DEV Community: Matt Curcio

Best Flask Tutorials

Matt Curcio — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 17:00:10 +0000

In your humble opinion, What are the top 3 Flask tutorials you have used?

Day 6: How Undo a Git Add All

Matt Curcio — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 16:30:25 +0000

...BEFORE committing

I use git add * a lot.
Actually, I use gita, gits, gitcm, gitp, as they are my Bash Aliases.

Next time, when you git add all and 2 dozen files are inadvertently added. Try these:

git reset - Deducts ALL the files you just staged

While

git reset file_name.ext Deducts ONE from the last staging.

Jus' Remember : The problem with using aliases is that they can become habitual. Not a bad thing, just something to watch for next time.

Day 4: Why Use Principal Component Analysis?

Matt Curcio — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 05:03:53 +0000

I am working on an article that discusses Principal Component Analysis. Here is a sneak-peak.

Principal components analysis is a valuable tool for revealing hidden structure in a dataset with many features/variables. By using PCA, one may be able to:

Identify which variables are important and shape the dynamics of a system
Reduce the dimensionality of the data
Maximize the variance that lies hidden in a dataset and rank them
Filter noise from data
Compress the data
Preprocess data for further analysis or model building.

Day 3: Designing My Own Jekyll Site

Matt Curcio — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 04:28:24 +0000

Greetings all,
I have used Jekyll and Hugo for a while now. I spent the most of this weekend trying to decide which site theme I would use.

What a drag... lol

Would Hugo be easier than Jekyll?
Did this theme

have more features I wanted.

As I looked, I felt none had it all. Therefore, I have decided to design my own site.
I will be starting fresh with a bare-bones "minima" theme and go from there.
Watch my progress: https://mccurcio.github.io/

A New Way To Look At Statistics

Matt Curcio — Sun, 06 Feb 2022 04:00:34 +0000

Machine learning is essentially a form of applied statistics with increased emphasis on the use of computers to statistically estimate complicated functions and a decreased emphasis on proving confidence intervals around these functions”

Ian Goodfellow

Day 1: 100 Days of Data Science

Matt Curcio — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 16:38:45 +0000

Starting Today

I am launching my own 100 days of Data Science. I love statistics and playing with numbers and after 15 years as a Biochemist in Biotechnology, I want to learn ALL about Data Science. ;)

When I worked in one lab, we had a can-do saying I try to emulate.

See one, Do one, then Teach one.

I'm interested in finding a group of "Scientists" who are willing to Learn, Practice, and Teach what they have learned.

I will be working with the software R-cran, RStudio, Anaconda-Python, Ipython Notebooks, SQL and even dabbling with the Julia. I have been using VS Code for Markdown editing, and I am looking forward to using it with Python.

To start, I have several personal resources that I want to share.

Join me,

Matt

Participate in a study: Gender in Online Software Communities

Matt Curcio — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 16:16:06 +0000

Greetings all, I had an interesting time participating in this study.

Check it out: https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~maftounm/

Mahya Maftouni is conducting a user study to explore the role of a design element that emphasizes prosocial behavior in addition to content accuracy in Q&A communities and see if such interventions affect people of different genders.

Who can participate: You are invited to participate if

You are 18 years old or over,
You are a Stack Overflow member and visit Stack Overflow at least monthly,
You have a computer with a browser installed (preferably chrome).

What will you do:
If you decide to participate, you will be asked to interact with a mock Q&A site for 15 minutes. You are not expected to post any questions, answers, or comments. After exploring the prototype, you will be given a short survey that gathers your feedback. In the end, there will be an interview.

Time commitment and compensation:
This study will take approximately one hour. As a thank you for your participation, you will receive $20 CAD (converted to requested currency) at the start of the study. Depending on your preference, it can be provided as an Amazon gift card or cash (via Paypal or e-Transfer).

I had an interesting time participating in this study.

What's the minimum number of HTML tags you need?

Matt Curcio — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 15:45:40 +0000

Does HTML follow Pareto's Law?

I am starting to believe that learning and using HTML are two different things. It's common to find HTML cheat sheets with every known tag. What? maybe 100?

Q1. What's the minimum number of HTML tags you need?

Q2. Does HTML follow the 80/20 rule?

Do you think 80% of all websites use these ten tags?

Tag	Name
`<h1> - <h6>`	Heading
`<p>`	Paragraph
`<em>`	Italic / Emphasis
`<strong>`	Bold / Strong
`<a>`	Anchor
`<ul> & <li>`	Lists
`<blockquote>`	Blockquote
`<hr>`	Horizontal Rule
`<img>`	Image
`<div>`	Division

Job Search Tips 101

Matt Curcio — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 16:47:15 +0000

I hope these tips help focus the CodeChallenge #cnc2021 job hunters. What would you add/subtract?

