorporators' names and addresses - The purpose of the corporation - The maximum amount of stock and the types of stock to be issued - The rights and privileges of shareholders - How long the corporation is to exist (usually without limit) Each of these key details is the result of decisions that the incorporators must make as they organize the firm—before the articles of incorporation are submitted. Let us look at one area in particular: stockholders’ rights. Stockholders' Rights There are two basic kinds of stock. Each type entitles the owner to a different set of rights and privileges. The owners of common stock may vote on corporate matters, but their claims on profit and assets are subordinate to the claims of others. Generally, an owner of common stock has one vote for each share owned. All common stock owners receive dividends but the amount of these dividends depends on the profitability of the company. The owners of preferred stock usually do not have voting rights, but their claims on profit and assets take precedence over those of common-stock owners. Preferred stock often pays a lower profit return than common stock dividends but that return is fixed and guaranteed. – 39 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina Perhaps the most important right of owners of both common and preferred stock is to share in the profit earned by the corporation. Other rights include being offered additional stock in advance of a public offering (pre-emptive rights); examining corporate records; voting on the corporate charter; and attending the corporation's annual stockholders' meeting, where they may exercise their right to vote. Because common stockholders usually live all over the nation, very few actually attend the annual meeting. Instead, they vote by proxy. A proxy is a legal form that lists issues to be decided and requests that stockholders transfer their voting rights to some other individual or individuals. The stockholder registers his or her vote and transfers his or her voting rights simply by signing and returning the form. Organizational Meeting As the last step in forming a corporation, the original stockholders meet to elect their first board of directors. (Later, directors will be elected or re-elected at the corporation's annual meetings.) The board members are directly responsible to the stockholders for the way they operate the firm.
Corporate structure Board of Directors The board of directors is the top governing body of a corporation, and, as we noted, directors are elected by the shareholders. A corporation is an artificial person. Thus it can act only through its directors, who represent the corporation’s owners. Board members can be chosen from within the corporation or from outside it. Directors who are elected from within the corporation are usually its top managers—the president and executive vice presidents, for example. Those who are elected from outside the corporation are generally experienced managers with proven leadership ability and/or specific talents that the organization seems to need. In smaller corporations, majority stockholders may also serve as board members. The major responsibilities of the board of directors are to set company goals and develop general plans (or strategies) for meeting those goals. They are also responsible for the overall operation of the firm. Corporate Officers A corporate officer is appointed by the board of directors. The chairman of the board, president, executive vice presidents, and corporate secretary and treasurer are all corporate officers. They help the board make plans, carry out the strategies established by the board, and manage day-today business activities. Periodically (usually each month), they report to the board of directors. And once each year, at an annual meeting, the directors report to the stockholders. In theory, then, the stockholders are able to control the activities of the entire corporation through its directors. I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Find in the text synonyms (1-6) and antonyms (7-12) to the following: 1. restriction 7. natural 2. to possess 8. to lend 3. aim 9. from within (the company) 4. power of attorney 10. publicly 5. to achieve a goal 11. tiny (adj) 6. whole (adj) 12. to forbid B) Choose the correct meaning of the following words: 1. to hinder means:
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2.
3.
4.
5.
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES a) to be very common at a particular time; b) to make it difficult for sth to happen; c) to understand the core of the situation. to sue means: a) to bring an action against sb; b) to bring sth into force; c) to bring the matter forward. lenient means: a) generous and friendly; b) using strong pressure; c) not as strict as expected. to submit means: a) to draw up a document; b) to present a document; c) to sign a document. to attend means: a) to be present at an event; b) to guess sth from an available information; c) to send sb a message.
II. COMPREHESION A) Give words to the following definitions: 1. A large business company ....................................... 2. A person who owns shares of a company …………………………….. 3. The process of forming a corporation …………………………….. 4. A contract between the state and the corporation which gives to the latter the legal status ………………………………. 5. A group of people who have power to make decisions and control a corporation …………………………. 6. A legal document through which a shareholder gives the authority to some other individual to vote instead of him ……………………………. B) Answer the following questions: 1. What is the difference between a close and an open corporation? 2. Who are incorporators? 3. Why have most American companies incorporated in Delaware? What do you know about this state? 4. What is the difference between domestic, foreign and alien corporations? 5. What information does the corporate charter include? 6. What rights do stockholders have? 7. In your opinion, what type of stock – common or preferred do the stockholders prefer to buy and why? 8. What does it mean to vote by proxy? 9. Arrange the following persons according to the hierarchy of corporate structure: a) corporate officers b) stockholders c) workers d) board of directors. To your mind, can a corporation be effectively controlled under such a system of levels? 10. What are the primary responsibilities of a corporation’s board of directors? – 41 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina
C) Mark the statements with TRUE or FALSE: 1. The incorporators are the primary shareholders of the corporation. 2. A corporation chartered by a foreign government in the USA is called a foreign corporation. 3. All stockholders of a corporation have the right to vote at the company’s Annual Meeting. 4. The chairman of the board is a corporate officer. 5. Most large firms in the USA are close corporations. 6. Stockholders may also serve as members of the board of directors. 7. A corporation may comprise no more than 1 million shareholders. 8. Board members are chosen only from within the corporation.
Advantages of Corporations
Learning objectives: 1. Know advantages and disadvantages of a corporation 2. Grasp the limited liability concept Limited Liability One of the most attractive features of corporate ownership is limited liability. Each owner’s financial liability is limited to the amount of money she or he has paid for the corporation’s stock. This feature arises from the fact that the corporation is itself a legal being, separate from its owners. If a corporation should fail, creditors have a claim only on the assets of the corporation, not on the personal assets of its owners. Ease of Transfer of Ownership Let us say that a shareholder of a public corporation wishes to sell his or her stock. A telephone call to a stockbroker is all that is required to put the stock up for sale. There are usually willing buyers available for most stocks, at the market price. Ownership is transferred automatically when the sale is made, and practically no restrictions apply to the sale and purchase of stock. Ease of Raising Capital The corporation is by far the most effective form of business ownership for raising capital. Like sole proprietorships and partnerships, corporations can borrow from lending institutions. However, they can also sell stock to raise additional sums of money. Individuals are more willing to invest in corporations than in other forms of business because of the limited liability that investors enjoy and because of the ease with which they can sell their stock. Perpetual Life Because a corporation is essentially a legal “person,” it exists independently of its owners and survives them. Unless its charter specifies otherwise, a corporation has perpetual life. The withdrawal, death, or incompetence of a key executive or owner is not cause for the corporation to be terminated. Sears, Roebuck, incorporated almost a century ago, is one of the nation’s largest retailing corporations, even though its original owners, Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck, have been dead for decades. Specialized Management Typically, corporations are able to recruit more skilled and knowledgeable managers than proprietorships and partnerships. This is because they have more available capital and are large enough to offer considerable opportunity for advancement. Within the corporate structure, administration, human resources, finance, sales, and operations are placed in the charge of experts in these fields. For instance, the Bechtel Group hired Caspar Weinberger, former Secretary of Defense. Disadvantages of Corporations
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Difficulty and Expense of Formation Forming a corporation can be a relatively complex and costly process. The use of an attorney may be necessary to complete the legal forms and apply to the state for a charter. Charter fees, attorney’s fees, the costs of stock certificates and required record keeping, and other organizational costs all add up. These payments can amount to thousands of dollars for even a medium-sized corporation. The costs of incorporating, in both time and money, discourage many owners of smaller businesses from forming corporations. Government Regulation Most government regulation of business is directed at corporations. A corporation must meet various government standards before it can sell its stock to the public. Then it must file many reports on its business operations and finances with local, state, and federal governments. In addition, the corporation must make periodic reports to its stockholders about various aspects of the business. Also, its activities are restricted by law to those spelled out in its charter. Double Taxation Unlike sole proprietorships and partnerships, corporations must pay a tax on their profits. Then stockholders must pay a personal income tax on profits received as dividends. As a result, corporate profits are taxed twice— once as corporate income and again as the personal income of stockholders. Lack of Secrecy Because open corporations are required to submit detailed reports to government agencies and to stockholders, they cannot keep their operations confidential. Competitors can study these required corporate reports and then use the information to compete more effectively. In effect, every public corporation has to share some of its secrets with its competitors. I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE Find in the text the English equivalents for the following phrases of words: 1. A revendica proprietatea corporaţiei/претендовать на собственность корпорации; 2. A expune acţiunile pentru vînzare/выставить акции на продажу; 3. Doar dacă în carta corporaţiei nu este prevăzut altceva/ если только в уставе корпорации не предусмотрено иное; 4. A corespunde standartelor de stat/соответствовать государственным стандартам; 5. Activităţile stipulate în carta corporaţiei /деятельность, оговоренная в уставе корпорации; 6. Fostul Ministru al Apărării/бывший министр обороны. II. COMPREHENSION Match the words with their definitions:
1. limited liability 2. lending institutions 3. stockbroker 4. unlimited liability 5. dividend 6. management 7. chairman 8. board of directors a) the effective management committee of a corporation b) if the company fails, creditors have a claim on the personal assets of its owners c) the highest position on a company’s board of directors d) if the company goes bankrupt, the shareholders cannot be asked to pay more than the nominal value of their shares e) banks, insurance companies, building societies f) a person who buys and sells stocks for other people g) an amount of the profits that a company pays to its shareholders h) the people who run and control an organization
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
III. Complete the table with the appropriate words describing the pluses and minuses of the corporation status. (Figures denote the number of words):
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Advantages Limited (1) Unlimited (1) Unlimited ability (1) Ability to recruit (2) Lack of difficulty in (2) 1. 2. 3. 4. Disadvantages Its profits are (2) Difficult and Its activities are controlled by (1) Impossibility to keep its (2)
(2)
IV. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR Complete the sentences using an adjective from box A and a preposition from box B:
A similar interested critical good responsible serious satisfied binding different B of with for about from at to in on
1. Could you tell me who is _____________________________ customer complaints? 2. My current job is very _________________________________ my previous one. 3. Last month the company’s sales dropped dramatically. This is only ___________________ a slump registered 5 years ago. 4. Our shareholders are greatly ________________ the profit and loss account we publish twice a year. 5. The chairman opened the meeting by saying he was ____________________ the progress made. 6. The press were _________________________ the company because staff training had not improved. 7. My manager is _______________________ firing 2 people. 8. Tom was appointed as president of our corporation because he is very _______________ leading and motivating people. 9. The contract comes into force on the day of its signature and is _________________ both parties. REVISION Learning objectives: 1. Understand the basic differences among the 3 forms of business ownership 2. Give arguments for their choice of the most advantageous form of business ownership
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
I. Fill in the gaps with the necessary words: Businesses are organized in different ways. When there is one owner, the company is called a …(1) proprietorship. If two or more people associate to form a company they make up a …(2). In both these organizations the …(3) supply the capital and as a rule they assume the management of the organization. They also have …(4) liability and are entitled to take possession of all the profits the company makes and all … (5) are borne by them. On the other hand there are limited …(6) companies. Such types of companies are either …(7) or public. The former type involves that the public has not …(8) to the company, the shares are sold to a restricted number of people. …(9) are the parts into which the assets of a company are divided. The owners of the company are …(10) and they hold shares in proportion with the …(11) they invested in the company. The management of limited liability company is entrusted to a …(12) of directors elected by the …(13) at the Annual Meeting. A shareholder who cannot attend the meeting may vote by …(14). The shareholders are entitled to the …(15) made by the company and therefore receive …(16). When a stockholder is offered additional stock in advance of public it means that he has a …(17) right. II. What is the usual antonym in the following pairs? 1. general partner and 2. common stock and 3. private corporation and 4. short-term financing and 5. formation and 6. to borrow and 7. employer and 8. profit and III. Complete the following chart:
Characteristics 1. The number of owners 2. Organizational documents 3. Taxes paid 4. Liability 5. Ability to borrow 6. Government control 7. The most widespread form of doing business 8. The most profitable form of doing business Sole proprietorship Partnership Corporation
IV. DISCUSSION 1. What kind of organization would you like to work for (as an employee) in the future? 2. What do you think your first position will be? – 45 –
3. 4. 5.
6.
A. Talp ă , O. Calina Do you expect to have one immediate boss, to work for more than one superior, or to be part of a team? Would you like to work for an organization where managers and workers are treated as equals or in a company in which there are status symbols such as big offices and company cars for senior staff? Give your reasons. In American corporations employees are offered a considerable opportunity for promotion. What are the chances to advance in our Moldavian corporations, say from a simple worker to a member of the board? If you were to start a business, which ownership form would you use? What factors might affect your choice of ownership form?
V. CASE STUDY Imagine finding yourself in the following situation: you are an executive vice president in a corporation A, which is not very successful. Another big corporationcompetitor B wants to take over the corporation you work in. They propose you to give away all the secret financial information and for this they promise you the position of the chairman of the board in the new big corporation. Besides you will be offered 3% of corporation’s shares. What would you do in this situation? VI. READING Arrange the following paragraphs into a coherent text and entitle it: (1) An individual like Henry Ford might want to begin a small enterprise and personally retain total responsibility, but once it starts to grow, a partnership or a corporation. (2) Many countries make a clear distinction between public and private companies, with separate designations such as AG and GmbH in Germany, or Plc and Ltd in Britain. Public companies are those large enough to have their shares traded on stock exchanges. The shares of privately owned companies are not available to the general public. In the USA the distinction between public and private companies is not so great, that is why most companies simply bear the title Inc or “Incorporated”. The heart of capitalism is private ownership and a Limited Liability Company allows people to own almost anything – from skyscrapers to television stations – without risking their personal assets should the company go bankrupt. The names of companies around the world reflect this guarantee of limited liability. The abbreviations “GmbH” in Germany, “Inc” in the USA, or “Ltd.” in most other English-speaking countries, “SRL” in Moldova and Romania indicate that the firm.
(3)
(4)
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES (5) The worst that can happen to investors in a limited liability company is losing their initial investment if the company fails. By limiting the downside risk for shareholders, companies are able to attract investors and raise large amounts of funds through sales of shares rather than by borrowing money at potentially high interest rates.
VII. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE Fill in to run or to do in the following sentences: 1. I ………. freelance work in my spare time. 2. I ……….. my own company from home. 3. My friend ………….. an agency for computer programs. 4. What do you …………… for a living? 5. Who ………… the business when you are away? 6. I have been …………….. business with this French firm for 2 years. 7. The business doesn’t…………. itself, you know! 8. The college ……… language courses for foreign students. 9. Our van ……… on diesel. 10. The car was …………….. 90 miles an hour.
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
3. MONEY AND BANKING
“ Money represents the sixth sense that makes it possible for us to enjoy the other five”
Learning objectives: 1. Define the money concept 2. Enumerate the demands for money 3. Know the functions and important characteristics of money Study and Learn the Words:
English to trade sth for sth to go on the spree provided that necessities (n) commodity money currency (n) lifeblood (n) shelter (n) transaction (n) for a “rainy day” bank account precaution (n) demand (n) yardstick (n) to assign value to sth in terms of money yard pound (abbr. lb) to hold on to sth savings account to accommodate purchases odd amounts even amounts denomination (n) multiples handled (adj) to counterfeit to be uneasy about sth genuine (adj) to be unsure about sth authentic, real, not a copy standard, criterion to price sth unit for measuring length, equal to 0,9144 of a meter unit for measuring weight, equal to a 0,454 of a kilogram to keep sth to make purchases sume impare sume cu soţ valoare multiplu folosit, uzat a falsifica, a contraface нечётные суммы чётные суммы достоинство (монеты) кратные использованный, изношенный подделывать English equivalents to exchange sth that you have for sth that sb else has Romanian Russian
a petrece, a avea chef cu condiţia că articole de primă necesitate banii-marfă valuta, monedă sursă, putere de viaţă casă, adăpost transacţie, afacere pentru zile negre cont bancar prevedere, precauţie necesitate, trebuinţă exprimaţi în bani iard livră
кутить при условии предметы первой необходимости товарные деньги валюта, деньги источник кров сделка, дело на чёрный день банковский счёт предосторожность, предусмотрительность потребность в денежном выражении ярд фунт
cont de economii
сберегательный счёт
The word money is uncountable and is used with the verb in singular: E.g. How much money is there in my account?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES Idioms with Money: match the meaning of the words in bold with their definition in the right.
1. For my money, he is one of the best financiers in our company. 2. People in our Republic pay good money to visit Paris. 3. His prediction was right on the money. 4. He will win the competition for the contract, I’d put money on it. 5. There is no such thing that he can’t afford, because he is made of money. a) very rich b) accurate c) in my opinion d) I’m sure about it e) a lot of money
Here are some sayings about money. Comment on them in pairs: - Money makes the world go round - Money is the root of all evil - Time is money - The only way to double your money is to fold the banknotes and put them into your pocket - Money talks - Easy come, easy go
3.1. What is Money?
Money is considered to be one of the greatest inventions of humanity along with the alphabet and wheel. Its role in a society’s life is still very important. As Shakespeare wrote: “Gold makes white out of black and a hero out of a coward”. So what is money? Money is anything used by a society to purchase goods and services or resources. The members of the society receive money for their products or resources; then they either hold that money or use it to purchase other products or resources, when and how they see fit. Before money was in general use, people traded goods and services for other goods and services. This system of the exchange of goods and services without the use of money is called barter system. For example, one family may raise vegetables and herbs on a plot of land; and another may weave cloth. To obtain food, the family of weavers trades cloth for vegetables, provided that the farming family is in need of cloth. The trouble with barter is that the two parties in an exchange must need each other’s product at the same time, and the two products must be roughly equal in value. It may work well when few products, primarily the necessities of life, are available. But even very primitive societies soon developed some sort of money to eliminate the inconvenience of trading by barter. Over the years, different groups of people have used all sorts of objects as money – whale’s teeth, stones, beads, seashells, salt, furs, tobacco, copper crosses, and such metals as gold and silver. Such items are known as commodity money. The first coins made of gold and silver appeared in China in the IXth century BC. Alexander the Great (356-323BC) was the first emperor who engraved his image on the coin of his empire. Later almost all the other monarchs followed suit. The use of paper money began in the early XVIIth century. Today, the most commonly used objects are metal coins and paper bills, which together are called currency. Money has been called "the root of all evil." It has also been described as the "lifeblood of commerce." But however you may look upon it, money remains in great demand. Many economists give three main reasons, or demands, for money: – 49 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 1. The need for money for payment of wages, rents, debts, and the costs of food, clothing, and shelter. This type of need is called a transaction demand. The money is needed for transactions of daily life. The transaction demand is the strongest among lower income people. They need almost all their money for the necessities of life. People with higher incomes can set aside part of their income for investments and savings. 2. The need for money for expenses that may arise in the future. The money is set aside for a “rainy day,” usually in a bank account; it is not usually invested in long-term or risky projects since the money must be at hand when needed. The demand for this “rainy day” money is called a precautionary demand. It is held as a precaution in the event of future needs. 3. The need for money for investment purposes. People may want to invest money in business, land, buildings, or antiques. These investments are risky. But people who invest in them are using their money to earn money. The demand for this money is called investments demand. There is always a chance of losing money in such investments. When the demand for money is for very risky projects, it is called a speculative demand.
The Functions of Money We have already noted that money aids in the exchange of goods and services for resources. And it does. But that’s a rather general way of stating money’s function. Let us look at three specific functions of money in any society: 1. Money Serves as a Medium of Exchange A medium of exchange is anything that is accepted as payment for products and resources. This definition looks very much like the definition of money. And it is meant to, because the primary function of money is to serve as a medium of exchange. The key word here is accepted. As long as the owners of products and resources accept money in an exchange, it is performing this function. Of course, these owners accept it because they know it is acceptable to the owners of other products and resources, which they may wish to purchase. For example, the family in our earlier example can sell their vegetables and use the money to purchase cloth from the weavers. This eliminates the problems associated with the barter system. 2. Money Serves as a Measure of Value A measure of value is a single standard or “yardstick” that is used to assign values to, and compare the values of, products and resources. Money serves as a measure of value because the prices of all products and resources are stated in terms of money. It is thus the “common denominator” that we use to compare products and decide which we shall buy. Imagine the difficulty you would have in deciding whether you could afford, say, a pair of shoes if it were priced in terms of yards of cloth or pounds of vegetables—especially if your employer happened to pay you in toothbrushes. 3. Money Represents a Store of Value Money that is received by an individual or firm need not be used immediately. It may be held and spent later. Hence money serves as a store of value, or a means for retaining and accumulating wealth. This function of money comes into play whenever we hold on to money—in a pocket, a cookie jar, a savings account, or whatever. Value that is stored as money is affected by fluctuations in the economy. One of the major problems caused by inflation is a loss of stored value: as prices go up in an inflationary period, money loses value. Suppose you can buy a Sony stereo system for $1,000. Then we may say that your $1,000 now has a value equal to the value of
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES that system. But let us suppose that you wait a while and don’t buy the stereo immediately. If the price goes up to $1,100 in the meantime because of inflation, you can no longer buy the stereo with your $1,000. Your money has lost value because it is now worth less than the stereo.
Important Characteristics of Money To be acceptable as a medium of exchange, money must be fairly easy to use, it must be trusted, and it must be capable of performing its functions. Together, these requirements give rise to five essential characteristics: Divisibility The standard unit of money must be divisible into smaller units to accommodate small purchases as well as large ones. American standard is the dollar, and it is divided into one-hundredths, one-twentieths, one-tenths, onefourths, and one-halfs through the issuance of coins (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half-dollars, respectively). These allow people to make purchases of less than a dollar and of odd amounts greater than a dollar. Portability Money must be small enough and light enough to be carried easily. For this reason, paper currency, is issued in larger denominations— multiples of the standard unit. Five-, ten-, twenty-, fifty-, and hundred-dollar bills make our money convenient for almost any purchase. Stability Money should retain its value over time. When it does not (during periods of high inflation), people tend lo lose faith in their money. They may then turn to other means of storing value (such as gold and jewels, works of art, and real estate). In extreme cases, they may use such items as a medium of exchange as well. They may even resort to barter. Durability The objects that serve as money should be strong enough to last through reasonable usage. No one would appreciate (or use) dollar bills that disintegrated as they were handled or coins that melted in the sun. Difficulty of Counterfeiting If a nation’s currency were easy to counterfeit— that is, to imitate or fake—its citizens would be uneasy about accepting it as payment. Even genuine currency would soon lose its value, because no one would want it. Thus the countries that issue currency do their best to ensure that it is very hard to reproduce. I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Find in the text the words that are the synonyms of: 1. on condition that= rise= 2. problem= out (adj)= 3. necessity= to forge= 4. to help= difficult= 5. outright (adv)= banknote= B) Explain the meaning of the following phrases of words: 1. to be roughly equal in value 2. to come into play 3. to be in great demand 4. to be at hand 5. to follow suit 6. to be fairly easy to use sth – 51 –
6. 7.
to worn8. 9.
10.
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 7. to last through reasonable usage
C) Give English equivalents: 1. mijloc de schimb/ средство обмена 2. măsurare a valorii/мера стоимости 3. numitor comun/общий знаменатель 4. lot de pămînt/участок земли 5. conservarea valorii/сохранение стоимости 6. banknotele se emit în valoarea mai mare/денежные купюры выпускаются большим достоинством 7. a-şi pierde încrederea/потерять веру 8. proprietatea imobiliară/недвижимость 9. moneda veritabilă/подлинные деньги 10. oamenii cu un venit mai scăzut/люди с более низким доходом. II. COMPREHENSION A) Give answers to the following questions: 1. What is money and what do you know about its history? 2. What is barter and what is the trouble with it? 3. What is commodity money and who used this money? 4. Why do people need money? 5. Name the functions of money and characterize them. 6. Enumerate the characteristics of money. Which one seems the most appealing to you and why? 7. Why should the standard unit of money be divided into smaller units? Associate the following coins with the Moldavian ones: a) a penny – d) a quarter b) a nickel – e) a dime c) a half-dollar 8. Why is paper money issued in larger denominations? 9. When do people tend to lose faith in their money? What do they do in this case? 10. What do people usually do with handled or deteriorated bills or coins? 11. Why do issuers of currency make it very hard to be reproduced? 12. Money counterfeiting – is it a criminal or a civil case? What happens to counterfeiters according to the appropriate articles of law in our country? Do you agree with the punishment stipulated in these articles? B) Find in the text the words to the following definitions: 1. coins and paper money ________________ 2. the means of exchanging sth for sth without using money ________________ 3. the necessity to save money for a time when you will really need it _________ 4. anything that is accepted as payment for products and resources __________ 5. the quality of being steady and not changing in any way _________________ 6. a means for retaining and accumulating wealth _______________________ III. DISCUSSION 1. What role does money play in your life? For instance, you have been offered 2 jobs: I) a part-time, attractive, low-paid job II) a full-time, dirty (from the ethical point of view), rather well-paid job What would you choose and why?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 2. If you possessed a large amount of money, what would the advantages and disadvantages of the following be? • putting it under the mattress • buying a lottery ticket • visiting a casino • depositing it in a bank • buying gold • investing it in your own business • buying a Van Gogh painting • buying shares of a corporation • investing it in real estate • going on a spending spree Choose out of these 3 items that would characterize your actions concerning your money. Give your reasons. Use the following structure: If I possessed a large amount of money I would … 3. How much money do you need to consider yourself to be a rich person? Is it possible to earn this sum of money in an honest way in our Republic? 4. When you see a person for the first time, can you detect whether the person is rich, with average income, or poor. If yes, than how? 5. Can everything be bought with money? 6. What would be the consequences of a world without money? Would there be no poverty? Could we use a barter system instead?
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina IV. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR Fill in prepositions: 1. Our company decided to trade our services ______ the products of our commercial partners. 2. The trouble ______ wax is that it melts _____ the sun. 3. Money eliminates the problems associated ______ the barter system. 4. I bought his share of business ______ $20000. 5. When people lose faith ____ their money, they may resort _____ barter.
3.2 The Supply of Money: M1, M2, M3
Learning objectives: 1. Grasp the money supply concept 2. Differentiate between a demand deposit and time deposit 3. Study the lexicon of public and personal finance Study and Learn the Words:
English money supply demand deposit checking account on demand to withdraw money from an account automated teller machine (ATM) time deposit near-monies securities (n) government bonds surrender value English equivalents Romanian ofertă monetară deposit la vedere cont curent la cerere a retrage bani de pe cont bancomat deposit la termen aproape bani hîrtii de valoare obligaţiuni de stat suma de bani care se înapoiază persoanei în caz dacă ea a renunţat la poliţa de asigurare agregat monetar which brings interest Russian предложение денег вклад до востребования, бессрочный вклад текущий счёт по требованию снимать деньги со счёта банкомат срочный вклад почти деньги ценные бумаги государственные облигации сумма, возвращаемая лицу, отказавшемуся от страхового полиса денежный агрегат
cash dispenser
measure (M) interest-bearing (adj)
How much money is there in the United States? Before we can answer that question, we need to redefine a couple of concepts: A demand deposit is an amount that is on deposit in a checking account. It is called a demand deposit because it can be claimed immediately—on demand—by presenting a properly made-out check, withdrawing cash from an automated teller machine, or by transferring money between accounts. A time deposit is an amount that is on deposit in an interest-bearing savings account. Savings institutions generally permit immediate withdrawal of money from savings accounts. However, they can require written notice prior to withdrawal. The time between notice and withdrawal is what leads to the name time deposits. Time deposits are not immediately available to their owners, but they can be converted to cash easily. For this reason, they are called near-monies. Other near– 54 –
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES monies include short-term government securities, government bonds, and the cash surrender values of insurance policies. Money Supply is the total amount of money that exists in the economy of a country at a particular time. The M1 supply of money consists only of currency and demand deposits. (It is thus based on a narrow definition of money.) By law, currency must be accepted as payment for products and resources. Checks are accepted as payment because they are convenient, convertible to cash, and generally safe. The M2 supply of money consists of M1 (currency and demand deposits) plus certain specific securities and small-denomination time deposits. Another common definition of money — M3 — consists of M1 and M2 plus large time deposits of $100,000 or more. The definitions of money that include the M2 and M3 supplies are based on the assumption that time deposits are easily converted to cash for spending. So, there are at least three measures of the supply of money. (Actually, there are other measures as well, which may be broader or narrower than M1, M2, and M3.) So the answer to our original question is that the amount of money in the United States depends very much on how we measure it.
I. COMPREHENSION A) Mark the statements with TRUE or FALSE: 1. The amount of money that exists in the economy of a country depends on how the money is measured. 2. A time deposit is an amount that is on deposit in a checking account. 3. Demand deposit is money that you have on your credit card. 4. Time deposits are also called near-monies because they can be easily converted into cash. 5. There are only 3 measures of the supply of money. 6. The interest on money in a checking account is lower than the interest on money in a savings account. B) Complete the following formulae: M1 = M2 = M3 = Study the text and be ready to comment on it: PERSONAL FINANCE: Employees may receive the money they have earned as weekly wages in cash (if they are blue-collars), or as monthly salary in a current account (if they are professionals). In the latter case, the current account (U.S. checking account) is where they pay in their earnings and from where they withdraw money to pay their everyday bills. Holders can withdraw their money with no restrictions, but they receive little interest. The bank sends them a bank statement telling them how much money is in their account. They can also give an instruction to the bank to pay fixed sums of money to certain people at stated times by a standing order. Generally, people avoid having an overdraft because in the end they will pay a lot of interest. People may also save up money. They open a savings account where they deposit any extra money that they have and only take it out when they intend to spend it on something special. When they invest money in a deposit account (U.S. time or notice account), the customers receive a high rate of interest but withdrawals require 90 days’ notice. If they want to buy their own house, which is a – 55 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina big investment, they may take a bank loan for which they must leave a pledge. If the bank grants them this loan, they have a mortgage. When you purchase in a shop, you may pay in cash or by credit card. In some shops it is possible not to pay outright, but on credit. If you buy in bulk you may be offered a discount. With such goods as cars, refrigerators or furniture, you may pay the full amount or you may pay in installments.
PUBLIC FINANCE: People, the disadvantaged ones in particular, may receive some money from the government as well, as a form of social security. For instance, the government pays out pensions, unemployment benefits, disability allowances, child allowance, and grants and scholarships to help students pay for studying. In order to be able to redistribute some money, the government has to form the budget first and cover its expenses according to its fiscal policy. The government levies the money it needs from citizens through various taxes. Income tax is the tax collected on individuals’ wages and salaries. Inheritance tax is levied on what people inherit from others as a legacy. III. Which words in the text given in bold are defined below? Give their translation: 1. money which is in the form of coins and banknotes _________________ 2. an amount of money you receive weekly in return for labour _______________ 3. extra percentage paid on a loan _______________________ 4. a fixed amount which is paid monthly to workers of higher rank _____________________ 5. the amount of money borrowed from a bank greater than that which is in your account _________________________ 6. loan to purchase property, used as security for this loan ______________________ 7. a piece of paper that shows how much you owe sb for goods and services _____________ 8. a guarantee for a loan ____________________________________________ 9. an account with a higher rate of interest but requiring notification in advance for withdrawing the funds ________________________ 10. an account with low interest but with no restrictions for withdrawal ________________ 11. money paid by the state to a person when he/she retires _____________________ 12. money given for education ______________________ 13. money paid to people that are made redundant ______________________ 14. money paid to people with a handicap ________________________ 15. money received from someone in his/her will ___________________________ IV. Find in the text from exercise II the English equivalents for the following: 1. extras de cont/выписка со счёта; 2. dispoziţie de plată/инструкция об уплате; 3. suma trasă din cont fără acoperire/превышение кредита; 4. a plăti în numerar/платить наличными; 5. a plăti în rate/платить в рассрочку; 6. a vinde pe credit/продавать в кредит; 7. a plăti pe loc/оплатить сразу;
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 8. a cumpăra în vrac/покупать в большом количестве.
V. Group the following words under the headings: Salary, bill, mortgage, debt, tax, fare, fine, bonus, fee, dividend, instalment, legacy, rent, premium, subsidy, deposit, royalties .
MONEY TO RECEIVE MONEY TO PAY
VI. Fill in the blanks with some of the words from the left column: 1. All the workers in our firm get a Christmas _____________ of $200. 2. Farmers are waiting for the new _________________ to help them grow cereals. 3. As her book was a best-seller, she got substancial ______________________. 4. After their uncle’s death they each received a _______________ of $25000. 5. The _________________ the shareholders received were quite significant since their company fared well last year. VII. Fill in the blanks with some words from the right column: 1. He paid a high ______________ for his insurance policy against the loss of his voice. 2. We made a ______________ of 25% to be sure that the shop will not sell the furniture we liked so much. 3. How much is the ______________ from the airport to the Hilton Hotel? 4. You have to pay a ______________ for breaking the speed limit. 5. I bought a fridge, which I have to pay back in six monthly ________________ of $100 each. VIII. WORD STUDY The word cash is uncountable: How much cash do you have on you? Choose the correct definition for the following vocabulary items that are formed with the word cash. 1. cash flow is a) the conversion rate between currencies; b) money which is immediately available; c) movement of money into and out of business. 2. petty cash is a) small denomination coins; b) money held in a business to cover small expenses; c) pocket money given to children. 3. cash dispenser is a) someone who spends money; b) machine in or outside a bank from which you can get money with a card; c) device used to sort out money. 4. cash register is a) machine used in shops to record the money; – 57 –
5.
6.
7.
8.
A. Talp ă , O. Calina b) a special book where you keep the record of money coming in and getting out; c) person who records money in a bank. cash-and-carry is a) method to pay for the transport of goods; b) large shop where goods are paid at cheaper prices and removed by customers; c) money you receive for delivering the goods. cash cow is a) animal bred to be sold; b) part of business that brings enough profits; c) someone you can cheat to get undue money. cash discount is a) reduction in a price if you pay immediately; b) reduction of the sum of money you owe; c) reduction in a price if you buy goods in bulk. cash desk is a) a table in which you keep money; b) a television company office that deals with monetary issues; c) place in a shop where you pay for goods that you have bought.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
3.3. The Banking Industry
Learning objectives: 1. Describe the modern banking system 2. Understand the differences between commercial banks and other financial institutions in the banking industry Study and Learn the Words:
English Federal Reserve System to render services financially sound (adj) input (n) output (n) to charge interest comptroller (n) to outnumber Savings and Loan association (S&L) to become effective to stand for conservative investments English equivalents to offer services reliable from the financial point of view sth that you put into work to make it succeed the result of the performed work a cere procente controller a depăşi numeric asociaţia de economii şi împrumut a intra în vigoare a însemna investiţii moderate Romanian sistemul băncilor federale de rezerve Russian Федеральная резервная система
назначать проценты превосходить численно сберегательнозаёмная ассоциация вступать в силу означать умеренные инвестиции
In the USA, in every locality no matter how small it is, there is a church and a bank. Americans who are considered to be rather religious persons go to church to maintain and accumulate their “spiritual wealth”. And they go to the bank to keep and accumulate their material wealth. The modern banking system includes three groups of financial institutions: • the central bank; • commercial banks; • other specialized financial institutions that include both banking and non-banking organizations. The central bank, which depending on the country may be called the State Bank or the National bank (as in our country), bears the name of the Federal Reserve System in the USA. As a rule, this is a government institution and in a way it is the bank for all the other banks in a country. It controls the monetary policy of a state and it is responsible for the national currency stability. The name „commercial” appeared in the XVIIth century when banks generally served the commerce. The first banks were founded in the Italian republics, then in Amsterdam and London. They appeared as simple merchants that traded money. Nowadays the banks have a universal character. Very often they are called financial „department stores” rendering services to the industrial, agricultural, commercial and other enterprises. The Federal Reserve System (or simply "the Fed") is the government agency responsible for regulating the United States banking industry. It was created by Congress on December 23, 1913. Its mission is to maintain an economically healthy and financially sound business environment in which banks can operate. The Federal Reserve System is controlled by the seven members of its Board of Governors, who meet in Washington, D.C. Each governor is appointed by the – 59 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina president and confirmed by the Senate for a fourteen-year term. The president also selects the chairman and vice chairman of the board from among the board members for four-year terms. These terms may be renewed. . The Federal Reserve System includes twelve Federal Reserve District Banks, which are located throughout the United States, as well as twenty-five branchterritory banks. Each Federal Reserve District Bank is actually owned—but not controlled—by the commercial banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. All national banks must be members of the Fed. State banks may join if they choose to and if they meet membership requirements. A commercial bank is a profit-making organization that accepts deposits, makes loans, and provides related services to its customers. Like other businesses, the bank's primary goal—its purpose—is to earn a profit. Its inputs are money in the form of deposits, for which it pays interest. Its primary output is loans, for which it charges interest. If the bank is successful, its income is greater than the sum of its expenses, and it will show a profit. Because banks deal with money belonging to individuals and other firms, they are carefully regulated. They must also meet certain requirements before they are chartered, or granted permission to operate, by federal or state banking authorities. A national bank is a commercial bank that is chartered by the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, There are approximately 5,500 national banks, accounting for about 53 percent of all bank deposits. These banks must conform to federal banking regulations and are subject to unannounced inspections by federal auditors. A state bank is a commercial bank that is chartered by the banking authorities in the state in which it operates. State banks outnumber national banks by about two to one, but they tend to be smaller than national banks. They are subject to unannounced inspections by both state and federal auditors.
3.3.1 Other Financial Institutions
Savings and Loan Associations A savings and loan association (S&L) is a financial institution that primarily accepts savings deposits and provides homemortgage loans. Originally, they were permitted to offer their depositors only savings accounts. But since Congress passed the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act, which became effective on January 1, 1981, they have been able to offer interest-paying checking accounts (NOW accounts) to attract depositors. A NOW account is an interest-bearing checking account. (NOW stands for Negotiable Order of Withdrawal.) Credit Unions A credit union is a financial institution that accepts deposits from, and lends money to, only those people who are its members. Usually the membership is composed of employees of a particular firm, people in a particular profession, or those who live in a community served by a local credit union. Some credit unions require that members purchase at least one share of ownership, at a cost of about $5 to $10. Credit unions generally pay higher interest than commercial banks and S&Ls, and they may provide loans at lower cost. Credit unions are regulated by the Federal Credit Union Administration. Mutual Savings Banks A mutual savings bank is a bank that is owned by its depositors. Located primarily in the northeastern part of the United States, mutual savings banks accept deposits and lend money for home mortgages. The approximately 375 mutual savings banks in this country have no stockholders. Their profits are distributed to depositors. They operate much like S&Ls and are controlled by state banking authorities. Organizations That Perform Banking Functions There are three types of financial institutions that are not actually banks but that are nevertheless involved in various banking activities to a limited extent.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES Insurance companies provide long-term financing for office buildings, shopping centers, and other commercial real estate projects throughout the United States. They also invest in corporate and government bonds. The funds used for this type of financing are obtained from policyholders' insurance premiums. Pension funds are established by employers to guarantee their employees a regular monthly income upon retirement. Contributions to the fund may come either from the employer alone or from both the employer and the employee. Pension funds earn additional income through generally conservative investments in certain corporate stocks, corporate bonds, government securities, and real estate developments. Brokerage firms offer combination savings and checking accounts that pay higher-than-usual interest rates (so-called money-market rates). Many people switched to these accounts when their existence became widely recognized to get the higher rates. In the last few years, however, banks have instituted similar types of accounts, hoping to lure their depositors back.
I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE Find the English equivalents for the following: 1. a corespunde cerinţelor apartenenţei/соответствовать требованиям членства; 2. a da autorizaţie/давать разрешение; 3. prima de asigurare/страховая премия; 4. la ieşire la pensie/при выходе на пенсию; 5. hîrtii de valoare de stat/государственные ценные бумаги; 6. credit ipotecar/ипотечный кредит; 7. stabilitatea monedei naţionale/стабильность национальной валюты; 8. a fi supus unei inspectări neanunţate/подвергаться неожиданной инспекционной проверке; 9. deţinător de poliţă/держатель полиса; 10. comercianţi care vindeau şi cumpărau bani/торговцы, которые продавали и покупали деньги. II. COMPREHENSION A) Give answers to the following questions: 1. What is the name for the central bank in the USA? Describe it. What is its mission? 2. Give the definitions of a commercial, national and state banks. How do banks earn most of their profit? 3. What is a Savings and Loan Association? What did they offer to their depositors originally and what do they offer now? 4. What is a NOW account? 5. What is a Credit Union? Who can become its member? What do some credit unions require? 6. What is a mutual savings bank? What are the similarities and differences between a mutual savings bank and S&L? 7. What other financial institutions do you know? 8. How do insurance companies obtain their funds? Give examples of insurance companies in our country. What are their functions? 9. What are pension funds established for? How do they get the money to be paid out to pensioners? 10. What accounts are offered by brokerage firms? B) Mark the statements with TRUE or FALSE: – 61 –
4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 1. In the USA there are more national banks than state banks. 2. State banks must be members of the Fed. 3. Commercial banks own Federal Reserve District Banks, which are not under their control. If you want to buy a flat but you don’t have money, you can apply to S&L. Credit Unions are more advantageous than commercial banks. There are approximately 375 mutual savings banks in the USA and they have stockholders. Insurance companies, pension funds and brokerage firms are nonbanking organizations. Brokerage firms offer lower-than-usual interest rates.
III. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Fill in prepositions: 1. I want to open an account ______ your bank. 2. You have only $100 _______ your account. 3. Don’t borrow money _______ this bank. They charge very high interest ____ a loan. 4. When you paid the hotel bill, did you pay _____ cash or _____ credit card? 5. Banks also make their profits ______ the fees and commisions they charge ______ their services. 6. Yesterday the Dresdner Bank announced an interest rate increase ______ 0,5%. 7. As soon as we receive your cheque _____ 2500$ we will despatch the goods which will reach you within a few days. 8. Because some customers can’t afford to pay ____ cash, businesses sell goods and services _____ credit. B) Choose the correct form of the verb: 1. She ... the bank to check her account. a) has just phoned; b) just phoned; c) just has phoned; d) phones just. 2. When the secretary entered Mr.Black ... to foreign businessmen. a) spoke; b) was speaking; c) has spoken; d) had spoken. 3. Our director ... the prices now. a) are discussing; b) was discussing; c) discussies; d) is discussing. 4. This firm ... Model A-5 for 4 years before they started producing Model A-6. a) produced; b) had been producing; c) has been producing; d) was producing. 5. He ... $100000 in Swiss bank account last spring. a) deposited; b) had deposited; c) has deposited; d) was depositing. 6. I am awfully tired because I ... all day. a) was working; b) had been working; c) have been working; d) have worked. IV. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE Choose the correct word for each sentence: 1. She works for an advertisement/advertising agency. 2. How will the increase in interest rates affect/effect your sales?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 3. My bank manager has agreed to borrow/lend me another $2000. 4. We’ve had to cancel/postpone the meeting until next Monday. 5. My plane was delayed/postponed by an hour due to computer failure. 6. Before coming here, I studied economics/economy at university. 7. I am interested/interesting in your buildings projects in the Middle East. 8. She applied for a job/work as a personnel officer. 9. The cost of life/living has gone up again. 10. Please send precise measurements/measures when ordering. 11. We expect prices to raise/rise by at least 5%. 12. We only exchange goods if you produce a receipt/recipe. 13. I must remember/remind the boss about that meeting this afternoon. 14. Can you say/tell the difference between these two products? 15. The company is extremely sensible/sensitive to any criticism. 16. There’s some more paper in the stationery/stationary cupboard.
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
3.3.2 Services Provided by the Financial Institutions
Learning objectives: 1. Be able to identify the primary services provided by commercial banks and other financial institutions 2. Evaluate the importance of banks to the economy of a community Study and Learn the words:
English array (n) payroll (n) English equivalents a list of people employed by a company showing the amount of money to be paid to each of them Romanian mulţime stat de plată Russian множество платёжная ведомость
balance (n) savings passbook to shop for a loan collateral (n) credit card to compete for a loan pledge a small plastic card that you can use to buy goods and services and pay for them later a plastic card that can be used to take money directly from your bank account when you pay for sth ATM card cashier the difference between the rates of interest
sold carnet de depuneri cauţiune, garanţie, gaj cartea de credit
сальдо, остаток сберегательная книжка залоговое обеспечение кредитная карта
debit card
cartea de debit
дебитовая карта
cash card teller (n) spread (n)
casier de bancă
кассир (в банке)
If it seems to you that banks and other financial institutions are competing for your business, you're right. That is exactly what is happening. Never before have so many different financial institutions offered such a tempting array of services to attract customers. The financial services provided by the banking industry are the following: 1. Demand deposits 2. Time deposits 3. Loans 4. Electronic transfer of funds 5. Financial advice 6. Trust services 7. Certified checks 8. Safe-deposit boxes The three most important banking services are accepting deposits, making loans, and providing electronic funds transfers. The Deposit Side of Banking Firms and individuals deposit money in checking accounts (demand deposits) so that they can write checks to pay for purchases. A check is a written order for a bank or other financial institution to pay a stated dollar amount to the business or person indicated on the face of the check. Today, most goods and services are paid for by check. Most financial institutions charge an activity fee (or service charge) for checking accounts. It is generally somewhere between $5 and $10 per month for individuals. For businesses, monthly
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES charges are based on the average daily balance in the checking account and on the number of checks written. Savings accounts (time deposits) provide a safe place to store money and a very conservative means of investing. The usual passbook savings account earns about 5.5 percent in commercial banks and S&Ls, and slightly more in credit unions. Depositors can usually withdraw money from passbook accounts whenever they wish to. A depositor who is willing to leave money with a bank for a set period of time can earn a higher rate of interest. To do so, the depositor buys a certificate of deposit (CD). A certificate of deposit is a document stating that the bank will pay the depositor a guaranteed interest rate for money left on deposit for a specified period of time. The interest rate paid on CD depends on how much is invested and for how long. Depositors are penalized for early withdrawal of funds invested in CDs. The Lending Side of Banking Commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and other financial institutions provide short- and long-term loans to both individuals and businesses. Short-term loans are those that are to be repaid within one year. For businesses, short-term loans are generally used to provide working capital that will be repaid with sales revenues. Long-term business loans have a longer repayment period—generally three to seven years but sometimes as long as fifteen years. They are most often used to finance the growth of a firm or its product mix. Most lenders prefer some type of collateral for both business and personal long-term loans. Collateral is real or personal property (stocks, bonds, land, equipment, or any other asset of value) that the firm or individual owns and that is pledged as security for a loan. For example, when an individual obtains a loan to pay for a new automobile, the automobile is the collateral for the loan. If the borrower fails to repay the loan according to the terms specified in the loan agreement, the lender can repossess the collateral pledged as security for that loan. Repayment terms and interest rates for both short- and long-term loans are arranged between the lender and the borrower. For businesses, repayment terms may include monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual payments. Repayment terms (and interest rates) for personal loans vary, depending on how the money will be used and what type of collateral, if any, is pledged. Borrowers should always "shop" for a loan, comparing the repayment terms and interest rates offered by competing financial institutions. Electronic Transfer of Funds The newest service provided by financial institutions is electronic banking. An electronic funds transfer (EFT) system is a means for performing financial transactions through a computer terminal. Present EFT systems can be used in several ways: 1. Automated teller machines (ATMs): An ATM is an electronic bank teller—a machine that provides almost any service a human teller can provide. Once the customer is properly identified, the machine can dispense cash from the customer's checking or savings account or can make a cash advance charged to a credit card. Most ATMs can also accept deposits and provide information about current account balances. ATMs are located in bank parking lots, supermarkets, drugstores, and even filling stations. Customers have access to them at all times of the day or night. 2. Point-of-sale (POS) terminals: A POS terminal is a computerized cash register that is located in a retail store and connected to a bank's computer. Here's how it works. You select your merchandise. At the cash register, you pull your debit card through a magnetic card reader and enter your four-to-seven-digit personal identification number (“PIN code”).
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina A central processing center notifies a computer at your bank that you want to make a purchase. Next, the bank's computer immediately deducts the amount of the purchase from your checking account. Then, the amount of the purchase is added to the store's account. Finally, the store is notified that the transaction is complete, and the cash register prints out your receipt. Notice the difference between a debit card and a credit card. With a debit card, money is deducted immediately from your account. A credit card transaction, on the other hand, involves a shortterm loan made to you by the bank or credit card company. The use of POS terminals has two advantages. First, you don't have to write a check to pay for your merchandise. Second, the retailer doesn't have to worry about nonpayment because the money is withdrawn from your account immediately. Our Moldavian banks offer such cards as Maestro and Visa card. The usage of cards is one of the most modern and convenient non-cash payment means. All our payment cards are designed to be convenient for us. The Maestro card is a valid payment card issued to private customers only. One can use it for the non-cash settlement of services or goods. It is also used for withdrawing cash at bank counters and at ATMs. The Visa card can be used worldwide for transactions at electronic devices only.
I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Find the English equivalents for the following: 1. safeurile bancare/банковские ячейки; 2. pe suprafaţa cecului/на лицевой стороне чека; 3. proprietate mobilă/движимое имущество; 4. a lăsa în gaj/отдавать в залог; 5. locul parcării/место стоянки автотранспорта; 6. staţiune de alimentare a maşinilor/заправка; 7. registru de casă imprimă cecul/кассовый аппарат выбивает чек. 8. achitarea serviciilor sau mărfurilor prin virament/оплата услуг или товаров по безналичному расчёту. B) Match the verbs with their definitions:
1. to repossess 2. to penalize 3. to renew 4. to lure 5. to institute 6. to withdraw 7. to repay 8. to finance 9. to dispense 10. to notify a) to make sth valid for a further period of time b) to give out sth to people c) to provide money for a project d) to introduce a system e) to give information about sth f) to take back property or goods from sb who cannot pay for them. g) to make sb pay a fine for breaking a rule h) to make sb be interested in sth i) to take money out of a bank account j) to pay back the money you have borrowed from sb
II. COMPREHENSION A) Give answers to the following questions: 1. What are the 3 most important banking services? 2. What is a check? Do we have something like this in our country? 3. What is a cerificate of deposit? What does the interest rate paid on CD depend on? 4. What kinds of loans are provided by the financial institutions? What is the difference between these loans? 5. What is a collateral? 6. How are the repayment terms and interest rates for loans arranged?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 7. What is an EFT and how it can be used? 8. Have you ever used an ATM and a POS terminal? Did you have any problems or not? What do you think about EFT system? 9. What is the difference between a debit card and a credit card? 10. What are the types of plastic cards that our citizens can use?
B) Mark the statements with TRUE or FALSE: 1. In order to be able to write a check one must deposit his/her money in a checking account. 2. Banks don’t charge fees for their services. 3. Depositors can freely withdraw funds invested in CDs whenever they wish to. 4. If you want to take a long-term loan you must present a collateral to the bank. 5. You can use the services of the POS terminal with a credit card. 6. ATMs work round the clock. II. Match the column A with the column B:
B Definitions a) a company pays salaries to its employees through the bank that transfers people’s money on their ATM cards. b) the bank gives you money to use for different purposes, on which you pay interest. c) an arrangement by which a bank has legal control of money or property that has been given to a person until he/she reaches a particular age. d) the bank keeps your valuables, securities or important documents in its vault. e) the bank keeps your money, pays you a little interest on it, and you can withdraw this money whenever you need it. f) bank managers consult you about different issues connected with investing money, concluding financial transactions and others.
A Banking services 1. trust services 2. safe-deposit boxes 3. financial advice 4. demand deposit 5. loans 6. payroll service
IV. Match each statement of potencial customers to the financial service needed: ATM card, insurance policy, personal loan, overdraft facilities, standing order, mortgage, high-interest deposit accounts, foreign currency, business loan, SWIFT transfer. 1. „I want my bills to be paid monthly” ________________________________ 2. „How can I get money when the bank is closed?” _______________________ 3. „I need some cash when I arrive in Cairo” _____________________________ 4. „I’d like to buy a new house” ____________________________________ 5. „I may be in debt next month” _________________________________ 6. „I want to save and get a good return on my money” __________________ 7. „I want to guard my house against damage” _________________________ 8. „I want to send $5000 to my son in Tokyo as quickly as possible” _________ 9. „I want to renovate my house” ________________________________ 10. „I am going to buy equipment for our new office” _________________ V. With a partner think of different ways of completing the following sentences: 1. If I want to save up my money, I can .................................................................. – 67 –
2. 3. 4. 5.
A. Talp ă , O. Calina The best way to money ........................................................................... I can borrow from..................................................................................... I can’t to............................................................................................... I like to spend my on ..............................................................................
invest money afford money
VI. Join correctly the words in column A with the words in column B: A B 1. commercial a) firm 2. certificate b) deposit 3. demand c) advice 4. cash d) bank 5. credit e) card 6. brokerage f) rate 7. financial g) of deposit 8. bank h) register 9. interest i) union 10.debit j) loan VII. INDIVIDUAL WORK Use the additional sources on banking system in the Republic of Moldova to answer the following questions: 1. What do you know about the National Bank of Moldova? 2. What commercial banks are there in our country? What services do they offer to their clients? 3. Is banking a profitable activity in our country? What proves it? 4. Are banks important to the economy of a country or people can do without them? VIII. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE Make and do collocations Make is used for constructive and creative actions. Do is used with unspecified actions and to talk about work. A) Group the following words under the headings do or make: Business, suggestions, progress, a job, mistakes, the accounts, a duty, the typing, an appointment, efforts, damage, a service, a complaint, trade, an apology, a trip, a profit, research, a loss, a decision, favour, shopping, a speech, a choice, a test, money, a report, friends/enemies, an investment, harm, good, right/wrong, one’s best, exercises, a promise, a good impression, an experiment, a will. B) Complete the sentences using one of the expressions in Exercise A in the correct form: 1. He __________________________ by introducing the new rules to see how employees are going to follow them. 2. She decided to ____________________________ in cherity projects. 3. The customer ___________________________ to the hotel manager about the bad service. 4. Some women are forced to ____________________________ between family and career. – 68 –
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 5. Could you ___________________________ , please? Could you give me a lift to the airport? 6. My uncle died without __________________________ and it was very difficult for our family to sort out his money. 7. I like to keep fit, so I __________________________ every day. 8. An accountant is a person who ________________________________ . 9. He ____________________________ on economic situation in our country and presented it at the conference. 10. A research scientist is a person who _____________________________ .
IX. DISCUSSION Discuss in groups the following questions: 1. Do you often go to the bank? What banking services do you use? 2. If you had a pretty sum of money, would you deposit it in a bank? If yes, then in what currency (in the national or in the foreign one) and in what bank (in the savings bank or in a commercial one)? Give your reasons. 3. For instance, you would like to buy a house or anything else which is also a big investment, but you don’t have the money for it, would you apply to a bank for a loan? Substantiate your answer. 4. Is it easy or difficult to obtain a bank loan in our Republic? Is it possible to get a bank loan without a collateral? X. Complete the dialogue: A bank manager and his client are talking about opening an account with the bank. Complete the client’s part in the following dialogue. The first remark has been done for you: Client: Good afternoon! Bank Manager: Good afternoon! What can I do for you? C.: ........................................................................................................................ ..................... BM.:What kind of account would you like to open – a checking or a savings one? C.: ........................................................................................................................ ..................... BM.: Well, you know that time deposits are not immediately available to their owners. For what period would you like to deposit your money? C.: ........................................................................................................................ ..................... BM.: For this period the interest rate is lower than for one-year term. C.: ........................................................................................................................ ..................... BM.: It depends on how much you are going to deposit and in what currency. C.:. ....................................................................................................................... ....... BM.: For this we give an annual interest rate of 8%. If it suits you, you have to buy the certificate of deposit. C.: ........................................................................................................................ ........ XI. ROLEPLAY
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina Work in pairs. Imagine that your partner is a bank manager and you are a client who wants to take a personal long-term loan. Make up a dialogue using the studied vocabulary.
XII. Match the words with their definitions:
1. deposit 2. credit union 3. 4. 5. 6. S&L NOW account certificate of deposit check a) a written order for a bank to pay out the money b) a computerized cash register that is located in a store and connected to a bank’s computer c) an amount paid for the use of money d) money that is placed in a bank account by a customer e) a guarantee for a loan f) a financial institution that mainly handles savings accounts and makes loans to home buyers g) difference between interest rate paid by a bank to its depositors and the rate it charges from its borrowers h) a document which insures that the depositor will be paid a guaranteed interest rate for the deposited money i) a financial institution formed by workers in the same organization that serves only its members j) a checking account that earns interest
7. interest 8. POS terminal 9. collateral 10. spread
XIII. Fill in the gaps with the words given at the end of the text: Banks fall mainly into two categories: ... (1) and wholesale banks. Retail banking refers to banks which offer services to ... (2) customers, while wholesale banks deal mainly with corporations. The most obvious type of retail bank is the commercial bank. Commercial banks receive money on deposit, pay money according to customers’ ... (3), negotiate loans, buy and sell foreign exchange. They make a ... (4) from the ... (5), i.e. the difference between the interest rate paid to account holders and the interest rate charged to borrowers. There are different types of accounts opened with comercial banks. ... (6) accounts have no restrictions as concerns the withdrawal of funds. However, the rate of interest is rather ... (7). On the other hand ... (8) accounts offer a higher rate of interest, but withdrawals are restricted by the fact that the ... (9) has to keep the funds for a specified period in the bank account or must ... (10) his withdrawal decision some time in advance. ... (11) are offered to customers in need of funds and are conditional upon the supplying of ... (12) by borrowers. Besides loans banks offer ... (13) to their customers, which means that people who have an account with the bank are allowed to draw more money from their account than there actually is in it. The customers can use certain banking products. Thus banks can pay regular bills for their clients, according to the instructions of the latter, this instrument being called ... (14) order. Irregular payments can be made by ... (15) from cheque books the banks make available to their customers. When a customer needs cash he can withdraw it from an automatic cash ... (16) by means of a cash ... (17). In Britain a merchant bank is a wholesale bank. It offers services to ... (18) such as the raising of ... (19) on various financial markets, the financing of international trade, the issuing of ... (20), investment advice. In the USA similar services are made available by investment banks, which, however, do not offer loans. Companies, standing, low, spread, overdrafts, retail, depositor, securities, cheque, collateral, individual, funds, time, dispenser, notify, card, checking, profit, instructions, loans. XIV. TRANSLATION
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES Translate into English: Certificatul bancar de depozit. Certificatul bancar de depozit este un document, care atestă că D-ră aţi depus o anumită sumă de bani pe depozit, şi pe care o puteţi schimba pe bani după expirarea unei perioade anumite de timp. Puteţi sa dispuneţi de certificatul bancar de depozit la dorinţa D-ră. De exemplu, să-l dăruiţi cuiva la ziua lui de naştere. Acesta va fi întradevăr un cadou reuşit. Cu siguranţă, des vă aflaţi în situaţia, cînd trebuie să felicitaţi pe cineva din rude sau prieteni, dar aveţi o problemă cu alegerea cadoului. Certificatul bancar de depozit în această situaţie este indispensabil. Pe lîngă aceasta, certificatul bancar de depozit poate fi vîndut şi în schimb puteţi să primiţi banii înainte de termen fără pierderea dobînzii. Deci, certificatul bancar de depozit este o hîrtie de valoare emisă de către bancă şi se prezintă în calitate de o alternativă a depozitului bancar. Certificatul bancar de depozit poate fi transferat de la o persoană la alta spre deosebire de contul bancar obişnuit.
Депозитный сертификат. Депозитный сертификат – это документ, который свидетельствует о том, что вы положили определённую сумму денег на депозит, и которую по истечении определённого срока можно обменять на деньги. Банковским сертификатом вы можете распоряжаться по своему усмотрению. Например, подарить на день рождения. Это будет действительно удачный подарок. Наверняка, вы нередко сталкиваетесь с ситуацией, когда нужно поздравить кого-нибудь из родных или друзей, а с выбором подарка у вас проблема. Банковский сертификат в этой ситуации незаменим. Кроме того, банковский сертификат можно продать и получить вложенные деньги досрочно, без потери процентов. Таким образом, банковский сертификат – это ценная бумага, которая выпускается банком и выступает в качестве альтернативы банковскому депозиту. Банковский сертификат может передаваться от одного человека другому, в отличие от привычного нам счёта в банке.
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
4. SECURITIES MARKETS
„Emotions are your worst enemy in the stock market” Don Hays
4.1. How Securities Are Bought and Sold
Learning objectives: 1. Understand how securities are bought and sold in the primary and secondary markets 2. Distinguish between a securities exchange and an over-thecounter market 3. Be aware of how the New York Stock Exchange functions Study and Learn the Words:
English stock (n) bond (n) stockbroker (n) primary market secondary market securities (n) to be satisfied that… mutual fund gross proceeds commission (n) securities exchange to handle over-the-counter market to be listed tangible assets earnings (n) to subscribe subscriber (n) perception (n) stringent (adj) to sell off to precipitate to redeem CEO (Chief Executive Officer) to make sth, esp. sth bad, happen sooner that it should top manager of a company to trade in sth English equivalents Romanian pachet de acţiuni bon (de tezaur), obligaţiune agent de bursă piaţa primară piaţa secundară hîrtii de valoare societate de investiţii cu capital variabil venit brut comision, remiză bursa de valori, piaţa a efectelor de schimb piaţa neoficială a efectelor de schimb, piaţa extrabursieră a fi cotat active materiale the profit that a company makes to apply to buy shares in a company the ability to understand sth strict and that must be obeyed a vinde totul cu reducere a subscrie pentru un număr de acţiuni abonat Russian пакет акций облигации, боны брокер первичный рынок вторичный рынок ценные бумаги инвестиционная компания открытого типа валовый доход комиссионное вознаграждение фондовая биржа
to be convinced that…
to be quoted=to be given a market price
рынок незарегистрированных ценных бумаг котироваться (на бирже) материальные активы подписаться на покупку акций абонент, подписчик
распродавать со скидкой
a răscumpăra
выкупать
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES To purchase a sweater, you simply walk into a store that sells sweaters, choose one, and pay for it. To purchase stocks, bonds, and many other investments, you have to work through a representative— your stockbroker. In turn, your broker must buy or sell for you in either the primary or secondary market.
The Primary Market The primary market is a market in which an investor purchases financial securities (via an investment bank or other representative) from the issuer of those securities. An investment banking firm is an organization that assists corporations in raising funds, usually by helping sell new security issues. For a large corporation, the decision to sell securities is often complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. There are basically two methods. First, a large corporation may use an investment banking firm to sell and distribute the new security issue. This method is used by most large corporations that need a lot of financing. If this method is used, analysts for the investment bank examine the corporation's financial condition to determine whether the new issue is financially sound and how difficult it will be to sell the issue. If the analysts for the investment banking firm are satisfied that the new security issue is a good risk, the bank will buy the securities and then resell them to the bank's customers—commercial banks, insurance companies, pension funds, mutual funds, and the general public. The investment banking firm generally charges 2 to 12 percent of the gross proceeds received by the corporation issuing the securities. The size of the commission depends on the quality and financial health of the corporation issuing the new securities and the size of the new security issue. The commission allows the investment bank to make a profit while guaranteeing that the corporation will receive the needed financing. The second method used by a corporation trying to obtain financing through the primary market is to sell directly to current stockholders. Usually, promotional materials describing the new security issue are mailed to current stockholders. These stockholders may then purchase securities directly from the corporation. Why would a corporation try to sell its own securities? The most obvious reason for doing so is to avoid the investment bank's commission. Of course, a corporation's ability to sell a new security issue without the aid of an investment banking firm is tied directly to the public's perception of the corporation's financial health. The Secondary Market After securities are originally sold through the primary market, they are traded through a secondary market. The secondary market is a market for existing financial securities that are currently traded between investors. Usually, secondarymarket transactions are completed through a securities exchange or the over-thecounter market. Securities Exchanges A securities exchange is a marketplace where member brokers meet to buy and sell securities. The securities sold at a particular exchange must first be listed, or accepted for trading, at that exchange. Generally, securities issued by nationwide corporations are traded at either the New York Stock Exchange or the American Stock Exchange. The securities of regional corporations are traded at smaller regional exchanges. These are located in Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, and several other cities. The securities of very large corporations may be traded at more than one of these exchanges. Securities of American firms that do business abroad may also be listed on foreign securities exchanges—in Tokyo, London, or Paris, for example. – 73 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina The largest and best-known securities exchange in the United States is the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It handles about 70 percent of all stock bought and sold through organized exchanges in the United States. The NYSE lists approximately 2,250 securities issued by more than 1,500 corporations, with a total market value of $3 trillion. The actual trading floor of the NYSE, where listed securities are bought and sold, is approximately the size of a football field. A glassenclosed visitors' gallery enables people to watch the proceedings below, and on a busy day the floor of the NYSE can best be described as organized confusion. Yet, the system does work and enables brokers to trade an average of more than 160 million shares per day. The origin of the NYSE can be traced to May 17, 1792 when the Buttonwood Agreement was signed by 24 stockbrokers outside of 68 Wall Street in New York. On March 8, 1817 the organization drafted a constitution and renamed itself the “New York Stock & Exchange Board”. This name was shortened to its current form in 1863. The Exchange was closed, killing 33 people and injuring more than 400. The perpetrators were never found. The NYSE building and some buildings nearby still have marks in the façade caused by the bombing. The Black Thursday crash of the Exchange on October 24, 1929 and the sell-off panic which started on Black Tuesday, October 29, precipitated the Great Depression. On October 1, 1934 the exchange was registered as a national securities exchange with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, with a president and a 33 member board. The frequently seen electronic display boards mounted on the walls of the exchange were first installed in 1966 along with radio pagers. A highly technical wireless data system increasing the speed in which trades were executed was introduced in 1996. This allows for trading to be done with hand-held laptop – these are computers carried by the floor traders. Today the exchange opens at 9:30 AM and closes at 4:00 PM. Before a corporation's stock is approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, the firm must meet five criteria: 1) annual earnings before taxes are $2.5 million 2) shares of stock held publicly – 1 million 3) market value of publicly held stock - $9 million 4) number of stockholders owning at least 100 shares is 2.000 5) value of tangible assets - $18.000.000 When companies first list on the NYSE, often the company’s CEO or other official is invited to ring the opening bell in the Trading Floor. Ringing the bell, which signals the start and close of the trading day, is part of the NYSE’s rich heritage and is considered an honour. The American Stock Exchange handles about 10 percent of U.S. stock transactions, and regional exchanges account for the remainder. These exchanges have generally less stringent listing requirements than the NYSE. The Over-the-Counter Market The over-the-counter (OTC) market is a network of stockbrokers who buy and sell the securities of corporations that are not listed on a securities exchange. Usually each broker specializes, or makes a market, in the securities of one or more specific firms. The securities of these firms are traded through its specialists, who are generally aware of their prices and of investors who are willing to buy or sell them. Most OTC trading is conducted by – 74 –
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES telephone. Currently, more than 5,300 stocks are traded over the counter. Since 1971, the brokers and dealers operating in the OTC market have used a computerized quotation system call NASDAQ—the letters stand for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system. NASDAQ displays current price quotations on terminals in subscribers’ offices.
I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Find synonyms (1-6) and antonyms (7-12) in the text to the following words and phrases: 1. shares 7. simple 2. to help 8. to forbid 3. profit 9. to purchase 4. to collect money 10. time-saving 5. to be connected with sth 11. to delay 6. notebook 12. cheap B) Find in the text the English equivalents for the following: 1. piaţa primară a hîrtiilor de valoare/первичный рынок ценных бумаг; 2. emisiunea a noilor acţiuni/эмиссия новых акций; 3. a fi sigur din punct de vedere financiar/ быть надежным с финансовой точки зрения; 4. a face un profit/получать прибыль; 5. materialele publicitare sunt trimise prin poştă acţionarilor/рекламные материалы посылаются акционерам по почте; 6. a urmări desfăşurarea evenimentelor ce au loc jos/наблюдать за происходящим внизу; 7. a corespunde criteriilor/соответствовать критериям; 8. a fi la curent cu preţurile lor/быть в курсе их цен. C) Match the words with their definitions:
1. 2. 3. 4. bonds securities analyst broker a) b) c) d) a person or an organization that applies to buy shares in a company a person whose business is buying and selling a particular product a statement of the current value of stocks a company that offers a service to people by investing their money in various different businesses e) a type of security – issued either by a company or by government – bearing a fixed interest every year, which is redeemed after a stated period f) a person who can advise investors and buy and sell shares for them g) the general term for all stocks, shares and bonds h) an amount of money that is charged for providing a particular service i) a person whose job involves examining facts in order to give an opinion of them and to forecast the possible result j) a person who buys shares in a company in the hope of making a profit
5. mutual fund 6. 7. 8. 9. commission investor subscriber quotation
10. dealer
II. COMPREHENSION A) Answer the following questions: 1. Whose services must one use in order to buy securities? 2. What types of securities markets do you know? Give the definition of a primary market. 3. What is an investment banking firm? 4. What are the two methods used by large corporations when they decide to sell a new security issue? Why do some corporations choose the second method? 5. What is a secondary market? – 75 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 6. What is a securities exchange? What is the necessary condition for the securities to be sold at a particular exchange? 7. What is the largest and best-known securities exchange in the USA? Describe it. What do you know about its history? 8. What are the criteria that a corporation must meet in order to sell its stock on the NYSE? 9. Indicate how much percent of U.S. stock transactions do the following exchanges handle? the NYSE _______ the American Stock Exchange _______ regional exchanges ________ 10. What is an over-the-counter market?
B) Mark the statements with TRUE or FALSE: 1. One can purchase securities without using the services of a stockbroker. 2. A new security issue can be sold only in the primary market. 3. Most large corporations that need a lot of financing sell their securities directly to current stockholders in order to avoid commission. 4. The customers of the investment banking firm are mutual funds, commercial banks, insurance companies, pension funds and different natural persons. 5. The investment banking firm buys the corporation’s securities only if they are financially sound. 6. The investment banking firm charges 2 to 20% of the corporation’s gross proceeds. 7. The securities of regional corporations are traded at either the NYSE or the American Stock Exchange. 8. An American company that does business in France can trade its securities both at the NYSE and at the securities exchange in Paris. 9. Brokers trade an average of more than 160 million shares per day at the American Stock Exchange. 10. Today more shares are traded “over the counter” than at a securities exchange. III. DISCUSSION Discuss the following questions: 1. It is thought that the best way to invest your money is to buy securities. Do you agree or disagree with it? 2. The job of a financial analyst is to evaluate the financial standing of a corporation and to forecast whether its shares are a good risk or not. To your mind, is it easy or difficult to do this job? What qualities must a good analyst possess? 3. Your corporation has issued new securities. In what market are you going to sell them? What decision would you take: to sell these securities through an investment banking firm or directly to your current shareholders? Substantiate your answer. 4. You are a shareholder and you want to sell your shares. In what market are you going to sell them? 5. In your opinion, what do the Americans prefer: to buy shares at a securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market? Give your reasons. IV. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE Business idioms
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES Fill in the gaps with a suitable prepositional phrase from the list below:
On closer inspection, on order, on holiday, on approval, on condition, on paper, on schedule, on behalf of, on display, on the phone, on the spot, on business, on loan, on request. 1. You will find our new product ________________ at our showroom. 2. We have a sales engineer __________________ who can fix the fault this week. 3. The goods arrived ____________________. 4. We have had the goods ________________ for 3 months, but they haven’t arrived yet. 5. We accepted delivery of the goods as undamaged, but _____________________ we found that 5 of the components are unusable. 6. I spoke to him ______________ last week about this. 7. We can have the goods for 4 weeks ____________________. We can return them or pay for them. 8. He traveled to England _______________ but managed to do a little sightseeing while he was there. 9. I’m afraid Mr Smith is _________________ till the end of the month – can I help you? 10. We can offer you the job ________________ that you start work on the first of the next month. 11. The candidate doesn’t look very good _____________________ but she is very impressive in person. 12. You can’t keep it permanently, but you may have it __________________ till the end of the month. 13. She signed the letter _____________________ her boss. 14. Let us not waste time and act __________________.
4.2 The Role of the Stockbroker
Learning objectives: 1. Analyze the role of the stockbroker and how they fulfill their goals 2. Comprehend the mechanics of a stock transaction 3. Differentiate between a full-service broker and a discount broker 4. Understand how commission is charged for trading stocks 5. Recognize different types of shares Study and Learn the Words:
English discretionary order to relay booth (n) to receive and send on a small enclosed place where you can English equivalents Romanian instrucţiune discreţionară (de a cumpăra orice titlu de valoare) Russian поручение, согласно которому брокер может действовать по своему усмотрению
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do sth privately, for ex. to vote ticker (n) charge (n) fee (n) commodity (n) option (n) teleimprimator automat care înregistrează cotaţiile la bursă cost, preţ onorariu goods the right to buy shares in a company on some future date at a pre-arranged price opţiune биржевой телеграфный аппарат цена гонорар опцион, сделка с премией
blue chip floating (n) equities (n) rights issue
bonus issue par value=face value, nominal value merger (n) donation (n) the value that a share in a company had originally
acţiune cu capitalizare bursieră foarte mare lansarea pentru prima dată a acţiunilor unei firme acţiuni obişnuite acordarea către acţionari a dreptului de a cumpăra noi acţiuni la un preţ avantajos acţiuni distribuite acţionarilor în locul dividendului cuvenit
акция с наименьшим инвестиционным риском первоначальный выпуск акций простые акции предоставление акционерам права покупать акции по более выгодной цене акции, полученные акционерами вместо дивидендов
fuziune sth that is given to a person or an organization as a charity, in order to help them to exclude, to say that sth is not suitable energie atomică
слияние
to rule sth out nuclear energy
атомная энергия
An account executive (or stockbroker) is an individual who buys or sells securities for clients. (Actually, account executive is the more descriptive title because account executives handle all securities—not only stocks. Most also provide securities information and advise their clients regarding investments.) Account executives are employed by stock brokerage firms, such as Merrill Lynch, Dean Witter Reynolds, and Prudential-Bache Securities. To trade at a particular exchange, a brokerage firm must be a member of that exchange. For example, the NYSE has a limited membership of 1,366 members, or "seats," as they are often called. Membership on the NYSE is called a “seat” because until 1871 members sat in assigned chairs during the calls of stocks. In the early 1800s, a seat cost $25. Today the price of membership is more than $2 million. Seats are sold or leased by their current owners rather than being bought directly from the NYSE. The Mechanics of a Transaction Once an investor and his or her account executive have decided on a particular transaction, the investor gives the account executive an order for that transaction. A market order is a request that a stock be purchased or sold at the current market price. The broker's representative on the exchange's trading floor will try to get the best possible price, and the trade will be completed as soon as possible.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES A limit order is a request that a stock be bought or sold at the price that is equal to or better (lower for buying, higher for selling) than some specified price. Suppose you place a limit order to sell General Dynamics common stock at $49 per share. Then the broker's representative sells the stock only if the price is $49 per share or more. If you place a limit order to buy General Dynamics at $49, the representative buys it only if the price is $49 per share or less. Limit orders may or may not be transacted quickly, depending on how close the limit price is to the current market price. Usually, a limit order is good for one day, one week, one month, or good until canceled (GTC). Finally, it is possible for investors to place a discretionary order. A discretionary order is an order to buy or sell a security that lets the broker decide when to execute the transaction and at what price. Financial planners advise against using a discretionary order for two reasons. First, a discretionary order gives the account executive a great deal of authority. If the account executive makes a mistake, it is the investor who suffers the loss. Second, financial planners argue that only investors (with the help of their account executive) should make investment decisions. A typical stock transaction includes five steps: 1. Account executive receives customer’s order to sell stock and relays order to stock-exchange representative. 2. Firm’s clerk signals transaction from booth to partner on stockexchange floor. 3. Floor partner goes to trading post where stock is traded with a stockexchange member with an order to buy. 4. Floor partner signals transaction back to clerk in booth. Sale is recorded on card inserted into card reader and transmitted to ticker. 5. Sale appears on ticker, and confirmation is phoned to account executive, who notifies customer. The entire process, from receipt of the selling order to confirmation of the completed transaction, takes about twenty minutes. Commissions Brokerage firms are free to set their own commission charges. Like other businesses, however, they must be concerned with the fees charged by competing firms. Full-service brokers—those that provide information and advice as well as securities-trading services—generally charge higher fees than discount brokers, which buy and sell but may offer less advice and information to their clients. On the trading floor, stocks are traded in round lots. A round lot is a unit of 100 shares of a particular stock. An odd lot is fewer than 100 shares of a particular stock. Brokerage firms generally charge higher per-share fees for trading in odd lots, primarily because several odd lots must be combined into round lots before they can actually be traded. Commissions for trading bonds, commodities, and options are usually lower than those for trading stocks. The charge for buying or selling a $1,000 corporate bond is typically $10. No matter what kind of security is traded, the investor generally pays a commission when buying and when selling. Payment for the securities and for commissions is generally required within five business days of each transaction. It is important to remember that a broker has two goals: to help investors achieve their financial objectives and to promote his or her own interests and those of the brokerage firm, (These goals do not necessarily conflict with one another, but the fact that the broker and brokerage house receive a commission on every trade may sometimes lead to recommendations to trade more frequently than necessary.) With this fact in mind, it is obvious that investors should be involved in planning their investment programs.
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Choose the correct meaning of the following words according to the context: 1. to cancel means: a) to stop paying attention to sth: b) to say that you no longer want to continue with an agreement that has been legally arranged; c) to change from one thing to another. 2. to decide on a transaction means: a) to choose the best possible transaction; b) to form an opinion about the transaction; c) to publicly tell people about the transaction. 3. to trade means: a) to buy and sell things; b) to rent things; c) to resell things. 4. primarily means: a) shortly; b) particularly; c) mainly. 5. option means: a) the freedom to choose what you want to do; b) the right to buy shares on some future date; c) the instruction what to do. B) Fill in the table with nouns, verbs and adjectives from the same word family:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Noun receipt investor advise reason complete compete financial charge Verb cancel Adjective discretionary
II. COMPREHENSION Answer the following questions: 1. Who is a stockbroker and what services does he provide? What is the difference between an account executive and a stockbroker? 2. Where does an account executive work? 3. Describe the mechanics of a stock transaction. What orders can an investor give to his account executive? 4. List the advantages and disadvantages of each order both for the investor and for the broker. 5. How many steps are included in a typical stock transaction? How much time is needed to effect such a transaction? 6. What is a commission and who charges it? 7. What is the difference between a full-service broker and a discount broker?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 8. How are stocks traded on the trading floor? Why do brokerage firms charge higher per-share fees for trading in odd lots? 9. When is the payment for the securities and for commissions due? 10. What goals does the broker have?
III. Fill in the blanks with the words given at the end of the exercise: In order to … (1) capital companies …(2) shares or stocks and offer them for … (3) to the public. When it is the first time that a company does it, this is called … (4) a company. Shares of important companies are … (5) on the Stock Exchange. A stock exchange is a … (6) where stocks and shares are … (7). It performs an important economic function in a country’s economy by … (8) buyers and sellers together. A company that cannot meet all the … (9) for being admitted on the stock exchange has to transact its shares on the … (10) market. The value of a share as written on the share certificate is its … (11) value. This could be significantly different from the market … (12) at a given moment, which is influenced by supply and … (13) for the shares under consideration. There are different types of shares. … (14) are common shares. Those shares whose holders are paid a fixed dividend before any other type of shares are called … (15). Shares of very secure companies with a minimal risk are … (16). Sometimes companies want to raise extra capital and issue new shares offering them to their shareholders at a lower price than their market value. This is known as a … (17) issue. If companies resort to offering new shares to shareholders instead of payment of dividends this is called … (18) issue. Value, market, bringing, blue chips, rights, sale, traded, equities, requirements, raise, listed, preferred, bonus, issue, par, over-the-counter, floating, demand. IV. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR Fill in prepositions where necessary: 1. To purchase securities one must act ……. a stockbroker. 2. An investment banking firm assists ……. corporations ……. raising funds. 3. The size ….. the commission depends …… the financial health …… the corporation. 4. The most obvious reason ……. selling its own securities is to avoid the investment bank’s commission. 5. The securities sold ……. a particular exchange must first be accepted ……. trading ……. that exchange. 6. Brokers advise …….. their clients regarding investments. 7. Once the investor has decided …….. a particular transaction he gives ……. the broker an order … that transaction. 8. Brokerage firms must be concerned …the fees charged …….competing firms. 9. Usually the stockbroker acts entirely ….. his own interest. V. DISCUSSION Discuss the following questions: 1. If you were an account executive would you take discretionary orders from your clients? Give your reasons. 2. In your opinion, what order do most investors prefer to give to their brokers? 3. If you were an investor would you give a discretionary order to your account executive? Substantiate your answer. – 81 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 4. To your mind, a stockbroker – is it a well-paid job or not?
VI. INDIVIDUAL WORK Make a report on the securities exchange in our Republic and identify the role of the stockbroker. VII. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE Rather than endlessly repeating the words rose and fell, financial journalists use a large number of verbs and phrases to describe the movements of security prices. Classify the following sentences, according to whether you think the underlined verb or expression means: A B C D E to rise after previously falling to rise a little to rise a lot to fall a little to fall a lot
1. Boeing stocks rocketed after rumours of a forthcoming merger with another leading aircraft manufacturer. 2. The Dow-Jones index crashed after continuing rumours about the President’s health. 3. Exxon stocks shot up after a new deal to pump Siberian natural gas was announced. 4. The Footsie rallied in London in the afternoon, gaining 30 points in late trading. 5. In Paris, the CAC-40 plummeted, after the unions called for a three-day general strike next week. 6. Leading shares were slightly weaker in Tokyo, the Nikkei losing 6 points. 7. Most shares were a little stronger in Milan this morning, when the exchange reopened after yesterday’s public holiday. 8. Procter&Gamble stocks plunged after it was revealed that the company had lost over $100 million as a result of a derivative deal. VIII. CASE STUDY Imagine that you have $100.000 and you want to invest it in a company in a most profitable way. You have to choose one of the companies that perform the following activities: (only you have to bear in mind that your money will help the company to extend its operations) • emitting a large quantity of carbonic acid (CO2) into atmosphere • making donations to political parties • manufacturing weapons • producing nuclear energy • selling alcohol • selling tobacco • testing cosmetic products on animals • relocating production to countries with lower labour costs Are you going to listen to your broker’s advice or you can take the decision yourself? Which of the following activities would cause you to rule out a company as a possible investment?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES IX. Underline the correct word: 1. Being a doctor is very demanding. Furthermore/However, it is a job in which there is no room for mistakes. 2. Exercising helps us keep feet. Nevertheless/Moreover, it can be lots of fun. 3. Driving to work can be convenient. On the other hand/Similarly, finding a place to park can be a problem. 4. Living in a foreign country can be very difficult. In contrast/Furthermore one can often feel lonely and homesick. 5. Going on holiday is a great way to relax. Similarly/Nevertheless, taking short trips at the weekend can also be enjoyable. 6. Cities are noisy. Also/In contrast, the countryside is quiet. 7. Living on your own teaches you to be independent. Also/However, it helps you to become more responsible.
5. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
“Finance is an art that makes money go from person to person until it disappears” French proverb
5.1 What is Financial Management?
Learning objectives: 1. Define “financial management” 2. Appreciate the need for financing 3. Compare short-term financing needs and long-term financing needs 4. Speak on the evolution of financial management Study and Learn the Words:
English peak period cash flow promotional campaign evenly (adv) over the long run to get smth under way to raise money merger (n) outmoded (adj) fund (v) facility (n) English equivalents period during which the maximum of production is sold Romanian perioada de vârf ale vânzărilor flux de numerar companie de reclamă exactly, precisely a period during which something flows moving, advancing, making progress to collect money a combining of two or more companies, corporations no longer in fashion or accepted, obsolete to provide money for building, special room, equipment, cu precizie în perioada de activitate a merge înante, a avansa, a progresa a aduna bani contopire, fuziune învechit, demodad a furniza mijloace băneşţi pentru clădire, echipament Russian период наиболее интенсивной продажи движение платежей рекламная компания с точностью в период деятельности прогрессировать собирать деньги слияние, обьединение вышедший из моды, устаревший финансировать оборудование, аппаратное обеспечение, производственные помещения ресурсы
supplies (n,pl)
materials, provisions
resurse
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
for supplying a business
The field of financial management is an exciting and challenging one. Students who choose to major in finance will find a wide range of rewarding job opportunities in the fields of corporate financial management, investment analysis and management, banking, real estate, insurance and the public sector. Any business – whether large or small, profit seeking or not for profit – is a financial concern and its success or failure depends in a large part on the quality of its financial decisions. Managers daily face questions like the following: - Will a particular investment be profitable? - Where will the funds come from to finance the investment? - Does the firm have adequate cash or access to cash – through bank borrowing agreements, for example to meet its daily operating needs? - What kind of credit should be granted the firm’s customers, and which customers should be given credit privileges? - How much inventory should be held? - How should profits be used or distributed? The Need for Financial Management Without financing there would be very little business. Financing gets a business started in the first place then it supports the firm’s production and marketing activities. Many firms have failed because their managers did not pay enough attention to finances. Proper financial management can ensure that: - Financial priorities are established in accordance with organizational objectives - Spending is planned and controlled - Sufficient financing is available when is needed, both now and in the future - Excess cash is invested in certificates of deposit (CDs), government securities, or conservative marketable securities A financial plan is a plan for obtaining and using the money that is needed to implement an organization’s goals. Financial planning begins with the establishment of a set of valid objectives. An objective as you know is a specific statement detailing what the organization intends to accomplish within a certain period of time. Next, planners must assign costs to these objectives. That is, they must determine how much money is needed to accomplish each one and what revenues they will get. A budget is a statement that projects income and/or expenditures over a specified period of time. Usually, the budgeting process begins with the construction of individual budgets for sales and for each of the various types of expenses: production, human resources, administration and so on. Finally, financial planners must identify available sources of financing and decide which to use. The four primary sources of funds are: sales revenue, equity capital, debt capital, and proceeds from the sale of assets. Sales generally provide the greatest part of a firm’s financing. Equity capital is money received from the sale of shares of ownership in the business. It is used almost exclusively for long-term financing. Debt capital is money obtained through loans of various types. Selling assets is a drastic step. However, it may be a reasonable last resort when neither equity capital nor debt capital can be found. The Need for Financing
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES Money is needed both to start a business and to keep it going. The original investment of the owners, along with money they may have borrowed, should be enough to get operations under way. Then, it would seem that income from sales could be used to finance the firm's continuing operations and to provide a profit as well. This is exactly what happens in a successful firm—over the long run. But sales revenue does not generally flow evenly. Both income and expenses may vary from season to season or from year to year. Temporary funding may be needed when expenses are high or income is low. Then, too, special situations, such as the opportunity to purchase a new facility or expand an existing facility, may require more money than is available within a firm. In either case, the firm looks to outside sources of financing. Short-Term Financing Needs Short-term financing is money that will be used for a period of one year or less and then repaid. A firm might need short-term financing to pay for a new promotional campaign that is expected to increase sales revenue. Or the purchase of a computer-based inventory-control system, which will "pay for itself" within a year, might be funded with short-term money. Although there are many short-term financing needs, two deserve special attention. First, certain necessary business practices may affect a firm's cash flow and create a need for short-term financing. Cash flow is the movement of money into and out of an organization. The ideal is having theirs. An unexpectedly slow selling season or unanticipated expenses may also cause a cash-flow problem. A second major need for short-term financing that is related to a firm's cashflow problem is inventory. Inventory requires considerable investment for most manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. Moreover, most goods are manufactured four to nine months before they are actually sold to the ultimate customer. As a result, manufacturers that engage in this type of speculative production often need short-term financing. The borrowed money is used to buy materials and supplies, to pay wages and rent, and to cover inventory costs until the goods are sold. Then, the money is repaid out of sales revenue. Wholesalers and retailers may need shortterm financing to build up their inventories before peak selling periods. Again the money is repaid when the merchandise is sold. Long-Term Financing Needs Long-term financing is money that will be used for longer than one year. Long-term financing is obviously needed to start a new business. It is also needed for executing business expansions and mergers, for developing and marketing new products, and for replacing equipment that becomes outmoded or inefficient.
I. COMPREHENSION A) Enlarge on: 1. What job opportunities does financial management open for the students who want to advance in this field? 2. What questions do financial managers face daily? 3. What is the role of financial management? Define: financial plan, objective, budget, equity capital. 4. Define the word “financial management” and describe the liabilities of the financial manager within a business organization. 5. Outline the uses of money in an entity. 6. When does a firm look to outside sources of financing? – 85 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 7. Define the word “short-term financing”. 8. Name five short-term financing needs and explain their reason. 9. Define the word “long-term financing needs” and explain what they are.
B) Read about the evolution of financial management and be ready to speak on it: Prior to 1930s the field of financial management was confined to descriptive discussions of various financial markets and the securities traded in those markets. Thus, finance as a field of study traditionally focused on the liabilities and stockholders’ equity side of the balance sheet and on fund raising. The field underwent a number of significant changes during the Great depression, when it became more involved with legal matters of bankruptcy, reorganization, and government regulation. Through the 1940s and into the 1950s the teaching of financial management continued to be basically qualitative and descriptive. During the 1950s financial management was expanded to include the asset side of the balance sheet, or the uses of a firm’s funds, in addition, the application of discounted cash flow techniques to the problems of capital expenditure analysis was being refined and perfected. Also, financial researchers were making significant breakthroughs in developing techniques for measuring the cost of capital and valuing financial assets. Progress in both the capital budgeting and the cost of capital areas has continued to the present days. During the 1960s mathematical models using statistical and optimization techniques were applied to the allocation of current assets such as cash, accounts receivable and inventories, and fixed assets. During the decade of the 1980s there will be an increasing emphasis on applying computer technology to assist in financial decision-making. Financial management consists of all those activities that are concerned with obtaining money and using it effectively. Within a business organization, the financial manager must not only determine the best way (or ways) to raise money. She or he must also ensure that projected uses are in keeping with the organization’s goals. Effective financial management thus involves careful planning. It begins with determination of the firm’s financing needs.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES C) Specify the needs for financing. The first one has been done for you: Short-Term Financing Long-Term Financing To get operations under way To start a new business
II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Insert prepositions: 1.Wholesalers and retailers may need short-term financing to build …. their inventories before peak selling periods. 2.Then, the money is repaid ….. of sales revenue. 3. As a result, manufacturers that engage ….. this type of speculative production often need short-term financing. 4. Or the purchase of a computerbased inventory-control system, which will "pay for itself" within a year, might be funded …… short-term money. 5. Financial management consists …. all those activities that are concerned ….. obtaining money and using it effectively. 6.Cash flow is the movement of money ….. and out of an organization. B) Business Vocabulary In English, nouns and verbs frequently share the same base (root). Many verbs may add the ending –ion (or often – tion, or – ation) to form a noun. Ex: createcreation Notice that the final – e of the verb disappears in the noun form. In every case, the ending – ion means “process,” “act,” or “state of being.” Creation is the act of creating, or it is what has been created. a) Make nouns from the following verbs. Use your dictionaries: a. to protect = b. to intend = c. to promote = d. to violate = e. to deprive = f. to commend = g. to tempt = h. to perceive = b) Write the verb form of the word beside its meaning in the list below: 1. ____________ to gain understanding, to realize 2. ____________ to keep something from someone 3. ____________ to guard, to keep from danger 4. ____________ to raise to a more important job or rank 5. ____________ to have a purpose in mind 6. ____________ to praise, to approve of 7. ____________ to break a rule or law 8. ____________ to create a desire c) Now write the noun form next to its meaning: 9. ____________ the act of approving, praising 10. ____________ the act of breaking a law or rule 11. ____________ the result or process of gaining understanding 12. ____________ the fact of having a purpose in mind 13. ____________ the act of keeping something from someone 14. ____________ an advancement in job or rank – 87 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 15. ____________ the act of keeping from danger 16. ____________ the creation of a desire d) From among the sixteen forms you have written, choose the one which is appropriate for each blank in the following memo.
MEMORANDUM Date: November 23, 2006 To: Robert Ellison From: Deborah Weaver Subject: Age Bias I have just read a recent magazine article in Business Week which discusses age bias in business. The article comments on the fact that many businesses ____________ the rights of many older managers in business by not giving them a ____________ as they approach sixty-five years of age and by cutting their pensions. Companies are frequently ____________ to fire older executives or to force them to retire early. However, many of the affected businessmen are seeking the ____________ of the 1998 Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Under this law, any business which has ____________ a person of his/her job and pension benefits may be in ____________ of the law and can be sued by the person affected. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ____________ to reinforce the law whenever possible. Robert, please check the personnel files on all our departments’ older employees. Find out if any have been given a written ____________for good work within the last three years or if any have been given ____________ to a higher position within the last two years. It is not the ____________ of this department to ____________ older managers of any legal rights. Please report your findings within the week. Thanks. III. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Match the words with their definitions: Long-term financing, budget, debt capital, short-term financing, equity capital, cash flow, financial management 1. All those activities that are concerned with obtaining money and using it effectively. 2. The movement of money into and out of an organization. 3. Money that will be used for longer than one year. 4. Money that will be used for a period of one year or less and then repaid. 5. A statement that projects income and/or expenditures over a specified period of time. 6. Money received from the sale of shares of ownership in the business. 7. Money obtained through loans of various types. B) Insert nouns, verbs, adjectives:
NOUN expansion practice continuing to spend VERB to finance ADJECTIVE speculative
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
promotional rise to fund merger
C) Find English Equivalents in the text: finanţare pe termen scurt/ краткосрочное финансирование _____________________ finanţare pe termen lung/ долгосрочное финансирование ______________________ în cadrul unei organizaţii/ в рамках организации______________________ sursă de finanţare din exterior/ внешний источник финансирования__________ a folosi banii efectiv/ рационально использовать деньги ________________ a continua o afacere/ продолжить дело_______________________________ cheltuieli neanticipate/ непредвиденные затраты _________________ banii sunt achitaţi din/ деньги выплачиваются из _____________________ client final/ конечный покупатель _____________________________ D) Find the synonyms (a-e) and antonyms (f-j) in the text: a. final customer = f. to be in vogue = b. tempting profession = g. efficient = c. last step = h. balance = d. risky step = i. expectedly = e. unsuccess of a business = j. profit seeking = IV. DISCUSSION Your company is undergoing hard times. This year expenses have been higher and income - very low. If you do not take corrective actions it is expected to fail. As a chief executive officer organize a meeting with the marketing manager, financial manager, operations manager and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of obtaining financing. Use the following expressions: - I think we should ....... - One way to .......... - My viewpoint is .......... - We are absolutely convinced that .......... - The advantage of ........... is .............
5.2 Sources of Unsecured Short-Term Financing
Learning objectives: 1. Define “unsecured financing” 2. Characterize each device of short-term capital Study and Learn the Words:
English collateral (n) commercial paper English equivalents pledge securities such as: drafts, promissory notes Romanian capital circulant sau de rulaj Russian легкореализуемые ценные бумаги
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
reluctant (adj) prospects of repayment to back up to pledge collateral draft (n) invoice (n) at maturity drawer (n) drawee (n) to discount a draft unwilling possibility of repayment to help, to support to leave smth as security for the loan bill of exchange a document listing the goods and services and the price for them when the time falls due the person who makes out the draft a person who is requested to pay the draft to calculate the real value of the draft according to the formula: Actual value = Face value - Discount perspectivă de plată, posibilitatea efectuării plăţii a susţine a amaneta, a zălogi cambie factură la scadenţă tragator tras a sconta o cambie перспективы оплаты поддерживать, финансировать закладывать вексель фактура наступление срока трассант трассат вычитать вексель
Unsecured financing is financing that is not backed by collateral. A company seeking unsecured short-term capital has several options; they include trade credit, promissory notes, bank loans, commercial papers and commercial drafts. Trade Credit We know that wholesalers might provide financial aid to retailers by allowing them thirty to sixty days (or more in which to pay for merchandise. This delayed payment, which may also be granted by manufacturers, is a form of credit known as trade credit. More specifically, trade credit is a payment delay that a supplier grants to its customers. Between 80 and 90 percent of all transactions between businesses involve some trade credit. Typically, the purchased goods are delivered along with a bill (or invoice) that states the credit terms. Promissory Notes Issued to Suppliers A promissory note is a written pledge by a borrower to pay a certain sum of money to a creditor at specified future date. Suppliers that are uneasy about extending trade credit may be less reluctant to offer credit to customers that sign promissory notes. Unlike trade credit, however, promissory notes usually provide that the borrower pay interest. Unsecured Bank Loans Commercial banks offer unsecured short-term loans to their customers at interest rates that vary with each borrower’s credit rating. The prime interest rate (sometimes called the reference rate) is the lowest rate charged by a bank for a short-term loan. This lowest rate is generally reserved for large corporations with excellent credit ratings. Banks generally offer loans through promissory notes, a line of credit, or a revolving credit agreement. Most promissory notes specify repayment periods of 60 to 180 days. The line of credit – in essence, is a prearranged short-term loan. A bank that offers a line of credit may require that a compensating balance be kept on deposit at the bank. This balance may be as much as 20% of the line-of-credit amount. The bank may also require that every commercial borrower clean up (pay off completely) its line of credit at least once each year and not use it again for a period of 30 to 60 days. This second requirement ensures that the line of credit is used only to meet short-term needs and that it doesn’t gradually become a source of long-term financing. Even with a line of credit, a firm may not be able to borrow on short notice if the bank does not have sufficient funds available. For this reason, some firms prefer a revolving credit agreement, which is a guaranteed line of credit. Under this type
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES of agreement, the bank guarantees that the money will be available when the borrower needs it. In return for the guarantee, the bank charges a commitment fee ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 percent of the unused portion of the revolving credit. The usual interest is charged for the portion that is borrowed. Commercial Paper is short-term promissory notes issued by large corporations. Commercial paper is secured only by the reputation of the issuing firm; no collateral is involved. It is usually issued in large denominations, ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. Corporations issuing commercial paper pay interest rates slightly below those charged by commercial banks. Thus, issuing commercial paper is cheaper than getting short-term financing from a bank. Commercial Drafts A commercial draft is a written order requiring a customer (the drawee) to pay a specified sum of money to a supplier (the drawer) for goods or services. It is often used when the supplier is unsure about the customer's credit standing. The draft would be completed as follows: 1. The draft form is filled out by the drawer. The draft contains the purchase price, interest rate, if any and maturity date. 2. The draft is sent by the drawer to the drawee. 3. If the information contained in the draft is correct and the merchandise has been received, the drawee marks the draft "Accepted" and signs it. 4. The customer returns the draft to the drawer. Now the drawer may (a) hold the draft until maturity, (b) discount the draft at its bank (c) use the draft as collateral for a loan. may be discounted or used as collateral for a loan. They are legally enforceable.
I. COMPREHENSION A) Answer the following questions: 1. Short-term financing is easier to obtain. Why? 2. When do most lenders require collateral for short-term financing? 4. Define the word: “trade credit”. What document states the credit terms? 6. Define the word: “promissory note”. 7. What are the two advantages of a promissory note? 8. Define the word: “unsecured bank loans”. 9. Explain what the line of credit is. Give examples. 10. What are the revolving credit agreement, commercial papers and commercial drafts? 11. What collateral can be used for short-term financing? B) True or False? 1. The shorter repayment period means there is risk of nonpayment. 2. Unsecured financing is financing that is not backed by collateral. 3. Between 70 and 100% of all transactions between businesses involve trade credit. 4. Suppliers that are uneasy about extending credit may be more reluctant to offer credit to customers that sign promissory notes. 5. Commercial paper is a short-term promissory note issued by sole proprietorships. 6. The customer returns the draft to the drawer. Now the drawer may: (a) hold the draft until maturity (b) discount the draft at its bank or (c) use the draft as collateral for a loan. – 91 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 7. Most promissory notes specify repayment periods of 60 to 180 days. 8. The purchased goods are delivered along with a contract that states the credit terms. 9. The draft is filled out by the buyer and not the seller.
II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR Insert prepositions: Typically, the purchased goods are delivered (1)………. (2) …….. a bill that states the credit terms. The terms (3) ……… a cash discount are specified (4) ………. the invoice. The customer buying (5) ……….. credit is called the maker. Commercial banks offer unsecured short-term loans (6) ……….. their customers (7) ……… interest rates that vary (8) ….. each borrower’s credit rating. The draft is filled (9) ……… by the seller and not by the buyer. They arise primarily (10) …… trade credit and are usually due (11) ….. less than 60 days. In addition, (12) …….. the interest (13) ……. the loan, the borrower must also pay (15) ….. storage (16) …. a warehouse. III. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Finish the sentences: 1. Commercial paper is secured only by …..…………………… 2. A sight draft is ………………….…………………………….. 3. Even with a line of credit ……………………………………… 4. Organizations with good to high ratings may …………………… 5. Most lenders do …………………………………………………. B) Supply: Synonyms 1. supplier – 2. questionable – 3. interest – 4. drawer – 5. collateral Аntonyms 6. short-term loan 7. secured loans 8. borrower 9. favourable 10. partial -
C) Match the words with their definitions: Unsecured financing, trade credit, promissory note, prime interest rate, revolving credit agreement, commercial paper, commercial draft. 1. A guaranteed line of credit. 2. A written order requiring the customer to pay a specified sum of money to the supplier. 3. Short-term promissory notes issued by large corporations. 4. The lowest rate charged by a bank for a short-term loan. 5. Financing that is not backed by collateral. 6. A written pledge by a borrower to pay a certain sum of money to a creditor at a specified future date. 7. A payment delay that a supplier grants to its customers. IV. DISCUSSION 1. Have you ever bought goods on credit? When do people decide to buy goods in this way? What shops offer such services? What is the usual interest rate charged by them? 2. List the advantages and disadvantages of buying a computer on credit? The first one has been done for you:
Advantages Disadvantages
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
1. You do not pay the total sum of money immediately 1. Interst is $10 paid dayly
3. Are commercial drafts largely used in our country? Make an investigation and be ready to speak on it.
5.3 Sources of Secured Short-Term Financing
Learning objectives: 1. Define the modes of secured-short- term financing 2. Describe the relative advantages and disadvantages of different modes of secured short-term financing. Study and Learn the Words:
English storage (n) release (v) floor planning English equivalents the cost of keeping goods stored to free from method of financing where the title to merchandise is given to lenders in return for short-term financing sellers of devices or machines performing specific esp. those that are worked mechanically or by electricity Romanian plată pentru depozitare a elibera Russian плата за хранение освобождать
appliance dealer
vînzător de aparate, dispozitive
торговец приборов
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
notification plan to notify the borrower's credit customers to make their payments directly to the lender to hand over, to transfer a firm that specializes in buying other firms' accounts receivable/ agent of sale the value printed or stamped on a bill manage, move marketable, that can be sold firm, strong, stable plan de avizare план сообщения
to be due to turn over factor (n)
a fi achitat a înmâna, a transfera factor
подлежать выплате перепоручать агент, комиссионер
face value shift (v) salable (adj) secure (adj)
valoare nominală a menaja comerciale, care pot fi vândute ferm, stabil
номинальная стоимость управлять ходовой, пользующийся спросом крепкий, стабильный
Financially secure firms prefer to save collateral for long-term borrowing needs. Yet, if a business cannot obtain enough capital via unsecured short-term financing, it must put up collateral to obtain the additional financing it needs. Almost any asset can serve as collateral. However, inventories and accounts receivable are the assets that are most commonly used for short-term financing. Loans Secured by Inventory Normally, marketing intermediaries and producers have large amounts of money invested in finished goods or merchandise inventories. In addition, producers carry raw materials and work in-process inventories. All three types of inventory may be pledged as collateral for short-term loans. However, lenders prefer the much more salable finished goods to the other inventories. A lender may insist that inventory used as collateral be stored in a public warehouse. In such a case, the receipt issued by the warehouse is retained by the lender. Without this receipt, the public warehouse will not release the merchandise. The lender releases the warehouse receipt— and the merchandise—to the borrower when the borrowed money is repaid. In addition to the interest on the loan, the borrower must also pay for storage in the public warehouse. As a result, this type of loan is more expensive than an unsecured loan. A special type of secured financing called floor planning is used by automobile, furniture, and appliance dealers. Floor planning is a method of financing where the title to merchandise is given to lenders in return for short-term financing. The major difference between floor planning and other types of secured short-term financing is that the borrower maintains control of the inventory. As merchandise is sold, the borrower repays the lender a portion of the loan. To ensure that the lender is repaid a portion of the loan when the merchandise is sold, the lender will occasionally check to ensure that the collateral is still in the borrower's possession. Loans Secured by Receivables Accounts receivable are amounts that are owed to a firm by its customers. They arise primarily from trade credit and are usually due in less than sixty days. It is possible for a firm to pledge its accounts receivable as collateral to obtain short-term financing. A lender may advance 70 to 80 percent of the dollar amount of the receivables. First, however, it conducts a thorough investigation to determine the quality of the receivables. (The quality of the receivables is the credit standing of the firm's customers.) If a favorable determination is made, the loan is approved. Then whenever the borrowing firm collects from a customer whose account has been pledged as collateral, the money
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES must be turned over to the lender as partial repayment of the loan. An alternative approach is to notify the borrower's credit customers to make their payments directly to the lender. This approach, often called the notification plan, may raise questions about the borrowing firm's financial health and cause customers to take their business elsewhere.
Factoring Accounts Receivable Accounts receivable may be used in one or another way to help raise shortterm capital: They can be sold to a factoring company (or factor). A factor is a firm that specializes in buying other firms' accounts receivable. The factor buys the accounts receivable for less than their face value, but it collects the full dollar amount when each account is due. The factor's profit is thus the difference between the face value of the accounts receivable and what the factor has paid for them. Even though the selling firm gets less than face value for its accounts receivable, it does receive needed cash immediately. Moreover, it has shifted both the task of collecting and the risk of nonpayment to the factor, which now owns the receivables. Generally, customers whose accounts receivable have been factored are given instructions to make their payments directly to the Factor. I. COMPREHENSION A) Enlarge on: 1. Identify the assets that are most commonly used for short-term financing. 2. Specify the advantages and disadvantages of loans secured by inventory. 3. Explain the difference between floor planning and other types of secured short-term financing. 4. Explain the procedure of using loans secured by receivables. 5. What is the importance of the operation called “Factoring Accounts Receivable”? B) Say if the statements are true or false: 1. The factor's profit is thus the difference between the actual value of the accounts receivable and what the factor has paid for them. 2. The major difference between floor planning and other types of secured short-term financing is that the borrower does not maintain control of the inventory. 3. However, inventories and accounts receivable are the assets that are most commonly used for short-term financing. 4. All three types of inventory may be pledged as collateral for long-termterm loans. 5. Generally, customers whose accounts receivable have been factored are given instructions to make their payments directly to the Factor. 6. To ensure that the lender is repaid a portion of the loan when the merchandise is sold, the borrower will occasionally check to ensure that the collateral is still in the borrower's possession. 7. Without this receipt, the public warehouse will not release the merchandise. II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR Insert prepositions: 1. They arise primarily ….. trade credit and are usually due … less than sixty days. 2. Then whenever the borrowing firm collects ….. a customer whose account has been pledged as collateral, the money must be turned over ….. the lender as partial repayment of the loan. 3. In addition ….. the – 95 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina interest …. the loan, the borrower must also pay for storage in the public warehouse. 4. Yet, if a business cannot obtain enough capital via unsecured short-term financing, it must put ….. collateral to obtain the additional financing it needs. 5. However, lenders prefer the much more salable finished goods ….. the other inventories. 6. Moreover, it has shifted both the task ….. collecting and the risk of nonpayment … the factor, which now owns the receivables.
III. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Match the words with their definitions: 1. A firm that specializes in buying other firms' accounts receivable. 2. Amounts that are owed to a firm by its customers. 3. An alternative approach to notify the borrower's credit customers to make their payments directly to the lender. 4. A method of financing where the title to merchandise is given to lenders in return for short-term financing. Accounts receivable, floor planning, factor, and notification plan B) Find English Equivalents in the text: cel mai des întrebuinţate/ используемые чаще всего firmele asigurate financiar/ финансово-стабильные фирмы a ridica o întrebare/ поднять вопрос într-un mod sau altul/ по-разному creanţe/ счета к получению datorii/ долги comerciant de dispozitive/ продавец бытовой техники valoare nominală/ номинальная стоимость drept de retenţie asupra mărfii/ право собственности на товар termenul de valabilitate a contului expiră/ срок действия счёта заканчивается C) Supply synonyms (a-e) and antonyms (f-j): a) agents = f) full amount of = b) sound (financially) (adj) = g) unfinished goods = c) through smth.= h) accounts payable = d) marketable (adj) = i) payment = e) to transfer = j) from time to time =
5.4 Sources of Long-Term Financing
Learning objectives: 1. Define “equity financing” and “debt financing”
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 2. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of “equity financing” and “debt financing” from the corporation’s standpoint
Study and Learn the Words:
English equity capital standpoint drawback сlaim (n) сoncession to redeem pool of bylaw English equivalents net worth opinion disadvantage request a special right or privilege that is given to someone to repay gathering of a law made by a local authority and which applies only in their area. a change of law keeps increasing steadily in quantity or degree face value earnings which are not distributed the part of a company’s capital readily convertible into cash and available for paying bills, wages any of the parts of a debt or other sum of money to be paid at regular times over a specified period Romanian capital propriu punct de vedere dezavantaj cerere, pretenţie concesiune a răscumpăra adunătura lege locală Russian собственный капитал точка зрения недостаток требование, претензия уступка, скидка выкупать, погашать пул, объединение уставные нормы, правила поправка кумулятивный номинальная стоимость нераспределенная прибыль оборотный капитал
amendment cumulative par value retained earnings working capital
amendament cumulativ valoare la paritate, preţ nominal profituri nerepartizate capital de rulment
installments (n)
plată parţială, în rate
часть, партия
Sources of long-term financing vary with the size and type of business. If the business is a sole proprietorship or partnership, equity capital is acquired by the business when the owner or owners invest money in the business. For corporations, equity-financing options include the sale of stock and the use of profits not distributed to owners. The available debt-financing options are the sale of corporate bonds and long-term loans. Equity Financing Some equity capital is used to start every business—sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. In the case of corporations, equity capital is provided by stockholders who buy shares in the company. There are at least two reasons why equity financing is attractive to large corporations. First, the corporation need not repay money obtained from the sale of stock, and it need not repurchase the shares of stock at a later date. Thus equity financing does not have to be repaid. Occasionally a corporation buys its own stock, but only because such an investment is in its own best interest. In 1989 Mapco, Inc.—a large oil, gas, and energy company—purchased thousands of shares of its own – 97 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina stock with uninvested profits. The firm's top management believed the purchase was the best investment available at that particular time. A second advantage of equity financing is that a corporation is under no legal obligation to pay dividends to stockholders. A dividend is a distribution of earnings to the stockholders of a corporation. Investors purchase the shares of stock of many corporations primarily for the dividends they pay, However, for any reason (if a company has a bad year, for example), the board of directors can vote to omit dividend payments. Earnings are then retained for use in funding business operations. Thus a corporation need not even pay for the use of equity capital. Of course, the corporate management may hear from unhappy stockholders if expected dividends are omitted too frequently. There are two types of stock: common and preferred. Common Stock A share of common stock represents the most basic form of corporate ownership. Owners may vote on corporate matters, but their claims on profits and assets are subordinate to those of preferred-stock owners. In return for the financing provided by selling "common stock, management must make certain concessions to stockholders that may restrict or change corporate policies. By law, every corporation must hold an annual meeting, at which the holders of common stock may vote for directors and approve (or disapprove) major corporate actions. Among such actions are (1) amendments to the corporate charter or bylaws, the sale of certain assets, (3) mergers, (4) the issuing of preferred stock or bonds, and (5) changes in the amount of common stock issued. Many states require that a provision for pre-emptive rights be included in the charter of every corporation. Pre-emptive rights are the rights of current stockholders to purchase any new stock that the corporation issues before it is sold to the general public. By exercising their pre-emptive rights, stockholders are able to maintain their current proportion of ownership of the corporation. This may be important when the corporation is a small one and management control is a matter of concern to stockholders. Money that is acquired through the sale of common stock is thus essentially cost-free, but few investors will buy common stock if they cannot foresee some return on their investment. Preferred Stock The owners of preferred stock usually do not have voting rights, but their claims on profit and assets precede those of common-stock owners. Thus holders of preferred stock must receive their dividends before holders of common stock are paid, provided dividends are distributed at all. Moreover, they have first claim (after creditors) on corporate assets if the firm is dissolved or declares bankruptcy. Even so, like common stock, preferred stock does not represent a debt that must be legally repaid. The dividend to be paid on a share of preferred stock is known before the stock is purchased. It is stated, on the stock certificate, either as a percentage of the par value of the stock or as an amount of money. The par value of a stock is an assigned (and often arbitrary) dollar value that is printed on the stock certificate. When the corporation exercises a call provision, the investor usually receives a call premium. A call premium is a dollar amount over value that the corporation has to pay an investor for redeeming cither preferred stock or a corporate bond. When considering the two options, management will naturally obtain the preferred stock in the less costly way. Added Features for Preferred-Stock Issues To make their preferred stock particularly attractive to investors, some corporations include cumulative, participating and convertible features in various issues. Cumulative preferred stock is preferred stock on which any unpaid dividends accumulate and must be paid before any cash dividend is paid to the holders of common stock. – 98 –
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES Participating preferred stock is preferred stock whose owners share in the corporation's earnings, along with the owners of common stock. Here's how it works: First, the required dividend is paid to holders of the preferred stock. Then a stated dividend, usually equal to the dividend amount paid to preferred stockholders, is paid to the common stockholders. Finally, any remaining earnings that are available for distribution are shared by both preferred and common stockholders. Convertible preferred stock is preferred stock that can be exchanged at the stockholder's option for a specified number of shares of common stock. This conversion feature provides the investor with the safety of preferred stock and the hope of greater speculative gain through conversion to common stock. Retained Earnings Most large corporations distribute only a portion of their after-tax earnings to shareholders. The remainder, the portion of a corporation's profits that is not distributed to stockholders, is called retained earnings. Retained earnings are reinvested in the business. Because they are undistributed profits, they are considered a form of equity financing. Retained earnings represent a large pool of potential equity financing that does not have to be repaid. The amount of a firm's earnings that is to be retained in any year is determined by corporate management and approved by the board of directors. For a large corporation, retained earnings can amount to a hefty bit of financing. Most small and growing corporations pay no cash dividend—or a very small dividend—to their shareholders. All or most earnings are reinvested in the business. Stockholders don't actually lose because of this. Reinvestment tends to increase the value of their stock while it provides essentially cost-free financing. More mature corporations may distribute 40 to 60 percent of their after-tax profits as dividends. Utility companies and other corporations with very stable earnings often pay out as much as 80 to 90 percent of what they earn.
Debt Financing For a small business, long-term debt financing is generally limited to loans. Large corporations have the additional option of issuing corporate bonds. Corporate Bonds A corporate bond is a corporation’s written pledge that it will repay a specific amount of money, with interest. It includes the interest rate and the maturity date. The maturity date is the date on which the corporation is to repay the borrowed money. It also has spaces for the amount of the bond and the bond owner’s name. Large corporations issue bonds in denominations of from $1,000 to $50,000. The total face value of all the bonds in an issue usually runs into the millions of dollars. An individual or firm buys a bond generally through a securities broker. Between the time of purchase and the maturity date, the corporation pays interest to the bond owner—usually every six months—at the stated rate. The method used to pay bondholders their interest depends on whether they own registered or coupon bonds. A registered bond is a bond that is registered in the owner's name by the issuing company. Interest checks for registered bonds are mailed directly to the bondholder of record. When a registered bond is sold, it must be endorsed by the seller before ownership can be transferred on the company books. A coupon bond, sometimes called a bearer bond, is a bond whose ownership is not registered by the issuing company. To collect interest on a coupon bond, bondholders must clip a coupon and then redeem it by following procedures outlined by the issuer. At the maturity date, the bond owner returns the bond to the corporation and receives cash equaling its face value. Coupon bonds are less – 99 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina secure than registered bonds. If coupon bonds are lost or stolen, interest may be collected and the bond may be redeemed by anyone who finds it. For this reason, most corporate bonds are registered. Maturity dates for bonds generally range from fifteen to forty years after the date of issue. In the event that the interest is not paid or the firm becomes insolvent, bond owners’ claims on the assets of the corporation take precedence over stockholders'. Some bonds are callable before the maturity date. For these bonds, the corporation usually pays the bond owner a call premium. The amount of the premium is specified, along with other provisions, in the bond indenture. The bond indenture is a legal document that details all the conditions relating to a bond issue. From the corporation's standpoint, financing through a bond issue differs considerably from equity financing. Interest must be paid periodically and in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service; interest is a tax-deductible business expense. Furthermore, bonds must be redeemed for their face value at maturity. If the corporation defaults on (does not pay) either of these payments, owners of bonds could force it into bankruptcy. A corporation may use one of three methods to ensure that it has sufficient funds available to redeem a bond issue. First, it can issue the bonds as serial bonds, which arc bonds of a single issue that mature on different dates. For example, Seaside Productions used a twenty-five-year $50-million bond issue to finance its expansion. None of the bonds matures during the first fifteen years. Thereafter, 10 percent of the bonds mature each year, until all the bonds are retired at the end of the twenty-fifth year. Second, the corporation can establish a sinking fund. A sinking fund is a sum of money to which deposits are made each year for the purpose of redeeming a bond issue. Third, a corporation can pay off an old bond issue by selling new bonds. Although this may appear to perpetuate the corporation's long-term debt, a number of utility companies and railroads have used this repayment method. A corporation that issues bonds must also appoint a trustee, which is an independent firm or individual that acts as the bond owners' representative. A trustee's duties are most often handled by a commercial bank or other large financial institution. The corporation must report to the trustee periodically regarding its ability to make interest payments and eventually redeem the bonds. In turn, the trustee transmits this information to the bond owners, along with its own evaluation of the corporation's ability to pay. Most corporate bonds arc debenture bonds. A debenture bond is a bond that is backed only by the reputation of the issuing corporation. To make its bonds more appealing to investors, however, a corporation may issue mortgage bonds. A mortgage bond is a corporate bond that is secured by various assets of the issuing firm. Or the corporation can issue convertible bonds. A convertible bond can be exchanged, at the owner's option, for a specified number of shares of the corporation's common stock. The corporation can gain in two ways by issuing convertible bonds. They usually carry a lower interest rate than nonconvertible bonds. And once a bond owner converts a bond to common stock, the corporation no longer has to redeem it. Long-Term Loans Many businesses finance their long-range activities with loans from commercial banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and other financial institutions. Manufacturers and suppliers of heavy equipment and machinery may also provide long-term financing by granting extended credit terms to their customers. When the loan repayment period is longer than one year, the borrower must sign a term-loan agreement. A term-loan agreement is a promissory note that – 100 –
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES requires a borrower to repay a loan in monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual installments. Long-term business loans are normally repaid in three to seven years. Although they may occasionally be unsecured, in most cases the lender requires some type of collateral. Acceptable collateral includes real estate, machinery, and equipment. Lenders may also require that borrowers maintain a minimum amount of working capital. The interest rate and other specific terms are often based on such factors as the reasons for borrowing, the borrowing firm's credit rating, and the collateral.
I. COMPREHENSION Answer the following questions: 1. What do the sources of long-term financing depend on? In what way is equity capital acquired by a business? 2. Who provides equity capital in the case of corporations? 3. Why is equity financing attractive to large corporations? 4. Define the word “dividend”. What happens if a company has a bad year? 5. What kinds of stock do you know? 6. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of common stocks and preferred stocks. 7. What do some corporations include to make their preferred stock attractive to investors? 8. Compare the cumulative preferred stock and the participating preferred. What do they have in common? 9. What is “returned earnings”? Give examples. 10. Explain the terms: corporate bonds, coupon bonds and bond indenture. II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Insert prepositions: Long-term business loans are normally repaid (1) .. there (2) … seven years. To make its bonds more appealing (3) …. Investors, however, a corporation may issue mortgage bonds. Serial bonds are bonds (4) … a single issue that mature (6) … different dates. Maturity dates (7) … bonds generally range (8) … fifteen (9) … fifty years after the date (10) … issue. The amount (11) … the premium is specified (12) … (13) …. Other provisions in the bond indenture. (14) …. the eyes (15) … the International Revenue Service, interest is a tax-deductible business expense. Sources of long-term financing vary (16) … the size and type of business. (17) …. Law, every corporation must hold an annual meeting, (18) …. Which the holders of common stock may vote (19) … directors. B) COMPLEX VERBS Choose one suitable verb to fill in the gaps so as to form complex verbs with the adverbial particle out. to carry; come; get; give; go; set; take; turn; wear; wipe; work; 1. This year’s loses have … out last year’s profits. 2. Fixed assets gradually …. out. 3. The factory …. out 5, 000 pairs of shoes a week. 4. He is not at home, he has …. out. 5. One of the plane’s engines … out. 6. I’ll … out some money from my current account. 7. It has … out that you were right. 8. She … out first in the competition. 9. We will …. the new textbook out by October Ist. 10. he will … out early in the morning. 11. Our customer’s order has been … out . 12. I have … out your share at the expenses of our company at $50. III. VOCABULARY PRACTICE – 101 –
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A) Finish the sentences: 1. The owners of preferred stock usually …………………… 2. The remainder, the portion of a corporation profits ………………….. 3. Large corporations ……………………………. 4. Maturity dates for bonds generally …………………………… 5. Many businesses finance their long-range activities with …………………….. B) Supply: Synonyms 1. standpoint 2. to default 3. trustee 4. earnings 5. to occur Antonyms 6. short-range activities 7. extended credit – 8. common stock – 9. loss – 10. subordinate (adj) -
C) Match the words with their definitions: Dividend, common stock, pre-emptive rights, preferred stock, par value, call premium, cumulative preferred stock, participating preferred stock, convertible preferred stock, retained earnings, corporate bond, maturity date, registered bond, coupon bond, bond indenture, serial bonds, sinking fund, sinking fund, trustee, debenture bond, mortgage bond, convertible bond, term-loan agreement. 1. 2. 3. 4. Bonds of a single issue that mature on different dates. A bond whose ownership is not registered by the issuing company. The portion of a business profits that is not distributed to stockholders. Preferred stock that may be exchanged at the stockholder’s option for a specified number of shares of common stock. 5. An assigned dollar value printed on the face of a stock certificate. 6. Stock whose owners may vote on corporate matters but whose claims on profit and assets are subordinate to the claims of others. 7. The dollar amount over par value that the corporation has to pay an investor for redeeming either preferred stock or a corporate bond. 8. A distribution of earnings to the stockholders of a corporation. 9. A bond that is registered in the owner’s name by the issuing company. 10. A corporate bond that is secured by various assets of the issuing firm. 11. A legal document that details all the conditions relating to a bond issue. 12. A bond that can be exchanged for a specified number of shares of the corporation’s common stock. 13. A corporation’s written pledge that it will repay a specified amount of money with interest. 14. Preferred stock on which any unpaid dividends accumulate and must be paid before any cash dividend is paid to the holders of common stock. 15. The rights of current stockholders to purchase any new stock that the corporation issues before it is sold to the general public. 16. Preferred stock whose owners share in the car’s earnings, along with the owners of common stock. 17. A sum of money to which deposits are made each year for the purpose of redeeming a bond issue. 18. Stock whose owners usually do not have voting rights but whose claims on profits and assets have precedence over those of common stock owners.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 19. An independent firm or individual that acts as the bond owner’s representative. 20. A bond backed only by the reputation of the issuing corporation. 21. A corporation bond that is secured by various assets of the issuing firm.
IV. DISCUSSION 1. Drexel Burnham Lambert helped finance many of the corporate takeovers during the 1980s. By 1986 it was the most profitable firm on Wall Street. Then in 1990 the firm filed for bankruptcy. What factors led to the decline of Drexel Burnham Lambert? 2. What does a financial manager do? How can he monitor a firm’s financial success? 3. Why would a supplier offer both trade credit and cash discounts to its customers? 4. You want to borrow funds to finance next year’s college expenses. Set up a budget showing your expected income and expenses, and determine how much money you will need to borrow. Then outline a plan for repaying the borrowing funds. Provide enough detail to convince your financing source to advance you the money.
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6. ACCOUNTING
6.1 Accounting and Accountants
“Accounting is the language of business”
Learning objectives: 1. Know what accounting is and what accountants do 2. Make the difference between accounting and bookkeeping 3. Be able to understand the categories of accountants 4. Identify the users of accounting information Study and Learn the Words:
English to trace back to be concerned with accurate (adj) up-to-date to chalk up rigorous (adj) accounts receivable to commit to payroll (n) English Equivalents to describe how it developed to give attention to precise latest, the newest to gain strict debts owed to our organization you decide definitely that you will do it a list of people employed by a company showing the amount of money to be paid to each of them connected to verification of authenticity of financial statements by an independent professional accountant a learned or erudite person esp. one who has profound knowledge of a particular subject simultaneous production of a debit and a credit from processing a transaction a formal and systematic exposion in writing of the principles of a subject handmade things indirect costs Romanian a-şi lua originea, a se dezvolta a se ocupa de cu precizie modern, original riguros creanţe a se angaja stat de plată Russian развиваться заботиться точный современный строгий, неукоснительны взять на себя обязательства платежная ведомость
pertaining (adj) auditing
legat de audit
связанный аудит
scholar (n)
cărturar
учёный
double-entry accounting
contabilitatea dublei înregistrăriлиняные таблички научный трактат
clay tablets treatise
tabliţe din lut tratat ştiinţific
handicraft overheads
lucru manual cheltuieli indirecte
ремесло накладные расходы
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES Accounting is the process of systematically collecting, analyzing, and reporting financial information. The Evolution of Accounting
“To understand accounting today and predict it tomorrow, one must know the history of accounting” Fra Luca Paciolli
The history of accounting is as old as civilization, key to important phases of history, among the most important professions in economics and business. Accountants participated in the development of cities, trade and the concept of wealth and numbers. They invented writing and took part in the development of money and banking, invented double-entry bookkeeping, helped develop capital markets and are central to the information revolution that is transforming the global economy. It can be argued that as a profession accounting is very young; however, as a service activity it dates back several thousand years. Among the earliest records are those of Egyptians and Babylonians (from approx. 3000 B.C.), who recorded on clay tablets such transactions as the payment of wages and taxes. As early as 1494, a famous Italian Franciscan monk, Fra Luca Paciolli, mathematician, scholar and philosopher published a treatise containing the essential elements of double-entry accounting system that is still in use today. His important work was entitled “Summa de Aritmetica, Geometrica, Proportioni et Proportionalita”, which contained a detailed description of accounting as practiced at that age. This book became the most widely read book on mathematics in Italy and firmly established Paciolli “the Father of Accounting”. During the Industrial revolution technological advances not only provided new machinery but required new types of expenditures as well. Cost accounting systems had to be developed to analyse and control the financial operations of those manufacturing processes. Modern accounting in the United States can be traced back to the establishment of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in 1887. By the early 1900s, accounting instruction was offered (but was optional) at many colleges and universities. Today, accounting courses are required for virtually every type of business degree. Accounting or Bookkeeping Many people confuse accounting with bookkeeping, but there are important differences between the two. Accounting deals with the entire system for providing accurate and up-to-date financial information—from design of the system through its operation to interpretation of information that is obtained. To become an accountant, an individual must undergo years of training and chalk up a great deal of practical experience. Bookkeeping, on the other hand, is the routine, day-to-day record keeping that is a necessary part of accounting. Bookkeepers are responsible for obtaining the financial data that the accounting system processes. Accounting system cannot operate without good, accurate bookkeeping but a bookkeeper can generally be trained within a year or so. Classification of Accountants Accountants are people who are trained and experienced in the methods and systems of accounting. They are generally classified as private accountants or public accountants. – 105 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina A private (or nonpublic) accountant is an accountant who is employed by a specific organization. A medium-sized or large firm may employ one or several private accountants to design its accounting system, manage its accounting department, and prepare the variety of reports required by management or by law, and provide managers with advice and assistance. Private accountants provide their services only to their employers. Smaller and medium-sized firms that don't require full-time accountants can hire the services of public accountants. A public accountant is an accountant whose services may be hired on a fee basis by individuals or firms. Public accountants may be self-employed, or they may work for accounting firms. Accounting firms range in size from one-person operations to huge international firms with hundreds of accounting partners and thousands of employees. Most accounting firms include on their staffs at least one certified public accountant (CPA), an individual who has met state requirements for accounting education and experience and has passed a rigorous three day accounting examination. The examination is prepared by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and covers accounting practice accounting theory, auditing, and business law. State requirements usually include a college accounting degree and from one to three years of on the-job experience. Details regarding specific requirements for practice as a CPA in a particular state can be obtained by contacting the respective State Board of Accountancy. Certification as a CPA brings both status and responsibility. Only an independent CPA can officially verify the financial contents of a corporation's annual report and express an opinion regarding the acceptability of the corporation's accounting practices.
Users of Accounting Information The primary users of accounting information are managers. The firm's accounting system provides a range of information dealing with revenues, costs, accounts receivable,. Much of this accounting information is proprietary; it is not divulged to anyone outside the firm. However, certain financial information is demanded by individuals and organizations that the firm must deal with. Lenders require at least the information that is contained in the firm’s financial statements before they will commit themselves to short- or long-term loans. Suppliers generally ask for this information before they will extend trade credit to a firm. Stockholders must, by law, be provided with a summary of the firm’s financial position in each annual report. In addition, potential investors must be provided with financial statements in the prospectus for each securities issue. Government agencies require a variety of information pertaining to the firm's tax liabilities, payroll deductions for employees, and new issues of stocks and bonds. The firm's accounting system must be able to provide all this information in the required form. An important function of accountants is to ensure that such information is accurate and thorough enough to satisfy outside groups. Accounting can be viewed as a system for transforming raw financial data into useful financial information. I. COMPREHENSION
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES A) Answer the following questions: 1. Define the word “accounting”. 2. What do you know about the history of accounting? When did the first book of accounting principles appear? Who wrote it? 3. What do you know about modern accounting in the USA? 4. What is the difference between accounting and bookkeeping? 5. Who are accountants? How are they classified? 6. Who is a private accountant? What are his liabilities? 7. Who is a public accountant? 8. Who is a CPA? What examination should he pass? What does it cover? 9. Who are the primary users of accounting information? What does this information include? 10. What other users of accounting information do you know? Characterize them.
B) True or False? 1. The firm’s accounting system must be able to provide information about bank activities in the required form. 2. Much of the accounting information is revealed publicly. 3. Most accounting firms include on their staffs at least one CPA. 4. The primary users of accounting information are lenders. 5. A bookkeeper can generally be trained within a year or so. 6. Accounting and Bookkeeping deal with the same systems. 7. Private accountants provide their services only to their employees. 8. It can be argued that as a profession accounting dates for about several years ago. 9. Cost accounting systems had to be developed to analyse and control the financial operations of the manufacturing processes during the Industrial Revolution. 10. Suppliers generally ask for this information before they will commit themselves to short- or long-term loans. C) List the differences between accounting and bookkeeping
ACCOUNTING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. BOOKKEEPING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
D) Here is a list of accountant’s characteristics. Put a tick next to the one which corresponds to the category of accountants.
Characteristics They have passed a rigorous three-day accounting examination Their services may be hired on a fee basis by individuals or firms They are employed by specific organizations They may be self-employed or may work for accounting firms The examination they pass covers: accounting practice, theory, auditing and business Private accountants Public accountants CPAs
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law They design accounting systems, manage accounting departments, prepare the variety of reports They must have a college accounting degree and from 1 to 3 years of on-the-job experience
II. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Find the synonyms in the a. = b. c. d. = e. f.
1. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 2. Auditing 3. Capital market 4. Double-entry-accounting 5. Copyright
text: practically =
g.
money to be received
friar = h. explanation = exact = i. information= to gain experience = j. to offer credit very big = k. detailed = to gather information = l. linked to =
B) Match the words with their definitions:
a) Gives the owner the executive right to publish, use and sell a literary, musical, or artistic piece of work for a period not to exceed 50 years after the author’s death b) Simultaneous production of a debit and a credit from processing a transaction c) A place where securities with a maturity greater than one year are traded d) Governing body of accounting practices, which limits its membership to only those individuals who pass the CPA examination e) Verification of authenticity of financial statements by an independent professional accountant
C) Match the words with their synonyms:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Scholar (n) To argue Liabilities (n.pl.) Handicraft (n) Monk (n) Ongoing (adj) Assets (n.pl.) Conservatism (n) Would-be (adj) a) Made by hands b) Friar c) Potential, future d) Erudite person e) To prove f) Debts g) Lasting h)Wealth i) Prudence
D) Match the words with the definitions: Overheads, to post, book of prime entry, double-entry bookkeeping, tax return, voucher. a. a record in which certain types of transaction are recorded before becoming part of a double-entry bookkeeping system; b. a form to be filled in every year by every citizen stating incomes and personal circumstances that will be used to assess the amount of tax payable;
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES c. a method of book keeping in which each transaction is recorded twice in two different accounts that are balanced: the debit and the credit sides of an account; d. to make a bookkeeping entry in an account book from a book of prime entry; e. any document that supports an entry in a book of account; f. indirect costs.
E) Fill in the gaps with suitable words from the list given at the end of the exercise: Accounting is a ……(1) of economics whose purpose is to …(2) information in financial terms on the …..(3) of an organization, on how past …..(4) decisions have influenced these resources and consequently it can be a useful instrument for decision-making concerning the ….(5) of resources for the future. As we see accounting looks both into the past and into the future of the resources of a company. The historical aspects are the concern of ….(6) accounting, whereas the …..(7) useful for future decision-making are the province of ……(8) accounting. The former type of approach is useful for the creditors and ….(9) of a company, the latter is required by the managers. Accountancy is the name of the profession and used only in U.K. Accountants are the professionals in the field of ….(10). They usually belong to specialized bodies. Thus ….(11) accountants are members of the Association of Certified Accountants (U.K.). They are recognized by the Department of Trade as qualified to ….(12) the accounts of limited companies. …. (13) accountants are members of one of the Institutes of Chartered Accountants (in England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland). In the U.S.A. the correspondent is the certified …(14) accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Accountants produce …(15) statements, draw up cash flow forecasts, audit accounts of organizations, prepare …(16) returns, and calculate production costs as well as … (17). To be able to produce such financial documents they must rely on the recording of transactions in account ….(18). Bookkeeping is a branch of accounting whose task is to record transactions. There are books of prime entry in which transactions are recorded in the order in which they are made. They are …(19)books, daybooks, and journals. Later the transactions are …(20) to the ledger. This is a book in which all the accounts of a business using ….(21)-entry bookkeeping are contained. It is the ultimate record book, showing all transactions of the business and their result. Nowadays many companies use computer-…(22) information instead of the classical ledger. Double-entry bookkeeping means that in this system each transaction is entered …(23). An asset that is bought is recorded with its value. On the other hand the money paid for it is recorded in a separate account. The ….(24) side of an account should balance the debit side of it. Each entry is based on …(25). These can be invoices and ….(26). The latter is confirmation of a payment made. The former is a document stating the amount due for some goods or services supplied. It gives a description of the goods, states delivery and shipment details, alongside of unit price and ….(27) price. Accounting; allocation; audit; books; branch; cash; certified; chartered; credit; double; financial (2 times); forecasts; management; managerial; overheads; posted; public; receipts; resources; shareholders; stored; supply; tax; total; twice; vouchers. III. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR – 109 –
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A) Insert prepositions: Lenders require (1) …. least the information that is contained in the firm’s financial statements before they will commit themselves (2) …… either short or long-term loans. Stockholders must (3) …. law, be provided (4) …. a summary (5) …. the firm’s financial position (6) …. each annual report. The information can be compiled (7) …. the entire firm. Public accountants may be self-employed, or they may work (8) … accounting firms. Because (9) … its great value business owners have been concerned (10) … financial information (11) …. hundreds of years. B) WORD FORMATION a) Make compound words (adjectives) by using the pattern Credit+ Worthy=Creditworthy. Use the following nouns to combine with “worthy”: praise; blame; note; sea; air; road; trust. Which of these correspond to the Romanian words listed below: 1.care are bonitate/платежеспособный 2.demn de laudă/заслуживающий похвалы 3.remarcabil, demn de luat in consideraţie/стоящий внимания 4.în stare bună de navigabilitate/мореходный 5.demn de încredere/заслуживающий доверия 6.apt pentru a circula pe drumurile publice/пригодный к поездке 7.condamnabil/заслуживающий порицания 8.apt de zbor/годный к полёту b) From these compounds, nouns can be formed on the pattern: ”creditworthy+ness”=creditworthiness. Mind the replacement of “y” by “i”. Now combine the adjectives you obtained in exercise to create nouns. Which of them means? 1. credibilitate (bonitate)/платежеспособность 2. stare de navigabilitate/мореходность 3. caracter reprobabil/порицание 4. caracter laudabil/похвальность 5. caracter demn de remarcat/достопримечательность IV. COLLOCATIONS Fill in the table and put “+” in the square where the combination of the two elements is possible:
a decisio n Make Meet Record Provide Supply sense data goods transactions a requireme nt
V. DISCUSSION POINT A) Comment on the following statements: 4. There is no accounting for tastes. 5. Accounting has been surprisingly interconnected with technology. 6. History does not repeat itself. But it rhymes. (M.Twain) 7. A successful merchant needs three things: sufficient cash or credit, an accounting system that can tell him how he’s doing and a good bookkeeper to operate it.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES B) Accounting jokes
Read them and find out what characteristics accountants have: 1. An accountant is having a hard time sleeping and goes to see his doctor: “Doctor, I just can’t get to sleep at night”. “Have you tried counting sheep?” “That’s the problem – I make a mistake and then spend three hours trying to find it”. 2. An accountant visited the National History Museum. While standing near the dinosaur he said to his neighbour: “This dinosaur is two billion years and ten months old”. “Where did you get this exact information?” “I was there ten months ago and the guy told me that the dinosaur is two billion years old”. 3. - When does a guy decide to become an accountant? When he realizes he doesn’t have the charisma to succeed as an undertaker. - What do you call an accountant who is seen talking to someone? Popular.
4.
5. - What’s an extroverted accountant? - One who looks at your shoes while he’s talking to you instead of his own. VI.WRITING Translate into English: Dezvoltarea contabilităţii şi a funcţiei acesteia Contabilitatea a apărut în stadiul timpuriu al dezvoltării umane în scopul reflectării cantitative a mijloacelor unor producători. Obiectul, scopul şi funcţiile contabilităţ ii caracterizează particularităţ ile acelui nivel al dezvoltării sociale, procesele căruia aceasta le reflectă. Rolul contabilităţii a crescut, mai ales, în legătură cu crearea centrelor comerciale mari. Treptat contabilitatea a început să se transforme în ştiinţă, având obiectul şi metoda de cunoaştere proprii. Contabilitatea s-a dezvoltat mai pe larg în Roma Antică. Primii care au expus regulile dublei înregistrări au fost Benedict Cotrulli şi Luca Paciolo (sec.XV). Autorul operei „Cu privire la comerţ şi comerciantul onest”, în care, în special, sunt expuse regulile înregistrărilor în registrele contabile este Benedict Cotrulli. Fondatorul contabilităţii se consideră Luca Paciolo (1445 – 1515) care este cunoscut ca autorul primei cărţi de contabilitate. El a fost profesor de matematică, însă numele lui a intrat în istorie datorită tratatului consacrat utilizării conturilor şi înregistrărilor contabile. Dezvoltarea contabilităţii a dus la apariţia profesiei de contabil sau socotitor. Cuvântul „contabil” (omul care ţine registrele) a apărut de asemenea în sec. XV. În anul 1448 împăratul Imperiului Roman Maximilian I l-a numit în calitate de primul contabil pe Christofer Stechter. Începând de la acest moment contabilitatea se consideră profesie. Însă abia în sec. XIX contabilitatea a devenit o ştiinţă veritabilă. În mijlocul sec. XX în Italia, Franţa, Elveţia şi Germania au apărut multe opere despre obiectul, scopul şi metoda contabilităţii. – 111 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina
6.2 The Accounting Equation, the Balance Sheet, and the Income Statement
“A person should not go to sleep at night until the debits equal credits ” (Fra Luca Paciolli)
Learning objectives: 1. Understand the accounting equation 2. Know how to read and interpret a balance sheet 3. Explain what an income statement is Study and Learn the Words:
English balance sheet (n) English equivalents financial statement summarizing the assets, liabilities and net worth of an individual or a business at a given date: so called because the sum of the assets equals the total of the liabilities plus the net worth an itemized list or catalogue of goods, property every possession an organization has the debts of a person or business Romanian bilanţ contabil Russian балансовый отчет
inventory (n) assets (n,pl.) liabilities (n,pl.) owners’equity (n) raw data double-entry bookkeeping
inventar active pasive capital propriu
инвентарь активы пассивы собственный капитал необработанные данныеегкореализуемы е ценные бумаг страховой взнос обесценивание, амортизация векселя к получению распределять расходы нематериальные активы патент
marketable securities receivables or accounts receivable, debtors insurance premium depreciation (n) notes receivable to apportion the cost intangible assets patent (n)
not processed, edited, interpreted information a system of bookkeeping in which every transaction is entered as both a debit and a credit in conformity with the underlying accounting equation which states that assets equal liabilities plus net worth securities that can be sold easily accounts suitable for acceptance
date neprelucrate contabilitatea dublei înregistrări
capital de rulaj sau circulant conturi de încasat, creanţe primă de asigurare depreciere, devalorizare, amortizare cambii spre recepţionare a distribui, a împărţi costurile active nemateriale patent
the amount payable or paid, in one sum or periodically, for an insurance policy a decrease in value of property through wear, deterioration, or obsolescence to divide and distribute costs assets that have no real existence a document granting the exclusive right to produce, sell, or get profit from an invention, process, for a specific number of years the exclusive right to the publication,
drept de autor
авторское право
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
trademark (n) production, or sale of the right to the literary, dramatic, or artistic work a symbol, design, word, letter used by a manufacturer or dealer to distinguish a product or products from those of competitors a written promise to pay a certain sum of money to a certain person or bearer on demand or on a specified date debts that must be paid to an organization marcă comercială ordin de plată коммерческая марка долговое обязательство, вексель счета к оплате, кредиторская задолженность нести затраты поправка на сомнительные счета
promissory note (n) accounts payable, creditors to incur expenses allowance for doubtful accounts
datorii spre plată, conturi de creditor a avea cheltuieli corecţii la creanţe dubioase
The accounting equation is a simple statement that forms the basis for the accounting process. It shows the relationship among the firm’s assets, liabilities, and owners' equity. Assets are the things of value that a firm owns. They include cash, inventories, land, equipment, buildings, patents, and the like. Liabilities are the firm's debts and obligations—what it owes to others. Owners' equity is the difference between a firm's asset and its liabilities— what would be left over for the firm's owners if its assets were used to pay off its liabilities. The relationship among these three terms is almost self-evident: Owners’ equity = assets - liabilities. By moving terms algebrically, we obtain the standard form of the accounting equation: Assets = liabilities + owners' equity Implementation of this equation begins with the recording of raw data that is, the firm's day-to-day financial transactions. It is accomplished: through the doubleentry system of bookkeeping. The concept of Balance Sheet is very old. No one knows exactly when and who invented this accounting device. Like accounting the balance sheet is an anonymous opera and generations of authors, theoreticians have contrinuted to its development since the civilization appeared. It is prepared and presented on a specified date: 31st March, 30th June, 30th September, and 31st December. Also it can be prepared quarterly, annually, and semiannually. The word “balance sheet” corresponds to the notion of “weighing machine” with two scales that must always be in balance and it derives from the word “bi” – two and “lanx” – scale of the balance. The specifics of the balance sheet in the Republic of Moldova is that it is composed of two parts: the left side is called assets and the right side is called liabilities. In the USA the BS has only one section and the assets, liabilities and owners’equity follow this order. The Balance Sheet A balance sheet (or statement of financial position) is a summary of a firm's assets, liabilities, and owners' equity accounts at a particular time, showing the various dollar amounts that enter into the accounting equation. The balance sheet must demonstrate that the accounting equation does indeed balance. That is, it must show that the firm's assets are equal to its liabilities plus its owners' equity. – 113 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina As previously noted, the balance sheet is prepared at the end of the accounting period, which usually covers one year. Most firms also have balance sheets prepared semiannually, quarterly, or monthly. Assets
In the USA on a balance sheet, assets are listed in order, from the most liquid to the least liquid. The liquidity of an asset is the ease with which it can be converted into cash. Current Assets Current assets are cash and other assets that can be quickly converted into cash or that will be used within one year. Because cash is the most liquid asset, it is listed first. Following that are marketable securities—stocks, bonds, and so on—that can be converted into cash in a matter of days. Next are the firm's receivables. Its accounts receivable, which result from the issuance of trade credit to customers, are generally due within sixty days. However, the firm expects that some of these debts will not be collected. Thus it has reduced its accounts receivable by a 5 percent allowance for doubtful accounts. The firm's notes receivable are receivables for which customers have signed promissory notes. They are generally repaid over a longer period of time. Merchandise inventory represents the value of goods that are on hand for sale to customers. These goods are listed as current assets because they will be sold within the year. For a manufacturing firm, merchandise inventory can also represent raw materials that will become part of a finished product or work in process that has been partially completed but requires further processing. Prepaid expenses are assets that have been paid for in advance but not yet used. An example is insurance premiums. They are usually paid at the beginning of the policy year for the whole year. The unused portion (say, for the last four months of the policy year) is a prepaid expense—a current asset. Fixed Assets Fixed assets are assets that will be held or used for a period longer than one year. They generally include land, buildings, and equipment. The values of fixed assets are decreased by their accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is the process of apportioning the cost of a fixed asset over the period during which it will be used. The amount that is allotted to each year is an expense for that year, and the value of the asset must be reduced by that expense. Intangible Assets Intangible assets are assets that do not exist physically but have a value based on legal rights or advantages that they confer on a firm. They include patents, copyrights, trademarks, and goodwill. By their nature, intangible assets are long-term assets. They are of value to the firm for a number of years. Goodwill is the value of a firm's reputation, location, earning capacity, and other intangibles that make the business a profitable concern. Goodwill is not normally listed on a balance sheet unless the firm has been purchased from previous owners. Liabilities and Owners’ Equity The firms' liabilities are separated into two groups—current and long-term—on the balance sheet. These liability accounts and the owners’ equity accounts complete the balance sheet. Current Liabilities A firm’s current liabilities are debts that will be repaid within one year. Accounts payable are short-term obligations that arise as a result of making credit purchases. Notes payable are obligations that have been secured with promissory notes. They are usually short-term obligations, but they may extend beyond one year. Only those that must be paid within the year are under current liabilities. Many companies also list salaries payable and taxes payable as current liabilities. These
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES are both expenses that have been incurred during the current accounting period but will be paid in the next accounting period. Such expenses must be shown as debts for the accounting period in which they were incurred. Long-Term Liabilities Long-term liabilities are debts that need not be repaid for at least one year. Owners' Equity For a sole proprietorship or partnership, the owners’ equity is shown as the difference between assets and liabilities. In. partnership, each partner's share of the ownership is reported separately by each owner's name. For a corporation, the owners' equity (sometimes referred to as shareholders' equity) is shown as the total value of its stock plus retained earnings that have accumulated to date.
The Income Statement An income statement is a summary of a firm's revenues and expenses during a specified accounting period. The income statement is sometimes called the earnings statement or the statement of income and expenses. It may be prepared monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually. The main elements of an income statement are: revenues cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and net income. I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Match the words with their definitions: Assets, liabilities, owners’ equity, balance sheet, liquidity, current assets, marketable securities, notes receivable, prepaid expenses, fixed assets, depreciation, intangible assets, accounts payable, promissory notes. 1. 2. 3. 4. The ease with which an asset can be converted into cash. Assets that have been paid for in advance but not yet used. Receivables for which customers have signed promissory notes. Stocks, bonds, and so on—that can be converted into cash in a matter of days. 5. The things of value that a firm owns. They include cash, inventories, land, equipment, buildings, patents, and the like. 6. Cash and other assets that can be quickly converted into cash or that will be used within one year. 7. A summary of a firm’s assets, liabilities, and owners’ equity accounts at a particular time, showing the various dollar amounts that enter into the accounting equation 8. The difference between a firm’s asset and its liabilities—what would be left over for the firm’s owners if its assets were used to pay off its liabilities. 9. The firm’s debts and obligations—what it owes to others. 10. Assets that will be held or used for a period longer than one year. 11. Sort-term obligations that may extend beyond one year. 12. Short-term obligations that arise as a result of making credit purchases. 13. Assets that do not exist physically but have a value based on legal rights or advantages that they confer on a firm. 14. Process of apportioning the cost of a fixed asset over the period during which it will be used. B) Complete the text about balance sheets with the following words. The first one has been done for you: – 115 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina
assets, balance sheet (2 times), cash, cash held at bank, creditors, debtors, depreciation, draw up, liabilities, lists, owes, owns, statement, valuation Every year a company will 1) draw up a 2) ________ to see how it stands financially. This document consists of two 3) _______ and is called a 4) _______ . One list will contain all the things the company 5) _______ . These are its 6) _______ . The other list consists of the things the company 7) _______ and these are its 8) _______ . Every item has to be valued. One item will be the amount of 9) _______ the company has on its premises and another will be the amount standing on the bank account. This is called 10) _______ . Some items can be valued exactly, but others can only be given an approximate 11) _______ . Machinery or equipment, for instance, suffers from „wear-and-tear” and gradually loses its value. This process of losing value is assumed over a period of time and it is called 12) _______ . Other assets include 13) _______ . This item is the total amount owed by customers. Among liabilities there are 14) _______ , that is the total amount owed to suppliers. When the 15) _______ is drawn, the company will be able to see how things are going. C) Match the words with their translations: 1. venit pe acţiune/ прибыль на акцию 2. dobândă/ процент 3. profit nedistribuit/ нераспределённая прибыль 4. acţiune ordinară/ простая акция 5. costuri sociale/ социальные затраты 6. salarii/ зарплаты 7. acţionari/ акционеры 8. obligaţiune/ облигация 9. cont de profituri şi pierderi/ статья прибыли и убытков 10. costuri de exploatare/ эксплуатационные расходы 11. profit înaintea impozitării/ прибыль до налогообложения 12. dividend preferenţial/ дивиденд с привелигированной акции 13. cifră de afaceri/ общий торговый оборот 14. pensie/ пенсия 14. impozit pe firmă/ корпоративный налог a. Shareholders i. earnings per share b. corporation tax j. ordinary share c. operating costs k. wages and salaries d. debenture l. interest e. turnover m. retained profit f. pension n. social security costs g. profit before tax o. profit and loss account h. preference dividend D) Match the words or phrases 1. consolidated statement 2. assets 3. liabilities 4. entity 5. equity 6. current liabilities a. accounts are kept; with their definitions: 7. fixed assets 8. treasury bill 9. liquid assets 10. current assets 11. intangible assets 12. inventory an organization for which
separate
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES b. what a company owes to people/ corporations from outside the entity; c. debts to be paid within a year from the issuing of the financial statement; d. what a company owns; e. the claims of creditors and owners against the assets of an entity; f. combination of accounting statements of different entities having the same shareholders, as if they formed a single entity; g. anything owned by a company that can be readily turned into cash; h. a short term bond sold by government to cover cash requirements, usually redeemable in three months; i. amount of goods stored ready for sale (U.S.A.); j. items belonging to a business that cannot be sold or turned into cash, being necessary for the operation of the company; k. something a company ownes which cannot easily be computed and turned into cash; l. something a company owns and will be turned into cash in the regular course of business (usually within one year).
E) Fill in the gaps with suitable words selected from the list given at the end of the text: In accounting a set of accounts is kept for each company, corporation or store, each of them representing a separate ...(1), distinct for accounting purposes from its owners. An entity is therefore what may be called any organization for which separate accounts are kept. If a group of companies is treated as a single entity because the shareholders are the same, the accounting statements issued are called ...(2) statement. Assets are the economic ...(3) of an entity or we may say that assets are what the company ....(4). The claims of different parties against the assets of a company/entity are called ...(5). They are subdivided into liabilities and owners’equity. ...(6) are the claims of the creditors of a company, people from outside the organization. In a double- ...(7) bookkeeping system of accounting, the basic accounting .... (8) is Assets = Equity, as the two parts of an account must be balanced. An extended formulation of the equation will be Assets = Liabilities + owners’Equity. Assets are subdivided into two broad categories: ...(9) assets and fixed assets. Current assets are those that are part of the operating cycle of a business and are likely to be turned into ...(10) within one year. Here we include what is sometimes called ...(11) assets, that is funds readily available such as cash deposited in ...(12) accounts in banks, Treasury ...(13), that can be redeemed in three months, certificates of deposit, marketable securities, debtors (U.K.), or accounts ...(14) (U.S.A.) should also be included here. Insurance policies expiring within one year can be added to the category of current assets. ...(15) assets include tangible assets such as plants, buildings, factories, land, that is those assets that cannot be ...(16) into cash as they are required for the operation of the entity. Some ...(17) assets, that cannot be readily computed and turned into cash, can be added to the category of fixed assets. Examples in this respect are patents, trademarks, copyrights. – 117 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina Liabilities are what the company ...(18) to people/corporations outside the entity. Here we include obligations of the company to supply money, goods or services to other parties. Current liabilities are those ....(19) due for payment within one year. They refer to creditors (U.K.) or accounts ...(20) (U.S.A.), taxation payable, and other debts due for payment in the near future. Long-term liabilities are to be ...(21) at some distant time. Examples are longterm borrowings or mortgages.
Bills; consolidated; cash; current (2 times); entity; entry; equation; equities; fixed; falling; intangible; liabilities; liquid; owes; owns; paid; payble; receivable; resources; turned. II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Insert prepositions: Merchandise inventory represents the value of goods that are ……. hand for sale to customers. 2. It must show that the firm's assets are equal ……. its liabilities plus its owners' equity. 3. The firms' liabilities are separated ……. two groups— current and long-term—on the balance sheet. 4. Long-term liabilities are debts that need not be repaid for ….. least one year. 5. These are both expenses that have been incurred during the current accounting period but will be paid ….. the next accounting period. 6. The amount that is allotted …. each year is an expense for that year, and the value of the asset must be reduced …. that expense. 7. Following that are marketable securities—stocks, bonds, and so on—that can be converted ……. cash …… a matter of days. 8. The balance sheet is prepared …… the end of the accounting period, which usually covers one year. B) COMPLEX VERBS Put the suitable verb in each gap to form a complex verb with the adverbial particle off : to cut; give; go; keep; pay; run; see; switch; take; turn; write. 1. As the debtor has gone under, the creditor will have to … off the debt. 2. The plane …. off at 10 and two hours later it landed. 3. The bombs … off. 4. The fire has …. off a tremendous heat. 5. While speaking on the phone with an important client I …. off. 6. Her father … her off without a penny. 7. … off the grass! 8. Could you … me off three copies of the document? 9. …off the radio, please, I can’t concentrate on my work if it is on. 10. Don’t …off the light yet. 11. My friends came to the airport to …. me off. 12. The ship’s crew has been … off. III. Group the following under the appropriate headings:
property (US estate), patents, stocks and shares, Treasury bills, goodwill, creditors, equipment, taxation payable, copyright, bills receivable, mortgages, debtors, trade marks, buildings, certificates of deposit, franchise, production plants, vehicles, debts due to trade, loan capital
ASSETS debtors creditors LIABILITIES
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IV. Consider your own capital, or personal wealth. Make a list of all your main capital possessions, add up the values to get your net capital asset worth. - house/flat (= market value – value of mortgage) ...................... - car/vehicle (= current value – value of any loans on it) ..................... - market price (current saleable value) of: ..................... electrical equipment (TV, hi-fi, etc.) ...................... musical instruments ...................... computer ...................... books ...................... - cash at bank (minus any debts) ..................... - investments (any shares you own) ...................... - other possessions (jewellery, clothes, etc.) ...................... Total value:
V. DISCUSSION POINT Discuss in groups of three: 1. Bankers usually insist that prospective borrowers submit audited financial statements along with a loan application. Why should financial statements be audited by a CPA? 2. What can be said about a firm whose owners’ equity is a negative amount? How could such a situation come about? 3. Why is it so important to compare a firm’s financial statements with those of previous years, those of competitors, and the average of all firms in the industry in which the firm operates. – 119 –
A. Talp ă , 4. Do the balance sheet and information you might want as other information would you like
O. Calina the income statement contain all the a potential lender or stockholder? What to have?
VI. CASE STUDY The case method of the study of business is commonly used in graduate and under-graduate business training. It requires study of one specific example of a business problem which typifies a wider business problem of concern to the students. After considering the case (problem) presented, the student should be able to apply knowledge gained to his own business needs. The aim of the case study is to propose the best possible solution and to defend that solution as strongly as possible. Typically, the solution is written in a special report form, which includes consideration of the following: 1. Background – a short summary of the most important information found in the case. This acts as an introduction to the next section. 2. Statement of the Problem – a concise statement of the major problem. 3. Discussion of the Problem – a lengthy discussion of all information related to the main problem; discuss here, also, the point of view from which you are going to be studying the problem (i.e., are you taking the position of a manager, consultant, employee). 4. Alternative Solutions – a list of all possible solutions to the problem. 5. Analysis of the Alternatives – an analysis of each of the alternative solutions stated above. Note the advantages and disadvantages of each. 6. Selection of the Best Alternative – an explanation of which alternative you have selected and why it was chosen. 7. Implementation – an explanation of how the solution is to be put into effect. Study the situation below and think about the questions given at the end, as a group, write a formal solution to the case. A Classic Case of Accounting Fraud In 1967, Equity Funding Life Insurance Company reported sales of $54 million and insurance in force totaling $109 million. By 1972, sales had grown to $1.32 and insurance in force had jumped to $6.5 billion. In the same five-year period, corporate profits increased nearly eightfold. For at least the first nine months of 1972, Equity Funding was ranked among the top ten American life insurance companies. It was the fastest-growing life insurance company in the USA. In early March 1973, acting on a tip from a former employee, investigators began to look into the company’s activities. By March 27, trading in Equity’s stock was suspended by the New York Stock Exchange. The price of the stock had dropped almost ten points in a week, to less than $15 a share. Shortly, after that, the stock was declared to be of “no value”. Equity’s 7,000 stockholders had lost at least $114 million. The investigators found that, of the 97,000 policies listed on the books of an Equity Funding subsidiary, approximately 58 percent were nonexistent. Moreover, other insurance companies that had bought these policies as reinsurers had paid millions of dollars for nothing. Reinsurance or the practice of a company’s issuing an insurance policy to a customer and then selling the policy to another insurance company to acquire cash, is not unusual in the insurance business. What was unusual in the Equity case was that there were no policyholders behind most of the policies. Nearly two-thirds of what the company claimed as its insurance business was based on bogus policies!
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES The chairman and the president of Equity Funding received an annual salary of $100,000. In addition, in 1972 he was given a stock bonus then worth more than $150,000. He was a respected Los Angeles business leader, who until January 1972 had served as chairman of the business conduct committee of the Los Angeles branch of the National Association of Securities Dealers. He had a home with a gymnasium and tennis courts, a Rolls Royce, and a 35-foot yacht. On November 1, 1973, he and eighteen other executives of Equity Funding were indicted on 105 criminal counts. They were charged with committing felonies that included securities fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, electronic eavesdropping, and filing false documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At the time, Equity Funding had a highly computerized accounting system that facilitated the mixing of phony policies with genuine policies. However, the hoax could easily have been discovered if the policies on the books had been verified with their supposed owners. Unfortunately, not one auditor for an outside accounting firm ever confirmed a policy directly with a policyholder until after the rumors of fraud began to circulate. It is not surprising that traditional auditing techniques failed to detect the phony policies. The company’s policies looked valid, and auditors generally tend to believe the computer. In the wake of the Equity Funding scandal, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants formed a committee to study the techniques used in auditing insurance companies and to determine how they should be changed. One change was to require that auditors obtain policy information directly from policyholders.
Questions 1. Can strict accounting requirements stop fraudulent business practices? What group or groups should develop such requirements? Who should implement them? 2. How might an employee at Equity Funding have discovered the fraud? What would you have done if you were that employee?
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
7. MANAGEMENT
“Good management is better than good income” Portuguese proverb
Learning objectives: 1. Become aware of what management is 2. Understand the four basic management resources
7.1 Management Resources
Study and Learn the Words:
English tangible (adj) fiber-glass (n) assembly line (wc) house (v) day-care center English equivalents that can be touched, having real existence, glass made of plastic production line to provide or serve as a house for, to store in a house a medical institution that can provide services for protecting the health stimulus thing used to recover one’s spirit, benefit person who sells in bulk cash desk money paid for education money given to a college or another institution to provide it with an income bills used to pay for gas, water, electricity Romanian material, real, palpabil sticlă organică linie de producţie a găzdui, a adăposti, a depozita centru de ingrijire a sănătăţii Russian ощутительный, осязаемый, реальный стекловолокно линия производствa поселять, помещать центр здоровья
incentive (n) perk (n) wholesaler (n) check-out counter (n) tuition (n) endowment (n)
stimulent facilitate, înlesnire angrosist casă de achitare plată pntru învătămînt investiţie, dotare
побудительная причина льгота оптовый торговец касса плата за обучение вклад, пожертвование
utility bills prop-fan (short for propeller) airliner
bonuri de plată pentru serviciile comunale avion de pasageri
счета за коммунальные услуги авиалайнер
Management is the process of coordinating the resources of an organization to achieve the primary goals of the organization. Most organizations make use of four kinds of resources: material, human, financial, and informational. Material resources are the tangible, physical resources that an organization uses. For example, General Motoros uses steel, glass, and fiber-glass to produce cars and trucks on complex machine-driven assembly lines. Both the assembly lines and the buildings that house them are material resources, as are the actual materials from which vehicles are built. A college or university uses books, classroom buildings, desks
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES and computers to educate students. And the Mayo Clinic uses beds, operating room equipment, and diagnostic machines to provide health care. Perhaps the most important resources of any organization are its human resources – people. In fact, some firms live by the philosophy that their employees are their most important assets. To keep people happy, a variety of incentives or perks are used, including higher- than-average pay, flexible working hours, recreational facilities, day-care centers, lengthy paid vacations, cafeterias offering inexpensive meals, and generous benefit programs. Financial resources are the funds that the organization uses to meat its obligations to various creditors. A Safeway store obtains money from customers at the check-out counters and uses a portion of that money to pay the wholesalers from which it buys food. Citicorp, a large New York bank, borrows and lends money. A college obtains money in the form of tuition, income from its endowment, and state and federal grants. It uses the money to pay utility bills, insurance premiums, and professors’ salaries. Each of these transactions involves financial resources. Finally, many organizations are increasingly finding that they cannot afford to ignore information. External environmental conditions – including the economy, consumer markets, technology, politics, and cultural forces – are all changing so rapidly that an organization that does not adapt will probably not survive. And, to adapt to change, the organization must know what is changing and how it is changing. Companies are finding it increasingly important to gather information about their competitors in today’s business environment. Companies such as Ford Motor Company and General Electric are known to collect information about their competitors. McDonnell Douglas used competitive intelligence to beat Boeing in the development of a new prop-fan airliner.
I. COMPREHENSION 1. Define the term management and name the kinds of resources it uses. 2. Identify the resources the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova uses, the National Bank of Moldova and the Central Hospital. 3. How do these institutions strive to attract employees and keep them happy? II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Insert prepositions, where necessary: 1. …… fact, some firms live by the philosophy that their employees are their most important assets. 2. And, to adapt …… change, the organization must know what is changing and how it is changing. 3. A college obtains money ……. the form of tuition, income …… its endowment, and state and federal grants. 4. Most organizations make use ….. four kinds of resources: material, human, financial, and informational. 5. A Safeway store obtains money …… customers ….. the check-out counters and uses a portion of that money to pay the wholesalers from which it buys food. B) Write verbs, nouns and adjectives:
NOUN information to produce educational diagnosis to change various to philosophize to recreate ADJECTIVE achievable VERB
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C) Complete the following passages about leadership styles. Fill in the blanks with a, an, the or 0: ___(1) role of ___(2) leadership in ___(3)management is largely determined by ___(4), organizational culture of ___(5) company. It has been argued that ___(6) manager’s beliefs, assumptions and values are of ___(7) critical importance to ___(8) overall style of ___(9) leadership they adopt. There are several different leadership styles that can be identified within each of ___(10) following management techniques: ___(11) Autocrat ___(12) LAISSEZ-FAIRE Manager ___(13) Democrat ___(14) autocratic leader dominates ___(15) team-members, using ___(16) unilateralism to achieve ___(17) singular objective. Generally, ___(18) authoritarian approach is not ___(19) good way to get ___(20) best performance from ___(21) team. ___(22) Laisser-Faire manager exercises ____(23) little control over his group. ___(24) Laissez-faire technique is usually only appropriate when leading ___(25) team of motivated and skilled people, who have produced ___(26) excellent work in ___(27) past. ___(28) democratic leader makes ___(29) decisions by consulting ___(30) team, whilst still maintaining ___(31) control of ___(32) group. ___(33) good democratic leader encourages ___(34) participation and delegates wisely, but never loses ___(35) sight of ___(36) fact that he bears _____(37) crucial responsibility of ___(38) leadership. D) Discuss in groups of four what style you would adopt in your future business or relationship with your collegues, husband/wife, children etc. III. CASE STUDY “Trust the technology” Determined to regain his position at the top of the computer industry, Steven Jobs is betting his tarnished reputation and a substantial amount of cash on his new brainchild –the NeXT computer. Jobs is trying to prove that he really can build and manage a successful computer company, although some business analysts maintain that his triumphs as cofounder of Apple Computer, Inc. were mostly a fluke. After losing a power struggle at Apple to his one-time friend John Sculley, Jobs started a company called NeXT, Inc., and, with five formal Apple employees, attempted to build a revolutionary computer. Because of Jobs’ abilities and personality, and some impressive engineers feats, he achieved his objectives. During the three years it took to develop the NeXT computer, Jobs followed a simple managerial strategy: He demanded devotion, sacrifice, and, most importantly, perfection from his employees. Leaving Apple with a damaged ego and a reputation for throwing tantrums, Jobs used his charm and infectious enthusiasm to recruit the best personnel he could. Despite being extremely demanding at times, Jobs is able to keep morale high at NeXT by providing a work atmosphere teeming with competency and style. One of the first people Jobs hired after he set up headquarters in California was an interior designer. NeXT corporate headquarters and high-tech, automated computer-manufacturing plant are as slick as the NeXT computer itself. From the headquarters’ polished wood floors, white furniture, and exotic juice-stocked refrigerator to the stylish gray and black robots, NeXT employees are surrounded by testimonials to their elite (at least in the eyes of Jobs) standing. Jobs, a college dropout at 19 and a multimillionaire by 26, claims he is a better manager now then when he was at Apple. Today, in his thirties, he is proud of his new management style. “I think to myself as a pretty good operations person, ” says Jobs. “I am concerned about how things are going to work at NeXT and how to
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES avoid too many layers of management. I don’t sit around in a dark room with a crystal ball. A lot of macro insights come after you’ve spent time on microscopic detail.” Jobs designed the NeXT computer especially for the academic community. Before product development began, he surveyed faculty members of thirty universities to determine what professors and students wanted in a personal computer. Some computer experts have expressed surprise and skepticism about Jobs’ pursuit of the academic market. The competition from other firms to supply colleges and universities with computers is fierce, and college students might have a difficult time paying the $ 6,500 price (a NeXT laser printer costs an additional $ 2,200). Nevertheless, Jobs is as confident as he ever was. He firmly believes in a slogan he often quotes to his employees: “Trust the technology”.
