mama_soap

I self-learnt C++ after doing C for a full semester. I think knowing C might help - if you're completely new to the language, then it is likely you will not be doing Object Oriented Programming for a while... and when you look at C++ minus the objects, it's very similar to C - with changes in syntax that are not difficult to get used to. Some people might find that this simply means learning the same thing over again - it's a matter of opinion, I guess. By the way, if you're on Linux, writing the code only means that you need a good text editor (emacs and gedit offer syntax highlighting and auto indent) and compiling it is a snap, just type the command [gcc/c++ filename] from the shell. Also, you might check out topcoder.com, it is a rather nice - and popular - contest venture. If you want to test your skills, look at their sigle-round-match archive and try your hand at some of the problems. Also, their general tutorials on algorithms (quite independent of programming languages) are pretty useful.

At the risk of sounding like I'm copying this down from a CV, I'll begin by saying that my name's Neeldhara and I'm close to completing my first year of undergraduate studies. My interests are centered around mathematics and literature. I can do a little programming when the weather is good, and statistics is fun on a rainy night, when you can try calculating the standard deviation of raindrops from a particular point on a window. Also trying to get the hang of web design and animation; in the middle of grokking (spelling??) the Gimp - and loving it!

Hello For starters, I must say I had a good time reading this stuff. I went through it twice over, and I think it has the sort of sonic appeal that is good for a song. However, I am afraid I read and write poems - even worse, it is usually free verse, so I am clueless on meter, rythm, and so on. Only a couple of quick nits - if you don't mind - I think the "why did I fail so miserably" line is tad too long and sticks out rather conspiciously. A shorter phrase might make it a little smoother. And more tersness will reduce some of the self-pity, and perhaps enhance the quality. A line edit suggestion: Look inside of me and the empty space - I'd suggest you remove the 'of' for grammatical consistency. This song feels like it has some back story to it. If you're writing within context, it's fine, otherwise I'd suggest you include some more concrete indication of what's going on as opposed to the abstract notions you've already used. Just a passing thought, though, not a serious problem. I'd like to see more along these lines. Good work I especially liked the line 'wait for the perfect plan', I sort of identify with that attitude. By the way, if any of the comments don't suit you - please ignore them. I'd have given more detailed feedback, but I'm still in the middle of reading the rulebooks, and I'm not sure if overly long posts are good manners or not. In any case, keep these coming. Cheers!

I found Xisto at http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ half an hour ago. And am I glad I did! This is first post here, but I have been looking around - and this seems quite perfect. I mean - I would probably sign up for the forums (the entertainment, creativity and gaming sections look very interesting) even if I didn't need the webspace.