useless knowledge

Some interesting links which I came across

What's the difference between an embassy and a consulate?


Todo:- Sort these links later.

ogg player for Windows

VLC is a nice media player that can play ogg files on Windows. It is a open source software released under GPL.

Why I needed this?
I use wiktionary to search for meanings of the English words. The pronounciation of the words is stored in .ogg format. VLC can successfully play these .ogg files.

Using vim as a man page reader

vim, gvim can be used to read man pages. To accomplish this add the following lines to ~/.bashrc file.

# Use vim as a manpage reader
function vman {
  /usr/bin/man $* | /usr/bin/col -bp | /usr/bin/iconv -c | \
  /usr/bin/view -c "set ft=man nomod nolist so=999 ts=8 wrap\
  titlestring=man\ $1" -
}
# Use gvim as a manpage reader
function wman {
  /usr/bin/man $* | /usr/bin/col -bp | /usr/bin/iconv -c | \
  /usr/bin/gview -c "set ft=man nomod nolist so=999 ts=8 wrap\
  titlestring=man\ $1" -
}

After this man pages can be read by using vman or wman. Sample commands look like

guest@kusumanchi:~$ vman rsync
guest@kusumanchi:~$ wman rsync

Tested this on Debian Etch, running vim 7.0.122, gvim 7.0.122, man 2.4.3, iconv 2.3.6.

Advantages of using vim as a man page reader

1. 'marks' can be used to navigate the man pages which can sometimes be quite large. Other pagers such as 'less', 'more' do not have this feature.
   
   
2. vim's search commands, navigation commands etc., can be used. No need to learn another software or another set of shortcuts.
   
   
3. ":syn on" gives beautiful colors while reading the man page
   
   
4. Let's say while reading the man page of ssh, you encounter ssh_config(5). Now to read the man page of ssh_config(5), simply place the cursor on that word and do ctrl-]. This will place you at the man page of ssh_config(5).
   

Sources:

1. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/vim/message/76376
2. http://vim.sourceforge.net/tips/tip.php?tip_id=167
   

parts of a futon frame

The following is a Acme Black Metal Futon Frame containing a full size Futon mattress.

The various parts in this picture are

(A) Left Side Panel
(B) Right Side Panel
(C) Cross Braces (2)
(D) Left Hinge
(E) Right Hinge
(F) Upper Mattress Frame
(G) Lower Mattress Frame
(H) Short Bolts (8)
(I) Long Bolts (8)
(J) Medium Bolts (4)
(K) Protective Pads (4)
(L) Metal Washers (8)
(M1) Lock Washers 1/4'' (8)
(M2) Lock Washers 5/16'' (4)
(N) Large Hex Nuts (4)
(O) End Caps (4)
(P) Small Hex Nuts (8)
(Q) Allen Wrench C-Hooks (2)

(S) Standard Full Size mattress

Parts needed for assembling
(T) Allen Wrench
(U) Hex Wrench


Now, in what way is that useful? I have no idea! Just thought it is interesting!

Books on subversion

The following is a list of books on subversion.

1. version control with subversion by Ben Collins-Sussman, Brian W. Fitzpatrick & C. Michael Pilato. The online edition is available for free at the above website. Paperback edition is also available.
   
   
2. Pragmatic Version Control Using Subversion, 2nd Edition, by Mike Mason. Amazon has a paperback edition of this book.
   
   
3. Practical Subversion, Second Edition by Daniel Berlin and Garrett Rooney. Amazon has a paperback edition of this book.
   
   
4. Subversion Version Control: Using the Subversion Version Control System in Development Projects (Bruce Peren's Open Source Series), by William Nagel. Amazon carries a paperback edition of this book.
   

Please let me know if your favorite book on subversion is not listed here. I can add it.

Update1:- A more comprehensive list is available at http://subversion.tigris.org/links.html#books.

Last activity on this article : March 12, 2007

last drafts of Fortran 95/2003 standards

The last draft of Fortran 95 standard can be downloaded from
http://j3-fortran.org/doc/year/97/97-007r2/pdf/97-007r2.pdf

The last draft of Fortran 2003 standard can be downloaded from
http://www.j3-fortran.org/doc/year/04/04-007.pdf

Relavent links:

• Richard Maine's comments in http://groups.google.com.au/group/comp.lang.fortran/browse_frm/thread/bdbed3abf08af66 explain how close the latest draft and official standard are for Fortran 95.
  
  
• http://groups.google.com.au/group/comp.lang.fortran/browse_frm/thread/40886f321c616621 is the thread from which the above info is gleaned.