Questions 1. How would you characterize Steven Jobs’ leadership style? 2. Would you like to work for Jobs? Why or why not?
IV.READING A brief history of management “The end justifies the means” N. Machiavelli Ancient records in China and Greece already indicate the importance of organization and administration. Outstanding scholars have referred to management activities in the running of cities, states and empires. The Roman also effectively used many basic management ideas, e.g. the scalar principle and the delegation of authority. In the period 1400 to 1450, merchants in Venice, Italy, operated various types of business organizations, such as partnerships, trusts and holding companies. Concepts of the ideal state were considered by many 16 th century writers and philosophers. In Thomas More’s Utopia, for example, his comments upon the reform of the management of Britain were radical. organization and no matter what measures were taken to achieve this end, they should be taken. Scientific management was developed in 19th century. Frederic W.Taylor (1856-1917), an American engineer, was one of the main people to be associated with this movement. In 1911 he published his book Principles of Scientific Management in which he argued that work should be studied and analyzed in a systematic and throughout way. The foundations of the administrative management were laid by a French engineer Henry Fayol (1841-1925) in his book “Administration industrielle et generale”. Max Weber (1864-1920) was a – 125 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina German academic with a university training in law and some years of experience as a civil servant. He became a professor of economics and one of the founders of German sociology. In his own design for an organization, Weber describes the bureaucracy. The word was originally a joke and nowadays it has a distinctly negative connotation, but to Weber it represented the ideal type for any large organization. In his conception the real authority is in the rules and the power of the officials. We are looking at a model of the organization as a well-oiled machine, which runs according to the rules.
Present a short overview of how basic management ideas appeared in various moments of history. V. DISCUSSION 1. Is management an art or a science? An instinct or a set of skills and techniques that can be taught? 2. What do you think makes a good manager? Which four of the following qualities taken from job advertisements for managerial positions do you think are the most important? a. being a good communicator and team-builder b. being a committed, innovative self-starter c. having excellent organizational, planning and analytical skills d. demonstrating problem solving skills e. being able to direct and delegate work f. being a strategic thinker with the ability to follow through g. being able to prioritize effectively h. being result-oriented i. having leadership skills: being able to motivate, inspire and lead people j. being decisive: able to make quick decisions k. being friendly and sociable l. being authoritative: able to give orders m. being persuasive: able to convince people to do things n. having good ideas VI. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Complete the following sentences with these words: Achieved, board of directors, communicate, manageable, performance, resources, setting innovation, supervise,
1. Managers have to decide how best to allocate the human, physical and capital _________ available to them. 2. Managers, logically, have to make sure that the jobs and tasks given to their subordinates are _______. 3. There is no point in _______ objectives if you do not _________ them to your staff. 4. Managers have to _________ their subordinates, and to measure, and try to improve their _______. 5. Managers have to check whether objectives and targets are being _______. 6. A top manager whose performance is unsatisfactory can be dismissed by the company’s _______. 7. Top managers are responsible for the _______ that will allow a company to adapt to a changing world.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES B) Choose the best alternative to complete each sentence: 1. You must keep staff _______, especially when things get difficult. a. generated b. motivated c. frustrated d. electrified 2. Weigh up the _______ of each alternative before deciding. a. checks and balances b. assets c. pros and cons d. profits 3. A good manager must be able to handle _______ situations. a. sensible b. impressive c. touching d. touchy 4. He decided to let things _______, so he dropped the subject until later. a. freeze b. ice over c. cool down d. flare up 5. It’s always difficult when a team is working _______ a deadline. a. in b. at c. to d. opposite 6. Try to ensure that each employee’s _______ is not too great. a. workload b. working place c. work-to-rule d. working part 7. Those who can’t manage their time efficiently always have high stress _______. a. grades b. standards c. performances d. levels 8. I hope the project continues to run as _______ as it has so far. a. calmly b. confidently c. smoothly d. wisely 9. After _______ many unforeseen obstacles they just managed to meet their deadline. a. overtaking b. overcoming c. overwhelming d. overriding 10. What can we do to improve _______ in this department? a. morale b. morality c. moral d. temperament
7.2 Basic Management Functions
Learning objectives: 1. Define the key words: goal, purpose, mission, objective, plan, optimization, strategy 2. Understand the four basic management functions: goal setting and planning, organizing, leading and motivating, and controlling Study and Learn the Words:
English end state means (n) go about (ph.v) morale (n) retailer (n) to span time be consistent with English equivqlents result methods, way come about the amount of enthuasism that a person has person who sells by pieces to take time in accord, compatible Romanian mijloc, cale a reieşi stare morală vânzător cu amănuntul a lua timp a corespunde cu Russian средства исходить моральное состояние розничный торговец брать время быть согласованным с
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frills (n.pl.) insight (n) versus (prep) to be sought-after outline (n) threaten (v) promote (v) occur (v) bookkeeper (n) to assist with to be spurred on ongoing (adj) standing plan policy superfluous thing added for smth a clear understanding of the inner nature in contrast with to be in great demand a general plan without details to be a menacing indication of (danger, harm, distress) to advertise to happen person who keeps a systematic record of business transactions to give help to to be motivated that is going on, actually in process, continuing set plan adăugări înţelegere, perspicacitate contra a se bucura de success schiţă a ameninţa ненужные украшения проницательность против пользоваться успехом план угрожать
a surveni socotitor a ajuta a fi motivat care continuă plan stabilit linie de conduită, politică
случаться счетовод содействовать, помогать быть мотивированным продолжительный установленный план линия поведения, политика
A number of management functions must be performed if any organization is to succeed. Some seem to be most important when a new enterprise is first formed or when something is obviously wrong. Others seem to be essentially day-to-day activities. In truth, however, all are part of the ongoing process of management. I. Goal Setting and Planning A goal is an end state that the organization is expected to achieve. Goal setting, then, is the process of developing a set of goals. Every organization has goals of several types. The most fundamental type of goal is the organization’s purpose, which is the reason for the organization’s existence. Texaco Inc.’s purpose is to earn a profit for its owners. Houston Community College System’s purpose is to provide an education for local citizens. The purpose of the Secret Service is to protect the life of the president. The organization’s mission is the means by which it is to fulfill its purpose. Apple Computer attempts to fulfill its purpose by manufacturing computers, whereas Ford Motor Company fulfills the same purpose (making a profit) by manufacturing cars. Finally, an objective is a specific statement detailing what the organization intends to accomplish as its goes about its mission. For McDonald’s, one objective might be that all customers will be served within two minutes of their arrival. Goals can deal with a variety of factors, such as sales, company growth, costs, customer satisfaction, and employee morale. They can also span various periods of time. available. As part of his or her own goal setting, the manager who is ultimately responsible for
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES both departments must achieve some sort of balance between such competing or conflicting goals. This balancing process is called optimization. The optimization of conflicting goals requires insight and ability. Once goals have been set for the organization, managers must develop plans for achieving them. A plan is an outline of the actions by which the organization intends to accomplish its goals. The processes involved in developing plans are referred as planning. Just as it has several goals, the organization should develop several types of plans. An organization’s strategy is its broadest set of plans and is developed as a guide for major policy setting and decision making. A firm’s strategy defines what business the company is in or wants to be in and the kind of company it is or wants to be. When the Surgeon General issued a report linking smoking and cancer in the 1950s, top management at Philip Morris Companies recognized that the company’s very survival was threatened. Action was needed to broaden the company’s operations. Major elements in the overall Philip Morris strategy were first to purchase several non-tobacco-related companies and then to aggressively promote the company’s products. As a result of its strategy, Philip Morris seems to have attained the goal of being less dependent on tobacco sales. Most organizations also employ several narrower kinds of plans. A tactical plan is a smaller-scale (of smaller size) plan developed to implement a strategy. If a strategic plan will take five years to complete, the firm may develop five tactical plans, one covering each year. Tactical plans may need to be updated periodically as conditions and experience dictate. Their narrower scope permits them to be changed more easily than strategies. Another category of plans is referred to as standing plans. These result from – and implement – decisions that have previously been made by management. A policy is a general guide for action in a situation that occurs repeatedly. A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a plan that outlines the steps to be taken in a situation that arises again and again. A SOP is thus more specific than a policy. For example, a Sears, Roebuck department store may have a policy of accepting deliveries only between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Standard operating procedure might then require that each accepted delivery be checked, sorted, and stored before closing time on the day of the delivery.
II., he will probably do everything himself – purchase raw materials, make the product, advertise it, sell it, and keep his business records up to date. Eventually, as his business grows, he will find that he needs help. To begin with, he might hire a professional sales representative and a part-time bookkeeper. Later he might need to hire full-time sales personnel, other people to assist with production, and an accountant. As he hires each new person, he must decide what that person will do, to whom that person will report, and generally how that person can best take part in the organization’s activities. III. Leading and Motivating The leading and motivating functions are concerned with the human resources within the organization. Leading is the process of influencing people to work toward a common goal. Motivating is the process of providing reasons for people to work in the best interests of the organization. Together, leading and motivating are often referred to as directing. – 129 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina things motivate subordinates and to try to provide those things in a way that encourages effective performance.
IV. Controlling Ongoing Activities Controlling is the process of evaluating and regulating ongoing activities to ensure that goals are achieved. Managerial control involves both close monitoring of the progress of the organization as it works towards its goals, and the regulating and adjusting required to keep it on course. The control function includes three steps. The first is setting standards, or specific goals to which performance can be compared. The second step is measuring actual performance and comparing it with the standard. And the third step is taking corrective action as necessary. The results of this third step may affect the setting of standards. I. COMPREHENSION A) Answer the following questions: 1. What are the purpose and the mission of a neighborhood restaurant? Of the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova? What might be reasonable objectives for these organizations? 2. How do a strategy, a tactical plan, and a policy differ? What do they all have in common? 3. What exactly does a manager organize, and for what reason? 4. Why are leadership and motivation necessary in a business where people are paid for their work? 5. What is controlling and what does it involve? B) Say if the statements are True or False: 1. Together, leading and motivating are often referred to as planning. 2. Controlling is the process of evaluating and regulating ongoing activities to ensure that goals are achieved. 3. If a strategic plan will take five years to complete, the firm may develop five tactical plans, one covering each year. 4. The most fundamental type of goal is the organization’s mission, which is the reason for the organization’s existence. 5. The objective of the Secret Service is to protect the life of the president. 6. An organization’s strategy is its broadest set of plans and is developed as a guide for major policy setting and decision-making. 7. Obviously, different people do things for the same reasons – that is, they have the same motivations. 8. Part of the manager’s job, then, is to determine what things motivate subordinates and to try to provide those things in a way that encourages effective performance. 9. The leading and motivating functions are concerned with the material resources within the organization. 10. Optimization is a difficult process. II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Insert the following prepositions into the gaps:
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 1. The leading and motivating functions are concerned …. the human resources within the organization. 2. However, if profit has increased by only 1 percent after three months, some corrective action would be needed to get the firm …… track. 3. Some are primarily interested ….. earning as much money as they can. 4. Later he might need to hire full-time sales personnel, other people to assist ……. production, and an accountant. 5. Finally, an objective is a specific statement detailing what the organization intends to accomplish as its goes ……. its mission. 6. When faced …… the marketing-versus-production conflict we have just described, most managers would probably not adopt either viewpoint completely. 7. The goals developed for these different levels must be consistent …… one another. 8. A firm’s strategy defines what business the company is …. or wants to be in and the kind of company it is or wants to be. 9. Others may be spurred ….. by opportunities to get ahead in an organization. 10. The particular action that is required depends … the reason for the low increase in profit.
III. DISCUSSION Work in pairs and discuss the following issues: You are the owner and only employee of a firm that you started this morning. Your firm is to produce and sell hand-sewn canvas pants to clothing stores. (You, of course are an expert tailor). a) Write out your firm’s purpose, its mission, and at least two of its objectives. b) Write out your firm’s sales strategy and a tactical plan that follows from the sales strategy. Make sure the strategy is in keeping with your goals. c) Write out one sales policy to be followed by your firm, and one SOP that implements the policy. IV. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Match the words with their definitions: Goal, goal setting, purpose, mission, objective, plan, planning, strategy, tactical plan, policy, standard operating procedure, organizing, leading, motivating, directing, controlling. 1. the processes involved in developing plans 2. a general guide for action in a situation that occurs repeatedly 3. the process of evaluating and regulating ongoing activities to ensure that goals are achieved 4. the means by which an organization is to fulfill its purpose 5. a specific statement detailing what the organization intends to accomplish as its goes about its mission 6. the combined processes of leading and motivating 7. an end state that the organization is expected to achieve 8. the broadest set of plans and is developed as a guide for major policy setting and decision-making 9. the process of influencing people to work toward a common goal 10. the process of developing a set of goals 11. a plan that outlines the steps to be taken in a situation that arises again and again 12. the grouping of resources and activities to accomplish some end result in an efficient and effective manner 13. a smaller-scale plan developed to implement a strategy 14. the process of providing reasons for people to work in the best interests of the organization – 131 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 15. an outline of the actions by which the organization intends to accomplish its goals 16. the reason for the organization’s existence
V. WRITING A) Translate into English: Planul de afaceri – itinerarul succesului Este mult mai uşor să ajungi într-un loc necunoscut, dacă ai informaţii precise şi o hartă bună. La fel stau lucrurile şi în cazul înfiinţării unei firme. Ştiţi deja că doriţi să fiţi propriul dvs. şef. Poate că ştiţi şi ce fel de firmă doriţi să deschideţi. Dar puteţi atinge acest ţel? Itinerarul pe care îl urmează întreprinzătorii se numeşte „plan de afaceri”. Planul de afaceri este alcătuit din răspunsuri sistematice la o serie de întrebări bine cumpătate, vitale pentru iniţierea unei afaceri viabile. Cînd vorbesc despre un plan de afaceri, oamenii se referă, de obicei, la un document scris. Dar planul de afaceri nu este numai un document. El este procesul de definire şi evaluare a viitoarei companii. Alcătuirea acestui plan este prima ocazie de a vă organiza firma. În ciuda importanţei sale, perspectiva cercetărilor necesare elaborării unui plan de afaceri îi agasează pe mulţi viitori proprietari de mici firme. Aceştia vor să deschidă firma acum, nu să stea să răspundă la întrebări referitoare la o idee despre care sunt siguri că le va aduce bani. Ei nu văd rostul analizării unei firme care nici măcar nu există încă. Rostul este următorul: un plan de afaceri este esenţial, pentru că va scoate în evidenţă eventualele probleme, încă înainte ca acestea să se ivească, şi va sugera soluţii, făcîndu-vă să economisiţi timp, bani şi dureri de cap. B) Business Communications When one applies for a position with an American company, the letter of application cannot and should not contain all the information a prospective employer wants to know about you. The resume will accompany your letter of application, and this is where most of the details about you will appear. The letter of application should serve as a suplement to the resume. You may begin your letter of application by stating exactly what work you are seeking. Be very specific about this. If you know of a job opening within the company, refer specifically to that position. Also, if some person from that company told you of the job opening, you may want to begin your first paragraph by mentioning this person by name. At any rate, you should begin your letter by mentioning the job you are seeking and perhaps by mentioning your source of information about the job. The second paragraph is important becuse this is where you tell more about yourself than the resume can tell. In this paragraph you should try to distinguish your application from all the others. Here you may elaborate on some job experience or training which does not stand out on the resume but which may particularly qualify you for the job. Be careful not to make this paragraph too long. Like all good business communications, the letter of application must be concise and to the point. To help you write the second paragraph, find out all you can about the company and the job opening before writing the letter. If you can make specific references to the company’s needs and how you can fulfill them, your chances of getting a job interview will be much better.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES Close the letter with a request for an interview. Be careful to clearly state your desire for an interview and your willingness to accomodate their schedule in arranging the interview. The overall tone of the letter should be pleasant and honest. You do not want to attempt to over-impress the employer with your talent or knowledge. Review the sample letter of application given below. After studying its sections and tone, write your own. In writing this letter, assume you are writing to some specific company for a specific position. You may want to write to one of the utility companies explaining how you may be of service to them (some of the utilities needed managers while others needed investment bankers).
January 23, 192987 E. Peach St. Dallas, TX 74639 Ms. Joan B. Willis Personnel Department Diamond Oil Company New York, NY 10003 Dear Ms. Willis: I have spoken to your Dallas representative, Mr. James Schultz, and he informed me that your company is in need of someone having an FCC Communication Technician license. As my resume indicates, while working for the Magnolia Oil Company, I have used my FCC technical skills for eight years. In fact, I was among the first technicians to receive this training. Not only did I use my training in performing my work duties, I also served as an in-house trainer for those technicians planning to apply for FCC licensing. In the course of these eight years with Magnolia Oil, I have gained experience with most of the electronic testing and maintenance equipment used in the oil industry. Please refer to the enclosed data sheet for details on both my education and work experience. There you will also find the names of persons willing and able to comment on my ability and character. Because of the extreme distance between Dallas and New York, I will be glad to interview with your dallas representative or with you by telephone. I can arrange either at your company’s convenience. Respectfully, Mark T. Riley Enclosure: Resume VI. Match explanations. the characteristics of „great managers” with their
How to be a great manager
Great managers accept blame Weak managers feel threatened by other people’s strength. Great managers see strength as things to be built on, and weakness as something to be accomodated, worked around, if possible, eliminated. Not as drastic as it sounds! What great managers do is learn new skills and acquire useful information from the outside world, and then immediately pass them on, to ensure that if they were to be run down by a bus, the team would still have the benefit of new information. No one in an organisation should be doing that work that could be accomplished equally effectively by someone less paid than themselves. This is probably the most under-used management tool. Great managers are forever trying to catch their people doing
Great managers give praise
Great managers make blue sky
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something right, and congratulating them on it. Managers who regularly give praise are in a much stronger position to criticise or reprimand poor performance. If you simply comment when you are dissatisfied with performance, it is all too common for your words to be taken as a straightforward expression of personal dislike. The old-fashioned approach to management was rather like the old-fashioned approach to child rearing: „Go and see what the children are doing and tell them to stop it!” Great managers have confidence that their people will be working in their intersts and do everything they can to create an environment in which people feel free to express themselves. When the big wheel from head office visits and expresses displeasure, the great manager immediately accepts full responsibility. In everyday working life, the best managers are constantly aware that they selected and should have developed their people. Errors made by team members are in a very real sense their responsibility. A great more difficult than it sounds. It’s virtually impossible to divorce your feelings about someone – whether you like or dislike them – from your view your actions. But suspicion of discrimination and favouritism are fatal to the smooth running of any team, so the great manager accept this as an aspect of the game that really needs to be worked on. Very few people are comfortable with the idea that they will be doing exactly what they are doing today in 10 years’time. Great managers anticipate people’s dissatisfaction. Most managers now accept the need to find out not merely what their team is thinking, but what the rest of the world, including their customers is saying. So MBWA (management by walking about) is an excellent thing, though it has to be distinguished from MBWAWP (management by walking about – without purpose), where senior management wander aimlessly, annoying customers, worrying staff and generally making a nuisance of themselves.
Great managers put themselves about
Great managers judge on merit
Great managers exploit strengths, not weaknesses, in themselves and in their people
Great managers happen
make
things make
Great managers themselves redundant
7.3 Levels and Areas of Management
Learning objectives: 1. Distinguish among the various kinds of managers, in terms of both level and area of management 2. Identify common titles for top managers, middle managers and lower-level managers Study and Learn the Words:
English overall (adj) fortunes (n. pl.) to reach the rank of chief executive officer (n) chief operating officer (n) chief administrative English Equivalents general money, or possessions, riches, wealth to attain the rank of president of the company chief responsible for production principal administrator Romanian general bogăţii, averi a ajunge la rang de preşedinte al companiei, director executiv director operativ, director principal operaţional al corporaţiei administrator, şef Russian общий богатства достичь положения президент компании главный операционный директор компании главный
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
officer chief financial officer hand down (ph.v) plant (n) former (adj) foreman (n) convert into advertising (n) appraise (v) passage of time guidance (n) in many respects chief responsible for the financial situation of the company to transmit enterprise, factory, works ex a person in charge of a department or a group of persons, supervisor, transform into publicity evaluate (v) movement of time leadership as regards trezorier a împuternici întreprindere, uzină, fabrică fost şef, supravighetor, conducător de lucrări, şef de brigadă a transforma în publicitate a aprecia, a evalua cu trecerea timpului conducere, dirijare în multe privinţe администратор главный финансовый директор компании приказать завод бывший мастер, бригадир, прораб превращать реклама оценивать течение времени руководство во многих отношениях
Levels of Management: Top Managers A top manager is an upper-level executive who guides and controls the overall fortunes of the organization. Top managers constitute a small group. In terms of planning, they are generally responsible for interpreting the organization’s purpose and developing its mission. They also determine the firm’s strategy and define its major policies. It takes years of hard work and determination, as well as talent and no small share of good luck, to reach the ranks of top management in large companies. Common titles associated with top managers are president, vice president, chief executive officer (CEO), and chief operating officer (COO). Middle Managers A middle manager is a manager who implements the strategy and major policies handed down from the top level of the organization. Middle managers develop tactical plans and standard operating procedures, and they coordinate and supervise the activities of lower-level managers. Titles at the middle-management level include division manager, department head, plant manager, and operations manager. Lower-Level Managers A lower-level manager is a manager who coordinates and supervises the activities of operating employees. Lower-level managers spend most of their time working with and motivating employees, answering questions, and solving day-to-day problems. Most lower-level managers are former operating employees who, owing to their hard work and potential, were promoted into management. Many of today’s middle and top managers began their careers on this lowest management level. Common titles for lower-level managers include office manager, supervisor, and foreman. Areas of Management: The most common areas of management are: finance, operations, marketing, human resources, and administration. Financial Managers A financial manager is a manager whose primary responsibility is the organization’s financial resources. Accounting and investment are specialized areas within financial management. Because financing affects the operation of the entire firm, many of the presidents of this country’s largest companies are people who got their “basic training” as financial managers. Operations Managers An operations manager is a manager who creates and manages the systems that convert resources into goods and services. – 135 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina Traditionally, operations management has been equated with manufacturing – the production of goods. However, in recent years many of the techniques and procedures of operations management have been applied to the production of services and to a variety of nonbusiness activities. Like financial management, operations management has produced a good percentage of today’s company presidents. Marketing Managers A marketing manager is a manager responsible for facilitating the exchange of products between the organization and its customers or clients. Specific areas within marketing are marketing research, advertising, promotion, sales and distribution. Human Resources Managers A human resources manager is a person charged with managing the organization’s formal human resources programs. He or she engages in human resources planning; designs systems for hiring, training, and appraising the performance of employees; and ensures that the organization follows government regulations concerning employment practices. Because human resources management is a relatively new area of specialization in many organizations, there are not many top managers with this kind of background. However, this situation should change with the passage of time. Administrative managers An administrative manager (also called a general manager) is a manager who is not associated with any specific functional area but who provides overall administrative guidance and leadership. A hospital administrator is a good example of an administrative manager. He or she does not specialize in operations, finance, marketing or personnel management but instead coordinates the activities of specialized managers in all these areas. In many respects, many top managers are really administrative managers.
I. COMPREHENSION A) Review Questions 1. How are the two perspectives on kinds of managers – that is, level and area – different from each other? 2. Compare the three kinds of managers: top, middle, and lower-level managers. 3. What are the liabilities of other kinds of managers according to the areas of management? II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Insert the following prepositions into the gaps: 1. …. many respects, many top managers are really administrative managers. 2. A human resources manager is a person charged …… managing the organization’s formal human resources programs. 3. Traditionally, operations management has been equated ….. manufacturing – the production of goods. 5. Common titles associated …….. top managers are president, vice president, chief executive officer (CEO), and chief operating officer (COO). 6. A middle manager is a manager who implements the strategy and major policies handed ……. ……. the top level of the organization. 7. Many of today’s middle and top managers began their careers ….. this lowest management level. B) Write nouns, verbs or adjectives:
NOUN operation financial to administer control organizational VERB to manage ADJECTIVE
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promotion to exchange specialized regulations
III. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Match the words with their definitions: top manager, middle manager, lower-level manager, financial manager, operations manager, marketing manager, human resources manager, administrative manager 1 a manager who creates and manages the systems that convert resources into goods and services. 2. a manager responsible for facilitating the exchange of products between the organization and its customers or clients. 3. a manager who coordinates and supervises the activities of operating employees. 4. a person charged with managing the organization’s formal human resources programs. 5. an upper-level executive who guides and controls the overall fortunes of the organization. 6. a manager who implements the strategy and major policies handed down from the top level of the organization. 7. a manager whose primary responsibility is the organization’s financial resources. 8. a manager who is not associated with any specific functional area but who provides overall administrative guidance and leadership. B) Find the definitions of the following terms. Put the letter of the term next to the definition. a. Executive vice president b. Division management c. Group vice president d. Senior vice president e. CEO (chief executive officer) f. Corporate planning g. Operations management __________ 1. Person with total responsibility for all decision making in the corporation. __________ 2. High executive officer with a title sometimes felt to have special prestige. __________ 3. Administration of a company branch or section. __________ 4. Aspect of management including systematic consideration of planning, problem solving, forecasting, and decision-making. __________ 5. Vice president in charge of one part of the company. __________ 6. A vice president with general decision-making responsibility directly under the president. __________ 7. The systematic work of forecasting and taking into account corporate responsibilities. IV. DISCUSSION In small groups discuss which of the following qualities are more likely to characterize today’s top manager: – 137 –
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina Charismatic/efficient Thrilling/disciplined/business like Visionary/pragmatic Glamorous looks/business looks Intelligent/genius/good organizer
V. Focus on Language Un- is the most common negative prefix followed closely by in (ex: intelligent-unintelligent) Im – usually precedes a word beginning with a “p”(ex: partial – impartial) Ir – usually precedes a word beginning with an “r” (ex: regular-irregular) A) The following adjectives are generally used to describe some of the qualities of managers. Change each adjective into its opposite by adding un, in, im, ir, or dis: Use dictionaries: 1. approachable 13. intelligent 2. articulate 14. loyal 3. assertive 15. patient 4. committed 16. practical 5. communicative 17. rational 6. consistent 18. reliable 7. cooperative 19. responsible 8. competitive 20. sensitive 9. creative 21. sincere 10. decisive 22. skilled 11. discreet 23. supportive 12. honest VI. Business Communications Oral presentations In speaking, unlike writing, the listener cannot go back to what has already been said to hear it a second time. When you speak to a group, you should make your audience understand everything you say. This means your pronunciation must be clear, your speaking must not be too fast, and your information must be well organized. First of all, you must speak as clearly as possible. Since you speak English as a second language, it is your responsibility to make sure that what you say is clearly pronounced. Avoid too much informality and too many contractions. For example, do not say, “gonna” for “going to” when speaking to a group. Also, if your pronunciation is not clear, the listener may confuse your words. Be sure to keep your speech fast enough that your audience remains interested, but do not speak so quickly that your listeners cannot keep up with what you are saying. For example, it is very easy to go too fast if you read directly from your notes. Reading will probably bore your audience, anyway. Always use brief notes when giving an oral presentation. It is often convenient to use three-by-five-inch notecards. Using only notes, and not the full text of your presentation, will help you remember the main things you want to say while at the same time allowing you to look at your audience as you speak. By looking at your audience, you can determine whether or not they are understanding. Remember to use simple language, speak slowly, and use notes to help you remember what to say, and look at your audience. Finally, be certain that your information is well organized. You should give a very clear introduction, which states (1) what your main topic is going to be and
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES (2) what your main points will be in the course of the presentation. Then, discuss each main point in a logical, organized, step-by-step manner. Finally, state your conclusions. Look at the exercise VII.
VII. SCENARIO: Management decision-making Divide the class into teams of three “managers” each. All the teams have the following problem: you manage a shirt factory which has declining output per worker, a rising number of defects per 100 units of production, and, as a result, rising per unit costs. Among the three managers of each team, discuss the problem and make a tentative plan for correcting the problem. Consider the following in making your plans: hiring quality control specialists, tracing the defects to their source, employee retraining, showing an interest in the workers’ work, redesigning the product, and buying newer and better equipment. When each group has finished its plans, they should be presented to the class as a whole. Then the class may consider the best ideas from each group and form one comprehensive plan of action to get production back to efficiency. VIII. DEBATE Form two teams to debate the qualifications needed for executives: Team A: Modern candidates for a corporate presidency should have a corporate degree in business or a related field (preferably an MBA), should have a wide variety of professional experiences with several corporations, and should not be over 50 years of age. Education, mobility (and thus flexibility), diversity of experience, and youthfulness are necessary qualities. These qualities reflect the needs of modern business. Team B: Modern business is no different than business has always been. Sound executive-level judgment still requires that a person have many years of professional experience within his industry and within his corporation. Years of experience are more important than a graduate degree in business. Having mobility and diversity of experience are not, then, as important as having lengthy experience within the industry and corporation. At the presidential level, the lack of experience and understanding of the young are undesirable.
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
7.4 Key Management Skills
Learning Objectives: 1. Know the key management skills 2. Identify the management roles in which these skills are used Study and Learn the Words:
English lawyer (n) machinist (n) English Equivalents barrister person who makes or repairs machinery to a lesser degree, level to correspond to accommodate with disgraceful, shameful authentic full of pride and selfimportance pushing, presumptuous, impudent, immodest, shameless to stress doctor Romanian avocat mecanic, maşinist, muncitor calificat, inginer, constructor de maşini într-o măsură mai mică a conveni, a se asorta a se acomoda indecent, obraznic nefalsificat arogant arogant, încrezut, fără ruşine a evidenţia, a indica cu precizie medic Russian адвокат машинист, механик, слесарь в меньшей степени подходить мириться с чем-л. позорный подлинный, истинный высокомерный, самонадеянный высокомерный, самонадеянный выделять врач, доктор
to a lesser extent to fit together put up with (ph.v.) shabby (adj) genuine (adj) arrogant (adj) brash (adj)
pinpoint (v) physician (n)
The skills that typify effective managers tend to fall into five general categories: technical, conceptual, interpersonal, diagnostic, and analytic. Technical Skills A technical skill is a specific skill needed to accomplish a specialized activity. For example, the skills that engineers, lawyers, and machinists need to do their jobs are technical skills. Lower – level managers (and, to a lesser extent, middle managers) need the technical skills that are relevant to the activities they manage. Although these managers may not have to perform the technical skills themselves, they must be able to train subordinates, answer questions, and otherwise provide guidance and direction. Conceptual Skills Conceptual skill is the ability to think in abstract terms. Conceptual skill allows the manager to see “the big picture” and to understand how the various parts of an organization or an idea can fit together. In 1951 a man named Charles Wilson decided to take his family on a cross - country vacation. All along the way, the family was forced to put up with high-priced but shabby hotel accommodations. Wilson reasoned that most travelers would welcome a chain of moderately priced, good-quality roadside hotels. You are no doubt familiar with what he conceived: Holiday Inns. Wilson was able to identify a number of isolated factors (existing accommodation patterns, the need for a different kind of hotel, and his own investment interests) to “dream up” the new business opportunity and to carry it through completion. Interpersonal Skills An interpersonal skill is the ability to deal effectively with other people, both inside and outside the organization. Examples of interpersonal skills are the ability to relate to people, understand their needs and motives, and show genuine compassion. When all other things are equal, the manager who is able to exhibit these skills will be more successful than the manager who is arrogant and brash and who doesn’t care about others. They
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES appear, however, to be more crucial for top managers than for middle or lower-level managers. Diagnostic Skills Diagnostic skill is the ability to assess a particular situation and identify its causes. The diagnostic skills of the successful manager parallel those of the physician, who assesses the patient’s symptoms to pinpoint the underlying medical problem. In management as in medicine, correct diagnosis is often critical in determining the appropriate action to take. All managers need to make use of diagnostic skills, but these skills are probably used most by top managers. Analytic Skills Analytic skill is used to identify the relevant issues (or variables) in a situation, to determine how they are related, and to assess their relative importance. All managers, regardless of level or area, need analytic skills. Analytic skills often come into play along with diagnostic skills. For example, a manager assigned to a new position may be confronted with a wide variety of problems that all need attention. Diagnostic skills will be needed to identify the causes of each problem. But first the manager must analyze the problem of “too many problems” to determine which problems need immediate attention and which ones can wait.
I. COMPREHENSION A) Answer the following questions; 1. Name the skills that managers need to possess and characterize each of them. 2. In what way are management skills related to the status managers have? Provide a specific example to support your answer. II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Study the text and insert the following prepositions into the gaps: 1. All managers need to make use ….. diagnostic skills, but these skills are probably used most by top managers. 2. All along the way, the family was forced to put up …. high-priced but shabby hotel accommodations. 3. An interpersonal skill is the ability to deal effectively ….. other people, both inside and outside the organization. 4. Lower – level managers (and, ….. a lesser extent, middle managers) need the technical skills that are relevant ….. the activities they manage. 5. You are no doubt familiar …… what he conceived: Holiday Inns. 6. For example, a manager assigned …. a new position may be confronted ….. a wide variety of problems that all need attention. 7. Analytic skills often come …… play along with diagnostic skills. B) Verbs plus prepositions Certain verbs are customarily followed by certain prepositions. It is often impossible to guess which preposition is mostly common used. The following is a list of examples of such verbs. When you learn a verb you should make an attempt to learn the prepositions that ordinarily follow it, if any. To collaborate with someone on something To consult with someone on something To haggle with someone over something To negotiate with someone for something To deprive someone of something To dispose of something To protect someone/something from something/someone To profit from someone/something To enroll someone in something To invest something in something/someone – 141 –
To entitle To rely
A. Talp ă , O. Calina someone to something on someone/something for
C) Complete the sentences with the proper preposition or prepositions: 1. In any case, protect yourself _______ precipitous action. 2. Is it really safe to rely entirely _______ hunches ________ correct decisions? 3. In fact, too much reliance on hunches may deprive you _______ much helpful input. 4. It is a good idea not to be too hasty; consult _________ your peers about the problem. 5. Collaborate _______ them in determining the primary objectives to be achieved. 6. Give yourself time to consider; haggle ______ the prices or spend time negotiating ____ a prospective buyer or seller before playing hunch. 7. Whereas you must not dispose ________ a problem without the greatest possible deliberation, playing a hunch may save you considerable time for other problems. 8. You will profit _______ a delicate balance between data gathering and hunches, and your careful work will entitle you _______ well-deserved recognition. III. DISCUSSION Work in pairs and discuss the following issues: Rate yourself on each of the five key management skills and on your proven ability to perform each of the four management functions. (Use the scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest.) Based on your ratings, explain why you would or wouldn’t hire yourself for a lower-level management position.
Technical skills Conceptual Skills Interpersonal Skills Diagnostic Skills Analytic Skills
IV. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Match the words with their definitions: analytic skill, conceptual skill, technical skill, interpersonal skill, diagnostic skill 1. the ability to deal effectively with other people, both inside and outside the organization. 2. the ability to assess a particular situation and identify its causes. 3. the ability to think in abstract terms. 4. a specific skill needed to accomplish a specialized activity. 5. the ability to identify the relevant issues (or variables) in a situation, to determine how they are related, and to assess their relative importance. B) Fill in the blanks with an appropriate form of one of the following words: foreman indebtedness academicians mutual fund ingenious intuitive fair employment practices associates safeguards computer software Scientists and ___________ are helping business understand its __________ to hunches and __________ knowledge. Howard Stein, chairman of Dreyfus Corp.,
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES successfully launched a special ______________ made up of computers which complied with environmental __________ and _____________. Also, Edgar Mitchell and his __________ use intuitive information along with ________. They interview managers, ________, and workers in the process of creating _____________ “fault trees”.
CASE STUDY Management Practices at CBS In the past, Laurence Tisch, CEO at Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), proved himself to be a first-rate accountant and financial wizard. So it is no surprise that this confident and articulate man has been hurt because many observers have openly questioned his ability to run CBS. CBS’s current board of directors, network affiliates, and investors have harshly criticized Tishch’s strategy at CBS or, more precisely, his lack of a concrete company strategy. However, others claim that Tisch’ decisions at CBS have been excellent and have brought financial stability to the firm. Before Tisch came along, CBS was a diverse entertainment giant. CBS/Records group was the world’s largest company. Tisch sold CBS records to Sony Corp. (for $2 billion), just when the compact-disc revolution began to breathe a strong rush of air into the music industry. Tisch sold CBS,s publishing holdings to Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., and its magazine division to Diamandis Communications, Inc. And, while ABC is expanding its commitment to cable programming – by investing in such networks as ESPN, Lifetime, and Arts & Entertainment Network-and NBC (which has been trying to increase its involvement in cable for years) is now leasing the Tempo Television Network, Tisch sold off CBS’s interests in Rainbow Services (a cable programming venture) and several regional SportsChannelnetworks. Tisch argues that he wants to concentrate on broadcasting, even though the evening viewing audience for CBS programs has diminished by two million households since Tisch took command. Tisch says that CBS will regain its lead in the broadcast industry with improved programming, aggressive promotion to attract new viewers, and marketing innovations that appeal to advertisers. Some television analysts expect Tisch’s plans to fail; they think that CBS must diversify to grow at a time when network television is shrinking so dramatically. Tisch’s management style irritates many people. He hates memos, meetings, and traditional channels of communication. Though decisions at CBS are now made more rapidly, the bureaucratic culture of the company has been upset. Over a twoyear period after Tisch became CEO, CBS reduced its work force from 16,000 to 6,800 employees. Its revenues also shrank, from about $5, billion to $2.8 billion a year, and it slipped to last place in the crucial A.C. Nielsen Co. television ratings. In contrast, when Capital Cities took over ABC and made cuts as deep as CBS’s in the work force, ABC ratings improved. One of CBS’s directors said in a recent Business Week interview: “We are not happy. Tisch has dismantled the company in a piecemeal fashion, and it’s too late to stop him. We’ve asked for a plan or a strategy. But it’s not in his nature to lay out a strategy”. Tisch’s credit, CBS did land the 1992 Winter Olympic Games, and the company has more than $3 billion in the bank. Stock analysts, however, are still predicting a dull future for CBS. But, since Tisch controls nearly 25 percent of CBS’s stock, Tisch’s critics and dissatisfied colleagues will probably have to accept this way of doing business for a long time. Questions – 143 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina 1. Does the fact that Tisch does not like memos, meetings and traditional channels of communication indicate that he is not an effective manager? 2. Given that several groups, such as the board of directors, network affiliates, and investors, have been critical of Tisch’s actions, should he take corrective measures? Explain.
VI. DEBATE Form two teams to debate the value of hunches (definite feelings that something may be true). Team A: Hunches, or intuitive feelings, should not be given serious consideration in managerial decision-making. Note that precisely how the mind puts the things together has never been adequately charted; therefore, we cannot define the hunch nor can we assess its reliability. Team B: Hunches should be given serious consideration when making managerial decisions. Note that some Gestalt psychologists say that sudden ideas come from the information processed unconsciously and that in many cases such ideas are very reliable and more creative than those reached in the normal way. Allow each team five to seven minutes of group preparation followed by a three-minute presentation (timed by a watch). Allow time for a rebuttal of three minutes by each team. VII. Managing yourself When a customer comes into your shop with a complaint, you can deal with it in a number of different ways. You can: - give cash refund - give a voucher for the value of the returned goods - exchange the goods for something of the same value - give a straight exchange - persuade the customer to wait while you contact the supplier When a customer complains, it can be difficult not to take the complaint personally. This can make you behave aggressively, which can then make the customer feel angry. If this happens, a good strategy is to count to ten. This allows you to get your anger under control before you speak. There are three different approaches to dealing with possible conflict with customers: 1. You want to get your customer to accept your point of view 2. You want the customer to be happy 3. You want to find a solution, which satisfies both you and the customer. The third approach is obviously the most adult and professional, but it doesn’t always come naturally. For most people, it requires practice! ROLE-PLAY Role – play the following situation using the third approach in the text. Student A You bought a pair of jeans last week. But when you washed them, they lost colour and shrank. They were good quality jeans and you didn’t expect to have problems with them. However, you bought them in a sale at a reduced price. Student B You are the manager of the shop. The jeans were reduced in your end of season sale. They were regular stock and were not bought in especially for the sale. Your shop has a policy of exchanging faulty goods but not those bought in the sales.
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Useful language I’m afraid it’s not our policy to ……… But I’m telling you …………………… I bought these in your shop two weeks ago……….. I washed them once and …………… I’m sorry. We usually ……. Would you like to exchange it for ……..
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8. MARKETING
“Marketing is the creation and delivery of a standard of living”
8.1 Utility: The Value Added by Marketing
Learning objectives: 1. Define Marketing 2. Explain how it creates utility for purchasers of product 3. Trace the evolution of marketing Study and Learn the Words:
English utility (n) form utility inn (n) place utility English equivalents usefulness usefulness appeared after processing the product hotel or motel utility which appears after bringing the product at the place of demand utility caused by offering the goods in time utility which appears after purchasing the product or service right to ownership of a product bill issued by the seller, receipt together with general notion, concept futherance of the popularity, sales,by publicizing and advertising Romanian avantaj, folos utilitate apărută în urma prelucrării produsului utilitate apărută în urma aducerii produsului în locul cererii utilitate cauzată de oferta mărfii la timp utilitate apărută în urma achiziţiei produsului sau a serviciului drept de proprietate asupra produsului cec de casă eliberat de vînzator concomitent cu concepţie, idee, noţiune publicitate, reclamă pentru un produs Russian полезность полезность, которая появляется после обработки продукта полезность, которая появляется после приношения продукта на место спроса полезность, вызванная предложением товара вовремя полезность, которая появляется после приобретения продукта или услуги право на продукт кассовый чек, выписываемый продавцом совместно с идея, понятие, концепция реклама, рекламный материал
time utility
possession utility
title of a product sales slip along with conception (n) promotion (n)
The history of marketing may be nearly as long as the history of man on earth. In its earliest form, the market may have consisted of only two people. Each knew that the other had something he wanted at that time: some grain, an animal, or a tool. The two people simply exchanged their goods. In order to have a fair exchange, they both had to agree on the value or utility of what they were offering for trade. But barter had its problems. If one man exchanged a cow for 200 fish, he might not be able to use all 200 fish, and so he would lose both his cow and the value of the fish he could not use. People then began to accept certain objects in exchange for any product. They had to agree on the value of these objects, which became the first money. Some people began to specialize in the production of goods for other people, and others began to offer services. An increasingly complex marketing system was born.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES As a society’s total economy becomes more complex, so does the function of marketing. Production becomes more highly specialized. Producers and consumers become more widely separated, and so do the centers of production and consumption. A huge distribution network is necessary to move goods to consumers. Marketing which has been defined as “the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer or user,” thus is crucial to all phases of business. Today, the buyer or consumer’s desires must be satisfied. The entire concept of marketing has changed in recent years. The following chart contrasts the old and the new concepts
The old concept of marketing emphasized technological research creating a market the product a narrow line of products product performance selling as the major activity sales profits goods as products The new concept of marketing emphasizes market research identifying a market the consumer a broad range of products customer needs and desires seeing all marketing activities as parts of one system customer satisfaction goods, services, and ideas as products
Marketing is today everywhere. The producer, or the consumer, may be a person, a group, a firm, an institution, an organization, a government. The product can be a consumer good: a head of lettuce, a pencil, a washing machine – anything bought by the ultimate consumer for his own use. It may be an industrial good, bought by a government or institution; to be resold; or to be used in the production of other goods. The product could be a service, such as cutting hair, performing a marriage, providing insurance or a hotel room. It may be an idea: “Don’t drive after drinking”, “Protect wildlife”. The marketing environment is the same for all. For all, it is necessary to gather market information, choose target markets, study consumer behavior, and develop strategies for production, channeling, promotion, and pricing. The American Marketing Association defines marketing as “the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives. ” Utility is the power of a good or service to satisfy a human need. For a housewife, a can opener has utility. A lunch at a Pizza Hut, an overnight stay at a Holiday Inn, and a Mercedes 420 SEL all satisfy human needs. Each possesses utility. Form utility is utility that is created by converting production inputs. Marketing efforts may indirectly influence form utility because the data gathered as part of marketing research are frequently used to determine the size, shape and features of a product. The three kinds of utility that are directly created by marketing are place, time, and possession utility. Place utility is utility that is created by making a product available at a location where customers wish to purchase it. A pair of shoes is given place utility when it is shipped from a factory to a department store. Time utility is utility that is created by making a product available when customers wish to purchase it. For example, tennis shoes might be manufactured in December but not displayed until April, when customers in a northern city start thinking about summer sports. By storing the shoes until they are wanted, the manufacturer or retailer provides time utility. – 147 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina Possession utility is utility that is created by transferring title (or ownership) of a product to the buyer. For a product as simple as a pair of shoes, ownership is simply transferred by means of a sales slip or receipt. For such products as automobiles and homes, the transfer of title is a more complex process. Along with the title to its product, the seller transfers the right to use that product to satisfy a need. Time, place, and possession utility have real value in terms of both money and convenience. This value is created and added to goods and services through a wide variety of marketing activities-from research indicating what customers want to product warranties ensuring that customers get what they pay for. Overall, these marketing activities account for about half of every dollar spent by consumers. When they are part of an integrated marketing program that delivers maximum utility to the customer, most of us would agree that they are worth the cost. Place, time, and possession utility are only the most fundamental applications of marketing activities. In recent years, marketing activities have resulted from a broad business philosophy known as the marketing concept.
I. COMPREHENSION A) Comment on: 1. Who can be the producer or the consumer? What can be a product? 2. Define the terms “marketing” and “utility”. 3. Identify the differences between the four kinds of utility and give examples of it. 4. How is value created and added to the goods? B) Read the following definitions of marketing and use them as a basis to formulate your own definition of marketing: 1. “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department” (David Packard). 2. “In a truly great marketing organization, you can’t tell who’s in the marketing department. Everyone in the organization has to make decisions based on the impact on the consumer”. (Stephen Burnett). 3. “Most people mistakenly think of marketing only as selling and promotion ….. This does not mean that selling and promotion are unimportant, but rather that they are part of a larger marketing mix, a set of marketing tools but work together to affect the marketplace.” (Philip Kotler) 4. “The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim is to know and understand the customers so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.” (Peter Drucker) 5. “Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer.” 6. “Marketing is getting the right goods and services to the right place, at the right time, at the right price with the right communication and promotion.” II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Insert prepositions: 1. …….. a product as simple as a pair of shoes, ownership is simply transferred by means ….. a sales slip or receipt. 2. For such products as automobiles and homes, the transfer ….. title is a more complex process. 3. Time, place, and possession utility have real value ….. terms of both money and convenience. 4. Overall, these marketing activities account …… about half of every dollar spent by
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES consumers. 5. A lunch ….. a Pizza Hut, an overnight stay ….. a Holiday Inn, and a Mercedes 420 SEL all satisfy human needs.
B) Language Note (Sentence linkers) Look at these ways of linking the different parts of sentences. Gert decided to run Columbia herself because she needed money to repay her husband’s loan; but she didn’t have any management experience, and the company accountant resigned, so she had a lot of problems at first. 1. We use because and so when we want to give the reason for an action or decision. These words can appear in a different position in the sentence. She decided to run the company because she needed money. Because she needed money, she decided to run the company. She needed money, so she decided to run the company. 2. We use but for contrast, when an action or decision is different from what we would normally expect. She decided to run the company, but she didn’t have any management experience. 3. Normally, we don’t begin a sentence with so, but, or and. C) Fill in the spaces in the sentences with because , so, or but . The first one is done for you. 1. The company is recruiting 100 new employees this year so it is moving to larger offices. 2. We’re sending her to the Madrid office ….. she speaks good Spanish. 3. The flight was delayed ….. he was late for the meeting. 4. The rooms in the hotel were very comfortable ….. the food in the hotel restaurant wasn’t good. 5. He can’t be our new Financial Director ….. he isn’t a qualified accountant. 6. Last year, sales increased by eight per cent ….. profits fell by two per cent. III. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Insert the words into the gaps. A synonym is given in parentheses before each blank. value characteristics firm system primitive brief network appropriate principles crucial concept behavior broad 1. A company should offer a (wide) _________ range of products. 2. The (company’s) _________’s (way of acting) __________ was contrary to (guiding ideas) ___________ of good management. 3. It’s (absolutely vital) ____________ for a marketer to have a (whole idea) _________ of the (worth, importance) ____________ of developing marketing strategy. 4. Goods follow a (complex path) ___________ or _________ from producer to consumer. 5. (Qualities) ___________ of a (beginning, undeveloped) ___________ economy include the use of barter. 6. The manager’s (short) ______________ statement to his salesmen was (apt, suitable) _____________; it helped them correct their mistakes. – 149 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina
B) Using a dictionary, fill in missing word family members.
verb produce consumer industrial promotion lose technological govern economy satisfactory decide emphasis different noun competition adjective
C) List the opposites: excluding __________________ primary ___________________ slower ____________________ bought ____________________ failure ____________________ within _____________________ worst ______________________ decline _____________________
more expensive _____________ up to date __________________ organized __________________ youth ______________________ the same ____________________ single product ________________ domestic trade _________________ weak _______________________
IV. DISCUSSION A) Work in pairs You and your partner are managers in the same company. You have a number of problems. 1. One solution is suggested for each problem. Think of some more.
Problem A new competitor, BRP, took 5% of your market share last year. Your main supplier, TED West, often delivers late (but their prices are the lowest in the town). The best candidate for the post of Personnel Manager is a woman, but she is expecting a baby in four month’s time. Not enough staff are using the company canteen; many of them are buying sandwiches in Pret a Manger. Suggested solution Reduce your prices. Find a new supplier. Other solutions
Employ her.
Close the canteen.
B) Now discuss each problem, following these guidelines: Managing Director Financial Director What do you think we should do? I think we should ….. because ….. I don’t think we should ….. because ….. I agree…../I don’t agree ….. because ….. Why don’t we …../ How about …..?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
8.2 The Marketing Concept. Its Evolution and Implementation
Learning Objectives: 1. Trace the development of the marketing concept 2. Understand how it is implemented Study and Learn the Words:
English potential (adj) assess (v) bank on (v) output (n) catch up with (ph.v) consistently (adv) approach (n) to fill the needs to meet expectations to pinpoint means of attaining a goal to satisfy the needs to point out English equivalents would-be appreciate rely on production to attain Romanian potenţial, posibil a aprecia, a evalua a se bizui pe producţie a ajunge, a se apropia de un nivel oarecare consecutiv, logic, corespunzător abordare a satisface necesităţile a atinge aşteptările a evidenţia Russian возможный оценивать полагаться на продукция, выпуск догнать логично, совместимо, последовательно подход удовлетворять нужды соответствовать ожиданиям выделять
The process that leads any business to success seems simple. First, the firm must talk to its potential customers to assess their needs for its products or services. Then the firm must develop a product or service to satisfy those needs. Finally, the firm must continue to seek ways to provide customer satisfaction. This process is an application of the marketing concept, or marketing orientation. As simple as it seems, American business took about a hundred years to accept it. From the start of Industrial Revolution until the early twentieth century, business effort was directed mainly toward the production of goods. Consumer demand for manufactured products was so great that manufacturers could almost bank on selling everything they produced. Business had a strong production orientation, in which emphasis was placed on increased output and production efficiency. Marketing was limited to taking orders and distributing finished goods. In the 1920s, production began to catch up with demand. Now producers had to direct their efforts toward selling goods to consumers whose basic wants were already satisfied. This new sales orientation was characterized by increased advertising, enlarged sales forces, and occasionally high-pressure selling techniques. Manufacturers produced the goods they expected consumers to want, and marketing consisted primarily of taking orders and delivering goods, along with personal selling and advertising. During the 1950s, however, business people started to realize that even enormous advertising expenditures and the most thoroughly proven sales techniques were not enough. Something else was needed if products were to sell as well as expected. It was then that business managers recognized that they were not primarily producers or sellers but rather were in the business of satisfying customers’ wants. As Philip E. Benton, Jr., president of Ford Automotive Group, states, “What our customers define as quality is what we must deliver. We have relearned in recent years that the successful automakers consistently provide customers with what they need and want, at a price they feel offers good value, in a product that meets their expectations of safety and quality. Our challenge is to go – 151 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina beyond that – to exceed customer expectations, and, indeed, to generate customer enthusiasm.” Marketers realized that the best approach was to adopt a customer orientation – in other words, the organization had to first determine what customers need and then develop goods and services to fill those particular needs. (see Figure 1.1) This marketing concept is a business philosophy that involves the entire organization in the process of satisfying customers’ needs while achieving the organization’s goals. All functional areas - from product development through production to finance and, of course, marketing - are viewed as playing a role in providing customer satisfaction.
Figure 1.1 Production orientation - Take orders - Distribute goods
Sales Orientation - Increase advertising - Enlarge sales force - Develop sales techniques
Customer orientation - Determine customer needs - Develop goods and services to fill needs
Some firms, such as Ford Motor Company and Apple Computer, have gone through minor or major reorganizations in the process. Because the marketing concept is essentially a business philosophy, anyone can say, “I believe in it.” But to make it work, management must fully adopt and then implement it. To implement the marketing concept, a firm must first obtain information about its present and potential customers. The firm must first determine not only what customers’ needs are but also how well those needs are being satisfied by products currently on the market-both its own products and those of competitors. It must ascertain how its products might be improved and what opinions customers have of the firm and its marketing efforts. The firm must then use this information to pinpoint the specific needs and potential customers toward which it will direct its marketing activities and resources. (Obviously, no firm can expect to satisfy all needs. And not every individual or firm can be considered a potential customer for every product manufactured or sold by a firm.) Next, the firm must mobilize its marketing resources to (1) provide a product that will satisfy its customers; (2) price the product at a level that is acceptable to buyers and that will yield a profit; (3) promote the product so that potential customers will be aware of its existence and its ability to satisfy their needs; and (4) ensure that the product is distributed so that it is available to customers where and when needed. Finally, the firm must again obtain marketing information – this time regarding the effectiveness of its efforts. Can the product be improved? Is it being promoted properly? Is it being distributed efficiently? Is the price too high? The firm must be ready to modify any or all of its marketing activities on the basis of this feedback. I. COMPREHENSION A) Answer the following questions: 1. Which are the steps that lead any business to success? 2. What was the orientation of business from the beginning of Industrial Revolution? 3. What happened in 1920s? 4. What did business people start to realize in 1950s? 5. Define the term “marketing concept.” 6. Why is the marketing concept essentially a business philosophy? 7. Which are the steps to implement the marketing concept?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES B) Say if the statements are True or False: 1. From the start of Industrial Revolution until the early twentieth century, business effort was directed mainly toward the selling of goods. 2. In the 1920s, production began to catch up with demand. 3. In 1950s marketers realized that the best approach was to adopt a customer orientation – in other words, the organization had to first determine what customers need and then develop goods and services to fill those particular needs. 4. Management must fully adopt the accounting concept and then implement it. 5. To implement the marketing concept, a firm must first determine not only what customers’ needs are but also how well those needs are being satisfied by products currently on the market-both its own products and those of competitors. 6. Every individual or firm can be considered a potential customer for every product manufactured or sold by a firm.
II. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Insert prepositions: 1. Some firms, such as Ford Motor Company and Apple Computer, have gone …… minor or major reorganizations in the process. 2. All functional areas - …… product development through production to finance and, of course, marketing - are viewed as playing a role ……. providing customer satisfaction. 3. Business had a strong production orientation, in which emphasis was placed …. increased output and production efficiency. 4. It was then that business managers recognized that they were not primarily producers or sellers but rather were ….. the business of satisfying customers’ wants. 5. We have re-learned in recent years that the successful automakers consistently provide customers …… what they need and want, …… a price they feel offers good value, in a product that meets their expectations of safety and quality. B) Some words are commonly followed by certain prepositions. Add appropriate prepositions – for, on, upon, by, in, to, with, of, over, at, toward, from, - to complete the remaining phrases. Use your dictionaries. take responsibility ____ distinguish ____ according ____ purpose ____ appeal ____ means ____ aimed ____ deal ____ compromise ____ respond ____ be faced ____ search ____ put emphasis ____ rely ____ be subject ____ be consistent ____ be applicable ____ arrange ____ the result ____ be dominant ____ give consideration ____ pay ____ be composed ____ look ____ be committed ____ be aware ____ reaction ____ put pressure ____ submit ____ the demand ____ combination ____ C) Insert verbs, adjectives, nouns, and adverbs: VERB ADJECTIVE NOUN to satisfy – 153 – ADVERB
A. Talp ă , O. Calina profitable implementati on
successfully to produce safe finance consistently III. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) From the list of the words provided, fill in the blanks in the following memorandum. Each word is to be used only one time. Transactions, retailing, operating, product returns, retailer, warehouses, expanding, merchandise mix, market, funds, outlets, assemble, consumers, confident. MEMORANDUM Date: January 23, 19 – To: Deborah Boyles From: Rod Sprague Subject: Telecommunications in retailing Deborah, I want some information on the use of telecommunications in the __________ business. Our job is to sell more merchandise and increase our ___________ share. In the past we have done this by increasing the number of our store ___________ and by ___________ our sales volume. However, in the future, ____________ will be shopping at home with a video display catalog, which will be provided by a participating ______________. Automated __________ will _________________ the goods and banks will transfer _______________ to pay for the merchandise. I am ___________ that these sorts of ___________ will increase. We must prepare an effective promotion for our goods and we must keep a broad ___________. Could you please study any possible problems such as ___________, which might lower our profit margin? Also investigate all _______________ costs. B) List opposites: from Consumer “Decision-Making” disloyalty _________________ careless ___________________ dislike_____________________ input ______________________ to slow _____________________ early ______________________
unaware ________________ illogical _________________ irregularly _______________ general _________________ minority _______________ right (correct) __________
IV. DISCUSSION A) Which of these do most people want or need? Entertainment a regular holiday free time a car a house movies education better food books household appliances mobile phones a tractor a computer protection gloves and glasses more fresh air money travel – 154 –
an estate car the land with expensive clothes
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES software seeds clean water
tools to work
stationery products
B) Depending on the type of customers listed below, decide in pairs what would each of them need or want, and why: - urban, suburban, rural - yuppies (young urban professional people), office-workers, factory workers, unemployed, housewives - well-paid, badly-paid, average-paid - well-educated, average-educated, uneducated C) Match the words in the box with the definitions below: reliability serviceability durability goodwill benchmarking warranty
1. performance over a long period of time 2. comparing what competitors are doing and adopting the best solutions. 3. accurate, regular performance according to specification. 4. a guarantee or promise that goods will meet a certain specified level, will be repaired or replaced free of charge in the specified period of time. 5. ease of maintenance and repair 6. customer's satisfaction with and loyalty to a company (hence the reputation of a company)
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A. Talp ă , O. Calina
8.3 Markets and Their Classification
Learning objectives: 1. Know what markets are 2. How they are classified Study and Learn the Words
English willingness (n) purchase (n) reseller (n) broadly (adv) wholesaler (n) retailer (n) county (n) highway (n) English equivalents desire acquisition person who buys and sells again largely person who sells in bulk person who sells by piece district of a country main road Romanian voinţă achiziţie recomerciant pe larg angrosist vânzător cu amănuntul regiune drum principal, şosea Russian желание приобретение перекупщик широко оптовый торговец розничный торговец округ шоссе
A market is a group of individuals, organizations, or both who have needs for products in a given category and who have the ability, willingness and authority to purchase such products. The people or organizations must require the product. They must be able to purchase the product with money, goods, or services that can be exchanged for the product. They must be willing to use their buying power. Finally, they must be socially and legally authorized to purchase the product. Markets are classified as consumer, industrial, or reseller markets. These classifications are based on the characteristics of the individuals and organizations within each market. Because marketing efforts vary depending on the intended market, marketers should understand the general characteristics of these three groups. Consumer markets consist of purchasers and/or individual household members who intend to consume or benefit from the purchased products and who do not buy products to make a profit. Industrial markets are grouped broadly into producer, governmental, and institutional categories. These markets purchase specific kinds of products for use either in day-to-day operations or in making other products for profit. Producer markets consist of individuals and business organizations that intend to make a profit by buying certain products to use in the manufacture of other products. Governmental markets comprise federal, state, county, and local governments. They buy goods and services to maintain internal operations and to provide citizens with such products as highways, education, water, energy, and national defense. Their purchases total billions of dollars each year. Institutional markets include churches, private schools and hospitals, civic clubs, fraternities and sororities, charitable organizations, and foundations. Their goals are different from such typical business goals as profit, market share, or return on investment. Reseller markets consist of intermediaries such as wholesalers and retailers who buy finished products and sell them for a profit. After classifying and identifying its market or markets, an organization must develop marketing strategies to reach this audience. I. COMPREHENSION A) Answer the folloing questions: 1. Define the word “market”. 2. Characterize the relationship between people and products.
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 3. What groups are markets classified in? 4. What criteria guide this classification? 5. Identify the differences and similarities between the kinds of markets.
II. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Match the words with their definitions: Consumer market, governmental market, institutional market, reseller market, industrial market, producer market 1. A market that consists of intermediaries such as wholesalers and retailers who buy finished products and sell them for a profit. 2. A market that includes churches, private schools and hospitals, civic clubs, fraternities and sororities, charitable organizations, and foundations. 3. A market consisting of purchasers and/or individual household members who intend to consume or benefit from the purchased products and who do not buy products to make a profit. 4. A market comprising federal, state, county, and local governments. 5. A market that purchases specific kinds of products for use either in day-today operations or in making other products for profit. 6. A market that consists of individuals and business organizations that intend to make a profit by buying certain products to use in the manufacture of other products. B) Complete the sentences with appropriate forms of the words in parentheses: 1. (nonprofit, negotiable) Thrift shops are ________________ stores, and sometimes the prices are _________________. 2. (haggle, defect, merchandise) If the shopper finds __________ in the _____________ she can ________________ over the price. 3. (bin, value) If shoppers look carefully through the __________________ in the stores, real ______________ can be found. 4. (unload, bear) Department stores use sometimes resale stores to _____________ excess merchandise which may ______________ high-quality labels. 5. (price tag, retail price) The prices on the _____________ are lower than what the _________ would be. 6. (inventory, go for, deplete) On busy days like Saturdays when shoppers really _________ low prices, a store’s ______________ may become _______________. 7. (secondhand, consignment) Much of the merchandise in the resale shops is someone’s _________ clothing which is sold on _____________ . 8. (alter, shrink) Many of the items sold on consignment may not be the same size as is written on the label because they have _____________ or have been _______________ . 9. (garment, line) Many of the _______________ found in these stores are from designer ____________ . 10. (wardrobe, apparel) Some people fill their ______________ with secondhand _______ . III. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Insert propositions: 1. Because marketing efforts vary depending ….. the intended market, marketers should understand the general characteristics of these three groups. 2. – 157 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina These classifications are based …. the characteristics of the individuals and organizations ……. each market. 3. They buy goods and services to maintain internal operations and to provide citizens ….. such products as highways, education, water, energy, and national defense. 4. Their goals are different ….. such typical business goals as profit, market share, or return on investment.
B) Complete the missing words in the table: VERB to introduce (a product)
to withdraw (a product from the market) to promote to recover to complain to revise
NOUN a launch (of a product) a recall
an increase an image
IV. ROLEPLAY Interview with a loan officer Form groups of two or three. One person (or two persons forming a partnership) wants to begin a business in clothing resale, but does not have enough capital. Conduct an interview between the loan officer and the person (s) applying for the loan. The officer must become convinced that the resale clothing business is profitable. Consider the following points: Business person (s). Explain that the business is to be a resale shop, not a thrift shop. Know whether or not the store will handle designer clothing or furs in addition to regular clothing. Know what the monthly costs will be, such as rent, merchandise, and salaries. Have an idea how much money can be made monthly. Know how much money you want to borrow. Loan officer. Find out the exact nature of the business. Find out how other resale shops in the nation are prospering. Find out whether the business person will get the merchandise. Find out how quickly the merchandise will sell so that the old merchandise will not remain in the store for several months. Find out how large the market is for used clothing. Find out how prices will be determined. Find out if the business person will handle ordinary clothing, designer clothing, or furs. Find out how quickly the loan can be repaid. V. DISCUSSION A) Discuss in pairs: 1. Do resale stores sound like good businesses to go into? Some of the more expensive garments like designer clothing must be reduced by as much as 75%. Can a profit be made? Also, isn’t old clothing more difficult to sell than new clothing?
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 2. Resale stores are a new development. Why have they been created? Is the reason related to the general strength or weakness of the economy and the rate of inflation?
B) Product and brand Study the several ways by means of which you could choose a brand name: • Initials (HBO) • Numbers (Boeing 77) • Invented name (Kleenex) • Personal name (Ford) • Mythological characters (Samsonite luggage) • Geographical name (Northwest airlines) • Foreign word (Lux, Nestle) • Combination of words, initials, numbers (Head & Shoulders shampoo) C) Now think of a brand you intend to develop. Discuss in pairs how you would name your brand and think of other examples. VI. BUSINESS IDIOMS Phrasal verbs Match up the phrasal verbs on the left with the verbs that have a similar meaning on the right. 1. give up (production) a. accept 2. go along with (the decision) b. decrease, become fewer 3. kill off (a silly project) c. begin to be successful 4. come up with (a new idea) d. continue 5. do without (a pay rise) e. destroy or abandon 6. make room for (further expansion) f. find space to give 7. take off (after performing less well) g. get rid of, discard (because unwanted) 8. throw away (some good ideas) h. have, create ideas 9. weed out (uneconomic departments) i. make up, constitute a figure 10. carry on (in the same old way) j. perform, undertake or do 11. account for (rise in profits) k. produce, launch 12. carry out (a market survey) l. remove (from something larger) 13. (production levels) drop off m. agree to stop or discontinue 14. look ahead to (future) n. survive or live while lacking 15. look for (a new solution) something o. think about, prepare or plan the 16. bring out (a new product) future p. try to find VII.WRITING Translate into English: – 159 –
1. 2.
3. 4. 5. 6.
A. Talp ă , O. Calina Dezvoltarea unei game largi de produse permite firmei să acopere о suprafaţă mare din piaţă şi să delimiteze mai clar principalele segmente de consumatori cărora se adresează. Procesul de creaţie vizează şi ambalajul noului produs. Acesta trebuie să fie conceput astfel încât să-i asigure protecţia împotriva agentilor din mediul ambiant, păstrarea integrităţii formei şi conţinutului în timpul transportului, manipulării şi depozitării. Produsele firmei 3M formeaza о gamă variată, de la dischete la lentile de contact, flacoane spray pentru aerosoli, echipament medical şi până la bilete adezive pentru birou. Un sondaj efectuat recent arata că 40 % dintre cumpărători preferă produsele din gama Palmolive decît Farmec pentru că ambalajul este mai atractiv şi preţul mai scazut. Achiziţionarea unui computer performant a devenit esentială pentru departamentul nostru acum, când numarul membrilor echipei a scăzut şi volumul de lucrări este în creştere. Ca urmare a faptului că s-au înregistrat comenzi numeroase în ultima vreme, am hotărît să folosim noile coduri ale produselor pe care clienţii să le menţioneze pe formularul de comandă.
8.4 Developing Marketing Strategies
Learning objectives: 1. Identify the four elements of the marketing mix 2. Become aware of their importance in developing a marketing strategy 3. Comprehend how the marketing environment affects strategic market planning Study and Learn the Words:
English aimed at market segmentation approach target market marketing mix English Equivalents directed towards theory of treating market segmentation market that is the object of selling and buying the four elements of marketing (product, price, promotion, distribution keeping advertising to correspond to theory of treating the total market theory explaining that in the market customers have the same needs an Eskimo canoe made of skins Romanian dirijat spre teoria abordării segmentării pieţii piaţa ţintă complex de marketing, mix de marketing menţinere promovare, publicitate a corespunde teoria abordării pieţii totale teorie nondiferenţiată Russian направленный к теория сегментации рынка
комплекс маркетинга
maintenance (n) promotion (n) be consistent with total market approach undifferentiated approach kayak (n)
поддержание реклама соответствовать теория общего рынка недифференцированн ый подход
caiac
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES
completely covering a wooden frame except for an opening in the middle for the paddler a narrow light boat with its sides meeting in a sharp edge at each end a group of individuals or organizations, within a market, that share one or more common characteristics the process of dividing a market into segments is called market segmentation clothing, garments mark name packing discount to increase, to higher, to advertise objects, words, actions, ideas that society does not permit
canoe (n)
barcă
байдарка
market segment
segment al pieţii
сегмент рынка
market segmentation
segmentare a pieţii
сегментация рынка
apparel (n) brand name package (n) rebate (n) boost (v) taboos (n, pl)
îmbrăcăminte, haine, confecţii denumirea mărcii ambalaj reducere a ridica, a face reclamă
одежда название фабричной марки упаковка скидка повышать
To market a product successfully, a marketer must develop a strategy. A marketing strategy is a plan that will enable an organization to make the best use of its resources and advantages to meet its objectives. A marketing strategy consists of (1) the selection and analysis of a target market and (2) the creation and maintenance of an appropriate marketing mix, a combination of product, price, distribution, and promotion developed to satisfy a particular target market. Target Market Selection and Segmentation A target market is a group of persons for whom a firm develops and maintains a marketing mix suitable for the specific needs and preferences of that group. In selecting a target market, marketing managers examine potential markets for their possible effects on the firm's sales, costs, and profits. The managers attempt to determine whether the organization has the resources to produce a marketing mix that meets the needs of a particular target market and whether satisfying those needs is consistent with the firm's overall objectives. They also analyze the strength and number of competitors already selling in a potential target market. Marketing managers generally take either the total market approach or the market segmentation approach in choosing a target market. Total Market Approach When a company designs a single marketing mix and directs it at the entire market for a particular product, it is using a total market approach. This approach, also known as an undifferentiated approach, assumes that individual customers in the target market for a specific kind of product have similar needs and, therefore, that the organization can satisfy most customers with a single marketing mix. This single marketing mix consists of one type of product with little or no variation, one price, one promotional program aimed at everyone, – 161 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina and one distribution system to reach all customers in the total market. Products that can be marketed successfully with the total market approach include staple food items such as sugar and salt, and certain kinds of farm produce. A total market approach is useful only in a limited number of situations because for most product categories, buyers have different needs. When customers' needs vary, the market segmentation approach should be used Market Segmentation Approach The early man who had a cow that he didn’t need would have had to keep the cow through her old age and death if he had been unable to find someone else who wanted the cow. He had to identify his market target. That is, from among all the people he knew, he had to find out first which of them wanted a cow. But it is not the same to want something and to be able to exchange for it or buy it. He also had to select his market target, to choose his most likely customers. Then he had to plan and follow his marketing strategy according to the nature of his best potential market. The process now is called market segmentation. It recognizes that not everyone needs a certain product, and that a product cannot be expected to appeal to everyone. The marketing strategy is more efficient if it is aimed at those people the company can reasonably expect to serve. A firm that is marketing 40-foot yachts would not direct its marketing effort toward every person in the total boat market. Some might want a kayak or a canoe. Others might want a speedboat or an outboard-powered fishing boat. Still others might be looking for something resembling a small ocean liner. Any marketing effort directed toward such people would be wasted. Instead the firm would direct its attention toward a particular portion, or segment, of the total market for boats. A market segment is a group of individuals or organizations, within a market, that share one or more common characteristics. The process of dividing a market into segments is called market segmentation. Marketers make use of a wide variety of segmentation bases. Planning a segmentation strategy involves four steps. The first is to determine the market segments. Second is to select the appropriate segment as a target market for the prduct. Third is to develop procedures to serve the selected the segment; and fourth, the program is carried out, consistently evaluated, and revised if necessary. One method of determining market segments is to use demographic data. These are physical attributes of a population. Different groups within a population have different characteristics. 1. Population. How many people are there all together? 2. Population growth. What is the rate of population growth? How many people will there be in ten, twenty, or thirty years? 3. Population density. In what areas is the population concentrated. How densely? 4. Mobility. Is the population shifting to or from cities, suburbs, and country? 5. Per capita income. What is the average personal income? 6. Spending patterns. Which group has most often bought which products? 7. Employment. What proportions of the population are working in what occupations? 8. Education. What proportion has had how much schooling? 9. Home ownership. How many people own their own homes? How many rent? How many live in rooms and apartments? 10. Age. What proportion of the population falls within each group? What are the buying patterns of each group? (See the table below) 11. Ethnic origin. Family Life Cycle – 162 –
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES This concept identifies potential customers by age, marital status and number and ages of children. 1. Bachelor stage: young, single individuals 2. Full nest: young married couples with children a. youngest child under six b. youngest child six or over c. older married couples with dependent children 3. Empty nest: older married couples with no children at home 4. Solitary survivors: older single or widowed people
From studying demographic data, the marketing manager might decide to aim his strategy toward a very specific target, or segment of the population: young mothers of children under six who live in or near the urban centers of the northeastern part of the country and whose families have annual income in the lowmiddle range. This is a strategy of concentration. market segmentation based upon demographic information is an effective compromise with that impossible ideal. Creating a Marketing Mix A business firm controls four important elements of marketing—elements that it must combine in such a way as to reach its target market. These are the product itself, the price of the product, the means chosen for its distribution, and the promotion of the product. When they are combined, these four elements form a marketing mix. The firm can vary its marketing mix by changing any one or more of these ingredients. Thus a firm may use one marketing mix to reach one target market and a second, somewhat different marketing mix to reach another target market. For example, the Neiman Marcus Group's specialty retailing businesses—Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Contempo Casuals—use one marketing mix for its most affluent and discriminating customers and another mix for younger, 17- to 24year-old women who are interested in the most fashion-forward apparel available at moderate prices. Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman offer the highest possible levels of customer service to their most affluent customers, while moderate prices are emphasized at Contempo Casuals. Different products and prices immediately result in different marketing mixes. The product ingredient of the marketing mix includes decisions about the design of the product, brand name, packaging, warranties, and the like. Thus, when McDonald's Corp. decides on brand names, package designs, sizes of orders, flavors of sauces, and recipes, these are all part of the product ingredient. The pricing ingredient is concerned with both base prices and discounts of various kinds. Pricing decisions are intended to achieve particular goals, such as to maximize profit or even to make room for new models-The rebates offered by automobile manufacturers are a pricing strategy developed to boost low auto sales. The distribution ingredient involves not only transportation and storage but also the selection of intermediaries. How many levels of intermediaries should be used in the distribution of a particular product. Should the product be distributed as widely as possible? Or should distribution be restricted to a few specialized outlets in each area. The promotion ingredient focuses on providing information to target markets. The major forms of promotion include advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and publicity. The "ingredients" of the marketing mix are controllable elements. The firm can vary each of them to suit its organizational goals, marketing goals, and target markets. As we extend our discussion to the firm's overall marketing plan, we will – 163 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina see that the marketing environment also includes a number of uncontrollable elements.
Marketing Environment The marketer makes decisions within the framework of that plan that explains how to market a product. His decisions depend upon many variables, of factors that are constantly changing. Some variables are internal. The marketer has some control over the variables that affect the product: its nature, promotion of it, and the path it will follow from producer to consumer, and its price. But when something is produced, it enters an existing external environment of law, economy and society or culture. Suppose a company has developed a new kind of light bulb, one that works better and lasts longer than any other. Laws might exist that regulate its packaging, labeling, distribution. There could be legal restrictions on safety, advertising, and price. Laws must discourage or encourage a competitive economy. Even if there are no legal limits, there may be too much competition from other producers of light bulbs. A company competes not only with other companies that make similar products, but with all other companies. The marketing mix consists of elements that the firm controls and uses to reach its target market. In addition, the firm has control over such organizational resources as finances and information. These resources, too, may be used to accomplish marketing goals. However, the firm's marketing activities are also affected by a number of external—and generally uncontrollable—forces. Economic forces—the effects of economic conditions on customers' ability and willingness to buy Legal forces—the laws enacted either to protect consumers or to preserve a competitive atmosphere in the marketplace Societal forces—consumers' social and cultural values, the consumer movement, and environmental concerns Competitive forces—the actions of competitors, who are in the process of implementing their own marketing plans Political forces—government regulations and policies that affect marketing, whether or not they are directed specifically at marketing Technological forces—in particular, technological changes that can cause a product (or an industry) to become obsolete almost overnight These forces influence decisions about marketing-mix ingredients. Changes in the environment can have a major impact on existing marketing strategies. In addition, changes in environmental forces may lead to abrupt shifts in targetmarket needs. There are some questions to be answered before trying to enter a foreign market. Questions about the legal environment 1. To what extent are foreign imports controlled by government regulation? What duties, tariffs, quotas, and other nontariff barriers are there? 2. Is there a state trading corporation? What is its role? What is its effect on competition? Questions about the economic environment 1. What is the standard of living? The cost of living? The size of the population relative to the amount of usable land? 2. What is the extent of economic development? 3. Is there an effective middle class? What is its purchasing power? Questions about the sociocultural environment 1. Is there a need for the product? Is the attitude toward it the same as it is in this country?
– 164 –
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES 2. Will people reject the product because of taboos against its name, color, packaging, unit size, shape? 3. Is the society concerned with the quality of life? 4. How do people dress and act when doing business? Is it appropriate to be casual, aggressive, punctual, and direct? Is it acceptable to give money to government officials for their support?
I. VOCABULARY PRACTICE A) Match the words with their definitions: Market segment, marketing strategy, marketing mix, target market, total market approach, market segmentation 1. A combination of product, price, distribution, and promotion developed to satisfy a particular target market. 2. The process of dividing a market into segments. 3. A plan that will enable an organization to make the best use of its resources and advantages to meet its objectives. 4. A group of individuals or organizations, within a market, that share one or more common characteristics. 5. A group of persons for whom a firm develops and maintains a marketing mix suitable for the specific needs and preferences of that group. 6. When a company designs a single marketing mix and directs it at the entire market for a particular product. B) Find the definitions of the following words. Put the letter of the word next to the definition. a. entrepreneur e. conférence i. proposal b. investment f. policy j. paperwork c. delegate g. employer k. objective d. procurement h. agenda l. loan _____ 1. _____ 2. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ list: Segmentation, shown, expenditure, drive agencies, mix, trends, slogans, campaign, costs, produce, run, leaders. The total marketing (1) _____ includes service or product range, pricing policy, promotional methods and distribution channels, but for “world brands” who aim to – 165 – a person who starts a business and takes a risk for the profit. a general principle laid down for the guidance of executives in handling their jobs. 3. a person or business that hires persons for wages or salary. 4. a list of things to be done. 5. money spent (capital) in order to gain a profit or interest. 6. a meeting for consultation or discussion. 7. work involving reports, letters, forms, etc. 8. money lent for a period of time. 9. something purchased. 10. a plan which is suggested. 11. one who is authorized to act for or represent others. 12. a goal or aim.
C) Complete the paragraphs below using the words from the following
A. Talp ă , O. Calina be market (2) _____, a large part of marketing (3) _____ goes on (4) _____, a concerted effort is made to promote and sell more of their products and this will often involve an expensive advertising (5) _____ . Marketers generally tend to divide markets up into separate groups according to geographical area, income bracket and so on. This is known as market (6) _____ . But a global marketing policy will obviously take much less account of local market (7) _____ and concentrate instead on what different markets have in common. As global commercials are (8) _____ on TV in many different countries, the advertising (9) _____ tend to be high and obviously the biggest advertising (10) _____ can (11) _____ commercials on such a global scale. Fortunately, global commercials like those for Malboro cigarettes and British Airways can be (12) _____ for many years without looking out of date, and advertising (13) _____ such as “the world’s favourite airline” and “Always Coca Cola”, will always be universally recognized.
II. COMPREHENSION Enlarge on: 1. Identify the four elements of marketing that a business firm controls. Give their definitions and examples. 2. What external and uncontrollable forces affect the firm's marketing activities? 3. In what way can changes in the environment have an impact on existing marketing strategies? III. FOCUS ON GRAMMAR A) Insert propositions: 1. Different products and prices immediately result …. different marketing mixes. 2. The promotion ingredient focuses …. providing information …. target markets. 3. A marketing strategy is a plan that will enable an organization to make the best use ….. its resources and advantages to meet its objectives. 4. Any marketing effort directed …… such people would be wasted. 5. Changes ….. the environment can have a major impact ….. existing marketing strategies. 6.Political forces—government regulations and policies that affect marketing, whether or not they are directed specifically …… marketing. VI. DISCUSSION A) Discuss in groups: 1. Describe how a producer of computer hardware could apply the marketing concept. 2. Is marketing information as important to small firms as it is to larger firms? Explain. 3. How does the marketing environment affect a firm’s marketing strategy? B) Work in small groups. Your company produces breakfast cereal and you want to include small gifts in the box to attract young consumers. You need to think of ideas for gifts that your company can use for market research. 1. First think about your target market. What ages are the children? What interests do they have? 2. Now brainstorm ideas for as many different gifts and toys as you can. 3. Choose the best idea and work out some details. What size is it?
– 166 –
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES What colour(s) is it? What’s it made of? Are you going to pack it? (If so, how?) 4. Draw a picture or diagram of the gift. When you’ve finished, present your idea to the class. See if they can suggest improvements.
