₦airaland Forum

by the way, do You still have that blasted localized-for-nigeria PhoneNumberTemplates.plist file we discussed back in the day? i don't think i want to crack my skull rewritting it. maybe i'll check the modified lines on 1 of the threads we discussed on.

got a 3g up and running yesterday. unlock was as easy as layering the sim with the sim adapter (iphone sim freer). jailbreak was a breeze. runs on firmware 2.0.2 3g.

4 how much?

well if you guys insist, let me ask you how much you know about these:

lexical analysis - finite automata and regular expressions
syntax analysis - context free grammar (CFG) and parsers e.g top-down, bottom-up etc
single pass, multi pass.

have u done any course work in school on compilers? how well did you do in such courses? do you understand what is involved?

an open solution always beats a specialized solution. the portal technology has matured and is quite robust enough to provide a solution to the stated problem: state websites (portals). your solution will definitely be too restrictive, and will require too much extra work as more states come up with customization features that answer to their peculiar requirements, which you didn't think about. it seems you conveniently ignored the fact that i blamed the issue of the "flaw" found on the lagos state website on the developer. a seasoned developer would have done much better. i have designed customized login screens for portals based on liferay.

@yawa
we don't need to digress too much from a simple debate on the difference between a programmer and a developer. as i have stressed, a developer's job description is necessarily a super-set of a programmer's (and it follows logically that a programmer's job description is a subset of a developer's), meaning he has more and diversified tasks assigned to him and therefore gains more experience which in a perfect world leads to career advancement and better opportunities. for instance a programmer is not expected to partake in the software design and architecture definition stage, and therefore is not expected to be proficient in such skills as UML, Flow-charting, etc. Note that these are usually required skills in developer roles, which you as a programmer will normally not possess and you therefore will not qualify.

"but the fact is a programmer on certain levels (say level 3) in a wall street company may earn more than a developer in BOA (Bank of America) for instance".

what that means is simply that some companies can afford to put their employees on a higher salary scale than others, and this results in the effect i pointed out in that quote. if u were a developer initially in a previous job role and then take on a job as a programmer even with higher pay than the previous then effectively you have demoted yourself (except of course if the creator of the role is just a non-techie without any idea of the difference between the roles). the role of a programmer is usually limited, and certainly not as wide as the role of a developer. on your next job applying for a developer position, if it is noted you are a programmer you will certainly not be offered a senior developer role for instance, which is the level a developer should have reached after a period of 3 years.

@ yawa

the point is not about your pay package. it's about the meaning of the designations "programmer" and "developer". no need 2 deviate from the real issue. but the fact is a programmer on certain levels (say level 3) in a wall street company may earn more than a developer in BOA (Bank of America) for instance. in an ideal world, a developer will always earn more than a programmer (and that includes the assumption that the role creators know the difference).

what platform(s) do You use? maybe we can chat on Yahoo I'm.

lepashandi, what exactly is ur point? many phones we use in nigeria are not made for the country, including the iphone which he compared to this new HTC phone, yet they work.

Big Star, if you are looking for something to cut your teeth with, you can team up with javarules on this: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-174241.0.html

lol. if anybody was making anything "textbookish" that would be you, as you mentioned that ur signature was partly authored by benjamin franklin. if i ever use anything from another person's publication i provide the source (just as i did with wikipedia). i'm glad you think what i came up with simply by taking a glance @ ur signature came from a textbook. i can question even what benjamin franklin said without fear because he is just as human as i am, last time i checked he didn't have 2 heads (though i must confess there's a possibility he keeps the other head hidden under his shirts somewhere around his belly).

for the record, i did not "attack" you. i was merely irritated as ur response read as if you were being defensive, after all i merely pointed out the difference between a programmer and a developer and all you had 2 do was accept what i said or proffer an argument. if you ever take a job designation with "programmer" after being a developer, You have either demoted yourself or the company cannot differentiate one from the other.

You cannot hide behind the assumption that wikipedia usually contains subjective entries. the debate on the difference between a programmer and developer had been settled years back. if You r into Java, You will notice that the Sun certifications at initiation had 3 tracks - Programmer (SCJP), Developer (SCJD) and Architect (SCJEA). So as early as 1999 I was well aware of the difference between a Programmer and a Developer as indicated by Sun.

@Afam,

You r right. The Lagos state government website runs on Liferay, and this seems 2 be a vindication of what I had said. The fact that a link takes you to Liferay's website is the fault of the portal developer. I have done plenty of work with Liferay and I would not make such a mistake. obviously the developer is an upstart, he/she didn't attempt 2 change the logo on the login page. matter of fact, the login page can be replaced but he/she had no idea of how 2 go about it. this is exactly what i did 4 a portal i did for VANSO Nigeria Ltd only that i'm not sure of the status of the portal @ this point.

And note that I said that I don't believe we are short of programmers or developers. The jobs are there of course, but simply because you feel that you r being swamped doesn't imply there is a shortage of man-power. of course there r just 2 many mediocre developers here in the country, as there are (believe it or not) in the US.

