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Welcome to Hello World!
-- Ognen Duzlevski
The advent of computer related technology in the past years and it's more than certain
growth in the ones to come has made it very hard for computer science students to follow
all of the relevant changes in the field. Numerous paradigms, methods, techniques,
languages and platforms tend to confuse the average student of this exciting technology.
It would be unreasonable to expect Universities to be successful (and even able) to
present the average student with the vast amount of knowledge that is being built up in
the field. In the sea of information, the choice in standard University education is to
try to convey to the students the underlying principles that most of the advanced topics
build on (at a risk of ending up conveying something that is pretty far from what is
really going on in the industry) and then leave it to the student to take initiative and
build on these grounds. This is exactly where this magazine starts. It takes on where
conventional education stops and gives the interested reader an insight into "how the
things are done" and "how to make it work". Never has that been needed more
than today when the technology is rapidly changing. Those who do not jump on the bandwagon
of experience and knowledge in time will have more difficulty competing in hostile
corporate environments and will have more difficulty adapting and assimilating the new
knowledge which is constantly incoming. Unfortunately, a hole left in this knowledge tends
to multiply in size very quickly unless patched in time.
In this magazine the interested reader will find the variability that is neither offered
nor published anywhere else. We will take you through the news in the industry, stop by to
look at some conceptual matters in the field, try to show some real world examples of how
to code or design software and even take an occasional philosophical look at the past,
present and the future of the field. It will all be intermixed with topics as diverse as
computer security, game programming and artificial intelligence to name but a few.
In the spirit of the Internet, which overcomes boundaries and borders, we are publishing
this magazine electronically as a joint effort of the cream of Canada's computer science
tomorrow - students that take the time and make the effort to learn something new and
convey that knowledge to their colleagues. Virtually every project today is done in teams
and everyone knows that the team is as good as it's weakest member. By educating each
other we can help ourselves to live better and easier!
It is no wonder this project takes place in Canada. It is a land of diversity and this
magazine is its reflection. We sincerely hope everyone will find a little piece of
something that will captivate him or her for a while. We certainly know we were guided by
the principles outlined above.
Finally, in the light of what we just said above, let's take a look at this pilot issue
and what it brings us. McGill University's William White gives us his own (very feasible)
look at the future of the world as we (don't) know it and Jonathan Tin Lap Ng of Simon
Fraser University masterfully brings you world examples of how to slow down, damage or
destroy your software projects by using the overhyped RAD model unprepared. We feature
articles on hackers and crackers (Karen Lo of Simon Fraser University), computer security
and what dangers await you on the Net and on what ticks behind your Web browser and e-mail
program. Carleton University's Christopher Bark will show you how (not) to abuse design
patterns and you will also see how big industry and students do get along together at
Carleton. Nicolas Ho of Alberta University explains what sexy code is all about and Marc
Audy presents us with a quick run-down of who is who in the field of Artificial
Intelligence. Brock University's chief-editor Tony Abou-Assaleh has some guidelines on how
to do intelligent search and his fellow colleague at the same University, Michael Shields,
tackles the problem of CGI-programming. We believe those interested in programming
graphics will enjoy Concordia University's "hands-on" OpenGL with Microsoft
Foundation Classes article by Ryan D'Silva. And if you are looking for something different
to put on your hard drive - try Memorial University's Dean Parson and his article on the
Linux OS. In the end, we invite you to read a short story titled "The months of the
pilot" where you will find out everything about the history of this project.
Diversity and quality at its best. Enjoy!
Ognen Duzlevski
(for the "Hello, World!" team)
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