C) Pair-work Which of the following claims do you agree with? 1. Advertising is essential for business, especially for launching new consumer products. 2. A large reduction of advertising would decrease sales. 3. Advertising often persuades people to buy things they don’t want. 4. Advertising lowers the public’s taste. 5. Advertising raises prices. 6. Advertising often persuades people to buy things they don’t need. 7. Advertising does not present a true picture of products. 8. Advertising has a bad influence on children. D) In a well-known survey, the Harvard Business Review asked 2,700 top or senior business managers whether they agreed with these statements. The survey produced some unexpected results. Which of the following percentages do you think go with which of the statements above? 41% 90% 49% 51% 60% 72% 85% 57%
F) After matching up these figures and statements, look at the true figures on the next page. After reading the opinions expressed in the Harvard Business Review survey, do you want to revise the opinions expressed above? VII. Match the ideas with the examples of real advertisements, then try to find ten adds (in newspapers, magazines or TV commercials) that illustrate the ideas below: 1. Ask a question Think IBM 2. Use a two-fold delivery with a twist Never forgets Elephant Memory Systems 3. Show your unique commitment Common sense. Uncommon results David Ingram and Associates 4. Describe your product in a novel way Liquid jewelry Lorr Laboratories (nail polish) 5. Link company name to product benefit Does she or doesn’t she? Clairol 6. Use an imperative call to action Understanding comes with Time Time magazine 7. Use a one-word call to action We take the world’s greatest pictures Nikon 8. Link a well-known phrase with A diamond is forever DeBeers your product benefit 9. Brag about yourself We try harder Avis 10.Link a product feature with an abstract need Just do it Nike
– 167 –
IV.
A. Talp ă , O. Calina Using the family life cycle, in which stage would people, be most likely to need these products?
product fast food a big car a set of encyclopedias expensive wine laundry detergent toys television laxative shoes a small car sheets and blankets a smaller house or apartment a diaper service a divorce counselor sports equipment
stage (1, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3, or 4) _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
IX. Written Task Research proves that the effect of the creativity factor in a campaign is more important than the money spent. “Only after gaining attention can a commercial help to increase the brand’s sales”, writes Philip Kotler in his famous book Marketing Management. Use your creativity and write an advert following one of the tips above. Referenece to the previous page Discussion: The numbers of respondents who agreed with the statements were as follows: 1). 90%, 2). 72%, 3). 85%, 4). 51%, 5). 41%, 6). 49%, 7). 60%. 8). 57% X. These are some of the things the marketer must know about a foreign market. Add to the lists. legal environment economic environment sociocultural environment tariffs standard of living need for the product restrictions on imports cost of living attitude toward the product ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ VI. CASE STUDY Targeting New Markets No one has been able to develop a list of superbly managed companies that withstands the test of time. Levi Strauss, one of the models of excellence in the
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___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________
___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________
ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES early 1970s, faced hard times in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The company struggled in its attempts to appeal to both the youth and adult markets. The company’s efforts to appeal to both markets through a single advertising strategy proved unsuccessful. New product lines of jeans came and went. The company became determined to shine up its tarnished image. Image, sales, and profits are being improved through product diversification, acceptance of the fact that the preferences of students of the 1960s and 1970s have evolved, and by the targeting of ethnic groups throughout the United States. Today, Levis are again a staple for baby boomers. Different sizes, silhouettes, and fabrics have helped retain Levi’s appeal. And for the younger market, Levi continues to stress hip, fit, and image. The company also uses varied commercials to appeal to specific groups and is planning to target different age and racial groups as demographics continue to change. Demographics, especially in California, are changing rapidly, and the company is responding with new lines of casual pants. Economic and population trends in California reveal that Hispanics, blacks, and Asians will exert increasing economic influence as their numbers continue to expand. Research by the Center for the Continuing Study of the California economy predicts that California’s population will expand by 500,000 people a year through 1995; due to immigration trends, around two-thirds of this increase will be Hispanics and Asians. California will represent one-fifth of the entire U.S. economic expansion during the same time period. Levi Strauss is successfully using this demographic information to develop clothing to appeal to new target markets. However, Levi’s Strauss’s Office of Strategic Research director John Wyek, who has helped the company utilize demographic information, realizes that change will be a constant factor: “From now until the year 2,000, there is going to be a steady decline in the total number of 18-to-24-yearolds…… Hispanic 18-to-24-year-olds will increase by 40 percent. It changes the wheel of our audience.” By creating new products with a well-known trademark, new designs and fabrics, and by improving its advertising and image, Levi Strauss intends to capture emerging markets as well as better respond to its traditional clientele.
Questions: 1. How is Levi Strauss shining up its tarnished image? 2. In what ways is Levi Strauss implementing the marketing concept? Explain. 3. How have demographic factors influenced Levi Strauss’s marketing strategies?
– 169 –
A. Talp ă , O. Calina
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Bantaş A., Năstăsescu V. Dicţionar economic Englez-Român. - Editura Niculescu SRL, Bucureşti, 1999. 2. Black, John. Dictionary of Economics. - Oxford University Press, 2002. 3. Brooks, Michael, Horner, David. Business English. - Bucureşti. Teora, 1997. 4. Butler, Brian. A Dictionary of Finance. – Oxford University Press, 1996. 5. Cooley, Philip. Business. Financial Management. – NY, The Dryden Press, 1988. 6. Dayan A. Engleza pentru Marketing şi Publicitate. – Buc., Teora, 1996. 7. Economics, tenth edition. – Oxford University Press, 2004 8. Grant, David, McLarty, Robert. Business Basics. - Oxford University Press, 1996. 9. Hollett, Vicki. Quick Work. - Oxford University Press, 2004. 10. Hollett, Vicky, Carter, Roger, Lyon, Liz, Tanner, Emma. In at the Deep End. Oxford University Press, 1996. 11. Hollinger, Alexander. The Language of Accounting. - Editura Milena Press. Bucureşti, 2000. 12. Ionescu, Lucian. English for Banking. – Editura Economică, 1999. 13. Irvine, Mark, Cadman, Marion. Commercially Speaking. - Oxford University Press, 1999. 14. Mackenzie Jan. English for Business Studies. – Cambridge University Press 15. Marchetea M. Business & Economics. – Buc., Teora, 2004. 16. Năstăsescu Violeta. Dicţionar Englez-Romîn, Romîn-Englez economic . – Buc., Editura Niculescu, 2004. 17. Nicolae, Marian. Commercial Correspondence. – Buc., Editura Universitară, 2005. 18. Pride, M. William. Business. - Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1991. 19. Rein P. David. Marketing. English Teaching Division. - Washington, D.C., 1991. 20. Rusu, Liliana. Commercial English. – Buc., Editura Universitară, 2004. 21. Speegle, Roger, Giesecke, William. Business World. - Oxford University Press, 1983. 22. Ştefan, Rodica, Pricope, Mihaela, Beldea, Elena. Go Ahead. - Editura Fundaţiei România de mâine, 2001. 23. Англо-русский и русско-английский бизнес-словарь. – Москва, Издательство ЮНВЕС, 2001. 24. Самуэльян Н. English for Banking. – Москва, МЕНЕДЖМЕНТ, 1999.
Sub redacţia autorilor Procesare computerizată – Vitalie Spînachi
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ENGLISH FOR ECONOMIC PURPOSES Semnat pentru tipar 08.02.07 Coli de tipar 18,87. Coli de autor 10,98. Tiraj ____ ex. Comanda ____. Tipografia Departamentului Editorial-Poligrafic al ASEM Str. Bănulescu-Bodoni 59 Tel. 402-986
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In the last part of this series, we looked at the life-cycle methods, automatic methods and the custom methods that our widget requires or can make use of. In this part, we're going to finish defining the widget's class by adding the attribute change-handling methods that we attached in the
bindUI() life-cycle method.
Let's get started right away!
Attribute Change Handlers
The attribute change-handling group of methods are called when some of our attributes change values. We'll start by adding the method that is called when the
showTitle attribute changes; add the following code directly after the
_uiSetTitle() method:
_afterShowTitleChange: function () { var contentBox = this.get("contentBox"), title = contentBox.one(".yui3-tweetsearch-title"); if (title) { title.remove(); this._titleNode = null; } else { this._createTitle(); } },
We first get a reference to the
contentBox, and then use this to select the title node. Remember this is the container in which reside the title and subtitle in the header of the widget.
If the title node already exists, we remove it using YUI's
remove() method. We also set the
_titleNode of the widget to null. If the node doesn't exist, we simple call the
_createTitle() method of our widget to generate and display it.
Next we can handle the
showUI attribute changing:
_afterShowUIChange: function () { var contentBox = this.get("contentBox"), ui = contentBox.one(".yui3-tweetsearch-ui"); if (ui) { ui.remove(); this._uiNode = null; } else { this._createSearchUI(); } },
This method is almost identical to the last one -- all that changes is that we are looking for the change of a different attribute, and either removing or creating a different group of elements. Again, we set the
_uiNode property of our widget to
null, so that the widget is aware of the latest state of its UI.
Our next method is called after the
term attribute changes:
_afterTermChange: function () { this._viewerNode.empty().hide(); this._loadingNode.show(); this._retrieveTweets(); if (this._titleNode) { this._uiSetTitle(this.get("term")); } },
When the
term attribute changes, we first remove any previous search results from the viewer by calling YUI's (specifically the Node module's)
empty() method followed by the
hide() method. We also show our loader node for some visual feedback that something is happening.
We then call our
_retrieveTweets() method to initiate a new request to Twitter's search API. This will trigger a cascade of additional methods to be called, that result ultimately in the viewer being updated with a new set of tweets. Finally, we check whether the widget currently has a
_titleNode, and if so we call the
_uiSetTitle() method in order to update the subtitle with the new search term.
Our last attribute change-handler is by far the largest and deals with the
tweets attribute changes, which will occur as a result of the request to Twitter being made:
_afterTweetsChange: function () { var x, results = this.get("tweets").results, not = this.get("numberOfTweets"), limit = (not > results.length - 1) ? results.length : not; if (results.length) { for (x = 0; x < limit; x++) { var tweet = results[x], text = this._formatTweet(tweet.text), tweetNode = Node.create(Y.substitute(TweetSearch.TWEET_TEMPLATE, { userurl: "" + tweet.from_user, avatar: tweet.profile_image_url, username: tweet.from_user, text: text })); if (this.get("showUI") === false && x === limit - 1) { tweetNode.addClass("last"); } this._viewerNode.appendChild(tweetNode); } this._loadingNode.hide(); this._viewerNode.show(); } else { var errorNode = Node.create(Y.substitute(TweetSearch.ERROR_TEMPLATE, { errorclass: TweetSearch.ERROR_CLASS, message: this.get("strings").errorMsg })); this._viewerNode.appendChild(errorNode); this._loadingNode.hide(); this._viewerNode.show(); } },
First up, we set the variables we'll need within the method including a counter variable for use in the
for loop, the
results array from the response that is stored in the
tweets attribute, the value of the
numberOfTweets attribute and the
limit, which is either the number of results in the
results array, or the configured number of tweets if there are fewer items in the array than the number of tweets.
The remaining code for this method is encased within an
if conditional which checks to see if there are actually results, which may not be the case if there were no tweets containing the search term. If there are results in the array, we iterate over each of them using a
for loop. On each iteration, we get the current tweet and pass it to a
_formatTweet() utility method that will add any links, usernames or hash tags found within the text, and then create a new node for the tweet using the same principles that we looked at in the last part of this tutorial.
When the
searchUI is not visible, we should alter the styling of the widget slightly to prevent a double border at the bottom of the widget. We check whether the
showUI attribute is set to
false, and is the last tweet being processed, and if so add the class name
last to the tweet using YUI's
addClass() method. We then add the newly created node to the viewer node to display it in the widget.
After the
for loop has completed, we hide the loading node, which will at this point be visible having already been displayed earlier on, and then show the viewer node.
If the
results array does not have a length, it means that the search did not return any results. In this case, we create an error node to display to the user and append it to the viewer node, then hide the loading node and show the viewer node as before.
A Final Utility Method
We've added all of the methods that support changing attribute values. At this point, we have just one further method to add; the
_formatTweet() method that we reference from the within the
for loop of the method we just added. This method is as follows:
_formatTweet: function (text) { var linkExpr = /(\b(https?|ftp):\/\/[-A-Z0-9+&@#\/%?=~_|!:,.;]*[-A-Z0-9+&@#\/%=~_|])/ig, atExpr = /(@[\w]+)/g, hashExpr = /[#]+[A-Za-z0-9-_]+/g, string = text.replace(linkExpr, function (match) { return match.link(match); }); string = string.replace(atExpr, function (match) { return match.link("" + match.substring(1)); }); string = string.replace(hashExpr, function (match) { return match.link("" + encodeURI(match)); }); return string; }
This method accepts a single argument, which is the text from the 'current' item of the
results array that we want to linkify/atify/hashify. We start by defining three regular expressions, the first will match any links within the text that start with http, https or ftp and contain any characters that are allowed within URLs. The second will match any Twitter usernames (any strings that start with the @ symbol), and the last will match any strings that start with the # symbol.
We then set a variable called string which is used to contain the transformed text. First, we add the links. JavaScript's
replace() function accepts the regular expression for matching links as the first argument and a function as the second argument -- the function will be executed each time a match is found and is passed the matching text as an argument. The function then returns the match having converted it to a link element using JavaScript's
link() function. This function accepts a URL that is used for the
href of the resulting link. The matching text is used for the
href.
We then use the
replace() function on the string once again, but this time we pass in the @ matching regular expression as the first argument. This function works in the same way as before, but also adds Twitter's URL to the start of the
href that is used to wrap the matching text. The string variable is then operated on in the same way to match and convert any hashed words, but this time Twitter's search API URL is used to create the link(s). After the text has been operated on, we return the resulting string.
This brings us to the end of our widget's class; at this point we should have an almost fully functioning widget (we haven't yet added the paging, this will be the subject of the next and final instalment in this series). We should be able to run the page and get results:
Styling the Widget
We should provide at least 2 style sheets for our widget; a base style sheet that contains the basic styles that the widget requires in order to display correctly, and a theme style sheet that controls how the widget appears visually. We'll look at the base style sheet first; add the following code to a new file:
.yui3-tweetsearch-title { padding:1%; } .yui3-tweetsearch-title h1, .yui3-tweetsearch-title h2 { margin:0; float:left; } .yui3-tweetsearch-title h1 { padding-left:60px; margin-right:1%; background:url(/img/logo.png) no-repeat 0 50%; } .yui3-tweetsearch-title h2 { padding-top:5px; float:right; font-size:100%; } .yui3-tweetsearch-content { margin:1%; } .yui3-tweetsearch-viewer article, .yui3-tweetsearch-ui { padding:1%; } .yui3-tweetsearch-viewer img { width:48px; height:48px; margin-right:1%; float:left; } .yui3-tweetsearch-viewer h1 { margin:0; } .yui3-tweetsearch-label { margin-right:1%; } .yui3-tweetsearch-input { padding:0 0 .3%; margin-right:.5%; } .yui3-tweetsearch-title:after, .yui3-tweetsearch-viewer article:after, .yui3-tweetsearch-ui:after { content:""; display:block; height:0; visibility:hidden; clear:both; }
Save this style sheet as
tweet-search-base.css in the
css folder. As you can see, we target all of the elements within the widget using the class names we generated in part one. There may be multiple instances of the widget on a single page and we don't want our styles to affect any other elements on the page outside of our widget, so using class names in this way is really the only reliable solution.
The styling has been kept as light as possible, using only the barest necessary styles. The widget has no fixed width and uses percentages for things like padding and margins so that it can be put into any sized container by the implementing developer.
Next, we can add the skin file; add the following code in another new file:
.yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch-content { border:1px solid #A3A3A3; border-radius:7px; } .yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch-title { border-bottom:1px solid #A3A3A3; border-top:1px solid #fff; background-color:#EDF5FF; } .yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch-title span { color:#EB8C28; } .yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch-loader, .yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch-error { padding-top:9%; margin:2% 0; color:#EB8C28; font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background:url(/img/ajax-loader.gif) no-repeat 50% 0; } .yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch-error { background-image:url(/img/error.png); } .yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch article { border-bottom:1px solid #A3A3A3; border-top:2px solid #fff; background:#f9f9f9; background:-moz-linear-gradient(top, #f9f9f9 0%, #f3f3f3 100%, #ffffff 100%); background:-webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,#f9f9f9), color-stop(100%,#f3f3f3), color-stop(100%,#ffffff)); background:-webkit-linear-gradient(top, #f9f9f9 0%,#f3f3f3 100%,#ffffff 100%); background:-o-linear-gradient(top, #f9f9f9 0%,#f3f3f3 100%,#ffffff 100%); background:-ms-linear-gradient(top, #f9f9f9 0%,#f3f3f3 100%,#ffffff 100%); background:linear-gradient(top, #f9f9f9 0%,#f3f3f3 100%,#ffffff 100%); filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#f9f9f9', endColorstr='#ffffff',GradientType=0); } .yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch article.last { border-bottom:none; } .yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch a { color:#356DE4; } .yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch a:hover { color:#EB8C28; } .yui3-skin-sam .yui3-tweetsearch-ui { border-top:1px solid #fff; background-color:#EDF5FF; }
Save this file as
tweet-search-skin.css in the
css folder. Although we also use our generated class names here, each rule is prefixed with the
yui3-skin-sam class name so that the rules are only applied when the default Sam theme is in use. This makes it very easy for the overall look of the widget to be changed. This does mean however that the implementing developer will need to add the
yui3-skin-sam class name to an element on the page, usually the
, but this is likely to be in use already if other modules of the library are being used.
Like before, we've added quite light styling, although we do have a little more freedom of expression with a skin file, hence the subtle niceties such as the rounded-corners and css-gradients. We should also recommended that the css-reset, css-fonts and css-base YUI style sheets are also used when implementing our widget, as doing so is part of the reason the custom style sheets used by the widget are nice and small.
Implementing the Widget
Our work as widget builders is complete (for now), but we should spend a little while looking at how the widget is actually used. Create the following HTML page in your text editor:
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>YUI3 Twitter Search Client</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/tweet-search-base.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/tweet-search-skin.css" /> </head> <body class="yui3-skin-sam"> <div id="ts"></div> <script src="//yui.yahooapis.com/3.4.1/build/yui/yui-min.js"></script> <script src="js/tweet-search.js"></script> <script> YUI().use("tweet-search", function (Y) { var myTweetSearch = new Y.DW.TweetSearch({ srcNode: "#ts" }); myTweetSearch.render(); }); </script> </body> </html>
The only YUI script file we need to link to is the YUI seed file which sets up the YUI global object and loads the required modules.
Save this file in the root project directory. First of all we link to the CDN hosted YUI reset, base and fonts combined style sheet, as well as our two custom style sheets that we just created. We also add the yui3-skin-sam class name to the
of the page to pick up the theme styling for our widget. On the page, we add a container for our widget and give it an
id attribute for easy selecting.
The only YUI script file we need to link to is the YUI seed file; this file sets up the YUI global object and contains the YUI loader which dynamically loads the modules required by the page. We also link to our plugin's script file, of course.
Within the final script element we instantiate the YUI global object and call the
use() method specifying our widget's name (not the static
NAME used internally by our widget, but the name specified in the
add() method of our widget's class wrapper) as the first argument.
Each YUI instance is a self-contained sandbox in which only the named modules are accessible.
The second argument is an anonymous function in which the initialisation code for our widget is added. This function accepts a single argument which refers to the current YUI instance. We can use any number of YUI objects on the page, each with its own modules. Each YUI instance is a self-contained sandbox in which only the named modules (and their dependencies) are accessible. This means we can have any number of self-contained blocks of code, all independent from each other on the same page.
Within the callback function, we create a new instance of our widget stored in a variable. Our widget's constructor is available via the namespace we specified in the widget's class, which is attached to the YUI instance as a property. Our widget's constructor accepts a configuration object as an argument; we use this to specify the container that we want to render our widget into, in this case the empty
<div> we added to the page. The specified element will become the
contentBox of our widget. Finally, we call the
render() method on the variable our widget instance is stored in, which renders the HTML for our widget into the specified container.
In the configuration object, we can override any of the default attributes of our widget, so if we wanted to disable the title of the widget and the search UI, we could pass the following configuration object into our widget's constructor:
{ srcNode: "#ts", showTitle: false, showUI: false }
I mentioned in an earlier part of the widget that by including all of the text strings used by the widget in an attribute, we could easily enable extremely easy internationalization. To render the widget in Spanish, for example, all we need to do is override the strings attribute, like this:
{ srcNode: "#ts", strings: { title: "Twitter Search Widget", subTitle: "Mostrando resultados de:", label: "Término de búsqueda", button: "Búsqueda", errorMsg: "Lo siento, ese término de búsqueda no ha obtenido ningún resultado. Por favor, intente un término diferente" } }
Now when we run the widget, all of the visible text (aside from the tweets of course) for the widget is in Spanish:
Summary
In this part of the tutorial, we completed our widget by adding the attribute change-handling methods and a small utility method for formatting the flat text of each tweet into mark-up. We also looked at the styling required by our widget and how the styles should be categorized, i.e. whether they are base styles or skin styles.
We also saw how easy it is to initialise and configure the widget and how it can easily be converted into display in another language. In the next part of this tutorial, we'll look at a close relative to the widget – the plugin and add a paging feature to our widget. | http://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/create-a-scalable-widget-using-yui3-part-3--net-23410 | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | refinedweb | 2,910 | 61.67 |
His code was something like:
import SQLForce session = SQLForce.Session("Sandbox") for row in session.select( "SELECT id, MailingStreet FROM Contact WHERE MailingStreet!=null"): if isStreetInvalid( row[1] ): reportTheError( row[0], row[1] )
Looks simple enough -- but it failed because the jython code was assuming NO EMBEDDED NEW LINES in any of the returned columns. Multi-line addresses were processed as additional rows.
If run against SQLForce 1.0.3 (or above) Caleb's loop runs like he expected originally. Multi-line addresses are stored in row[1] as multi-line strings.
Underneath the Hood
Underneath the hood, the Jython Session.select() was changed to always replace the SELECT that occurs at the beginning of the SOQL with a SELECTX. SELECTX works just like the SELECT command except that the results are returned as simple XML. Jython parses the XML using SAX to build each row. Simple!
Thanks for the bug Caleb. | http://gsmithfarmer.blogspot.com/2010/02/ | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | refinedweb | 152 | 60.82 |
Question:
Is it possible to write a Greasemonkey script to trigger the Ctrl+A (select all) action in Firefox? (after a new page is loaded if the script is enabled???)
Help me at any level possible for you.
Update:
"Firefox has got addons to speed read or read aloud selected text. I just wish to automate the part where text is to be selected."
Solution:1
var r = document.createRange() r.selectNode(document.body) window.getSelection().addRange(r)
I tried creating a new Greasemonkey script, typing the above code (which I grabbed and edited from this page), and loading a page.
It did select all the text, but for some pages, it becomes unselected immediately. For example, Google's homepage, because the page focuses the search field.
Update by BA:
This didn't work on Google because it's fighting native scripts. But, by re-running the code at
onload and again after, we can preserve the selection.
Also, if the native script sets focus to an
input or
textarea, we must fight that.
So, a Greasemonkey script that incorporates all these ideas, and seems to work is:
//--- Save this as "SelectWholePage.user.js" and install with Greasemonkey. // // ==UserScript== // @name Select a whole page // @namespace google.com // @description Selects a whole page (equivalent to 'Ctrl-A'). // @include* // ==/UserScript== // /*--- Run the main function 3 times (when DOM ready, at load and just after load) because page javascript will often reset the focus and selection. */ LocalMain (); window.addEventListener ( "load", function(evt) { LocalMain (); window.setTimeout (LocalMain, 222); }, false ); function LocalMain () { var WholePage = document.createRange (); WholePage.selectNode (document.body); window.getSelection ().addRange (WholePage); var aInputs = document.getElementsByTagName ("input"); for (var J = aInputs.length-1; J>0; J--) aInputs[J].blur (); document.body.focus (); }
Note:If u also have question or solution just comment us below or mail us on [email protected]
EmoticonEmoticon | http://www.toontricks.com/2019/06/tutorial-is-it-possible-for.html | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | refinedweb | 309 | 50.94 |
31 Days of Mango | Day #6: Motion
31 Days of Mango | Day #6: Motion
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This article is Day #6 in a series called the 31 Days of Mango.
Today, we are going to take all of the information we learned over the past two days, and make it much easier to manage by using the Motion class. The Motion class is a combination of the data we receive from the Accelerometer, the Compass, and the Gyroscope on a Windows Phone.
Pitch, Yaw, and Roll
As you can see from the animated images above, pitch, yaw, and roll are three important pieces of data in aviation, but they apply to our Windows Phone devices as well. When we looked at the Accelerometer and Gyroscope, we were able to gather data about the device on specific axes: X, Y, and Z. Pitch, yaw, and roll actually represent the rotation around those same axes. This is done using a bunch of math that the Motion class actually performs for us automatically. (For more information on the principal axes of aircraft, check out Wikipedia.)
Using the Motion Class
In our previous examples of the Gyroscope and Compass, we had to detect the sensors on the user’s device before proceeding. We don’t need to make the individual checks when using the Motion class, but we do need to make sure that Motion itself is supported.
Before we dive into the specific code for the Motion class, we should come up with a compelling interface. For our example, we are going to place a XAML star on our screen, like the image below:
By using the Yaw value from the Motion class, we will be able to manipulate the orientation of the star. As the user rotates their phone, the star will actually appear to remain stationary in relation to the user. Here’s a quick video illustration of this effect at work:
Here is the XAML we need to accomplish this user interface:
<phone:PhoneApplicationPage x: <TextBlock x: </StackPanel> <Grid x: <es:RegularPolygon x: <es:RegularPolygon.Fill> <SolidColorBrush Color="{StaticResource PhoneAccentColor}"/> </es:RegularPolygon.Fill> <es:RegularPolygon.RenderTransform> <RotateTransform CenterX="100" CenterY="128"></RotateTransform> </es:RegularPolygon.RenderTransform> </es:RegularPolygon> <TextBlock x: </Grid> </Grid> </phone:PhoneApplicationPage>
You should notice that our Star is created using a new assembly specific to Expression Blend. We don’t need to use Blend in order to use the controls it contains, however. You will need to add a reference to the Microsoft.Expression.Drawing assembly, and also make a XML namespace reference at the top of your XAML page. If you haven’t played with it before, try changing up the PointCount property of the RegularPolygon element. You can create stars with as many as points as you want (though you won’t notice much of a difference after 60ish.)
You can also see two other changes that I’ve made to the star. The first is the Fill color. I’ve actually defined a SolidColorBrush that will use the user’s selected Theme color. This was covered in Day #5 of the 31 Days of Windows Phone, so make sure to read it if you’d like to use this in your application.
To get started making this star start to move, we’re going to be using very similar concepts to those we used on the individual sensors. First, we do our Motion detection:
using System; using System.Windows.Media; using Microsoft.Phone.Controls; using Microsoft.Devices.Sensors; using Microsoft.Xna.Framework; namespace Day6_Motion { public partial class MainPage : PhoneApplicationPage { public MainPage() { InitializeComponent(); if (Motion.IsSupported) { //DO SOMETHING } } } }
In our “DO SOMETHING” comment, we need to initialize our Motion object, and create an event handler to listen for the data that will be created.) { //MAKE THIS THREAD SAFE. } } }
Finally, we need to make sure that we practice some thread safety. We can’t read the sensor data from the UI thread, so we need to pitch that processing to a separate thread using the Dispatcher.BeginInvoke() method. You will see that added below, along with our math to manipulate the star. The code below should be the only version of the app that you actually need to copy and paste into your own.) { Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(() => UpdateUI(e.SensorReading)); } private void UpdateUI(MotionReading e) { ((RotateTransform)Star.RenderTransform).Angle = MathHelper.ToDegrees(e.Attitude.Yaw); yawValue.Text = "YAW = " + e.Attitude.Yaw.ToString(); } } }
You can see that we apply our Yaw value to the RotateTransform angle of our star, forcing it to rotate as the sensors detect the motion of the phone. Give it a shot on a device (assuming you have one available to you) and you’ll probably notice a significant difference in behavior between a phone that has a gyroscope and a phone that doesn’t. As I mentioned yesterday, a gyroscope provides a much more smooth and accurate feed of data, and as such, the star moves with grace when a gyroscope is present.
What do you mean you don’t have a phone?
I’m not suggesting that you run out today and buy one (though you are certainly welcome to). If you live in the midwest United States, send me an email. I have phones that I can loan out for 10 days. If you don’t live there, email me anyways, and I can connect you with the Developer Evangelist in your area of the world. We all have a few phones available to loan.
Some other interesting data…
In my code example above, I really only utilized the Yaw data from the Motion class. I want to make sure you’re aware of all of the values that are available to you from the Motion class, however. In the downloadable Windows Phone solution below, I’ve also included variables to grab all of the available data from the Motion class. Here’s what that looks like:
float pitch = e.Attitude.Pitch; float yaw = e.Attitude.Yaw; float roll = e.Attitude.Roll; float accelerometerX = e.DeviceAcceleration.X; float accelerometerY = e.DeviceAcceleration.Y; float accelerometerZ = e.DeviceAcceleration.Z; float gyroscopeX = e.DeviceRotationRate.X; float gyroscopeY = e.DeviceRotationRate.Y; float gyroscopeZ = e.DeviceRotationRate.Z; float gravityX = e.Gravity.X; float gravityY = e.Gravity.Y; float gravityZ = e.Gravity.Z; DateTimeOffset timestamp = e.Timestamp;
You can see that we still have access to the data from the individual sensors, as well as a TimeStamp value, so that we know exactly when the data occurred.
Summary
So that’s the Motion class. It should be the primary way that you interact with the Gyroscope, Compass, and Accelerometer, and should make much of the math and processing much easier for you. For those of you struggling to come up with an interesting way to use this data, here’s a great example:
One great use of the accelerometer that I’ve seen was in a cycling application. The primary focus of the application was to track where a user was riding their bicycle. As a safety feature, you could enter an emergency phone number. If the application recognized an uncomfortably fast stop, followed by very little movement, it would automatically text the emergency phone number with the GPS coordinates of the device. Following that, it would prompt the phone to dial 911. This is an amazing use of both location and accelerometer data that will ultimately help to keep cyclists safer. Your app can use it too.
If you would like to download the code solution that we created in this article, click the Download Code button below:
Tomorrow, we’re going to shift gears to another useful API: the camera. We now have the ability to gather the raw data that the phone captures, and we’ll talk all about how we get it, and what we can use it for. See you then!
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Concurrency is important these days because we're in a world of multiple processors. When you have multiple threads running at one time, it can become painful. Before Java, you had to learn the API for multi-threading for each different platform. With Java's "Write once, debug everywhere", you only had to learn one API. Unfortunately, it's pretty low level: how to start a thread, manage it, stop it, etc. You also have to remember where to put synchronize in your code.
With Scala, immutability and its Actors make it easy to program concurrent systems. For example, here's a web service that retrieves stock prices in sequential order:
def getyearEndClosing(symbol : String, year : Int) = {
val url = "" +
symbol + "&a=11&b=01&c" + year + "&d=11&e=31&f=" + year + "&g=m"
val data = io.Source.fromURL(url).mkString
val price = data.split("\n")(1).split(",")(4).toDouble
Thread.sleep(1000); // slow down internet
(symbol, price)
}
val symbols = List("APPL", "GOOG", "IBM", "JAVA", "MSFT")
val start = System.nanoTime
val top = (("", 0.0) /: symbols) { (topStock, symbol) =>
val (sym, price) = getYearEndClosing(symbol, 2008)
if (topStock._2 < price) (sym, price) else topStock
}
val end = System.nanoTime
println("Top stock is " + top._1 + " with price " + top._2)
println("Time taken " + (end - start)/10000000000.0)
To make this concurrent, we create Actors. Actors are nothing but Threads with a built-in message queue. Actors allow spawning separate threads to retrieve each stock price. Instead of doing:
symbols.foreach { symbol =>
getYearEndClosing(symbol, 2008)
}
You can add actors:
val caller = self
symbols.foreach { symbol =>
actor { caller ! getYearEndClosing(symbol, 2008) }
}
Then remove val (sym, price) = getYearEndClosing(symbol, 2008) and replace it with:
receive {
case(sym: String, price: Double) =>
if (topStock._2 < price) (sym, price) else topStock
}
After making this change, the time to execute the code dropped from ~7 seconds to ~2 seconds. Also, since nothing is mutable in this code, you don't have to worry about concurrency issues.
With Scala, you don't suffer the multiple-inheritance issues you do in Java. Instead you can use Traits to do mixins. For example:
import scala.actors._
import Actor._
class MyActor extends Actor {
def act() {
for(i <- 1 to 3) {
receive {
case msg => println("Got " + msg)
}
}
}
When extending Actor, you have to call MyActor.start to start the Actor. Writing actors this way is not recommended (not sure why, guessing because you have to manually start them).
Venkat is now showing an example that counts prime numbers and he's showing us how it pegs the CPU when counting how many exist between 1 and 1 million (78,499). After adding actor and receive logic, he shows how his Activity Monitor shows 185% CPU usage, indicating that both cores are being used.
What happens when one of the threads crashes and burns? The receive will wait forever. Because of this, using receive is a bad idea. It's much better to use receiveWithin(millis) to set a timeout. Then you can catch the timeout in the receiveWithin block using:
case TIMEOUT => println("Uh oh, timed out")
A more efficient way to use actors is using react instead of receive. With react, threads leave after putting the message on the queue and new threads are started to execute the block when the message is "reacted" to. One thing to remember with react is any code after the react block will never be executed. Just like receiveWithin(millis), you can use reactWithin(millis) to set a timeout.
The major thing I noticed between receive and react is Venkat often had to change the method logic to use react. To solve this, you can use loop (or better yet, loopWhile(condition)) to allow accessing the data outside the react block. In conclusion, reactWithin(millis) is best to use, unless you need to execute code after the react block.
Conclusion
This was a great talk by Venkat. He used TextMate the entire time to author and execute all his Scala examples. Better yet, he never used any sort of presentation. All he had was a "todo" list with topics (that he checked off as he progressed) and a sample.scala file.
Personally, I don't plan on using Scala in the near future, but that's mostly because I'm doing UI development and GWT and JavaScript are my favorite languages for that. On the server-side, I can see how it reduces the amount of Java you need to write (the compiler works for you instead of you working for the compiler). However, my impression is its sweet spot is when you need to easily author an efficient concurrent system.
If you're looking to learn Scala, I've heard Scala by Example (PDF) is a great getting-started resource. From there, I believe Programming in Scala and Venkat's Programming Scala are great books.
From
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Haskell/Monad transformers
We have seen how monads can help handling
IO actions,
Maybe, lists, and state. With monads providing a common way to use such useful general-purpose tools, a natural thing we might want to do is using the capabilities of several monads at once. For instance, a function could use both I/O and
Maybe exception handling. While a type like
IO (Maybe a) would work just fine, it would force us to do pattern matching within
IO do-blocks to extract values, something that the
Maybe monad was meant to spare us from.
Enter monad transformers: special types that allow us to roll two monads into a single one that shares the behavior of both.
Passphrase validation[edit]
Consider a real-life problem for IT staff worldwide: getting users to create strong passphrases. One approach: force the user to enter a minimum length with various irritating requirements (such as at least one capital letter, one number, one non-alphanumeric character, etc.)
Here's a Haskell function to acquire a passphrase from a user:
getPassphrase :: IO (Maybe String) getPassphrase = do s <- getLine if isValid s then return $ Just s else return Nothing -- The validation test could be anything we want it to be. isValid :: String -> Bool isValid s = length s >= 8 && any isAlpha s && any isNumber s && any isPunctuation s
First and foremost,
getPassphrase is an
IO action, as it needs to get input from the user. We also use
Maybe, as we intend to return
Nothing in case the password does not pass the
isValid. Note, however, that we aren't actually using
Maybe as a monad here: the
do block is in the
IO monad, and we just happen to
return a
Maybe value into it.
Monad transformers not only make it easier to write
getPassphrase but also simplify all the code instances. Our passphrase acquisition program could continue like this:
askPassphrase :: IO () askPassphrase = do putStrLn "Insert your new passphrase:" maybe_value <- getPassphrase if isJust maybe_value then do putStrLn "Storing in database..." -- do stuff else putStrLn "Passphrase invalid."
The code uses one line to generate the
maybe_value variable followed by further validation of the passphrase.
With monad transformers, we will be able to extract the passphrase in one go — without any pattern matching or equivalent bureaucracy like
isJust. The gains for our simple example might seem small but will scale up for more complex situations.
A simple monad transformer:
MaybeT[edit]
To simplify
getPassphrase and all the code that uses it, we will define a monad transformer that gives the
IO monad some characteristics of the
Maybe monad; we will call it
MaybeT. That follows a convention where monad transformers have a "
T" appended to the name of the monad whose characteristics they provide.
MaybeT is a wrapper around
m (Maybe a), where
m can be any monad (
IO in our example):
newtype MaybeT m a = MaybeT { runMaybeT :: m (Maybe a) }
This data type definition specifies a
MaybeT type constructor, parameterized
Starting from the first line of the
do block:
- First, the
runMaybeTaccessor unwraps
xinto an
m (Maybe a)computation. That shows us that the whole
doblock is in
m.
- Still in the first line,
<-extracts a
Maybe avalue from the unwrapped computation.
- The
casestatement tests
maybe_value:
- With
Nothing, we return
Nothinginto
m;
- With
Just, we apply
fto the
valuefrom the Just. Since
fhas
MaybeT m bas result type, we need an extra
runMaybeTto put the result back into the
mmonad.
- Finally, the
doblock as a whole has
m (Maybe b)type; so it is wrapped with the
MaybeTconstructor.
It may look a bit complicated; but aside from the copious amounts of wrapping and unwrapping, the implementation does the same as the familiar bind operator of
Maybe:
-- (>>=) for the Maybe monad maybe_value >>= f = case maybe_value of Nothing -> Nothing Just value -> f value
Why use the
MaybeT constructor before the
do block while we have the accessor
runMaybeT within
do? Well, the
do block must be in the
m monad, not in
MaybeT m (which lacks a defined bind operator at this point). instance MonadTrans MaybeT where lift = MaybeT . (liftM Just)
MonadTrans implements the
lift function, so we can take functions from the
m monad and bring them into the
MaybeT m monad in order to use them in
do blocks. As for
MonadPlus, since
Maybe is an instance of that class it makes sense to make the
MaybeT an instance too.
Application to the passphrase example[edit]Passphrase lift $ putStrLn "Storing in database..."
The code is now simpler, especially in the user function
askPassphrase. Most importantly, we do not have to manually check whether the result is
Nothing or
Just: the bind operator takes care of that for us.
Note how we use
lift to bring the functions
getLine and
putStrLn into the
MaybeT IO monad. Also, since
MaybeT IO is an instance ofPassphrase lift $ putStrLn "Storing in database..."
A plethora of transformers[edit]
The transformers package provides modules with transformers for many common monads (
MaybeT, for instance, can be found in Control.Monad.Trans.Maybe). These are defined consistently with their non-transformer versions; that is, the implementation is basically the same except with the extra wrapping and unwrapping needed to thread the other monad. From this point on, we will use base monad to refer to the non-transformer monad (e.g. Maybe in MaybeT) on which a transformer is based and inner monad to refer to the other monad (e.g. IO in MaybeT IO)[edit]T and
ExceptT transformers, which are built around lists and
Either respectively:
runListT :: ListT m a -> m [a]
and
runExceptT :: ExceptT e m a -> m (Either e a)
Not all transformers are related to their base monads in this way, however. Unlike the base monads in the two examples above, the
Writer,
Reader,
State, and
Cont monads have neither multiple constructors nor constructors with multiple arguments. For that reason, they have run... functions which act as simple unwrappers, analogous to the run...T of the transformer versions. The table below shows the result types of the run... and run...T functions in each case, which may be thought of as the types wrapped by the base and transformed monads respectively.[1]
Notice that the base monad is absent in the combined types. Without interesting constructors (of the sort for
Maybe or lists), there is no reason to retain the base monad type after unwrapping the transformed monad. It is also worth noting that in the latter three function[edit]
We will now have a more detailed look at the
lift function, which is critical in day-to-day use of monad transformers. The first thing to clarify is the name "lift". One function with a similar name that we already know is
liftM. As we have seen in Understanding monads, it is a monad-specific version of
fmap:
liftM :: Monad m => (a -> b) -> m a -> m b
liftM applies a function
(a -> b) to a value within a monad
m. We can also look at it as a function of just one argument:
liftM :: Monad m => (a -> b) -> (m a -> m b)
liftM converts a plain function into one that acts within
m. By "lifting", we refer to bringing something into something else — in this case, a function into a monad.
liftM allows us to apply a plain function to a monadic value without needing do-blocks or other such tricks:
The
lift function plays an analogous role when working with monad transformers. It brings (or, to use another common word for that, promotes) inner monad computations to the combined monad. By doing so, it allows us to easily insert inner monad computations as part of a larger computation in the combined monad.
lift is the single method of the
MonadTrans class, found in Control.Monad.Trans.Class. All monad transformers are instances of
MonadTrans, and so
lift is available for them all.
class MonadTrans t where lift :: (Monad m) => m a -> t m a
There is a variant of
lift specific to
IO operations, called
liftIO, which is the single method of the
MonadIO class in Control.Monad.IO.Class.
class (Monad m) => MonadIO m where liftIO :: IO a -> m a
liftIO can be convenient when multiple transformers are stacked into a single combined monad. In such cases,
IO is always the innermost monad, and so we typically need more than one lift to bring
IO values to the top of the stack.
liftIO is defined for the instances in a way that allows us to bring an
IO value from any depth while writing the function a single time.
Implementing
lift[edit]
Implementing
lift is usually pretty straightforward. Consider the
MaybeT transformer:
instance MonadTrans MaybeT where lift m = MaybeT (liftM Just m)
We begin with a monadic value of the inner monad. With
liftM (
fmap would have worked just as fine), we slip the base monad (through the
Just constructor) underneath, so that we go from
m a to
m (Maybe a)). Finally, we use the
MaybeT constructor to wrap up the monadic sandwich. Note that the
liftM here works in the inner monad, just like the do-block wrapped by
MaybeT in the implementation of
(>>=) we saw early on was in the inner monad.
Implementing transformers[edit]
The State transformer[edit]
As an additional example, we will now have a detailed look at the implementation of
StateT. You might want to review the section on the State monad before continuing.
Just as the State monad might have been built upon the definition
newtype State s a = State { runState :: (s -> (a,s)) }, the StateT transformer is built upon the definition:
newtype StateT s m a = StateT { runStateT :: (s -> m (a,s)) }
StateT s m will have the following
Monad instance, here shown alongside the one for the base state monad:
Our definition of
return makes use of the
return function of the inner monad.
(>>=) uses a do-block to perform a computation in the inner monad.
Note
Incidentally, we can now finally explain why, back in the chapter about
State, there was a
state function instead of a
State constructor. In the transformers and mtl packages,
State s is implemented as a type synonym for
StateT s Identity, with
Identity being the dummy monad introduced in an exercise of the previous section. The resulting monad is equivalent to the one defined using
newtype that we have used up to now.
If the combined monads
StateT s m are to be used as state monads, we will certainly want the all-important
get and
put operations. Here, we will show definitions in the style of the mtl package. In addition to the monad transformers themselves, mtl provides type classes for the essential operations of common monads. For instance, the
MonadState class, found in Control.Monad.State, has
get and
put as methods:
instance (Monad m) => MonadState s (StateT s m) where get = StateT $ \s -> return (s,s) put s = StateT $ \_ -> return ((),s)
Note
instance (Monad m) => MonadState s (StateT s m) should be read as: "For any type
s and any instance of
Monad
m,
s and
StateT s m together form an instance of
MonadState".
s and
m correspond to the state and the inner monad, respectively.
s is an independent part of the instance specification so that the methods can refer to it − for instance, the type of
put is
s -> StateT s m ().
There are
MonadState instances for state monads wrapped by other transformers, such as
MonadState s m => MonadState s (MaybeT m). They bring us extra convenience by making it unnecessary to lift uses of
get and
put explicitly, as the
MonadState instance for the combined monads handles the lifting for us.
It can also be useful to lift instances that might be available for the inner monad to the combined monad. For instance, all combined monads in which
StateT is used with an instance of
MonadPlus can be made instances of
MonadPlus:
instance (MonadPlus m) => MonadPlus (StateT s m) where mzero = StateT $ \_ -> mzero (StateT x1) `mplus` (StateT x2) = StateT $ \s -> (x1 s) `mplus` (x2 s)
The implementations of
mzero and
mplus do the obvious thing; that is, delegating the actual work to the instance of the inner monad.
Lest we forget, the monad transformer must have a
MonadTrans, so that we can use
lift:
instance MonadTrans (StateT s) where lift c = StateT $ \s -> c >>= (\x -> return (x,s))
The
lift function creates a
StateT state transformation function that binds the computation in the inner monad to a function that packages the result with the input state. If, for instance, we apply StateT to the List monad, a function that returns a list (i.e., a computation in the List monad) can be lifted into
StateT s [] where it becomes a function that returns a
StateT (s -> [(a,s)]). I.e. the lifted computation produces multiple (value,state) pairs from its input state. This "forks" the computation in StateT, creating a different branch of the computation for each value in the list returned by the lifted function. Of course, applying
StateT to a different monad will produce different semantics for the
lift function.
Acknowledgements[edit]
This module uses a number of excerpts from All About Monads, with permission from its author Jeff Newbern. | https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Haskell/Monad_transformers | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | refinedweb | 2,213 | 56.39 |
The fwscanf() function is defined in <cwchar> header file.
fwscanf() prototype
int fwscanf( FILE* stream, const wchar_t* format, ... );
The fwscanf() function reads the data from the file stream stream and stores the values into the respective variables.
fwscanf() Parameters
- stream: The input file streamwscanf() does not assign the result to any receiving argument.
- An optional positive integer number that specifies maximum field width. It specifies the maximum number of characters that fw.
fwscanf() Return value
- The fwscanf() function returns the number of receiving arguments successfully assigned.
- If failure occurs before the first receiving argument was assigned, EOF is returned.
Example: How fwscanf() function works?
#include <cwchar> #include <clocale> #include <cwctype> #include <cstdio> int main() { FILE *fp = fopen("example.txt","w+"); wchar_t str[10], ch; setlocale(LC_ALL, "en_US.UTF-8"); fwprintf(fp, L"%ls %lc", L"Summation", L'\u2211'); fwprintf(fp, L"%ls %lc", L"Integral", L'\u222b'); rewind(fp); while((fwscanf(fp, L"%ls %lc", str, &ch))!=EOF) { wprintf(L"%lc is %ls\n", ch, str); } fclose(fp); return 0; }
When you run the program, a possible output will be:
∑ is Summation ∫ is Integral | https://www.programiz.com/cpp-programming/library-function/cwchar/fwscanf | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | refinedweb | 184 | 50.53 |
H. Peter Anvin said:>.)Ahh, just go with xattrs Pete :-> I don't see the namespace issue to be abig deal. The interface does seem a *little* overdesigned. It would havebeen adequate to just use the dev:ino pair from stat(2) and dumpnamespaces altogether since the real performance critical apps will havestat'd the living daylights out of the path trying to canonicalize thecase so the last thing you want to do is a path lookup.> b) if xattr is the right thing, shouldn't this be in the system> namespace rather than the user namespace?If we're just thinking about MS-oriented discretionary access control thenI think the owner of the file is basically king and should be the onlynormal user to that can read and write it's xattrs. So whatever namespacethat is (not system).> c) What should the representation be? Binary byte? String containing a> subset of "rhsvda67" (barf)?Definitely binary.Mike-To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" inthe body of a message to [email protected] majordomo info at read the FAQ at | https://lkml.org/lkml/2005/1/3/287 | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | refinedweb | 185 | 64.41 |
Covid19 spreading in a networking model (part I)
This is a reproduction of a Jupyter notebook you can find here
Introduction
The Covid19 has imposed a lot of pressure on epidemiologists to come up with models that can explain the impact of pandemics. There already is lot of theory developed around this topic you can check out. In particular, understanding SIR models is really useful to understand how researchers approach the problem of virus spreading. In this notebook, I introduce some ideas about how to use Pandas, plots and graphs to explore the evolution of pandemics. I show some tools you can use to simulate networks dynamics. Of course, this cannot be considered a contribution to the state of the art. However, you may find some interesting guidelines for other problems.
The question
The main question we ask ourselves is has air passengers something to do with Covid19?. If so, can we use air traffic data to know something else about Covid19 evolution?
It is known that the virus started in China and later propagated around the world. If air traffic has contributed to the spread of the virus, this means that we can somehow leverage a model that explains or predict the evolution of the disease. Furthermore, we could even predict what countries could be potentially infected and/or what flights shall be cancelled.
There is a vast amount of work that can be done in this topic. To make it more accessible we will split it into smaller parts. In this first part, we will explore the data we plan to use and how to work with graphs.
Dataset
The OpenFlights dataset contains airlines, air routes and airports per country. The information contained in the dataset contains information') display(routes) # Load the file with the airports airports = pd.read_csv(airports_dataset_url, names=['AirportID','Name','City','Country','IATA','ICAO', 'Latitude', 'Longitude', 'Altitude', 'Timezone', 'DST', 'TzDatabaseTimeZone', 'Type', 'Source'], index_col='AirportID', na_values='\\N') display(airports) # Covid19 data covid_data = pd.read_csv('covid19-global-forecasting-week-2/train.csv',parse_dates=['Date'], date_parser=lambda x: datetime.datetime.strptime(x, '%Y-%m-%d'))
67663 rows × 9 columns
7698 rows × 13 columns
# routes visualization
The OpenFlights offers information about the flights between airports. Right now we are only interested in the number of flights between countries. This will simplify the visualization of the air traffic around the globle and it is enough to spot airflights hubs in the dataset.
Note: generating the plot may take a while. However, we added a fancy loading bar :)
# Some code to have a nice progress bar :) from IPython.display import clear_output def update_progress(progress): bar_length = 20 if isinstance(progress, int): progress = float(progress) if not isinstance(progress, float): progress = 0 if progress < 0: progress = 0 if progress >= 1: progress = 1 block = int(round(bar_length * progress)) clear_output(wait = True) text = 'Progress: [{0}] {1:.1f}%'.format( '#' * block + '-' * (bar_length - block), progress * 100) print(text)
fig = go.Figure() total_rows = float(len(paths_other_countries.index)) num_row=-1 for index, row in paths_other_countries.iterrows(): num_row = num_row + 1 update_progress(num_row/total_rows) fig.add_trace( go.Scattergeo( locationmode = 'country names', locations = index, mode = 'lines', hoverinfo= 'skip', line = dict(width=1,color='red'), opacity = float(row['num_flights'])/float(total_flights_other_countries.loc[index[0]]), showlegend=False, ) ) fig.update_layout( geo = dict( showcountries = True, ), showlegend = False, title = 'Aggregated air routes between countries excluding domestic flights' ) fig.show(renderer='svg')
Progress: [####################] 100.0%
If the air traffic has something to do with the Covid19 spread then, China’s air traffic requires our attention. The figure below shows the routes between China and other countries excluding domestic flights. The wide of every line is representative of the number of flights between countries.
Excluding domestic flights (which are quite a few), China has connections to 62 countries. Assuming daily flights, this means that an infected passenger can propagate the disease around the globe in a few hours.
aux = paths_other_countries.reset_index() aux = aux[aux.Country=='China'] fig = go.Figure() total_rows = float(len(aux.index)) num_row=-1 the_min = aux.num_flights.min() the_max = aux.num_flights.max() the_mean = aux.num_flights.mean() the_std = aux.num_flights.std() scalator = float(the_max - the_min) for index, row in aux.iterrows(): num_row = num_row + 1 update_progress(num_row/total_rows) width = ((float(row['num_flights'])-the_min)/scalator)*15 #width = np.max([0.5, width]) fig.add_trace( go.Scattergeo( locationmode = 'country names', locations = [row.Country,row.CountryDestination], mode = 'lines', hoverinfo= 'skip', line = dict(width=width,color='red'), showlegend=False, ) ) fig.update_layout( geo = dict( showcountries = True, ), showlegend = False, title = 'China aggregated air routes between countries excluding domestic flights' ) fig.show(renderer='svg')
Progress: [####################] 98.4%
Disseminations with graphs
Now that we have a better understanding of our dataset and how does it look, it is time to prepare some artifacts to study the spread of the virus. In this case, we are going to translate our Pandas tables into a graph that represents the network of countries connected by their flights.
We can create a directed graph $G(V,E)$ where the set of vertices $V$ represents the countries and the set of edges $E$ represents existing air routes between countries $A$ and $B$. Additionally, we can set weights $W(E)$ with the number of flights between two countries.
There are some nice libraries to work with graphs in Python. However, I particularly like Graph Tool, maintained by Tiago de Paula Peixoto from the Central European University. It has implementations of some sophisticated algorithms done in C++ with OpenMP.
# Run this to ensure that the drawing module is correctly stablished from graph_tool.all import * import graph_tool as gt # Get the complete list of countries list_countries = np.union1d(paths.reset_index().Country.unique(), paths.reset_index().CountryDestination.unique()) g.add_vertex(len(list_countries)) # For a given country, get the vertex country_vertex = {} index=0 #for c in total_flights_country.index: for c in list_countries: v = g.vertex(index) countries_prop[v] = c country_vertex[c] = v # skip self-loops try: out_flights_prop[v] = total_flights_other_countries.loc[c]['num_flights'] except: out_flights_prop[v] = 0.0 index=index+1 # Add the edges for index,num_flights in paths.iterrows(): s = country_vertex[index[0]] d = country_vertex[index[1]] # No self-loops if s != d: e = g.add_edge(s,d) num_flights_prop[e] = num_flights
We draw our graph using a radial layout with China in the center. The edges correspond to the neighbors that can be reached in a single step from China. This is, the 62 countries with direct flights from China.
# plot with a radial distribution with China in the center china_vertex = country_vertex['China'] pos = gt.draw.radial_tree_layout(g,china_vertex) gv = gt.GraphView(g, efilt=lambda e : e.source()==china_vertex) p=gt.draw.graph_draw(gv,pos)
Considering a dissemination scenario, we draw the edges for all the countries that can be reached after a scale in a flight from China. As you can see the number is particularly large.
second_step = [] for v in g.get_out_neighbors(china_vertex): second_step.append(v) gv2 = gt.GraphView(g, efilt=lambda e : e.target!=china_vertex and e.source() in second_step) p=gt.draw.graph_draw(gv2,pos)
The graph above is a bit misleading. Not all the vertices will be reached from the root vertex (China) with the same probability. In other words, the frequency of flights between countries will increase the probabilities to transfer an infected passenger from China.
If we consider the weight $W$ of every edge to be the number of outgoing flights following the edge direction, everything becomes more interesting. The figure below changes the width of every edge connecting China with its flight-connected neighbors. A few number of countries (Taiwan, South Korea, Japan) accumulates most of China’s outgoing traffic as the wide arrows show.
Note: in the figure below the $W$ weight is normalized. Otherwise, most of the connections would not be plotted.
aux = gv.edge_properties['num_flights'].copy() aux.a = (aux.a - aux.a.min())/(aux.a.max()-aux.a.min()) * 10 p=gt.draw.graph_draw(gv,pos,edge_pen_width=aux).
How to determine when a new individual moves between compartments depends on transition rates. Continuing with our initial idea about how air traffic can be an important actor in Covid19 dissemination, we can use our air flight connections graph to run a SIR simulation.
Fortunately, graph tool comes with an implementation of the SIR model easily configurable. We run a SIR model in 63 steps which is the number of days the Covid19 required to expand worldwide in our dataset. For every edge in our graph we compute $\beta_e = \sum_{J \in out(A)} W(A,J)$ that basically sets the transition between vertices as the ratio of flights that connection represent among the total number of outgoing flights in vertex $A$. Additionally, we configure SIR to remove spontaneous infections and reinfections and set China as the dissemination seed.
def runSIR(state,num_iter=100): ''' For a graph tool epidemic model run the state and return a dataframe with the countries infected in every step ''' infections = pd.DataFrame() previous = state.get_state().fa initial = np.where(previous==1)[0],'norm_steps':t/float(num_iter),'infected':already_infected, 'new_infected': len(new_infected),'non_infected': non_infected, 'new_infected_countries': new_infected}], ignore_index=True) return infections
# Create an edge property map that can help us to define the beta probability between vertices beta_prop = g.new_edge_property('double') for e in g.edges(): beta_prop[e] = num_flights_prop[e]/out_flights_prop[e.source()] # Assume that vertices are not susceptible, except the seed. susceptible_prop = g.new_vertex_property('float') for v in g.vertices(): susceptible_prop[v] = 0.0 susceptible_prop[china_vertex]=1.0
state = gt.dynamics.SIRState(g, beta=beta_prop,v0 = china_vertex, constant_beta=True,gamma=0, r=0,s=susceptible_prop,epsilon=0,) infections_SIR = runSIR(state,64) display(infections_SIR[infections_SIR.new_infected>0].head(10))
The output above shows the number of infected countries over time. Observe that it takes a while for the network to consider new infected countries.
It is interesting to compare our outcomes with the current Covid19 evolution per country. We consider in our dataset that a country is infected as soon as it confirms a single case. We assume that every day after the first case appeared in China can be considered as a step in the dissemination process. This assumption is done in order to facilitate the comparison with our SIR simulation.
#=infections_SIR.step,y=infections_SIR.infected,name='SIR') ) f.update_layout( title_text='Comparing SIR infected countries evolution with original Covid19', xaxis=dict(title='Step'), yaxis=dict(title='Infected countries') ) f.show(renderer='svg')
The original Covid19 evolution differs in the first steps with our SIR simulation. The initial plateau before the increasing slope, takes much longer in the Covid19 series. There is probably a lag between a country welcoming infected passengers and the declaration of that case. However, it is interesting to observe this difference between the number of declared cases and the evolution of our model. Obviously, there is some remaining exploration work before we can understanding why this is happening.
Conclusions
In this notebook we have introduced some interesting tools to analyze the influence of air flights in the dissemination of the Covid19 around the world. Firstly, we have explored the OpenFlights dataset containing air traffic information around the world. Second, we have used this dataset to create an air traffic network. Finally, we have used this network to run a SIR model to understand the dissemination of the virus using air connections.
References
Tiago P. Peixoto, “The graph-tool python library”, figshare. (2014) DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.1164194 sci-hub | https://jmtirado.net/covid19-spreading-in-a-networking-model-part-i/ | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | refinedweb | 1,877 | 50.23 |
Problem with number of lines in a layout
I am doing a simple program. Basically it reads a image and show how many different colors have the image. For each color it is added a QLabel and a QPushButton in a QHBoxLayout. This QHBoxLayout it is added to a QVBoxLayout. Though, when there are more than 234 colors the layout freezes. I replaced this several layouts by a GridLayout and the problems remains.
A curious fact is that a single column more than 234 QLabels doesn't generate any problem, but a single column with more than 234 QPushButton does generate.
Follow a brief excerpt of the code region where the problem happens:
for(int index = 0; index < numColors; index++) { // if( index == 230 ) return; QLabel *rgbLabel = new QLabel(QString("Color %1").arg(index)); QPushButton *colorButton = new QPushButton( "..." ); ui->gridLayoutColors->addWidget(rgbLabel, index, 0); ui->gridLayoutColors->addWidget(colorButton, index, 1); }
And so does it follows a screenshot with the problem
I forgot to mention my environment:
- Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 64 bits (4 GB RAM)
- i3 2 core,
- Qt 4.8.6
- gcc 4.8
Does someone know why this problem is happening? How I can circumvent it?
Obs: I have tested the project on the same machine but in a Win7 64 bits with Qt 4.8.6 + MSV2013 that I also have installed and everything worked OK. The test was done with a image containing 300 different colors. I believe it is a bug/limitation of Qt 4.8.6 for Linux.
Thanks beforehand.
- SGaist Lifetime Qt Champion
Hi,
Not an answer to your question but since your images number of colors might get way higher than that, shouldn't your rather use a QListView/QTableView + QStandardItemModel or a QListWidget/QTableWidget to show the text and maybe a custom QStyledItemDelegate to show the button when appropriate ?
It was what I did.
But I confess that I didn't hope that an error like that would happen. Though I imagine that it is due to it was not designed to a great number of child widgets, what makes sense.
You should use a QListView/QTableView for this kind of things but just for the sake of it, this code runs fine for me (Qt 5.5 Windows 7)
#include <QApplication> #include <QWidget> #include <QDebug> #include <QGridLayout> #include <QPushButton> #include <QLabel> int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { QApplication a(argc, argv); QWidget w; QGridLayout* gridLayoutColors=new QGridLayout(&w); for(int index = 0; index < 250; index++){ QLabel *rgbLabel = new QLabel(QString("Color %1").arg(index),&w); QPushButton *colorButton = new QPushButton( "...",&w ); gridLayoutColors->addWidget(rgbLabel, index, 0); gridLayoutColors->addWidget(colorButton, index, 1); } w.show(); return a.exec(); } | https://forum.qt.io/topic/66580/problem-with-number-of-lines-in-a-layout | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | refinedweb | 444 | 56.96 |
Week 11: Input Devices
This week's tasks:
- Group assignment:
- Measuring the analog levels and digital signals in an input device
- Link to the Group Assignment Page
- Individual assignment:
- Measuring something: adding a sensor to a microcontroller board that we have designed and reading it
Challenges:
- Soldering was more challenging this time. There were very little space for soldering the legs of ATtiny 45. So it might be a good idea to consider more space for very tiny componenets in the board design.
- Since I am not still good enough with Eagle, it was a bit difficult to fix the problem of overlapping nets.
- Debugging the issue with the board was quite challenging and demanded constant iterations of checking soldering, checking cable setting, checking schematic and other stuff.
- I used a soldering icon, which was had a thick tip. So unintentionally I spread solder in other parts of the board, which was not supposed to. So I had lots of challenges with cleaning them :-D
Considerations:
- Be careful with the orientation of the PHOTOTRANSISTOR.
- Do not be disappointed if your board does not look nice because of having an awful soldering time. It might still work by trying to identify some issues by careful and sharp eye examination especially asking the opinion of an expert regarding this ;-) Hopefully we have lots of helpful and knowledgable instructors in Fab Lab Oulu and they are always ready to guide us. And for this week thanks to Juha that guided us very well.
Technology used:
- Atmel Studio
- Eagle
- Milling Machine
- Soldering Iron
- Multimeter
-
My final project do not have any sensor. So to experiment this week's task I decided to try Neil's design for light sensor.
Designing the Board in Eagle
- Pin configuration for ATtiny 45 (ATtiny 45 DATASHEET)
- Neil's Borad
- The Schematic:
- When I created the board and started to move the componenets, orienting them was difficult so as Jari, fab lab instructor, suggested, I added 2 other components one for ground and attached it to grounds and the other for voltage and attached it to vcc. In this way, in my board view the grounds and vccs are named and orienting the components would be easier.
- I continueously used "Ripup; ratsnest; AutoRouter;" for replacing the components and optimizing the nets. And finally I succeeded in optimization.
- Preparations for exporting the traces and outlines as I explained the process in detail in Electronics Design week.
- Since 2 of the names were too long and out of the document border, I also overwrote device name for them in order to fit them in my desired space.
- Here is the result of the board design:
- The image of the traces:
- The image of the outline:
Milling and Soldering
Since I have explained in detail the process of milling and soldering in Electronics Production Week, I just add some pictures as the result here:
- The milled board:
- The list of components:
- 2x Resistor 10K
- Photottransistor
- Capacitor 1UF
- FTDI Header
- ATtiny 45
- AVRISPSMD
- The soldered board:
- Then I tested the board with multimeter for short circuits and it was OK.
Programming the Board
- Atmel studio (run as administrator) > create new project > selecting ATtiny 45
- I wanted to choose 'External Tools' from the 'Tools' tab but it did not appeared. So with the help of our instructor, Juha, we figured out that the problem is that the profile is set as standard. So I changed it to 'Advanced'. (Tools > select Profile > Advanced)
- Now Tools > External Tools:
- Title: AVRDUDE
- Command: C:\Program Files (x86)\avrdude\avrdude.exe
- Arguments: -p t45 usb -c usbtiny -U flash:w:$(TargetDir)$(TargetName).hex:i
- Initial Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\avrdude\
- The I copied Neil's code for hello.light.45.c
- Then I added
#define F_CPU 8000000UL
before the following line:
#include <util/delay.h>
to tell what is the speed of the Attiny45 microcontroller. This information about internal clock frequency was found on the datasheet.
- Then I connected the board and programmer and computer (using FTDI cable and programming cable)
- Then in Atmel Studio: Build > Compile
- Then Tools > AVRDUDE. And I had the following error:
initialization failed, rc=-1
Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override this check.
- Now it was time to debug the issue.
- I used our instructor’s (Juha) board and programmed it with my computer and it worked. So we came to the conclusion that there might be a problem with my board.
- With Juha, we checked the soldered components. And we identified some issues (e.g. a leg of ATtiny 45 that was not soldered properly to the board) that could be the problem and we re-soldered them. And I checked it again with (Tools > AVRDUDE) and it was not still working and I had the same error.
- With Juha, we we checked the schematic again and it was OK.
- As Juha suggested, I changed the orientation of the programmer and it worked. So I could say re-soldering and changing the orientation of the programming cable fixed this problem.
- The following picture shows the right orientation of my setting. (I put it here for my record)
- Now I installed Python for testing the light sensor. I first installed 'Python 3.6.5' but then I replaced it with 'Python 2.7.14'. Becuase at some point I faced the problem and Jari, another FabAcademy student, suggested changing the version would help.
- Now I just connected FTDI cable to the sensor board and removed the programmer.
I saved 'hello.light.45.py' from Neil's page.
I saved it in a folder. Then I opened Command Prompt and typed the location of this file. And now I noticed (with help of my friend Jari) that I need to know the Com port number to complete this command. My windows did not have FTDI Drivers installed and I was not able to see the ports. So I followed this documentation to install it. And then I could find Ports in device manager, which was com 3.
- Again in cmd going to the location that 'hello.light.45.py' is saved and typing
hello.light.45.py com3
And this time I had the following error:
No module named serial
Which means I don't have a serial.
- I installed pyserial. And good to have a look at Detailed Document.
- Unzipping the downloaded folder. Command Prompt > Going to the location that Pyserial is saved and 'setup.py' is there. In my case it was this location: C:\Users\bnorouzi\Downloads\pyserial-3.4.tar\dist\pyserial-3.4.
- Now typing the following command:
python setup.py install
- Then again coming back to the location that 'hello.light.45.py' is saved and typing 'hello.light.45.py com3'. And it did not work again.
- My friend, Jari, gave me a suggestion based on his experience with the same issue: He believed that the problem is about the orientation of the Phototransistor. And he was right becuase after another Jari's help (Our instructor) with re-soldering this componenet, and testing again: it worked as you see in the video :)
Original Design Fileslight_sensor_outline.rml
Light_Sensor_Traces.rml
week11.brd
week11.sch
.atsln file for the modified code
.c file for the modified code | http://fabacademy.org/2018/labs/fablaboulu/students/behnaz-norouzi/week11.html | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | refinedweb | 1,212 | 63.8 |
I have a defined a class which I am trying to make hashable. Additionally, there's an enum which uses objects of this class as values of its enum members.
from enum import Enum
class Dummy(object):
def __init__(self, name, property_):
self.name = name # can only be a string
self.property = property_ # can only be a string
def __hash__(self):
# print "Hash called for ", self
# print("----")
return hash(self.property)
def __eq__(self, other):
# print "Eq called for: "
# print self
# print other
return (self.property == other.property)
def __ne__ (self, other):
return not (self == other)
def __str__(self):
return (self.name + "$" + self.property)
class Property(Enum):
cool = Dummy("foo", "cool")
hot = Dummy("bar", "hot")
__hash__
__eq__
class Property(Enum):
cool = Dummy("foo", "cool")
hot = [Dummy("bar-1", "hot-1"), Dummy("bar-2", "hot-2")]
__eq__
Dummy
Property.cool
Property.hot
Hash called for foo$cool
----
Eq called for:
foo$cool
[<__main__.Dummy object at 0x7fd36633f2d0>, <__main__.Dummy object at 0x7fd36633f310>]
----
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "test.py", line 28, in <module>
class Property(Enum):
File "/blah/.local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/enum/__init__.py", line 237, in __new__
if canonical_member.value == enum_member._value_:
File "test.py", line 19, in __eq__
return (self.property is other.property)
AttributeError: 'list' object has no attribute 'property'
__eq__
The Enum class is comparing its member object values to see if any are aliases of another. For example, in the following Enum, both
a and
b represent the same value, so only
a should show up in the member list (aliases don't):
class A(Enum): a=1 b=1
You can verify this by looking at the source code for the line that did the equality check: source
For the hashing, this is done to provide a by-value lookup of the enum members. Again, this can be found in the source code | https://codedump.io/share/QEcuHringZRV/1/interaction-of-a-hashable-class-with-enum-in-python | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | refinedweb | 312 | 57.57 |
XmlConvert.EncodeName Method
Converts the name to a valid XML name.
Namespace: System.XmlNamespace: System.Xml
Assembly: System.Xml (in System.Xml.dll)
Parameters
- name
- Type: System.String
A name to be translated.
Return ValueType: System.String
Returns the name with any invalid characters replaced by an escape string.
This method translates invalid characters, such as spaces or half-width Katakana, that need to be mapped to XML names without the support or presence of schemas. The invalid characters are translated into escaped numeric entity encodings.
The escape character is "_". Any XML name character that does not conform to the W3C Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 specification is escaped as _xHHHH_. The HHHH string stands for the four-digit hexadecimal UCS-2 code for the character in most significant bit first order. For example, the name Order Details is encoded as Order_x0020_Details.
The underscore character does not need to be escaped unless it is followed by a character sequence that together with the underscore can be misinterpreted as an escape sequence when decoding the name. For example, Order_Details is not encoded, but Order_x0020_ is encoded as Order_x005f_x0020_. No shortforms are allowed. For example, the forms _x20_ and __ are not generated.
This method guarantees the name is valid according to the XML specification. It allows colons in any position, which means the name may still be invalid according to the W3C Namespace Specification (). To guarantee it is a valid namespace qualified name use EncodeLocalName for the prefix and local name parts and join the result with a. | http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.xml.xmlconvert.encodename.aspx?cs-save-lang=1&cs-lang=fsharp | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | refinedweb | 259 | 51.04 |
In this section you will learn how to display the whole file system in tree format.
Description of code:
The java.swing* package introduces several useful classes and methods. It is used in several applications. We have also used this package in our example. In the given example, we have used JTree class to show the whole files in a systematic way.
DefaultMutableTreeNode- This class provides operations for examining and modifying a node's parent and children and also perform operations to examine the tree.
isDirectory() method- This method of File class checks whether the specified file is a directory.
insert() method- This method of DefaultMutableTreeNode class sets the child's parent to the node, and then add the child to the node's child array at index.
Here is the code:
import java.io.File; import javax.swing.*; import javax.swing.tree.*; class FileTree { public static DefaultMutableTreeNode addTree(String dirname) { File file = new File(dirname); DefaultMutableTreeNode root = new DefaultMutableTreeNode(); root.setUserObject(file.getName()); if (file.isDirectory()) { File files[] = file.listFiles(); for (int i = 0; i < files.length; i++) { root.insert(addTree(files[i].getPath()), i); } } return (root); } public static void main(String[] args) { JFrame frame = new JFrame(); frame.setSize(300, 400); JTree tree = new JTree(addTree("C:/")); frame.add(tree); frame.setVisible(true); } }
Through the above code, you can display your files in a systematic format.
Advertisements
Posted on: September+ | http://www.roseindia.net/tutorial/java/core/files/filetree.html | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | refinedweb | 231 | 61.33 |
13 November 2012 19:06 [Source: ICIS news]
LONDON (ICIS)--?xml:namespace>
Arnaud Montebourg said that in the letter Pertamina confirmed its interest in buying the refinery. In July, Montebourg had informed media about a potential buyer for the plant, but at the time he did not disclose names.
Montebourg added that his ministry remains committed to finding a solution for the refinery and its workers.
LyondellBasell mothballed the plant earlier this year after failing to find a buyer.
David Harpole, a Houston-based LyondellBasell spokesman, told ICIS that the Berre refinery remains mothballed with a view to selling it to "a qualifed buyer".
Montebourg is also involved in efforts to find a buyer for the Petit Couronne refinery near
Petit Couronne was one of five refineries affected by the insolvency of Switzerland-based independent refiner Petroplus earlier | http://www.icis.com/Articles/2012/11/13/9613732/pertamina-may-buy-lyondellbasell-refinery-in-france.html | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | refinedweb | 138 | 52.19 |
#include <time.h>
extern int getdate_err; #include <time.h>
The.
When.
The following errors are returned via
getdate_err (for
getdate()) or as the function result (for
getdate_r()):
The
DATEMSK
environment variable is not defined, or its value is an
empty string.
The template file specified by
DATEMSK cannot be opened for
reading.
Failed to get file status information.
The template file is not a regular file.
An error was encountered while reading the template file.
Memory allocation failed (not enough memory available).
There is no line in the file that matches the input.
Invalid input specification.
DATEMSK
File containing format patterns.
TZ,
LC_TIME
Variables used by strptime(3).
For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).−>tm_sec); printf(" tm_min = %d\n", tmp−>tm_min); printf(" tm_hour = %d\n", tmp−>tm_hour); printf(" tm_mday = %d\n", tmp−>tm_mday); printf(" tm_mon = %d\n", tmp−>tm_mon); printf(" tm_year = %d\n", tmp−>tm_year); printf(" tm_wday = %d\n", tmp−>tm_wday); printf(" tm_yday = %d\n", tmp−>tm_yday); printf(" tm_isdst = %d\n", tmp−>tm_isdst); } exit(EXIT_SUCCESS); }
time(2), localtime(3), setlocale(3), strftime(3), strptime(3) | http://manpages.courier-mta.org/htmlman3/getdate.3.html | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | refinedweb | 182 | 59.4 |
a starting code example on which to build in our discussion below, consider the following method from a utilitty class that operates on the Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT) provided with the Java Development Kit (JDK):
1:public class Utils 2: { 3: static public Frame GetFrame(Component c) 4: { 5: if(c instanceof Frame || null==c) 6: return c==null ? null : (Frame)c; 7: return GetFrame(c.getParent()); 8: } 9:}
We are going to look at this method from a number of perspectives, including style, efficiency, and generalization.
First, a simple description of the method: it is responsible for finding the first
Frame that contains the given AWT
Component. If all of the ancestors of the specified
Component are checked and a parent
Frame is not found, then the method returns a null value.
To start, let's take a look at the routine line by line from the point of view of style, and to some degree from a performance point of view.
5: if (c instanceof Frame || null==c)
You may be wondering why we first check if the component "c" is an instance of
Frame, if afterward we are going to check if it is null. It seems like a strange ordering indeed, given that if the component reference is null, it cannot be an instance of a
Frame! From an efficiency point of view, we know that checking an object reference for a null value takes fewer cycles than applying
the
instanceof operator, so reversing the order of these comparisons would allow the compiler to shortcut the "or" operation after fewer
cycles, in the cases where this is appropriate.
6: return c==null ? null : (Frame)c;
This line of code above is a bit of a disaster from a style point of view. First, it repetitious because it rechecks the validity
of the component reference. Next, it uses the ternary conditional operator, a holdover from C/C++, which many people consider
more difficult to read than using a standard
if statement. It is also considered bad form by many programmers to use a return statement anywhere in the body of a routine
except as the very last statement. These early returns can make code harder to debug, not to mention larger and more complicated in terms of the generated code than if the routine had taken the form of a clean, single return statement. Last, a null pointer
is returned without an explicit cast to a
Frame -- the Java compiler is left to make this cast on our behalf.
Finally,
7: return GetFrame(c.getParent());
Generally, when a method calls itself, this is termed recursion. This particular form of recursion -- where the method calls itself as the very last expression before the return statement
-- is called tail recursion since the method is "chasing its own tail" so to speak. This use of tail recursion is basically just an expression of code
reuse. In other words, the routine is using recursion as a simple and "cheap" way of performing looping -- each recursive
invocation of
GetFrame() finds the first
Frame parent, determines that we have run out of parents without ever finding a
Frame, or recursively calls itself again. Unfortunately, in Java, use of recursion is expensive compared to using an explicit looping
form such as while loop.
Free Download - 5 Minute Product Review. When slow equals Off: Manage the complexity of Web applications - Symphoniq
Free Download - 5 Minute Product Review. Realize the benefits of real user monitoring in less than an hour. - Symphoniq | http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/javatips/jw-javatip62.html | crawl-001 | refinedweb | 585 | 56.79 |
Let's say I have a client and server class:
import logging
class Client:
def __init__(self, name):
self.logger = logging.getLogger(self.__class__.__name__)
self.name = name
def foo(self):
self.logger.warn('[%s] foo', self.name)
class Server:
def __init__(self):
self.logger = logging.getLogger(self.__class__.__name__)
def bar(self):
self.logger.warn('bar')
[self.name]
%(client)
Client
This can be done using the
logaugment library (disclaimer: I made that library to make it easier but this can also be done using the standard library).
Filling in the client's name can be done as part of a logger's
Formatter which formats the log record into a string and at that step you can prefix the message.
Create a logger:
import logging logger = logging.getLogger() handler = logging.StreamHandler() formatter = logging.Formatter("%(client)s: %(message)s") handler.setFormatter(formatter) logger.addHandler(handler)
Specify the client's name for this logger (i.e., the value to fill in for
%(client)s in the above formatted log string:
logaugment.set(logger, client='Client')
From now on you can call logger methods as normal and the client's name will be filled in automatically:
logger.warn("My message") | https://codedump.io/share/xjFJj13Xlajq/1/create-logger-that-prefixes-log-messages | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | refinedweb | 198 | 51.95 |
Pandas and NumPy are fantastic libraries that enable you to take advantage of vectorization to write extremely efficient Python code. However, what happens when the calculation you wish to run changes based on the value in another column of your dataset?
For example, take a look at the dataset in the table below (along with the code to generate it):
import pandas as pd import numpy as np df = pd.DataFrame({ 'Group':['A','A','B','C'], 'Value':[1,1,1,1] })
Imagine I wish to create a third column (‘Result’) based on the following logic:
- Multiply Value by 2 if Group == ‘A’
- Multiply Value by 3 if Group == ‘B’
- Multiply Value by 4 if Group == ‘C’
- Fill with a missing value (nan) if none of the above is true
In the past, I thought the most efficient solution was to use Pandas’ apply:
def run_calc(row): if row['Group'] == 'A': return row['Value'] * 2 elif row['Group'] == 'B': return row['Value'] * 3 elif row['Group'] == 'C': return row['Value'] * 4 else: return np.nan df['Result'] = df.apply(run_calc, axis=1)
This works, but once your dataset is in the millions of rows and above, it becomes extremely slow. This operation is not vectorized. It was only recently that I discovered there was a far better solution – NumPy’s select!
df['Result'] = np.select( condlist=[ df['Group']=='A', df['Group']=='B', df['Group']=='C' ], choicelist=[ df['Value']*2, df['Value']*3, df['Value']*4, ], default=np.nan )
Here, you can pass a list of vectors that are evaluated as True or False, and a second list describing the vectorized calculation you wish to run when its condition is met. Finally, you can tell it what default value to use if none of the conditions are met (the equivalent of ‘else’ in an explicit conditional). It is worth flagging here that if multiple conditions evaluate to True, the one that occurs earlier in the list will be used (similar to a typical if/else conditional).
Finally, if you only care about two conditions (the same as just using if/else), then you can use NumPy’s where:
df['Result'] = np.where(df['Group']=='A', df['Value']*2, np.nan)
While I intend to continue using apply for small-ish datasets (since I think its a little easier for others to read and understand), for larger datasets I’ve switched over to using select and recommend trying it out for yourself!
| https://jacksimpson.co/how-to-vectorize-conditional-calculations-in-python/ | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | refinedweb | 409 | 55.68 |
So now that you know what Rigidbodies are and how to attach them, let's go ahead and put them to actual use. One of the best ways, that we can think of, to explain the working of Rigidbodies is by making the player move using the arrow keys.
To do so, open up the Movement script that we made earlier. In case you deleted it or if you're working on a clean, new project, simply create a new script and name it Movement. Open it up in your IDE, and you'll see the familiar
Start() and
Update() methods that we have explained earlier.
Now, let's have a look at each line of code in detail and try to understand what's going on here. Don't worry if you can't grasp all of it at once, you'll learn as we progress forward.
using System.Collections; using System.Collections.Generic; using UnityEngine; public class Movement : MonoBehaviour { public RigidBody2D starBody, public float speed; void start() { // use this function to initialize // anything } // Update is called once per frame void update() { starBody.velocity() = new Vector2(Input.GetAxisRaw("Horizontal")*speed, Input.GetAxisRaw("Vertical")*2); } }
Line → public Rigidbody2D starBody: Simply declares an instance of the
Rigidbody2D, named
starBody. Make note of the
public access modifier, We will be coming to that soon.
Line → public float speed: Simple declaration of a floating point value named
speed. Once again, make a note of the
public access modifier used here.
Line → void Start(): Note that this method is completely empty. We haven't even assigned any value to
speed and
starBody. You'd expect to get NullReferenceExceptions or UnassignedReferenceExceptions thrown everywhere and general chaos, if we didn't give those variables something to work with, right? And yet, this method remains mysteriously empty.
Line → ([Inside Update method] starBody.velocity = new Vector2(Input.GetAxisRaw ...): This is where the main action is going on around your game character. Let's dig into this one line, shall we? The first few words are
starBody.velocity = means, we are assigning a velocity to the Rigidbody currently referenced by
starBody. While
new Vector2(...) means that a Rigidbody's velocity is defined as a
Vector2, where the input parameters are the velocity along the X-axis and Y-axis respectively.
Now, for the actual magic in this code:
Input.GetAxisRaw("Horizontal") and
Input.GetAxisRaw("Vertical") What are these things? Well, the Input class is provided with MonoDevelop for handling the input. It has definitions for what you'd call Input Axes defined as Horizontal and Vertical.
What's basically going on is that the game is detecting input corresponding to the Horizontal and Vertical input axes, and setting them to
-1,
0 or
1 depending on the button you press. So, when you press the Right arrow key, it means you're setting the value of the Horizontal axis to
1. As soon as you let go of that arrow key, the value on that axis jumps back to 0. Now, in game language it simply means,
move the character by 1 unit horizontally per frame when the Right arrow key is pressed.
Keeping it at 1 means the object will travel rather slowly. Hence, we multiply that value with the speed float, thus saying,
move the character by 1 times the speed, and since we know that anything times 1 is the same value, we're effectively saying move the character horizontally by this speed when the axis buttons are pressed.
NOTE: By default, the axis buttons on a standard keyboard are the Up and Down arrows, as well as W and S for the Vertical axis, and Left and Right arrows, as well as A and D for the Horizontal axis.
Moving on, what's going in that one line is basically the following sentence:
Give this rigidbody a velocity in the game world, where the horizontal velocity is (Horizontal Axis * speed) and the vertical velocity is (Vertical Axis * speed)
Now, to finish, save this script and head on back to Unity. To attach the script to an object, simply drag and drop it over that object, or go to Add Component → Scripts.
