Are classes and structures both subsets of "records"? [closed] - terminology

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I'm writing documentation for my AQA A-level Computing project. The project is a game which takes place in a Console application, which heavily depends on a series of classes and structures in a separate class library I have written. I don't know how to title the section in my documentation where I describe these classes and structures, and I'd like to know if there is a word that encompasses both concepts. Does the word "record" include both classes and structures, or is it tied to a specific implementation?
I'm aware that this is more English Language & Usage, but I thought it was more likely to get a response here where there are more programmers.

Yes, you could use the term record as objects/classes/structures are just differing types of records, or records with functions to handle the data in the record.
However, just to encapsulate all your possibilities, you should probably utilize the term Data Structure. I find that data structure is more common parlance than record.

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Difference between structured programming and structured approach to development? [closed]

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I'm looking for clarification -
The terms 'structured programming' and 'structured development approach' refer to different things. Is this correct?
My understanding is that 'structured programming' is programming which is clear and well set out, using subroutines and modules etc. to keep 'structure' in software. This is different to the 'structured software development approach' which refers to the methodology of completing the stages of development (defining the problem, planning, creating, testing and maintenance) sequentially and not starting one until the previous is finished.
I'm a student and need to have these terms clear. Am I on the right track? Are there any important details I'm missing?
Yes, you are on the right track, these are different things.
Both of these terms are very broad. All programming paradigms that have been in use during the last 50 years (procedural, object oriented, functional etc.) are structured. And I would also say that every development methodology (waterfall, v model, agile etc.) is also structured in some way. Of course there are different grades.

How to choose a Clojure JSON library [closed]

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There are multiple JSON parser/writer libraries available for Clojure, including:
clojure/data.json
cheshire
clj-json
What are the pros and cons of each, especially regarding speed, memory footprint, and programming convenience? Are there any other important factors to consider?
I decided to run a little shootout (the link is to results and the code used to test).
In terms of speed, clj-json is the fastest, 1.7x cheshire, and 5.6x clojure.data.json for a simple parse/generate task.
clojure.data.json has the smallest footprint, and clj-json and cheshire follow. cheshire has some superb features, though, and is my preferred library for dealing with JSON. You get support for SMILE, as well as a lovely interface for interpreting JSON (adding types, special rules on keys, etc) and custom encoders (the last also found in clojure.data.json).

How can I effectively document a database? [closed]

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I am developing a database that organizes scientific data from my group and diverse experiments reported in the literature, (my background is in science rather than project management or programming).
I currently have three documentation documents for:
end users of data
data enter-ers
developers (e.g. myself and my successor)
Other than following the users guides and descriptions from other databases, are there any best-practices I should follow, perhaps a latex template, or a mysqldump option that will automatically do some of the documentation?
Doxygen supports SQL. I would export the DDL SQL statements, document them with Doxygen notation and export it to HTML / PDF / whatever.
I wish there were a standard solution, but industry practice is ad hoc at best.
In MySQL, be sure to fill in the comment fields when creating tables and fields. If you use MySQL administrator, it makes it easy to manage, but that's most useful for developers to directly use. It can be used as the basis for expansion for the other categories of readers.

Are there any conventions for flowcharting that distinguish a switch from a if-else chain? [closed]

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I had to do a overview for a customer meeting, and they requested flow charts. It had never occurred to me that there was no switch symbol in any of the flow charting I've seen. I know functionally they are similar, but documentation should represent the code you've written or are planning too. Maybe I'm just being picky, but it seems like a common enough construct that it would have "representation."
Pete
My impression is that diamonds are the correct symbol for switches (multidirectional branches) as well as binary decision points — i.e. the diamond is any conditional. One just gets the idea that diamonds are for either/or because that's their most common use.
The difference between a series of if's and a switch is irrelevant at the flow chart level. Both are a series of conditionals. If you want to document your code down to the if/switch level, just print out the code.

Story generation [closed]

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Upon reading a blog post about a minimalist story-generating python program, I was asking myself - and you - which are the most successful attempts at such programs. I remember seeing something using generating grammars, for instance. And which are the best attempts that, like this one, are extremely compact, either self-contained or able to read, say, the Web or an independent textual corpus (but not simply a file with a large number of story chunks)?
Search for Talespin for some famous ground breaking work. (Example: Micro-Talespin in Common Lisp by Warren Sack.)
I actually like Turner's "Minstrel: A Computer Model of Creativity and Storytelling" better :
ftp://ftp.cs.ucla.edu/tech-report/1992-reports/920057.pdf
Talespin is, in my opinion, blind in it's algorithm to everything but planning. So the author goals are given very little consideration (if at all). Minstrel is better that way.