Logic Surfers

  Selected topic: Programming Language Programming language has evolved significantly over the years. It began with the early days, even predating computers, with the simple use of switches. “Computers originated from telephone switches in the early 1900's. Engineers realized switches could be used for performing calculations, with a switch's on position meaning 1 and the off position 0” (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019, sec. 1.1). From a simple set of switches, computers developed into complex machines and a method for people to interact with those machines. There was a need for an English-based programming language that was easier for people to learn. “To facilitate a higher-level programming language, Hopper invented the first programming language compiler, which converted mathematical notation using English words to machine code” (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019, sec. 1.2). This first programming language improved the ability of more people to interact with computers. From those ea...

  Network Security There are many ways that a computer can fail. Unfortunately, one of the more common failures is due to an intentional attack. These attacks commonly occur from outside and are conducted via a computer’s network connections. For this reason, network security is more important than ever. While there are many possible problems, this paper will focus specifically on security holes/vulnerabilities and phishing. Security Holes and Vulnerabilities With the looming threat of malicious attacks, many computers are built with security in mind. The textbook describes many of the threats and discusses computer security. “Computer security is the prevention of unauthorized computer access, including viewing, changing, or destroying a computer or data” (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019, sec. 8.1). Despite the large amount of effort put into making computers and networks more secure, security holes—vulnerabilities—still exist. “A security hole, or vulnerability, is an aspect of a...

  Precision Agriculture Computers in Farming Computers have made their way into nearly every profession. One area that computers have had an impact on is farming or agriculture in general. With the advent and application of computers, a new practice, that of precision agriculture emerged. Authors Robin Gebbers and Viacheslav I. Adamchuk discuss the emergence and potential of precision agriculture in their 2010 paper. “Precision agriculture, or information-based management of agricultural production systems, emerged in the mid-1980s as a way to apply the right treatment in the right place at the right time” (Gebbers & Adamchuk, 2010, p. 828). Precision agriculture is a way to achieve better resource management in the agricultural field. There are three goals to precision agriculture: 1) optimize resource use to increase profitability; 2) be more environmentally friendly; 3) improved the working environment for farms and farmers (Gebbers & Adamchuk, 2010). This area gene...

  Traveling Through a Network Post When data is sent over the internet, it is broken into small pieces, called packets. Those packets are then labeled with information like the destination and origin, and sent out. From there, things get interesting as the packets may be sent through several different computers on their way, even taking separate routes. While it may be interesting, this is the type of thing that is completely ignored and the end user just sees data after it has been parsed, shipped, routed and rerouted, received, assembled, and interpreted. To see behind the scenes at the packet transfer process, the ping and traceroute commands can be used. Ping sends a series of packets to a location and then back again. The ping records how long it takes for the round trip. The time frame is so quick that the round trip is measured in milliseconds. I pinged 3 sites starting with Google for a local sample. Then I looked for something around the world, so I pinged the Japanese...

  Documenting a Day There are many different options for creating documents. Essentially, creating a document is assembling data in a readable format for someone to see. Even with the right information, choosing the wrong document program (or app) can destroy a document. In addition, the right document app can assist the user and make the job easier whereas the wrong app may make the project much more difficult with a lower quality end result. This paper will discuss the basics of a word processor like Microsoft Word, when to use Excel in place of Word, and when to use PowerPoint in place of Word. Choose the Right Program Word Processor Word processors basically replace typed—with a typewriter—documents. While a typewriter may have a few options for alignment, fonts, and tabs, word processors have gained a whole host of formatting options. “A word processor is a common computer application for creating formatted text” (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019, sec. 5.5). These formatting ...

  Review of the King Soopers Mobile App The web/mobile app to be critiqued is the King Soopers mobile app. In case you are not familiar, King Soopers is a grocery store chain popular in Colorado and other places. The launch page for the app is pictured to the right. There are several key functions with this app. Users can access the pharmacy and order or review prescriptions. Users can browse for coupons, deals, and more. Users can set up a Kroger Pay (Kroger is the parent company of King Soopers, so many items on the app say Kroger rather than King Soopers) to then use the app to pay at checkout. Since this is an app for a retail grocery store, the main functionality of the app is centered around shopping. There are 3 main ways a user can use this app for shopping: 1) Pick-up, 2) Delivery, and 3) Shopping List. The pick-up and delivery work the same from the shopping aspect and only differ in how the user will receive their groceries. Ironically, it often takes much longer for ...

  Scratch Introduction There are many programming languages out there, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Knowing which language to choose from can be a difficult challenge. The first step is understanding the different types of programming languages and what they do. This paper will describe my experience building a program using Scratch , identify difficulties I encountered using Scratch , explain how I overcame those difficulties, explain programming insights gained from trying Scratch , compare Scratch with programming in other languages in the textbook, identify some differences between programming languages, describe which language I found easiest, describe when each programming language may be best, and describe why I think machine language is the most popular programming language. Questions Describe your experience building a program using Scratch. My experience building a program with Scratch was interesting. Scratch is geared towards children and ...