Reply to: I see why Bob is taking the jobs. Dev work is eazy....

[xoggoth]

Yeh. I was amazed how quick it was to knock up a blog comment thingy with anti spam and comment removal functions in mySQL and PHP from lots of odd bits off the net. Can't imagine it would be acceptable in a commercial application as they have all these daft rules about standards. One could write an aircraft control system in about 6 months if they didn't make such a fuss about a few crashes. Trial and error is a perfectly good approach in my view.

PS Matlab is widely used in avionics industry, or used to be anyway.

[HairyArsedBloke]

The thing is HAB, you knew what you wanted.

Most clients don't.

Which is where having a developer who speaks English and doesn't need the various meanings of "haircut" "margin" and "yield" explained to him/her is a positive boon.

This is very true. I may not be a techie anymore, but I do know the business domain very well.

[Moscow Mule]

The thing is HAB, you knew what you wanted.

Most clients don't.

Which is where having a developer who speaks English and doesn't need the various meanings of "haircut" "margin" and "yield" explained to him/her is a positive boon.

[sasguru]

Or if your answer had been "I can analyse your data and then talk bollocks!", you might well have got a job with sasguru, delivering "suitable" data to the AGW fraternity.

When you have the faintest idea about what you're talking about perhaps you might start making sense.
Actually you're symptomatic of the bulltulip this country runs on. Its why we're not doing very well.

[sasguru]

HAB, I've spent the last couple of weeks parked on the bench studying and practicing with Mathematica.
...
So, seriously, if you are contemplating any heavy duty numerical stuff, such as statistical analyses,

If you think you can produce valid statistical analyses after 2 weeks of studying Mathematica, you're sorely mistaken.

[shaunbhoy]

Why do you people insist on learning software that nobody has any commercial requirement for.

If you answer had said, I can analyse your Sales data to predict your quarterly forecast or I can produce a dynamic predictive model of product mix & margin, then you're in with a chance of a job. Otherwise you're just talking bollocks.

Or if your answer had been "I can analyse your data and then talk bollocks!", you might well have got a job with sasguru, delivering "suitable" data to the AGW fraternity.

[SupremeSpod]

I've used MatLab on a couple of simulation projects and to develop some DSP code.

[threaded]

I use Octave quite a lot, but that's only because that client would rather pay for a body to fill the gaps than buy MatLab.

[doodab]

There is a freeware near-clone of matlab called scilab if you want to play with it.

Home - Scilab WebSite

Mathematica is awesome. I haven't used a recent version of Maple (which was the system we had at uni), but from what I understand that's probably the only thing that comes close to Mathematica in terms of all round capabilities. They both have home editions for around £200 now, well worth the money if you are interested enough in maths to make use of it and willing to tackle the learning curve.

You will probably find matlab and mathcad more common in industry though.

Not that I know **** all about it.

[HairyArsedBloke]

You'll find that Matlab is used a lot. I've used it in the past and I've got something down the line that will be using it.

R is used a lot too.

[MarillionFan]

HAB, I've spent the last couple of weeks parked on the bench studying and practicing with Mathematica.

It's amazing what version 7 can do, in the way of calculation, "visualization", and even interactive plots, although I dare say other packages can do some or all of these.

So, seriously, if you are contemplating any heavy duty numerical stuff, such as statistical analyses, or even differential equations, drop me a line.

(Not saying it's much practical use for finding a contract though - A Jobswerve search on "Mathematica" returned "not found - did you mean mathematics". )

Why do you people insist on learning software that nobody has any commercial requirement for.

If you answer had said, I can analyse your Sales data to predict your quarterly forecast or I can produce a dynamic predictive model of product mix & margin, then you're in with a chance of a job. Otherwise you're just talking bollocks.

[OwlHoot]

HAB, I've spent the last couple of weeks parked on the bench studying and practicing with Mathematica.

It's amazing what version 7 can do, in the way of calculation, "visualization", and even interactive plots, although I dare say other packages can do some or all of these.

So, seriously, if you are contemplating any heavy duty numerical stuff, such as statistical analyses, or even differential equations, drop me a line.

(Not saying it's much practical use for finding a contract though - A Jobswerve search on "Mathematica" returned "not found - did you mean mathematics". )

[HairyArsedBloke]

You'd need to officially be in this country too

There are several other reasons too.
(No, I've not done any time and I'm not a bankrupt.)

[Bunk]

I should apply for them £650 pd jobs that Joey/Chloe goes on about. I'll need banking experience though.

You'd need to officially be in this country too

[MarillionFan]

I've forgotten more than I know. For the stuff I can't remember or don't know I ask my special friend Mr Google.

It's all smoke and mirrors. Look! A dove has appeared from thin air!!!