Confused student ft. Machine Learning - machine-learning

I'm one of the many fascinated programmers watching how Machine Learning can help the globe on various issues, given the power of the technology. I really want to get myself into ML and I've got fairly good amount of time to start and get to a point where I could choose what I want to do with ML. But as a beginner I'm really confused where to start in this sea of things it is offering. I'm also willing to complete a small abstract using my knowledge in ML. Any suggestions or experiences may help! Thank you.

Here is a detailed link which will take you through various steps with reference to tutorials - here
Hope that helps !

For beginners, I feel that this course is well-structured:
https://www.coursera.org/learn/machine-learning
Then, you could try doing some small projects yourself and catch up the pace slowly.

Related

Looking for non expensive ways to acquire GIS skills

For the past few years I have been taking all of ESRI's free Moocs but I want to get more hands on a creative experience without having to shell out thousands of dollars to take the courses and certifications. Working with maps and especially the idea of bringing new eyes to existing and worsening problems is a life long goal of mine. Any help would be appreciated, The Moocs just give a basic overview of the software functionality and there's not much room for creativity or to work on problems dear to me. If anybody could direct me to some legit resources I will owe you my life. I am currently learning Python which I know will help with the customization of functions and whatnot, but I must admit I'm more on the beginner's side now.

New to Z3 - Some little guidance is needed

I am new to Z3 and haven't exposed to it before.
I am so interested in this filed and my research work requires me to be familiar with Z3.
unfortunately I am facing some issues as I need a little push/guidance at the beginning from an experts.
I am a quick learner and eager to get the info
Please let me know if by any chance you think you can give a little guidance/help that would be great.
Thank you
Start with https://theory.stanford.edu/~nikolaj/programmingz3.html
Stack-overflow is much more suitable for specific programming questions, as opposed to general advice. However, reading through the above document will get you started in the right direction.

F# - Resources for learning it from scratch

I appreciate there are a few posts out there, asking about F# tutorials/learning resources, but so many of the questions (and answers) assume a somewhat established knowledge or experience in C# or programming generally.
While I HAVE engaged in some programming, it's been very bitty and over many years. What I'm looking for is an F# tutorial, or series of tutorials, that walks you through from the very basics (a "complete" program that prints "Hello World!"), and progresses naturally while still showing you the complete solution. Most resources I've found cut out most things and just say "this is how you'd do it in C#, and this is now F#", leaving out other elements that complete the solution to the problem.
EDIT: I found the free course on F Sharp TV (udemy course), but didn't like how it was always exploiting F# Interactive to demo the language, as opposed to building an actually complete application.
I am very new to F#. I just started picking it up this month and I have really enjoyed it so far!
I can really relate to your question because every book or tutorial I've found assumed a lot more knowledge than I had. I would open them up start reading and then 3...2...1...and I was completely lost.
I'm sure once I am better at the language the references that are usually listed will be obviously superior to what I'm about to recommend.
One book I've enjoyed is "Functional Programming Using F#". It starts from the very, very basics and provides information about the small things in F# that I otherwise would have missed. The best part are the exercises at the end of the chapters, because someone went through all of them and posted answers here: [1]. So you can struggle through the exercises and then get an idea of how someone else approached the problem! The main drawback of this book is that the examples can be math heavy at times.
The second book I've used is called "Friendly F#". I really have never seen it linked or talked about, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I have found the approach the author takes to be rather novel. Instead of showing me how to implement the Fibonacci sequence in F# for the bajillionth time the author starts with projects! Real projects where you can actually visualize things! For example, in the first chapter you create an F# script where you visualize a ball bouncing in a box acted on by gravity! I know real coders are probably more worried about the esoteric features of the language but as someone starting out it was super motivating to actually be able to visualize something and more importantly to have something to show to my wife so she won't think I'm just wasting hours doing nothing. 😁
The last thing I'll recommend is Excercism. It's a great website where the tutors give great feedback. The only drawback is that you need to have somewhat of an idea of what the language can do. For me, I wasted countless hours trying to solve one of the problems only to realize that there is something called Seq.zip which would have solved the problem instantly. So, I recommend sitting down with a problem thinking hard on it for an hour and then googling "fsharp excercism solutions insert problem name here". Luckily, you can navigate directly to the solutions page and go through hundreds of solutions that other folks came up with. That's how I learned forever what Seq.zip is.
EDIT:
I also wanted to add this video [2]. It's not going to teach you all you need to know about F# in one video. However, it will give you a great overview of the language so while you are learning it in more depth you have an idea of what the language is capable of.
I hope this helps!!
[1] - https://github.com/TorbenRahbekKoch/Functional-Programming-Using-FSharp
[2] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7eNDJN758U
As mentioned in the comments, some might think this answer can be seen as opinion motivated. I feel that those resources could be a good entry point to learning more about the language.
Reference: sachabarbs.wordpress.com/1406-2
Reference en.wikibooks.org/wiki/F_Sharp_Programming
Bonus: Getting started with F# in the cloud with Azure, take a peek at this awesome reference!
Reference: Getting started with F# with Azure Notebooks
I would recommend first fsharpforfunandprofit.com - clearly a big starting point. You have the complete. This is a great section to "thibk functionally". https://fsharpforfunandprofit.com/series/thinking-functionally.html
When you get used to the language (a little bit), I would recommend "Stylish F#" . It is a very recent well written book on good practices for beginners (but who can write a bit of F#). Really liked it.

