Data Types From A Machine Learning Perspective With Examples

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Almost anything can be turned into DATA. Building a deep understanding of the different data types is a crucial prerequisite for doing Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) and Feature Engineering for Machine Learning models. You also need to convert data types of some variables in order to make appropriate choices for visual encodings in data visualization and storytelling.

Most data can be categorized into 4 basic types from a Machine Learning perspective: numerical data, categorical data, time-series data, and text.

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https://towardsdatascience.com/data-types-from-a-machine-learning-perspective-with-examples-111ac679e8bc

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What happened to AngularJS? Why was it discontinued?

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AngularJS End of Life Announced

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The AngularJS End of Life timeline has been announced. Are you ready?

When AngularJS was first introduced in 2009, it was revolutionary. Originally developed to support a SaaS application, the project was eventually released to the masses as an open source library for building web applications. That original freemium service is archived here for posterity. The library’s extensive focus on testability and performance, along with the rapid evolution taking place in the larger JavaScript ecosystem enticed Google enough to acquire it and by extension the architects AngularJS: Miško Hevery and Adam Abrons.

While AngularJS did many things right, there was a push to rewrite the project to leverage TypeScript and transform it into a true platform for web application development. Unfortunately, it would not be possible to implement without introducing significant breaking changes. So the project was effectively forked. Angular was born while AngularJS continued to enjoy support from the team at Google and the larger community.

But its days were numbered.

The first announcement came in January 2018, later reiterated at NG Conf in Salt Lake City, that the final release of AngularJS would be 1.7 and would enter Long Term Support (LTS) through June 30, 2021. After that time, Google will no longer maintain the library.

If you are currently built on AngularJS, now is the time to start considering your strategy for migrating.

The smoothest transition path is to move your application to Angular, the newest generation of the project. Angular is a robust platform for application development, and your existing development team should have no issues picking up the differences. But this is a decision that project leaders need to begin considering today.

React is another fantastic option for web applications, but could potentially result in less code reuse. For pure AngularJS apps, we generally recommend a migration to Angular.

We recently completed delivery of a custom built Angular system to an $18B consumer goods giant, supporting many of their internal line of business applications. If you have questions about your migration options or think you might benefit from an experienced Angular Architect on the project, please get in touch to discuss.

The clock is ticking towards the official AngularJS End of Life. Don’t get caught on your heels!

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https://www.convective.com/angularjs-end-of-life/

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What happened to Intel XDK? Why was it discontinued?

 

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PaulF_IntelCorp

Employee

‎11-16-2017 02:41 PM

[RETIRED] Intel XDK

Development and support for the Intel XDK has ceased.

The Intel® XDK is no longer being developed or updated for new operating systems and devices. You may continue to use the final version of Intel XDK (version 3987).

https://community.intel.com/t5/Software-Archive/RETIRED-Intel-XDK/td-p/1075483

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PaulF_IntelCorp

Employee

‎10-26-2016 12:26 PM

An "IoT Companion App" is a mobile Cordova app that's been optimized for use with IoT devices and IoT cloud services. What that means, regarding mobile apps, is that our system will focus on creating Cordova mobile apps that use Cordova plugins that are useful for communicating with apps running on IoT devices and for communicating with cloud services that designed for use with IoT devices.

Mobile apps that you create with the XDK are standard Cordova mobile apps. As the IoT focus of the XDK progresses, if you need to leave the XDK we will provide you with the means to move your mobile app to Cordova CLI. The XDK creates a standard Cordova CLI application, so any app you create with the XDK can be easily built and developed using standard Cordova CLI tools.

Regarding Intel support personnel, none of us works full time on providing support. It has always been this way, we all have other duties we must attend to, beyond support. We are in the process of adding some new support personnel to the forum. Additionally, there are quite a few regular developers who answer questions on this forum. We do try to restrict our support to issues that are specific to the use of the XDK; we are not here to teach people how to write a mobile app or an IoT app. For general help regarding programming problems there are many blogs and forums that provide much better information.

https://community.intel.com/t5/Software-Archive/Future-direction-of-the-XDK/m-p/1066498

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What happened to SharpDevelop? Why was it discontinued?

