Crossword Puzzle Compiler

Techniques demonstrated:

• Solving an intractable problem using a scoring heuristic
• Super-indexing data structures for ultra-fast domain-specific queries

Summary (just gimme the TL;DR)

This is old-style artificial intelligence in action, solving within seconds a problem that would normally take eons to complete.

You give it a crossword grid, and a long list of words, and it finds ways to mesh words into the grid so as to form a complete crossword puzzle.  The final working version was done in 2003 using C# version 1.2 with a minimalistic UI in WinForms. 

The following 30-second video shows the crossword compiler in action, filling multiple successive crosswords using a word list taken from actual crosswords that have been published on the interwebz by various sources through the years.  The video is in real time, showing that the crossword compiler is, in most cases, extremely fast.

Portfolio

I added a page where I list posts on this blog that can collectively serve as my portfolio.

It can be found here:

Michael Belivanakis - Portfolio

Is my mentor's concern for code quality excessive?

This question was asked on Programmers SE on Jun 12, 2015. I answered it, but after a few days the question was closed as primarily opinion-based and then deleted, along with all answers. Since I now have sufficient reputation to view deleted questions, I was able to find it, so I am posting the question and my answer here for posterity.

The Question:

Is my mentor's concern for code quality excessive? [closed]

Score: 75 (79 upvotes, 4 downvotes) Favorites: 28

To tell you a little about myself: I'm a newbie programmer working internships and learning a lot from experienced programmers. I can't believe I used to think I was good in college.

The one I'm doing right now is pretty great due to the amount of time and resources that the company is putting into helping and mentoring me and another intern. I'm learning a whole lot and for the first time, I feel like I get close to being competent.

The only "problem" are the massive code quality concerns of one of my mentors. It's to the point that anything takes a whole lot of time because I have to find the best way to do it or else it's a waste of time. It also feels like my creativity doesn't matter because there is only one right way to do everything. I don't mind any of this at all but I wonder, and this is mainly what I'm asking, if it's normal in the industry.

Also, when I get assigned a little feature and this guy reviews my code, he actually reviews the whole codebase I'm working on, pointing out loads of mistakes, most of them from before I was even hired. I have spent this whole week fixing code (that worked) written by their full-time programmers, even some things that are best practice according to other mentors.

Tags: [javascript] [web-development] [programming-practices] [object-oriented-design

asked Jun 11 2015 at 18:51 by CyborgFish

Why Oracle Sucks

Oracle talks a lot about 11g Express Edition, and how it differs from the full (paid) versions of their database, but it does not say a word about the most important thing:

Is it compatible at the SQL syntax level?

No way to find out other than to try it.  So, let's try it.

Woohoo! One more of my "Programmers SE" answers has received a score of -5 !

The question is on a controversial topic, and as usual, I take the controversial stance.  So, it is no wonder that people do not agree with me.

Here is the question:

programmers.stackexchange.com: Does it make sense to use “ys” instead of “ies” in identifiers to ease find-and-replace functionality?

How to: Completely disable "Aero" in Windows 7

So, with Windows 8 sporting these god-awfully ugly opaque square boxes, which are not adorned in any way whatsoever, (not even the decent in all its simplicity gradient of Windows 98,) it seems like a confession on Microsoft's behalf that the spiffy "Aero" look of Windows 7 was nothing but an unnecessary gimmick afterall.

So, are you sticking with Windows 7 but want to disable Aero in order to enjoy considerable gains in performance, memory, power consumption, and GPU temperature? Here is how:

1. Open up "Services". 
2. Locate the service "Desktop Window Manager Session Manager". 
3. Disable it and stop it. 

Enjoy!

How to: Disable the administrative shares in Windows

To disable the administrative shares in Windows, (default shares like C$, ADMIN$, etc.) follow these steps:

1. Run the Registry Editor and go to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet \Services\LanmanServer\Parameters

2. Create a new DWORD, name it AutoShareWks, and leave the default value of 0.

3. Reboot Windows.

This will disable things like C$ and ADMIN$.

I am not sure how to also delete print$ and IPC$.  ("net share ipc$ /delete" appears to work temporarily, but the share automagically re-appears after the next reboot.)