Good tidings

Much has happened since I last blogged. (This is a very predictable consequence of not blogging for three weeks, but it still seemed like a good opener.)

Two weekends ago I was busy scrambling to do my last piece of coursework for the term, having neglected it for the previous four or five weeks. Somewhat to my surprise, I finished it at a reasonable time the night before it was due. I felt slightly guilty, annoyed even, at this because it gives me no motivation to start my next piece of coursework any sooner than a day or two in advance, since "I've done it before." I almost wish I'd got burned this time, just to get some sense knocked into me. (Next one's due at the end of the second week back of the ridiculously-early-starting term. After three exams that week. What do you mean, have I started it yet?)

The coursework (as previously mentioned) was to do with database design, including global constraints and some queries. Half of it was in SQL using Oracle, and the other half was exactly the same as the first half, but using Tutorial D and Rel. Tutorial D is an attempt to be what SQL is not: a database query language that is totally derived from relational algebra in the "pure" sense.

This is the first year that it's been taught at Warwick, because this is the first year that one of the authors has been teaching at Warwick; and long may it continue. I found it a hell of a lot faster to complete that section of the coursework (with 100% marks) than the Oracle section, even starting from just the very basic principles at 9pm. I think this is because SQL is more intuitive (easy to pick up when starting with no knowledge) but Tutorial D is more logical (far less need to look up every little thing because it all derives naturally from the base relational algebra). Oh, and it does global constraints well too. Huzzah!

Other than that, in the past three weeks Kevin and I went down to Essex for a few days to see The Producers with his parents. Since I had something I needed to work on and the rest of my holiday break is promising to be rather hectic, I had a brainwave and excavated my ancient laptop (I've had it 7 years, and it wasn't new then). On went Python and Apache, and my 16MB RAM laptop coped surprisingly well under the circumstances, though my script did take several seconds to run as opposed to the "as fast as it can be output to the screen" that I'm used to.

Kevin and I also went to Homebase last weekend to purchase a Christmas tree. It is now fully assembled (I'm not used to Christmas trees which one has to assemble) and with twinkling lights artfully arranged to hide the fact that there are far too few of them for a 6ft tree.

We voluntarily went to Homebase! We must be getting old.