Now, remember how we asked you to make note of the
public access modifiers when we were writing our scripts? Have a look at the script's component.
You'll notice that along with the script, Unity automatically generated 2 fields for inputting both a Rigidbody2D and a speed float. That's the magic of Unity.
Values and
class instances declared publically can be seen in the Editor where you can make adjustments without having to constantly have to look in your code all the time.
To set the Rigidbody2D for the first field, click on the small circle with a dot in it right next to the field. This will open up a list of available Rigidbodies in the scene which you can use. For the time being, since we only have one Rigidbody in the entire scene, click on the one that appears in the list.
What did you just accomplished by doing this? Remember how we didn't assign anything to the
starBody variable back when we were writing the script? This is where we assign it. We can do assigning of components and values with a simple UI instead of having to write it in the code.
Next, set a speed value in the next field. Don't set it too high, or your character might fly off before you can see where he even went. This is a problem because our Camera is stationary, so positioning it back into view will become a task much easier said, than done. We would suggest setting the speed to around
5.
This is what your script component should look like once you finish:
Now click on play button and let's see what happens. If everything went right, you'll notice that you can now move your character with the arrow keys. Awesome! | https://www.studytonight.com/game-development-in-2D/making-player-move | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | refinedweb | 1,001 | 63.19 |
Important: Please read the Qt Code of Conduct -
QT5 qml-components
Hi
I-m trying to get to work a really simple app that uses qml-components, but I got an error.
I use the latest QtCreator 2.6.1 and QT5.0
Here is the code
@int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
QGuiApplication app(argc, argv);
QtQuick2ApplicationViewer viewer;
viewer.setMainQmlFile(QStringLiteral("qml/temp/main.qml"));
viewer.showExpanded();
return app.exec();
}@
And qml/temp/main.qml
@import QtQuick 2.0
import QtDesktop 1.0
Rectangle {
width: 360
height: 360
CheckBox{
anchors.centerIn: parent
}
}
@
And I get segmentation fault in QStyleItem::sizeFromContents
I think this line inside QStyleItem::sizeFromContents fails
qApp->style()->sizeFromContents(QStyle::CT_CheckBox, m_styleoption, QSize(width,height));
where qApp is
#define qApp (static_cast<QApplication *>(QCoreApplication::instance()))
And it fails because qApp->style() return null.
I tried to get style in main function
auto papp = static_cast<QApplication *>(QCoreApplication::instance());
auto style = papp->style();
And indeed I got null
Do you know how to fix it? Earlier I didn't have to set styles to work with qml-components
There is a dependency on widgets due to use of QWidget styles. The easiest fix is to make your QtGuiApplication into a QApplication. Alternatively you can create your own style and set it on the application. Then everything should work. We are working on making components not depend on widgets, but in that case you would not get the native look and feel. There clearly needs to be some documentation about this.
Oh! It works!
I just replaced QGuiApplication with QApplication and now it works!
Thanks a lot
Great. I pushed a small fix so that people will get notified when this problem arises. | https://forum.qt.io/topic/22474/qt5-qml-components | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | refinedweb | 282 | 50.63 |
I know how to use CSS to center elements properly, but it requires a lot more markup and code then simply using <center> tags.
I realize <center> is depreciated and can display differently in certain browsers. But it still works very well in almost all situations that I've encountered and saves me time and markup which makes my code cleaner and easier to read. Right now I am not using <center> because it will prevent my code from validating which is a problem; but couldn't that be changed?
Anyway...can someone explain why the <center> tag is depreciated?
Thanks
The CENTER element is deprecated because basically a it's a purely presentational tag rather than structural and is similar to shorthand for 'DIV align=center' which is better handled via CSS.
Well CSS can take advantage of caching (where as HTML won't - due to loading each page individually), using CSS if it's in a separate file will therefore reduce bandwidth costs (speeding site loading in the process) and the lack of stylistic elements provides better semantics for browsers, search engines and social networks which index the content. Though I've no idea how you think the below seems like more code than center tags stuffed everywhere
.items{
align: center;
}
PS: No you can't trick the validator into letting center elements pass, because their no longer "legal tender" in syntax world and it's a very good thing too!
Thanks for the info. The caching part is quite interesting - I'm going to research that a bit.
No, it doesn't. It usually doesn't require any extra markup. At worst, you'll need a wrapping <div>.
<div>
To centre entire block-level elements:
.quotes {
width:40em; /* or whatever */
margin-left:auto;
margin-right:auto;
}
To centre text inside a block-level element:
#nav li {
text-align:center;
}
It's not depreciated (which would mean that it had lost in value), but deprecated (disapproved).
And the reason is that the purpose of HTML (and the XML version, XHTML) is to mark up semantics (meaning) and structure only. All things to do with presentation belongs to CSS and everything behavioural belongs to JavaScript. The separation of these three tiers is an important principle, not only in web design, but in all sorts of development.
By keeping the markup as clean as possible, it is easier to reuse it in other channels. You also increase the likelihood that you'll be able to redesign your site without having to edit individual pages. Such a thing is a chore for a static, page-based site, but an absolute nightmare if the content resides as data fragments in a CMS database.
The separation of content, presentation and behaviour also helps users who need various types of assistive technology (like screen readers) to perceive web content. And it's beneficial for low-bandwidth devices and for expensive pay-per-byte wireless connections, since it reduces the amount of data that needs to be transferred for each page. Especially taking caching into consideration, as Alex mentioned.
Listen to AutisticCuckoo on this one - spot on. It's presentation, and presentation has NO place in the markup.
It's why I generally say avoid those rubbish CSS frameworks as well (Grid, YUI, etc), since they use presentational classes so to restyle you'd have to edit the markup anyways - DEFEATS THE POINT of using CSS in the first place! If you are going to be adding classes that say what things look like -- "smalltext", "floatLeft", "centered", "width960" for example, the question becomes what the hell are you even bothering with CSS for in the first place?
You also have to remember that more code in the CSS and less in the HTML takes advantage of caching models if said styling is applied across multiple pages - just as AlexDawson said. The more that's 'common' to every page on your site you move into the CSS, the faster all your subpages will load... you can even pre-cache sub-page layouts by loading it with the home page.
It also plays well with CMS - the less markup the CMS has to deal with outputting, the more time it can put towards actually processing data. Inlining presentation in the markup is the enemy of clean coding. (were that most major CMS systems would realize this!)
Lemme give you a real world example of some old HTML 3.2, and how I'd write that today.
The original code vomited up by an old WYSIWYG called "hotmetal" circa 2001
<CENTER><B><SPAN STYLE="Font-Size : 14pt"><FONT FACE="Arial, Helvetica">Clan and Inner Sphere Differences</FONT></SPAN></B></CENTER>>
How that would be written today using modern semantic markup:
<h2>
Clan and Inner Sphere Differences
</h>
Gee, which one's less code here?
Your html should say what things ARE, NOT what they look like.... I extend this even to my classes and ID's - say what the element IS, NOT what you want for appearance unless it's a presentational hook on a semantically meaningless tag like DIV or SPAN.... and even then I might use 'top' and 'bottom', but never 'left' or 'right' - but then I often write skins that need to work both LTR and RTL.
Presentational markup was a bad idea thrown in as a stopgap by netscape and microsoft, and we've been trying to backpedal from the disaster HTML 3.2 gave us by adopting those ever since. (though it seems like those lessons are completely forgotten in the train wreck known as HTML 5... literally it looks like it's going to be the new HTML 3.2). The tags and attributes deprecated in strict are removed because that **** has no place in your markup. Some of it is just shoving behaviors the user might not want down their throat (TARGET for example), but the lions share of them - CENTER, FONT, ALIGN, VALIGN, BGCOLOR, COLOR - are what leads to people using tens and even hundreds of K of markup to deliver 2-3k of actual text content.
I see it every day people with 60-80k of presentational outdated half-assed markup. Even when they TRY to use modern techniques they don't "GET IT" - as Dan used to say the people who used to make endless nested bloated tables now just make endless nested bloated div's, classes and ID's -- net change? ZERO!
I'm actually with optl on this, a styled wrapper requires both an opening and a closing and/or a class indicator. A presentation tag only requires opening and closing. I fail to see how open and closing a wrapper could be anything but negligibly shorter but potentially much longer than a presentation tag.
That said, AutisticCuckoo brings up the overriding points, the divisions of presentation, behaviour and content are vital, especially if you don't want to create yourself a maintenance nightmare.
And, I'm not sure that use of a head tag (which flirts heavily with flying in the face of the neat divisions we preach IMO) and the lengthening of lines to make your code look shorter is an optimal way to illustrate a point.
Seems to me that the issues- of deprecation (if a deprecated tag gets unsupported one day, you've just created yourself a TON of unpaid work)- that presentation/behaviour/content divisions are not simply abject ways to make l33t designers feel good (or conversely you can just get l33ter and feel good too!)are really the only really salient ones.
I'm assuming that's directed at me. I just reformatted it my normal style without even thinking about what it would look like in the crappy little broken code boxes in vBull.
Even if you reformatted both the same way, it's shaving 90% of the markup from around the content. Outdated presentational crap doesn't belong in the markup which is WHY those tags and attributes were deprecated... and also why using the STYLE tag OR attribute in the markup defeats the point of style sheets.
Exactly. <center> is shorter than <div class="whatever">. But your point about seperating style and structure is definitely valid as well as the caching point. Thanks for the responses guys.
When deciding what does and doesn't belong in HTML you might consider a web reader. If it doesn't make sense in a web reader then it doesn't belong in HTML. After all, how do you say something in <center> differently than if it isn't in that tag?
Though that treads into another failing you see time and time again in people's markup... Much as George Carlin said every ejaculation deserves a name, not every element needs a DIV, SPAN or class on it.
The whole IDEA of strict is to stop wrapping crap in unnecessary containers and instead use tags that actually say what things are - headings, paragraphs, lists, etc.
For example, when people put DIV's around their main menu UL for no good reason. There are times where yes, it deserves a presentational hook or wrapper; but that's fairly rare occurrence in most layouts... I mean you'll see pages where they've got nonsense like:
<div id="pageWrapper">
<div id="header">
<div id="logo">
<img src="images/logo.png" alt="Site Title" />
</div>
<div id="nav">
<ul class="navUL">
<li class="navItem">
<a href="#" class="navAnchor">
</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<center><b><font size="+2"><span class="myTitle">Welcome to my Site</span></font></b></center>
<font size="1">Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah</font><br />
<br />
<font size="1">Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah</font><br />
<center><b><font size="+1"><span class="subsectionTitle">We do a lot of things here</span></font></b></center>
<font size="1">Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah</font><br />
<br />
</div>
If you don't know what's wrong with that, well... Wish I was making that one up, but that's loosely based on something I rewrote for someone recently -- content changed to protect the guilty
two thirds of the DIV are unnecessary in most layouts, most of the classes are redundant thanks to the 'cascading' part of CSS, presentational image in the markup, font bold and center doing heading tags job, etc, etc, etc...
<div id="pageWrapper">
<h1>
Site Title
<span></span>
</h1>
<ul id="mainMenu">
<li><a href="#">Home</a></li>
</ul>
<div id="content">
<h2>Welcome to my Site</h2>
<p>
Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah
</p><p>
Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah
</p>
<h3>We do a lot of things here</h3>
<p>
Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah
</p>
</div>
</div>
ALL that's needed providing MORE than enough hooks to apply ALL of the same styling.
I've rarely if ever seen a page using any of the deprecated tags like CENTER that couldn't be made with a fraction the code without it. The mere NOTION of it being more code borders on the absurd.
Then here is a really simple test. You don't get to apply a bunch of extraneous styling to manufacture proof of your point either. Produce just the word "center" in the middle of a page horizontally. It cannot be done with less keystrokes using CSS than it can be with just a center tag. If I'm wrong, please show me. Your CSS definition alone would be longer than the opening and closing center tags.
Now, if the center tag goes (which it could at any time), every instance of that tag will need to be replaced with a new styled wrapper. If you want to center more than one line, your CSS is reusable - you could even simply define that every <p> element be centered. Not at all practical or "correct" on a lengthier page, or a site unfortunately. Now you're forced to use specific classes on your wrapper, and you have to use a class name less than 10 characters long enough times to make up for the keystrokes you used defining it - then you have broken even and you start profiting 4 or 5 keystrokes every time. Keystroke gains would be negligible at best unless you were talking a site big enough that this whole argument is a complete waste of time anyway.
May I humbly suggest brushing up on algorithm analysis, helped me to not get hung up on such low order terms!
The only other option I see is pistols at dawn.
I didn't know sloppy coding made elephants so angry. Learn something new every day!
The simplest test is to take a 1000 page web site and see how long it takes to move all the text from the centre to the left. With CSS about 2 seconds, with <center> tags allow several weeks.
If writing an additional 10-15 bytes of markup seems an insurmountable workload for you, I have to wonder if you are in the right business. Testing beds might be more your thing.
Using contextual selectors in CSS you can often forgo lots of classes on descendant elements. For instance,
<blockquote>
<p>Markup should not contain presentational aspects.</p>
<p>Semantics is important for accessibility.</p>
</blockquote>
blockquote p {
width:10em;
margin:0 auto 1em;
}
CSS is awesome, I get it. Believe me. I believe optl is technically correct using a center tag is less work initially - period. Very simple observation proves that.As I plainly stated, the largest efficiencies in CSS come from it's reusability and ease of sitewide maintenance, so thanks for reiterating my point felgall.
And thank you Autistic for illustrating my pointthat if you were doing a site large enough that your tiny keystroke gains from using a deprecated tag made a big enough difference you actually noticed it, your priority should have long ago shifted to the quality of your organization and you should have an eye to the nightmare you're creating if you want to change something. As I stated, contextual selectors can save you a massive amount of time, but you must cede that they are not always a particularly appropriate or practical solution.
My point was screw conventions that you don't really see the point of AND realize that they have become conventions for a reason; you may do very well to understand them better. If you don't have the cajones to make mistakes (and even costly ones) get a job delinting suits. Or testing beds, but that's a pretty sweet gig, competition might be awfully stiff!
I would argue that while it's less work typing, it's considerably more work in maintenance, you just know somewhere down the line he'll want to alter the style of the website and perhaps not have something centered, and then he'll have to ferret through every single page to make the thing occur globally (rather than using one single value). It's almost like a case for cowboy builders, they cut numerous corners which require the most initial effort or thought but the person whom it always bites is the customer (visitor) who has to suffer the increased file sizes - and when they return to fix the work in the future, it becomes that much more difficult.
NOT a real world test. WHY is it being centered? What IS the text? Is it a heading, is it a paragraph? is it part of a list? How many times are you centering an element on the page? How many different pages are you centering it ON?
<h2>Centered</h2>
in the css
h2 { text-align:center; }
Now, that might be more code the FIRST time it's used, but if you use it on a second page? If you use it more than ONCE per page? You only need two accesses to break even.
That's part of what STRICT and semantic markup are about. Don't waste time slapping classes or presentational tags on stuff when you can just use semantic tags or unique tags to a section!
CENTER doesn't tell us anything about the text... and you might not even want it centered on all devices.
Oh, and elephants never forget.
That's funny you mention algorithmic analysis. I'm a computer science major at the University of Maryland and I took an algorithmic analysis class last semester and I'm taking the more advanced one this semester. I believe our backround in algorithmic analysis is what pushed us to understand the point that in some situations the <center>...</center> tag is less markup than
<p class="centerme">.....</p>
p.centerme{ text-align:center }
That situation occurs when the centerme class is only used once; in that case <center> is less markup, period.
Okay, you're right. It is shorter. Now, temporarily accepting the frankly idiotic and presentational class name 'centerme', please show me a use case where saving these 31 bytes would make any real-world difference whatsoever? Perhaps on Google's search page, but is there anywhere else?
centerme
And it only takes one more use of that class to eliminate the difference altogether; after that it's pure gain. If you then include CSS caching into the equation you'll save on a single use if at least two visitors return (or a single user visits two pages).
So this hypothetical 31-byte saving, which only occurs under very unlikely circumstances, is most likely not worth the extra maintenance hassle of mixing the content with presentation.
Here's an example. You purchase a product online and are taken to a download page. The page is very simple and only one element is centered on the entire page: <center><a href="...">Download File</a></center>. Clearly, that is less markup than using css to center the anchor tag with a wrapper div no matter how you do it. Caching doesn't come in to play because users are only allowed to visit the page once.
There you go; a real world instance where the center tag would increase the page load speed.
next page → | http://community.sitepoint.com/t/can-someone-actually-explain-why-the-center-tag-is-deprecated/6303 | CC-MAIN-2014-49 | refinedweb | 3,066 | 68.2 |
Up and Running with Clojure
Posted on
by
Mike Perham in Web
For the last three years or so, Clojure has been a language that I admired from afar: the design of the language is wonderful but I’ve never really used it to build anything and haven’t looked closely at the language in a while. Recently we had a Carbon Five tech showdown between Node.js and Ruby to see which system could pump out “Hello World” as fast and as consistently as possible. Since then we’ve added a Go version that impressed us a lot.
But we’re missing a JVM-based entry which gives me a great excuse to dive into the Clojure world and learn how things work.
Getting Started
Step 1 is to create a new project for our codebase. I installed Leiningen and ran:
lein new hellod
which creates our project structure along with placeholders for necessary files. We’ll add dependencies to our project.clj file as necessary, similar to a Gemfile in the Ruby world, including Clojure itself. Clojure is just a library for the Java VM so
lein will download it like any other dependency. You should already have the JVM installed on your machine.
The Code
Now we need to implement our server in
src/hellod/core.clj. Clojure doesn’t come with a simple HTTP server in its core libraries. We’ll use Aleph, which provides a simple HTTP server API on top of Java’s well-regarded Netty library.
In fact, Aleph has essentially the exact Hello World server we need to implement as an example in its README. Cut and paste for great victory!
(ns hellod.core) (use 'lamina.core 'aleph.http) (defn hello-world [channel request] (enqueue channel {:status 200 :headers {"content-type" "text/html"} :body "</pre><h1>Hello World</h1><pre>"})) (defn -main [& args] (start-http-server hello-world {:port 8083}))
Now we run the project:
lein run
and execute
ab against our server:
ab -n 10000 -c 50
You can see the results for several different languages and runtimes.
We didn’t do a lot of coding in this blog post but we solved half of the problem with new environments: get something working. Now that we have a basic skeleton working, we can start learning new language features and libraries as we add functionality.
Feedback
Your feedback
Jared Carroll
October 20, 2011 at 9:51 am
Leiningen is exactly what any new language needs to get adoption; awesome library.
Rudy Jahchan
October 20, 2011 at 10:01 am
I don’t know … how performant is it at calculating fibonacci numbers, the gold standard? 😉
Gary Trakhman
October 20, 2011 at 10:39 am
Please do some profiling so we know exactly what speed is due to clojure and what is library limitation. Benchmarks only benchmark the weakest link. I think saying ‘clojure gets these numbers’ is misleading otherwise. The closest to apples/apples would be with jruby, but it’s likely that jruby’s runtime itself is not the limiter in its benchmark as well.
Gary Trakhman
October 20, 2011 at 10:46 am
try straight up ring and jetty for a boost
Mike Perham
October 20, 2011 at 11:44 am
Gary, yeah, I’m not a Clojure pro – I was explicit about that in the lead-in. The HelloD code is open and we’d love to have a Clojure expert tune it for better performance. Just send us a pull request!
Gary Trakhman
October 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm
added ring and jetty on port 8084, you’ve got a pull request
Daniel Fitzpatrick
October 20, 2011 at 11:52 am
You could switch to cake to simplify the installation instructions ie “Install Leiningen from” becomes “gem install cake”.
I’m also curious as to how the java.net standard libs compare.
James Fisher
October 20, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Aren’t those `pre` tags in the wrong order?
Anonymous
October 20, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Simply following your advice results in:
“No :main namespace specified in project.clj.”
after “lein run”
Anonymous
October 20, 2011 at 2:10 pm
OK, I found it myself and missed project.clj
cameron
October 20, 2011 at 5:20 pm
As someone who is just getting started with Clojure, this is a great post on the tools that exist around the language to support development. Thanks!
Filipe Regadas
October 21, 2011 at 10:23 am
Really great post. Awesome introduction to some of the clojure tools. IMHO your “hello world” showdown misses one important piece … a more “scala”-ish approach. I advise you to try unfiltered + netty. Let us know what you think 😉
ninjudd
October 21, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Mike, great post!
These results didn’t look quite right to us, so we re-ran the benchmark ourselves for Ruby and Clojure. Here’s our results:
We ended up running the test multiple times. The first pass looks pretty similar to your results, though a bit faster overall.
In later passes, Clojure/Ring improved quite a bit, even beating Ruby/EventMachine. It’s likely that this speedup is from warming the JIT.
The slow speed of Clojure/Aleph was also surprising to me, given past blog posts about it (). However, that was a while ago, and Aleph is in active development, so there may have been performance regressions since then. A quick `cake check` in clj-aleph shows quite a few reflection warnings that may be contributing to the slowness.
Michael Wynholds
October 21, 2011 at 3:18 pm
Ninjudd-
I have been doing the benchmarking. I re-ran the Clojure/Ring benchmarks 10 times trying to let the JIT warm up, but continue to get the same results.
I am using a EC2 High CPU Extra Large, which has 8 cores, but I think each core is relatively slow compared to what is sitting inside our laptops. Watching the process (just with top), the CPU never goes above 10%. So it’s clearly not taking advantage of multiple cores. That probably explains why my numbers are larger in a absolute sense than yours.
As for the JIT… what JVM are you using? I am guessing you are using Sun’s. I am using OpenJDK, which probably has a crappier JIT.
I will try to re-run the Java-based platforms with OpenJDK and Sun’s JDK and post the results.
ninjudd
October 21, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Michael-
We were using OpenJDK too, but I’d still be curious to see your comparison of Sun’s JDK and OpenJDK. Here is the output from ‘java -version’
java version “1.6.0_22”
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (IcedTea6 1.10.2) (6b22-1.10.2-0ubuntu1~11.04.1)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.0-b11, mixed mode)
Chris Hagan
December 9, 2011 at 1:55 am
If anyone’s looking to replicate this, and is new to Clojure, here are a few extra details to these steps:
lein new hellod
cd hellod
(defproject hellod “1.0.0-SNAPSHOT”
:main hellod.core
:description “FIXME: write description”
:dependencies [
[org.clojure/clojure “1.2.1”]
[aleph “0.2.0”]])
Mostly the point of detail here is to add the :main directive to the project.clj so that it knows where it’s going to find its entry point.
Great instructions, Mike! Very useful adjunct to the expert-level documentation around Aleph and Clojure already available on the web. | http://blog.carbonfive.com/2011/10/20/up-and-running-with-clojure/ | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | refinedweb | 1,250 | 72.05 |
User Specific EntityManager (DB)Kulvinder Singh Mar 31, 2008 8:46 AM
I have a requirement where mutliple db (same schema) will be used in an application.
I want to inject EntityManager based on the user.
How can I achieve this.
1. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Bernhard Mäser Mar 31, 2008 1:20 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
i would be interessted in this issue too...
2. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Bernhard Mäser Mar 31, 2008 1:22 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
hmm just an idea (not tested)
try to devine several EntityManagers with differnt (user)names
in your source: inject your EntityManger with the name of your user...
eg:
@In private EntityManager user1;
3. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Stephen Friedrich Mar 31, 2008 2:18 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
This is a feature that is completely straightforward when using JDBC manually, but is amazingly difficult when using JPA.
Over the years that I am using Hibernate this came up time and again.
Occasionally somebody reported a working solution, but AFAIK nothing comprehensive was ever posted.
For example see
this discussion
at the JBoss forum and also search the hibernate forum.
4. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Daniel Roth Mar 31, 2008 4:51 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
Searching this forum gives:
You could try something like this (totally just out of my head)
<persistence:managed-persistence-context <persistence:entity-manager-factory <persistence:managed-persistence-context <persistence:entity-manager-factory
And then
@Name("emFactory") public class EmFactory { @In EntityManager em1; @In EntityManager em2; @In User user; public EntityManager getEm() { if(user.is.someone) return em1; if(user.is.someoneelse) return em2; } }
public class SomeAction { @In EmFactory emFactory; public saveSomeThing() { emFactory.getEm().persist(thing); } }
5. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Clint Popetz Mar 31, 2008 5:04 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
Well...why?
I can completely understand:
@In EntityManager mainEM; @In EntityManager loggingEM; @In EntityManager accountingEM;
and that's easy enough to do. But what's the use case for needing a different EM for each user, or dynamically selecting an EM based on the user? The only use-case I can think of is for horizontal partitioning of data, but in that case, why not just use shards?
6. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Bernhard Mäser Mar 31, 2008 6:04 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
just for example: you have ONE software running on your server and several customers of you using this one instance of your app (more easy to maintain, new customer is just a new login,...)
so you need several datasources to guarantee, that every of your customers must use his own database
7. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Bernhard Mäser Mar 31, 2008 6:08 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
hmm this looks like a great idea for a workaround, but dont i poll the server to much if i create so much em-instances on every db-connect?
8. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Christian Bauer Mar 31, 2008 6:46 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
The correct solution is to write a custom Hibernate ConnectionProvider that obtains the right database connection for the
sameEntityManager. I'm sure there is a wiki page about it somewhere. Do not enable the second-level Hibernate cache then!
9. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Clint Popetz Mar 31, 2008 6:49 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
Ok, devil's advocate...why would each customer need their own database? That's certainly not how must online multi-user apps strategize their data partioning. I suppose you get the advantage of ensuring that one user can never touch another user's data, but that's a pretty heavy-handed way of doing that.
-
11. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Christian Bauer Mar 31, 2008 6:53 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
Usually there are no technical reasons for doing this, it's just how it is sold to technically challenged customers, as a
securityfeature. It seems to be pretty popular in German speaking European countries though (the original poster is from Austria).
12. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Kulvinder Singh Apr 1, 2008 6:43 AM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
Hi,
thanks all for your replies.
The requirement is for SaaS based model 3 which stipulates the use of different schemas for different customers in SaaS offering.
In this case all app instances will be clustered and will connect to correct DB after the user is authenticated.
13. Re: User Specific EntityManager (DB)Bernhard Mäser Apr 1, 2008 3:29 PM (in response to Kulvinder Singh)
Hi!
In fact there are technical AND security reasons. If you develop SaaS Software, not every customer has the same requirements in ressources. Some of them grow fast, some not. So if one of your costumer needs his own server, you can just place the database onto better hardware.
The second case is: if your contract will end, you have to hand over all of your customers data. Its much more easier to just make a dump of your database then seperating all of the needed from the not needed data by hand...
Or for example one of your customers want to use its own hardware at his office, how do you move his data to the new location when its mixed up with the data of your other customers.
Its just much more scalable then putting all the data in one hardware...
@ Christian: thanks for the Link to Hibernate!
greetings
Berni | https://developer.jboss.org/thread/181260 | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | refinedweb | 927 | 50.67 |
#include <wx/grid.h>
This class can be used to alter the cells' appearance in the grid by changing their attributes from the defaults.
An object of this class may be returned by wxGridTableBase::GetAttr().
Note that objects of this class are reference-counted and it's recommended to use wxGridCellAttrPtr smart pointer class when working with them to avoid memory leaks.
Kind of the attribute to retrieve.
Default constructor.
Constructor specifying some of the often used attributes.
Returns true if the cell will draw an overflowed text into the neighbouring cells.
Note that only left aligned cells currently can overflow. It means that GetFitMode().IsOverflow() should returns true and GetAlignment should returns wxALIGN_LEFT for hAlign parameter.
Creates a new copy of this object.
Get the alignment to use for the cell with the given attribute.
If this attribute doesn't specify any alignment, the default attribute alignment is used (which can be changed using wxGrid::SetDefaultCellAlignment() but is left and top by default).
Notice that hAlign and vAlign values are always overwritten by this function, use GetNonDefaultAlignment() if this is not desirable.
Returns the background colour.
Returns the cell editor.
The caller is responsible for calling DecRef() on the returned pointer, use GetEditorPtr() to do it automatically.
Returns the cell editor.
This method is identical to GetEditor(), but returns a smart pointer, which frees the caller from the need to call DecRef() manually.
Returns the fitting mode for the cells using this attribute.
The returned wxGridFitMode is always specified, i.e. wxGridFitMode::IsSpecified() always returns true. The default value, if SetFitMode() hadn't been called before, is "overflow".
Returns the font.
Get the alignment defined by this attribute.
Unlike GetAlignment() this function only modifies hAlign and vAlign if this attribute does define a non-default alignment. This means that they must be initialized before calling this function and that their values will be preserved unchanged if they are different from wxALIGN_INVALID.
For example, the following fragment can be used to use the cell alignment if one is defined but right-align its contents by default (instead of left-aligning it by default) while still using the default vertical alignment:
Returns true if the cells using this attribute overflow into the neighbouring cells.
Prefer using GetFitMode() in the new code.
Returns the cell renderer.
The caller is responsible for calling DecRef() on the returned pointer, use GetRendererPtr() to do it automatically.
Returns the cell editor.
This method is identical to GetRenderer(), but returns a smart pointer, which frees the caller from the need to call DecRef() manually.
Returns the text colour.
Returns true if this attribute has a valid alignment set.
Returns true if this attribute has a valid background colour set.
Returns true if this attribute has a valid cell editor set.
Returns true if this attribute has a valid font set.
Returns true if this attribute has a valid cell renderer set.
Returns true if this attribute has a valid text colour set.
Returns true if this cell is set as read-only.
Sets the alignment.
hAlign can be one of
wxALIGN_LEFT,
wxALIGN_CENTRE or
wxALIGN_RIGHT and vAlign can be one of
wxALIGN_TOP,
wxALIGN_CENTRE or
wxALIGN_BOTTOM.
Sets the background colour.
Sets the editor to be used with the cells with this attribute.
Specifies the behaviour of the cell contents if it doesn't fit into the available space.
Sets the font.
Specifies if cells using this attribute should overflow or clip their contents.
This is the same as calling SetFitMode() with either wxGridFitMode::Overflow() or wxGridFitMode::Clip() argument depending on whether allow is true or false.
Prefer using SetFitMode() directly instead in the new code.
Sets the cell as read-only.
Sets the renderer to be used for cells with this attribute.
Takes ownership of the pointer.
Sets the text colour. | https://docs.wxwidgets.org/3.1.5/classwx_grid_cell_attr.html | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | refinedweb | 632 | 59.7 |
I've gotten this method to work before when the text file was in the same package as the class using it, so I'd rather not have to change the rest of my code to make this work.
I'm using a BufferedReader to try and read a .txt file. I'm reading in a method that throws an IOException.
The method, when it gets to the part where it loads the file, keeps throwing this exception:
IOException: java.io.FileNotFoundException: /Volumes/destructivArts/Programming/Platform%20Game/build/classes/Assets/Levels/level1.txt (No such file or directory)I followed the path, and thats EXACTLY where the file is.
I'm not sure what's going on.
Here's the important code.
It's in a method called by the constructor of a level class:
public class Level { public Level(int i, ImageHandler a){ try{ readLevel(i); }catch(IOException e){System.out.println("IOException: " + e);}; } public void readLevel(int index) throws IOException{ URL path = this.getClass().getResource("/Assets/Levels/level"+index+".txt"); File levelFile = new File(path.getPath()); BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(levelFile)); //The rest of the method is just handling the text } }And here's the structure of my game.
Assets Package
Levels Package (Assets.Levels)
level1.txt
Game Package
Game.java
Level.java
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks!
Peter | http://www.gamedev.net/topic/624678-reading-a-file-from-another-package/ | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | refinedweb | 225 | 58.38 |
Copy value from Request message to Response message using DynamicConfigurationBean and dynamic header fields
Recently I worked on a scenario with two Idocs that are used as asynchronous request and response messages for ERP and a synchronous webservice.
For this scenario, I used SOAP adapter with async-sync brigde with help of RequestResponseBean and ResponseOnewayBean.
I wanted to populate fields in the response Idoc from the request Idoc. Here I had the challenge that the required values were only available in the Idocs, but not part of the request and response message of the web service, so I could not use the option with GetPayloadValueBean and PutPayloadValueBean, as it is described in this blog of Beena Thekdi:
Insert value from Request message to Response message using GetPayloadValueBean and PutPayloadValueBean
I wanted to use the dynamical header fields of the PI message to store the vales. Unfortunately, the SOAP adapter removes dynamic header field from request message, so the response message would not be able to access them. So I needed to find a way to keep the values.
I found the solution with the DynamicConfigurationBean that allows copying values form dynamical header fields to the module context and back. All adapter modules within the same module chain of the communication channel can access the parameter values in the module context.
I have already described this feature in this blog:
Unknown use case of DynamicConfigurationBean: Store file name to JMS header without mapping
Now the module chain of my SOAP adapter receiver channel looks like this:
I will not go into the configuration for RequestResponseBean and ResponseOnewayBean, as this is described in other blogs.
The module parameters for the DynamicConfigurationBean are following. In my scenario, I used the dynamic value “Value” with namespace “strDocNum”.
Those values might not be the best choices, however it works anyway.
For the graphical mapping tool, it is necessary to create user-defined functions to store the values in the dynamical header fields and read them from there. Here are the functions that are used in my scenario:
PutDocNum is used in the request mapping
GetDocNum is used in the response mapping
Note: as the value DocNum was not part of the target message, the UDF was tied to another target field called username.
Here is the link to the online help, the parameter value module.nn is still not mentioned:
Adding DynamicConfigurationBean in the Module Processor
Hey Stefan,
Nice blog thanks for contribution !
See ya
Hello Stefan,
Thanks for sharing the details.
I had created a document on a similar subject few days back - Dynamic Configuration Usages in SAP PI. You may find it interesting.
Regards.
Hello Stefan,
Thanks for sharing!
Is your example config coincidental of an E-Invoice Mexico Project? 🙂
Dynamic Configuration values names are same...
Best regards,
Fabian Engel
Hi Fabian, You are right, I took this example while I did an implementation for E-Invoicing Mexico. The original solution comes with a ccBPM. I could not use it as my customer has PI 7.31 Java only. After my experience I recommend not use ccBPM for this scenario at all, as the async-sync bridge with adapter module is the superior solution. Regards Stefan
Thank you Stefan !! It works in PO 7.5 as well.
Hi Stefan,
Thanks for the blog, I am able to use this feature in my requirement but I need to save multiple values. when I am executing the interface only last value saved is coming in all the fields. please take a look at the sequence and parameters:
could you please help me to correct this?
Thanks
Navneet
You only need the DynamicConfigurationBean twice. By the way: I think you do not need those beans for the RFC adapter, because the RFC adapter does not delete the dynamic header fields. Could you check this and confirm?
Thank you so much Stefan, I removed all beans from RFC and it worked perfectly.. 🙂
Thanks
Navneet.
Just for information:
This trick does not work with all Adapter types. At least it does not work with HTTP_AAE (as of PO 7.50 SP03). The reason is, that the Supplemental Data (module context) gets deleted by Adapter Module sap.com/com.sap.aii.adapter.http/HttpAdapterBean.
Since this is the place where the DynamicConfigurationBean stores the data with its "write" action, all data stored by the bean vanishes.
Regards,
Adam
Hi Adam, good to know. I tested this with PI 7.11 and PI 7.31 SOAP adapter only. So I cannot assure if that works for any other adapter or for any other PI release. Do you know, if it works with the SOAP adapter in PO 7.5? Regards Stefan
Hi Stefan,
yes, I had to switch from HTTP_AAE to SOAP receiver channel to make it work.
Regards,
Adam
PS: There may be a way of preserving the context data of the request message for the response message without using DynamicConfigurationBean and it should work for any standard adapter module. It involves writing a tiny wrapper adapter module following the the approach presented here: Adapter Module: ExceptionCatcherBean
I didn't try it, since it was only my fallback solution, but it should work.
Hi Stefan,
Many thanks for this blog.
Could you please let me know if these UDFs are used in request or response mappings?
And to just let you know - in my scenario, I have to send the request IDoc number in the response IDoc. I can get either success or fault response from target system. I have three mappings in total - Request IDoc to SOAP mapping, SOAP response to response IDoc mapping and SOAP fault to response IDoc mapping.
Regards,
Aditya
I got this. Thank you once again.
Regards,
Aditya
Hi Stefan,
I have a similar scenario and facing issue while creating response IDoc. Could you please check IDoc AAE receiver channel in ResponseOnewayBean
Regards,
Aditya
Hello Stefan.
I am facing the problem being described.
It would be good to use your approach but I have to save random number of values. I mean, there is 1..unbounded node in source message, and I have to save values of "ID" element from each node.
OK, it is possible to write them into DC with UDF: keys will be Id1, Id2, .. IdN, namespace will be unique for these keys.
But is it possible to configure DynamicConfigurationBean so that all keys from certain namespace would be saved in module data and be available in response message?
Thanks for this Stefan! I'll try this out as suggested by Praveen 🙂
Excellent blog, Stefan.
Thanks for such informative blog Stefan!
I tried implementing this in REST adapter, the value is getting stored but is not getting fetched. Is it because of the REST adapter?
Thanks,
Pankaj
The parameters should be:
key.1 & value.1
key.2 & value.2
Thanks Stefan! Able to post the stored value now.
Regards,
Pankaj
Hello Stefan,
Thank you for helpful blog!
One question
Are you sure that namespace should be used there?
I tried with multiple keys and it works for REST adapter with the following configuration only
Thank you!
Hi Olga,
Thank you for sharing your experience with REST adapter.
I have not worked with REST adapter so far and this information is very useful for me.
Regards
Stefan
The module parameter is mentioned in SAP note 974481, example 6 & 7
Hi Stefan, Hi all,
I have an Sync Interface called from ERP Proxy -> REST Receiver with Request / Response Mapping. I need to pass a value from the request to the response. I have tried it with your hints, but it fails. Apparently the Module is able to write, but not to read. Any help is welcome.
I have also tried to put the Rest Adapter Bean into the middle with the same result. Also I have used RRB with ROB Bean, but as the Interface is already Sync i guess it is not needed.
Stefan Grube
Any Idea?
The parameters should be:
key.1 & value.1
key.2 & value.2
The REST module should be in the middle
Thanks, that worked. I thought "value" is dynamic and should be replaced with the value of the dynamic object. Also i thought that key.2 & value.2 should be also "1" as the module should read the parameter written within DC1.
My fault, you can use key.1 and value.1 for DC1 and DC2 both.
But you can use different numbers as well. | https://blogs.sap.com/2015/08/28/copy-value-from-request-message-to-response-message-using-dynamicconfigurationbean-and-dynamic-header-fields/ | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | refinedweb | 1,409 | 65.42 |
From: Steven Watanabe (steven_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-02-05 17:07:01
AMDG
Andrey Semashev <andysem <at> mail.ru> writes:
>
> Well, the dispatcher is quite safe even if it's initialized more than
> once and even concurrently. Being a namespace-scope object is quite
> sufficient for it. But state names, which are std::strings, are quite
> fragile in this way. And unfortunately volatile flags won't help here.
>
You can use const char* or aligned_storage
In Christ,
Steven Watanabe
Boost list run by bdawes at acm.org, gregod at cs.rpi.edu, cpdaniel at pacbell.net, john at johnmaddock.co.uk | https://lists.boost.org/Archives/boost/2007/02/116333.php | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | refinedweb | 101 | 78.85 |
Phillip Ezolt wrote:> Does flock/fcntl wake up all of the processes that are waiting on the lock?> > If so, has the thundering herd problem just been pushed into flock/fcntl> instead of accept?> > >> > I'm willing to accept any well founded explanation, and this is where> > most of the concern has been coming from.yes, as can be demonstrated by running the attached program, eg: slock -s 60will start 60 contending processes, and the load average willtend towards 60. the load should tend to 1 since at most oneprocess can actually hold the file lock.at a first glance this would appear tricky to fix. fixing the accept()race looks to be trivial if we had a decent semaphore implementation.who's working on that?jan-simon.#include <unistd.h>#include <stdlib.h>#include <stdio.h>#include <errno.h>#include <fcntl.h>#include <sys/file.h>#include <string.h>static intforkn(int n){ int i; pid_t pid; for (i = 0; i < n; i++) { pid = fork(); switch (pid) { case -1: fprintf(stderr, "slock: fork: %s\n", strerror(errno)); break; case 0: return (i); default: break; } } return (n);}intmain(int c, char *v[]){ int fd = STDIN_FILENO; int ch, id, nservers, nxid; char xid[12]; nservers = 1; while ((ch = getopt(c, v, "s:")) != EOF) { switch (ch) { case 's': nservers = atoi(optarg); if (nservers < 1) nservers = 1; break; } } id = forkn(nservers); nxid = sprintf(xid, "%d ", id); for (;;) { flock(fd, LOCK_EX); flock(fd, LOCK_UN); /*write(1, xid, nxid);*/ }} | http://lkml.org/lkml/1999/5/10/70 | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | refinedweb | 244 | 59.23 |
Core Integration Testing Framework
has been edited by Emmanuel Lécharny
(Jun 05, 2008).
(View changes)
Work in progress.
In the 1.5 branch, we upgraded to JUnit 4.4 from JUnit 3.8.1. This new version of JUnit is architecturally different from the old version used and it offers several advantages which we can exploit. These JUnit 4.4 advances in combination with Java 5 annotations and the new snapshotting feature resulted in some very interesting ideas for a new integration testi framework.
The material below presumes you already have a working knowledge of JUnit 4.4 as well as the older 3.8.1 version. If you need a primer there are several out there however we have one here as well.
Let's quickly define what an LDAP or Apache DS based integration test may mean to you:
#1 You have an LDAP driven application that requires a live LDAP server (or what feels like one) to be present and available to test your application as realistic a simulated environment as possible.
#2 You're an Apache Directory Developer or user and you want to quickly setup many test cases where the server is running and you can test various scenarios.
Let's talk the possibilities in terms of "what if you could do .." scenarios. Just imagine the simplest case where you just want a standard instance of the core directory service up and running so you can just write a bunch of test methods. It would be real nice to just specify a runner to use and this runner would simply start the directory server and stop it:
@RunWith( CiRunner.class)
public class SampleITest
{
public static DirectoryService service;
@Test public void checkService0() throws Exception
{
assertNotNull( service );
assertTrue( service.isStarted() );
}
}
All we did was create a simple class (which note does not extend TestCase) with a single test method. This basic test method, checkService(), is tagged using the JUnit 4 @Test annotation to declare the method a test case. This is all thanks to JUnit 4.
Now closer inspection shows that there is no initialization of the static DirectoryService parameter yet this test should pass. The idea is to have the custom runner specified with the JUnit 4 @RunWith annotation drive the instantiation, configuration and startup of the core service. The test method is merely left to conduct it's tests.
This is pretty cool but wait! What happens if we have two tests and one changes the contents of directory? Won't the two tests collide to produce false negatives like in this scenario? :
@RunWith( CiRunner.class)
public class SampleITest
{
static DirectoryService service;
@Test public void testUserAdd() throws Exception
{
addUser( "uid=akarasulu,ou=users,ou=system", "secret" );
}
@Test public void testAddOuThenModifyAndCheck() throws Exception
{
addUser( "uid=akarasulu,ou=users,ou=system", "secret" );
setUserPassword( "uid=akarasulu,ou=users,ou=system", "new_secret" );
}
}
So if the server is started for this test class and these tests run. The one that runs second will fail because the user entry will have already been created. We could have written the test to delete the user if that user was present before adding that user, however this changes the characteristics of the test case.
It sure would be nice if the runner could give us the service in it's original state. And this is what we did before in the core-unit project with the JUnit 3.8.1 based unit tests using setUp() and tearDown() methods in a special AbstractTestCase. The biggest problem with this approach is the confusing overriding of the configuration by subclasses, and the needless time and CPU this wastes to shutdown, destroy, delete, create, and start new instances of the server.
With the new snapshot capability built into the core we can revert the server to a previous state that was tagged. The server then appears just like new to tests while the overhead of a shutdown, destroy, delete, create and start are not felt for each test. A 6-7 time reduction in the time taken for integration tests to run occurred on average using this revert feature.
So to answer the questions above, no the two tests will not collide. The runner will automatically tag the point at which a test starts. Then the test is run. When the next test is run the service is rolled back to it's original state before the server started running the first test.
Sometimes though tests may not need a roll back. Some may want to accumulate changes, others might want pristine installations with this expensive cycle, some may just need a restart with persistence of data, and others might not even require a service to be running at all.
We're in Java 5 land so we can write our own annotation as a cue to the CiRunner. The runner will use this annotation either on the test class or on the test method to determine how to setup the service. If the value is set on the test class then all test methods will default to that value. When present on the test class and on a test method then the test method value is more specific and it overrides the test class SetupMode. If not specified on either a class or on a test method a system wide default is used: see the tip on defaults below. Initially we can allow the following enumerated values to the SetupMode annotation:
So now we have the concept of a setup mode with test class level defaults that can be overridden for specific test methods which controls the setup life cycle. We have a good idea of the most common cases above and can add others if need be.
A system wide default is needed for the SetupMode. We chose to use ROLLBACK because of various reasons that are explained in the appendix. It's nice to override this default with specific test classes and test methods. Soon with the discussion of suites, we will encounter another level of potentially overriding the SetupMode. As you may have noticed some kind of SetupMode inheritence is begining to emerge. Everything inherits from the system wide default. Test classes may inherit their SetupMode from the test suite level, and test methods may inherit their SetupMode from a test class. Even though this has nothing to do with Java Class or Annotation inheritance it still is a form of custom property inheritance. Defaults coupled with inheritance helps reduce the verbosity of annotations. It can also help in other ways as well. We may attempt to leverage this for other aspects of the framework but we must be careful because it can cause problems to arise.
Yeah it makes no sense to accumulate changes. Why would we bother to do this unless one test needs the results of the other. Some would say if you need the results of another test just execute that test as a method at the start of your dependent test method. This works too. But then there is no reason for having a CUMULATIVE setup mode then though.
We need to figure out just how useful this is to us. However one option to use in conjunction with the CUMULATIVE SetupMode would be to enable a precondition/precursor/dependency kind of annotation. This annotation would tell the running to execute certain test methods before others. It would also have to detect potential cycles but this is not hard. Then it would establish a test plan and use that to drive the order of test method execution.
I really like this idea in general besides it's usefulness when paired with the CUMULATIVE SetupMode because it takes away that age old hack I used to use to order my tests. The tests are ordered by JUnit using the getDeclaredMethod() mechanism to query the methods in a class. This uses regular alphabetical word ordering but this may have odd results especially with internationalization. It's just a hack and this feature is long overdue in JUnit. It would be nice to have it here for our framework. At a minimum it can be used to run simpler tests first. Also if a simple test fails which another complex test depends on then the depending test can simply be aborted rather than being marked as a failure.
Obviously the pie in the sky picture overlooks some important things. You want to control how the server is configured and preload it with data if that is a requirement. These are things that can be handled elegantly using annotations and the power of a custom framework. Furthermore they can be leveraged for documentation purposes to better describe and document tests as well as what they are doing.
I always hated writing setUp and tearDown code in the old JUnit 3.8 way. You could not control it well enough for the entire class or individual tests. Then for complex tests you have mix a lot of configuration, startup and data loading all together and it gets messy. Then with inheritance using a base class things get a little better but it gets a bit confusing with life cycle aspects as you try to have subclasses tweak configuration a bit.
What if we divide and conquer to clearly separate service creation from any preparatory work needed to be done. Also instead of using inline methods that were not very useful what about using factories (or builder objects) to produce instances of the service. This is really nice for reuse and furthermore it allows us to utilize containers which essentially serve as builders that wire together services. Furthermore this can be coupled with the same concepts used before with the SetupMode annotation. Again an annotation can be used to specify the factory to be used, along with same pattern of defaults and inheritance.
So let's presume a Factory annotation exists which contains a Class. The system wide default is the default constructor of the DefaultDirectoryService. A special default factory is created for this which uses safe smart defaults for everything. Now a test suite, test class and test method at their respective levels can override the factory used. Furthermore their factories might be able to leverage other factories from their superiors.
Think about this case. You have a test suite A with test classes Foo and Bar in it. Suite A defines a factory which overrides the system default. Foo overrides this with it's own @Factory annotation, yet Foo's factory can access the factory of the suite. So if it wanted too Foo's factory can use the test suite factory to instantiate the base object that it will alter. This way Foo's does not have to reproduce the configuration code in the factory specified by it's superior Suite A. This reuse capability can come in very handy. Eventually a collection of factories will arise naturally enabling various features for testing.
Note that the CiRunner is responsible for figuring out which factory to use for each test that it runs. The CiSuite which we will get into later delegates to the CiRunners and allows then to access it's settings. The CiRunner must consider a parent test suite if it is included in one as well as the various SetupModes to determine when and how to use a Factory. Once it does so it can use an instance of a factory to create new instances governed by the setup mode.
Some test methods need data to already be present. It's hard to document these kinds of prerequisites of a test method, its test class or a suite if the load of information is done via code. It's also repetitive and error prone if done in code as well as tedious. It makes no sense to do this by hand in code.
It would be really nice to have an @ApplyLdif annotation which would take an array of Strings arguments each element can be a valid LDAP operation encoded as an LDIF. This way the preload information is easy to document, explicitly stated and can be applied automatically by the runner without hand written code. Here's an example of what this would look like:
@ApplyLdifs ( { // First entry
"dn: ou=test1,ou=system\n" +
"changeType: add\n" +
"objectClass: organizationalUnit\n" +
"ou: test1\n\n", // Second entry
"dn: ou=test2,ou=system\n" +
"changeType: add\n" +
"objectClass: organizationalUnit\n" +
"ou: test2\n\n" })
@Test
public void deleteOu()
{
delete( "ou=test,ou=system" );
}
Above there was a single LDIF applied but more than one can be included and separated using the annotation syntax for arrays. So a stream of operations can be conducted against the service before the test method is launched with control over the order of LDIF application.
Note that this annotation can be used at the Suite level, the Class level or the Method level.
The following annotation is not implemented yet.
This is neat but it will not scale well. It's obvious that it will get clunky after a while and should only be used for at most the trivial cases to prevent the java class file from really becoming an LDIF file.
So this leads us to yet another possibility. How about another tag to bulk load LDIFs from a file. We can use the @ApplyLdifFiles annotation to inform the runner of a set of LDIF files it should run in order. This annotation is also an array of Strings but should probably hold the URL for the file. Here's what it might look like:
@ApplyLdifFiles(
{
"",
""
}
)
@Test
public void deleteEntries()
{
delete( "o=Apache,ou=system" );
delete( "o=Eclipse,ou=system" );
delete( "o=OpenLDAP,ou=system" );
delete( "uid=akarasulu,ou=users,ou=system" );
delete( "uid=elecharny,ou=users,ou=system" );
delete( "uid=szoerner,ou=users,ou=system" );
}
This mechanism can be used for more than just loading data. It can also be used to modify, rename, move and delete entries in the directory through the various changeTypes supported by the LDIF. This certainly is a powerful feature to have.
One question though does come up and it has to do with defaults and hierarchy. Should this aspect also follow the same patterns that the SetupMode, and Factory Annotations use or are their some particulars to consider specifically with this mechanism? Yes I think there are particulars because there are more options. First LDIFs can be combined instead of just being replaced. The LDIF preparatory data could be additive or can replace defaults as it does with the other properties. I really don't know what is best here. I can see it being useful in both ways.
The order of annotations are not preserved so ambiguity would be introduced if these two annotations were to be applied together. Which goes first and is there a dependency between the two? These kinds of questions make it even more difficult to implement this data loading feature in the same fashion that defaulting with inheritance is implemented with the other annotations. Perhaps a choice must be made between having one or the other. Or perhaps there needs to be a clearly defined rule like: all @ApplyLdif tags accumulated are applied first from parent objects down etc.
Thoughts?
Comment by Emmanuel Lécharny.
The @ApplyLdifFiles is really interesting, but I'm just wondering if it can work with simple file names like test.ldif? The idea is to detect that we don't have a file:// in from of the name, to be able to load the ldif associated with the test (it will be stored in src/test/resources/<same package as the test>/test.ldif )
The role of test suites is very important. Suites will enable us to reduce integration test times even further. I suspect a natural dynamic that will emerge where we will begin to group tests into suites because they use the same configuration. This way the service only needs to be created and started once while using the ROLLBACK mode with the snapshot reverting feature. This can have a dramatic impact.
However to do this the default trickle down and the way the service life cycle is managed in the different scopes of testing from suite level, class level to test method level will need to be clearly defined. We need to be able to control situations where test classes will want to shutdown and destroy the service after all tests have already run. These tests must not do so if there is a shared instance that is being used by the suite for all tests and test classes otherwise there is little benefit.
What does this mean?
Both are cool concepts. I really thought of (2) first. As a user writing an LDAP driven application I may want to set up the unit tests to work with ApacheDS since it's embedded and easy. But I may also want to run the same tests once and a while (say before releasing my application) on OpenLDAP, Active Directory, or SUN DS. So it would be nice to have a generic DirectoryService object that acts as an adapter for over the wire requests. The tests think this is not over the wire since it's the core they are testing.
For most black box tests the DirectoryService is really used as a factory for creating JNDI contexts. This might change in the future but it's a good idea to think about how we can easily make the test code work against other service if that is something we desired.
Now option (1) is a really cool concept. It would be pretty easy to pull off too. Basically you need to have a service that sits on remote machines waiting for test requests. Since we know what tests and suites will need to run in a single thread since we want to do one test at a time per instance we can determine how to easily parallelize tests.
Dynamically with a scheduler we can swap out some runners for a remote runner which for all practical purposes runs in the same way as the local ones do. However instead the remote runner would contact the testing daemon on the remote host and request that it run a unit of tests that can be parallelized. This would require working directory synchronization but it would not be that hard to do at all. Furthermore a test daemon can always have a hot pristine service (sounds pornographic don't it?) ready and running for tests that can just start pounding it.
All good stuff - let's add that to the list of nice to have thingys.
I've already begun implementing a working prototype in the bigbang and started using it for some tests. Here's a link to the code:
Bigbang SVN sources
Note that once the bigbang is removed it will most likely be here:
Trunk SVN sources(not yet existing)
Here's the current state of the prototype:
The CiRunner and the CiSuite have been written with the ability to process these tags above. Yes there is much more work to be done. They seem to work really well though. I will continue working on this while I move integration tests over from core-unit to core-integ. This will help me formulate a better approach as finer grained requirements start to appear as I convert tests. When I'm done I will keep core-unit there for those that still prefer the old style of testing with JUnit 3.8.1 harnesses.
We need to define many things so this solution is easily implemented as well as maintained. Everything from some information on JUnit 4 internals to how we intend to customize it. Also we need to know exactly how we want the system to behave as we use Annotations to tweak the behavior without ambiguity.
The states of a service used for testing are important and must be tracked. We have to do a number of things based on the SetupMode, the scope of the test harness etc to determine what actions to take. The if-then-else conditions can balloon out of control especially when we combine it with the runner life cycle in JUnit. So it's a good idea for us to lists the states and draw a good old state diagram not to mention eventually using the State pattern in the implementation.
Below pristine means we know the service is untouched; the disk image is the same way it is exactly as it was after a fresh new install. Dirty means we don't know if it is pristine. Reverted is not dirty but it's not pristine. It appears for all practical purposes of the tests to be conducted to be pristine.
Actions represent the operations performed during the testing process which transition the tested service's state. Hence they are transition arcs on a state diagram. The actions are defined below:
Now let's mix the states and the actions together:
I would suggest a slightly different state diagram :
The default setup mode to use is ROLLBACK. Why you might ask is it not NOSERVICE? The user shown us their intentions and has made a conscious decision to conduct tests with a running core service by selecting this Runner in the first place via the @RunWith JUnit annotation. So by default it makes sense to just give them that if they decide to use it in any of the tests contained which is most likely the case otherwise why would they bother to use this runner. The thing is some tests may need the service and some might not even use it. If the ROLLBACK mode is used then there is no cost incurred for having a running server in the background. The server will be used anyway at some point by some tests. When not used by some tests there are no rollbacks and so the service just sits waiting for tests to use it.
As you can see the best option for the default is the ROLLBACK mode. When a suite is present however mode inheritance can be utilized to override this default. | http://mail-archives.apache.org/mod_mbox/directory-commits/200806.mbox/raw/%3C347844437.1212658860013.JavaMail.www-data@brutus%3E/ | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | refinedweb | 3,701 | 61.67 |
Subscriber callback function not called when trying to capture data using Kinect [Solved]
This is my current code. It's a node, and I use rosrun to execute/run it.
#include <iostream> #include <ros/ros.h> #include <sensor_msgs/Image.h> #include <sensor_msgs/image_encodings.h> #include <cv_bridge/cv_bridge.h> #include <opencv2/highgui/highgui.hpp> #include <string.h> #include <ros/callback_queue.h> using namespace std; char filename[50]; int imgtype; bool done=false; static const int MY_ROS_QUEUE_SIZE = 100; void depth_node_callback(const sensor_msgs::Image::ConstPtr& msg) { cout << "Entering Callback" << endl; cv_bridge::CvImageConstPtr cv_ptr; cv_ptr = cv_bridge::toCvShare(msg); double max = 0,min=0; cv::minMaxLoc(cv_ptr->image, &min, &max, 0, 0); cv::Mat normalized,op; cv_ptr->image.convertTo(normalized, CV_32F, 255/(max-min), -min) ; cv::imwrite(filename,normalized); done=true; } int main(int argc, char **argv) { string type; strcpy(filename,argv[1]); imgtype=atoi(argv[2]); ros::init(argc, argv, "depth_node"); cout << "Ready to save image" << endl; ros::NodeHandle nh; if(imgtype==1) type="camera/rgb/image_color"; else if(imgtype==0) type="camera/depth_registered/image_raw"; ros::Subscriber sub = nh.subscribe(type,MY_ROS_QUEUE_SIZE, depth_node_callback); while(!done && ros::ok()) ros::spinOnce(); cout <<filename<<" Saved" << endl; return 0; }
The callback function doesn't get called at all. It just kind of gets stuck and doesn't do anything.
I am attempting to execute this node above that I have created at specific intervals and every interval it should take the necessary images and move forward to the next command (without having to ctrl+c myself), but it gets stuck without entering the callback function.
Update I didn't mention properly that I use rosrun to call this node. But I also use rosrun right before this to call another node. Does that make any difference? I don't have an issue with the one before this (but that's not my own code/node).
I noticed similar posts here which all mentioned spinOnce() which I included based on their suggestion right at the beginning.
Update 2 Based on the given answer I added the rate.sleep(). However that leads to two issues. One I enter the callback initially and exit, without it doing anything, then it repeats that and writes the image as it's supposed to. So I don't know what that "blank call" the first time. And it either does that multiple times or not at all, so is that an issue with the Kinect trying to get the image? or with the code?
Done! Kinect Ready to save image Entering Callback Entering Callback Entering Callback c_jac00.png Saved Ready to save image
The second issue is that I am running two rosrun commands back to back for this node. The first one is to get image_color (rgb), the second to get image_raw gets "stuck" again. What's the reason behind that?
I also get the following warning
[ WARN] [1438986321.518503590]: TF exception: Lookup would require extrapolation into the past. Requested time 1438986013.498032942 but the earliest data is at time 1438986311.630285300, when looking up transform from frame [camera_depth_optical_frame] to frame [camera_rgb_optical_frame]
Solution @allenh1 's answer worked ... (more)
@tfoote - I noticed some questions where you tried to solve this problem I believe. Could you take a look? The proposed solution isn't working entirely. | https://answers.ros.org/question/214749/subscriber-callback-function-not-called-when-trying-to-capture-data-using-kinect-solved/ | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | refinedweb | 541 | 59.19 |
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9a3pre) Gecko/20070305 Minefield/3.0a3pre Build Identifier: This ValidateNode() is invoked when submission is called and MDG computes node states, ie valid. If node has complex content, then it never validates as simple type handling treats as unknown schema type. This is fairly major, as it blocks submission even when content is valid. Reproducible: Always
Created attachment 259797 [details] test case
Created attachment 259798 [details] [diff] [review] patch I also fixed a couple misuses of namespace constants in validator. It was using XSD namespace and not XSI, so it was wrongly looking for xsd:type.
checked into trunk for sspeiche
checked into 1.8 branch on 2007-04-12 checked into 1.8.0 branch on 2007-04-16 | https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=375546 | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | refinedweb | 135 | 69.18 |
Social Marketing Behavior
A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
William A. Smith and John Strand
AED
We believe in the power of social marketing to change behavior. Indeed, we began helping mothers
to re-hydrate their children in 1978. The positive effects were remarkable, and we haven’t looked
back since. For HIV victims, we fought stigma, delivering behavior change that combined treatment
and prevention. For civil society advocates, we’re exploring the power of technology to build
networks, and the subsequent power of networks to change the behavior of systems.
Every day we partner with communities across the U.S. and throughout the world. Our work requires
more than slick marketing materials and catchy slogans. Our results are a reflection of an unwavering
commitment to the principles and philosophy of social marketing which we share here with you…
ii
Table of Contents
About This Book
Overview
The Single Most Important Thing
The Basics
Social Marketing
Thinking Like a Marketer
1. Know exactly who your audience is and look at everything from that group’s
point of view.
2. Your bottom line: When all is said and done, the audience’s action is what counts.
3. Make it easy-to-irresistible for your audience to act.
4. Use the four Ps of marketing.
5. Base decisions on evidence and keep checking in.
The BEHAVE Framework
Working Toward a Strategy
Determining the Kind of Change Problem You Face
Research
What is Behavior?
What’s a behavior?
Observable Actions
Target Audience
Under specific conditions
Behavioral Science
Determinants of Behavior
Theory and Practice
Social Learning Theory (or the role of social norms)
Stages of Change (or a way to segment audiences)
Diffusion of Innovation (or how to define benefits that audiences care about)
Research
Source research
Qualitative research
Quantitative research
Doer/Nondoer Analysis
From Behavior to Strategies
Determinants and the Concept of Exchange
Determinants and the Concept of Exchange
Benefits: what’s in it for them, if they perform the action?
Support
The Competition
From Determinants to Program Activities
1
2
3
5
6
9
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10
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12
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Table of Contents iii
Marketing Mix
Product
Product Considerations
Consumer Demand Product Design Principles
The Price P
The Place P
The Promotion P
Promotional Tactics
Aperture
Exposure
Integration
Affordability
Advertising
Hiring an advertising agency
Managing an Advertising Agency
Types of advertising
Public Relations
Hiring a PR firm
Partnerships
When 1 + 1 = 3
Execution
The Marketing Process
Marketing Plans
The Strategy Statement
BEHAVE Strategy statement
Alternate Strategy Statement
The BEHAVE-based Marketing Plan
Step 1: Name your bottom line.
Step 2: Name the behavior you want to change.
Step 3: Develop a strategy.
Step 4: Define the marketing mix.
Step 5: Prototyping and pre-testing.
Step 6: Implement.
Step 7: Evaluate.
Step 8: Refine the campaign.
Social Marketing Tools
43
44
44
45
48
19
50
51
51
51
52
52
54
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57
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Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Execution
1
4
Marketing Mix
Research 2
Behavior
3
About This Book
Overview
The Single Most Important
Thing
2
About This Book
Overview
AED first became involved with social marketing in 1978 when we were asked to promote
the widespread use of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) to reduce infant mortality from diarrhea.
We couldn’t have asked for a better starting place.
A complex marketing problem, ORT required that we: redesign the ORT product to meet the
needs of varying countries and audiences; develop innovative distribution systems in countries
where health infrastructure was all but non-existent; reduce the emotional and skill costs of
using ORT; and then find imaginative ways to explain why an infant should drink a liter of medicine
everyday to tens of thousands of mothers who could not read, had no television, and
had little trust in government. We did all of this in 15 languages and dozens of cultures while
fighting a medical system that had not yet come to believe that ORT was proven practice.
Since that early program, we have had the opportunity to “social market” immunizations, condoms,
TB testing services, anti-malaria bed nets, and beta-blockers. We have helped protect
watersheds, saved reefs from over-fishing, reduced small engine pollution, and helped teens
protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. And the list goes on and on - from public health to
environmental protection, to traffic safety to education reform.
Along the way, we have made a lot of mistakes and tried to learn from every one of them.
We have come to believe that:
Social marketing represents a unique system for understanding
who people are, what they desire and then
organizing the creation, delivery and communication
of products, services and messages to meet their desires
while at the same time meeting the needs of society
and solve serious social problems.
We developed this book, Social Marketing Behavior, as a first primer on social marketing. Its
goal is to introduce you to the concept, the process and the application of social marketing to
a wide range of social problems.
About This Book 3
The Single Most Important Thing
If you take only one thing from this book, let it be this: LISTEN. Listen to the people whose
behavior marketer – to tell them what to do. Even then, if you can get their attention
long enough to tell them either the risks they face or the wonderful benefits of something like
efficient lighting, they still may not change their behavior. They may even know that the more
efficient light bulb will save them a lot of money. They may listen when you tell them it will
help the environment. And they still might just go out to the store and buy a bunch of big, ugly,
energy-wasting light bulbs. Rest assured, they have their reasons.
This book is about understanding people’s reasons for behavior, and using that understanding
to change behavior through social marketing. The social marketing discipline is based on the
idea that all marketing is an exchange, if you want people to change their behavior, you have
to offer them something – security, information, an image, a feeling of belonging, whatever it
takes. To know what to offer your audience, you need to listen to them, in order to understand
what they want – not just what you think they need.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
The Basics
Social Marketing
Thinking Like a Marketer
The BEHAVE Framework
Working Toward a Strategy
6
The Basics
Social Marketing
Eat your vegetables. Wear your seat belt. Forget your car; take the bus.
These are the kinds of actions that can benefit an entire community. If people are safer and
healthier, they will put less of a strain on the health care system. If people use mass transit, the
highways will not be clogged and the air will be cleaner. But, if these things are ever going to
happen, society needs some help.
Individuals have to change their behavior. And behavior change is what social marketing is
all about.
Social marketing is the utilization of marketing theories and techniques to influence behavior in
order to achieve a social goal. In other words, social marketing is similar to commercial marketing,
except that its goal is not to maximize profits or sales; the goal is a change in behavior that
will benefit society – such as persuading more people to use efficient lighting.
Of course, there are thousands of ways to work towards social goals, not all of which involve
social marketing. Attempts to accomplish social goals can be divided into two categories:
behavioral and nonbehavioral. For example, to prevent highway fatalities, one could install air
bags in cars (nonbehavioral) or one could persuade more people to wear seat belts (behavioral).
Nonbehavioral solutions tend to be in the area of technology. Behavioral solutions, on the
other hand, often require social marketing. 1
So how does social marketing work? Take a look at figure 1 on the next page. Everything above
the dotted line is involved in changing behavior; this is social marketing. The behavior is the
goal – the specific action you want a specific audience to undertake. Whether people engage
in a behavior is based on how they view that decision, or their perceptions: What are the
benefits? Does it seem difficult to do? Can someone like me do it? Are other people doing it?
Will people laugh at me if I do it?
1 Although this book addresses social marketing and behavioral solutions to social problems, it is important to note that
nonbehavioral solutions are also effective and should be considered every time we work for social change.
The Basics 7
Social Marketing
Figure 1: Social Marketing Framework
education
services,
products
and policy
regulation
Information/
External
Structures
Policy
Determinants,
Benefits and
Barriers
social marketing
Behavior
Non
Behavioral
Social Benefit
Trying to figure out which perceptions influence a behavior (we call these determinants) is at
the heart of social marketing. If you are unaware of which determinants influence a behavior,
you can’t know what type of marketing solution is necessary. These critical determinants are
influenced by outside forces, such as information - what people know and believe - and external
structures - such as the availability of efficient lighting or the quality of a compact fluorescent
lamp (CFL). It is the social marketer’s job to affect those outside forces (by providing information,
for example) to change the determinants that influence behavior. The key is knowing what those
determinants are and what outside forces might change those determinants, and hence that
behavior.
Often, the most important determinant is not the one that we expect. Consider a recent campaign
in Florida to reduce youth tobacco use. For years, teens had been told that tobacco was
bad for their health. Their reaction? Smoking increased. Why? Health wasn’t the determinant.
In fact, teen smokers already knew the health risks (and some even believed them to be worse
than they really are). A closer look revealed that the determinants motivating the teen smoking
were the benefits of smoking, such as looking cool and rebelling against authority. To these
teens, those benefits outweighed the risks. So, the state developed a campaign focused on the
determinants motivating the behavior, instead of just repeating the health risks. The result: a 19
percent decline in middle school smoking rates.
What is important to remember about the social marketing framework shown above is this: before
one is able make a decision about the interventions needed – the information or external
structures shown above – one must know which determinants are important to the behavior.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
8
The Basics
Social Marketing
This is why audience research is such a critical part of the social marketing process. Good social
marketing is rooted in behavioral science, not in guesswork or slick copy. A strategy must
be developed, one based on research that drives everything else – from the target audience,
to a PSA script, to what types of services you decide to offer.
Spotlight on Social Marketing
Projects
AIDSCOM used humor to reduce
the stigma of using condoms.
Partner: USAID
The Basics 9
Thinking Like a Marketer
Marketing is an exchange. The marketer asks the consumer to perform an action (say, buying
a Coke) and in exchange, the marketer gives the consumer a benefit (for example, sweet taste
and a cool image). This is true in commercial marketing, where the objective is to get people to
buy something, and as you can see in the figure below, it is also true in social marketing, where
the goal can be encouraging a behavior that benefits society.
Figure 2: Marketing is About an Exchange
Changes behavior
Consumer Marketers
Gives benefit consumer cares about
Given this basic concept of exchange, it is clear why you must think about what you are offering
members of your audience. After all, they are unlikely to do something just because you asked.
That said, a marketer’s offering does not have to be something concrete. We are all familiar with
commercial marketing campaigns that try to add value to a product by associating it with an
image – that is part of what separates Coke from the grocery brand. Social marketers can use
those same techniques and more.
So, what does it mean to “think like a marketer?” In part, it is recognizing your side of the
exchange – the fact that you need to offer something. What’s more, a social marketer should
understand some of the basic principles of marketing. Of course, there are many marketing
principles. Entire textbooks are written about just one slice of marketing. In social marketing
however, five principles are among the most important:
1. Know exactly who your audience is and look at everything from that group their perspective - what
do they want, struggle with, care about, dislike?
The people you are talking to will not listen if
they sense that you do not understand them.
Given this basic concept of exchange,
it is clear why you must
think about what you are offering
members of your audience. After
all, they are unlikely to do something
just because you asked.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
10
The Basics
Thinking Like a Marketer
One way to get a handle on understanding an audience is to break it down into groups. This is
called “segmentation.” The idea of segmentation is to break up the entire audience into smaller
groups with whom you can use the same strategies to reach and persuade them. It also requires
being as specific as possible in describing exactly who you’re reaching, because for each
segment, you might reach members of the audience in a different place, and when you reach
them use a different pitch.
The best way to implement this
principle is to define and promote
a specific, simple action for the
target audience to perform.
If you are having difficulty grasping segmentation,
consider different ads on TV or in magazines.
Commercial ads simply do not attempt
to reach the entire U.S. population. In fact, it is
usually pretty easy to determine who the audience
segment is for a specific ad. Some ads
are directed to men who watch football; others
are directed to women who are at home during the day. They are not only selling different products,
but also using different strategies that match the characteristics of the target audience.
2. Your bottom line: When all is said and done, the audience’s action is what counts.
Unlike classroom teaching or entertainment, all marketers really care about is action. You want
people to perform a behavior – in the CFL case, to buy, install, or recommend efficient lighting.
Although you might want to educate people about the benefits of CFLs, the attributes of your
brand or the dangers of wasting energy, if you do not get them to take action, your program has
failed. It has failed regardless of how much people learned about how great CFLs are, or how
readily they can identify your brand.
The best way to implement this principle is to define and promote a specific, simple action for
the target audience to perform.
And remember: What looks like a simple, straightforward action to us is sometimes more
complex to your audience. The clearer you are about the action or behavior, the more successful
your programs will be. Behavioral scientists can help you to analyze a behavior. While you
may not have those credentials, you can break larger actions into steps in order to understand
where problems may lie in getting people to perform complex behaviors.
3. Make it easy-to-irresistible for your audience to act.
As noted earlier, social marketing includes the concept of exchange - the assumption that
people behave in certain ways in exchange for benefits they hope to receive. People weigh
options and make these behavioral choices within complex environments.
Basically, if people believe that something benefits them, they will take action. If they believe
there are more costs than benefits to taking action, they typically will not do so. What marketers
are looking for is the tipping point – the point where people believe that there are enough
benefits to outweigh the barriers, or that the benefits matter more than the barriers.
The Basics 11
Thinking Like a Marketer
For the most part, people act in their own best interest. It is our job as social marketers to make
the action we are promoting coincide with what members of the target audience perceive as
being in their best interests. However, it is important to correctly identify what people view as
benefits and as barriers.
To define more clearly, a benefit is something that people want. Usually, it is a promise in
exchange for taking action. Some benefits might include an improved self-image, good health,
peace of mind, convenience, and the approval of people who matter. Note that many of these
benefits are “internal” to the person, something that he or she perceives as a benefit of the
product.
On the other hand, a barrier is something that stands between a person and action. Marketers
think of barriers as costs. They may be actual monetary costs or a different kind of “cost,” such
as inconvenient hours or social stigma. Barriers could be ignorance about how to act, or the
target audience’s belief audience that it does not have the ability to act. Some barriers you can
work on others you cannot.
Essentially, to make an action easy-to-irresistible, a marketer must emphasize the aspects of the
action that the members of the audience believe will be beneficial (benefits) and minimize or
eliminate those things that they believe will get in their way (barriers).
Note, however, that sometimes we assume that the benefit that is important to us is the same
one that is significant to the target audience. Often, this is simply untrue. Social marketers may
have thought that the core benefit of buying an energy efficient light bulb is the impact it has
on preserving the environment. However, while members of the target audience were concerned
about preserving the environment, they were more concerned about their energy costs.
Thus, the target audience needed more information about savings related to energy efficient
light bulbs, in addition to assurance that they were doing their part for the environment.
The Four Ps of Marketing
Product: What you are offering
to help the audience adopt the
desired behavior
Price: The costs, in time, money
or other barriers, of engaging in
the new behavior
Place: Where you offer the
product, your distribution system,
sales force, and support services
Promotion: How marketers
persuade the audience to use
the product
4. Use the four Ps of marketing.
When designing a successful marketing strategy, marketers
often refer to the four Ps. These four ideas help keep efforts
“on-strategy” and guide decisions about what kind of tactics
– using television spots or news events, for example – make
the most sense.
Product: What we offer the audience to satisfy a need.
Product is the tool we use to make the behavior easier to
adopt or more rewarding when compared to the competition.
The product is never the behavior we are changing,
but the support we are providing to facilitate the behavior.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
12
The Basics
The 5 “Thinking like
a Marketer” Principles
Thinking Like a Marketer #1
Know exactly who your audience
is and look at everything from that
group’s point of view.
Thinking Like a Marketer #2
Your bottom line: When all is said
and done, the audience’s action
is what counts.
Thinking Like a Marketer #3
Make it easy-to-irresistible for
your audience to act.
Thinking Like a Marketer #4
Integrated strategy offers four Ps:
- the right product
- at the right price
- in the right places
- with the right promotion.
Thinking Like a Marketer #5
Base decisions on evidence
and keep checking in.
Thinking Like a Marketer
Price: What the audience must give up or overcome to receive the product’s benefits. The
most basic price is monetary. The highest prices are often social or psychological. Messages
and services attempt to lower the various barriers (or prices) that an audience faces.
Place: Channels and locations for distributing the product and related information and support
services. Planners must identify places that offer maximum reach and greatest audience receptivity.
Planners must also aim to help audiences overcome key barriers by expanding access to
products and support services.
Promotion: Efforts to persuade the target audience to try or adopt the product
being offered. The promotional strategy includes not only the content of messages
but also their tone and appeal, their timing, and the credible channels
and spokespersons that will deliver them.
We will discuss how to use the four Ps as critical components of your strategy
in the social marketing section. For an example of how one commercial
company used the four Ps to guide their strategy, see the case on page 13,
Using the Four Ps to Market Indiglo Wristwatches.
5. Base decisions on evidence and keep checking in.
Marketers do not simply follow their instincts or let their own ideas about what
the audience wants drive their programs. Commercial campaigns are often
expensive, and their outcome is monetary. They cannot afford to try out different
options blindly; they have competition. If their campaigns head in the wrong
direction, they could lose market share, not to mention their jobs.
Therefore, marketers, both commercial and social, turn to audience research.
They examine audience needs and wants, buying preferences, and lifestyles as
well as where audiences see advertising and who they believe. This research
is conducted both at the beginning as well as during a campaign. Marketers
also track what is being bought and by whom. Results can be checked against
assumptions. The campaign is not only designed based on research findings
but also changed as the audience’s reaction to the marketing campaign or
product is better understood.
What is important is that you remove as much guesswork as possible and rely on objective evidence.
In the section, research, we describe some of the basics of conducting research. There
are many ways to approach this task, some expensive, and others relatively cheap. Whenever
possible, try to use other people’s research.
Using the Four Ps to Market Indiglo Wristwatches
To better understand the four Ps, let’s look at a straightforward, big-budget campaign by Timex® to market
a watch with a new feature: an Indiglo dial that lights up the entire face of the watch. Marketing in the
commercial world often means big budgets for audience research, advertising and other costs. But the
principals are the same as those applied to social marketing.
The goal: In the world of marketing wristwatches, there already exists a high demand for watches, so you
do not need to sell consumers on the benefit of owning a watch to keep time. Instead, the marketing chal-
lenge is to gain a share of a crowded market. Here’s how the company did just that for Indiglo watches:
The audience
Timex had a great new gimmick. To sell it, they first had to know who was most likely to want this feature
in a watch. Timex looked at the entire audience of potential watch buyers and chose a lifestyle segment:
people who like and buy gadgets.
The action
In commercial marketing, it is easy to see the bottom line. Unless the marketing plan results in lots of watch
purchases, Timex has failed. The marketing department knew exactly what they wanted the audience to
do. It didn’t matter whether they helped the audience feel warm and fuzzy, know all about it, or have better
access to it. None of these factors mattered unless they caused the audience to buy the watch.
Behavioral Determinants
- Promoting the benefit: Timex can build on a long reputation of durable and reliable watches. So the
campaign did not have to convince the audience about the quality of the watch. The tangible benefit that
Timex was promoting was the actual feature of the watch. Timex also marketed intangible benefits, such
as slick, rugged, athletic, outdoorsy, fashionable, high-tech, and hip.
- Minimize the barriers: Timex had to minimize the barrier that Timex is a no-class brand. It did this by
relating the new watch to hip activities, raising the price a bit, and making glossy ads.
The Results
Timex addressed each of the four Ps:
- Product: a watch with a new twist: Indiglo night-light illuminates the entire dial.
- Price: high enough to trust it, low enough for the mass market.
- Place: low-end department stores, discount stores.
- Promotion: sold to retailers first (so they would promote it), advertised on TV, in stores, and magazines.
All of these decisions were based on evidence. Timex did not make a move without checking with the
target audience on issues such as the product design, the name “Indiglo,” and ad ideas. And, Timex moni-
tored sales. With so much at stake in potential sales and the company’s new image, absolutely no choices
were made on a whim.
14
The Basics
The BEHAVE Framework
So, how do you use these marketing principles in the real world? To begin, try breaking down
the behavior you want to change so that you can understand what is behind it. Only then can
you think about how you might change it. At AED, we have developed a simple way to go about
this, something we call the BEHAVE framework. Essentially, it is a worksheet that asks a few
simple, but essential, questions: Who is the audience? What do we want members of the audience
to do? What are their perceptions about the behavior? What can we do to influence those
perceptions?
The BEHAVE framework is organized around these key decisions, those that are made all of the
time by anyone managing a marketing campaign. It is deceptively simple. As you will discover,
however, filling in the blanks requires a lot of informed decision-making.
Figure 3: The BEHAVE Framework
Target Audience
In order to help a specific
target audience
Who?
Know exactly who your
audience is and look at
everything from their
point of view.
Action
To take a specific,
observable action under
certain conditions
Your bottom line. The
audiences action is what
counts.
Determinants
Will focus on: What
determines the action
Why?
People take action when
it benefits them. Barriers
keep them from acting.
Marketing Mix
Through: Marketing mix
aimed at the behavioral
determinants
How?
Your activities should
maximize the benefits
and minimize the barriers
that matter to the target
audience.
The Basics 15
The BEHAVE Framework
The framework is based on the presumption that before you even think about an intervention - a
message, a system change, an outreach effort, whatever - you need to answer three questions:
1. Who is your target audience, and what is important to that audience?
2. What do you want your audience to do?
3. What are the factors or determinants that influence or could influence the behavior,
and are they determinants that a program can act upon?
Once you have answered these three questions, then you can consider this final question:
4. What interventions will you implement that will influence these determinants so that the
determinants, in turn, can influence the behavior?
The answers to these questions are the steps of the BEHAVE framework. As you can see, the
questions are sequential, and each response informs the next. You must know a lot about your
audience before you can identify the action you will promote. And, you should have decided
upon the audience and action before identifying
the perceptions worth addressing. Only
then will you consider what types of interventions
to develop, because the interventions
will act on the perceptions that will act on the
specific action for that audience.
The BEHAVE framework helps
slow your thinking down a bit to
ensure that your assumptions
are valid.
Jumping straight from identifying your audience to designing an intervention is tempting, but
this approach usually fails. We have all seen it happen: “We need to reach young African-American
men; let’s produce a hip-hop video!” someone says. But the video does not connect with
the audience or address the reason these men are not engaging in the desired behavior. The
project is, therefore, doomed to failure.
Using the BEHAVE model is not difficult to do. After all, this approach should not be entirely
new to you. Every day, you make decisions based on evidence and assumptions. However, the
BEHAVE framework helps slow your thinking down a bit to ensure that your assumptions are
valid and that you have thought of everything before you make intervention design decisions.
In the social marketing tools section of this book is a blank BEHAVE framework worksheet.
Photocopy the worksheet and try using it to help you think through your marketing program.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
16
The Basics
Working Toward a Strategy
The BEHAVE framework and all the other tools in this resource book are a guide for you to draft
strategies for successful programs. Put simply, a strategy is a statement that provides a blueprint
for action. It sums up all that you have learned to date and answers twelve basic questions
(see figure 4 below). These questions frame the marketing problem by helping you to define
the broad analytic problems, and narrowing towards developing specific interventions. It is
critical, however, to carefully answer the first questions, as these answers will frame your entire
program; if you don’t correctly identify the audience, the marketing mix you define won’t make
a difference. Take the time to get it right.
Figure 4: Twelve Strategic Questions
Problem Statement
1. What is the social problem I want to address?
2. Who/what is to blame for this problem?
Behavior
3. What action do I believe will best address that problem?
4. Who is being asked to take that action? (audience)
Determinants
5. What does the audience want in exchange for adopting
this new behavior? (key benefit)
6. Why will the audience believe that anything we are
offering is real and true? (support)
7. What is the competition offering? Are we offering
something the audience wants more? (competition)
Interventions
8. What marketing mix will increase benefits they want and
reduce behaviors they care about.
