MTH333 - Notes and Resources

Text: "Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming" by Daniel Sanchez-Crespo Daimau


General Hacker Stuff

The Jargon File 
This is the place to go to learn 'hacker-speak' if you're so inclined.  There's also a print version but the online one is updated more frequently. 

IBM DeveloperWorks - A great resource for developers, with articles, tutorials and links to software.

Object-Orientation Tips - A neat page with a ton of information about OOP

Guru of the Week - a regular series of C++ programming problems created and written by Herb Sutter.

O'Reilly.Net - An excellent source of programming tips/tricks/articles for just about every platform you can think of.

Dr. Dobbs - If you're planning on being a professional software developer, this is a magazine you need to know about - plenty of great articles and tutorials.  (I recommend subscribing, but you can get a lot of the content from their Web site if you prefer.)  In continuous publication since 1976, this is possibly the most long-lived computer publication ever.

Top-Coder.com - If you're interested in showing your stuff, here's a place where programmers get together and compete in coding contests online.

Course-Related Links

Math Forum: Discrete Math - A set of Internet resources for discrete math.

Discrete Math (about.com) - A set of tutorials, lessons and instructions.

Discrete Math (Wikipedia) - The Wikipedia article on discrete math.  Includes links to related materials.

Math Forum Library  - Links to articles and further reading on discrete mathematics

Tools

CuteWriter - A free PDF convertor for Windows.  It lets you create PDF files from any Windows application that can print.  Very useful for  creating cross-platform documents.

Dia - a free, cross-platform technical drawing tool.  (This site only supplies the Windows version.)

OpenOffice.org- The OpenOffice.org project is producing a free, open-source competitor to Microsoft Office.  OpenOffice.org can read and write Microsoft Office files and has database and drawing tools as well.  Bonus features: built-in export to PDF and the ability to export presentation files to Flash format.

Maxima - A free, open source tool for doing symbolic math (like algebra and calculus).  Available for Windows, Linux and OS X.

GraphViz - Free open source graph visualization software.  Available for Windows, Linux and OS X.

Organizations/Projects

Mozilla - The Mozilla project is producing the next-generation Web platform.


Virtual Network Computing - Remote desktop software similar to PC-Anywhere, except it runs on every platform you can name and it's free.

General Resources

ComputerWorld - If you want to see how computers are really used in real businesses, this is a good source. Essentially an offshoot of Computerworld magazine (available as a free subscription if you can convince them that you influence buying decisions where you work) , this site is pretty platform independent and has a decent career section, as well as a 'gossip' column where actual IT folk write in anonymously and describe the various ways that management can screw up the techies.

Advogato - This is an interesting on-line discussion forum, mainly dealing with software development.

SoftPro Books - This is an excellent source for computer and networking books. You can order online or go to one of their local stores. (They have one at Yosemite and Arapahoe in Englewood and another in Boulder.) You can usually get 10-20% off the list price and if you join their 'frequent shoppers' club (it's free) you can get additional savings. 

Online References

Online Computer Dictionary - Stuck trying to figure out an acronym or computer term? This is a good site to look it up. 

Google - One of the best search engines out there for the technically inclined. 

igrep - advertised as the first search engine for technical people.

Just for Fun

Ubersoft - A funny comic strip about a mythical software/OS vendor located somewhere in the Pacific Northwest....

User Friendly - Yet another comic strip that looks at the funny side of computing.

Computer Stupidities - This site collects actual dialogues between real users and real tech support folk. The range of misunderstandings and confusion is frequently hilarious.

Peter's Evil Overlord List - Thinking about a career as an Evil Overlord? Think you have what it takes to be the next Darth Vader? Check out this site for a collection of SuperVillain Do's and Don'ts including 'My ventilation shafts will be too small to crawl through'.

The Voice Actor Page - Want to know who does the voice of Larry 3000 on Time Squad?  Find the answer to this and many more questions about the men and women who do the talking for your favorite cartoon characters.  Search alphabetically by show title or actor name.  (By the way, Larry is voiced by none other than Mark Hamill.) 

Stupid Plot Tricks - Expanding on the Evil Overlord lists, this contains lists of rules for henchman, good guys/gals, bad guys/gals and even sidekicks.  Very funny read.

Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics - This site examines many popular movies to see if the action is in line with real physical laws.  An interesting, entertaining and even educational read.

The Invisible Library - Dedicated to books that don't exist but should.

 

 

Notes Problem Solutions and other Code
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