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According to dgrunwald , a member of ICSharpCode github icsharpcode/SharpDevelop community:

Yes, it's dead.

It takes a massive amount of effort just to keep up with the changes to the language and build system Microsoft is doing, probably at least 2 man-years to catch up to C# 7 / the .NET Core stuff. That's a bit too much for a hobby project -- we don't have that kind of free time anymore, and even if we did, there are better ways to spend it than playing catch-up with a huge dev team at Microsoft.

Combine that with the free community edition, and there's little space for multiple open-source C# IDEs.

Remember that MonoDevelop is still around; and that VS Code is also open-source! Start with one of those if you need a portable IDE.

https://github.com/icsharpcode/SharpDevelop/issues/799

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Alternative:

https://www.monodevelop.com/

(Cross platform IDE for C#, F# and more)

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Learn VB with Online IDE/Compiler

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Online VB Tutorial:

https://www.tutlane.com/tutorial/visual-basic

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Online VB Editor/Compiler:

https://www.onlinegdb.com/online_vb_compiler

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Google Apps Script Library Underscore

 

 

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Underscore

Underscore for Google Apps Script is a library that enables the use of the underscore.js library in Google Apps Script. API docs are available here.

Adding the library to your project

Underscore for Google Apps Script is made available as a script library. This is how you add it to your project:

Select "Resources" > "Libraries..." in the Google Apps Script editor.

Enter the script id (1PcEHcGVC1njZd8SfXtmgQk19djwVd2GrrW1gd7U5hNk033tzi6IUvIAV) in the "Find a Library" field, and choose "Select". (If you have copied the library, enter instead the project key of your copy.)

Select the highest version number, and choose Underscore as the identifier. (Do not turn on Development Mode unless you know what you are doing. The development version may not work.)

Press Save. You can now use the Underscore library in your code.

If you want to combine Underscore with Underscore.string for Google Apps Script, then also add its project key by following these instructions.

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Reference:

https://github.com/simula-innovation/gas-underscore

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Google Apps Script Library Lodash

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LodashGS

Lodash for Google Apps Script is a library that enables the use of the lodash.js library in Google Apps Script. API docs are available here.

Adding the library to your project

Lodash for Google Apps Script is made available as a script library. This is how you add it to your project:

Select "Resources" > "Libraries..." in the Google Apps Script editor.

Enter the project key (1SQ0PlSMwndIuOAgtVJdjxsuXueECtY9OGejVDS37ckSVbMll73EXf2PW) in the "Find a Library" field, and choose "Select". (If you have copied the library, enter instead the project key of your copy.)

Select the highest version number, and choose Lodash as the identifier. (Do not turn on Development Mode unless you know what you are doing. The development version may not work.)

Press Save. You can now use the Lodash library in your code.

Reference:

https://github.com/contributorpw/lodashgs

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Collection of Public Google Apps Script Library

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• | Table of Content
• Amit Argaval
• Andrew Roberts
• Andrew Stillmann
• Andrey Korhonen
• Bruce McPherson
• Cesar Anton Dorantes
• Chris Bolton
• Costa
• Dan Gottlieb
• Google
• Gustavo Moura
• Harry Oosterveen
• Henrique Abreu
• Holger Keller
• Ivan Kutil
• James Ferreira
• Jeremy Ashkenas
• Keisuke Oohashi
• Kodama
• Marcello Scacchetti
• Marcus LeVere & Santiago Montesdeoca
• Martin Hawksey
• Matti Eerola
• McKenna
• Neil B McLaughlin
• Notable Script Libraries
• Notermans
• Oleg Shaydenko & Pavel Pavlovsky
• Patrick Martinent
• Peter Herrmann
• Piorowicz
• Quiang Li
• Rafael Chaves
• Romain Vialard
• Serge Gabet
• Steve Webster & Vinay Thakker
• Sundaram
• Volodarsky
• Waqar Ahmad
• 
  

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Reference:

https://sites.google.com/site/nnillixxsource/

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Google Apps Script Library Code Sample

A library is a script project whose functions can be reused in other scripts.

Warning: 

A script that uses a library doesn't run as quickly as it would if all the code were contained within a single script project. Although libraries can make development and maintenance more convenient, use them sparingly in projects where speed is critical. Because of this issue, library use should be limited in add-ons.