9. What is the best time and place to reach members of our
audience so that they are the most disposed to receiving
the intervention? (aperture)
10. How often and from whom does the intervention have
to be received if it is to work? (exposure)
11. How can I integrate a variety of interventions to act over
time in a coordinated manner to influence the behavior?
(integration)
12. Do I have the resources alone to carry out this strategy
and if not, where can I find useful partners? (affordability)
The Basics 17
Working Toward a Strategy
Determining the Kind of Change Problem You Face
Michael Rothschild argues that there are three classes of behavior change problems: education,
regulation, and marketing. 2 He proposes that marketing’s unique contribution to social change is
the creation, delivery and promotion of products and services. Thus, he argues, classical social
marketing is simply not about education and regulation. Indeed, in our experience, the most
common reason for the failure of social marketing programs is that they default to the education
problem, exclude the regulatory problem as not a marketing solution and ignore the power of
the complete marketing mix to help people make behavior change.
However, we have also found that many important aspects of the social marketing approach
which we discuss in this book – consumer-orientation, competition, exchange, and even the
Promotion P - are valuable, not just to a social marketing program but also to programs focusing
on education and regulation strategies.
For this reason, in order to be effective, we find we are most successful when we ask one critical
question: “What kind of change problem am I facing?” A question which appears at precisely
the moment in the marketing process when you have defined the key behaviors that will make
a difference in your program.
The characteristics of these three problems are listed below. To help identify which category
of problem you program addresses, you should use all the data you have collected about the
problem and the potential audiences. To help you in this process, use the Defining the Problem
Correctly worksheet in the Social Marketing Tools chapter.
Education Problems
Characteristics: People need the basic facts to change. The behavior is relatively simple. Action
requires no outside resources. It is not in conflict with any major societal norm nor does it carry
any significant stigma. It has benefits that are apparent to the audience, but the audience lacks
basic understanding.
Examples: placing a baby on his back to prevent SIDS; withholding aspirin from infants to prevent
Reyes Syndrome
2 Michael Rothschild, “Separating Products and Behaviors,” Social Marketing Quarterly. 14(4). 2008.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
18
The Basics
Working Toward a Strategy
Regulation Problem
Characteristics: The behavior is extremely difficult to perform. Understanding of the behavior
is widespread and multiple attempts have been made to influence it voluntarily. The behavior
causes great damage to society and there is now a consensus it has to be regulated. However,
don’t limit your thinking of regulations to the government forbidding certain actions; regulation
can take many forms. Indeed, it can regulate through discouraging individual behavior like
smoking, or organizational behavior like the marketing of cigarettes to children. It can also
add benefits by providing tax exemptions. And, it can increase barriers like taxing commodities
and services.
Examples: seat belt laws; smoking restrictions; illegal drug laws
Marketing Problem
Characteristics: The behavior is somewhat complex. People need resources, tools, and/or new
skills to perform it well. It is not widely accepted, although it is often widely known. It has significant
immediate barriers and few immediate benefits people care about.
Examples: oral rehydration of infants in the home; using malaria bed nets; using condoms
The most common reason
for failure of social marketing
programs is to default to the
education problem, exclude
the regulatory problem as
not a marketing solution
and ignore the power of the
complete market mix.
Each of these problems requires different
marketing strategies emphasizing different
combinations of the marketing mix. To address
education problems, the promotion P, such as
advertising messages to rapidly disseminate
information on aspirin use for infants, may be
more important than developing new products
or services, pricing, or distribution systems.
Likewise, to address regulatory problems, the
promotion P is the most important element
of the marketing mix, and should be used in
conjunction with advocacy for policy change
that increases the barriers to bad behavior or adds benefits to the preferred behavior. One such
approach would be the use of earned media to publicize new and aggressive enforcement
of seat bet laws. In contrast, addressing the marketing problem may require the development
of new products and services that reduce barriers and increase benefits before promotion
can be effective, such as the creation of specialized goggles to protect migrant workers from
eye accidents.
Research
1
Research
What is Behavior?
Behavioral Science
Research
22
Research
What is Behavior?
Every social marketing program has a behavioral goal. You want to change a behavior - people
are doing one thing; you want them to do another. That’s what your project, or at least a specific
campaign, is about. Which raises an obvious question:
What’s a behavior?
The BEHAVE framework describes a behavior as having three components:
An observable
action...
by a specific
target audience...
under specific
conditions
An example of a BEHAVE behavior: When going to the grocery store, women ages 18 to 24 who
have moved into a new home will buy compact florescent lamps (CFLs) for their outdoor lights.
Notice in the figure below that defining behavior entails two distinct pieces: the audience segment
and the desired action. You constantly re-evaluate both your audience and the behavior
as more research becomes available to you, as you refine your understanding of your audience,
and as you develop your program plan.
Figure 5: Defining Behavior
Target Audience
Who?
A specific target audience
Key Issues Key Issues
Coherence: What holds this
group together? Similar risks,
wants, needs, behaviors,
demographics, etc?
Potential Impact: Is this
segmenting enough to
make a difference in your
bottom line?
Action Behavior
What??)
Condition: Must take into
account the condition
under which this would
take place.
Research 23
What is Behavior?
To understand this better, let’s define more precisely observable actions, target audiences,
and specific conditions. For help in defining the behavior for your project, see the worksheet
Defining Behavior, in the Social Marketing Tools section of this book.
Observable Actions
Let’s start with the observable action. Surprisingly, this is often where many social marketers
make their first mistake. We will use our example from above.
Example: When going to the grocery store, women ages 18 to 24 who have moved into a new
home will buy CFLs for their outdoor lights.
What’s the observable action here? Take a guess. Write it down. Then, try the exercise in the
box below.
Perhaps when you first tried to identify the observable action, you identified raising awareness
as the behavior. Indeed, many campaigns are designed to raise awareness. What does this
mean? Are awareness campaigns marketing or not? The answer is no, they are not marketing
campaigns unless awareness is deliberately tied to a specific behavior. Marketing is always
about behavior. Commercial marketing is about purchase behavior. So too, social marketing is
about what people do, not what they know.
Exercise: Defining Observable Actions
Q: Which of the following phrases describe
an action?
I want my audience to:
1. Be aware of…
2. Understand the importance of…
3. Support the idea of…
4. Call a Hot Line Number.
5. Join a group.
6. Buy a CFL.
7. Believe that energy efficiency is important…
8. Tell a friend that energy efficiency
is important…
9. Know that X number of dollars can be
saved if one uses a CFL.
10. Believe that an ad is true.
A: Numbers 4, 5, 6, and 8 are behaviors. Number
3 might be a behavior; it depends on what
support means. If it means, in their minds, the
audience thinks it is a good idea, then support
is not an action. If it means writing a letter in
support of then, yes, it is an action. As stated,
support is a weak action at best.
The others statements are all attitudes, facts,
or beliefs. They may imply actions, but they are
not actions in themselves.
An action must be observable. Always ask yourself
as a final test, can I see someone be aware,
understand, or know?
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
24
Research
What is Behavior?
Awareness, understanding, belief in and knowing about are all determinants of behavior. (We’ll
talk more about these later.) That is, we believe that they determine behavior. If, for example,
someone knows, understands or believes in buying a CFL, then we think they are more likely
to buy one. Sometimes that’s true. But most of the time, it’s not. Knowing about something and
believing in it are often important requisites to behavior, but they do not, of themselves, lead
to action. Therefore, if you want consumers to buy CFLs, you need to find the most important
determinant of that behavior. That is what social marketing is all about. What is the thing that will
help people who know about the behavior, who even believe in the behavior, to actually adopt
and stick with the behavior?
Now, let’s go back to our example.
Observable action: Buy CFLs when visiting the grocery store.
In this example, it appears that the program planners have done significant audience research
on CFLs. They have identified a specific opportunity: young women who move into a new home
might be willing to buy CFLs, and a grocery store is a likely place for them to do it. The program
planners want to target that specific behavior, not buying CFLs in general.
Target Audience
A target audience is a smaller part, or segment, of the general population. In our example
what is the audience being targeted?
Example: When going to the grocery store, women ages 18 to 24 who have moved into
a new home will buy CFLs for their outdoor lights.
Take a guess. Write it down. Then, keep reading below.
A target audience, or segment, is a group of individuals who share a set of common
characteristics. These characteristics may include:
• Demographics: All are of the same age or income range, same gender or ethnicity. (In our
example, women, ages 18-24)
• Likely buyers: Who are the individuals who might buy something? (The audience might buy
a CFL.)
• How the individuals engage in the behavior. (They buy light bulbs in the grocery store.)
• Wants: The desires of individuals that might be related to the behavior. (They may prefer a lot
of light; they don’t trust unusual-looking light bulbs, etc.)
• Perceptions: They share the same attitudes and values about the behavior. (They don’t think
choosing a light bulb is a big decision.)
• Channels: They share the same channels of communications and look to the same
spokespersons as being credible. (They’ll listen to their kids but not to their husbands.)
Research 25
What is Behavior?
• Readiness to change: They are at the same stage of behavior change. (“I’m interested in
getting new light bulbs that save energy” versus “I will never buy a different kind of light bulb
than the one I’ve been buying for the past 30 years.”)
In addition to being described by common characteristics, a target audience must meet three
criteria in order to be viable candidates for a social marketing intervention.
1. Would changing this audience help us reach our goal?
An audience segment must be part of the problem. Most often, the target audience is at
risk. That is, the target is a group of individuals who are performing the dangerous behavior.
In our example, which we only created to illustrate a point, women ages 18 to 24 go to the
grocery store to buy light bulbs. If we can get them interested in CFLs, they may buy those
instead. If we went after a group of people who never buy light bulbs, it would not matter if we
convinced them that CFLs were a superior choice, because they are not the people who will
actually purchase the light bulbs.
2. Is the audience large enough to make a measurable difference?
It is also pointless to target an audience so small that it won’t make a difference in the overall
goal. Size of the audience is a critical factor to determine early in a program. Too often, we
rely on percentages. We often hear that Audience X represents more than 60 percent of a
population. But how many is 60 percent in real numbers - a thousand or a hundred thousand?
The size of the audience is critical for two reasons: 1) it has to be big enough to matter, and 2)
we need to judge the scale of intervention necessary to effect change.
3. Can the audience be reached effectively given our resources?
At this point, you need to assess your resources. Do you have the political clout to address
policy or structural barriers? Do you have money for paid media? What size of print runs can
you afford? How many outreach workers can you muster? Once you have a sense of your
resources – a well as your limitations – then you must ensure that your segment is matched
with those resources. It is sheer folly to set a goal of reaching 60 percent of your target audience
(example: 2 million men age 16 to 20 who drive) if you only have resources to reach 10
percent to 20 percent of them.
Let’s go back to our example:
Example: When going to the grocery store, women ages 18 to 24 who have moved into a new
home will buy CFLs for their outdoor lights.
Observable action: Buying CFLs at the grocery store
Target audience: Women age 18 to 24 who have moved into new homes.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
26
Research
What is Behavior?
When designing the components of your intervention, you may want to segment even further to
more accurately reach specific groups. You may want to design a single specific activity – say a TV
spot – specifically for part of your target audience, such as women in urban areas who want outdoor
lamps to spot intruders. See AED’s segmentation tool in the Social Marketing Tools section.
To be successful, you have to
understand your goal. You have
to know whom you want to
do what.
Segmentation is always a problem for social
marketers, particularly those in government.
Isn’t our job to reach everyone and not target
a specific group? Don’t we open ourselves to
criticism of favoritism or, worse, stereotyping
if we target a particular group? The answer is
often yes. But we can argue that our programs
are more likely to succeed if they are designed to help the specific target audiences. Commercial
marketers target because they have limited resources and know they need to be effective
with those resources. Now, if the commercial folks have limited resources, what about us? Don’t
we have a responsibility to be effective too?
Exercise: What is Behavior?
A behavior is: Example 1 Example 2
Action
Put child in the back seat
with seat belt on
Put child in the back seat
with seat belt on
Segment Mother of one child,
Father of one child,
age 7
age 7
Condition When driving the family van When dropping the child
with four other children in it off at school, on the way
to work
While the observable action may stay the same, the specific condition under which an action
is taken may vary your strategies and messages. In this example, the two conditions are defined
based on consumer research that has shown that parents of young children are less likely to
buckle them up if they have several other children in the car.
Research 27
What is Behavior?
Under specific conditions
Some behaviors are so complex that setting the conditions under which they are to be performed
is often critical in the definition of the behavior. Look at the exercise What is Behavior?
on page 26 and note the different conditions under which each action must be taken.
You can see how the condition changes the kind of intervention necessary to reach these different
audiences. Indeed, in this exhibit you can see the importance of each of the three elements.
Change any one of them and you need to use a different intervention strategy.
Let’s take one last look at our example behavior and apply this category.
Example: When going to the grocery store, women ages 18 to 24 who have moved into a new
home will buy CFLs for their outdoor lights.
There is an:
Observable action: Buying CFLs in the grocery store
A target audience: Women age 18 to 24 who have moved into a new home
Specific conditions: In the grocery store after moving into a new home
The objective is to be specific. To be successful, you have to understand your goal. You have
to know who you want to do what. Using these criteria should help.
Spotlight on Social Marketing
Projects
Spanish-language materials targeted
recently immigrated Hispanic/Latino
parents with messages to help protect
their families from the dangers of
tobacco use and secondhand smoke.
Partner: CDC
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
28
Research
Behavioral Science
Behavioral science is the study of factors that affect or influence the actions of individuals.
These include individual factors, interpersonal factors, organizational factors, or community factors.
Behavioral science can help you better understand members of your audience, what they
do and why. Research on people and their behaviors has led to general theories of what affects
what people do – what helps determine their behavior.
For decades, human behavior has been an intense target of empirical research. Anthropologists,
psychologists and sociologists have been interested in what we call the determinants of
behavior. Determinants of behavior are those factors, both within an individual’s thought process
and external to the individual, that influence people’s actions. There are numerous theories
and a dense literature to wade through, absorb, and try to understand. At the same time, for
the past 20 or so years, there has been a growing experience-base of shaping human behavior
through marketing. From early programs such
If you can find a way to make your
new behavior fun, easy, and popular
with your audience, you have
a good chance of succeeding.
as Smokey the Bear, to more recent efforts
targeting seat belt use, smoking cessation,
drug abuse, HIV prevention, diet and exercise,
we now have a solid, if incomplete, base from
which to make judgments on where to start
and how to understand human behavior.
Determinants of Behavior
Determinants are those factors that influence behavior. Obviously many factors influence human
behavior. Where do you start? In the Social Marketing Tools chapter, we provide a worksheet
that can be used for identifying determinants. The best place to start is to use market research
to answer the following questions:
• What are people doing now as opposed to what I want them to do? (Call this the “competing
behavior.”)
• What do people like about the competing behavior?
• What do people dislike about the competing behavior?
• What makes it easy for them to do the competing behavior?
• What makes it difficult for them to do the competing behavior?
• Who approves of them doing the competing behavior?
• Who disapproves of them doing the competing behavior?
Now, answer these same questions about the new or safer behavior you wish to promote: What
do they like/dislike about it? What makes it easy/hard? Who would approve/ disapprove?
Research 29
Behavioral Science
These questions are simple, but they are based upon some cornerstones of behavioral science.
First, the questions about like and dislike are related to our growing understanding of how
perceived consequences affect behavior. The second set (hard/easy) is related to self-efficacy
- our feeling of adequacy to perform a new behavior. And finally, social norms suggest that
people do things to please or follow people that they admire. So, the last two questions try to
probe people’s feelings about those influencers. Here’s a simple way to remember these three
determinants:
Perceived consequences = FUN
Self-efficacy = EASY
Social norms = POPULAR
Put simply, if you can find a way to make your new behavior fun, easy, and popular with your
audience, you have a good chance of succeeding. But remember, what is “fun” for one person
may be “work” for another. What is easy for one may be hard for another. And obviously, we
all look to slightly different people for approval. Therefore, you need research to answer these
questions adequately.
Findings from applying behavioral science may require you to go back and refine your target
audience. Suppose you want to address young women ages 18-24 but find out that they have
nothing in common except that they don’t buy CFLs. However, you also learn that, at age 24,
men are reading light bulb packages and learning to identify with a type of bulb they continue
to embrace for years. You might re-define your target audience.
Theory and Practice
In the preceding paragraphs, we have described a good general approach to understanding
a behavior. It is also important to examine three specific behavioral theories and what they
bring to designing social marketing programs. These theories, social learning theory, stages
of change, and diffusion of innovation, have all influenced the practice of social marketing and
thinking about them in relation to your project can lead to valuable insights.
Social Learning Theory (or the role of social norms)
The social learning theory was developed by Albert Bandura in the 1970s, through his research
on learning patterns and cognitive skills. In this theory, human behavior is explained in terms of
a three-way dynamic in which personal factors, environmental influences, and other responses
continually interact to influence behavior.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Some Determinants that Influence Behaviors
External Determinants
The forces outside the individual that
affect his or her performance of a
behavior.
Skills: the set of abilities necessary to
perform a particular behavior.
Access: encompasses the existence of
services and products, such as helmets
and safety seats, their availability to
an audience and an audience’s comfort
in accessing desired types of products
or using a service.
Policy: laws and regulations that affect
behaviors and access to products and
services. Policies affecting traffic safety
include child seat laws, seat belt laws,
and driving under the influence.
Culture: the set of history, customs,
lifestyles, values and practices within a
self-defined group. May be associated
with ethnicity or with lifestyle, such as
“rural” or “youth” culture.
Actual consequences: what actually
happens after performing a particular
behavior.
Internal Determinants
The forces inside an individual’s head that
affect how he or she thinks or feels about
a behavior.
Knowledge: basic factual knowledge
about traffic safety, how to protect oneself
from injury, where to get services, etc.
Attitudes: a wide-ranging category for what
an individual thinks or feels about a variety
of issues. This over-arching category would
include self-efficacy, perceived risk, and
other attitudinal factors.
Self-efficacy: an individual’s belief that he
or she can do a particular behavior.
Perceived social norms: the perception
that people important to an individual think
that she or he should do the behavior.
Norms have two parts 1) who matters most
to the person on a particular issue, and
2) what she or he perceives those people
think she or he should do.
Perceived consequences: what a person
thinks will happen, either positive or negative,
as a result of performing a behavior
Perceived risk: a person’s perception of
how vulnerable they feel (to crashes, etc).
Intentions: what an individual plans or
projects she or he will do in the future;
commitment to a future act. Future
intention to perform a behavior is highly
associated with actually performing
that behavior.
Research 31
Behavioral Science
Embedded in this model are some important ideas:
• The environment shapes, maintains, and constrains behavior, but people are not passive in the
process, as they can create and change their environment. (For example, a group of people
might successfully push for a new regulation.)
• People need to know what to do and how to do it. (People may not know where CFLs can be
most useful.)
• People learn about what is expected through the experiences of others. (Someone who
bought a poor quality CFL might warn his buddies to avoid them.)
• Responses, both positive and negative, to a person’s behavior will affect whether or not the
behavior will be repeated. (That guy who bought the poor quality CFL? He’s not buying another
one. )
• Self-efficacy — the belief that a person can perform the behavior — is important. (A person
who doesn’t know much about light bulbs has to believe they can screw in a CFL like any
other light bulb. )
Stages of Change (or a way to segment audiences)
The stages of change theory, also called the transtheoretical model, helps explain how people’s
behavior changes. This theory was developed after studying how people quit smoking, and has
been used since to understand other complex behaviors, such as condom use.
Stages of change states that people go through a process, on their own time and in their own
way, of changing to a new behavior. At each stage, they may have unique needs. For example,
someone in the pre-contemplative stage may need information about a behavior but is not
ready to discuss how to integrate the behavior into his or her daily life.
A Behavior is more likely
to be adopted if:
• It is similar to and compatible
with what people are already
doing
• It is simple to do without
mistakes
• It is low cost
• It provides immediate reward
The five stages are as follows:
1. Precontemplative: People in this stage do not intend to
change their current behavior in the foreseeable future,
are unaware of the benefits of changing their behavior, or
deny the consequences of their current behavior.
2. Contemplative: People are aware that a change might be
good, are seriously thinking about changing their behavior,
but have not yet made a commitment.
3. Preparation/decision-making: People intend to take action
in the near future and may have taken some inconsistent
action in the recent past.
4. Action: People modify their behavior, experiences, or environment
to overcome the problem; the behavior change
is relatively recent.
5. Maintenance: People work to prevent relapse and maintain
behavior change over a long period.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
32
Research
Behavioral Science
Diffusion of Innovation (or how to define benefits that audiences care about)
To understand how new behaviors spread within a community, you can refer to the diffusion
of innovation theory. This model illustrates how social systems function and change, and how
communities and organizations can be activated. The theory states that an “innovation” — be
it technology or a new behavior — spreads among different parts of the community beginning
with “early adopters” (people who always like to try new things) and moving to “late adopters”
(who are resistant to change). In this process, opinion leaders are a key element in communication
about innovation. The diffusion model also calls for paying attention to the characteristics
of the innovation, such as:
• The relative advantage of the product (CFLs are more attractive than the old light bulbs.)
• Product compatibility with current beliefs or behaviors (I love the earth so I buy efficient
lighting products.)
• How complex it is (I can’t figure out how to use the CFL in my lamp.)
• How easily it can be tried out (I got a free sample that I’m trying.)
• The benefits can be observed (I skid to a stop, and my child wasn’t hurt.)
• The impact of relevant information (the local paper had a story about ways to save energy
and I decided to try some of the ideas.)
Spotlight on Social Marketing
Projects
This conservation and economic
development project in the Philippines
reduced damage to delicate coral reefs
by educating local fisherman about
how to use PDAs for order-taking.
Partner: USAID
Research 33
Research
So how do you figure out which theories or determinants apply to your program? Your past
experiences? Gut instinct?
We suggest you use research – as much as you can afford. As you design a program, you
should constantly ask: how much do I really know about my audience? If you’re honest, and
unless you’re very unusual, you probably know much less than you need to know. You will need
good market research.
Research never gets everything right, but the more of it you do, the less likely you are to make
mistakes. But research takes time and money, so most of us never do as much research as we
would like. So, the best advice about research is to figure out all of those things in a program
that you have control over and do research exclusively on them. Ultimately, you want the
research to help you make decisions, not just give you information. Finding out facts that you
have no control over is a fruitless pursuit. If you don’t have enough money to afford mass media,
don’t research media habits. If your boss has already decided the audience he or she wants to
target, then learn more about that segment, not entirely different audiences.
At the same time, research is best when it combines a variety of different methods: reading
about what other people found; talking in depth with small groups of the target audience; or
surveying a large number of target audience members. The less research you are able to do,
the more the variety of research you need to do. Why? Because variety will help you uncover
the big mistakes.
Source research
Find other studies. Look at work done by others on your topic. Look for the determinants they
believe matter and the interventions they used. Learn from past programs. This sounds silly,
but so many times we do a literature review (a look at all the previous research reports about a
certain subject) just to say we have done it. The key is to list the five or ten ideas you get from
this reading and identify what actually matters to your specific program.
Qualitative research
Qualitative research includes techniques such as focus groups, prototyping, talking to community
leaders, direct observation, and in-depth individual interviews. These methods are qualitative
because they involve small numbers of the target population and, therefore, are not representative.
For this reason, you should never summarize the results of your qualitative work in percentages.
Fifteen percent of 50 people are only 7.5 people – no basis for saying anything general
about the population at large. However, qualitative research is very powerful to way to help you
explore ideas, try out vocabulary, and listen to members of your audience in their own words.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
34
Research
Research
Quantitative research
Essentially surveys. Actually, surveys are best constructed after some qualitative work has been
done. Many of the source research findings may be surveys completed by others in the past.
Surveys require a good deal of professional experience to put together, administer, and analyze.
But they are the only sure way of determining how representative your conclusions may be.
Qualitative and quantitative research may sound similar, but they serve two very different purposes.
Each type of research can answer different types of questions as illustrated in figure 6.
Figure 6: Purposes of Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Qualitative
(such as focus groups)
- Provides depth
- Asks “why?”
- Studies motivation
- Is subjective
- Is exploratory
- Provides insights
- Interprets
Quantitative
(such as surveys)
- Measures occurrence
- Asks “how many?”
- Studies action
- Is objective
- Is definitive
- Measures levels
- Describes
Doer/Nondoer Analysis
One of the most practical research tools is the “Doer/Nondoer” exercise. It allows you to compare
people who perform the new, safer behavior with those who don’t, looking at determinants
– like whether something is fun, easy and popular. You can draw some conclusions using a relatively
small number of respondents (80 to 150 in many cases), as long as you have pre-identified
both groups (that is, the doers and the nondoers).
Often this analysis can help identify important differences that can be factors in social marketing
planning. For instance, in one study of condom users versus nonusers, the key factor that
distinguished users of condoms from non-users was the acceptability of the condom by the
user’s partner. This information was used to develop messages about talking to a partner about
condom use.
Research 35
Research
Here are the steps to doing a quick, doer/nondoer study. If you’d like to try the process with
your own project use the sample questionnaire and analysis table in the Social Marketing Tools
section of this handbook.
1. Identify the specific behavior you want to learn about. Write it out in clear, precise terms.
2. Recruit equal numbers of doers and nondoers.
3. Ask them to complete your survey, which includes the same questions about performing the
specific behavior.
4. Tally and analyze the data.
Attitudes and beliefs that are the same for both doers and nondoers probably are not the determinants
that affect the behavior. Look for wide differences between the two groups for areas of
possible intervention.
Spotlight on Social Marketing
Projects
Since 2002, the African commercial
sector, with AED-managed NetMark,
has delivered 30 million insecticide
treated nets. NetMark’s commercial
partners are on track to achieve full
market sustainability, despite intense
competition.
Partner: USAID
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
2
Behavior
From Behavior to
Strategies
Determinants and the
Concept of Exchange
The Competition
From Determinants to
Program Activities
From Behavior to Strategies
Determinants and the Concept of Exchange
What to do?
You’ve done your research. You know your audience. You know exactly what you need them to
do. But before you act, you need a plan, a strategy. Don’t confuse this with tactics. Deciding to
run a PSA is a tactical decision. Deciding to create a PSA – deciding to use that tactic as a way
to influence a determinant of the behavior? That’s a strategy.
As discussed in previous sections, you begin with the problem statement and move on, to
selecting members of your audience and the specific action you want them to take. This section
will outline how you analyze what perceptions are important to the selected behavior and how
to make this the heart of your program’s strategy.
Determinants and the Concept of Exchange
Determinants are the way people see or interpret the significance of a set of interventions.
Look at the BEHAVE framework below. Determinants are the key intervening variables between
the behavior and the intervention. Two key factors emerge from people’s perceptions. One is
perceived benefits.
Figure 7: The BEHAVE Framework
Target Audience Action
Who? What? Determinants? Interventions?
A specific target audience Do a specific action that
leads to the social benefit
Determinants Marketing Mix
We must change the relevant
determinants (attitudes,
skills, etc.) that influence the
behavior. List some determinants
to target.
List some interventions,
products and services
that could change those
perceptions.
Benefits: what’s in it for them, if they perform the action?
This notion of benefits lies at the heart of successful marketing. Marketing is built on a concept
of exchange – I’ll give you $35 if you give me a bottle of perfume (what I’m really getting is a
feeling of sophistication, joy, and pleasure from the perfume). I have no need for a bottle of
smelly water, but I do need to feel sophisticated and popular with my friends who tell me I smell
good. The marketing around the perfume helps provide that. Benefits are what people want,
not always what they need in any objective way. Many people do not want to be safe as much
as they want to feel like a macho driver behind the wheel. Therefore, while they recognize that
they may need to use a seat belt or slow down, they don’t. To be effective with this driver, we
must identify an exchange that meets his wants, as well as his needs, as we perceive them.
From Behavior to Strategies 39
Determinants and the Concept of Exchange
Some benefits people
may want:
Savings
Comfort
Safety/security
Humor/fun
Efficiency
Health
Beauty/sex appeal
Happiness
Romance
Excitement
Rest
Admiration/recognition
Popularity
Sympathy
Pleasure/avoidance of pain
Entertainment
Dependability
Peace of mind
Convenience
Reward
If you’ve ever completed a needs assessment, try doing a
“wants assessment” next time. Seek out what people really
want. You will likely get a very different answer than if you
sought out what they “need.”
Now, take any of your target behaviors and think about how
you could provide your audience any three of the benefits
listed in the box to the left. As you do this, you may need to
redefine the behavior. This approach is natural and smart.
It’s called “letting your audience do the leading.”
You will probably want to add other benefits to this list that
emerge from your research. Keep the list in front of you as
a reminder of new ways to think about creating benefits
that your audience really wants.
Support
The other important factor is support. Support is about trust.
It’s about who is doing the talking and how they are talking.
It’s about the answer to many questions: Where’s the evidence
that everything you’re telling me is the truth? Why should I
believe you when so many others are trying to sell me different
behaviors? Why should anyone believe you? Why is this
behavior so great?
There are millions of ways to develop trust – through accurate facts, through humor, through
credible spokespeople. You cannot, however, take trust for granted. If you are a government
agency or a big corporation, you may already
be “branded” with a stereotype in your audience’s
mind. Knowing your brand is another
factor critical to success.
Benefits are what people want,
not always what they need in any
objective way.
How do you develop support for your behavior?
That can be a challenge. But there are
hints out there. Look for ideas in your research. Keep abreast of creative new support tactics.
Watch television and scan print ads in programs directed at members of your audience. Determine
whether anything they are using might be helpful to you as well.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
From Behavior to Strategies
Determinants and the Concept of Exchange
The Competition
Commercial marketers never ignore their competition. Would Coke forget about Pepsi? If fewer
people were buying Saturns, would General Motors fail to take note that more people were
buying Ford Tauruses? Of course not. They would ask “why?” What is the competition offering
that I’m not? Is it cup holders or engine size? Indeed, competitive analysis in the private sector
is often the primary basis for a new marketing strategy: What’s the competition doing, and how
can I counter it?
Social marketers have competition too. When looking at the perceptions around a behavior,
you have to consider not only how people feel about your product (the action you want them
to do) but also how they feel about the competition (other actions people might take). After
all, the other action is what a significant share of the audience is already doing. (Thus the need
for your marketing campaign). What do they like about it?
Try to be competitive. Understand what thrill, value, or good feeling people get when they do
things like drive aggressively, fail to buckle up, or go without a helmet. One way to summarize
your market research and focus on the competitor is to use the competitive analysis tool in
figure 8. This tool compares the perceived benefits and barriers of the new behavior to those
of the competing behavior. It should give you insight into how you must compete if you are
going to win the minds and hearts of your audience.
Figure 8: The Competitive Analysis Tool
Barriers
Benefits
New action
Decrease
Increase
Competing behavior
Increase
Decrease
Under “New action” list the benefits for your target audience of engaging in a specific action as well as the barriers that
stand in the way.
Under “Competing behavior” list the benefits and barriers of the competitive behaviors – those actions the target audience
does instead of the target behavior. Look in each box for opportunities. How could you make your benefits bigger or their
benefits smaller? How could you make their barriers larger and your barriers smaller?
From Behavior to Strategies 41
Determinants and the Concept of Exchange
From Determinants to Program Activities
Using your research and the analysis of your audience, the last step is to link the three or four
priority determinants, and the benefits and barriers to interventions, or program activities. This
linking requires a bit of science and creativity. You must answer the question: Can these determinants
be changed and, if so, can my program activities help these changes?
Some determinants may not be easily changed, and you may decide to put your program efforts
(and resources) into those that can be more easily affected.
Use the strengths of program activities to guide the matching. For example, mass media can
reach more of your audience and is a better way to promote social norms or attitudes. Workshops
and one-on-one interventions can more effectively instill skills and self-efficacy.
When matching program activities to determinants, also ask yourself:
• How can we promote the benefits?
• How can we minimize the barriers?
• Are there certain activities that are better suited to subsegments of my target audience?
Spotlight on Social Marketing
Projects
Helping children and families maintain
a healthy weight through We Can! —
a national program that integrates
community mobilization with national
media and partnerships.
Partner: NHLBI
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
3
Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix
Product
The Price P
The Place P
The Promotion P
Promotional Tactics
Advertising
Public Relations
Partnerships
Marketing Mix
Product
In commercial marketing, creating products and services is a fundamental and indispensable
function of marketing. In social marketing, many of our challenges are either education or regulatory
challenges where the central problem is really promotion. Too often, however, we default
to the promotion P when, in fact, the real problem may be marketing, which requires the development
of new products and services to help the consumer adopt new and difficult behaviors.
Many of our audiences are economically disadvantaged, discriminated against, stigmatized, and
“hard to reach.” They live in worlds very different from that of the social marketer. For example,
we ask a single mother without a job to exercise, eat fruits and vegetables, immunize her child,
get tested for HIV, manage her child’s asthma, wear a seat belt, all while avoiding cigarettes and
alcohol. What we offer her are promotional messages carefully crafted and based on audience
research. What she needs are products and services that will increase the benefits she cares
about and reduce the barriers that worry her most. Some examples of the successful application
of the product P are below:
• To help fishermen in Indonesia end the practice of fishing using dynamite on delicate reef systems,
social marketers created a personal digital assistant (pda) system that allowed fishermen
to catch only the kind of fish that were actually needed in the marketplace.
• To help mothers rehydrate their children and prevent death from diarrhea, social marketers
provided access to ORT one kit “solutions,” including both the mixing containers and premixed
ingredients.
• To help gay men use condoms and thus reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases,
social marketers lubricated condoms, added colors and made them stronger, lighter, and more
sensitive.
• To help farm workers protect themselves from eye injuries, social marketers created a special
kind of goggles that did not fog up, and were comfortable in hot tropical weather.
• To help men in a rural setting stop drinking and driving, rather than promote anti-drinking
and driving awareness, social marketers created a limo service that drove men from one bar
to another.
Product Considerations
There are many aspects of product development to consider. A product or service has features:
function, appearance, packing, and guarantees of performance that help people solve problems.
When designing a product, social marketers should address the issue of product classes.
Marketing Mix 45
Product
Commercial products are often classified by five variables (Leo Aspinwall, 1958): 3
1. Replacement rate: How frequently is the product repurchased?
2. Gross margin: How much profit is obtained from each product?
3. Buyer goal adjustment: How flexible are buyer’s purchasing habits?
4. Duration of product satisfaction: How long will the product produce benefits?
5. Duration of buyer search behavior: How long will consumers shop for the product?
A similar set of product classes is useful in social marketing.
1. How much product do we need? (How many times do we have to re-supply the product –
ORS is needed for every bout of diarrhea. The fruit pickers; goggles last a long time.)
2. How effective is the product in solving the problem? (How much change does the product
motivate? Re-packaging ORS made a huge difference in compliance; pdas were less dramatic
in their effect on the reef)
3. How competitive is the market place?
4. How many other choices do consumers have? ORS competed against a wide variety of other
popular remedies while there were no good substitutes for the quality of the goggles.
5. How long does the benefit last? The goggles’ benefit was durable. The benefit of colored
condoms was fleeting.
6. How motivated are consumers to find any solution to the problem? Condoms were not what
gay men were looking for. Goggles – if they worked right – were a great solution from the
pickers’ point of view.
Determining the answers to these questions can help social marketers design better, more
effective products. But above all, for social marketers, the product adds benefits to difficult
behaviors that have no immediate reward. When we gave fishermen pdas for the first time, they
loved the technology itself, more than the idea of saving reefs. The product itself became the
benefit of the behavior.
Consumer Demand Design Principles
Product development might be considered the most important and unique contribution that social
marketing brings to social change. While public health scientists, traffic engineers and policy
makers design new social products and services all of the time, too often designers are driven
exclusively by the question: “What works?” Too often these experts ignore the questions: “What
do people want?” “What other choices do they have?” and “What matters most to them?” It is
the purpose of the Product P to answer these questions, and assist the scientist and engineer
in the creation of products and services that are both effective and satisfy consumer wants.
3 Leo Aspinwall, The Characteristics of Goods and Parallel Systems Theories, Managerial Marketing, Holmwood IL, Richard
D. Irwin, 1958. pp. 434-50.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Marketing Mix
Product
That is not as easy as it sounds. Good product design is a creative process that involves
multiple talents, artists, engineers, health care experts, researchers and managers. We at AED
certainly don’t do it alone. In our social marketing campaigns, we have been privileged to work
with one of America’s premiere product-design companies, IDEO. IDEO has developed a set
of design principles that we hope you find as useful as we have in developing products for
programs.
1. Allow them to kick the tires.
• Allowing consumers to “try before they buy” is a tried and true marketing approach. It lets
consumers experience a product before making the full commitment to purchase.
2. Lower the bar.
• There are many barriers that consumers face when deciding to purchase a product.
• The product may seem too expensive, they may not understand how it works, or the product
may be hard for them to access (in a locked case, for example).
• Lowering the financial, psychological and access costs of a product or service can be
important for increasing use among consumers.
Product development might
be considered the most
important and unique contribution
that social marketing
brings to social change.
3. Make it look and feel good.
• It’s no surprise that consumers prefer products
that are attractively packaged.
• Consumers directly relate the appeal of the
packaging to the quality of the product.
• Making a product look and feel good creates
a much more desirable consumer experience.
4. Facilitate transitions.
• Many products and services are focused on helping people change something about
themselves.
• Providing tools and support for these transitions can improve customers’ success.
5. Make progress tangible.
• As people work toward a goal, it is important to help them see, acknowledge and celebrate
the progress they make.
6. Foster community.
• Many consumers are more likely to continue using a product or service when they can link to
or join with others doing the same thing.
• Building a community, whether it is real or virtual, can help many people deepen their engagement
in a product or service and enrich their experience.
Marketing Mix 47
Product
7. Connect the dots.
• Many consumers are overwhelmed with the choices they face and the processes they have to
follow for many products and services.
• Linking many products and services into one cohesive system can help consumers maximize
all of their options.
8. Integrate with their lives.
• The most successful products and services often are those that fit seamlessly into the lives of
consumers.
• This happens when products and services are developed in ways that can be integrated easily
into people’s daily living behaviors.
• These products and services reinforce consumers’ perceptions of themselves and their lifestyles.
Ultimately, using these design principles in the creation of you projects is just another way to do
the most important thing that social marketers do: listen to the people whose behaviors we seek
to change. And that can only make us more effective.
Spotlight on Social Marketing
Projects
Since 2005, AED has been assisting
Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR to
develop and implement behavior change
communication activities related to
prevention and control of avian flu.
Partner: USAID
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Marketing Mix
The Price P
Pricing in commercial marketing serves two primary functions. First, it is the means to ensure
that net income exceeds costs in the marketing exchange. Second, price adds value to products
based upon the expectations and desires of consumers. If low price were the only thing that
mattered to all consumers, we would not have Versace, VIP service or Volvos.
Price considerations are just as important for social marketers. For example, in working with
impoverished rural communities of Africa, we discovered that local families often interpret “free”
health care to mean “poor quality” health care. For this reason, families preferred to pay for
traditional health care rather than receive free, modern health care.
Price studies in social marketing often examine the barriers that people perceive are associated
with adopting a new behavior. What is the price of using a condom with every sexual partner?
The real price of using a condom is not what the condom costs in dollars. Rather, it is: the loss
of sensation; the lack of spontaneity of the sexual experience; the emotional distance a condom
creates between partners; and sometimes, the signal a condom sends about a partner’s sexual
health. These attitudes become important barriers to condom use and therefore, targets of
marketing. Some of these attitudes can be addressed by re-designing the product. We now
have super-thin condoms and condoms with vibrators attached to them. These design features
compensate for some of the attitudinal barriers. Some of the barriers however, cannot be
completely addressed by product design. The emotional distance a condom creates is often
addressed through the promotion P, emphasizing social norms or the increase in satisfaction a
partner receives from “feeling safe” using a condom.
When social marketing is targeting an education or a regulation problem, pricing is often addressed
better by the promotion P. Physical products are often unavailable, but not always.
Take the case of SIDS. The behavior is quite simple and does not require any special bedding
or clothing for the child. Yet consumer attitudes studies showed that parents were worried their
child would roll over in his/her sleep. To address this perception, a special pillow was designed
for infants. These pillows provide additional protection, but they also address the important
attitudinal concerns of parents.
Marketing Mix 49
The Place P
The primary function of the Place P is to ensure easy access to products and services. In commercial
marketing, it refers to the place where products and services will be available, the times
they will be accessible and the people who will be providing the product at those places and
times. In modern marketing, the sales force is often a recorded message, but the quality of that
message can be critical to the success of the marketing function. For example, health literacy
studies have suggested that physician patient communication is critical to successful compliance
of patients. Thus, the physician becomes the “place” where social marketing efforts take
place - during patient/physician consultations
In addressing marketing problems where products and services are fundamental, place refers
to where the product or service will be made available. In education and regulation problems,
which are often addressed with promotion and advocacy marketing, place refers to when and
where the communication activities will be experienced by the consumer. For example: advertising
schedules, placement of signage, reminders, behavioral prompts or channel decisions
about the use of e marketing
In the case of marketing problems, the place P guarantees that the products or services are
accessible, in addressing education and regulation problems, the place P targets where the
promotional messages will be placed.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Marketing Mix
The Promotion P
The promotion P is the P most people think of when they think of marketing. You now know that
it comes at the end of a long chain of research, thinking, analysis, testing, and decision-making
and that it is only one piece of the marketing mix. The fundamental purpose of the promotion P
is to ensure that target consumers know about, understand, and are pre-disposed to believing
that 1) the benefits offered by the new products and services; 2) the benefits offered by educational
advice; and 3) the barriers or benefits offered by the proposed regulatory systems are
credible, personally applicable to the consumer, and real.
We do not, however want to neglect promotion; it can be a wonderful blend of artistry, science,
and organization. Indeed, there are dozens of promotion tactics open to you – ranging from
mass media advertising to one-on-one sales techniques. And, given the explosion of e-marketing
there are new tactics opening almost every day.
Beware however. In all the excitement about messaging, persuasion, emotional appeals and
magic, don’t forget the fundamental goal of the promotion P. The promotion P exists to ensure
that priority consumers:
• repeatedly hear the message,
• understand the message,
• can remember the message,
• believe that the messages are directed at them,
• believe that the message is from a credible source, and
• are pre-disposed to believing that the benefits of the products and services being
promoted are real.
That’s a lot to accomplish in a market crowded with messages, filled with contradictory claims,
full of discredited spokespersons, and prone to exaggeration and hype. For this reason, the success
of the promotion P rests on the:
• truth of the claims,
• timing of the communication,
• effectiveness of the message to break through the clutter,
• ability to remain memorable, and the
• credibility of the spokesperson.
Marketing Mix 51
The Promotion P
Promotional Tactics
In this section, we want to cover some of the key issues to consider in executing any promotion
tactic. There are four key questions to ask yourself to make your promotional tactics more
powerful.
1. What is the best time and place to reach members of our audience so that they are the most
disposed to receiving the intervention? (aperture)
2. How often and from whom does the intervention have to be received if it is to work?
(exposure)
3. How can I integrate a variety of interventions to act over time in a coordinated manner to
influence the behavior? (integration)
4. Do I have the resources alone to carry out this strategy and if not, where can I find useful
partners? (affordability)
Now let’s consider how to use the answers.
Aperture
Aperture, simply defined, is the emotional moment to reach your audience. View your activities
from the point of view of people in your audience. When will they feel open to receiving your
activity or message? People don’t want to hear about breast cancer when they are watching
the Super Bowl. They are not disposed to changing their thinking from rooting for a team to
considering how breast cancer might affect either them or their spouses. It is a bad aperture for
a media message on breast cancer. Buying a new car is a great aperture moment for discussing
car seats for newborns, or small children. People are thinking about cars, they are predisposed
to think about important accessories. How many car salespeople ask about car seats when they
sell a car to young couples? This is a great aperture moment.
Exposure
Exposure is how many times and how large of an audience is exposed to your interventions.
Exposure is usually thought of as a mass media variable called reach and frequency. How many
times does someone have to see a television spot to be influenced by it? For example, when
marketers talk about “rating points,” they mean the percentage of the target audience reached
(reach) multiplied by the number of times they will see the message (frequency). But exposure
also encompasses non-mass media interventions. Think for a moment about face-to-face training.
One-day training may not be enough to influence behavior. Yet, too often we design training
according to the time participants and trainers have available rather than to the time needed for
the behavior change to take place. This approach can lead to disappointing results and costly
failures.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Marketing Mix
The Promotion P
Integration
Interventions are more effective when they integrate various tactics (mass media, face-to-face,
print, etc.) within a single coherent focus. Your program will have a greater effect if your audience
gets the same message from many different credible sources. The articulate orchestration
of events, media, press, and print are critical to success.
Affordability
As your strategy develops, you should constantly check your decisions against your resources.
The last thing we want to do is to create a monster program – unwieldy and impossible to
implement given our resources. Resources include more than just money. Some intervention
tactics, such as media advocacy or media buying for example, require considerable talent and
experience. One way to make intervention more affordable is to share the cost. Look for partners
who can donate resources or provide additional funding. Partnerships have lots of value.
They often improve credibility by getting respected organizations involved. They open up new
distribution networks. And they bring with them new creativity and experience.
Spotlight on Social Marketing
Projects
AED used a gastronomic approach—
Save the Crabs, Then Eat ‘Em—as a
hook to curtail home fertilizer use
and minimize nitrogen pollution into
the Chesapeake Bay.
Partner: EPA
Possible Interventions
Information and referral
Information and referral hotline
Counseling hotline
Clearinghouse
Small-group interventions
Peer or non-peer led
Community, school, and work settings
Single session or multiple sessions
over a number of weeks
Lectures
Panel discussions
Testimonials from peers/survivors
Video presentations
Live theater
Events (such as health fairs)
One-on-one interventions
Peer or non-peer led
Street outreach
Crowd or clique-based outreach
Event-based outreach
Counseling and referral
Other one-on-one interventions offered
in community centers, alcohol
treatment programs, or other settings
Product accessibility
Free distribution
Price supports
More/different distribution outlets
More/different brands
Community mobilization
Endorsements/testimonials/
involvement by opinion leaders
Coalition building
Mass media and “small” media
Paid advertising in various media
outlets
PSAs in various media outlets
Media relations
Print materials such as pamphlets,
instruction sheets, posters
e Media
Web 2.0
Blogs
Social Media
Websites
Cell Phones
PDAs
Social Networks
Policy/regulation
Policies affecting use of enforcement.
Marketing Mix
Advertising
To many people, marketing is just advertising. That’s because advertising is everywhere and
easy to recognize.
But you know that advertising is just a tool to convey a message and that marketing is much
more than that. Still, the power of advertising is real – if you don’t forget everything we talked
about in the first three chapters.
So how do you create advertising? Many social change practitioners hire outside advertising agencies
or social marketing firms. These firms help you create campaign materials and distribute
those materials, possibly by purchasing time on mass media outlets, such as radio or television,
or by buying space in publications, on the internet or some other place. Some firms are can be
helpful in strategy design. But remember this about most advertising firms: their core business
is to produce “creative” – 30-second television spots and the like – and to buy media time.
They are often good at this, but they may not consider the complete strategy and background
research. That type of thinking is your responsibility. They can also develop creative and
memorable scripts or products that may not fit with your overall strategy. It is your responsibility
to keep their work “on-strategy.” (Look to the BEHAVE framework tool on page 6 to help you
do this).
Hiring an advertising agency
The bidding and contractual logistics of hiring and contracting an advertising agency are not
covered in this resource book. What we can cover are some basics about how the industry
works.
First, it is important to understand what an agency offers. Most midsize agencies offer the
following core services:
• Creative: The creation of the specific advertising products, from TV spots to logos to billboards,
constitutes the “creative” services. A copywriter and art director will usually develop
the concept in-house. Then, the agency will often subcontract with others, TV producers or
outdoor advertising companies, for instance, to help produce and place the creative product.
• Production: Agencies also often have their own in-house production people who help them
produce products and manage the outsiders who help them produce creative products.
• Account planning: Many ad agencies also have their own stable of in-house experts who
conduct and analyze market research, then help develop an overall strategy.
• Account service: All ad agencies work with clients (that’s you). They have specialists who
handle the “client side,” keeping you happy and managing the work the agency is doing on
your behalf.
Marketing Mix 55
Advertising
• Media buying: Most ad agencies can also buy media time or space on your behalf. They keep
pace with the going rates for television and radio time, newspaper and magazine space, outdoor
advertising rates, and other opportunities to place your message before your audience.
Sometimes, government organizations and others do not buy media but use public service
announcements or PSAs (which are described on page 57). Your ad agency can help you
determine the best time to distribute your PSAs and which media venues are most likely to
give your message significant placement or airtime.
Compensation
It is also important to know how advertising agencies make money. Most agencies are paid
through one or more of the following compensation arrangements:
• A percentage of the media buy
• An hourly rate for labor with a “multiplier” to underwrite overhead, plus direct reimbursement
of other costs (such as production costs and the media buy)
• Compensation related to outcomes (for example, a fee for every unit of product sold)
The government rarely attempts to compensate agencies based on results, though such a
compensation is increasingly common in the private sector. In Florida, however, the state health
department negotiated one of the few government-funded, performance-based advertising
contracts in existence. With the help of a compensation consultant, the state linked the agency’s
multiplier (that is, the number by which the hourly labor rates are multiplied) to the results of the
state anti-tobacco campaign on which the agency worked. One issue you may want to consider
is whether your ad agency would be better focused on your outcomes if outcomes were a part
of its compensation package.
Choosing an ad agency
Finally, remember that ad agencies are in the business of making things flashy and inviting.
That’s important. But even an entertaining spot won’t be effective if it is “off strategy” – that is,
if it doesn’t address the behavioral determinants for your audience to do a behavior. You cannot
forget your strategy when an ad agency pitches its approach. Don’t let them railroad you - part
of your job is to evaluate whether an advertising approach, no matter how funny or interesting
it may be, fits with your strategy.
One simple way to remember all of this is to ask four key questions about each advertising
agency or social marketing firm making a pitch:
1. Are they listening? To you, to the audience, to the research?
2. Are they strategic? Do they have a clear idea about how their plan will change the behavior,
not just look cute or get people interested in the topic? Remember, this is marketing, not
education. Your bottom line isn’t about what members of the audience know. It’s about what
they do.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Marketing Mix
Advertising
3. Can they pull it off? Do they, or one of their partners, have the ability to produce breakthrough,
memorable creative and manage whatever media buys you might have planned?
4. How do their goals fit with yours? Everybody will say that they care about traffic safety,
whether they really do or not. What you want to figure out is what really turns your agency on.
Winning awards for funny TV spots? Showing everyone how wacky advertising can be? Actually
changing a behavior? None of these is necessarily bad. But these motivations will play a
part in what kind of advertising you get. For some efforts, they help. For others, they may not.
Managing an advertising agency
Once you secure a strong social marketing firm or advertising agency, you cannot just let them
go on their way. It is your job to fit their work into your overall marketing strategy and ensure
that their work is “on-strategy” and effective.
Throughout the advertising process, numerous opportunities exist to check in, but the first
meeting is the most critical. Before any work begins, you should start talking with your agency
about the key questions in the BEHAVE framework or whatever framework you decide to use.
You can do this by following the steps in the chapter, Creating a Marketing Plan. By working
through your marketing plan together with your contractor, you can jointly decide on issues
such as where you may need more research or what determinants you may need to target.
Spotlight on Social Marketing
Projects
A hip and irreverent student-driven
campaign developed by AED and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
convincingly highlights the superior
benefits of moderate drinking over
getting wasted.
Partner: MIT
Once you have worked with your contractor to establish a shared strategy, it is your job to monitor
what it is producing and ensure its work fits the strategy. (Advertising agencies are especially
notorious for going off-strategy). How do you keep them on-strategy? Agree with an agency on
Marketing Mix 57
Advertising
“decision points” where you can check in to ensure that everything is on track. For example,
you would probably want to see the moderator’s guide before you attended a focus group.
Then you can ensure that the key issues are covered.
You also want to monitor the creation of advertising products, especially more costly and complicated
ones, such as television and radio spots.
There are a number of points where advertising clients can monitor the progress of these
types of products. These are a bit different depending on the product and your time constraints.
In any case, work with your agency to ensure that you are an appropriate part of the entire
creative process.
Types of advertising
Public service announcements
A public service announcement, or PSA, is a TV or radio message
that serves a useful public interest and is offered by a
broadcasting station free-of-charge. However, free doesn’t
mean that there isn’t a price.
How do I run a PSA?
You can produce your own PSA
or you can provide a script for
the station’s own on-air talent
to read. In the United States, some
PSAs are distributed through the
Ad Council. Generally, radio and
Stations are required to run a certain percentage of PSAs, and television stations will not allow
they are bombarded by requests from many causes. When they paid spots to be used as PSAs.
run the spot – often during the day or the middle of the night –
is up to the broadcaster. After all, you are not paying them to place the spot. This is one of the
downsides of using PSAs – you can’t control how often they run or when they run. Therefore, it is
hard to know if your target audience will ever see or hear the PSA.
Paid spots
These are television or radio commercials for which you pay a fee to get airtime. The advertising
agency or media buyer negotiates this charge. Because you are paying to air the commercial,
you can decide when and where it runs. Typically, an ad agency will recommend a certain
reach (the percentage of your target audience to see your spot) and frequency (the number of
times the audience will see your ad) or “total rating points,” which is the reach multiplied by the
frequency. They may also ask you to decide what general time of day to air different portions
of the media costs (for example, you may want 30 percent of your television campaign to air
during prime time). Then the agency and the station will negotiate exactly when and where the
commercial will appear.
Print ads
Generally, print ads are ads written and designed by the ad firm, then placed for a fee in newspapers,
magazines, or outdoor space. Again, the ad firm will negotiate the fees, based on the
number of times it will run, time of year, size of the space, and so forth.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Marketing Mix
Public Relations
Public relations (PR) can be viewed many ways. Some see it as an aspect of promotion with a
goal of fostering goodwill between companies and their audiences. Others see it as a question
of creating favorable images. For our purposes, we will consider public relations to be a tactic
used in social marketing, one that focuses on generating attention in the media, creating
publicity events and helping to build coalitions.
Or, to put it more simply, social marketers use PR just like advertising – to persuade an audience
to perceive a behavior differently. The key difference is that PR harnesses the power of earned
media, as opposed to paid.
Usually, public relations is about getting the media to cover the issue at hand and do it from a
certain perspective. The shorthand for this kind of attention is “earned media” (as opposed to
“media buys” performed by advertising agencies.) But public relations can also mean generating
publicity in other ways, such as building coalitions and other partnerships to ensure that
your issue is included in other efforts.
Next, we will discuss various activities that PR firms perform for their clients. Remember, even
if you cannot afford to hire a PR agency, you may still be able to use many of these same tactics
in your campaign.
Hiring a PR firm
Overall, public relations is much like advertising. When hiring a public relations contractor, you
should consider many of the same issues you would examine for an advertising agency. (See
Hiring an advertising agency above). These disciplines create specific creative products designed
to gain the attention of your target audience. They provide you with ways to reach your
audience, so that you can affect the factors that determine behavior.
When it comes to public relations, a contractor can:
Help you design your overall strategy. Though you always maintain the final word on strategy,
firms with social marketing expertise can help you look at your entire strategy and determine
where public relations activities fit.
Provide advice and counsel. Firms that are familiar with the media can help you manage reporters
and editors. They may know when media outlets are most likely to be open to your story,
what type of angle will win attention and what other issues are competing for the same media
attention.
Track journalists and create press lists. A key tool for media relations is an up-to-date press list.
A press list contains the names of and key information for all the journalists you would like to
reach. Most large PR agencies have many of these lists, as well as continuing relationships with
journalists. A contractor can also research who has written about your issue in the past.
Marketing Mix 59
Public Relations
Write press releases. A press release is a written statement sent to media representatives to
announce newsworthy developments. To garner attention, a press release must be timely and
address an important concern of the publication or program’s target audience. Key questions a
press release must answer is: What’s in it for the press? Why would anyone want to know this?
Create a press kit. If you have several related stories that can benefit from the addition of collateral
information such as a brochure, a fact sheet and photos, then a press kit or press packet
may be warranted. A press kit (also called a media kit, press packet, or information kit) is most
effective when its contents offer an appropriate amount of unduplicated information.
Write a pitch letter. A pitch letter is a longer, more detailed written statement, asking the journalist
to generate an in-depth news story or feature. A pitch letter asks for news coverage by
providing the media with a valid story idea based on current issues, trends and other noteworthy
topics that emanate from your organization. It often accompanies a press kit, and gives the
journalist all the background information he or she needs to write an in-depth story.
Make pitch calls. Often public relations companies call journalists after the journalist has received
your press release or press kit. This short call encourages the journalist to use the story
idea and follows up by offering any additional information he or she may need.
Write letters to the editor and op-ed articles.
Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper
or TV station is a great way to draw attention
to an important issue, respond to criticism,
correct false information or recognize community
support for an event or issue related to
your campaign. An op-ed article is a lengthier
Even if you cannot afford to hire a
PR agency, you may still be able
to use many of these same tactics
in your campaign…
guest editorial piece written and submitted to a local newspaper. It appears opposite the editorial
page of local, state and national newspapers and is an extremely powerful and economical tool
for educating large numbers about your campaign. A contractor can draft these materials for you
to sign and can send them on your behalf. Often, a more powerful technique is to ask local
supporters to sign the letters for their local media outlet.
Set up press conferences. A press conference invites journalists (including TV and radio representatives)
to come to an oral briefing with time for questions and answers. Press conferences
are most successful for up-to-date, newsworthy events. Holding a press conference requires a
lot of effort and expense. Often, press conferences about social change efforts are overshadowed
by those held for political or other sensational, high-priority events, such as a crime. In
these days of teleconferencing and satellite conferencing, you may be able to save resources
and ensure more participation by journalists with new methods of communication.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Marketing Mix
Public Relations
Media training. If your program requires a spokesperson to be available to the media, ask for
media training on how to speak with the media. These skills will ensure that your message is
heard and is seen as credible. Again, you may wish to enlist other supporters (from local areas
or partner organizations) to become spokespeople for your issue.
Social marketing training. Marketing campaigns are more effective if those executing the tactics
understand what they are doing. This type of understanding can be provided by your public
relations contractor. Firms with an expertise in social marketing can provide your partners with
training and technical assistance so they can make more strategic decisions.
Create publicity-generating events. Various events, from roundtable conferences to rock concerts,
can generate publicity and excitement for your effort. These events can also be used to
recruit or educate “influentials” – people to whom your target audience listens – and turn them
into spokespeople for your effort. These events are often designed by public relations firms, in
collaboration with an event planner.
Create collateral material. Public relations contractors can create a host of collateral materials,
such as brochures and posters, for use in a social marketing campaign. In fact, public relations
overlaps some with what most advertising agencies do. As a rule of thumb, major advertising
products, such as television spots and magazine ads, are probably best prepared by advertising
agencies. Smaller products, such as brochures, as well as those aimed at the media fall more
into the realm of public relations.
Marketing Mix 61
Partnerships
When 1 + 1 = 3
You are not the only one talking to your audiences. Thousands of companies and organizations
are trying to reach the same people, recruiting them as customers, members, or supporters. By
developing an alliance with certain groups, you can more effectively reach certain populations.
Once again, this is a tactic – a means to an end, not the end in itself. Your strategy may include
creating an alliance with an outside group as one way to reach or persuade an audience. This
group may provide access to an audience or may carry more credibility with the audience. The
important issue is to ensure this effort is linked with a behavioral outcome, the bottom line of
every social marketer.
Several successful partnerships are outlined in the box on page 62. They demonstrate that
partnership programs can:
• Extend the reach of program messages
• Increase the credibility of a program
• Access audiences you don’t have the capacity to reach
• Expand limited resources, and
• Promote policy change.
Different types of outreach models exist that can be used for supporting a program. These
include coalitions, networks, and advisory boards. All of these models are designed to involve
a group of key organizations and groups in your program implementation. They can offer:
• Methods for communicating with your target audience
• Assistance tackling barriers to change and offering unique benefits to the target audience
• Potentially sustainable sources of program support for messages and actions
• Help changing policies.
So how do you develop an effective partnership? The answer could be a book in itself. But one
starting point is provided in the Partnership Building Tool in the Social Marketing Tools section
of this guide. First, you must determine which behavioral goal you are trying to further. Then,
you need to gauge how well matched the potential partner is to your organization and how this
partnership will further one of the partner’s core business goals. If there is little incentive for the
partner, the organization is unlikely to offer significant sustained support. Finally, you and your
partner should jointly create a long-term plan.
As with other aspects of social marketing, outreach efforts should be audience oriented – in this
case, considering everything from your partner’s perspective. Always ask yourself:
What’s in it for them?
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
National Partnership Programs
Some national programs that used outreach to create partnerships include:
The Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Coalition – this ten-year-old program includes government,
professional, voluntary and state groups. It was started to develop a “critical mass” of groups
involved in maternal and child health issues. The coalition now supports a range of issues,
training, materials, and technical assistance.
The Prevention Marketing Initiative – PMI was a community-based pilot effort to establish and
support HIV prevention programs around the country during the early 1990s. The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention relied on community-based coalitions to recommend and
implement behavior change programs in their communities. These programs reflected the
unique features of the communities and garnered support and participation of key community
groups.
The Office of Drug Control Policy Media Program – the Administration’s current drug-use-prevention
media program targets kids and their parents. The campaign goes beyond television
and radio advertising to involving organizations and groups involved with the Web, schools,
churches, workplaces, and leisure settings. Its behavior change strategy is designed to create
opportunities for people to adopt campaign messages into their daily lives and extend them
into their communities. The campaign is also undertaking tailored programs and outreach to
resonate with diverse populations.
Execution
4
Execution
The Marketing Process
The Strategy Statement
The BEHAVE-based
Marketing Plan
Execution
The Marketing Process
Marketing Plans
In the marketer’s perfect world – that is, one where the marketer gets to make all of the decisions
– you would start the marketing process at the very beginning. You would only be given
a goal. Your assignment would be the bottom line – the social benefit your agency is targeting.
For example, in this pie in the sky scenario, you would be asked to get people to use less
energy. How? That would be up to you. You could determine which behaviors – buying CFLs,
using different appliances, changing the way energy is priced – would make the biggest difference
and are the easiest to change. Then, you would determine which perceptions motivate
those behaviors and what marketing mix might drive a change in behavior.
Unfortunately, that is not the way it typically works. Often, marketing assignments come with
strings attached. We are told what audience to reach, what action to target or, at times, what
type of intervention to pursue. We may not have the freedom to say, “Hey, this doesn’t make
sense. Maybe we would save more energy if we targeted a different group or focused on a
different action.” In reality, those decisions may have already been made.
Yet, you should still start in the same place – at the beginning of the marketing process. You
should not develop a product before you understand how the product might help you reach
your ultimate goal: behavior change. The
A marketing plan should be
your manifesto. The plan also
should tell you where you are
and where you hope to go.
marketing process outlined in this chapter
will help you understand why, or if, certain
products, or service will be effective. That is
why you need to go through each step of the
marketing process, even if some of the decision
process has already been completed.
An early and critical step in this process – perhaps the most critical – is creating the marketing
plan, the outline you create to describe how you plan to change a behavior. A marketing plan
should be your manifesto. The plan also should tell you where you are and where you hope to
go. It should lay out a strategy for changing a specific behavior, hopefully a strategy based on
research. It should include the theory behind your approach and your tactics for making it happen.
In short, a marketing plan outlines how you expect your intervention to make a difference
and shows what steps you plan to take to get there. It is a map for you to follow – and adjust
– as you develop and implement a marketing campaign. It is where you begin – and what you
refer to along the way. As soon as you are asked to design, lead or even help on a marketing
campaign, you should begin creating a marketing plan (or familiarize yourself with one, if one
already exists).
This chapter will take you, step by step, through the marketing process, from the creation of the
marketing plan to the final program evaluation.
Execution 67
The Strategy Statement
By this point, you should have identified your audience, researched determinants, identified a
primary benefit and decided on a product. The next step is to tie it all together into a strategy
statement. This statement should crystallize your thinking, and give you a simple description
of your project. The strategy statement ought to fit easily on one page. Often a good strategy
statement fits in a paragraph or even a single sentence. Two approaches are discussed below.
The first is the BEHAVE framework that we have been using all along. The strategy statement
becomes the answers to each of the four boxes that have been outlined.
BEHAVE Strategy Statement
In order to help (A) _______________________, to do (B) ______________________ this
program will focus on (C) ___________________________, using the following marketing mix
(D) _______________________________.
Example: BEHAVE Strategy Statement
In order to help (A) small crop and livestock farmers on smaller-sized, family-operated farms,
who currently do not have any tractors with roll-over protective structures (ROPS) on their farms
to (B) retrofit at least one tractor with a ROPS (on farms with no ROPS), this program will focus
on (C) linking farmers’ values of protecting their family with a perceived benefit of tractor safety;
reducing the perceived cost barrier of ROPS installation; and increasing the perceived normative
support for installing ROPS, using the following marketing mix: (D) Funding to support a
rebate for ROPS installation, print media messages that link ROPS to farmer values about family
and farm security, a toll-free 1-800-YES-ROPS line to answer questions and make convenient
installation appointments, and promotion at popular farm events.
Alternate Strategy Statement
The second approach to writing a strategy statement is very similar but lays the information out
in a slightly different way:
Problem statement: What I am trying to accomplish.
Objective: The action I want to influence.
Audience: The group I want to perform the action.
Key benefit: What the audience will get from the program that they want.
Support: Which tactics I will use to ensure they believe me.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Execution
The Strategy Statement
Example: Alternate Strategy Statement
The alternative Strategy Statement would look something like this:
• I am trying to reduce deaths due to motor vehicle crashes.
• I am trying to reduce deaths and injuries related to farm tractor roll-overs.
• I want small crop and livestock farmers on smaller-sized, family-operated farms in upstate
NY, who currently do not have any tractors with roll-over protective structures (ROPS) on
their farms to retrofit at least one tractor with a ROPS.
• The key benefit I will offer them is the conviction that by adding ROPS to one tractor they
are securing the safety of their family and farm.
• The second benefit is a reduced price for installation due to the rebate offer.
• We will install a 1-800-YES-ROPS to answer questions, promote the rebate and benefits of
ROPS and arrange for convenient ROPS installation.
• We will use paid print ads in farm magazines, barn and roadside banners, and small media
and collateral distributed at popular farm events to promote the program.
Spotlight on Social Marketing
Projects
The Litro Bolsa program provided
Honduran communities with a 1-liter
sac in which to prepare re-hydration
therapies for their children,
preventing death from dehydration.
Partner: USAID
Execution 69
The BEHAVE-based Marketing Plan
There are many ways to create a marketing plan. However, we at AED have found our BEHAVE
framework (described in The Basics) to be an excellent way of planning social marketing initiatives.
In this section, we will describe how to develop a marketing plan based on the BEHAVE
framework. The process is fairly straightforward and can be broken into eight steps. When you
have completed the eight steps, you have created your plan.
Step 1: Name your bottom line.
What is the expected social benefit of your program? Think about what is behind the effort.
What do those funding the program – or at least those who will be judging its success – want to
see? This should be something simple and measurable, preferably the measure your boss, the
funder, or a governing body plans to use. For example, while saving energy may be a result of a
CFL campaign, your success may be measured as the percentage of homes or businesses using
CFLs. Use that measure as your bottom line. Even if it isn’t the ultimate benefit to society, it
is how your work will be judged. By clearly stating this goal, you can ensure that your marketing
program will be designed with this purpose in mind.
Step 2: Name the behavior you want to change.
A behavior is a specific action taken by a specific audience under a specific set of circumstances.
If people adopt the new behavior, you will accomplish the goal you stated in Step 1, above.
For example, one behavior could be contractors installing CFLs in new buildings. Another
behavior could be city public-works directors buying streetlights that are more efficient. While
both actions could be described as selling CFLs, the two behaviors are very different. To ensure
that you are being specific enough, use the Defining Behavior Worksheet in the Social Marketing
Tools section of this book.
Step 3: Develop a strategy.
Now, it’s time to figure out what you might do to change this behavior. In this step, you should
conduct your formative research, analyze the results, specify the determinants of behavior –
including the barriers or benefits of a behavior – that are important, and then write a summary of
how your interventions will affect the key determinants. This summary – your strategy – should
be expressed in three to four easy-to-remember bullet points. Or better yet, you should boil
the strategy down to a single declarative sentence, if possible. Use this shorthand to ensure
that your tactics (to be developed next) are “on-strategy.” To help you do this, use the BEHAVE
framework worksheet, provided in Social Marketing Tools. Also, consult the section, From Behavior
to Strategies, for a step-by-step approach to getting this done. This strategy, along with
your BEHAVE worksheet and your written plans for Steps 4 through 7 below, are what constitute
your written “marketing plan.”
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Execution
The BEHAVE-based Marketing Plan
Step 4: Define the marketing mix.
Once you understand the benefits and barriers that matter to your audience it is time to construct
your marketing mix. The decision about your product or services is always the first step.
1. Product/Service: What can you create that will help your audience reduce barriers and
increase benefits they care about.
2. Price: What will putting that product or service in place cost ?
3. Place: Where will you make that product or service available so that it is easily accessible?
4. Promotion: how will you promote that product or service so that people believe its benefits
are credible?
For help in outlining the four Ps, see the Marketing Mix Decision Framework in the Social
Marketing Tools.
Step 5: Prototyping and pre-testing.
Once you have an idea, it needs to be tested. Prototyping is used to test new products and
services. In short, marketers create a series of increasingly complex mock-ups and try them
out with small groups of potential consumers who become full partners in the design process.
Pre-testing is often used to test messages for comprehension, appeal and relevance.
Step 6: Implement.
Now, it’s time to carry out your plans. Using what you learned from pretesting, alter your marketing
plan, and then begin carrying it out. One thing to remember: do not forget to consider
how the campaign will be evaluated. Ensure that a plan is in place and ready to go before you
implement the intervention.
Step 7: Evaluate.
You need to know whether your marketing plan is working. Perhaps parts of your plan are effective
and others are not. An evaluation of the program should be designed before it is launched.
And, make sure this evaluation relates back to the social benefit listed in Step 1 of the process.
In the best campaign, certain parts of the evaluation are ongoing and can be measured regularly
(daily, weekly, monthly, as often as possible), so the campaign can be tweaked as it moves
forward.
Step 8: Refine the campaign.
Use the results of your evaluation to make changes in the campaign. Set aside a certain time
to re-evaluate what you’re doing. Even if the results are good, nothing is perfect. You can make
your campaign stronger. Before you launch the campaign, set the date for this re-evaluation,
based on your evaluation schedule, so you don’t miss an opportunity to revisit a campaign and
make it better.
Social Marketing Tools
Social Marketing Tools
Social Marketing Logic Model
Corrective re-design and up-dating
Education
1. Social Problem
Epidemiological Behavioral
& Market Research Studies
Define Behaviors
& Audiences
Analysis of Competing Behaviors
Regulation
Product Price Place Promotion
Prototyping and Pre-testing Research
Tactical Selection, Execution & Monitoring
Impact Evaluation
Motivation
Social Marketing Tools 75
Defining the Problem Correctly
If you define the problem incorrectly, it doesn’t matter how good your marketing program is.
Use this checklist as a tool to carefully think about the behavior you propose to introduce and
the behavior you propose to change.
Education Problem
o It is a simple behavior.
Does not require new skills
to perform.
o Benefits are immediately
visible*.
o Behavior requires no
equipment to perform.
o Behavior not associated
with any social stigma.
o Barriers to change are not
seen as high.
Regulation Problem
o Education and Motivation
have failed to change
behavior.
o Behavior causes serious
damage to individual
and society.
o Social consensus is that
the behavior should be
regulated.
o Behavior is observable
by others.
o Behavior is susceptible to
effective regulation.
*Judgments about perceptions of benefits and barriers refer to the perceptions of consumers.
Marketing Problem
o Complicated behavior often
requires lifestyle change or
new skills.
o Visible benefits are delayed.
o Behavior requires external
resources to perform.
o There is an effective
behavioral alternative.
o Behavior is stigmatized,
addictive or already illegal.
o There is a preferred competing
behavior.
o Barriers to behavior are
perceived as high.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Social Marketing Tools
The BEHAVE Framework Worksheet
Target Audience
In order to help a specific
target audience
Action
to take a specific, observable
action under
certain conditions
Determinants
Will focus on: What
determines the action
Marketing Mix
Through: Actions aimed
at the behavioral determinants
Who? What? Why? How?
Know exactly who your
audience is and look at
everything from their
point of view.
Your bottom line. The
audiences action is
what counts.
People take action
when it benefits them.
Barriers keep them
from acting.
Your activities should
maximize the benefits
and minimize the barriers
that matter to the
target audience.
Social Marketing Tools 77
Defining Behavior
Target Audience
Who?
A specific target audience
Coherence: What holds this
group together? Similar risks,
wants, needs, behaviors,
demographics, etc?
Defining Behavior Worksheet
Target Audience
Who?
Define your target audience
Checklist: Checklist:
o Is this really a coherent group?
Potential Impact: Is this
segmenting enough to
make a difference in your
bottom line?
o Is this segment big enough to make a difference
in your bottom line?
Action
What?
Key Issues Key Issues?)
Action
What?
Take a specific, observable action under certain conditions
o Is this an action that can be taken by an individual in
the target group?
o Is this under the person’s control?
o Do you specify the conditions?
Condition: Must take into
account the condition
under which this would
take place.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Social Marketing Tools
Understanding Determinants
Determinants?
What perceptions (attitudes, knowledge,
etc.) determine a behavior. List some of
the potential behavioral determinants.
we will focus on:
Determining Determinants:
A lot of factors can influence behavior.
This tool helps you consider
some possibilities. Work backward
from the behavior. To do a voluntary
behavior, a person must intend to do
it in a specific situation. That intention
is influenced by personal, social
and external factors. Consider first
the intention you are targeting, then
list the influences that might apply.
Remember to reflect how external
factors are filtered through personal
attitudes and social norms.
General, External Factors
Social Influences
Personal Influences
Intention
Behavior
Step 3:
In the next three boxes, list the
personal, social and external
factors that influence this intention.
External factors would include
things like gender, age, education
and the price of a product.
Social influences are based on the
attitudes of others, such as social
norms and attitudes about brands.
Finally, there are the influences
specific to each person, such as
an individual’s psychosocial needs.
Try to list as many of these as
possible, remembering that external
factors influence behavior
only after being filtered through
personal and social influences.
Finally, go through you list.
Step 2:
What is it that the target audience
intends to do? For example, you
could say here that an aggressive
driver intends to move quickly.
Step 1:
List the behavior you want to
change. Remember to include both
the audience and the action.
Social Marketing Tools 79
Segmenting the Audience
Target Audience
Who?
A specific target audience
In order to help:
How to Segment:
You can’t speak to everybody. Different
people respond to different
messages. To narrow your target
audience, consider some of the
factors to the right. Slice your audience
into “segments.” The idea is to
narrow the audience into a distinct
group, but one still big enough to
significantly further your ultimate
goal (the social benefit). Then you
can talk right to that segment of the
audience. Often marketers will start
by working on the easiest segment
first -- those you think you can win
over -- then move on to those more
difficult to change.
General Public
Who might use/buy?
Individual
How they engage
in the behavior
Wants
Perceptions
Demographics
Psychographics
Other Issues
Warning: Don’t make your audience
segment so narrow it won’t justify
your budget. You don’t need a whole
campaign to talk to one person.
Step 1:
First consider who needs to be
persuaded to change their behavior.
No need to target women to be
examined for prostrate cancer.
Also, think about whether certain
segments of the audience engage
in the behavior differently.
Step 2:
Consider what your audience
“wants” not just what it “needs.”
Does one part of the audience
want something different than
another part -- a certain benefit,
some kind of approval, a way
around a barrier? Maybe that
would be a good way to separate
your audience into segments.
Step 3:
To continue segmenting your
target audience, look at other
ways to group them, such as
shared perceptions, demographics
or pyschographics. For example,
white girls often smoke believing
it will control their weight; this isn’t
true of most boys, as well as many
African American girls. So to get
white girls to reject tobacco,
you might want to address their
concern about weight gain. The
key is to make sure there is a
reason for your segmentation
strategy -- some reason this group
needs to be addressed differently
than everyone at risk.
Step 4:
Once the audience is narrowed,
clearly state the profile. Go back
and make sure there are reasons
for breaking the audience down
this way for this behavior. Then,
decide which segment or segments
to target first
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Social Marketing Tools
Marketing Mix Decision Framework
Product
Add Benefit
Does it work to
make the behavior
more rewarding?
Does it provide
more benefits than
the competition?
Is it branded and
recognizable?
Is it related to the
behavior emotionally?
Is it fun?
Price
Reduce Barriers
Does it reduce
barriers that the
audience cares
about?
Does it make the
barriers competitive
against other
behavioral choices?
Does it add value
to the behavior?
Is it easy to use?
Place
Increase access
Does it make the
product more
accessible?
Is it easier to find?
Is it available at
convenient times?
Are there other
reasons for the
consumer to want
to go there?
Is it easy to find?
Promotion
Clarify/Persuade
Do consumers:
Know about the
benefits?
Understand the
benefits?
Believe they will
benefit personally?
Trust the
spokesperson?
Believe these
benefits beat competing
benefits?
Is it popular?
Social Marketing Tools 81
BEHAVE Model Marketing Plan
Step 1:
Needs
Step 2:
Outcomes
Step 3:
Strategies
Step 4:
Tactics
Step 5:
Prototyping
Step 6:
Implement
Step 7:
Evaluate
Step 8:
Refine Program
Question
Everything
Audience Action Determinants Marketing Mix
What’s the social benefit? Why is the program being developed?
Define the audience
(primary and secondary)
and the actions you want
each audience to take.
Conduct formative
audience research.
Review audience
research.
Gather audience in focus
groups, one-on-ones, etc.
Possible ongoing research
of audience awareness,
attitudes and actions to
determine the effect of the
interventions.
Assess actions (are you
changing the behavior).
Are you in touch with
audience? Did you pick
the right audience? Is
the audience changing?
Based on research,
determine key benefits
and barriers. Define
the potential change
(e.g. Make helmets seem
fashionable).
Review perceived benefits
and barriers.
Test impact on perceived
benefits and barriers.
Ongoing measures of
perceived benefits
and barriers, including
appeal.
Assess awareness, attitudes,
perceptions (precursors to
behavior change).
Have you chosen the
right barrier and benefits?
Are attitudes changing?
Are there unintended
consequences?
Chose the specific
strategies to make that
happen. (e.g. Associate
helmets with coolness).
Chose tactics. (e.g.
Get sexy TV stars to
wear helmets). Create
materials.
Test pilot product, services,
messages.
Initiate program (reproduce
and disseminate materials,
buy media, etc).
Assess dissemination
effectiveness.
Is you message getting
through? (e.g. Is
the creative “breaking
through”?)
1-page description of each
audience and action using
existing research. Pose
questions you need to
know next.
A logical, research based
written strategy that can
be summarized in three
or four brief bullet points.
Suggest tactics.
(See below)
Materials for audience
(TV spots, posters, brochures,
stickers, earned media
placement, etc.)
Research report.
Program materials.
Research report.
List of recommendations
for the next stage of the
program.
Social Marketing Tools
Partnership Building Tool
Potential Partner:
Step 1: Determine
Your Goals
Your goal(s) for this
partnership is:
Step 1:
List the goal for creating
this partnership.
Some goals may
involve behaviors.
For example, you may
consider partnering
with General Electric
to encourage CFL
use. If a behavior
is involved, use the
BEHAVE model to
think through how this
partnership could help
an intervention related
to the behavior
in question.
Building a partnership
requires significant planning up front. This tool can
help you build strong partnerships focused on furhtering
program goals.
Step 2: Match
Partner
Step 3: Build
Alliance
Does the partner have: Choose which type of
alliance plan to build:
Step 2:
Often you must choose
between potential partners
to decide where
to allocate energy and
resources. Use this section
to help determine
if the potential partnership
is a good fit. This
could help you rank the
potential partners. However,
you may still want
to pursue a partnership
with a lower score
because of other
factors such as size or
political considerations.
For-profit Wants
Nonprofit Wants
or
For-profit Wants
Intervention
Support
Funding?
Nonprofit Wants
Step 3:
Decide what kind of
alliance you are building
– one where both
sides have the same
goal or co-occuring
goals?
Step 4: Alliance
Plan
Write a plan, with partner,
showing:
o Each side’s goals
o Format of partnership
o Muli-year development
plan
o Timeline
o Allocated resources
Step 4:
Create a longterm plan
with the partner, but
prepare the partner for
the potential of shortterm
projects as well.
Social Marketing Tools 83
Partnership Building Tool: Worksheet
Potential Partner:
Step 1: Determine
Your Goals
Your goal(s) for this
partnership is:
Step 2: Match
Partner
Does the partner have:
o Shared vision
o Identical needs
o Same core goal
o Goal dependant on
your group reaching its
goal (co-occurring)
o High level commitment
o Grassroots commitment
o Significant resources
allocated
o Excellent reputation
o Experience reaching
this goal
o Similar corporate culture
o Needed expertise
o Access to key target
audience
o Funds for your goal
o Key skills to offer our
group
o History working with
your group
Match score: of 15
Step 3: Build
Alliance
Choose which type of
alliance plan to build:
For-profit Wants
Nonprofit Wants
or
For-profit Wants
Intervention
Support
Funding?
Nonprofit Wants
Main goal for partner:
Main goal for your group:
Step 4: Alliance
Plan
Write a plan, with partner,
showing:
o Each side’s goals
o Format of partnership
o Muli-year development
plan
o Timeline
o Allocated resources
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals
Social Marketing Tools
Doer/Nondoer Survey
Section 1
Think about the last full day that you were home, that is, before traveling for this workshop.
Now, thinking about that day, how many portions of fruits and vegetables did you eat?
Count all portions in that 24-hour period. Begin when you woke up in the morning and think
about the 24-hour period to the next morning at the same time. You may count juice as
well as fresh, frozen, or canned servings.
Number of portions or fruits and vegetables consumed in 24-hour period:
Now turn this sheet over and, following the instructions at the top, complete all questions.
Submit the completed questionnaire to
no later than .
Section 2
We’d like to ask you some questions about your perceptions about what happens when you
eat all 5 recommended servings of fruits or vegetables every day. Keep in mind that almost
everyone eats 2 or 3 servings a day. Answer for what it’s like - or would be like - to eat 5
portions of fruits or vegetables every day. In answering the questions, respond for yourself
(and not some hypothetical audience member). Please provide as many responses as you
can for each of the following questions.
What do you see as the advantages or good things about your eating all 5 servings
of fruits or vegetables every day?
What do you see as the disadvantages or bad things about your eating all 5 servings
of fruits or vegetables every day?
What makes it easier for you to eat all 5 servings of fruits or vegetables every day?
What makes it more difficult for you to eat all 5 servings of fruit or vegetables every day?
Who (individuals or groups) do you think would approve or support you if you ate all 5
servings of fruits or vegetables every day?
