Pascal Triangle doubt - Help!

[James Kuyper]

How have I referenced 'cheating' at all?

You've asked for help from a group of programmers, many of them experts,
for a contest that is presumably supposed to be a test of your own
programming skills, not your skills at using usenet. In many contests,
that would be cheating.

 

[Guest]

(e-mail address removed) wrote:

How have I referenced 'cheating' at all?

In my book passing off someone elses work as your own for your benefit
is cheating. It's pretty much tantermount to theft.

That's fine, actually - but, could you please find an *older* post from
clc that supports your statement? (and I'm not trying to be smart/funny)

It's my own definition. Though I'm pretty sure I'm not the only
that uses it. If you really care about this level of hair-splitting
google it yourself.

If you get someone else to do programming work that you should be
doing yourself, then they have "done your homework".

No one actually *needs* a program to print Pascal's triangle
for low numbered rows. The only purpose of writing such a
program is so that you can learn something about programming.
If some else does your "homework" *you* haven't learned anything
about programming (though you may have learned a valuable
lesson in psychological manipulation and deception).

; if you have a serious issue with the way I've written the question
please rephrase it.

I have no problem with the way you have written the question.

For the word "teacher" just substitute "competition> judge".

Okay - please remind me if any of my future posts shows that I've
forgetten to.

If you changed your attitude to cheating you wouldn't need to be
reminded

 

[Albert]

You've asked for help from a group of programmers, many of them experts,
for a contest that is presumably supposed to be a test of your own
programming skills,

....for a contest that's already been done...
It's a test of algorithmic skills.

not your skills at using usenet.

But I don't remember a post that I have made *during* a contest *and*
reading a reply to that post *helping* me to do a particular problem
*during* the same contest.
However, I do remember a few posts from me asking questions about
problems that *have been used* in *past* contests and have been put
online so as to see if I can do those problems, *in preparation* *for
another* programming contest.

> In many contests, that would be cheating.

In *all* contests I've *competed* in, it *is* cheating.

 

[Albert]

If you changed your attitude to cheating you wouldn't need to be
reminded

My current attitude to cheating is to not cheat - ever, period. I don't
see the need to change it. So I don't see a need for an 'if' statement
(in spoken language, not programming language).
I'm sorry if I've suggested that I 'cheat'.

 

[Albert]

...hand in your work to your teacher

If a programming competition problem involved calculating values in
Pascals' triangle, then one can't 'hand in [their] work to [their]
teacher.' This is because there are programming competitions for
pre-university students. I point this out so that if I happen to post a
question (like the OP) that would require someone else doing most of the
work, that people in clc don't assume me (or anyone in a similar
situation) to be doing a tertiary course on algorithm design/programming.

I'll clarify:
When I ask a question that requires you to do basically the whole
question for me:
1. *Don't* do it for me.
2. *Don't* refer to my teacher - I don't have a teacher for this sort of
stuff.
Other things:
3. I'm not in university.
4. Since I don't have a teacher, I can't 'hand in work' to a teacher.
5. *Don't* interpret (or resist interpreting) the last quoted sentence
that: because I'm a non-university student, do a programming contest
problem for me. It means, once more, treat me like any other poster in
clc (as you have been), but read 1 and 2 and consider 3.

 

[Kevin D. Quitt]

...hand in your work to your teacher

If a programming competition problem involved calculating values in
Pascals' triangle, then one can't 'hand in [their] work to [their]
teacher.' This is because there are programming competitions for
pre-university students.

As pointed out elsewhere, this is generally also regarded as 'homework'. And
while, for any one specific post, it might not be 'homework' when somebody asks
"Can <something> be done in C?", it is almost always the case that it is
'homework' of one form or another.

And for the record, for any reasonable programming-related something, the answer
is probably yes. And probably yes for any programming language you choose.

I point this out so that if I happen to post a
question (like the OP) that would require someone else doing most of the
work, that people in clc don't assume me (or anyone in a similar
situation) to be doing a tertiary course on algorithm design/programming.

We aren't here to do anybody's work for them, be it home or not. We are happy
to help with details, find problems and provide fixes or work-arounds. That is
the culture of this group.

Here's something handy you should know about:

ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/

 

[Guest]

(e-mail address removed) wrote:

My current attitude to cheating is to not cheat - ever, period. I don't
see the need to change it. So I don't see a need for an 'if' statement
(in spoken language, not programming language).
I'm sorry if I've suggested that I 'cheat'.

If I've misinterpreted you then i apologise. But you seemed to be
trying to explain away why people should so your "homework" for you.
And by "homework" I mean work that is meant to be done by you in
order to learn how to program.

If you've done your programming competition and just want a model
answer thats fine. Though I'm surprised they don't provide one...

 

[Keith Thompson]

...for a contest that's already been done...
It's a test of algorithmic skills.
But I don't remember a post that I have made *during* a contest *and*
reading a reply to that post *helping* me to do a particular problem
*during* the same contest.
However, I do remember a few posts from me asking questions about
problems that *have been used* in *past* contests and have been put
online so as to see if I can do those problems, *in preparation* *for
another* programming contest.
In *all* contests I've *competed* in, it *is* cheating.

I hadn't paid close attention to who posted what in this thread.
Based on your responses, I've assumed that you, Albert, were the
original poster. I see that that you weren't; the original question
was asked by someone named pradeep, who has said that it's not
homework, it's for his little sister's birthday.

You seem to be making some unwarranted assumptions about the OP's
reasons for asking the question (what programming contest?).

 

[Keith Thompson]

I hadn't paid close attention to who posted what in this thread.
Based on your responses, I've assumed that you, Albert, were the
original poster. I see that that you weren't; the original question
was asked by someone named pradeep, who has said that it's not
homework, it's for his little sister's birthday.

You seem to be making some unwarranted assumptions about the OP's
reasons for asking the question (what programming contest?).

Unless you *are* the original poster. Are you posting under two
different names, "pradeep" and "Albert"?

 

[jameskuyper]

You've asked for help from a group of programmers, many of them experts,
for a contest that is presumably supposed to be a test of your own
programming skills, not your skills at using usenet. In many contests,
that would be cheating.

My apologies; the tone and contents of your response led me to think
that you were the OP, an assumption I didn't bother checking. If I had
realized that you were not the OP, I would still have made the same
main point in my response, but I would have worded it quite
differently.

 

[Phil Carmody]

Are you referring to what you have quoted or the OP?

I am refering to the "this" which you used. If you're too
stupid to know what your own demonstrative pronouns refer
to, then that's your problem.

No, I didn't.

That's your problem. Stop trying to make it ours.

Resources are freely available. See CBF's frequent postings
for links.

Phil