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CS1315: Introduction to Media Computation. Final Exam Review. You are a graduate of a CS course!. You now know much more about computer science than you did three months ago. You will now be sought after for your knowledge about computing, media, and programming.
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CS1315: Introduction to Media Computation Final Exam Review
You are a graduate of a CS course! • You now know much more about computer science than you did three months ago. • You will now be sought after for your knowledge about computing, media, and programming. • Demonstrate your knowledge on the following example situations that will be all too common as your enlightened state becomes well-known.
Image Processing • Your mother shows you this cool new image processing program she bought. “I can finally get rid of red-eye!” • When she clicks the red-eye removal button, she: • Circle her mouse around the red area in the eye. • Then clicks on a pallete of colors of what the eye color should be. • And all the red is replaced with the selected color. • She says, “How did that work? That’s amazing. How can the computer figure out what part is red?” • Answer your mother’s question.
Image Manipulation • You're watching the Super Bowl and everytime there is a down the 10-yard line appears in yellow on the playing field. You notice that it doesn't cover the players, only the grass. Your friend says “Geez! How do they do that!!” and you say... • Thanks to Jose Zagal for suggesting this one.
Sound manipulation • Christmas 2005, the Billboard #1 song is “Jingle Bells” by Homer Simpson—but he only says one “word”: Doh! • The tune of Jingle Bells is sounded out from Doh! at the various pitches. • Your kid sister (whom you always found a little annoying) says, “I can’t believe that that guy just sang ‘Doh!’ over and over again like that!” • You decide to have mercy on your sibling’s ignorance and explain how there only had to be one “Doh!” to generate the whole song. Insert that explanation here.
Making sounds • Post-graduation and your obviously successful future career, you’re tooling down the highway in your convertible and you hear an unusual song on the radio. • Your best friend sitting next to you says, “What kind of instrument is that? What a weird sound! What do you think it is—some kind of modified tuba?” • You explain that it doesn’t have to be a physical instrument at all. Your friend says, “Huh?!?” • You explain.
Networking • You have a new computer that seems to connect to the Internet, but when you try to go to http://www.cnn.com you get a “Not Found” error. • You call tech support, and they tell you to try to go to http://64.236.24.20 That works. • Now both you and the Tech know what’s wrong with your computer’s settings. What is it?
MediaShifts • You and a friend are playing with WinAmp and are generating some really interesting visualizations. • Your friend says, “How in the world can the computer do that? How can it turn sound into pictures?” • You pity your friend who hasn’t had CS1315 and sit down to explain it to him.
Database • Your father calls you. “My tech support people are saying that the company website is down because the database program is broken. What does the database have to do with our company website?” • You calmly explain to him how databases can be integral to running large websites.
Networking and string manipulation • You’re sitting in the CyberCafe, sipping on a double decaf skinny Mocha, and you hear two frosh talking about news.google.com. • “What do you mean they have no reporters? How could they have such a great website without reporters?” • Showing pity on mere freshpersons, you explain how it works.
Movie manipulations • You’re watching the DVD “Matrix 7: Return of the HyperCyberCoolness” and your S.O. mentions “Check it out! Keanu just clicks his fingers and he’s in a different place. Isn’t that amazing?!?” • You say, “Notice he’s wearing a blue shirt. They probably used a green background.” • Your S.O. looks shocked. “Whoa! How’d you know that? I saw The Making Of and you’re right—they did film that scene with a green background. Why? And how does a green background let him teleport like that?”
Compiling vs. Interpreting • Your friend taking CS2130 is hanging out in front of Student Center with you and starts bragging about how much faster his C programs are than anything that he ever wrote in Scheme or that you ever wrote in Python. • You nod knowingly, then ask, “Yes, but do you know why?” • He admits that he knows it has something to do with interpreters vs. compilers, but he doesn’t really understand the difference. • You decide to enlighten the poor boy.
Algorithms • You’re now in grad school, and your professor says, “Too many of my students are writing incorrect JavaScript code. Their programs load, but never show anything because they just loop forever! I’m going to apply for an NSF grant to build a JavaScript checking program that will check that the students’ JavaScript programs will actually stop.” • You feel sorry for this Professor who was never fortunate enough to take CS, so you explain why that’s a bad idea.
Algorithms • You overhear your boss talking to the programing staff, “Our procurement process is getting out of hand. Here’s what I want to happen. I want to be able to send out a clerk around town to gather whatever parts and supplies we need. I want you programmers to build me a program so that we can put in a list of items that we want, and you use Web searches to find out who has those items at the best prices and what’s the shortest route to visit all those places. Then we just send out the clerk on the route you give, to get the best prices in the shortest amount of time.” • You poke your head in, “Uh, boss? How many items might be on this list?” • She says, “Depends. Sometimes 10, sometimes 20 or 30 things. Why?” • You decide to give her a lesson on P vs. NP. What do you tell her?
Objects • Your S.O. is taking CS1322 and complains, “Sheesh! I just don’t get this object stuff! What’s the good of objects? Why do we have to use them?” • You nod knowingly, then explain why objects are useful.
Programming Languages • Your boss says, “I’ve got these three programs I need written. You seem to know something about this stuff. What would be a good language for each of these?” • “I need something to teach my grandkids, like 12-13 years old, so that they can learn some science and maybe learn a little how videogames work.” • “I want a program to create Web pages for me based on information in a database.” • “I need something to make my web pages snazzier and more interactive—maybe change colors when the mouse goes over things to highlight.”