Who (individuals or groups) do you think would disapprove or object if you ate 5 servings
of fruits or vegetables every day?
Social Marketing Tools 85
Doer/Nondoer Analysis Worksheet
Research Finding % Doers % Nondoers Implications 4
Focus 5
Y N M
4 In the “Implications” column, note whether doers and nondoers are alike or different; note whether the intervention could
have an impact.
5 In the “Focus?” column, answer the question, “Should our program focus on this area?” with “yes”, “no”, or “maybe.”
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals | https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/17341697/social-marketing | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | refinedweb | 23,329 | 54.32 |
Parse a chunk of code:
p Parser::CurrentRuby.parse("2 + 2") # (send # (int 2) :+ # (int 2))
Access the AST's source map:
p Parser::CurrentRuby.parse("2 + 2").loc # #<Parser::Source::Map::Send:0x007fe5a1ac2388 # @dot=nil, # @begin=nil, # @end=nil, # @selector=#<Source::Range (string) 2...3>, # @expression=#<Source::Range (string) 0...5>> p Parser::CurrentRuby.parse("2 + 2").loc.selector.source # "+"
Traverse the AST: see the documentation for gem ast.
Parse a chunk of code and display all diagnostics:
parser = Parser::CurrentRuby.new parser.diagnostics.consumer = lambda do |diag| puts diag.render end buffer = Parser::Source::Buffer.new('(string)') buffer.source = "foo *bar" p parser.parse(buffer) # (string):1:5: warning: `*' interpreted as argument prefix # foo *bar # ^ # (send nil :foo # (splat # (send nil :bar)))
If you reuse the same parser object for multiple
#parse runs, you need to
#reset it.
You can also use the
ruby-parse utility (it's bundled with the gem) to play
with Parser:
$ ruby-parse -L -e "2+2" (send (int 2) :+ (int 2)) 2+2 ~ selector ~~~ expression (int 2) 2+2 ~ expression (int 2) 2+2 $ ruby-parse -E -e "2+2" 2+2 ^ tINTEGER 2 expr_end [0 <= cond] [0 <= cmdarg] 2+2 ^ tPLUS "+" expr_beg [0 <= cond] [0 <= cmdarg] 2+2 ^ tINTEGER 2 expr_end [0 <= cond] [0 <= cmdarg] 2+2 ^ false "$eof" expr_end [0 <= cond] [0 <= cmdarg] (send (int 2) :+ (int 2))
Features
- Precise source location reporting.
- Documented AST format which is convenient to work with.
- A simple interface and a powerful, tweakable one.
- Parses 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 syntax with backwards-compatible AST formats.
- Parses MacRuby and RubyMotion syntax extensions.
- Rewriting support.
- Parsing error recovery.
- Improved clang-like diagnostic messages with location information.
- Written in pure Ruby, runs on MRI 1.8.7 or >=1.9.2, JRuby and Rubinius in 1.8 and 1.9 mode.
- Only one runtime dependency: the ast gem.
- Insane Ruby lexer rewritten from scratch in Ragel.
- 100% test coverage for Bison grammars (except error recovery).
- Readable, commented source code.
Documentation
Documentation for Parser is available online.
Node names
Several Parser nodes seem to be confusing enough to warrant a dedicated README section.
(block)
The
(block) node passes a Ruby block, that is, a closure, to a method call represented by its first child, a
(send),
(super) or
(zsuper) node. To demonstrate:
$ ruby-parse -e 'foo { |x| x + 2 }' (block (send nil :foo) (args (arg :x)) (send (lvar :x) :+ (int 2)))
(begin) and (kwbegin)
TL;DR: Unless you perform rewriting, treat
(begin) and
(kwbegin) as the same node type.
Both
(begin) and
(kwbegin) nodes represent compound statements, that is, several expressions which are executed sequentally and the value of the last one is the value of entire compound statement. They may take several forms in the source code:
foo; bar: without delimiters
(foo; bar): parenthesized
begin foo; bar; end: grouped with
beginkeyword
def x; foo; bar; end: grouped inside a method definition
and so on.
$ ruby-parse -e '(foo; bar)' (begin (send nil :foo) (send nil :bar)) $ ruby-parse -e 'def x; foo; bar end' (def :x (args) (begin (send nil :foo) (send nil :bar)))
Note that, despite its name,
kwbegin node only has tangential relation to the
begin keyword. Normally, Parser AST is semantic, that is, if two constructs look differently but behave identically, they get parsed to the same node. However, there exists a peculiar construct called post-loop in Ruby:
begin body end while condition
This specific syntactic construct, that is, keyword
begin..end block followed by a postfix
while, behaves very unlike other similar constructs, e.g.
(body) while condition. While the body itself is wrapped into a
while-post node, Parser also supports rewriting, and in that context it is important to not accidentally convert one kind of loop into another.
$ ruby-parse -e 'begin foo end while cond' (while-post (send nil :cond) (kwbegin (send nil :foo))) $ ruby-parse -e 'foo while cond' (while (send nil :cond) (send nil :foo)) $ ruby-parse -e '(foo) while cond' (while (send nil :cond) (begin (send nil :foo)))
(Parser also needs the
(kwbegin) node type internally, and it is highly problematic to map it back to
(begin).) speified in the usage section of this README.
Compatibility with Ruby MRI
Unfortunately, Ruby MRI often changes syntax in patchlevel versions. This has happened, at least, for every release since 1.9; for example, commits c5013452 and 04bb9d6b were backported all the way from HEAD to 1.9. Moreover, there is no simple way to track these changes.
This policy makes it all but impossible to make Parser precisely compatible with the Ruby MRI parser. Indeed, at September 2014, it would be necessary to maintain and update ten different parsers together with their lexer quirks in order to be able to emulate any given released Ruby MRI version.
As a result, Parser chooses a different path: the
parser/rubyXY parsers recognize the syntax of the latest minor version of Ruby MRI X.Y at the time of the gem release. occuring corner cases, this is not done.
Parser has been extensively tested; in particular, it parses almost entire Rubygems corpus. For every issue, a breakdown of affected gems is offered.
Void value expressions
Ruby MRI prohibits so-called "void value expressions". For a description of what a void value expression is, see this gist and this Parser issue.
It is unknown whether any gems are affected by this issue.
Invalid characters inside comments.
As of 2013-07-25, there are about 180 affected gems.
\u escape in 1.8 mode
Ruby MRI 1.8 permits to specify a bare
\u escape sequence in a string; it treats it like
u. Ruby MRI 1.9 and later treat
\u as a prefix for Unicode escape sequence and do not allow it to appear bare. Parser follows 1.9+ behavior.
As of 2013-07-25, affected gems are: activerdf, activerdf_net7, fastreader, gkellog-reddy.
Dollar-dash
(This one is so obscure I couldn't even think of a saner name for this issue.) Pre-2.1 Ruby allows
to specify a global variable named
$-. Ruby 2.1 and later treat it as a syntax error. Parser
follows 2.1 behavior.
No known code is affected by this issue.
Contributors
- whitequark
- Markus Schirp (mbj)
- Yorick Peterse (yorickpeterse)
- Magnus Holm (judofyr)
- Bozhidar Batsov (bbatsov)
Acknowledgements
The lexer testsuite is derived from ruby_parser.
The Bison parser rules are derived from Ruby MRI parse.y.
Contributing
- Make sure you have Ragel ~> 6.7 installed
- Fork it
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b my-new-feature)
- Commit your changes (
git commit -am 'Add some feature')
- Push to the branch (
git push origin my-new-feature)
- Create new Pull Request | http://www.rubydoc.info/github/whitequark/parser/frames | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | refinedweb | 1,122 | 65.83 |
Signal Processing Contest in Python (PREVIEW): The Worst Encoder in the World to accept. (Most of the other responses were "Where's Part II?" I apologize for the delay. More on this in a bit.)
And shortly after I wrote the article, I had an idea. I'm going to put my money where my mouth is, I thought, and have a contest. If someone thinks they can use the time between encoder instants, they'll just have to prove it! Ever since then, I've been trying to find the time to think up a tangible "bake-off" between encoder velocity estimation algorithms. I'm still working on it, but I've discussed my idea a little bit with Stephane Boucher, who runs this site, and I'm going to give you a preview of my contest proposal.
If you read this preview and are interested in participating, please send a quick comment to me so we can get a sense of how many people might participate.
The Contest, in brief:
You have the chance to come up with a good velocity estimation algorithm in Python, that processes information from a simulated quadrature encoder, and submit it to the contest. I'm going to evaluate your algorithm's accuracy, and the top entries will win some gift certificates to an electronics distributor like Digikey or Mouser. There will be at least 3 prizes, with values of at least $75 for the top prize. (That's if I'm sponsoring it on my own. If we can get enough interest, and Stephane can drum up some corporate sponsorship, we'd like to see it more in the $250 - $500 range.)
To make sure everything goes smoothly, it will still take a while to prepare. I'm aiming for final rules to be posted, and first entries accepted, on January 1, 2014, and last entries accepted 3 months later. (That gives you a 4-month head start if you read this preview!)
The Situation
You are an engineer at Shady Cybernetics, LLC, working on the motor controller for their next economy-model 5-axis robot arm. There's a lot of pressure to keep the price competitive. One of the other engineers, who's working on mechanical and manufacturing aspects of the arm, decided he was going to drop the Avago encoders you had during an early prototype. They're too expensive, he claims, and in their place, he's purchasing some knockoff encoders from a company in China you've never heard of, called Lucky Wheel Technology, Inc., which says they can meet the same specifications as the encoders from Avago, for half the price.
You are skeptical. Here are the accuracy specs from the HEDM-5540 encoders:
After taking a look at some samples from Lucky Wheel, you realize that they look pretty lousy. Here's what a perfect encoder's quadrature signals look like at constant speed:
Here's what some signals from one sample of the Lucky Wheel LW5540 look like:
It's not just that the pulse widths are narrow or wide, or the quadrature angles are out of whack, it's that they're inconsistent. Look at the A signal around counts 2-5 and then around counts 26-28. The pulses are narrow at one point, and then a few counts later they're wide. But you make some careful measurements and crunch the numbers, and unfortunately they meet the specs, if just barely.
Before you spend a lot of time prototyping up some firmware on your embedded processor, you'd like to see how this affects your system design, so you digitize the encoder waveforms and then do some analysis with the Python scipy and numpy libraries.
The Rules
Contest submissions must meet the following rules (subject to change, since this is a preview**):
- Each submission must be a Python 2.7 file called
encoder_estimator.py
- The file must be less than 65536 bytes in length.
- Your file may only contain imports of
scipyand
numpymodules; the imports must be in the first 20 lines of code before any other statements. (If you want to test your file, put your test harness in another script.)
- Your file must include a Python class called
Estimatorwith the
usesEdgeTimes(),
onEdge(),
estimatePosVel(), and
getPosVelScalingFactors()methods shown below.
- Don't be evil: your file must not reference any double-underscore attributes, functions, or methods (except the
__init__()method in your user-defined classes), or reference or use any of Python's builtin functions except for those in an approved whitelist, which is TBD but will include at least
abs(),
all(),
any(),
dict(),
divmod(),
enumerate(),
float(),
int(),
iter(),
len(),
list(),
long(),
map(),
max(),
min(),
object(),
pow(),
range(),
round(),
set(),
slice(),
sorted(),
sum(),
tuple(),
xrange(), and
zip().
- Any file that does not meet the above guidelines will be disqualified.
**Note: This can work in your favor — if you have a specific restriction you disagree with, and can convince me to relax the rules, I will do so. If there are Python modules not allowed by the above rules that you feel are necessary, let me know. I am looking at RestrictedPython as a sandboxing tool, but am still not sure that I want to permit the use of arbitrary Python code.
I will score your entry by running a test harness which instantiates your
Estimator class and calls the following methods based on this interface, for a simulation time period of 5 seconds:
class Estimator(object): def usesEdgeTimes(self): '''Returns True or False: True if the estimator uses edge times, False if it does not. The caller may assume this function always returns the same answer.''' return True def onEdge(self, timeticks, count): '''Called at each edge, if usesEdgeTimes() returns True;.''' return (position, velocity) def getPosVelScalingFactors(): '' (posU, velU)
Your algorithm will be disqualified if it takes more time to run than a maximum time limit. The time limit will be a fixed multiple of the runtime of a reference algorithm (to be published). Please note that algorithms which use edge times are likely to run more slowly than algorithms that do not, since there are additional function calls. (If you return False from
usesEdgeTimes(), the evaluation routine will not call
onEdge().)
The system constraints
This system represents a 64-line encoder (256 counts per revolution) that meets the specifications for ΔP, ΔS, ΔPhi, and ΔC for the HEDM-5540.
Maximum velocity: ±6000RPM.
Maximum acceleration: ±15000RPM/sec. (Warning! This and the velocity limit may increase in the final rules.)
The starting velocity may be (and probably will be) nonzero.
Your algorithm will be evaluated for a simulated time of 5 seconds (50,000 calls to
estimatePosVel()). You may assume that the encoder starts at position zero; don't worry about aligning to any position reference.
The velocity profile used for evaluation will be the same for all entries, but will not be revealed prior to posting the algorithm results.
Scoring
Points will be assigned to your algorithm based on the accuracy of position and velocity. [Method for evaluating TBD, but will probably be based on mean-squared error of velocity and position after filtering with a 1-pole 1msec time constant low-pass filter. See the section below.]
- You may submit multiple entries. (There may, however, be a limit applied if the total number of entries is large.)
- You may retain a copyright to your algorithm if you publish it under one of the following open-source licenses: Apache, BSD, MIT, ... [etc]. Submissions without a copyright notice are assumed to be submitted under the Apache license.
- You must submit your real name and your country and state/province of residence.
- The winning entries will be published on embeddedrelated.com
So that's the contest preview. Again, if you're interested in participating, send a quick comment to me.
How to test and evaluate an estimation algorithm
(or: How to Estimate Encoder Velocity Without Making Stupid Mistakes: Part 1.5)
The rest of this article will get into some technical information about position and velocity estimation. But first:
Mea Culpa: Why Jason Still Hasn't Published Part II
OK, so I set an expectation at the end of Part I of my article on encoder estimation that there would, in fact, be a Part II, and it would be on advanced estimation algorithms. I hinted on Reddit that it would cover some aspects of PLLs and observers.
Since then I've written eight other articles, so I can't exactly claim I haven't had time to write Part II. The toughest thing about writing a followup hasn't been the theory behind these advanced algorithms. What is tough to explain is what makes one algorithm better than another. And here I need to take a short diversion:
Over the years, I've read a lot of really good articles in IEEE Transactions. The journals I find most relevant are IEEE Transactions on Industrial Applications, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, and IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. They have lots of papers on motor control, and a bunch of them are about current or flux or speed controllers. And I have some pet peeves. The first of which is that the editorial quality isn't very good. These are beautifully typeset professional journals which IEEE is investing a lot of money in. I am sure the editors are putting in the effort they can to make these journals better. But it appears like the only major criteria for getting an article published in these journals is that it first has to be presented in an IEEE conference, and beyond that, as long as the article meets certain minimum guidelines, the conference organizers nominate it for publication in the IEEE Transactions. This shuts out anyone who doesn't have the time or money to go to the conferences (and in industry, it's hard enough just getting the approval to publish something), and it lets through a lot of papers which, in my opinion, aren't very good. For me as a reader, it's not really that big of a deal, since I've read enough of them that I can quickly weed out the mediocre ones.
The second pet peeve is a more specific aspect of this, and it has to do with graphs. What I don't understand is why the editors don't have an acceptance threshold for graphs, involving some very simple criteria:
- All graphs should have their axes labeled, including engineering units. (you'd be surprised how many don't)
- Graphs showing more than one waveform should show clear distinguishing characteristics (e.g. line width, line style, and/or marker style), including a legend.
- Any graph meant to demonstrate small differences between waveforms must be accompanied by a graph showing that difference.
This last point may need some explanation. Here's an example of a bad graph.
import numpy as np import matplotlib.pyplot as plt x = np.arange(0.5,2,0.001) f = lambda x: -0.09*x**2 + 0.68*x + 0.41 plt.plot(x,sqrt(x),x,f(x)) plt.title('Really cool approximation to $\sqrt{x}: f(x) = -0.09x^2 + 0.68x + 0.41$', fontsize=14) plt.legend(('$\sqrt{x}$','$f(x)$'),'upper left') plt.xlabel('x') plt.ylabel('y') plt.grid()
Why is it bad? Because you can't tell how close these two waveforms are! All I can tell is that, yeah, they're kind of close. Now watch what happens when you graph the error:
plt.plot(x,sqrt(x)-f(x)) plt.title('$\sqrt{x}-f(x)$') plt.xlabel('x') plt.ylabel('error') plt.grid()
Bingo! I can immediately tell that the error is less than 0.005 between x = 0.7 and 2.0. And that's a lot more useful and a lot more specific than just knowing that \( f(x) \approx \sqrt{x} \).
The reason this is so crucial is that these are supposed to be rigorous papers explaining, and promoting, novel contributions to engineering. So many of them are saying, in effect, Here's Our Research And It Has The Potential To Improve The World! More specifically and more commonly, Our New (choose one or more of the following: Nonlinear, Adaptive, Robust, Lyapunov, \( H_\infty \), Recursive, Fuzzy Logic, Ant Colony, Neural Network) Control Algorithm Is An Improvement Over The Standard Proportional-Integral Controller! Which brings me to my third pet peeve:
The academic world needs to prevent the use of straw-man comparisons between new and standard techniques. Standard test cases should be developed for evaluating new methods. In the deceptive fields of politics and advertising, a straw man is a technique to portray an undesirable alternative inaccurately, thereby showing the contrast to a desirable alternative. In engineering papers, I don't think the authors are out to deceive people, but when they compare their new whiz-bang algorithm to a plain old PI controller, and you can see in the graph in their paper that their whiz-bang controller does a better job than the PI controller, the question you should be asking is, Hey, how do they really know they've done a good job tuning the PI controller? Just because one particular PI controller looks lousy in an application doesn't mean it's the best PI controller. And when I read about how Fuzzy Logic is supposed to be better, I have no way of knowing if that's really the case or whether the technique in question is just a thin improvement over a poorly-tuned PI controller for one particular test case. So I really, really, really wish that for these standard types of problems (field-oriented current control in PMSM motors, field-oriented current control in induction motors, direct torque control, etc., etc.) there were some standard test cases. And then the researchers could say "Our algorithm achieves a score of 145.3 on the Slawitsky Benchmark with test case E3, 182.3 with test case E4, and 167 with test case E5." And then you could get a better sense of why their research matters. I'm sorry if I'm devaluing the dissertations of Ph.D. students at the University of South Blahzistan here, but there's a difference between the value of someone's research to their university, and the value of their research to society as a whole. Go ahead and get your Ph.D. — you've earned it! — but I don't want to read about it unless it measures up to high standards.
Ride a Painted Pony, Let the Spinning Wheel Spin
OK, so let's do some measuring! We're going to choose one particular test case, with one particular UUT (unit under test, i.e. a consistent sample encoder behavior), and one particular algorithm, and see what happens.
Let's create an acceleration/deceleration profile:
import scipy.integrate t = np.arange(0,5,100e-6) A0 = 15000.0/60 # max acceleration in rev/sec^2 = 15000RPM/sec # acceleration waveform is zero except for a few intervals: a = np.zeros_like(t) a[t<0.4] = A0 a[(t>0.8) & (t<1.6)] = -A0 a[(t>2.0) & (t<2.8)] = A0 a[(t>3.2) & (t<4.0)] = -A0 a[(t>4.4) & (t<4.8)] = A0 omega_m = scipy.integrate.cumtrapz(a,t,initial=0) theta_m = scipy.integrate.cumtrapz(omega_m,t,initial=0) plt.figure(figsize=(8,6), dpi=80) plt.subplot(3,1,1) plt.plot(t,a) plt.ylabel('accel (rev/sec^2)') plt.subplot(3,1,2) plt.plot(t,omega_m) plt.ylabel('vel (rev/sec)') plt.subplot(3,1,3) plt.plot(t,theta_m % 1.0) plt.ylabel('angle (rev)')
Yee hah! That was easy! Now we need our encoder.
So what exactly does an encoder look like in a signal processing chain? Well, if we lump it together with an encoder counter, we really just have a position quantizer.
class GenericEncoder(object): '''Subclasses must contain the field self.points which contains an array of the positions of all edge transitions.''' def getCountsPerRevolution(self): return len(self.points) def measureRaw(self, actualPos): '''here we want to support actualPos being an array''' positionInRevolution = np.array(actualPos) % 1.0 numRevolutions = numpy.round(actualPos - positionInRevolution).astype(int) poscount = numpy.searchsorted(self.points, positionInRevolution) return (poscount, numRevolutions) def measure(self, actualPos): (poscount, numRevolutions) = self.measureRaw(actualPos) return poscount + numRevolutions * self.getCountsPerRevolution() class PerfectEncoder(GenericEncoder): def __init__(self, N): self.points = np.arange(0,1,1.0/N) class LuckyWheelEncoderUnit1(GenericEncoder): def __init__(self): self.points = np.array([ 1.78681261e-05, 4.34015460e-03, 8.07303047e-03, 1.13466271e-02, 1.61623994e-02, 1.96503069e-02, 2.31784992e-02, 2.64520959e-02, 3.17064152e-02, 3.57948381e-02, 3.88021793e-02, 4.25872245e-02, 4.76602727e-02, 5.13552252e-02, 5.46335835e-02, 5.79334630e-02, 6.27657415e-02, 6.73314917e-02, 7.07513269e-02, 7.40779942e-02, 7.78712102e-02, 8.24369605e-02, 8.67480414e-02, 8.91834630e-02, 9.33930296e-02, 9.79757390e-02, 1.02623678e-01, 1.05065715e-01, 1.08709319e-01, 1.13081208e-01, 1.18193111e-01, 1.21210246e-01, 1.24645388e-01, 1.29050112e-01, 1.33366964e-01, 1.37354778e-01, 1.40035335e-01, 1.44155580e-01, 1.48472433e-01, 1.52460246e-01, 1.56179866e-01, 1.60160736e-01, 1.64505892e-01, 1.68334854e-01, 1.71457270e-01, 1.76305268e-01, 1.80495679e-01, 1.84137509e-01, 1.87601801e-01, 1.92449799e-01, 1.95613191e-01, 1.99748524e-01, 2.03746332e-01, 2.07555268e-01, 2.11757722e-01, 2.15751676e-01, 2.18986641e-01, 2.23067092e-01, 2.27068877e-01, 2.30992969e-01, 2.34994386e-01, 2.38905898e-01, 2.42175623e-01, 2.46098438e-01, 2.50440268e-01, 2.54696760e-01, 2.58320154e-01, 2.61880090e-01, 2.66011140e-01, 2.70211800e-01, 2.73425623e-01, 2.77786595e-01, 2.81903811e-01, 2.85816794e-01, 2.88915751e-01, 2.93357018e-01, 2.97671257e-01, 3.00922263e-01, 3.05060282e-01, 3.09496091e-01, 3.12840812e-01, 3.16027731e-01, 3.20358746e-01, 3.25116017e-01, 3.28838087e-01, 3.32146173e-01, 3.36258477e-01, 3.40221486e-01, 3.44538385e-01, 3.47806642e-01, 3.51548143e-01, 3.55622481e-01, 3.59643853e-01, 3.62912111e-01, 3.66904329e-01, 3.71767013e-01, 3.75263736e-01, 3.79056642e-01, 3.82319633e-01, 3.87423892e-01, 3.90882952e-01, 3.94162111e-01, 3.97634225e-01, 4.03172934e-01, 4.07015722e-01, 4.10025417e-01, 4.13672599e-01, 4.18413278e-01, 4.22525788e-01, 4.25130886e-01, 4.28778068e-01, 4.33518747e-01, 4.38513745e-01, 4.40961988e-01, 4.44261170e-01, 4.49543367e-01, 4.53633247e-01, 4.57106519e-01, 4.60405701e-01, 4.65019062e-01, 4.68738715e-01, 4.72511159e-01, 4.75511170e-01, 4.80124531e-01, 4.84883247e-01, 4.88655690e-01, 4.91655701e-01, 4.95475658e-01, 5.00776541e-01, 5.04014265e-01, 5.07490859e-01, 5.11557026e-01, 5.15927670e-01, 5.19119734e-01, 5.23635390e-01, 5.27694756e-01, 5.31033138e-01, 5.34606175e-01, 5.39779921e-01, 5.43639278e-01, 5.46436545e-01, 5.50750706e-01, 5.55731187e-01, 5.59301291e-01, 5.62192681e-01, 5.66895237e-01, 5.71017227e-01, 5.74624737e-01, 5.77603573e-01, 5.82973460e-01, 5.86849158e-01, 5.90553405e-01, 5.93642925e-01, 5.98445470e-01, 6.02102722e-01, 6.05929395e-01, 6.09763422e-01, 6.14015912e-01, 6.17604479e-01, 6.21832968e-01, 6.25475058e-01, 6.29281933e-01, 6.32709948e-01, 6.37062339e-01, 6.40580526e-01, 6.44387402e-01, 6.48530269e-01, 6.52919583e-01, 6.55685995e-01, 6.59492870e-01, 6.63635737e-01, 6.68655142e-01, 6.71690925e-01, 6.75521700e-01, 6.79145713e-01, 6.83760611e-01, 6.87725878e-01, 6.90627169e-01, 6.94791085e-01, 6.99791699e-01, 7.03301298e-01, 7.06117132e-01, 7.10773357e-01, 7.15525794e-01, 7.18764737e-01, 7.22209293e-01, 7.26907051e-01, 7.30816861e-01, 7.34262653e-01, 7.38218203e-01, 7.43034931e-01, 7.46961392e-01, 7.49368122e-01, 7.53974638e-01, 7.58140400e-01, 7.62066861e-01, 7.65087099e-01, 7.69786949e-01, 7.74213248e-01, 7.77172330e-01, 7.80643720e-01, 7.85931480e-01, 7.89557940e-01, 7.92277799e-01, 7.96788251e-01, 8.01208924e-01, 8.04763703e-01, 8.07483978e-01, 8.11942436e-01, 8.16342816e-01, 8.20053719e-01, 8.23628509e-01, 8.27946522e-01, 8.31899610e-01, 8.35159187e-01, 8.39424312e-01, 8.44091053e-01, 8.47999280e-01, 8.51233135e-01, 8.55072606e-01, 8.59607108e-01, 8.63558152e-01, 8.67149594e-01, 8.70873885e-01, 8.75522405e-01, 8.79702683e-01, 8.83226434e-01, 8.86176671e-01, 8.90725716e-01, 8.95224817e-01, 8.98331902e-01, 9.01902212e-01, 9.06074277e-01, 9.10330286e-01, 9.14233430e-01, 9.17438723e-01, 9.22053158e-01, 9.25814211e-01, 9.30168446e-01, 9.33147335e-01, 9.37455338e-01, 9.41454485e-01, 9.45420729e-01, 9.49225208e-01, 9.52922376e-01, 9.57139462e-01, 9.61324385e-01, 9.64420579e-01, 9.68968835e-01, 9.73279932e-01, 9.76845826e-01, 9.80167922e-01, 9.84356348e-01, 9.88746721e-01, 9.92444035e-01, 9.95694643e-01]) enc = LuckyWheelEncoderUnit1() ptest1 = np.array([0.000001, 0.001, 0.995, 0.9995, 3.9995, 4, 4.001]) print enc.measureRaw(ptest1) print enc.measure(ptest1)
(array([ 0, 1, 255, 256, 256, 0, 1]), array([0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 4, 4])) [ 0 1 255 256 1024 1024 1025]
Great! Now let's quantize our test case position with the encoder, and just to check if things look ok, let's look at the resulting error:
actualPosInCounts = theta_m * enc.getCountsPerRevolution() measuredPos = enc.measure(theta_m) plt.plot(t,actualPosInCounts - measuredPos)
[]
It looks like noise, except for the portion where the velocity is near zero (but not exactly zero). Also, the noise is about 1.4 counts in magnitude peak-to-peak: a perfect encoder would show a peak-to-peak quantization error of 1.0 counts in magnitude, whereas the imperfect encoder adds some error. Let's look at the perfect encoder:
encPerfect = PerfectEncoder(256) perfectEncoderMeasuredPos = encPerfect.measure(theta_m) plt.plot(t,actualPosInCounts - perfectEncoderMeasuredPos)
[]
Now all we need is a test algorithm, and a test harness. For an estimation algorithm, let's just take differences of position samples, and put them through a low-pass filter.
class SimpleEstimator(object): def __init__(self, lpfcoeff): self.velstate = 0 self.prevpos = 0 self.lpfcoeff = lpfcoeff def usesEdgeTimes(self): '''Returns True or False: True if the estimator uses edge times, False if it does not.''' return False def onEdge(self, timeticks, count): '''Called at each edge;.''' deltaCount = count - self.prevpos self.prevpos = count newVelocityEstimate = self.velstate + self.lpfcoeff * ( deltaCount - self.velstate) self.velstate = newVelocityEstimate return (count, newVelocityEstimate) def getPosVelScalingFactors(self): '' (1.0/256, 1.0/256/100e-6) import time def testEstimator(estimator, t, omega_m, theta_m): enc = LuckyWheelEncoderUnit1() quantizedPosition = enc.measure(theta_m) tposlist = zip(t/100e-6, quantizedPosition) tstart = time.time() # here's where the estimator actually does stuff pvlist = [estimator.estimatePosVel(t, pos) for (t,pos) in tposlist] tend = time.time() (posest_unscaled,velest_unscaled) = zip(*pvlist) # unzip the pos + velocity estimates (posfactor, velfactor) = estimator.getPosVelScalingFactors() return (tend-tstart, np.array(posest_unscaled)*posfactor, np.array(velest_unscaled)*velfactor) def runTest(estimator, whichplots=('error')): (compute_time, posest, velest) = testEstimator(est1, t, omega_m, theta_m) if 'velocity' in whichplots: plt.figure(); plt.plot(t,omega_m,t,velest); plt.ylabel('velocity (rev/sec)') if 'error' in whichplots: plt.figure(); plt.plot(t,omega_m-velest); plt.ylabel('velocity error (rev/sec)') print "This estimator took %.3f msec" % (compute_time*1000) est1 = SimpleEstimator(0.02) runTest(est1,('velocity','error'))
This estimator took 869.762 msec
Woot woot! This simple estimator and test harness took me about 15 minutes to code up in Python, and it WORKS!
Except... well, let's get some perspective for the error. An error of 2 revolutions per second is 120RPM, which is kind of high for a velocity error. We have two components of error. One component is the "noise" band, which looks to be about 0.8 rev/sec (around 50RPM) peak-to-peak. This is caused by the encoder quantization error. The other component is an offset proportional to acceleration: this is due to the phase lag caused by the low-pass filter.
And here we see a dilemma, which will lead nicely into Part II. With a smaller low-pass filter coefficient (lower cutoff frequency), you can reduce the noise band, but the phase lag increases, and the offset proportional to acceleration increases. With a larger low-pass filter coefficient (higher cutoff frequency), you can reduce the offset proportional to acceleration, but the noise band increases. Don't believe me? Let's try it:
est1 = SimpleEstimator(0.01) runTest(est1)
This estimator took 904.040 msec
est1 = SimpleEstimator(0.05) runTest(est1)
This estimator took 835.717 msec
Performance Metrics
Finally, we need to talk at least a little about computing a performance metric. The mean squared error is a good one, but we should be a little careful about what constitutes a good estimate of velocity, since different consumers of velocity estimates will be more or less sensitive to different types of error.
Let's consider a velocity control loop; it's going to have a certain transfer function to output velocity and to torque (or current) command. The high-frequency components of speed measurement error have almost no effect on output velocity; the low-frequency components do. Also we don't really care about individual spikes of error, because they'll get filtered out by the system inertia. If we look at the torque command output of the controller, however, high-frequency noise will get multiplied by a speed loop's proportional term, and will create audible noise in a motor. More seriously, large spikes in current command can cause problems in a current controller. So we care about both high frequency and low frequency components, and we care both about large spikes and mean squared error.
The same kinds of things hold true for a current loop that uses speed as a feedforward input, but here we probably don't care too much about low-frequency error, it's the high-frequency error and the current spikes.
I'll talk more in detail about performance metrics in a future column, but for now just keep it in mind that a visual check of the velocity error waveform isn't enough; we really need a quantitative way to compare the results of different estimators.
I hope this has given you a better idea of what it takes to evaluate a particular estimator. Stay tuned for more information on encoder estimation, and on the contest.
Stay tuned for a link to this code in an IPython Notebook. I'll put it up on the web, and I do plan to release this in an open-source license, I just have to do a little more homework before I pick the right one.
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Fluxions for Fun and Profit: Euler, Trapezoidal, Verlet, or Runge-Kutta?
- Write a CommentSelect to add a comment
If you would allow plain C code, I would probably send in a decent entry; if you insist on python, I most likely won't participate.
Out of interest, what precise scenario is motivating you to limit what Python entrants can import or invoke? If I were proposing such a contest, my first instinct would be to let people use whatever code they like (incl. 3rd party libraries, so long as they are clearly specified in a requirements.txt and 'pip install' without hassle on my part.)
I can imagine some entries might not run quickly enough, or might produce incorrect results - these would be score poorly the competition. Some code might even hang interminably - yielding a zero score, presumably. But I can't imagine you're really going to get 'bad actor' entrants who attempt to do something malicious when you run their code. Is that what you're guarding against?
I haven't done anything like this since Electronics undergrad (been other types of software ever since) so I'm a total layman at this, forgive me if the answers ought to be obvious
>. | https://www.embeddedrelated.com/showarticle/444.php | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | refinedweb | 4,732 | 63.39 |
Group Wikis
From OLPC
This is a Google Summer of Code 2008 proposal, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!
About
I would like to implement a feature which would allow groups to be able to quickly and easily create wiki-style pages for the facilitation of collaborative work. A group, in this sense, could be: an entire class, several students working on a project, teachers planning the curriculum, friends collaborating outside the classroom, etc.This idea is in a way very similar to the Bulletin Board, the difference is that users of a Group Wiki interact through wiki pages (most likely via MikMik) rather than a contextual chatting interface. I should note that Group Wikis are not intended to be a replacement for the Bulletin Board idea, there are appropriate times for both.
Use Case
Four students, Ally, Bill, Chris, and Dana, are working on their science fair project about ocean waves. Ally starts the group and invites the other students, she also types up a short description of the project and a time line showing when things need to be finished. Bill gets on the wiki and notices that Ally forgot to mention that a draft of their paper is due next Wednesday, so he adds it to the time line and also posts a link to a great website he found. Over the next few days the students share their notes and resources through the wiki and discuss what information should go into the paper. Chris and Dana, who have agreed to create the poster, add pictures of waves which everyone comments on to decide which should be used. Ally and Bill, who wrote a draft of the paper in a shared write activity, add it to the wiki for the others to see. They're able to fix mistakes and add new information right on the wiki page, if they decide they don't like a change that was made they can revert to an earlier version using the wiki's history.
Why Wikis
One might imagine that the functionality I'm describing could be implemented with traditional bulletin boards, or with something like contextual chatting interfaces, so why bother with the overhead of wikis?
Why not traditional forum-style threads?
- There are a few things wrong with using forums for collaboration. For one, forums are organized temporally, so to get a good idea of what's being discussed you have to read every post from the start of the thread to the end. Also, collaboration is not just discussion, students will want to do things like draw up lists of goals which can be modified over time This is trivial with a wiki, but really doesn't work with forums.
Why not a contextual chatting interface like the Bulletin Board?
- Contextual chatting is very nice for quick notes, and for working in real time with others, but they're very limited in a number of ways. For example, it's not obvious how one should display more information than can fit on a single screen, this could be a problem for long projects with complex goals which need to be described at length. Also, they lack the versatility of wikis for dealing with changing content (such as, again, a list of goals). Lastly, because wikis are capable of doing version control, they're much better suited for dealing with individuals who have sporadic connectivity.
While wikis are less intuitive than the other options, they provide of level of control and scalability which is far superior to both. Plus, there are a number of wiki applications already available, such as MikMik and MediaWiki. Given this, as well as the fact that wikis are becoming more and more common on the internet, we can likely assume that students and teachers will familiarize themselves with the wiki format and that the comparatively steep learning curve of wikis will be counteracted by their prevalence.
Implementation
Ideally this feature would be integrated directly into the group view screen, unfortunately this is not possible as Groups have not yet been implemented and may not be for some time. However, there are several other ways in which this could be implemented. The most viable, I believe, is to extend MikMik to include a simple, yet intuitive, group management system. If the MikMik developers do not want this functionality, a separate activity could be built with the sole purpose of managing groups.
Creating a Group
- A “Groups” namespace could be created where all of the Group pages are held. To start a group you simply create a page within that namespace -- tools should be created to make this process as simple as possible.
Group Membership
- The creator of a group should be added to it automatically. Other users should be able to join a group in one of two ways
- Case 1: When a user browses to a page in the group namespace they should be presented with the option of joining that group. A button in the activity's toolbar would be appropriate. This button should always be present, but should be disabled when a users is not on a page in the Groups namespace.
- Case 2: Users should be able to join a group by invitation. Ideally this would be done with notifications, but the creator of a group could also just share her/his activity and invite others to it through the neighborhood screen.
Managing Groups
- There should be a screen, very similar in appearance to the Journal, which lists the groups one belongs to and has options for viewing group pages, removing yourself from a group, marking a group as a favorite, and inviting new members to the group.
Misc. Challenges / Implementation questions
- We'll want to delete unused group pages after a while so as to prevent bloat and namespace crowding, how do we determine when to delete a page? Should a group be deleted if it has no members?
- Should there be a way to make groups invite only? Might this be detrimental to the read-write culture which wikis inspire? | http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Group_Wikis | CC-MAIN-2015-40 | refinedweb | 1,014 | 64.24 |
For a Microsoft Visual C# .NET version of this article, see
308001 .
308001 .
IN THIS TASK
Summary
This step-by-step article demonstrates how to use Microsoft Visual Basic .NET to create a simple, custom HTTP handler. This article demonstrates how to create, deploy, and configure the handler.
Implement the Handler
- Start Microsoft Visual Studio .NET.
- Create a new Class Library project by using Visual Basic .NET, and then name the project MyHandler.
- Add a reference to the System.Web.dll assembly.
- Add the following code to import the System.Web namespace:
Imports System.Web
- Rename the class SyncHandler.vb, and then change the class definition to reflect this.
- Implement the IHttpHandler interface. Your class definition should appear as follows:
Public Class SyncHandler
Implements IHttpHandler
- Implement the IsReusable property and the ProcessRequest method of the IHttpHandler interface. Because this is a synchronous handler, return False for the IsReusable property so that the handler is not pooled.
Public ReadOnly Property IsReusable() As Boolean _
Implements IHttpHandler.IsReusable
Get
Return False
End Get
End Property
Public Sub ProcessRequest(ByVal context As HttpContext) _
Implements IHttpHandler.ProcessRequest
context.Response.Write("Hello from custom handler.")
End Sub
- Compile the project.
Note: If you want your handler to have access to session data, then your class must implement the IRequiresSessionState interface in addition to IHttpHandler. IRequiresSessionState has no methods or properties. It merely designates that your handler uses session data. directory to the C:\Inetpub\Wwwroot\Handler\Bin directory.
- Follow these steps to mark the new Handler directory as a Web application:
- In Microsoft Windows 2000 and in Microsoft Windows XP, start Internet Services Manager. In Microsoft Windows Server 2003, start Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
- Right-click on:C:\WINNT\Microsoft.NET\Framework\<version#>\Aspnet_isapi.dll
- In the Extension text box, type .sync.
- In Windows 2000 and in Windows XP, make sure that the Check that file exists check box is cleared, and then click OK to close the Add/Edit Application Extension Mapping dialog box. In Windows Server 2003, make sure that the Verifyander,.
Properties
Article ID: 307997 - Last Review: Aug 14, 2008 - Revision: 1 | https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/307997/how-to-create-an-asp-net-http-handler-by-using-visual-basic--net | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | refinedweb | 352 | 52.05 |
If you can get WinNT up and running then you can install your
SCSI driver by clicking the SCSI icon in the Control Panel and
adding a new driver.
WinNT Server supports RAID 0 (mirroring) without third-party tools.
I'm not sure about WinNT Workstation.
"Matt"
wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have an older Supermicro P6SBU motherboard with an onboard AIC-7890
> Ultra II SCSI controller. Well the system crashed and when I
> reinstalled NT4 sp6 I noticed that I didn't have the SCSI drivers. I
> have a manual that came with the system for Adaptec EZ-SCSI/Adaptec 7800
> Family Manager set v3.x, and the motherboard manual says that the SCSI
> controller functions with Adaptec RAIDport III (ARO-1130U2). So I went
> to Adaptec's site and downloaded the drivers for the 7800, but can I
> just install this driver set or will I need to reinstall NT from
> scratch? Tech support for the motherboard just told me this:
>
> The correct way to install NT on a AIC7890 SCSI motherboard is
> 1. Please place the CDROM disc (Windows NT) in the CDROM drive.
> 2. Go to the BIOS and select ATAPI CDROM (if you have an IDE CDROM
> drive) or SCSI (if you have a SCSI CDROM).
> 3. Reboot the system and when you see the screen display "NT inspecting
> your system" press the "F6" key.
> 4. When the files stop loading and a message about no mass storage
> device found, please the "S" key and select OEM driver
> 5. Please the NT driver floppy disk in the floppy drive and press
> return.
> 6. IF YOU HAVE an IDE CDROM press "S" again and use the up arrow key to
> select ATAPI IDE CDROM version 1.2 and hit return (NOT NEEDED if you
> have a SCSI CDROM drive).
> 7. System will not load an give you the change to partition your drive.
> 8. If you want to access the CDROM from DOS, you will need EZSCSI
> version 5.0 which is located on the CDROM we provided with motherboard
> ( will need another computer with CDROM access to copy the files to a
> floppy.
>
>
> And does anyone know if I will need additional software to set up RAID
> 0? I can't seem to find the literature on Adaptec's site, probably due
> to the fact that this is so old.
>
> | http://fixunix.com/windows-nt/41280-nt-scsi.html | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | refinedweb | 404 | 79.19 |
Python Program to Find LCM of two Numbers
Grammarly
In this tutorial, you will learn how to Find LCM of two Numbers using the if and else statements, while loop along with the different operators of the python programming language.
How to to Find LCM of two Numbers?
Let’s take a look at the source code , here the values are given as input by the user in the code, the operators and while loop along with the if and else statements carry out the function.
# =int(input("Enter the first integer: ")) num2 =int(input("\nEnter the second integer: ")) print("\nThe L.C.M. is", compute_lcm(num1, num2))
INPUT:
54 24
OUTPUT:
Enter the first integer: Enter the second integer: The L.C.M. is 216
- At the start, we use
def compute_lcm(x, y)followed by a
:where the
defkeyword is used to define a function and the
compute_lcm(x, y)function returns the L.C.M of two numbers.
- After that we declare an
ifstatement followed by a
:with condition
x > ywhere if the condition is satisfied, x is considered greater. If not, it moves to the
elsestatement, where y is considered greater.
- Next, we declare a
whileloop , with an
ifcondition
((greater % x == 0) and (greater % y == 0))where
lcm = greaterfollowed by a
:.
- We give a
breakafter that, where
greater += 1. Once the loop iterates till the conditions are met and comes to an end, the
returnfunction returns the value of
lcm.
- Here we give the user the option to enter the values and the input values are scanned using the
inputfunction which are stored in the variable
num1and
num2with the statements/strings
("Enter the first integer: ")and
("\nEnter the second integer: "), we use the
intfunction and declare the input value as an integer value.
- In the STDIN section of the code editor the input values are entered.
- The final output values are displayed with the statement
("\nThe L.C.M. is", compute_lcm(num1, num2))using the
num1and
num2.
NOTE:
- The if and else statements evaluates whether an expression is true or false. If a condition is true, the “if” statement is executed otherwise, the “else” statement is executed.
- The While true loop in python runs without any conditions until the break statement executes inside the loop.
- The Break statement in python stops the loop in which the statement is placed.
- The Addition Assignment+= operator in python adds two values together and assign the resultant value to a variable.
-. | https://developerpublish.com/academy/courses/python-examples/lessons/python-program-to-find-lcm-of-two-numbers/ | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | refinedweb | 411 | 61.16 |
Macros.
(i) A macro for finding greater of two numbers may be defined as below.
#define max(x,y) (x>y ? x:y)
In the above expression some spaces are important. There is at least one space between #define and max (x, y) but there is no space between max and the left bracket '('.Again there is at least one space between max (x, y) and the expression (x > y ? x : y)
(ii) A macro for display of a message is illustrated below.
#define Message "Hello World!"
Note that there is at least one space between #define and Message and between Message and the string "Hello World!"
(iii) A macro for finding area of circle is illustrated as given below.
#define Area(R) 3.14159*(R)*(R)
You will notice that there is at least one space between #define and Area (R) and between Area (R) and 3. 14l59*R*R. However, there is no space between Area and the left parenthesis '('. The variable R is put in parentheses so that there is no error even if R is substituted as R + A. Application of two macros is illustrated in Program: one finds the greater of two numbers, while the other displays a message.
Illustrates defining a macro in a program
# include <stdio.h>
#define max(m,n,p) ((m>n? m:n)>p? (m>n? m:n): p)
# define Message "See I have done it."
void main()
{
int x,y,z;
clrscr();
printf("Write three integers :");
scanf("%d %d %d", &x, &y, &z);
printf("The maximum of the three numbers is %d.\n" ,max(x,y,z));
printf("%s\n", | https://ecomputernotes.com/what-is-c/types-and-variables/pre-processor-directive | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | refinedweb | 271 | 75.5 |
Here is the minimal reproducible code:
#include <iostream> #include <fstream> #include <string> using namespace std; const string TEST_FILE_PATH = "output.txt"; void write_to_file(string path, string line); void generate_passwords(string file); int main() { generate_passwords(TEST_FILE_PATH); return 0; } void generate_passwords(string file) { int count = 1; for (int len = 1; len <= 100; len++) { for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++) { write_to_file(file, to_string(count) + " : "); count++; } } } void write_to_file(string path, string line) { ofstream file; file.open(path, ios::out | ios::app); cout << "writing line : " << line << endl; if (file.is_open()) { cout << "file is open " << endl; file << line << 'n'; cout << "written..." << endl; } else { cout << "FILE NOT OPEN" << endl; } file.close(); }
This is a stripped-down version of my full code and it reproduces the same error.
With this code, I expect exactly 10,000 lines to be written to output.txt. However, it sometimes skips a random number of lines :
(See how it skips numbers 6466 to 6509)
The console prints for these numbers "FILE NOT OPEN".
This rarely happens with fewer iterations, but occurs very often with large numbers of iterations.
What could be the issue?
Source: Windows Questions C++
| https://windowsquestions.com/2021/10/14/c-ostream-sometimes-fails-to-open-file-in-a-for-loop/ | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | refinedweb | 185 | 64.41 |
Yesod 0.9 Release Candidate 3
August 26, 2011
Greg Weber
Yesod Release Candidate 3 is out!
Thanks to those who spotted issues with the scaffolding in the previous release candidates. So far no issues have been reported in Yesod proper, so if we keep the streak going through the weekend we will put out the official release.
Also, we are going to version bump from 0.9.0 to 0.9.1 after the release so that you don't have to blow away your .ghc folder when the release comes out. So now you have no excuse to avoid upgrading right now.
To get the latest RC, add this to your ~/.cabal/config:
remote-repo: yesod-yackage:
And run:
cabal update && cabal install 'yesod >= 0.9.0'
More Information on upgrading your site
First, see the previous upgrading post, which tackles most of the upgrade issues. I will first mention a couple more changes I had to do, that will be obvious when you compile:
- import Text.Blaze.Renderer.String (renderHtml) -> import Text.Blaze.Renderer.Text (renderHtml)
- tabs are not allowed in hamlet
Extra Hamlet Upgrade Info
A big change not mentioned in specific detail is changing the use of [hamlet||]. You should probably just skip this paragraph and read the new documentation, which covers how to use Yesod 0.9. When you upgrade your site, you may have to use the terms ihamlet, whamlet, or even shamlet. Which one of these funny names should you use? It is pretty simple, the first letter stands for something.
ihamlet isn't an Apple device that makes pork, it just allows internationalization interpolation in hamlet.
And you need to prefix using these templates with toWidget (or if you were using addHtml or something similar, remove that and use toWidget). This all seems like extra work, but we are hoping it will pay off with understandable error messages.
Scaffolding Changes
One of the reasons the scaffolding had a couple issues in the RC is because of all the great stuff that has been added to it. We are going to work on taking some of the code out of the scaffold and into the library, but much of this does belong in the scaffold to be configured by the user. These changes should effect just a few key common files instead of your entire site, but they are also a more error-prone and manual process. You don't have to do all of this conversion now if you don't need the features. But I highly recommend getting the new logger working properly, even if you don't need all the new configurable settings.
I recommend generating a new scaffold with the same foundation type, and copying over the new functionality. Luckily we know the compiler will guide you with your changes.
Settings.hs, and cabal file
- copy over config/settings.yml, and change the settings appropriately (to match what is in your Settings.hs file)
- copy over Settings.hs, but you have to manually inspect against your config/Settings.hs and make sure you don't lose any needed customizations.
- copy over main.hs (previously it was named after your project and located in the config dir), and change your cabal file so the executable points to main.hs. Likely you don't have anything you care about that gets overwritten (but double check).
- while in your cabal file, add dependencies for cmd-args, data-object, data-object-yaml, yesod-core, shakespeare-text, and unix (if you are on a unix based system).
- move config/StaticFiles.hs to Settings/StaticFile.hs (create the Settings directory first) and then you can remove config from the hs-source-dirs section of your cabal file. This can make life easier for some IDEs.
Controller.hs -> Application.hs
- rename Controller.hs to Application.hs
The best approach may be to copy over the Application.hs file from a new scaffolded site. Here are instructions for making indifidual changes:
- approot = Settings.appRoot . settings
- add to Application.hs:
import Yesod.Logger (makeLogger, flushLogger, Logger, logLazyText, logString)
import Network.Wai.Middleware.Debug (debugHandle)
-- only if on unix
import qualified System.Posix.Signals as Signal
import Control.Concurrent (forkIO, killThread)
import Control.Concurrent.MVar (newEmptyMVar, putMVar, takeMVar)
- copy the new withFOUNDATION handlers from the new scaffolding site you generated.
foundation file -> Foundation.hs
rename your foundation type file (the one with
instance Yesodto Foundation.hs. This isn't necessary, but will allow you to communicate better with others about your site.
add these to your foundation type
settings :: Settings.AppConfig
getLogger :: Logger
- add to your imports
import Yesod.Logger (Logger, logLazyText)
- add to your Yesod instance
messageLogger y loc level msg =
formatLogMessage loc level msg >>= logLazyText (getLogger y)
When this is all working, you should see all requests logged, and logging messages should be thread-safe, and you should be able to configure your application as you see fit. We will go over some more aspects of these features in the release announcement. | http://www.yesodweb.com/blog/2011/08/0 | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | refinedweb | 836 | 66.74 |
Library for building powerful interactive command lines in Python
Project description
prompt_toolkit is a Library for building powerful interactive command lines in Python. It ships with a nice interative Python shell (called ptpython) built on top of the library.
prompt_toolkit could be a replacement for readline, but it can be much more than that..)
- No global state.
- Code written with love.
Limitations:
- Only for vt100-compatible terminals. (Actually, all terminals in OS X and Linux systems are VT100 compatible the days, so that should not be an issue. There is no Windows support, however.)
Feel free to create tickets for bugs and feature requests, and create pull requests if you have a nice patches that you would like to share with others..
Note that this is work in progress. Many things work, but code is still refactored a lot and APIs are changing. (They become better.)
A simple example looks like this:
from prompt_toolkit import CommandLineInterface, AbortAction from prompt_toolkit import Exit def main(): # Create CommandLineInterface cli = CommandLineInterface() try: while True: code_obj = cli.read_input(on_exit=AbortAction.RAISE_EXCEPTION) print('You said: ' + code_obj.text) except Exit: # Quit on Ctrl-D keypress return if __name__ == '__main__': main()
Have a look at the example directory to see what is possible.
- enum key, but you can also type Escape before any key instead.
Project details
Release history Release notifications
Download files
Download the file for your platform. If you're not sure which to choose, learn more about installing packages. | https://pypi.org/project/prompt_toolkit/0.11/ | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | refinedweb | 244 | 58.18 |
Sorting Practice with Analysis
Repeated Minimum • Search the list for the minimum element. • Place the minimum element in the first position. • Repeat for other n-1 keys. • Use current position to hold current minimum to avoid large-scale movement of keys.
Repeated Minimum: Code Fixed n-1 iterations for i := 1 to n-1 do for j := i+1 to n do if L[i] > L[j] then Temp = L[i]; L[i] := L[j]; L[j] := Temp; endif endfor endfor Fixed n-i iterations
Repeated Minimum: Analysis Doing it the dumb way: The smart way: I do one comparison when i=n-1, two when i=n-2, … , n-1 when i=1.
Bubble Sort • Search for adjacent pairs that are out of order. • Switch the out-of-order keys. • Repeat this n-1 times. • After the first iteration, the last key is guaranteed to be the largest. • If no switches are done in an iteration, we can stop.
Bubble Sort: Code Worst case n-1 iterations for i := 1 to n-1 do Switch := False; for j := 1 to n-i do if L[j] > L[j+1] then Temp = L[j]; L[j] := L[j+1]; L[j+1] := Temp; Switch := True; endif endfor if Not Switch then break; endfor Fixed n-i iterations
Bubble Sort Analysis Being smart right from the beginning:
Insertion Sort I • The list is assumed to be broken into a sorted portion and an unsorted portion • Keys will be inserted from the unsorted portion into the sorted portion. Unsorted Sorted
Insertion Sort II • For each new key, search backward through sorted keys • Move keys until proper position is found • Place key in proper position Moved
Insertion Sort: Code Fixed n-1 iterations for i:= 2 to n do x := L[i]; j := i-1; while j<0 and x < L[j] do L[j-1] := L[j]; j := j-1; endwhile L[j+1] := x; endfor Worst case i-1 comparisons
Insertion Sort: Analysis • Worst Case: Keys are in reverse order • Do i-1 comparisons for each new key, where i runs from 2 to n. • Total Comparisons: 1+2+3+ … + n-1
Insertion Sort: Average I • Assume: When a key is moved by the While loop, all positions are equally likely. • There are i positions (i is loop variable of for loop) (Probability of each: 1/i.) • One comparison is needed to leave the key in its present position. • Two comparisons are needed to move key over one position.
Insertion Sort Average II • In general: k comparisons are required to move the key over k-1 positions. • Exception: Both first and second positions require i-1 comparisons. Position 1 2 3 ... i-2 i-1 i ... ... i-1 i-1 i-2 3 2 1 Comparisons necessary to place key in this position.
Insertion Sort Average III Average Comparisons to place one key Solving
Insertion Sort Average IV For All Keys:
Optimality Analysis I • To discover an optimal algorithm we need to find an upper and lower asymptotic bound for a problem. • An algorithm gives us an upper bound. The worst case for sorting cannot exceed (n2) because we have Insertion Sort that runs that fast. • Lower bounds require mathematical arguments.
Optimality Analysis II • Making mathematical arguments usually involves assumptions about how the problem will be solved. • Invalidating the assumptions invalidates the lower bound. • Sorting an array of numbers requires at least (n) time, because it would take that much time to rearrange a list that was rotated one element out of position.
Rotating One Element Assumptions: Keys must be moved one at a time All key movements take the same amount of time The amount of time needed to move one key is not dependent on n. 2nd 1st n keys must be moved 3rd 2nd 4th 3rd (n) time nth n-1st 1st nth
Other Assumptions • The only operation used for sorting the list is swapping two keys. • Only adjacent keys can be swapped. • This is true for Insertion Sort and Bubble Sort. • Is it true for Repeated Minimum? What about if we search the remainder of the list in reverse order?
Inversions • Suppose we are given a list of elements L, of size n. • Let i, and j be chosen so 1i<jn. • If L[i]>L[j] then the pair (i,j) is an inversion. Not an Inversion 1 2 3 5 4 10 6 7 8 9 Inversion Inversion Inversion
Maximum Inversions • The total number of pairs is: • This is the maximum number of inversions in any list. • Exchanging adjacent pairs of keys removes at most one inversion.
Swapping Adjacent Pairs The only inversion that could be removed is the (possible) one between the red and green keys. Swap Red and Green The relative position of the Red and blue areas has not changed. No inversions between the red key and the blue area have been removed. The same is true for the red key and the orange area. The same analysis can be done for the green key.
Lower Bound Argument • A sorted list has no inversions. • A reverse-order list has the maximum number of inversions, (n2) inversions. • A sorting algorithm must exchange (n2) adjacent pairs to sort a list. • A sort algorithm that operates by exchanging adjacent pairs of keys must have a time bound of at least (n2).
Lower Bound For Average I • There are n! ways to rearrange a list of n elements. • Recall that a rearrangement is called a permutation. • If we reverse a rearranged list, every pair that used to be an inversion will no longer be an inversion. • By the same token, all non-inversions become inversions.
Lower Bound For Average II • There are n(n-1)/2 inversions in a permutation and its reverse. • Assuming that all n! permutations are equally likely, there are n(n-1)/4 inversions in a permutation, on the average. • The average performance of a “swap-adjacent-pairs” sorting algorithm will be (n2).
Quick Sort I • Split List into “Big” and “Little” keys • Put the Little keys first, Big keys second • Recursively sort the Big and Little keys Little Big Pivot Point
Quicksort II • Big is defined as “bigger than the pivot point” • Little is defined as “smaller than the pivot point” • The pivot point is chosen “at random” • Since the list is assumed to be in random order, the first element of the list is chosen as the pivot point
Quicksort Split: Code Points to last element in “Small” section. Split(First,Last) SplitPoint := 1; for i := 2 to n do if L[i] < L[1] then SplitPoint := SplitPoint + 1; Exchange(L[SplitPoint],L[i]); endif endfor Exchange(L[SplitPoint],L[1]); return SplitPoint; End Split Fixed n-1 iterations Make “Small” section bigger and move key into it. Else the “Big” section gets bigger.
Quicksort III • Pivot point may not be the exact median • Finding the precise median is hard • If we “get lucky”, the following recurrence applies (n/2 is approximate)
Quicksort IV • If the keys are in order, “Big” portion will have n-1 keys, “Small” portion will be empty. • N-1 comparisons are done for first key • N-2 comparisons for second key, etc. • Result:
QS Avg. Case: Assumptions • Average will be taken over Location of Pivot • All Pivot Positions are equally likely • Pivot positions in each call are independent of one another
QS Avg: Formulation • A(0) = 0 • If the pivot appears at position i, 1in then A(i-1) comparisons are done on the left hand list and A(n-i) are done on the right hand list. • n-1 comparisons are needed to split the list
QS Avg: Solving Recurr. Guess: a>0, b>0
QS Avg: Continuing By Integration:
Merge Sort • If List has only one Element, do nothing • Otherwise, Split List in Half • Recursively Sort Both Lists • Merge Sorted Lists
The Merge Algorithm Assume we are merging lists A and B into list C. Ax := 1; Bx := 1; Cx := 1; while Ax n and Bx n do if A[Ax] < B[Bx] then C[Cx] := A[Ax]; Ax := Ax + 1; else C[Cx] := B[Bx]; Bx := Bx + 1; endif Cx := Cx + 1; endwhile while Ax n do C[Cx] := A[Ax]; Ax := Ax + 1; Cx := Cx + 1; endwhile while Bx n do C[Cx] := B[Bx]; Bx := Bx + 1; Cx := Cx + 1; endwhile
Merge Sort: Analysis • Sorting requires no comparisons • Merging requires n-1 comparisons in the worst case, where n is the total size of both lists (n key movements are required in all cases) • Recurrence relation:
Merge Sort: Space • Merging cannot be done in place • In the simplest case, a separate list of size n is required for merging • It is possible to reduce the size of the extra space, but it will still be (n)
Heapsort: Heaps • Geometrically, a heap is an “almost complete” binary tree. • Vertices must be added one level at a time from right to left. • Leaves must be on the lowest or second lowest level. • All vertices, except one must have either zero or two children.
Heapsort: Heaps II • If there is a vertex with only one child, it must be a left child, and the child must be the rightmost vertex on the lowest level. • For a given number of vertices, there is only one legal structure
Heapsort: Heap Values • Each vertex in a heap contains a value • If a vertex has children, the value in the vertex must be larger than the value in either child. • Example: 20 7 19 5 6 12 2 10 3
Heapsort: Heap Properties • The largest value is in the root • Any subtree of a heap is itself a heap • A heap can be stored in an array by indexing the vertices thus: • The left child of vertexv has index 2v andthe right child hasindex 2v+1 1 3 2 6 7 4 5 8 9
Heapsort: FixHeap • The FixHeap routine is applied to a heap that is geometrically correct, and has the correct key relationship everywhere except the root. • FixHeap is applied first at the root and then iteratively to one child.
Heapsort FixHeap Code FixHeap(StartVertex) v := StartVertex; while 2*v n do LargestChild := 2*v; if 2*v < n then if L[2*v] < L[2*v+1] then LargestChild := 2*v+1; endif endif if L[v] < L[LargestChild] Then Exchange(L[v],L[LargestChild]); v := LargestChild else v := n; endif endwhile end FixHeap n is the size of the heap Worst case run time is (lg n)
Heapsort: Creating a Heap • An arbitrary list can be turned into a heap by calling FixHeap on each non-leaf in reverse order. • If n is the size of the heap, the non-leaf with the highest index has index n/2. • Creating a heap is obviously O(n lg n). • A more careful analysis would show a true time bound of (n)
Heap Sort: Sorting • Turn List into a Heap • Swap head of list with last key in heap • Reduce heap size by one • Call FixHeap on the root • Repeat for all keys until list is sorted | https://www.slideserve.com/senalda/sorting | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | refinedweb | 1,862 | 65.86 |
A Quick Glance at the Kubernetes Gateway API
Many alternatives are available to access a pod from outside the cluster. The Gateway API is the new kid on the block and the subject of this post.
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In one of my recent blog posts, I described several ways to access Kubernetes pods. One can access a pod through its IP, but pods are naturally transient. The nominal way is to configure a
Service: its IP is stable, and Kubernetes' job is to keep the mapping between a
Service and its underlying pods up-to-date. Different kinds of services are available: internal only,
NodePort to finally allow access from outside the cluster, and
LoadBalancer that relies on a third-party component - in general, a cloud provider one. Finally, I mentioned the
Ingress object, which also allows routing.
I deliberately left out the new kid on the block, the Gateway API. It's the subject of this post.
From Ingress to the Gateway API
External access to Kubernetes pods went through several evolutionary steps; e.g.,
Ingress is the answer to the problem of the lack of routing in
LoadBalancer. The biggest issue of
Ingress is its dependency on "proprietary" objects. As a reminder, here's the snippet to create routing using Apache APISIX:
apiVersion: apisix.apache.org/v2beta3 #1 kind: ApisixRoute #1 metadata: name: apisix-route spec: http: - name: left match: paths: - "/left" backends: - serviceName: left servicePort: 80 - name: right match: paths: - "/right" backends: - serviceName: right servicePort: 80
- #1: Proprietary objects
Proprietary objects are a problem when migrating. While migration from one provider to another is probably uncommon, it should be as seamless as possible. When using proprietary objects, you first need to map from the old object to the new ones. Chances are that it's not a one-to-one mapping. Then, you need to translate the specification into the new model: it's likely to be a full-fledged project.
The idea behind the Gateway API is to have a clean separation between standard objects and the proprietary implementation.
The Gateway API.
- Kubernetes Gateway API Introduction
The above definition also mentions an organizational concern: different roles should manage a different set of objects.
Source: Kubernetes Gateway API Introduction
Indeed, the concerns of a cluster operator and a developer are pretty different. It's quite similar to the Java EE application servers of old, which offered a specification organized around roles: developers, deployers, and operators. IMHO, the most significant difference is that the specification was focused mainly on the developer experience; the rest was up to the implementors. The Gateway API seems to care about all personas.
Configuring Pod Access via the Gateway API
Let's replace the
Ingress we previously configured with the Gateway API. Several steps are necessary.
Install the New Gateway CRDs
k apply -f
Install an Implementation
I'll be using Apache APISIX. Alternatively, the SIG website maintains a list of implementations.
helm install apisix apisix/apisix \ --namespace ingress-apisix \ --create-namespace \ --devel \ #1 --set gateway.type=NodePort \ #2 --set gateway.http.nodePort=30800 \ #2 --set ingress-controller.enabled=true \ #2 --set ingress-controller.config.kubernetes.enableApiGateway=true \ #3 --set ingressPublishService="ingress-apisix/apisix-gateway" #4
- #1: Without the
--develoption, Helm installs the latest release, which doesn't work with the Gateway API.
- #2: The Gateway needs to be accessible outside the cluster anyway.
- #3: The magic happens here!
- #4: I'll get back to it later.
Let's check that everything works:
k get all -n ingress-apisix
pod/apisix-5fc9b45c69-cf42m 1/1 Running 0 14m #1 pod/apisix-etcd-0 1/1 Running 0 14m #2 pod/apisix-etcd-1 1/1 Running 0 14m #2 pod/apisix-etcd-2 1/1 Running 0 14m #2 pod/apisix-ingress-controller-6f8bd94d9d-wkzfn 1/1 Running 0 14m #3 NAME TYPE CLUSTER-IP EXTERNAL-IP PORT(S) service/apisix-admin ClusterIP 10.96.69.19 <none> 9180/TCP service/apisix-etcd ClusterIP 10.96.226.79 <none> 2379/TCP,2380/TCP service/apisix-etcd-headless ClusterIP None <none> 2379/TCP,2380/TCP service/apisix-gateway NodePort 10.96.101.224 <none> 80:30800/TCP#4 service/apisix-ingress-controller ClusterIP 10.96.141.230 <none> 80/TCP
- #1: Apache APISIX itself
- #2: Apache APISIX stores its configuration in
etcd. The chart schedules three pods by default– a good practice to handle failures in distributed systems.
- #3: Apache APISIX controller: A Kubernetes controller is a control loop that moves the existing state toward the desired state.
- #4: Apache APISIX Gateway service: It's the
NodePort
Servicethat we installed via the Helm Chart. It's also the name that we referenced during the Helm Chart install
ingressPublishService. At this point, the infrastructure is ready.
Declare the Gateway Implementation
As I mentioned above, the API makes a clean separation between the specification and the implementation. However, we need to bind it somehow. It's the responsibility of the
GatewayClass object:
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2 #1 kind: GatewayClass #2 metadata: name: apisix-gateway-class #3 spec: controllerName: apisix.apache.org/gateway-controller #4
- #1: We don't use the latest version on purpose, as Apache APISIX uses this version. Be aware that it will evolve in the (near) future.
- #2:
GatewayClassobject
- #3: Name it however you want; however, we will use it later to reference the gateway class.
- #4: The controller's name depends on the implementation. Here, we are using Apache APISIX's.
Note that the
GatewayClass has a cluster-wide scope. This model allows us to declare different Gateway API implementations and use them in parallel inside the same cluster.
Create the Gateway
With Apache APISIX, it's pretty straightforward:
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2 #1 kind: Gateway #2 metadata: name: apisix-gateway spec: gatewayClassName: apisix-gateway-class #3 listeners: #4 - name: http protocol: HTTP port: 80
- #1: Same namespace as above
- #2:
Gatewayobject
- #3: Reference the gateway class declared earlier
- #4: Allow some restrictions at this level so that the cluster operator can avoid unwanted usage
Warning: The Gateway API specifies the option to dynamically change the port on the operator side. At the time of this writing, Apache APISIX's port allocation is static. The plan is to make it dynamic in the future. Please subscribe to this GitHub issue to follow the progress.
Routes, Routes, Routes Everywhere
Until now, everything was infrastructure; we can finally configure routing.
I want the same routing as in the previous post; a
/left branch and a
right one. I'll skip the latter for brevity's sake.
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2 #1 kind: HTTPRoute #2 metadata: name: left spec: parentRefs: - name: apisix-gateway #3 rules: - matches: #4 - path: #4 type: PathPrefix #4 value: /left backendRefs: #5 - name: left #5 port: 80 #5
- Same namespace as above
HTTPRouteobject
- Reference the
Gatewaycreated above
- Rule matches. In our case, we match regarding a path prefix, but plenty of rules are available. You can match based on a query parameter, on a header, etc.
- The "upstream" to forward to. We defined the
left
Servicein the previous blog post.
Checking It Works
Now that we have configured our routes, we can check that it works.
curl localhost:30800/left
When we installed the Helm chart, we told Apache APISIX to create a
NodePort service on port
30800. Hence, we can use the port to access the service outside the cluster.
left
Conclusion
Many alternatives are available to access a pod from outside the cluster. The CNCF added most of them to improve on the previous one.
The Gateway API is the latest proposal in this regard. The specification is a work in progress and products are at different stages of implementation. For this reason, it's too early to base your production on the API. However, you should probably follow the progress as it's bound to be a considerable improvement over the previous approaches.
The complete source code for this post can be found on GitHub.
To Go Further:
Published at DZone with permission of Nicolas Fränkel, DZone MVB. See the original article here.
Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own. | https://dzone.com/articles/a-quick-glance-at-the-kubernetes-gateway-api | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | refinedweb | 1,370 | 56.76 |
So I have a class implementing Iterable to write a set of methods for. Most of them are pretty straightforward to think through, however, I'm having trouble writing a remove method for the class.
import java.util.Iterator;
public class Bag<Item> implements Iterable<Item> {
private Item[] data = (Item[]) new Object[5];
// The size variable keeps track of how many items
private int size = 0;
public String toString() {
StringBuilder b = new StringBuilder("[");
for (Item i : this)
b.append(i + " ");
return b.toString() + "]";
}
public void expandArray() {
int capacity = data.length * 2;
Item[] newData = (Item[]) new Object[capacity];
for (int i = 0; i < data.length; i++)
newData[i] = data[i];
data = newData;
}
public boolean add(Item x) {
if (size == data.length)
expandArray();
data[size++] = x;
return true;
}
// return an Iterator for the bag
public Iterator<Item> iterator() {
return new BagIterator<Item>();
}
// Iterator class
public class BagIterator<Item> implements Iterator<Item> {
private int i = 0;
public boolean hasNext() {
return i < size;
}
public Item next() {
return (Item) data[i++];
}
}
public boolean contains(Item x) {
for (int i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
if (data[i] == x)
return true;
}
return false;
}
public boolean addUnique(Item x) {
for (int i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
if (data[i] == x)
return false;
}
this.size++;
this.add(x);
return true;
}
public boolean remove(Item x) {
Item lastItem = x; // holds x item
Item swap; // holds item to swap
int swapIndex; // holds index of item to swap
for (int i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
if (data[i] == x) {
// Save the last item
lastItem = data[3];
// Save the swapped item
swap = data[i];
// Save the index of swapped item
swapIndex = i;
// move swap item to end of list
data[3] = swap;
// move last item to swap pos
data[swapIndex] = lastItem;
// remove last item in list
this.size--;
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
public boolean equals(Object o) {
Bag<Item> b = (Bag<Item>) o;
return false;
}
}
public class Main {
public static void main (String[] args) {
Bag<Integer> bag = new Bag<>();
bag.add(1);
bag.add(2);
bag.add(3);
bag.add(4);
System.out.println(bag); // [1, 2, 3, 4]
System.out.println(bag.remove(4)); // should remove 4 and return true **WORKING
System.out.println(bag.remove(1)); // should remove 1 and return true **WORKING
System.out.println(bag.remove(1)); // should NOT remove 1 and return false **NOT WORKING
System.out.println(bag); // [4 ]
}
}
Somehow I totally misread your question the first time around; I see now you're not even implementing
Iterator.remove().
Iterable.remove() is also tricky, let's talk about that!
First off, you probably don't want to implement
Iterable directly. It only lets you iterate over a sequence of elements (and optionally call
Iterator.remove()), nothing else. Your
Bag class should instead probably implement
Collection (or extend
AbstractCollection) which is the general interface most Java data structures implement (it specifies
.add(),
.remove(),
.size(), and so on).
The key thing to remember when creating a data structure, such as a bag, is to enforce your invariants. Roughly speaking an invariant is a guarantee about how your data structure or method will behave. For example, every time you call
.size() on an empty data structure it will return
0. Once you call
.add(), all future calls to
.size() will return
1 (until you modify the data structure further). That's an invariant. It might seem obvious, but as your data structures get more complex these sort of simple guarantees make reasoning about your code much simpler.
Onto to your specific question. First, your idea to move the item to remove to the end is a good intuition. It's much more efficient than copying the remaining elements into new indices.
Your first concern, that the
Bag is still the same size, is actually not a problem. Since you decrement
size the item at the end of the array is - effectively - removed. You could set it to
null to remove the reference but you don't need to. Instead you should look at your other methods, such as
contains(), and make sure that they respect
size. You should only look at indicies smaller than
size, rather than
data.length, because the values inbetween
size and
data.length may be garbage.
Your second concern, about comparing two
Bags, exposes another issue. Your class doesn't actually provide an invariant (there's that word again) that the array will ever be ordered, so re-ordering it during
.remove() doesn't make things any worse than they were beforehand. What is a problem is your class doesn't override
.equals() and
.hashcode() (you have to do neither or both), meaning that no two
Bag instances can ever be considered equivalent, regardless of the order of their elements. If you intend for
Bags to be compared you need to implement those methods correctly. Assuming you want to do that, how is definitely tricky. Generally speaking there is no efficient way to compare two unordered collections of objects - your only choice is to iterate over all the elements of both collections until you've verified they contain the same elements. This is O(n^2) or quadratic in performance (i.e. pretty slow).
You have two basic choices; ensure your backing array is always sorted (that's an invariant - at the end of every method the array will be sorted) or use a more efficient data structure for equality checks such as a
Set. Both options have tradeoffs. Correctly ensuring an array is always sorted is very tricky; Java's
TreeMap does this and most people consider this the type of code they'd never ever want to re-implement themselves. Using a
Set lets you efficiently check if an element exists in your collection, but comes at the cost of preventing duplicate elements. A "bag" data structure generally permits duplicates, so using a
Set as a backing data structure may not be acceptable for your use case. Using a
Map<E, Integer> where the value is a count would work, but is a little more paperwork to keep track of.
Nevertheless, as a starting point a standard brute force
.equals() implementation may be good enough. A central tenant of good software engineering is to avoid over-optimization. Start with something that works and then make it better, rather than trying to make something perfectly efficient from the get-go. | https://codedump.io/share/JRl61BKXl4NO/1/writing-a-remove-method-for-a-class-implementing-iterable | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | refinedweb | 1,058 | 64.2 |
Git support in Visual Studio 2013... is actually quite cool! posted on 12 Dec 2013
Lately I've found myself using the new Git support in Visual Studio 2013 more and more, it turns out once you get used to it, its quite handy! Initially my thoughts were its rubbish, mostly because I found it cumbersome, or maybe just that things weren't working the way I thought they were. I do fine some things strange, but it's still completely usable!
How does it all work?
Let's start by creating a new project:
I ticked the
Create new Git repositoryoption in the bottom right hand corner, this just initializes the folder for you.
Now that the project is created, we can open the Team Explorer, it should look something like this:
I'm not entirely sure why it does this but when I create new projects, the solution file is never included by default?!?
So the solution file is excluded, we can right click the file(s) and include them...
Snow gets Drafts! posted on 07 Nov 2013
A special thanks goes out to @johanilsson for this new feature!
Snow now ships with Drafts and Privates, this is a really cool feature since it allows you to create drafts, and a page to list all drafts (optional).
What are the options
There are three options for a
publishedstate:
- draft
- private
- true
Draft is basically a finished or rough cut blog post that you will publish soon, it will be compiled to
/draftsURL and be publicly accessible (either via a known page or the direct URL)
Private is a post that will not be compiled at all, this will stay as markdown, good for when you want to begin writing something but not have it show up online yet.
Making Nancy Modules easier to manage posted on 03 Nov 2013
One problem I think a lot of developers have, is creating Controllers and Modules that are small and maintainable. Sometimes when you add some querying, bit of validation, pass it off to a repository or service, etc. It begins to become a little bit too big.
Lets assume our we have an
AccountModuleit Gets a Login route to load the UI, and Posts to a Login route to authenticate the user, and do something.
It also Gets a Register route to load the UI, and Posts to a Register route to register the new user.
Without an actual implementation, something like this:
public class AccountModule : NancyModule { public AccountModule() : base("/account") { Get["/login"] = _ => "login"; Post["/login"] = _ => "login"; Get["/register"] = _ => "register"; Post["/register"] = _ => "register"; } }
To begin with, we only have 4 things to implement, its rather small, somewhat easy to manage, but what happens when we want to update an account?
Running JavaScript Unit Tests in Visual Studio with Jasmine & ReSharper posted on 24 Oct 2013
- Running Basic Unit Tests in Visual Studio without a browser
- Running Basic Unit Tests with a browser and separate projects
There's so much information on the internet in terms of JavaScript Unit Testing and how to run tests etc, but when it comes to running tests in Visual Studio, without a browser, there's very little information. I had to piece information together to figure it out.
So I'm going to do a small series on this.
Things you will need!
Setup PhantomJS
To run JavaScript tests without a browser, we need PhantomJS, and we need to wire it up into Resharper.
Semantic-UI & AngularJS - Basic Registration Form with Validation posted on 05 Oct 2013
Last week I saw a tweet about Semantic-UI, which I had not heard about, I guess it's relatively new. I decided to take a look and to be honest. I love what I see.
So to get rolling I decided to create a basic registration form for a personal project using it.
What is Semantic UI
Well, for starters, its a rather large library :| coming in total at a whopping 333kb for just the minified CSS an JavaScript.
That's not including the Fonts (roughly 50kb, unless you like SVG which is 194kb, but who the hell uses that crap), Images which are about 3-10kb, though you probably only use 1 or 2 per app depending on what you're doing. These are all loading gifs, all other images are... well done using Font-Awesome. Which happens to be rolled into the library.
But for what the library does, its pretty damn impressive.
The idea is that Semantic is a more fluent and structured way to writing a web application, rather than naming stuff poorly like Bootstrap does with things like
col-lg-4, Semantic opts for
column. This is both good and bad. The examples on their homepage are more semantic, but at the cost of either writing less or more code in order to describe the UI elements in the markup.
Reading the examples is awesome, in fact I wanted to right align a button, I started out with:
ui blue submit button
I thought "I want that floated right, it would look better...", and I ended up with
ui blue submit button floated right
You end up writing lots but instead of shifting around in CSS to figure out how to move it from left to right, I just described it. Sure enough, button sat on the right hand side!
Introducing Sandra.Snow posted on 01 Oct 2013
I've only been blogging since 2009, and my blog had gone through multiple iterations. I began on BlogEngine.NET, moved onto Wordpress, then was introduced to Jekyll.
I loved Jekyll, but I personally found it fiddly, and people who I've spoken to have also found it fiddly, but are quiet happy after they had set it up.
I really liked the idea, so I thought I would recreate it in .NET :) Because reinventing the wheel is fun!
Introducing Sandra.Snow
With the help of @jchannon, I've managed release Snow. Using NancyFX we have created a small application that allows you to write Markdown Posts with Razor Layouts, which will be compiled static HTML files.
Currently, besides my own, I'm aware of 3 other blogs running on Snow:
So what is it? Basically:
Sandra.Snow is a Jekyll inspired static site generation tool that can be run locally, as a CAAS(Compiler as a Service) or setup with Azure to build your site when your repository changes. It is built on top of NancyFX.
Instant Nancy Web Development - Book Review posted on 26 Sep 2013
Just today, Christian Horsdal released his first book, his first topic to write a book about, only the most awesome Web Framework to exist in .NET! :)
non affiliate links
This book is rather short, clocking in at only 74 pages. Not to worry though, it covers quite a bit!
Usually I don't go near Packt Publishing books after having a bad experience buying a few books, all of which were terrible. But seeing as this was a Nancy book I couldn't pass up the chance to check it out.
Considering this is the first book Christian has written, it reads very well. I've read books from authors who have done 3 or 4 books and I struggle to read them because their style of writing. So that alone impressed me about this book.
Love the new ReSharper 8, best update to date! posted on 03 Aug 2013
It was only little over a week ago that ReSharper 8 came out. It's not something that I really follow, but because of that I keep finding all these new features in R# 8 that are absolutely AWESOME!
The R# team, if you see this. Congrats on such an awesome effort really pushing the boundaries of what R# can do with V8.
ToString on Dates!
This is simply amazing, often I would throw up Google and search "stevex string format" and pull up a pretty detailed blog post on string formatting.
This single feature along, in my opinion, is worth the $ to upgrade to R# 8!!!!
Setting up a ServiceStack Service posted on 15 a ServiceStack service!
Prelude!
ServiceStack is great, specially when you need to support .NET 3.5 and don't have the pleasure of being able to use .NET 4.0/4.5, you're not limited to .NET 3.5, ServiceStack works great with .NET 4.0/4.5 as well!
God forbid we get subjected to having to use WCF...
Setting this up should be super easy, we will use all the same settings as NancyFX, the only difference is we will be running ServiceStack instead.
The ServiceStack team take real care to ensure that it works on Mono, enough so that their website;, runs on Linux!
Setting up a NancyFX website posted on 04 NancyFX on Mono.
Prelude!
This series is done using Mono 2.10 and .NET 4.0. This wont work with a 4.5 project since we need Mono 3.0 for that, but I plan to do another series on building Mono from source since there's no package available yet.
Also, this post assumes you've setup FTP to upload the files, I'm not going to go into detail, but you can install
vsftpdand Google the setup. If you're new to Linux and followed Parts 1-3 so far, it should be easy enough to setup and install. All you need to do is authenticate using sshftp or sftp, rather than normal ftp.
Creating a Nancy test project
The easiest way to create a test project is to grab the Nancy Templates from the Visual Studio Gallery.
Using this method, we can create a new project in Visual Studio and select Nancy Application. | http://www.philliphaydon.com/page3/ | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | refinedweb | 1,635 | 69.72 |
I absolutely hate hate hate hate HATE to be doing this, because I've figured out every other program I've done relatively alone with my C Book.
I'm writing a program that declares an array of structs, each with a name and age field. The data is read from a file arranged like:
Randomname 15
Othername 72
With the name and age field being (hopefully) obviously ordered.
My task is to rearrange each individual part of the array of structs alphabetically. I've written a program that should work (in my head, it did, at least) but my output is nonsense which means I've gone horribly wrong somewhere.