Library Code Example:
/***** CREATE TEST OBJECT *****/ function testLibr() { let librObjtTest = librFunctions(); var result1 = librObjtTest.getFunction('function1', 2); console.log("result1:", result1); var result2 = librObjtTest.getFunction('function2', 3); console.log("result2:", result2); } /***** COPY THE FOLLOWING CODES TO CLIENT SCRIPT *****/ // create the library object // assuming the library name is librSample let librObjtSample = librSample.librFunctions(); // fetch the custom function and pass the parameters let customFunction = (f, ...params) => { return customFunctions.getFunction(f, params); } /***** DEFINE LIBRARY FUNCTIONS *****/ /** * The custom librFunctions * @return {Object} The customFunctions Object. */ function librFunctions() { /** * A custom function that adds a number to itself * * @param {Number} a number * @return {Number} a number */ function func1(num) { if (typeof num != 'number') { return null; } return num + num; } /** * A custom function that multiply itself * * @param {Number} a number * @return {Number} a number */ function func2(num) { if (typeof num != 'number') { return null; } return num * num; } /** * Define function names */ let allFunctions = { function1: func1, function2: func2 }; /** * @param {string} functionName * @param {any[]} params */ let getFunction = (functionName, params) => { // Check if the function name exists, if not return some help information if (!allFunctions[functionName]) { return "help information\n on how to us this function" } return allFunctions[functionName](params); } return Object.freeze({ getFunction: getFunction }); }

Link to Library Code Example

Best practices

Here are some guidelines to follow when writing a library:

• Choose a meaningful name for your project since it's used as the default identifier when your library is included by others.
• If you want one or more methods of your script to not be visible (nor usable) to your library users, you can end the name of the method with an underscore. For example, myPrivateMethod_().
• Only enumerable global properties are visible to library users. This includes function declarations, variables created outside a function with var, and properties explicitly set on the global object. For example, Object.defineProperty() with enumerable set to false creates a symbol you can use in your library, but this symbol isn't accessible by your users.
• If you want your library users to make use of the script editor autocomplete and the automatically generated documentation, you must have JSDoc-style documentation for all your functions. 

Here's an example:

JSDOC-style Code Exampple:
/** * Raises a number to the given power, and returns the result. * * @param {number} base the number we're raising to a power * @param {number} exp the exponent we're raising the base to * @return {number} the result of the exponential calculation */ function power(base, exp) { ... }

Reference:

https://developers.google.com/apps-script/guides/libraries

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What happened to MS FoxPro? Why was it discontinued?

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“Not a Strategic Product”

Enough disclaimers, let’s get to the subject at hand.  Microsoft has stated for some time that FoxPro was not a strategic product for them.  What does that mean?  To my mind, a strategic product is one that Microsoft would invest in heavily and recommend as the primary path for their customers.  MS would build upon the technology and form an entire “strategy” around it.  VB was strategic.  COM was strategic. .NET is strategic.  Fox was not.  Why not?  To answer that, I think you have to look at why Microsoft bought Fox Software in the first place.

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Why Buy Fox?

So, why did Microsoft buy Fox Software.  I will quote an article Jordan Powell wrote in FoxTalk when Access 1.0 and FoxPro 2.5 were about to ship:

Microsoft was working on its Access DBMS which uses a modern variant of the BASIC language. It had to have been embarrassing for Microsoft to have such a glaring hole in its product lineup. They had no DBMS, and their partnership with Ashton-Tate failed to get Microsoft SQL Server off the ground. Some of the marketing types at MS realized that FoxPro was the best version of X-Base out there, and had been trying to talk Bill Gates into doing something about it. They knew that the X-Base language commanded a huge segment of the market and that a product which used the X-Base language would get them into the DBMS market in a big way. They had the marketing resources to put behind FoxPro, and Fox had some interesting and useful technology — not to mention some very talented people, the kind Microsoft likes.

