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@ -12,59 +12,65 @@ essay which got me accepted into RIT and Clarkson last year. As a computer |
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science applicant, it is a great idea to write your college essay based on the |
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programming experience you had outside of school. |
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September 13, 2016 |
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```c |
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/** |
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* Title: HTTP ERROR 500 |
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* |
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* Prompt: Describe a problem you’ve solved |
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* |
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* @author Jeffery Russell |
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* |
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* September 13, 2016 |
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*/ |
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>Prompt: Describe a problem you’ve solved |
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> |
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>/\* HTTP ERROR 500 \*/ |
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> |
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>\#include\<stdio.h\> |
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> |
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>main() |
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>{ |
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>printf(" |
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> |
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> On a dim screen in the corner of my room flashed the dreadful message- HTTP |
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> ERROR 500. That simple warning taunted, probed, and questioned my mind for |
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> hours on end. As I pivoted my binocular gaze from the computer to out the |
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> window, I saw the front yard dimly lit by the drowsy moon. Time for a second |
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> stood still as the crickets chirped and the trees swayed in the cool summer |
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> breeze. Closing my eyes for that second of silence made me realize how tired |
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> I really was. A beeping, piercing, and dinging sound focused my gaze back to |
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> the computer. Still flashing was that error reminding me that I had a long |
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> night ahead. |
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> |
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> For the past two weeks I had been working on an employee management system |
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> for a store. This web based system was to keep track of employee hours for |
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> payroll. The project was near complete; however, there was a few bugs left |
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> to fix. The most annoying of which was password verification for the |
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> webform. Now nearing the end of the development cycle, the project was |
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> suppose to go live tomorrow. |
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> |
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> Debugging a project is often a daunting task for programmers. Simply finding |
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> an error is like finding a misspelled word in the dictionary. Correcting the |
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> misspelling may be easy but finding that word is another story. What I love |
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> about programming is that the program does exactly what I tell it to do. If |
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> it makes a mistake it’s because I told it to, not because it feels tired, or |
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> doesn't like me. Every bug, error, and glitch I unintentionally create. |
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> These bugs eventually come out to the surface like a fish gasping for air. |
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> An error is never just a mistake. It represents something much larger- an |
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> error in my way of thinking. Debugging is a process that enables me to |
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> further understand the program and crush the bug like the parasite it is. |
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> |
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> Sitting back in my chair in deep thought I resumed the process of scanning, |
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> poking, and probing my code for any source of the error. For the past hour I |
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> narrowed the source of the error to ten lines of dubious code. Pondering |
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> these lines of code I added an echo statement which allows me to see the |
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> inner workings of the code. The error became as clear as day, the password |
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> was not getting hashed: a feature that adds security to password storage. |
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> Excitedly I typed a few lines of code to fix this problem. Then swiftly I |
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> pressed execute, only to my disappointment to receive a different error |
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> code. Eyes glazed over, I realized my mistake. In the process of debugging I |
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> left a block of code commented out. |
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> |
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> On a dim screen in the corner of my room beamed the message- Currently |
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> Working. |
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> |
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>"); |
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>} |
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#include <stdio.h> |
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main() |
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{ |
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printf(" |
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|
On a dim screen in the corner of my room flashed the dreadful message- HTTP |
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|
ERROR 500. That simple warning taunted, probed, and questioned my mind for |
|
|
|
hours on end. As I pivoted my binocular gaze from the computer to out the |
|
|
|
window, I saw the front yard dimly lit by the drowsy moon. Time for a second |
|
|
|
stood still as the crickets chirped and the trees swayed in the cool summer |
|
|
|
breeze. Closing my eyes for that second of silence made me realize how tired |
|
|
|
I really was. A beeping, piercing, and dinging sound focused my gaze back to |
|
|
|
the computer. Still flashing was that error reminding me that I had a long |
|
|
|
night ahead. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the past two weeks I had been working on an employee management system |
|
|
|
for a store. This web based system was to keep track of employee hours for |
|
|
|
payroll. The project was near complete; however, there was a few bugs left |
|
|
|
to fix. The most annoying of which was password verification for the |
|
|
|
webform. Now nearing the end of the development cycle, the project was |
|
|
|
suppose to go live tomorrow. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Debugging a project is often a daunting task for programmers. Simply finding |
|
|
|
an error is like finding a misspelled word in the dictionary. Correcting the |
|
|
|
misspelling may be easy but finding that word is another story. What I love |
|
|
|
about programming is that the program does exactly what I tell it to do. If |
|
|
|
it makes a mistake it’s because I told it to, not because it feels tired, or |
|
|
|
doesn't like me. Every bug, error, and glitch I unintentionally create. |
|
|
|
These bugs eventually come out to the surface like a fish gasping for air. |
|
|
|
An error is never just a mistake. It represents something much larger- an |
|
|
|
error in my way of thinking. Debugging is a process that enables me to |
|
|
|
further understand the program and crush the bug like the parasite it is. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sitting back in my chair in deep thought I resumed the process of scanning, |
|
|
|
poking, and probing my code for any source of the error. For the past hour I |
|
|
|
narrowed the source of the error to ten lines of dubious code. Pondering |
|
|
|
these lines of code I added an echo statement which allows me to see the |
|
|
|
inner workings of the code. The error became as clear as day, the password |
|
|
|
was not getting hashed: a feature that adds security to password storage. |
|
|
|
Excitedly I typed a few lines of code to fix this problem. Then swiftly I |
|
|
|
pressed execute, only to my disappointment to receive a different error |
|
|
|
code. Eyes glazed over, I realized my mistake. In the process of debugging I |
|
|
|
left a block of code commented out. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On a dim screen in the corner of my room beamed the message- Currently |
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|
Working. |
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"); |
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} |
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``` |