Differences between (R)Unified Process And Extreme Programming

I've searched for at question like this and i dont think there are one.
As the title says... I know there are huge differences between how to do things in (R)UP and in XP as a way of developing systems, but what are the really?
I'm trying to write a nice explanation that i can give to other people so they hopefully easy can understand the differences.
I want to compare the following subjects:
Design
Documentation
Prototyping
User involvement
Usability
Technical quality
Test
I'm not trying to start a discussion, just want to know if you know any good sites that could have the information i'm looking for or if you have a answer for one of the subjects. I have allready written some of it myself but due to the fact that i dont want it to be a subjective comparison, i then ask you.
You might find this useful
XP vs RUP (pdf)
RUP and XP are not mutually exclusive. Comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges -- you can enjoy both. Many companies following RUP choose to include some or all of XP practices.
For the basics, the wikipedia articles are a good start:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Rational_Unified_Process
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_programming_practices

What are the essential concepts all programmers should learn and use? [closed]

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I'm currently learning to program, and I didn't take CS classes so I'm basically starting out on the bottom. I have been putting together code on and off for many years, but haven't really had a good understanding of essential concepts needed for enganging in bigger projects. Object-orientation is an obvious one, and I feel I'm beginning to understand some of the concepts there. Then there is a lot of buzz and methodology, such as MVC, UML, SCRUM, SOLID and so foth and so on.. I've looked at many of these but I'm always stumped as most explanations seem to require some understanding of other concepts.
I want to learn this stuff the "right" way, so where do I begin?
What are the overarching constructs I need to understand that enable me to understand all the underpinnings of software architecture/design/development?
What am I missing?
Are there constructs and concepts that can and should wait until I've cleared the foundation?
The SOLID principles are probably the most important.
From those you understand the motivation behind using a pattern such as MVC, why people think of persistence ignorance as important and so on. They are at the core of the majority of good practices.
Loose coupling, high cohesion.
And as for books, Code Complete covers almost everything at some level, at least.
Software development is a HUGE arena and you should be careful that you don't take on too much too quickly. Unless you're going to go in the direction of functional programming I'd suggest you start off by making sure you fully understand the concepts surrounding OO design and programming as this should be your foundation.
Once you understand that well you'll be able to understand design patterns a lot better and get a feeling for when to use them.
I'd suggest you try out a few languages till you find one you feel comfortable with, personally my favourite language is Ada which is a very pure OO language but in the business world I work in C# which still has a lot of issues but these are outweighed by the more vibrant job market.
I wouldn't worry too much about Scrum at this stage as you need to focus more on your dev skills before worrying about project management.
The most important thing is to work with as much code as possible, download lots of good reference solutions and work through the code till you understand it, and try and keep an eye on the development trends.
If its viable you may also want to considering attending some developer conferences too as these can be very inspirational.
Stay away from ACRONYMS (including those you've listed) and Methodologies(tm). At least in the beginning.
Read good books. Start with this one: Pragmatic Programmer. Learn algorithms and data structures, possibly from Introduction to algorithms by Cormen et al.
Write a lot of code. Practice is more important than anything else.
How to test software with unit tests. Being able to do that will solve 90% of all the other issue automatically since you can't test while they are around.