OK. If You r looking for some REAL java problems to solve take a look at JMF (Java Media Framework). Here is the home page -> http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/jmf/index.jsp so you know where to start. it has been dead since 1999. Right now i need a codec (Coder/Decoder) for the 3GP file format (.3gp). You can learn about the format here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GP and read up on the spec etc here http://www.3gpp.org/specs/specs.htm . So if you can come up with the codec, You would have added much value (internationally) to the Java community and JMF especially.

With regards to the title:

Afam, about what you said about the state gov thing, I believe you may be reinventing the wheel. There exist quite a number of portal frameworks that simpify your goal. I am aware of those that are based on Java (JSR-168) such as Liferay. Liferay is free and is open-source. Based on JSR-168 and comes with a bunch of ready made portlets (widgets).

But I don't think there are enough development jobs out here to the point that we are short of hands. Our economy has not yet developed to the point where like in the U.S every major company has a group of developers in house and projects that are so huge that they actually usually bring in more programmers/developers/architects etc as contractors/consultants.

Good for you.

Now since u know it's not an English language board u may want 2 switch 2 your vernacular (such as yoruba) which you allude to be ur best medium of communication, and not be making statements such as "the 2 terms are synonymous" when u apparently don't know what u r talking about.

Here you have the definition of a Programmer -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmer
Here you have the definition of a Developer -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_developer

They even went into detail in distinguishing one from the other.

Now let me digress to address your signature for a minute. I believe those that criticize with the aim of humbling their targets cannot provide constructive criticism, which happens to be the only useful kind of criticism. Such people harbor negative sentiments such as feeling inferior or envy. They feel intimidated by their target who appears to dwarf them in some respects (like Gulliver did the Lilliputians), and for that reason try to bring the subject down "a notch or 2" as they would say. Hence criticism from such quarters are best ignored, and are not welcome.

if u did a search u will find many threads of the same topic, and solutions proffered.

"programmer" and "developer" are not synonyms.

hierachically programmer<developer<architect.

if i'm not mistaken, ENGLISH is the most widely spoken language in the country.

reminds me of the side-kick too.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080923/ap_on_hi_te/tec_google_phone

I'm not impressed with the UI. reminds me too much of the clunky Palm OS.

txpete, please check ur email.

i guess i can just sit back n watch (read).

does the site have the email address of the webmaster?

only thing i want 2 know is the purpose it will serve. way 2 many java web servers already. what is the purpose?

finally got a feel of one (my uncle's). pleasant surprise is it seemed a little lighter and the plastic back helps in case it drops from a distance. seems it can be opened up much easier than the 2.5G. will be getting a rebel-sim soon. more later,

what has being naughty got 2 do with web-services?

from wot i found, error 160(2,3,4) seem 2 usually relate 2 the usb. u disconnect the usb cable and reconnect and everything is fine.the diagnostic usually reports them as pairing problem.

OK. so the dudes on #iphone IRC didn't know what the heck they were talking about. i better pass them that link.

thx pete, 2 bad i don't have a phone 2 test it with. soon, 4 sure as a gather myself back.

Some good iphone 3g info: h/w unlock available, soft unlock on the way, cheapest stores 2 buy:

http://www.intomobile.com/2008/07/28/iphone-3g-baseband-gets-hacked-iphone-3g-unlock-on-the-way.html

http://rebelsimcard.com/virtu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11&Itemid=1

http://www.intomobile.com/2008/08/04/iphone-3g-sim-unlock-gets-real-hardware-sim-unlock-to-ship-for-iphone-3g.html

Cheapest location 2 buy right now is switzerland: swisscom sells @ $519 (sim locked). Orange (france) sell unlocked for $918. These prices are of course the 8G, for the 16G simply add $100.

LOL @ pete

well, u just do like our religious armed robbers and politicians who go to church to pray and receive blessings from the priests before they go 4 an operation and embezzle funds respectively. God understands. He knows u don't hate the player, but hate the game and don't forget to thank Him after u've started using the pirated bible for opening your eyes to see reason and giving you wisdom, and for providing the freebee. lolz

ex inferis is right. pete, u got it reversed. i want 2 browse on my phone using my pc's link, not browse on my pc using my iphone as a modem. with netshare, do u connect the phone to the pc using the sync cable? the idea i had requires the use of the sync cable, not a wireless connnection anyway.

maybe if u tell us what u want the person 2 do 4 u, u might pique my interest. what do u need?

@inferis

don't mind my itk self. just didn't like the idea of setting execute permissions on an image. that's opportunity for an exploit right there

@pete

i was on the '#iphone' IRC channel about 2 months ago and suggested that somebody came up with a way to connect your iphone to your pc that has a connection to the internet and then use that connection to browse on your iphone. they said it was way 2 complicated 2 develop. the arrangement will allow you to use your pc's internet connection in a situation where your wifi isn't working. now maybe this 30-pin iPod Connector USB cable with some software/drivers can achieve that.

Correction:

u don't need to set permissions on images other than read/write (u don't execute images). in this case, read is all u need (just rhyming )

-r--r--r-- (0444) or -rw-rw-rw- (0666) is good enough.