Find organizations that interest you.
Research organization.
- Use: Google, Linkedin, Twitter,
- Learn about its competitors,
- Note recent important news (Good or bad),
- Prepare company spreadsheet for info (Basic or detailed, up to you),
Study Job Description.
- What do you have?
- What don't you have? (Less Important)
Write out YOUR answers for common interview questions.
- Tell me a little about yourself,
- What are your biggest strengths & weaknesses?
- Where do you see yourself (In x years, up to you)?
- Describe your dream job,
- Why did you leave your last position or What have you done during your employment gap?
- Why do you want this job?
- What type of work environment do you prefer?
- How would your co-workers or managers describe you?
- Why are you the best candidate for this role?
- What achievement(s) are you most proud of?
- Tell me about a challenge you’ve faced at work and how you dealt with it?
Practice your answers out loud.
- Make it feel natural,
STAR: Situation, Task, Action, & Result.
- Explain the Situation; set the 'stage,'
- Task; discuss the task set out for you
- Action; explain the specific actions you took to handle the situation.
- Result; describe the outcome you reached through your actions
- Finally; tie it back to their position with your final sentence.

How to Write Better Questions on StackOverflow

Matt Curcio — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 18:40:35 +0000

Slipped my mind that I could use my brain,

The Lemonheads, Rudderless

I have been reading over novice StackOverflow (SO) questions on its Review queues. People may not be aware that a newbie's first question and answer are reviewed before being displayed on SO. I wanted to share a few things I have seen.

I. Information Overload:
Many beginners post (sometimes regurgitate) huge error messages and vast code chunks onto the site unprocessed. Then add, "I can't figure it out, what's wrong with it..."

So, your problem is hidden in 500 lines of code or error messages. On StackOverflow, you will probably be asked to pair your code.

Stop, take a breath, then examine the messages slowly. ;)

Use the information you have wisely.

If you have 500 lines of code, one tactic is "Divide and Conquer." Why does that sound familiar? Simplify your code or error messages. In my judgment, you can use either Addition or Subtraction.

Build-Up your problem code. Start from a known reliable point, then add one line (one grouping or one function) at a time. Make your function do one small task before adding sophistication.

Conversely, Break-down the code, line by line. Subtract lines, groups, or functions that don't serve the functionality you attempt to produce. Is your issue in that section? Treat it like an experiment.

Ask yourself this, 'which is better to show my co-worker 500 lines or 10-15 lines with a problem in it.'

II. Read the Docs or Manual:
Others go to SO immediately and ask without a thought.

Stop, take a beat, and think.

StackOverflow reviewers do not take kindly to those who do not give the problem a little research first. Find the book or manual. I like reaching for a book when possible. Getting a book reminds me of when I was 12 and told Get the DICTIONARY. The act of thumbing through the pages gave me a moment to breathe and slowly think about the word and its spelling.

Use your Resources wisely!

III. Show Reproducible code:
This last one can be tough BUT very important. SO is for asking specific questions about code. Don't waste 100 words describing your problem when you can show the code. Show your code with some example data! StackOverflow LOVES this! Tell your colleagues what you want the code to do and show them where it goes wrong by adding the inputs that count. Give reviewers something concrete to work with and help you. Without a real example, it is just a debate not help.

I get it. People get overwhelmed, and their brains turn off. I'm sure you know that neuroscience has determined that your prefrontal cortex shuts down when you become anxious. The prefrontal cortex deals with problem-solving and decision making, and if that gets short-circuited, you need to slow down.

How to Ask a Good Question on Stack Overflow!?!

Matt Curcio — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 16:32:43 +0000

I had been on S.O. for over a year (maybe longer) before I gained any substantial privileges. At 500 points, I got to Access Review Queues.

When I found out about Review Queues, I became almost patriotic, lol. I wanted to give back to my new programmer country-men and women. So I dove in.

[Review queues help those] "who may not fully understand the best way to ask and answer questions" - Stackoverflow

When you join Stack Overflow, you get 1 point (woo-who), and your questions are diverted for review. It turns out all newbie questions and answers are vetted before being posted. I bet most of you didn't know that.

What did I learn?

There really is a right and wrong way to ask questions.
Very few people know how to ask a good question right away.
Many tongue-tied programmer Reviewers referred newbies to a pat-posted-answer that absolved them from explaining anything AND (for the most past) being decent to people.

Asking good questions and Googling things is a BIG part of programming and it doesn't need to be difficult.

Remember a few things.

KISS, keep it simple. Ask ONE thing at a time.

BAD:

"I have this problem X... If the problem is not X, Could it be a..., b..., c..., d..., e..?"
- NOTE: Each letter is followed by a VERY long explanation.
"I have this problem. And by the way, I have seven more unrelated ones, while I am here."

GOOD:

"When I read in X.csv file, I am not getting Y, but instead I find Z.
Here is my input, output and a small segment of code.
What could I change?"

What have you experienced on Stack Overflow?

Next time! What is a minimal reproducible example?

Stay with R-cran or switch to Python

Matt Curcio — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 14:20:34 +0000

I have a question for all you data science wannabes. I have been working with the R language for the last year now and have gotten to an intermediate level. I have done several machine learning projects that I really enjoyed.

However, I see soo many articles on Python all over, even here. Therefore, I am considering ditching R in favor of Python.
Any thoughts?