Usually I'm pretty good at debugging this sort of thing but my experience with structs is limited. Yes, this is a homework question, so a full answer isn't what I'm looking for. Here's my code (it's short)
#include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> int main( int argc, char *argv[] ) { struct people{ char name[21]; int age; } person[100], temp; char tempst[21]; int tempint, k, i = 0; FILE *fin; fin = fopen( "testdata95", "r" ); for( k = 0; k <= 21; k++ ) person[k].age = 0; /* fills the structs array of ages with for end print */ while( (fscanf( fin, "%c", tempst )) != EOF ){ strcpy( person[i].name, tempst ); fscanf( fin, "%d", &tempint ); person[i].age = tempint; i++; } for(i = 0; i <= 21; i++){ for(k = i + 1; k <= 21; k++){ if( (person[i].name[0]) < (person[k].name[0]) ){ temp = person[i]; person[i] = person[k]; person[k] = temp; } } } i = 0; while( person[i].age != 0 ){ printf( "%s %d", person[i].name, person[i].age ); i++; } return 0 ; } | https://www.daniweb.com/programming/software-development/threads/325627/help-sorting-elements-of-an-array-of-structs | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | refinedweb | 280 | 73.98 |
XForms/Debugging XForms
If you are a newcomer to XForms and you are having problems debugging XForms you are not alone. XForms debugging can be tricky especially for newcomers. If you follow the newsgroups on XForms you will see several problems come up frequently.
Contents
- 1 Common Problems
- 2 Using an XForms Validator
- 3 Using Eclipse to validate XPath
- 4 Debugging Tools for Firefox
- 5 Printing your Bindings Using JavaScript
- 6 Mozilla Debugging Tips
- 7 Testing Submissions
- 8 Using an HTTP Proxy With Firefox
- 9 Debugging WebDAV and Subversion
- 10 Verifiying that a file is well-formed
- 11 Setting Mime-type in Internet Explorer Version 6.0
- 12 Discussion
Common Problems[edit]
These problems, roughly sorted in terms of frequency include the following:
- Make sure to name your files with the
.xhtmlextension. Many browsers including FireFox do not look for XML tags in files with the .htm or .html extension.
- Problems related to forgetting to associate instance data with a namespace or the default namespace. This can be fixed by adding the
xmlns=""parameter to your instance variable
- Incorrect or missing namespaces in the body of a document. For example if the default namespace is html the tag <input> is valid but the browser will look at it as <html:input> not <xf:input>. This happens frequently when users copy XForms example code from places that use XForms as the default namespace. This is a good reason that tutorial and training developers should not use XForms as the default namespace.
- Incorrect binding between the model and the view. This usually occurs because the "ref" or "nodeset" attributes are not correctly defined or that the group or repeat changes the path prefix of a data element.
- Failure to bind to the form to the instance because the XForms processor cannot find one or more instance specific namespaces. If you have customised your XForm with an XSLT or an XQuery before streaming it to your user, the processor might relegated the declaration of some of your namespaces to the instance where they first occur because it treats the contents of the ref and bind attributes on your xform as just content. However, your XForms processor probably expects the definition of the namespaces in your ref attributes to be on the parent axis and may not look in the model instances for any declarations. When this happens you will need to manually construct the root xhtml:html node, explicitly declaring any namespaces that appear in your form.
Using an XForms Validator[edit]
Some people have found this XForms validator helpful:
This program will find common errors in XForms examples.
Using Eclipse to validate XPath[edit]
There is a nice eclipse plugin for XSLT providing also an XPath validation "view". See:
Debugging Tools for Firefox[edit]
One of the most useful Firefox extensions is the XForms Buddy debugger. This tool allows you to visually inspect all of the instances in the model while the XForms are running in the Firefox browser. This is especially useful for ensuring that instance values that are dynamically configured are correctly set by the XForms. The link to the site is: here
Printing your Bindings Using JavaScript[edit]
There is also a way to visually view your binding from within your JavaScript code.
These interfaces are documented here:
Mozilla Debugging Tips[edit]
Here are some suggestions for people that are debugging XForms:
Mozilla XForms Troubleshooting page
Testing Submissions[edit]
Sometimes when you are creating complex submissions to web services you need to make sure that what the XForms application is generating is exactly what the web service is expecting. Sometimes a web service vendor will provide a sample web forms client that correctly calls their service but the documentation on calling that service is somewhat lacking. One solution to this problem it to watch the HTTP packets leave the working application and compare them with the HTTP packets with your XForms. This can be done using an HTTP proxy tools such as Charles which also runs as a Firefox extension.
The "network" tab of standard web development debuggers, like Firebug and Google Chrome Javascript Console can be used to watch incoming and outgoing network traffic to and from the browser, allowing you to verify that the content of submissions, their methods, and HTTP error codes are what would be expected.
Using an HTTP Proxy With Firefox[edit]
A Proxy is a tools that "stands in" for a web server. It puts itself in between your web browser and the server and tells you what the browser just sent to the web server. To do this you have to set your web browser to use the proxy (by telling it to forward everything to another IP address) and the proxy then forwards it to the service.
When you are finished using the proxy, make sure you remember to disable the proxy by going to the Firefox Tools/Options/General/Connection Settings and click the Direction Connection to the Internet. If you do not your web browser will no longer function when Charles or Tamper Data shuts down.
Debugging WebDAV and Subversion[edit]
There are some XForms that are designed to use HTTP put, HTTP post and [w:WebDAV:WebDAV]. The WebDAV allows you to store not just the first verson of a form but go back and see prior versions. Subversion FAQ [1] suggests you run the Wireshark packet sniffer and look at the data in the HTTP messages.
Verifiying that a file is well-formed[edit]
To verify that a data file is well formed, you can use the RUWF (Are you well-formed)? The XML Syntax Checker
Setting Mime-type in Internet Explorer Version 6.0[edit]
Some versions of IE 6.0 do not have the correct mime-type set for IE6. TO fix this you must add an entry to the Microsoft Windows Registry:
Open the Command Shell Enter the command "regedit"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MIME\Database\Content Type\application/xhtml+xml] "CLSID"="{25336920-03F9-11cf-8FD0-00AA00686F13}" "Encoding"=hex:08,00,00,00 "Extension"=".xhtml" | https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/XForms/Debugging_Tips | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | refinedweb | 1,008 | 56.18 |
Bug report #805 has just been filed.
You can view the report at the following URL:
<>
REPORT #805 Details.
Project: Tomcat
Category: Bug Report
SubCategory: New Bug Report
Class: swbug
State: received
Priority: medium
Severity: serious
Confidence: public
Environment:
Release: tomcat m4
JVM Release: 1.1.3
Operating System: linux
OS Release: 2.2.17
Platform: Intel
Synopsis:
Imort of packages in included JSP page
Description:
when i do in a JSP page:
<jsp:include
and in included page is a tag:
<%@ page import="some.package.*"%>
i expect in compiled java file will be
import some.package.*;
but isn't, so i must write whole names. | http://mail-archives.apache.org/mod_mbox/tomcat-dev/200101.mbox/%3C7217911.979917719930.JavaMail.nobody@fatman%3E | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | refinedweb | 106 | 57.37 |
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1. Which method illustrates how to retrieve information for the current culture of the application (Choose all that apply.) A. Create a new instance of the CultureInfo class, and instantiate it with no values specified in the constructor. B. Use the CurrentCulture property of the CurrentThread property of the Thread instance. C. Create a new instance of the CultureInfo class, and use an invariant culture. D. Create an instance of the CultureInfo class using a specific culture, and check the CurrentCulture property. 2. Which of the following statements describes the neutral and specific culture en-US A. The specific culture is en, and US is the neutral culture. B. The specific culture is US, and en is the neutral culture. C. The combination of both represents a neutral culture. D. The neutral culture is en-US, and no specific culture is specified. 3. What method should be used to perform case-insensitive, culturally aware String comparisons A. Specify a culture for each string. Create a CompareInfo class, and call its Compare method, passing in both strings. B. Specify a culture for each string. Create a CompareInfo class, and call its Compare method, passing in both strings and specifying CompareOptions. IgnoreCase. C. Use the String.CompareTo method, and just specify the other string. D. Use the ToUpper or ToLower method of each string, and simply ensure that they are both the same case.
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You are an Exchange organization administrator for The Adatum Corporation. Two of your tasks are to configure mailbox settings and to move mailboxes both individually and in bulk within the Adatum.com forest. Answer the following questions: 1. You want to move all the mailboxes in the database Mailbox Database in the storage group First Storage Group to the database Adatum Employees Mailbox Database in the storage group Second Storage Group. You want to delete the mailboxes in the source database after you have moved them to the target database. What command should you use 2. You want to set the quota warning limit for all mailboxes in the database Adatum Employees Mailbox Database in the storage group Second Storage Group to 4 GB. Currently, this quota is at its default value (1.9 GB) for all mailboxes in the database. What command do you use 3. You want to move Kim Akers s mailbox to the database Adatum Employees Mailbox Database in the storage group Second Storage Group. You want to delete the mailbox in the source database after you have moved it to the target database. You want the moved mailbox to retain its current recipient policies. What command do you use
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link to a lot of other objects in the model. These objects can be thought of as the perspective objects. That is, they are the objects that you most typically start with and examine the relationships from their perspective. They are usually easy to pick out. For example, a Project or ClientAccount object in a client billing application will end up with a lot of links and be considered as important from a point of view. These objects also participate heavily in the feature set, modules, submodules, requirements, and use cases. The other objects in your ORM are sometimes bit players in the domain. Other times they end up as simply properties, or even values of properties, of a class. To create your business domain (class diagram) you should look through your ORMs and pick out the domain objects and their properties. You then need to apply the physical constraints of your technology choices and the constraints of your solution architecture to the class diagram. The result should be a domain model that stays true to your logical model and supports your technology choices.
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Lesson 2: Important Active Directory Concepts
Module Execution Context
A DNS zone is a contiguous portion of a namespace for which a server is authoritative. A server can be authoritative for one or more zones, and a zone can contain one or more contiguous domains. For example, one server can be authoritative for both microsoft.com and lucernepublishing.com zones, and each of these zones can include two or more domains. Contiguous domains such as .com, lucernepublishing.com, and example.lucernepub lishing.com can become separate zones through the process of delegation, by which the responsibility for a subdomain within the DNS namespace is assigned to a sepa rate entity. Zone files contain resource records for the zones for which a server is authoritative. In many DNS server implementations, zone data is stored in text files; however, DNS serv ers running on Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 domain controllers can also store zone information in Active Directory.
Configuring the Surface Area
Off the Record Although you need to know how to perform these calculations for the exam, most sysadmins avoid doing so on the job. Administrators who need to determine subnet related information typically use what is called a subnet calculator or network calculator. Many of these utilities can be downloaded for free, and some even operate directly from Web pages. Typically, subnet calculators allow you to enter some addressing requirements, such as a network address and number of hosts per subnet, and then automatically calculate the rest of the addressing information for you. This information can include the appropriate subnet mask, the number of subnets, the binary form of the address, and the subnet broadcast address.
' VB Try Dim proxy As New FaultServiceClient() Console.WriteLine(proxy.Hello("World")) Catch de As FaultException(Of DemoFault) Console.WriteLine("DemoFault returned") Catch fe As FaultException Console.WriteLine("FaultException returned") Catch ce As CommunicationException Console.WriteLine("CommunicationException returned") End Try
Lesson 2: Monitoring System Performance
1. You want to verify that your application can support the target number of concurrent users without becoming unusable. This is an example of what type of testing A. Bounds testing B. Load testing C. Performance testing D. Stress testing 2. Which of the following are true statements about integration testing (Choose all that apply.) A. Integration tests, like unit tests, are white box tests and thus the responsibility of developers. B. Integration tests should define a series of inputs and expected outputs for each test case.
10
4
Troubleshoot file system access on multiple boot computers. Troubleshoot permissions issues on multiple boot computers. Configure applications on multiple boot computers.
Start Visual Studio, and then create a new project. Navigate to Visual Basic, Windows, and then select the Class Library template. Give the new project the name tK 448 ch11 customassembly. In Solution Explorer, right-click the Class1.vb module and rename it customcolor.vb. In the message box that appears, click Yes to also rename all references to Class1 in the code generated by Visual Studio. Add two public functions to the class: one shared (Shared is a Visual Basic keyword to create static members) and one instance-based. Your code should look like this:
ChAPTER 2
Sending and Receiving a Message Synchronously
You are working as an administrator for a company named Trey Research, a manufacturer of wireless tracking devices. You are working with Olinda, a technical writer and translator who is creating a user manual in English and French for the software interface to one of the company s products.
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by Timothy Ko
Docker Development WorkFlow — a guide with Flask and Postgres
Docker, one of the latest crazes, is an amazing and powerful tool for packing, shipping, and running applications. However, understanding and setting up Docker for your specific application can take a bit of time. Since the internet is filled with conceptual guides, I won’t be going too deep conceptually about Containers. Instead, I’ll be explaining what each line I write means and how you can apply that to your specific application and configuration.
Why Docker?
I am part of a student-run non-profit called Hack4Impact at UIUC, where we develop technical projects for non-profit organizations to help them further their missions. Each semester, we have multiple project teams of 5–7 student software developers, with a variety of skill levels including students who have only finished their first college-level computer science course.
Since many non-profits often asked for web applications, I curated a Flask Boilerplate to allow teams to quickly get their backend REST API services up and running. Common utility functions, application structure, database wrappers, and connections are all provided along with documentation for setup, best coding practices, and steps for Heroku deployment.
Issues with Development Environment and Dependencies
However, since we onboard new student software developers every semester, teams would spend a lot of time configuring and troubleshooting environment issues. We would often have multiple members developing on different Operating Systems and ran into a myriad of problems(Windows, I’m pointing at you). Although many of those problems were trivial, such as starting up the correct PostgreSQL database version with the right user/password, it wasted time that could’ve been put into the product itself.
In addition to that, I only wrote documentation for MacOS users with only bash instructions (I have a Mac), and essentially left Windows and Linux users out to dry. I could’ve spun up some Virtual Machines and documented the setup again for each OS, but why would I do that if there’s Docker?
Enter Docker
With Docker, the entire application can be isolated in containers that can be ported from machine to machine. This allows for consistent environments and dependencies. Thus, you can “build once, run anywhere,” and developers will now be able to install just one thing — Docker — and run a couple commands to get the application running. Newcomers will be able to rapidly begin developing without worrying about their environment. Nonprofits will also be able to quickly make changes in the future.
Docker also has many other benefits, such as its portable and resource-efficient nature (compared to Virtual Machines), and how you can painlessly set up Continuous Integration and rapidly deploy your application.
A Brief Overview of Docker Core Components
There are many resources online that will explain Docker better than I can, so I won’t go over them in too much detail. Here’s an awesome blog post on its concepts, and another one on Docker specifically. I will, however, go over some of the Core Components of Docker that are required to understand the rest of this blog post.
Docker Images
Docker images are read-only templates that describe a Docker Container. They include specific instructions written in a Dockerfile that defines the application and its dependencies. Think of them as a snapshot of your application at a certain time. You will get images when you
docker build.
Docker Containers
Docker Containers are instances of Docker images. They include the operating system, application code, runtime, system tools, system libraries, and so on. You are able to connect multiple Docker Containers together, such as a having a Node.js application in one container that is connected to a Redis database container. You will run a Docker Container with
docker start.
Docker Registries
A Docker Registry is a place for you to store and distribute Docker images. We will be using Docker Images as our base images from DockerHub, a free registry hosted by Docker itself.
Docker Compose
Docker Compose is a tool that allows you to build and start multiple Docker Images at once. Instead of running the same multiple commands every time you want to start your application, you can do them all in one command — once you provide a specific configuration.
Docker example with Flask and Postgres
With all the Docker components in mind, let’s get into setting up a Docker Development environment with Flask Application using Postgres as its data store. For the remainder of this blog post, I will be referencing Flask Boilerplate, the repository I mentioned earlier for Hack4Impact.
In this configuration, we will use Docker to build two Images:
app— the Flask Application served in port 5000
postgres— the Postgres Database served in port 5432
When you look at the top directory, there are three files that define this configuration:
- Dockerfile — a script composed of instructions to setup the
appcontainers. Each command is automatic and is successively performed. This file will be located in the directory where you run the app(
python manage.py runserveror
python app.pyor
npm startare some examples). In our case, it is in the top directory(where
manage.pyis located). A Dockerfile accepts Docker Instructions.
- .dockerignore — specifies which files not to include in the Container. It is just like
.gitignorebut for the Docker Containers. This file is paired with the Dockerfile.
- docker-compose.yml — Configuration file for Docker Compose. This will allow us to build both
appand
postgresimages at once, define volumes and state that
appdepends on
postgres, and set required environmental variables.
Note: There’s only one Dockerfile for two images because we will be taking an official Docker Postgres image from DockerHub! You can include your own Postgres Image by writing your own Dockerfile for it, but there’s no point.
Dockerfile
Just to clarify again, this Dockerfile is for the
app container. As an overview, here is the entire Dockerfile—it essentially gets a base image, copies the application over, installs dependencies, and sets a specific environment variable.
FROM python:3.6
LABEL maintainer "Timothy Ko <[email protected]>"
RUN apt-get update
RUN mkdir /app
WORKDIR /app
COPY . /app
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
ENV FLASK_ENV="docker"
EXPOSE 5000
Because this Flask Application uses Python 3.6, we want an environment that supports it and already has it installed. Fortunately, DockerHub has an official image that’s installed on top of Ubuntu. In one line, we will have a base Ubuntu image with Python 3.6, virtualenv, and pip. There are tons of images on DockerHub, but if you would like to start off with a fresh Ubuntu image and build on top of it, you could do that.
FROM python:3.6
I then note that I’m the maintainer.
LABEL maintainer "Timothy Ko <[email protected]>"
Now it’s time to add the Flask application to the image. For simplicity, I decided to copy the application under the
/app directory on our Docker Image.
RUN mkdir /app
COPY . /app
WORKDIR /app
WORKDIR is essentially a
cd in bash, and
COPY copies a certain directory to the provided directory in an image.
ADD is another command that does the same thing as
COPY , but it also allows you to add a repository from a URL. Thus, if you want to clone your git repository instead of copying it from your local repository (for staging and production purposes), you can use that.
COPY, however, should be used most of the time unless you have a URL. Every time you use
RUN,
COPY,
FROM, or
CMD, you create a new layer in your docker image, which affects the way Docker stores and caches images. For more information on best practices and layering, see Dockerfile Best Practices.
Now that we have our repository copied to the image, we will install all of our dependencies, which is defined in
requirements.txt
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
But say you had a Node application instead of Flask — you would instead write
RUN npm install. The next step is to tell Flask to use Docker Configurations that I hardcoded into
config.py. In that configuration, Flask will connect to the correct database we will set up later on. Since I had production and regular development configurations, I made it so that Flask would choose the Docker Configuration whenever the
FLASK_ENV environment variable is set to
docker. So, we need to set that up in our
app image.
ENV FLASK_ENV="docker"
Then, expose the port(5000) the Flask application runs on:
EXPOSE 5000
And that’s it! So no matter what OS you’re on, or how bad you are at following documentation instructions, your Docker image will be same as your team members’ because of this Dockerfile.
Anytime you build your image, these following commands will be run. You can now build this image with
sudo docker build -t app .. However, when you run it with
sudo docker run app to start a Docker Container, the application will run into a database connection error. This is is because you haven’t provisioned a database yet.
docker-compose.yml
Docker Compose will allow you to do that and build your
app image at the same time. The entire file looks like this:
version: '2.1'services: postgres: restart: always image: postgres:10 environment: - POSTGRES_USER=${POSTGRES_USER} - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} - POSTGRES_DB=${POSTGRES_DB} volumes: - ./postgres-data/postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data ports: - "5432:5432" app: restart: always build: . ports: - 5000:5000 volumes: - .:/app
For this specific repository, I decided to use version 2.1 since I was more comfortable with it and it had a few more guides and tutorials on it — yeah, that’s my only reasoning for not using version 3. With version 2, you must provide “services” or images you want to include. In our case, it is
app and
postgres(these are just names that you can refer to when you use docker-compose commands. You call them
database and
api or whatever floats your boat).
Postgres Image
Looking at the Postgres Service, I specify that it is a
postgres:10 image, which is another DockerHub Image. This image is an Ubuntu Image that has Postgres installed and will automatically start the Postgres server.
postgres: restart: always image: postgres:10 environment: - POSTGRES_USER=${USER} - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${PASSWORD} - POSTGRES_DB=${DB} volumes: - ./postgres-data/postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data ports: - "5432:5432"
If you want a different version, just change the “10” to something else. To specify what user, password, and database you want inside Postgres, you have to define environment variables beforehand — this is implemented in the official postgres Docker image’s Dockerfile. In this case, the
postgres image will inject the
$USER,
$PASSWORD, and
$DB environment variables and make them the
POSTGRES_USER,
POSTGRES_PASSWORD, and
POSTGRES_DB envrionment variables inside the postgres container. Note that
$USER and the other environment variables injected are environment variables specified in your own computer (more specifically the command line process you are using to run the
docker-compose up command. By injecting your credentials, this allows you to not commit your credentials into a public repository.
Docker-compose will also automatically inject environment variables if you have a
.env file in the same directory as your
docker-compose.yml file. Here’s an example of a .env file for this scenario:
USER=testusrPASSWORD=passwordDB=testdb
Thus our PostgreSQL database will be named testdb with a user called testusr with password password.
Our Flask application will connect to this specific database, because I wrote down its URL in the Docker Configurations I mentioned earlier.
Every time a container is stopped and removed, the data is deleted. Thus, you must provide a persistent data storage so none of the database data is deleted. There are two ways to do it:
- Docker Volumes
- Local Directory Mounts
I’ve chosen to mount it locally to
./postgres-data/postgres , but it can be anywhere. The syntax is always
[HOST]:[CONTAINER]. This means any data from
/var/lib/postgresql/data is actually stored in
./postgres-data.
volumes:- ./postgres-data/postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data
We will use the same syntax for ports:
ports:- "5432:5432"
app Image
We will then define the
app image.
app: restart: always build: . ports: - 5000:5000 volumes: - .:/app depends_on: - postgres entrypoint: ["python", "manage.py","runserver"]
We first define it to have
restart: always. This means that it will restart whenever it fails. This is especially useful when we build and start these containers.
app will generally start up before
postgres, meaning that
app will try to connect to the database and fail, since the
postgres isn’t up yet. Without this property,
app would just stop and that’s the end of it.
We then define that we want this build to be the Dockerfile that is in this current directory:
build: .
This next step is pretty important for the Flask server to restart whenever you change any code in your local repository. This is very helpful so you don’t need to rebuild your image over and over again every time to see your changes. To do this, we do the same thing we did for
postgres : we state that the
/app directory inside the container will be whatever is in .(the current directory). Thus, any changes in your local repo will be reflected inside the container.
volumes: - .:/app
After this, we need to tell Docker Compose that app depends on the
postgres container. Note that if you change the name of the image to something else like
database, you must replace that
postgres with that name.
depends_on: - postgres
Finally, we need to provide the command that is called to start our application. In our case, it’s
python manage.py runserver.
entrypoint: ["python", "manage.py","runserver"]
One caveat for Flask is that you must explicitly note which host (port) you want to run it in, and whether you want it to be in debug mode when you run it. So in
manage.py, I do that with:
def runserver(): app.run(debug=True, host=’0.0.0.0', port=5000)
Finally, build and start your Flask app and Postgres Database using your Command Line:
docker-compose builddocker-compose up -ddocker-compose exec app python manage.py recreate_db
The last command essentially creates the database schema defined by my Flask app in Postgres.
And that’s it! You should be able to see the Flask application running on!
Docker Commands
Remembering and finding Docker commands can be pretty frustrating in the beginning, so here’s a list of them! I’ve also written a bunch of commonly used ones in my Flask Boilerplate Docs if you want to refer to that.
Conclusion
Docker truly allows teams to develop much faster with its portability and consistent environments across platforms. Although I’ve only gone through using Docker for development, Docker excels when you use it for Continuous Integration/testing and in Deployment.
I could add a couple more lines and have a full production setup with Nginx and Gunicorn. If I wanted to use Redis for session caching or as a queue, I could do that very quickly and everyone on my team would be able to have the same environment when they rebuilt their Docker Images.
Not only that, I could spin up 20 instances of the Flask Application in seconds if I wanted to. Thanks for reading! :)
If you have any thoughts and comments, feel free to leave a comment below or email me at [email protected]! Also, feel free to use my code or share this with your peers! | https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/docker-development-workflow-a-guide-with-flask-and-postgres-db1a1843044a/ | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | refinedweb | 2,603 | 54.93 |
omri luz5,148 Points
Please tell me what is wrong with my code
i have no idea what i am doing wrong
import random start = 5 while start == 5: def even_odd(num): num = random.randint(1, 99) if num % 2 == 0: print ("{} is even".format(num)) else: print("{} is odd".format(num)) start -= 1 # If % 2 is 0, the number is even. # Since 0 is falsey, we have to invert it with not. return not num % 2
1 Answer
Robert Ionut MuraruFull Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 17,260 Points
Hello,
You are defining the even_odd() function within the while loop which is not necessary. You should use the even_odd() function inside the while loop to check if a number is even or not. Try writing the code again, you can leave the definition of the even_odd() function as it is and just create the while loop under it:
import random def even_odd(num): # If % 2 is 0, the number is even. # Since 0 is falsey, we have to invert it with not. return not num % 2 start = 5 # here is how you could think about the remaining challenge: '''while start is not falsey: declare a variable and assign to it the value you get using random.randint(1, 99) if that variable is even: print "{} is even",putting the random number in the hole else: print "{} is odd", again using the random number decrement start by 1 '''
Hope it helps you.
nakalkucing12,964 Points
nakalkucing12,964 Points
What error are you getting? | https://teamtreehouse.com/community/please-tell-me-what-is-wrong-with-my-code | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | refinedweb | 252 | 76.76 |
.
Hello Monks, I'm a perl newbie and have the following requirement:
1) I need to do an outer join on 2 files which have about 20 columns e
+ach. Both files have headers
2) The join needs to happen on key based on 3 columns from each file,
+so both have to be sorted. The key is from column 1,4,5 in both files
+ but key column headers don't all match (can we match the key based o
+n column index instead of header names?)
3) If the key matches, I need the flexibility to add specific columns
+from any of the files to the output file.
4) If there is no key match, take the existing key/data from file and
+add it to the output leaving the other columns blank (outer join).
5) Need to generate a separate output file leaving inputs intact.
6) The input/output files need to use '|' separators
Here is an example with 2 input files and an output file using only sm
+all sample of columns:
File_Deal - the key here is parent_cusp,deal,tranche
parent_cusp|cusp|isin|deal|tranche|det_date|col_type
38375U|36182D|36182D1|HMAG|HMBSWEE|20150416|mortgage
383333|361333|3618333|HABS|HABSDDE|20150330|mortgage2
File_ATT - the key here is Vendor, deal, tranche
Vendor|visp|barnembly|deal|tranche|Fund|subamt|colamt|basamt
38375U|3DD82D|36FF333|HMAG|HMBSWEE|9010|765423|364633|46566
38EE33|361DD3|36LLE33|H99S|HAOOODE|2330|377233|347433|34488
File_Output
parent_cusp|cusp|isin|deal|tranche|det_date|col_type|Fund|subamt|colam
+t|basamt
38375U|36182D|36182D1|HMAG|HMBSWEE|20150416|mortgage|9010|765423|36463
+3|46566
383333|361333|3618333|HABS|HABSDDE|20150330|mortgage2||||
38EE33|||H99S|HAOOODE|||2330|377233|347433|34488
7) The output needs to contain all the columns/data from file1 (File_D
+eal) and for file2 (File_ATT) join only starting from column 6 (Fund)
+ until the last column (basamt).
8) based on the output - row 1 is a match so I just join from both fil
+es
9) row 2 is a mismatch from File_deal, but since it's outer
join I just copy row 2 from file_deal and just add blanks (since it's
+missing from file_Att
10) row 2 is a mismatch from File_att but once again I need outer join
+. But here I need to copy the key from file_detail to output as well,
+ so I just write 3 key columns into 1st, 4th, and 5th column(leave ot
+hers blank), then attach data from File_ATT
Here is some of the code I'm starting with from sample I found but nee
+d to come up with a solution quickly as deadline is approaching, can
+you please help. Thanks in advance
#! /bin/env perl
my $File_Deal = $ARGV[0];
my $File_ATT = $ARGV[1];
open(F1, "<", $File_Deal);
open(F2, "<", $File_ATT);
my %hash = ();
while( <F1> ) {
chomp;
my($c, $c2, $c4, @val1) = split/,/, $_, -1;
$hash{$c1.$c2.$c4}[0] = $val1[0];
$hash{$key}[1] = $val1[1];
$hash{$key}[2] = $val1[2];
}
while( <F2> ) {
chomp;
my($c1,$c5, $c7, @val2) = split/,/, $_, -1;
$hash{$c1.$c5.$7}[3] = $val2[0];
$hash{$key}[4] = $val2[1];
$hash{$key}[5] = $val2[2];
}
for my $key (sort keys %hash) {
print "$key: $hash{$key}[0]:$hash{$key}[1]\n";
}
[download]
I have various option switches I can use with my script and one of them grabs the key value from MySQL and uses it to query the Cassandra database. The issue is that when the DBI returns the value it interprets or converts the value instead of leaving it in it's exact format.
If this is making any sense and if some one could help me, that would be hugely helpful. Here is a sample of the code.
if ($access) {
my $sql = "SELECT `key` FROM `users`";
my $keys = &retrieveData($sql,1);
foreach my $get (@{$keys}) {
say $get->{key};
my $get_stmt = $cass->prepare( 'SELECT "accessedDt" FROM accou
+nts WHERE key = '.$hex->as_hex)->get;
my ( undef, $result ) = $get_stmt->execute( [] )->get;
foreach my $row ($result->rows_hash) {
my $key_find = ($row->{"accessedDt"});
if (defined $key_find) {
say "I found this date --- $key_find";
}
}
}
}
sub retrieveData {
my $value;
my $sth = $dbh->prepare($_[0]);
$sth->execute();
if ($_[1]) { $value = $sth->fetchall_arrayref({}); }
else { $value = $sth->fetchrow_array(); }
return $value;
}
[download]
Perl koan n. A puzzling, often paradoxical statement or suggestion, used by Perl hackers as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening or something.
For the moment, don't think about the obstacles.
Imagine you could plug in Perl (perhaps defaulted to strict mode and built-in with Mo(o|u)(se)?) onto your browser when JavaScript gets too painful.
What possible benefits might that give? Assuming first that JavaScript is difficult for enterprise-scale apps (hence the existence of Dart, and frameworks like AngularJS), it seems that Perl would fill the part -- and has been stable for years, and has a wide user base.
Obstacles aside, can you see the utility and beauty of Perl5 on every browser - not just Opera?
use URI;
use Web::Scraper;
use Encode;
use Data::Dumper;
open (OUT, '>LM_Article.txt');
my $resultat = scraper
{
process '//body[@id="artists"]', 'entree[]' => scraper
{
process '//div[@class="header-bar-inner"]/h2', artiste => 'TEXT';
process '//div[@class="release-height"]/div[@class="recording-
+ dates"]', titre => 'TEXT';
};
my $resultat2 = scraper
{
process '//div[@class="release-height"]', 'entree[]' => scraper
+
{
process '//div[@class="release-height"]/p', texte =>'TEXT';
};
}
my $res = $resultat.$resultat2 ->scrape( URI- >new("
+ote.com/artists/lee-morgan") );
for my $val (@{$res->{entree}})
{
print OUT Encode::encode ("utf8", $val->{artiste} . "\n" . $val->
+ {titre} . "\n" . $val->{texte} . "\n");
}
close (OUT);
[download]
On Windows, the following C program:
#include <stdio.h>
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
int i;
for (i = 0; i < argc; ++i) { printf("%d:%s:\n", i, argv[i]); }
return 0;
}
[download]
> arg.exe "abc "" xyz"
[download]
0:arg.exe:
1:abc " xyz:
[download]
Notice that the following Perl program:
for my $arg (@ARGV) { print "$arg:\n" }
[download]
> perl arg.pl "abc "" xyz"
[download]
abc ":
xyz:
[download]
I tried:
use strict;
use warnings;
use Win32::API;
my $getcmdline = Win32::API->new( 'kernel32.dll', 'GetCommandLine', []
+, 'P' )
or die "error: Win32::API GetCommandLine: $^E";
my $cmdline = pack 'Z*', $getcmdline->Call();
$cmdline =~ tr/\0//d; # remove any NULLs left over from pack Z*
$cmdline =~ s/\s+$//; # remove trailing white space
print "cmdline=$cmdline:\n";
[download]
It seems I'll need to use Win32::CommandLine
(which I cannot currently get to build cleanly)
or write a C front end to do the argument passing
before launching Perl.
Is there another way around this that I've missed?
I have a function that gets called a lot (a wanted function for File::Find going against large numbers of files). To avoid constantly hitting the disk, I do one stat/lstat and then use -X _ repeatedly after that (using the cached results of the last stat/lstat).
In some cases, I need to call other functions that need to be able to use stat/lstat, which will overwrite the cached results in _. The actual calls to these other functions are uncommon in frequency (exception handling, essentially), but there are many places in the main function that might need to call them.
Ideally, I would like to be able to localize the cached results of the stat/lstat call in some way (in the called functions). Is there a way to do this? (Note that local _; doesn't compile and local *_; doesn't work.) Is there a better and/or more generic approach?
If I can't localize in any way, one approach I'm considering is caching the results I need in a hash. For example:
#NOTE: Depending on certain conditions, I need either stat or lstat.
if (...) { stat($Filename) } else { lstat($Filename) }
#Current code uses this format:
# if (-X _) {...}
#Possible new code (including only the tests I need to use):
my %Stat =
(
r => (-r _),
w => (-w _),
x => (-x _),
s => (-s _),
...
);
if ($Stat{r}) {...}
[download]
Thoughts?
use strict;
use warnings;
use Crypt::CBC;
my $cipher = Crypt::CBC->new(
-key => 'goldfish',
-cipher => 'Blowfish'
);
my $string = 'some data';
my $encrypted_string = encrypt("$string");
my $decrypted_string = decrypt($encrypted_string);
print "\n$string\n";
print "\n$encrypted_string\n";
print "\n$decrypted_string\n";
# -----------------------------------------------------------
sub encrypt {
my $str = shift;
return ( $cipher->encrypt_hex($str) );
}
# -----------------------------------------------------------
# -----------------------------------------------------------
sub decrypt {
my $str = shift;
return ( $cipher->decrypt( pack( "H*", $str ) ) );
}
# -----------------------------------------------------------
[download]
Oh monks most tawny and tangy, whose wisdom and knowledge of all things Perl is unalienable and indefeasible, help me out, for I'm very much missing the obvious.
As you will well know, Perl allows Unicode characters in variable names, so long as use utf8; is in effect. So the following snippet works as expected (apologies for the unresolved HTML entities, Perlmonks itself does not handle Unicode properly):
my $人 = "World";
say "Hello, $人";
[download]
However, the following does not:
my $F310; = "World";
say "Hello, $F310;";
[download]
Perl 5.20.0 complains about this, saying:
Unrecognized character \x{1f310}; marked by <-- HERE after my $<--
+ HERE near column 5 at 1123740.pl line 9.
[download]
This is even though the character is in Unicode 6.3.0, which Perl 5.20.0 supports.
So why isn't it working? Help me out, fellow monks.
Hi Monks,
I need to use NDBM_File db across child processes.
I use below code to create DB in parent
#!/usr/bin/env perl
use warnings;
use Fcntl;
use NDBM_File;
use List::Util qw(first);
my $df = 'db';
my %db;
my @c_p;
(tie %db, NDBM_File, $df, O_CREAT|O_RDWR, 0666) || die "$0: ERR, creat
+ing DB $df : $!\n";
$db{'fields'} = ['rc', 'ev', 'h', 'u', 'oh', 'c', 'i', 'n_c'];
untie %db || die "$0: Couldn't close db, $!\n";
my $pid = fork();
if ( $pid ) {
# parent
push @c_p, $pid;
} elsif ( $pid == 0) {
#child
ssh_remote_exec();
exit (0);
}
sub ssh_remote_exec {
my %_h;
my @a;
my %db;
my $df = 'db';
(tie %db, NDBM_File, $df, O_RDWR, 0666) || die "$0: ERR, open
+DB $df : $!\n";
# get output from remote exec and parse it into %_h
# here open the db created in parent, use the field key to retr
+ieve the array index and put there the value of key from %_h
# but $db{'field'} has no data in child
foreach my $k (keys %_h ) {
my $i = first { $db{'fields'}->[$_] eq $k } 0..$#{$db
+{'fields'}};
$a[$i] = $_h{$k};
print "key : $k, index : $i, value: $_h{$k} \n";
}
print join (';', @a), "\n";
$db{'1'} = join (';', @a);
untie %db || die "$0: Couldn't close db, $!\n";
}
[download]
I need to know whether I'm doing things rite ? need your wisdom in using NDBM db across multiple child processes.
When running the example below I get the error:
Tk::Error: window ".toplevel.frame1.hlist.menu" was deleted before its visibility changed at C:/Dwimperl/perl/site/lib/Tk/Widget.pm line 1000.
Tk callback for tkwait
<Button-1>
(command bound to event)
Example.
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;
use Tk;
use Tk::Pane;
use Tk::HList;
sub door {
my $house = shift;
my $door_W = $house->Toplevel();
my $hlist = $door_W->Scrolled(
'HList',
-scrollbars => "se",
-columns => 1,
-header => 1,
)->pack( -expand => 1, -fill => 'both');
$hlist->headerCreate(0, -text => 'Title');
$hlist->columnWidth(0, '');
$hlist->bind("<Button-1>" => [\&knock_on_door, $door_W]);
my $exit_B = $door_W->Button(
-text => 'Exit',
-command => sub { $door_W->destroy(); },
-relief => 'raised',
)->pack(-side => 'left');
}
sub knock_on_door {
my $frame = shift;
my $pop_menu = $frame->Menu( -menuitems =>
[
['command', 'Knock on door.',
-command => sub {
print "Knock! Knock!!!\n";
}
],
'',
]
)->Popup(-popover => "cursor", -popanchor => 'nw');
$pop_menu->destroy;
}
my $mw = MainWindow->new;
$mw->Button(-text => "Close", -command =>sub{exit})->pack();
door($mw);
MainLoop;
[download]
You receive the error after selecting "knock on door" and pushing the Exit button.
You don't recieve the error if you only push the Exit button.
I am running TK 804.032
Thankful for any ideas.
Th | http://www.perlmonks.org/index.pl?showspoiler=1022247-1;node_id=479 | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | refinedweb | 1,944 | 66.37 |
Generates HTML pages of API documentation from Java source files. This document contains Javadoc examples for Solaris.
javadoc [ options ] [ packagenames ] [ sourcefilenames ] [ -subpackages pkg1:pkg2:... ] [ @argfiles ]
Arguments can be in any order. See processing of Source Files for details on how the Javadoc tool determines which ".java" files to process.. the -link and -linkoffline options..
The terms documentation comment, doc comment, main description, tag, block tag, and in-line tag are described at Documentation Comments. These other terms have specific meanings within the context of the Javadoc tool:.
Each class or interface and its members can have their own documentation comments, contained in a .java file. For more details about these doc comments, see Documentation have a choice of two files to place your comments:. For example, if the source files for the java.applet package are contained in /home/user/src/java/applet directory, you could create an overview comment file at /home.
You
Cross-Reference Pages
Support Files
The Javadoc tool generates a declaration at the start of each class, interface, field, constructor, and method description for that API item. For example, the declaration for the Boolean class.
You @see starts.:
The current tags are:
TagIntroduced in JDK/SDK
@author1.0
{@code}1.5
{@docRoot}1.3
@deprecated1.0
@exception1.0
{@inheritDoc}1.4
{@link}1.2
{@linkplain}1.4
{@literal}1.5
@param1.0
@return1.0
@see1.0
@serial1.2
@serialData1.2
@serialField1.2
@since1.1
@throws1.2
{@value}1.4
@version1.0
For custom tags, see the -tag option. @.
/**
* @deprecated As of JDK 1.1, replaced by {@link #setBounds(int,int,int,int)}
*/
For more about deprecation, see
The @deprecated tag @. and is in code font.
If you want the same functionality without the code font, use {@literal}. argument omitted).
/**
* option.
For more details, see
writing {@link} tags @{@link}.
Refer to {@linkplain add() the overridden method}.
This would display as:
Refer to the overridden @.
For more details, see
writing @return tags @.
@see "The Java Programming Language"
This generates text such as:
@see <a href="spec.html#section">Java Spec</a>
Only in version 1.2, just the name but not the label would automatically appear in <code> HTML tags, Starting with 1.2.2, the <code> is always included around the visible text, whether or not a label is used.
Example - In this example, an @see tag (in the Character class) refers to the equals method in the String class. The tag includes both arguments: the name "String#equals(Object)" and the label "equals".
/**
* @see String#equals(Object) equals
*/
<dl>
<dt><b>See Also:</b>
<dd><a href="../../java/lang/String#equals(java.lang.Object)"><code>equals<code></a>
</dl>:
For more details, see
writing @see tags @..
The @serialData tag can be used in the doc comment for the writeObject, readObject, writeExternal, readExternal, writeReplace, and readResolve methods.
@since 1.5
For @.
The following sections describe where the tags can be used. Note that these tags can be used in all doc comments: @see, @since, @deprecated, {@link}, {@linkplain}, and {@docroot}.
Overview.
Overview Tags
Package tags are tags that can appear in the documentation comment for a package (which resides in the source file named package.html or package-info.java). The @serial tag can only be used here with the include or exclude argument.
Package Tags
The following are tags that can appear in the documentation comment for a class or interface. The @serial tag can only be used here with the include or exclude argument.
Class/Interface Tags
/**
* {
...
}
The following are the tags that can appear in
Field Tags
/**
*
/**
*.
/home/user/src/com/mypackage/*.java
% javadoc -sourcepath /home/user/src/ com.mypackage
% javadoc -sourcepath /home/user1/src:/home/user2/src com.mypackage
% javadoc -classpath /home/user/lib -sourcepath /home/user/src com.mypackage
% javadoc -d docs -sourcepath /home/user/src -subpackages java:javax.swing
% javadoc -sourcepath /home/user/src -subpackages java -exclude java.net:java.lang
% javadoc -J-Xmx32m -J-Xms32m com.mypackage
% javadoc -J-version
java version "1.2"
Classic VM (build JDK-1.2-V, green threads, sunwjit)
% javadoc -d /home/user/doc com.mypackage
% javadoc -windowtitle "Java SE Platform" com.mypackage
% javadoc -doctitle "Java(TM)" com.mypackage
% javadoc -header "<b>Java 2 Platform </b><br>v1.4" com.mypackage
% javadoc -link com.mypackage
% javadoc -d ./spi -link ../api com.spipackage
java.applet
java.awt
java.awt.color
java.awt.datatransfer
java.awt.dnd
java.awt.event
java.awt.font
etc.
% javadoc -linkoffline . com.mypackage
% javadoc -d update -linkoffline . html com.mypackage
public class Button
extends Component
implements Accessible
public String getLabel()
% javadoc -group "Core Packages" "java.lang*:java.util"
-group "Extension Packages" "javax.*"
java.lang java.lang.reflect java.util javax.servlet java.new
% javadoc -helpfile /home/user/myhelp.html java.awt
% javadoc -stylesheetfile /home/user/mystylesheet.css com.mypackage
% javadoc -charset "iso-8859-1" mypackage
<META http-
% javadoc -docencoding "ISO-8859-1" mypackage
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="java.lang.String class">
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER">
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="length()">
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="charAt()">
-tag todo:a:"To Do:"
-tag todo:cmf:"To Do:"
@todo The documentation for this method needs work.
/**
* @ejb:bean
*/
-tag ejb\\:bean:a:"EJB Bean:"
-tag todo:Xcmf:"To Do:"
-tag todo:X
-tag param
-tag return
-tag todo:a:"To Do:"
-tag throws
-tag see
-tag example:X
-taglet com.sun.tools.doclets.ToDoTaglet
-tagletpath /home/taglets
-tag return
-tag param
-tag todo
-tag throws
-tag see
-noqualifier all
-noqualifier java.lang:java.io
-noqualifier java.*:com.sun.*
<!-- Generated by javadoc (build 1.5.0_01) on Thu Apr 02 14:04:52 ISTac options and source filenames in any combination. The arguments within a file can be space-separated or newline-separated..
You could use a single argument file named "argfile" to hold all Javadoc arguments:
% javadoc @argfile
This argument file could contain the contents of both files shown in the next example. SE 7 API Specification'
-doctitle 'Java SE 7 API Specification'
-header '<b>Java(TM)
You would then run javadoc with:
% javadoc @options @packages
The argument files can have paths, but any filenames inside the files are relative to the current working directory (not path1 or path2):
%:
% javadoc -bottom @bottom @packages
Or you could include the -bottom option.
You can run javadoc on entire packages or individual source files. Each package name has a corresponding directory name. In the following examples, the source files are located at /home/src/java/awt/*.java. The destination directory is /home/html.
To.
% javadoc -d /home/html -sourcepath /home/src -subpackages java -exclude java.net:java.lang
To also traverse down other package trees, append their names to the -subpackages argument, such as java:javax:org.xml.sax.
% cd /home/src/
% javadoc -d /home/html java.awt java.awt.event
% javadoc -d /home/html -sourcepath /home/src java.awt java.awt.event
%/java/awt
% javadoc -d /home/html Button.java Canvas.java Graphics*.java
% cd /home/src/
% javadoc -d /home/html java/awt/Button.java java/applet/Applet.java
% javadoc -d /home/html /home/src/java/awt/Button.java /home/src/java/awt/Graphics*.java
You can document entire packages and individual classes at the same time. Here's an example that mixes two of the previous examples. You can use -sourcepath for the path to the packages but not for the path to the individual classes.
%(TM)(TM) SE 7 API Specification'
DOCTITLE = 'Java(TM) Platform Standard Edition 7 API Specification'
HEADER = '<b>Java(TM) SE 7</font>'
Error and warning messages contain the filename and line number to the declaration line rather than to the particular line in the doc comment. | http://www.linuxhowtos.org/manpages/1/javadoc.htm | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | refinedweb | 1,266 | 51.14 |
When trying to run either
runserver
shell
manage.py
ImportError
ImportError: No module named 'django.utils.importlib'
django.utils.importlib is a compatibility library for when Python 2.6 was still supported. It has been obsolete since Django 1.7, which dropped support for Python 2.6, and is removed in 1.9 per the deprecation cycle.
Use Python's
import_module function instead:
from importlib import import_module
The reason you can import it from
django.utils.module_loading is that
importlib.import_module is imported in that module, it is not because
module_loading in any way defines the actual function.
Since
django.utils.module_loading.import_module is not part of the public API, it can be removed at any time if it is no longer used - even in a minor version upgrade. | https://codedump.io/share/YX5jCMpDhYuC/1/django-19-importerror-for-importmodule | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | refinedweb | 129 | 61.93 |
Details
- Type:
Improvement
- Status:
Closed
- Priority:
Major
- Resolution: Fixed
- Affects Version/s: None
-
- Component/s: groovy-jdk
- Labels:None
- Patch Submitted:Yes
- Number of attachments :
Issue Links
- relates to
GROOVY-3944 Add a META-INF/services mechanism (similar to global ast transformations) that allows custom ExpandoMetaClass code to be run when a class is loaded
Activity
Hi James, have you considered using ExpandoMetaClass?
it is becoming the standard way to extend the functionality of Groovy and you don't have to write a custom meta class per Groovy class.
I used an ExpandoMetaClass in the end (as there's no other option!
. However I'm not totally happy with it - as it assumes that the user of your library is gonna call some magic install script in some place to make sure the methods get added. This is probably fine in lots of frameworks like Grails where there's already an initialization point - but in general, adding groovy methods to arbitrary code - we need some kinda auto-discovery way to find the expando-metaclass scripts.
Whether we use Java code as in my patch, or groovy and ExpandoMetaClass doesn't matter a whole lot - the main issue we need to address IMHO is adding an auto-discovery mechanism so we can by default add methods to new types by adding a jar to the classpath - without the user having to remember to call some initialization script
I postponing this issue a little, as I'd like we discuss the topic at Groovy DevCon #4.
There are different mechanisms, like the magic package for MetaClasses, and there was an idea for defining EMCs in some magic startup script, and also this proposal your make.
I'd like to find a good way to make things consistent in that area, and I think it deserve some thought.
A mechanism (such as James') that adds methods statically would be a great addition. In particular, it would allow tools like the JetGroovy plugin to do static analysis on the methods.
For example, at present if I use auto completion with "new File()" in JetGroovy it lists "eachFileRecurse". However, anything added via ExpandoMetaClass is not visible. Nor can it ever be as it is only bound dynamically at runtime (static analysis could never determine if the code that adds the method via ExpandoMetaClass gets executed).
Really want to see a META-INF/services based solution that lets me add GDK methods in DGM-style, without EMC and potentially written in Java.
The attached patch allows adding default groovy methods by adding custom jar in the classpath. Those jars must provide a META-INF/services/org.codehaus.groovy.dgm.extensions file which lists the FQN of extension classes which are written in a DGM-style. Here's an example :
package groovy.dgm; public class MyExtension { public static String dup(String str) { if (str==null) return null; return str+str; } }
groovy.dgm.MyExtension
The mechanics are therefore similar to those used for global AST transformations and custom compiler extensions.
Nice patch. For 1.9 I have something similar but aligned with grapes rather than just the ones found during registry bootstrapping. I think grapes is also where custom compiler extensions more naturally belong too but the current compiler extensions mechanism was put in place as an interim solution for groovypp.
I'm not sure such a feature should only be available through grapes : having a global way of adding such methods looks interesting to me. Do you think we should provide both ?
The last time I was thinking about this area I had the thought that it might be best not to have a file class in the style of DefaultGroovyMethods from which we get the methods. I was thinking that it might be better to think of that more as a kind of plugin and that it maybe should instead provide the MetaMethods directly. We could then also do it fully in spi style.
Yes, the DefautGroovyMethods class already has support for this (the "additionals" static field). However, it looks much more complicated to provide MetaMethods than implementing extensions through DGM style.
From a user's perspective, I'm very much in favor of implementing methods in DGM style. In particular, I want to be able to implement the methods in Groovy or Java.
the additionals parts is not used by the runtime, it is used by groovydoc and by the part that generates callsites for the dgm methods. If we really wanted to do it like dgm, then we would need those hundreds of generated classes. The reason we have them simply is, that laoding them is faster than loading a giant DGM and inspecting it through reflection. Also a point to consider is that the more methods are added the slower groovy will startup, since that complete registry is done once at startup. I was thinking that we should have a more efficient system, but I couldn't come up with one yet
I don't know the details. Just saying that as a user, I'd like to write DGM-style methods. I assume the number of methods added in such a way would be way below the number of DGM methods. IMHO this feature should only be used by end-user applications. For libraries, the risk of nasty conflicts is too high.
attached patch - as I don't seem to have commit karma any more
| http://jira.codehaus.org/browse/GROOVY-2116?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:all-tabpanel | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | refinedweb | 903 | 58.72 |
Blokkal::PostEntryQueue Class ReferenceHandles posting of entries. More...
#include <blokkalpostentryqueue.h>
Detailed DescriptionHandles posting of entries.
This class manages entries that need to be posted into their blogs. It will post the entries when their accounts go online.
- Note:
- This class does not guarantee that the entries will be posted in the correct order. Entries that belong to different blogs will be posted independently from each other. Entries that belong to the same blog will be posted in the same order they are queued as long as no errors occur.
Definition at line 50 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.h.
Member Function Documentation
Resets the status if the entry is marked as failing. Another attempt to post the entry will be made. If the entry is unknown or not failing nothing happens.
- Parameters:
-
Definition at line 357 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
Returns the number of currently queued entries.
- Returns:
- the number of currently queued entries
Definition at line 221 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
Returns a list of currently queued entries.
- Returns:
- a list of currently queued entries
Definition at line 231 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
This signal is emitted after an entry has been added to the queue and before any attempt is made to post the entry.
This signal is emitted when an entry is failing to post.
- Parameters:
-
This signal is emitted after an entry has been removed from the queue after it has succesfully been posted to the server. The entry will be destroyed after this signal has been emitted.
- See also:
- entryRemoved()
This signal is emitted after an entry has been removed from the queue.All references to PostEntryStatus objects for this entry are invalid now.
- See also:
- entryPosted()
Return a pointer to the PostEntryStatus object for the entry.
- Parameters:
-
- Returns:
- the status for the entry, or 0
Definition at line 349 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
This signal is emitted when the status of an entry changes.
- Parameters:
-
Returns true if no entries are queed.
- Returns:
- true if no entries are queed
Definition at line 226 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
Test whether the queue is currently processing entries. This does not mean, that any entries are beeing posted, just that the queue will do so when all other conditions are met.
- Returns:
- TRUE when the queue is currently processing entries
Definition at line 403 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
Queues an entry for posting. This object will call ref() on entry. The entry will be deref()ed when it has been succesfully posted.
- Parameters:
-
Definition at line 141 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
Restores the last saved state.
Definition at line 408 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
Resumes queue processing.
Definition at line 392 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
Returns a pointer to the global PostEntryQueue. If none exists yet, one will be created.
- Returns:
- the global PostEntryQueue object
Definition at line 136 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
Call this slot before shutting down the plugin manager.
Definition at line 464 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
Suspends queue processing. Ongoing post operations are not stopped.
Definition at line 387 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
Removes an entry from the queue. If the entry is currently beeing posted to the server it cannot be unqued and this method will return FALSE unless force is set to true. In this case the post operation is aborted. If the entry was not queued in the first place this method will return FALSE.
- Note:
- You must call deref() on the returned entry when you no longer need it.
- Parameters:
-
- Returns:
- TRUE if the entry was successfully unqueued
Definition at line 168 of file blokkalpostentryqueue.cpp.
The documentation for this class was generated from the following files: | http://blokkal.sourceforge.net/docs/0.1.0/classBlokkal_1_1PostEntryQueue.html | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | refinedweb | 607 | 60.21 |
Robot FrameWork: The Ultimate Guide to Running Your Tests
This blog post is dedicated to the Robot Framework – an open source test automation framework for acceptance testing and acceptance test-driven development (ATDD). This blog post will explain how to create your project and Selenium tests in Robot and provide tips and best practices. In the end, I will show you how to run Robot in Taurus.
But first, to understand why Robot Framework is a good solution for that, we need to understand what acceptance testing is. Acceptance testing determines whether a system answers the acceptance criteria, defined by users needs and requirements. When we execute acceptance testing, we verify the whole system as a single unit on a high level, to understand if the system under test can be used by the end users.
Usually, test engineers act as system users by executing steps and scenarios that come from requirements and business processes, by forming a set of predefined keywords. This approach to testing, which is based on set of keywords that can be re-used across all tests, is called keyword-driven. Robot Framework utilizes this approach in a very good fashion. It doesn’t limit you to any approach or format to keywords: if you wish to use keywords on a high level, then it’s ok. You wish to manipulate variables and do programming with keywords? Please, go ahead. You like Gherkin syntax and want to use it to describe your tests? Feel free to do it.
Additionally, Robot Framework has a rich ecosystem of internal and external libraries that consist of many useful keywords that you can re-use in your ecosystem. But don’t worry, if you didn’t find a keyword you need, you can develop a new library itself. You can develop tests with the Robot Framework on Java and Python. In the blog post we will use Python since the framework itself is implemented on Python and there are more external libraries on Python.
For more information about Robot Framework and the ecosystem, see the official site. You can find plenty more documentation there, together with demo projects, a list of available test libraries and other tools, and so on.
Sounds like a great framework, doesn’t it? Let’s have a look at how to use it. You can follow the test source code usage of the Robot Selenium library here. You can find the test version with custom selenium keywords here.
Robot Framework Prerequisites
First, we need to follow the requirements:
1. Install Python 2.7.14 or above. You can download it from here. There are two major versions of Python nowadays: 2.7.14 and 3.6.4. Code snippets in the blog post will be given for version 2.7.14. If there is any difference for version 3.6.4, a note will be made with appropriate changes to version 3.6.4. It’s up to the reader to choose which version to install.
2. Install the python package manager (pip). It can be downloaded from its download page. All further installations in the blog post will be make use of pip so it’s highly recommended to install it.
3. Download a development environment. The PyCharm Community edition will be used in the blog post. You can download it from the Pycharm website. You can use any IDE of your choice since code snippets are not IDE dependent.
Creating your Robot Framework Project
Now, let’s create our project.
1. Create the project in PyCharm IDE with File -> New Project.
2. Specify the location for the project (the last part of the path will be the project’s name)
When developing a python application, it’s good practice to isolate its dependencies from others. With this, you can be sure that you are using the right version of the library in case there are multiple versions of it in your PYTHON_PATH. (The PYTHON_PATH variable is used in python applications to find any dependency that is declared via import statement in python modules).
3. To do this, you need to install the virtual environment.
- Install the Virtual Environment tool with the command pip install virtualenv in the prompt.
- In the project root directory, create the environment with virtualenv venv in the prompt where venv is the environment name.
4. If the environment is activated, your prompt will be prefixed with the environment’s name as below:
5. If the environment has been activated successfully, install the Robot Framework with pip:
Creating Your Test in the Robot Framework
Once we are done with the prerequisites, let’s choose an application that we are going to automate tests for. Check out - a demo version of a Simple Travel Agency that allows you to search and book a flight.
We will create a simple test case that allows to search for any flight. This will be a UI test; hence we need a tool that will help us manipulate with elements on a web page. Selenium WebDriver will suit this purpose as it’s open-source, stable and easy to use. Selenium WebDriver gives us as test developers a simple programming interface to interact with graphical elements on web pages. The only thing you need to do is to choose the appropriate WebDriver depending on the browser you would like to use.
In general, any test forms a test case. In the Robot Framework, test cases are created in test cases files that can have any extension from the following: .html, .xhtml, .htm, .tsv, .txt, .rst, .rest or .robot
Any test cases file forms a test suite file, regardless of the number of tests it has. Sometimes you need to group test suite files into a higher-level suites. This can be achieved by creating directories. You can create a tree of directories with any depth by forming a logical structure. To do that you should follow the application business logic or any other grouping criteria.
Implementing Keywords in Your Test
A test case is composed from keywords. We can use keywords created by our own (they are named as user keywords) or import keywords from Robot Framework libraries. It’s up to a test developer to choose which one to use but keep in mind the following recommendation: in a test case try to avoid any programming and low-level keywords by using high-level user keywords instead. It will make such a test case easy to read and easy to understand.
How should you apply this recommendation? Consider the following issue: when automating UI tests with Selenium and the Robot Framework, you need to choose between already developed Selenium keywords or your own high-level business keywords to interact with web elements. The choice depends on answers to the following questions:
- Will other people, besides the test developers, implement new tests and keywords?
- Is the business logic simple and not complex and do you not need to use object-related models?
If the answer on those two questions is yes, then feel free to use keywords that were already developed. But if you need to implement complex business logic and you can’t do it without a business model, then encapsulate manipulation with web pages in internal classes and create keywords for business steps instead.
In the blog post we will use the Selenium2Library from the Robot Framework as there will not be any complex business logic – any flow can be implemented with the available keywords.
Have a look at the test below:
To book a flight we need to perform the following steps:
- Open a web page.
- Choose any departure city from a drop-down list.
- Choose any destination city from a drop-down list.
- Click on “Find Flights” button.
- Verify if there are flights found on Flights search result page.
To implement the test, the steps above need to be converted to keywords. If we tried to implement a test case without user defined keywords, our test would look like the following (consider that we are using SeleniumLibrary from the Robot Framework).
search_flights.robot:
*** Settings *** Library SeleniumLibrary *** Test Cases *** The user can search for flights [Tags] search_flights Open browser Chrome} Close All Browsers
To be able to use keywords from external libraries (like SeleniumLibrary) we need to import it. This should be done in the “Settings” section of the code in Robot with the setting “Library”. The “Settings” section is used not only for importing external libraries and resources, but also for defining metadata for test suites and test cases. We will come back to “Settings” section later in the blog post.
Underneath the “Settings” section there is “Test Cases” section where you should add all the test cases within a test cases file. As you can see, we have used keywords from SeleniumLibrary to open the browser and to select appropriate values from departure and destination drop-down lists.
In the Robot Framework, any keyword can accept any number of arguments. In our case, for example, the keyword “Open browser” accepts two arguments: the URL to open and the browser this URL should be opened in. The keyword “Select From List by Value” accepts the selector of the web element as the first argument, and accepts the value to select as the second argument.
The Tags section is used to assign a logical group to a test case. Furthermore, it can be used to execute tests only with the specified tag. I will explain how to achieve this later in the blog post.
There is one more thing that needs to be explained in more detail here. The result of the “Get WebElements” keyword is assigned to the variable “@flights”. You can use the variable to describe keyword arguments, to store a value in a test suite or to save the results of keyword execution. The names of variables are case-insensitive, and as well as names of keywords, and spaces and underscores are ignored. The test case can be re-written with usage of variables in the following way:
*** Settings *** Library SeleniumLibrary *** Variables *** ${URL} ${BROWSER} Chrome *** Test Cases *** The user can search for flights Open browser ${URL} ${BROWSER}
Such styling adds more readability to the test case. Variables can be scalar (with the $ prefix), lists (with the @ prefix, dictionaries (with the & prefix) and environment (with the % prefix).
After saving the available flights as web elements in the list “flights”, we use the built in keyword “Should Not Be Empty” to verify there is at least one flight found. As a last step we close all opened browsers.
Now, it’s high time to make some improvements using Robot Framework’s capabilities. If you want to add more test cases to the test suite, you will notice that anytime you want to interact with the page, you need to open it. And, after test passed, you need to close the browser. With the help of the “Settings” section that was mentioned previously, you can manage these tear up and tear down operations.
Updated test case:
*** Settings *** Library SeleniumLibrary Suite Setup Open browser ${URL} ${BROWSER} Suite Teardown Close All Browsers *** Variables *** ${URL} ${BROWSER} Chrome *** Test Cases *** The user can search for flights [Tags] search_flights}
As you can see, we have moved open browser and closing all browsers to suite setup and suite teardown respectively.
Creating Keywords
As another improvement, we can develop custom keywords to select departure and destination cities and to find flights.
Search_flights_keywords.robot:
*** Settings *** Library SeleniumLibrary *** Variables *** ${URL} ${BROWSER} Chrome *** Keywords *** Open Home Page Open browser ${URL} ${BROWSER} Close Browsers Close All Browsers Select Departure City [Arguments] ${departure_city} Select From List By Value xpath://select[@name='fromPort'] ${departure_city} Select Destination City [Arguments] ${destination_city} Select From List by Value xpath://select[@name='toPort'] ${destination_city} Search For Flights Click Button css:input[type='submit'] There are available Flights @{flights}= Get WebElements css:table[class='table']>tbody tr Should Not Be Empty ${flights}
All keywords we are intending to use should be created in the “Keywords” section. You can notice that we don’t have any test cases in the file. Such files are considered as resource files and they have slightly different properties than test cases files: in the “Settings” section you cannot use metadata settings such as Suite Setup, Suite TearDown or Tags settings. You can only use the import settings (Library, Resource, Variables) and Documentation.
Going back to the created keywords: In “Select Departure City” and “Select Destination City” keywords we have an [Arguments] property, which means these keywords require arguments. A keyword can have any number of arguments but it’s advised not to overload it with too many. If a keyword has many arguments it’s harder to understand what it does and it becomes prone to errors.
Our test cases file search_flights.robot was changed to reflect the modifications:
*** Settings *** Resource search_flights_keywords.robot Suite Setup Open Home Page Suite Teardown Close Browsers *** Test Cases *** The user can search for flights [Tags] search_flights Select Departure City Paris Select Destination City London Search For Flights There are available Flights
Resources files are loaded via the setting “Resource”. Now our test looks more elegant and it is easy to understand what the test steps are.
Initialization Files
The next thing we can do is to add a setup suite and a teardown suite to the test suite initialization file. As mentioned previously in the blog post, a test cases file forms a test suite. But test suite files can be put to a higher-level test suite by creating directories. On its own a directory cannot have the setup and teardown information, but the Robot Framework has initialization files for that. The name of the initialization file should be __init__.ext, where ext should be one of the supported formats.
Let’s create a directory for our test suite and name it search_flights.
Our initialization file will be search_flights/__init__.robot (don’t confuse it with python __init__.py)
*** Settings *** Suite Setup Open Home Page Suite Teardown Close Browsers Resource search_flights_keywords.robot
Like resource files, initialization files cannot have test cases and not all settings are supported. Variables and keywords that were created or imported will not be available in the lower level suites. Use initialization files to provide common tags, documentation and setup/teardown operations.
With the initialization file, our test case looks even simpler:
*** Settings *** Resource search_flights_keywords.robot *** Test Cases *** The user can search for flights Select Departure City Paris Select Destination City London Search For Flights There are available Flights
It’s a good practice to keep test cases as simple as possible. It will make them more stable and easy to modify when needed.
Creating Keywords from Functions or Methods
Ok, we saw how to create a test case using existing keywords that are grouped into user-defined keywords. But what if we need to save data to a database when selecting the departure city? Or to log information to a file? Those are cases when we need to form a keyword from a function or method of the class. The Robot Framework allows us to do that.
Let’s modify our test to use keywords formed from python class methods.
1. First, we need to install the Selenium library with pip:
2. Download the Chrome WebDriver from the Selenium download page.
3. Let’s create a Python class that will manage the WebDriver session:
class WebDriverManager(object): __driver = None @classmethod def get_web_driver(cls, browser): if cls.__driver is None: if (browser.lower()) == "chrome": cls.__driver = webdriver.Chrome("C:/drivers/chromedriver.exe") return cls.__driver
The WebDriverManager class stores the created driver session in the __driver variable and returns it when the get_web_driver method is called.
4. Since web pages elements are not loaded simultaneously, we need to wait until the element becomes visible on the page. In Selenium, this can be achieved through the WebDriverWait class. We will create the class Web that will encapsulate the usage of the WebDriverWait class instance by exposing simple methods to search for web elements on the page by xpath.
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By from selenium.webdriver.support.wait import WebDriverWait from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC from web_driver.web_driver_manager import WebDriverManager class Web(object): _driver = None def __init__(self, browser): self._driver = WebDriverManager.get_web_driver(browser) self._wait = WebDriverWait(self._driver, 10) def get_web_element_by_xpath(self, xpath): return self._wait.until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, xpath))) def get_web_elements_by_xpath(self, xpath): return self._wait.until(EC.presence_of_all_elements_located((By.XPATH, xpath))) def open(self, path): self._driver.get(path) def close_all(self): self._driver.quit()
5. Now, we need a class that will expose methods to interact with elements on the Flights search page.
from web_driver.web import Web class SearchFlightPage(object): __url = "" def open(self): self._web.open(self.__url) def __init__(self, browser): self._web = Web(browser) def select_departure_city(self, city): self._web.get_web_element_by_xpath("//select[@name='fromPort']/option[@value='{}']".format(city)).click() def select_destination_city(self, city): self._web.get_web_element_by_xpath("//select[@name='toPort']/option[@value='{}']".format(city)).click() def search_for_flights(self): self._web.get_web_element_by_xpath("//input[@type='submit']").click() def get_found_flights(self): return self._web.get_web_elements_by_xpath("//table[@class='table']/tbody/tr") def close(self): self._web.close_all()
This class uses a Web instance to access web elements on the web page and has a method to select values from departure and destination drop-down lists, clicking on “Find Flights” button, and getting found flights.
This class also has the methods open() and close(), which are self-explanatory.
Let’s have a look at our modified test case:
*** Settings *** Library pages//SearchFlightPage.py Chrome Suite Setup Open Suite Teardown Close *** Test Cases *** The user can search for flights Select Departure City Paris Select Destination City London @{flights}= Get Found Flights Should Not Be Empty ${flights}
We are using SearchFlightsPage.py library to import class methods as keywords.
6. There is still one thing we can improve here. As you see we are doing a little programming by saving a list of flights into a variable and then passing it further to ‘Should Not Be Empty” keyword.
We can bypass this by saving a test variable using the keyword “Set Test Variable” in the resource file.
Have a look at search_flights_keywords.robot:
*** Settings *** Library pages//SearchFlightPage.py Chrome *** Keywords *** Open search page Open Close pages Close Select departure [Arguments] ${city} select departure city ${city} select destination [Arguments] ${city} select destination city ${city} Search Flights search for flights @{flights}= Get Found Flights set test variable ${flights} Flights are found Should Not Be Empty ${flights}
In the “Search Flights” keyword we are saving search results into the test variable “${flights}”. Later, in “Flights are found” keyword we read this variable.
Our modified test:
*** Settings *** Resource search_flights_keywords.robot Suite Setup Open search page Suite Teardown Close pages *** Test Cases *** The user can search for flights Select Departure Paris Select Destination London Search Flights Flights are found
The choice to use an already developed keyword or to create your own is always up to a test developer. Try to keep things as simple as possible: if you don’t need additional behavior that can be implemented only in python modules or classes, use already developed keywords – it will save your time.
Executing Your Tests in Robot
To execute robot tests in your prompt, type: robot path/to/tests.
‘path/to/tests’ should be a name of a suite file or a suite directory.
You can select which tests to be executed from a suite by filtering by tags. Any robot test or suite can have a tag assigned. To execute tests with an assigned tag, type the following in your prompt:
Robot –include [tag] path/to/tests
Executing Your Robot Test in Taurus
You can also create your test scripts with Taurus or upload existing ones, in a much easier way. In Taurus, you can run your test in loops to get transaction time statistics. By using the command -cloud you can delegate the test to the cloud through BlazeMeter, getting an online report and without having to have your own infrastructure.
Create and execute a configuration for your Robot test in Taurus and you will get a detailed result of how your application works.
Consider the following configuration to check if our “Find Flights” scenario will work for 1 min:
execution: - executor: selenium runner: robot hold-for: 1m scenario: script: search_flights/ reporting: - final-stats - blazemeter
This will start Taurus and execute our scenario for 1 min:
BlazeMeter will soon have exciting updates about GUI testing! Sign up here to get information. For stress testing, request a live BlazeMeter demo with one of our performance engineers. | https://www.blazemeter.com/blog/robot-framework-the-ultimate-guide-to-running-your-tests/ | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | refinedweb | 3,444 | 62.88 |
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**Hello, **
I am working on my last year project for my highschool, and I am creating an invisible entry system that I control with my fingers.
( "lmulz")
The black squares represent where your fingers have to go to open the gate, and the red ellipse represents my finger.
I am using a Leap Motion, Processing, and Arduino, but here's my problem :
I want someone to be able to create it's own digital code by creating a zone represented by a square, but I don't know how to do it. For the moment I use a noLoop(); after the creation of the square, but it stops my program ofc.
So, I am able to create a square that doesn't move according to my finger anymore, bu that completely my program.. ** Here is my code : **
import processing.serial.*; import de.voidplus.leapmotion.*; import development.*; Serial portUSB; int inByte; int x,y; int p,q; int a; LeapMotion leap; // creation de l'objet leap ArrayList<PVector> points; //tableau pour contennir le tracé ArrayList<PVector> points2; PVector fp; // vector de la position des doigts void setup() { size(800, 800, P3D); background(125,125,125); println(Serial.list()); portUSB = new Serial(this, Serial.list()[1], 9600); leap = new LeapMotion(this); points = new ArrayList<PVector>(); // Create an empty ArrayList points2 = new ArrayList<PVector>(); smooth(8); noStroke(); a = 1; x = 150; y = 150; p = 450; q = 450; } void draw() { rect(x,y,150,150); rect(p,q,150,150); fill(0); int fps = leap.getFrameRate(); frameRate(fps); // Mains for (Hand hand : leap.getHands()) { // Doigts for (Finger finger : hand.getFingers()) { fp = finger.getPosition(); // retourne la position des doigts sous forme de vecteur nettoyer(); mdr(); } } } void nettoyer() { background(125,125,125); } void mdr() { rect(x,y,150,150); rect(p,q,150,150); fill(0); if (fp.z > 40 ) { fill(255,0,0); ellipse(fp.x, fp.y, constrain(fp.z, 10, 20), constrain(fp.z, 10, 20)); } if (fp.x > x && fp.x < x+150 && fp.y > y && fp.y < y+150 ) { if(a == 1) { points.add(new PVector(fp.x, fp.y)); println("LES SAUCISSES"); a++; } } if (fp.x > p && fp.x < p+150 && fp.y > q && fp.y < q+150 ) { if(a == 2) { points.add(new PVector(fp.x, fp.y)); portUSB.write(67); println(67); a++; } } if(fp.z > 65) { rect(fp.x-75,fp.y-75,150,150); fill(0,255,0); points2.add(new PVector(fp.x, fp.y)); } for (int i = points.size()-1; i >= 0; i--) { PVector p = points.get(i); fill(255, 0, 0); ellipse(p.x, p.y, 20, 20); } for (int u = points2.size()-1; u >= 0; u--) { PVector p = points2.get(u); fill(0, 255, 0); rect(fp.x-75,fp.y-75,150,150); ** noLoop();** } } void keyPressed() { if(key == '1') { println("RESET"); portUSB.write(68); a = 1; points = new ArrayList<PVector>(); points2 = new ArrayList<PVector>(); nettoyer(); } }
Thanks for your help, and sorry for my english. Ask me if you didn't understand something.
Answers
To format the source code highlight it so the code is selected and press Ctrl + k or click on the C button.
I have deleted your second post which was the same code as the first post.
Ok, thanks !
as far as I understand it, your program has two situations:
create it's own digital code by creating a zone represented by a square
use the invisible entry system that I control with my fingers.
At the moment you try to have noLoop after situation 1.
Instead think of states of the program.
state / situation 1 being: create it's own digital code
state / situation 2 being: use the invisible entry system
so you need a var "state" which can be 1 or 2
in draw() have a switch that goes
the rects e.g.
are only (not) drawn in state 2
Later
in case he later unlocked the door or failed to do so you can expand the states to
state you won
state you failed
Greetings, Chrisir
Thanks a lot! I will try to use this solution !
I tried your solution and it seems to match. The only problem is that I don't know how to switch from case1 to case2. And when I try to put the case 2 in a if() I get an error...
Here is my code now :
I don't get what mdr stands for
also I don't understand why you have switch in mdr and not in draw()
I expected in draw():
Greetings, Chrisir
Nevermind, I understood ! Ty !
Here's what I get now :
??
does it work?
switch state still in mdr, not in draw
what does mdr do?
you can end state 1 and go to state 2 when 9 is hit or when return / enter is hit e.g.
Well, I am sorry but I've just realized that I worked two differents versions, so some elements are missing in 2 last versions of my code.
I am working on it.
Well, yes it works. When I press 9, my state 2 is active. That's the only way I found for the moment, but this is the idea.
Sorry forgot to answer :
mdr stands for pretty much everything in fact..
I don't speak french so I can't understand some of your code
I'm sorry
In situation 1 : how many rects does he have to submit until he's done?
just count them and when he's finished say state = 2;
the big picture:
a more logical approach would be:
normally we all land in state 2
when he points in a certain way (three corners e.g.), he tells the system he is a admin
system asks for password
when password is right, state 1, he can change the lock, and save it
password and lock position is saved encrypted on hard-drive
because
because at the moment it's only a game without much purpose
with a use like above there would be a more substantial way to tackle the user scenario I think
For the moment, the gate is opened when you first go in the top-left square and then in the second, so there's no specific number.
The thing is that I am trying to use the square I create in the second caser, transfering it in the first case etc...
The problem I am facing is that I don't really know how to transfer the square from the state 2 to the state 1.
I can't run your code because I don't have serial etc.
but in theory, you paint two rects as a hidden lock in situation 2
is that right?
so in situation 1 when he defines the locks you need to
store his input in inputPosX1, inputPosY1 etc.
and when he hits 9 (goes to state 2) you say once
etc.
so you can use x and y and p and q in state 2
this is the idea....
NB
x,y and p,q here are upper left corner and lower right corner of the lock
there is only one lock.
state 0: Admin starts by defining it (user must look away) and then state 1: user must unlock
when he did state = 2 - he won
the states are used in draw() and in mouseClicked() also - very elegant
I don't get what you're trying to do in your second messsage, with the mouse game.
For the moment I am using keyboard, but the goal is to control everything with my fingers only, but I will work on this later.
it is a simulation to show how I see the connection of state 0 and state 1
you wrote
I wanted to give you an example on how to do that
you wrote
in the state 0 an admin is defining a rect and in the state 1 an user is searching the lock and trying to open it
the mouse is the replacement for what you do with the fingers
Oh okay! I'll read it again then. Thanks.
or rather load it and play with it in processing
I tried but the problem is that I can't write something like float w; w = fp.x (finger position axis x) so basically I don't know how to use this..
When I try to do w = fp.x it says that the com port 1 is busy..
so I can't say to my program that w is fp.x in case 2 and fp.x just itself in the first case, so the program confuses both fp.x and fails miserably.
I dunno
Maka a new post maybe?
Maybe I will.
Sorry, I didn't answer because I was in holidays, I didn't work much...
Thanks for all your help though. :)
;-) | https://forum.processing.org/two/discussion/2955/how-to-create-a-square-without-noloop | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | refinedweb | 1,497 | 81.63 |
Razor Syntax
Razor was launched as a new templating syntax with the introduction of the ASP.NET Web Pages framework. A new view engine was added to MVC 3 that makes use of Razor. Razor enables mixing server-side code with HTML mark up to generate an HTML response that the framework sends to the browser. The
@ sign has four uses in Razor:
- To open a code block
- To denote an inline expression or statement
- To render the value of variables
- To render single lines of content that contain plain text or unmatched HTML tags
Code blocks are sections of C# code that do not include any output to be rendered. They are usually positioned at the top of the Web Page or View and typically contain the logic for processing a page in Web Pages, or simple view-specific instructions in MVC. Code block start with the
@ sign followed by an opening curly brace, and end with a closing curly brace:
@{ ViewBag.Title = "Edit"; Layout = "~/Views/Shared/_EditLayout.cshtml"; }
The content within the code block is standard C# code. A common mistake is to prefix variables declared within the code block with the
@ sign. This is not necessary.
Inline expressions or statements are snippets of C# code appearing within HTML. Most often, these are used to make decisions on what to render based on conditions, or to iterate collections for display to the browser:
<ul> @foreach (var item in rows) { // do something } </ul>
Nested expressions or statements do not start with an
@ sign...
<ul> @foreach (var item in rows) { if (item.Equals(x)) { // do something } } </ul>
...unless they are separated from the outer expression or statement by unmatched tags
<ul> @foreach (var item in rows) { <li> @if (item.Equals(x)) { // do something } </li> } </ul>
The
@ sign is used in Razor to render the value of variables, expressions and statements to the browser:
@DateTime.Now <!-- renders the current time to the browser --> @(someCondition ? x : y) <!-- renders the value of x or y to the browser –> @Html.ActionLink("Back to List", "Index") <!-- renders a hyperlink -->
Variables within expressions and statements should not be prefixed with the
@ sign.
If you wish to render plain text or unmatched tags while inside a statement block, you use the
@ sign followed by a colon to tell Razor that what follows is not C# code:
@if (item == x) // plain text { @:The time is @DateTime.Now }
@if (item == x) // unmatched tags { @:<ul> } else { @:<ol> }
Identifiers
An identifier in C# is the name given to a namespace, class, variable, property, method, interface etc. Rules govern what makes a valid identifier. It is permitted to use a C# keyword as an identifier, but if you do, you must use the
@ sign to prevent compile time errors. You are advised against using a keyword as an identifier, but there are times when you cannot avoid doing so.
Some overloads of the
HtmlHelper classes (Web Pages and MVC) accept an object to represent the HTML attributes to be rendered as part of the tag that the helper represents. The following example adds a
style attribute to a text input and sets its value to
width:100%;:
@Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.FirstName, htmlAttributes: new { style = "width:100%;"})
When you do this, you are creating an anonymous type with a property called
style to represent the HTML attributes. If you want to set the CSS
class attribute via this method, you need to add a property to the anonymous type called
class - which is a C# keyword. Therefore you must use the
@ sign to enable the use of
class in this case:
@Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.FirstName, htmlAttributes: new { @class = "full-width"})
A mistake I see repeated quite often in the ASP.NET forums is to apply the
@ sign to all other properties of the anonymous type, which is just not necessary. Some people even think that the
@ sign used here is part of the Razor syntax rules. It's not. It's usage here preceded Razor by a long way.
Verbatim String Literals
A verbatim string literal in C# consists of the
@ sign followed by a literal string in double quotes and terminated with a semi-colon e.g.
var s = @"Hello World";
Two benefits of using a verbatim string literal include the fact that you only need to escape double quotes (by doubling them); and the string can span multiple lines in code without requiring continuation characters. For these reasons, verbatim string literals are most suitable for representing paths (which may otherwise need their slashes escaping) and regular expression patterns (which also may otherwise require backslashes to be escaped).
Regex re = new Regex(@"\w\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}.\d{1,3}\w");
They are also useful for representing large blocks of text if they need to be included in code in a readable manner, such as SQL statements that might be used in Web Pages applications:
var sql = @"SELECT p.ProductName, o.UnitPrice, o.Quantity, (o.UnitPrice * o.Quantity) - (o.UnitPrice * o.Quantity * o.Discount) As TotalCost FROM OrderDetails o INNER JOIN Products p ON o.ProductID = p.ProductID WHERE o.OrderID = @0";
The use of the
@ sign in this context once again has nothing to do with Razor syntax.
Summary
If you have ever wondered when and where you should be using the
@ sign in your ASP.NET code, hopefully this article has helped to resolve your confusion. | https://www.mikesdotnetting.com/article/258/usage-of-the-at-sign-in-asp-net | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | refinedweb | 903 | 60.85 |
I am currently trying to run a Python script to pull some data from a Yahoo Fantasy Football Website. I have been able to successfully scrape data, but am running into an issue with the CSV output. All of the data is being put into one column instead of multiple different columns. Below is my code I am using:
import re, time, csv import requests from bs4 import BeautifulSoup #Variables League_ID = 1459285 Week_Number = 1 Start_Week = 1 End_Week = 13 Team_Name = "Test" Outfile = 'Team_Stats.csv' Fields = ['Player Name', 'Player Points', 'Player Team', 'Week'] with open('Team_Stats.csv','w') as Team_Stats: f = csv.writer(Team_Stats, Fields, delimiter=',', lineterminator='n') f.writerow(Fields) for Week_Number in range(Start_Week, End_Week + 1): url = requests.get("" + str(League_ID) + "" + str(Week_Number)) soup = BeautifulSoup(url.text, "html.parser") #print("Player Stats for " + Team_Name + " for Week " + str(Week_Number)) player_name=soup.find_all('div',{'class':'ysf-player-name'}) player_points=soup.find_all('a',{'class':'pps Fw-b has-stat-note '}) for player_name in player_name: player_name = player_name.contents[0] #print(div.text) f.writerow(player_name) for player_points in player_points: #print(div.text) Week_Number += 1 f.writerow(player_points) Team_Stats.flush() Team_Stats.close() print("Process Complete")
I also want to leave some room in the code to add more ‘For loops’ since I have other pieces of data I am looking to collect.
If anyone can suggest a better way to structure my code, please feel free to help!!
This is a sample output of what I get in my csv file
Thanks | https://scrapingtheweb.com/curation/python-and-web-scraping-csv-output-issues_16128.html | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | refinedweb | 247 | 50.23 |
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