When you know how to test, you can start on advanced topics like design.
I'd recommend "Object Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications" by Grady Booch et al. The latest editoin has detailed explanation of concepts of OOAD including MVC, UML (which he invented), and discussions on how to manage the whole process of software development. The second part of the book exemplifies all this by developing 5 sample systems (with sometimes orthogonal aspects from the very core).
Another good one is of course Design Patterns by GoF which will give you an idea of loose coupling, ways to efficient encapsulation and reuse of code, etc
For what concerns the algorithmic part, take any book which is not bounded to a particular programming language. My favorite is Introduction to Algorithms by T. H. Cormen et al, it gets a bit theoretical at some points, but I especially like it when they are proving certain things and not just asking you to believe it.
When you are working with any modern general purpose language, it is probably a good idea to get a handle on patterns (MVC or Model-View-Controller is one). The book by the "gang of four" is a must read for this, or at least research a few and use it as a reference.
clicky
Refactoring is another concept that should be in your arsenal. The book by Martin Fowler on this subject is a very nice read and helps understand the aforementioned patterns better also a little explanation about UML is included.
Can't post more than one hyperlink so...
search on amazon for: Refactoring, Improving the design of existing code
When you want to communicate your designs UML (Unified Modelling Language) is the 'tool' of choice for many people. However UML is large and unwieldy but Martin Fowler (again) has managed to boil it down to the essentials.
search on amazon for: UML Distilled (make sure you get the most recent one)
SCRUM is one of many methods that is used to manage software development groups, I do not think there is much merit in learning that when you are just starting out or on your own. Especially not in detail.
Hope it helps...
PS: SOLID I haven't heard about yet, somebody else has to help you there.
You'd have a decent foundation if you surveyed basic Data Structures, Algorithms, and Algorithms Analysis.
I think that you should start coding real world problems to get a feel for problems in the programming domain.
Then you have a better background to understand why objects are important. Then, after managing objects, you will learn why patterns and OO principles are important.
Personally, I highly recommend the Agile Software Development, by Robert C Martin.
But it may be a long and tiresome read unless you have a feel for the problems being solved. I'm afraid that you may need 500-1000 hours of coding at the minimum before you get an appreciation that the problems being solved are real.
And it probably takes 7000+ hours before you develop an instinctive heart-felt pain from merely reading the problems, making this sort of book become the page-turner that it should be.
Regrettably, many of the sound practices that you should develop are only appreciated after having to live with your code over time. If you just do many excercises and abandon the code afterwards just "because it works", then you are missing out on the greatest pain of all. It is a luxury our industry does not have, and "technical debt" is a very very real and costly to those with large code bases.
I feel kinda silly answering my own question like this.. :) But one valuable resource I've found for learning to write code, is the Euler Project at http://www.projecteuler.net
It's basically a collection of mathmatical problems that you solve by writing your own solution to it. Once you've found the answer to a particular problem, you're allowed access to that problem's forum where different solutions are discussed. I was amazed at how much I was learning in a) solving a challenge, b) reading about other peoples approaches and c) how many programming languages there are out there! :)
The problems start out easy (you can tell by the number of people who's solved them) and progress to harder and harder problems.
Currently I'm working on problem #3, having solved the previous two... I recommend you start chippin' away at them, no matter your level!

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