My Venture to Linux

    So, I got a new laptop about a month ago. Previously, I was using my Dad's laptop or the family desktop. I had a _big_ accident with the family computer but that's all covered in another post ;D Now that I had my own laptop, I wasn't scared of destroying something I didn't own!

    Now, due to some influence and advice on my favourite irc channel, #hbh on hellboundhackers.org, I decided Debian 5.0.5 was the distro for me. I downloaded an iso then burned it to a CD and tried to boot. Couldn't read from the CD-ROM was the error. Kinda stupid because it was reading from the CD-ROM when it booted... I was talking to some guys and they said it might have been because Debian doesn't get updated too often, that Lenny mightn't have been updated recently and since my laptop is new, the CD-ROM mightn't have been recognised!

    Annoying, but nothing I could do about it. I then moved on to my second favourite distro, Fedora. Fedora 13 Gnome downloaded to a Live USB and I'm away. I partition, la di da di da. Then when I have it installed I realised that it was _slow_! It would take at least 20 seconds to open up a web page in FF. I then inquired on #hbh and was told the problem could have been because I was using 32-bit Fedora on a 64-bit lappy. Even more annoying.

    By now, I had made a nice file system and everything formatted nicely. Now when I installed fedora, and subsequently formatted that partition I un-intentionally left GRUB installed. This caused some _serious_ problems when I tried to boot back into windows to make a new live-cd! Basically, I could boot nothing. Luckily, I had a live cd of Xubuntu so I could boot into that. Then I had to install Xubuntu and use that version of GRUB so I could boot into windows (Thanks to #hbh!) Made a live USB of a 64-bit Fedora and then installed that. Problems solved! (finally)

    Now that I'm happily in Linux, I want to get onto Debian. #hbh recommended netbootin and I'm trying out that now :D So two mottos, find people you can trust (Most of #hbh) and then, more importantly, trust them! Shout out right here to all my friends at #hbh, especially Spyware, Ynori7, Drewid[rogue], Moshbat (sometimes trustable ;P) and yhrei_43 who frequents occasionally!
       NotMyFault

Back Again!

    So I'm back again! I haven't posted in a _long_ time so sorry guys! Lots has happened in the last couple of weeks so I might as well tell everybody.

    Well I found out about hackerspaces. They are class and to make things even better, there's one in my area :D They're running a Linux workshop sometime soon so I think I'll make it my business to attend that.

    Speaking of Linux, my laptop is now dual-booted with Fedora 13 but my whole conversion to Linux deserves a post itself so watch this space!

    My house has also been completely re-done. Well, not completely but a decent portion of it. My parents decided it was bes to get it done before school comes back again which is in less than a week :) If you think I don't post often enough now, hopefully some routine will help me post more regularly, I doubt it though ;P

    Along with my goal that I set 3 weeks ago for myself which was to finish reading C++ Primer (Failed btw) I've also taken it upon myself to learn AJAX, Javascript and JQuery properly so I can finish that damn app on the sidebar <_> It's really starting to annoy me. What should have been a simple, week long project has turned into a month long drag of nothing getting done on it.

    More happened but I'll tell everyone about this later. Glad to be back!
       NotMyFault

Widget Update

    I've been away for the last few weeks and only now am I getting some time to do some more work on this widget! You will see a form input and a blank box above it at the moment and if you do decide to press the submit button all you're getting is an alert box saying "success". It's lying. It's not a success yet. For now, I only have 2 small problems I need to work on. The first is displaying 2 .txt files using jquery or Javascript and the second is to use AJAX to submit the form instead of the page needing to reload. Then my widget will be up and running at last!

    I wonder what I'll do when I finish this... I'm working on a console game of Snake in C++ at the moment and I'm also looking at making a CMS. My last CMS worked but the layout was horrible and the code was a right mess so maybe I make a new one with my new-found talent in AJAX and Jquery ;P

    Ok, so that's about all that's happened since last time I posted apart from Apple making it legal to jailbreak your iPhone, iPad or iTouch :D I'd ask you again, not to submit the form in the sidebar because I don't want anything weird happening!

    NotMyFault

New Widget Being Developed!

    So I've started developing a new widget for this blog! It's going to use Javascript, JQuery and AJAX and PHP as the back-end. As you can't use PHP on blogger, the PHP will be hosted on an old site of mine. The AJAX will mean there shouldn't be any re-loads when you submit the form but it will also mean that if you don't have javascript enabled, you won't be able to use this Widget! I'm working on a workaround for it now but if on the off-chance that you see some weird looking widget under the My Music Library heading in the sidebar, don't use it! I'm not really sure what'll happen if you do but most likely you'll be re-directed to a page full of PHP errors!
    Also, when this widget goes live, don't try to hack it! It will be authenticated server-side so nothing will get through and you're just making it hard work for me! I'm requesting comments for this post too by the way! If anyone has any workarounds for writing to a .txt file in blogger using javascript, jquery or ajax I'm all ears! Same goes for implementing some sort of spam prevention too. At some stage, depending on how well it goes on this blog, I would like to bring this mainstream and open this out to other people who want to use it. So watch this space!
       NotMyFault