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xBase Market Decline

FoxPro was first and foremost a competitor in the xBase market.  As that market declined, so did the value of FoxPro as a strategic product to Microsoft.  What led to the decline of a technology that had been so popular in the 80’s and early 90’s?  Technology trends are constantly changing, but here are few key things that in my opinion diminished the xBase market:

dBASE IV: 

dBASE IV was a buggy disaster, and it was two years before they released version 1.1.  Borland bought Ashton-Tate, but could not undo the damage.  dBASE for Windows was not released until 1994.  This was good for FoxPro, which became the biggest fish in the xBase pond, but the pond itself began to shrink.

Lawsuit: 

Ashton-Tate sued Fox Software for cloning dBASE.  The suit was dropped when Borland bought Ashton-Tate, but it could not have inspired confidence in the xBase market.

Client-Server: 

By the early 90’s, client-server technology picked up in popularity and developers were beginning to flock towards database servers and client-server development tools like PowerBuilder and VB.  At the same time, Microsoft was trying to enter the server market with Windows NT and SQL Server, so I’m sure there was strong emphasis on this style of development from them.  I believe there was talk of a “FoxServer” product at Fox Software, but it never saw the light of day before the Microsoft acquisition.

Those are reasons that the xBase market declined, but about now you’re thinking that VFP is so much more than an xBase tool.  I couldn’t agree more.  VFP can go toe-to-toe with VB, PowerBuilder, Delphi, .NET, and others.  If FoxPro was supposed to “go quietly into the night”, someone forgot to tell the VFP 3.0 team, because they transformed the Fox into a full-fledged OOP development platform ready for the 32-bit world and beyond.  So, why wasn’t the emphasis there from Microsoft? 

An important point to make about Microsoft is that they are a follower of development trends, not a leader.  With a few exceptions (the VB GUI designer comes to mind), Microsoft has not been the one to create a development trend.  “Embrace and extend” was their motto, and they have done well with that.  Windows was Microsoft’s answer to the Mac.  .NET is Microsoft chasing Java into the enterprise.  They follow current trends and they do so mercilessly.  Even now, Microsoft is emphasizing HTML5, leaving Silverlight developers thinking “Wait, I thought we were on the cutting edge?”  It would be out of character for Microsoft to promote and strategize around a product built for a market that was trending downwards.  It’s nothing personal against the Fox, it’s just not in their DNA. 

FoxPro Market Decline

Even with the xBase decline, if FoxPro revenue had continued upward, I wouldn’t be writing this article.  Sales declined, and there are several reasons for that:

Power Users: 

Going all the way back to dBASE you could question whether it was a platform for power users with development capabilities or a platform for developers that power users could use.  It was both.  Visual FoxPro put it squarely in the developer category, and Access took over as the preferred database for power users.  The result: much fewer licenses sold.

VB, SQL Server, .NET: 

VFP faced a lot of competition from other products within Microsoft.  With the emphasis always on the latest trends, many developers felt compelled to move to other technologies. 

Visual FoxPro: 

That’s right, VFP itself.  While VFP 3.0 was a massive improvement in development capabilities (and most of us are happy with that decision), it was also a big leap from FoxPro 2.x in terms of learning curve.  It took some developers quite a while to make the jump, and some never did. 

Not Invented Here Syndrome:  

Microsoft took a great product and made it even better, which makes their treatment of FoxPro all the more frustrating.  But Fox was still the stepchild and it was never going to supersede other products developed internally.  By the time Microsoft purchased Fox, they had already made significant investments in VB, Access, and SQL Server.  Those would be Microsoft’s strategic products while Fox would continue serving the declining xBase market and otherwise fit between the lines.

Why 2007?

People had been foretelling the death of FoxPro since Microsoft bought it in 1992.  What made 2007 the year when Microsoft finally decided to cancel it?  Had sales declined to the point that Microsoft could no longer justify Fox development?  Did they want to use the Fox Team in other parts of Microsoft?  Did big customers move to something else?  Were the people that cared gone or no longer in a position to do anything about it?  Your guess is as good as mine.  We will never know. 

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There are a couple of ways to look at this: 1) Microsoft always wanted to cancel Fox and they finally got their way, or 2) in spite of Fox not being a strategic product, Microsoft continue to create new versions for Fox developers.  I tend to think of it as the latter.  While there was always a question of Microsoft’s commitment to FoxPro, by the release of VFP 5, it had become clear that it would not be a strategic product. 

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