Weird Looking Widgets

    Just letting everyone know that if you see any weird looking Widgets/Gadgets in my sidebar over the next couple of weeks that I'm making different ones to practice and hopefully make something useful! If you have any ideas on what would make a good widget please leave a comment as I'm stuck for ideas at the moment!
    As well as that, I'm starting to make some apps in C and C++ to help me learn and to make my life a bit easier! So if anyone wants to make any suggestions, I'm open to them!
    I also have 2 new sites in my sidebar links. www.zoleet.com and www.goluhaque.comoj.com. These are two cool sites and I'd strongly advise you to check them out! That's all for now.
       NotMyFault

Project Euler Problem 11 in C

In the 20×20 grid below, four numbers along a diagonal line have been marked in red.

08 02 22 97 38 15 00 40 00 75 04 05 07 78 52 12 50 77 91 08
49 49 99 40 17 81 18 57 60 87 17 40 98 43 69 48 04 56 62 00
81 49 31 73 55 79 14 29 93 71 40 67 53 88 30 03 49 13 36 65
52 70 95 23 04 60 11 42 69 24 68 56 01 32 56 71 37 02 36 91
22 31 16 71 51 67 63 89 41 92 36 54 22 40 40 28 66 33 13 80
24 47 32 60 99 03 45 02 44 75 33 53 78 36 84 20 35 17 12 50
32 98 81 28 64 23 67 10 26 38 40 67 59 54 70 66 18 38 64 70
67 26 20 68 02 62 12 20 95 63 94 39 63 08 40 91 66 49 94 21
24 55 58 05 66 73 99 26 97 17 78 78 96 83 14 88 34 89 63 72
21 36 23 09 75 00 76 44 20 45 35 14 00 61 33 97 34 31 33 95
78 17 53 28 22 75 31 67 15 94 03 80 04 62 16 14 09 53 56 92
16 39 05 42 96 35 31 47 55 58 88 24 00 17 54 24 36 29 85 57
86 56 00 48 35 71 89 07 05 44 44 37 44 60 21 58 51 54 17 58
19 80 81 68 05 94 47 69 28 73 92 13 86 52 17 77 04 89 55 40
04 52 08 83 97 35 99 16 07 97 57 32 16 26 26 79 33 27 98 66
88 36 68 87 57 62 20 72 03 46 33 67 46 55 12 32 63 93 53 69
04 42 16 73 38 25 39 11 24 94 72 18 08 46 29 32 40 62 76 36
20 69 36 41 72 30 23 88 34 62 99 69 82 67 59 85 74 04 36 16
20 73 35 29 78 31 90 01 74 31 49 71 48 86 81 16 23 57 05 54
01 70 54 71 83 51 54 69 16 92 33 48 61 43 52 01 89 19 67 48

The product of these numbers is 26 × 63 × 78 × 14 = 1788696.

What is the greatest product of four adjacent numbers in any direction (up, down, left, right, or diagonally) in the 20×20 grid?

    So the main problem I had here was how to deal with such a huge amount of numbers! I decided to put them in an array but there was a problem there too. All the single digit numbers in the grid were prefixed by a zero so the grid would keep its nice square shape. This caused a major headache for me as a number prefaced by a zero is considered octal in C and C++! So after deleting all the 0's I was set.

    Next thing I did was make the code to search through all the numbers looking for the highest multiples. This wasn't too hard but I ran into a bit of bother with the array indexing. Anywhoo, here's my code:

#include 

int main()
{

    int array[20][20]=
    {
{ 8,  2, 22, 97, 38, 15,  0, 40,  0, 75,  4,  5,  7, 78, 52, 12, 50, 77, 91,  8},
{49, 49, 99, 40, 17, 81, 18, 57, 60, 87, 17, 40, 98, 43, 69, 48,  4, 56, 62,  0},
{81, 49, 31, 73, 55, 79, 14, 29, 93, 71, 40, 67, 53, 88, 30,  3, 49, 13, 36, 65},
{52, 70, 95, 23,  4, 60, 11, 42, 69, 24, 68, 56,  1, 32, 56, 71, 37,  2, 36, 91},
{22, 31, 16, 71, 51, 67, 63, 89, 41, 92, 36, 54, 22, 40, 40, 28, 66, 33, 13, 80},
{24, 47, 32, 60, 99,  3, 45,  2, 44, 75, 33, 53, 78, 36, 84, 20, 35, 17, 12, 50},
{32, 98, 81, 28, 64, 23, 67, 10, 26, 38, 40, 67, 59, 54, 70, 66, 18, 38, 64, 70},
{67, 26, 20, 68,  2, 62, 12, 20, 95, 63, 94, 39, 63,  8, 40, 91, 66, 49, 94, 21},
{24, 55, 58,  5, 66, 73, 99, 26, 97, 17, 78, 78, 96, 83, 14, 88, 34, 89, 63, 72},
{21, 36, 23,  9, 75,  0, 76, 44, 20, 45, 35, 14,  0, 61, 33, 97, 34, 31, 33, 95},
{78, 17, 53, 28, 22, 75, 31, 67, 15, 94,  3, 80,  4, 62, 16, 14,  9, 53, 56, 92},
{16, 39,  5, 42, 96, 35, 31, 47, 55, 58, 88, 24,  0, 17, 54, 24, 36, 29, 85, 57},
{86, 56,  0, 48, 35, 71, 89,  7,  5, 44, 44, 37, 44, 60, 21, 58, 51, 54, 17, 58},
{19, 80, 81, 68,  5, 94, 47, 69, 28, 73, 92, 13, 86, 52, 17, 77,  4, 89, 55, 40},
{ 4, 52,  8, 83, 97, 35, 99, 16,  7, 97, 57, 32, 16, 26, 26, 79, 33, 27, 98, 66},
{88, 36, 68, 87, 57, 62, 20, 72,  3, 46, 33, 67, 46, 55, 12, 32, 63, 93, 53, 69},
{ 4, 42, 16, 73, 38, 25, 39, 11, 24, 94, 72, 18,  8, 46, 29, 32, 40, 62, 76, 36},
{20, 69, 36, 41, 72, 30, 23, 88, 34, 62, 99, 69, 82, 67, 59, 85, 74,  4, 36, 16},
{20, 73, 35, 29, 78, 31, 90,  1, 74, 31, 49, 71, 48, 86, 81, 16, 23, 57,  5, 54},
{ 1, 70, 54, 71, 83, 51, 54, 69, 16, 92, 33, 48, 61, 43, 52,  1, 89, 19, 67, 48},
    };

    unsigned long long highest=0;
    unsigned long long test=0;

    int one=0;
    int two=0;
    int three=0;
    int four=0;

    int i=0;
    int j=0;

    //check for horizontal highest//
    for(i=0; i<20; i++)
    {

        for(j=0; j<17; j++)
        {
            test=(array[i][j]*array[i][j+1]*array[i][j+2]*array[i][j+3]);

            if(test>highest)
            {
                highest=test;

                one=array[i][j];
                two=array[i][j+1];
                three=array[i][j+2];
                four=array[i][j+3];
            }

        }//end of j for loop

    }//end of i for loop


    //test for vertical highest//
    for(i=0; i<17; i++)
    {

        for(j=0; j<20; j++)
     {

            test=(array[i][j]*array[i+1][j]*array[i+2][j]*array[i+3][j]);

            if(test>highest)
            {
                highest=test;
                one=array[i][j];
                two=array[i+1][j];
                three=array[i+2][j];
                four=array[i+3][j];
            }

     }//end of j for loop

    }//end of i for loop


    //check for diagonal-right highest//
    for(i=3; i<20; i++)
    {

        for(j=0; j<17; j++)
        {

        test=(array[i][j]*array[i-1][j-1]*array[i-2][j-2]*array[i-3][i-3]);

            if(test>highest)
            {
                highest=test;
                one=array[i][j];
                two=array[i-1][j-1];
                three=array[i-2][j-2];
                four=array[i-3][j-3];
            }

        }//end j for loop

    }//end i for loop


    //check for diagonal-left highest//
    for(i=0; i<17; i++)
    {

        for(j=0; j<17; j++)
        {

        test=(array[i][j]*array[i+1][j-1]*array[i+2][j-2]*array[i+3][j-3]);

            if(test>highest)
            {
                highest=test;
                one=array[i][j];
                two=array[i+1][j-1];
                three=array[i+2][j-2];
                four=array[i+3][j-3];
            }

        }//end j for loop

    }//end i for loop


    printf("%d\n", highest);

    return 0;
}

Execution Time: 0.157 s



    Yes, it's horribly un-optimized but it does the job! That's all for now.
       NotMyFault

A Teeny-Tiny Accident...

    So in my house, there's an old desktop that my Dad resurrected from some damp corner in the shed. It's about 10 years old with 512MB RAM and 60GB Hard Drive. It's a complete wreck and as usual, I had to make it better! Seriously, What am I expected to do with a wreck of a computer with virtually no RAM or Hard Drive. I wasn't let install Linux on it because my sister needs Windows for her Ipod. So I did what any sane-minded person would do. I formatted the hard drive and installed Vista. Why Vista, I dunno but anywhoo... I soon saw the error of my ways and re-installed XP on the desktop.
    Now I had asked my Dad if he would mind me formatting the hard drive and he said "Not a problem. Not like there's anything like pictures or important documents on it!". So now, about 2 weeks after I wiped everything, my Dad decides for the first time in 10 years to sit down and go on the desktop. He had no reason to go on the desktop because he has his own laptop for crying out loud! He boots it up and he asks "What happened to all my pictures?" So now the rest of my holidays will be spent learning about computer forensics and data recovery :( If someone with any idea of what to do mind commenting for me, I'm all ears. I've asked a couple of ye over on #hbh and while helpful, I got no results.
    So guys, always back up! I've made the mistake once and it won't happen again ;P So that's all for now!
       NotMyFault