Good Bye Cruel World :)

[Brian Flewwelling]

:rolleyes:

I have long known i was not the fastest horse in the barn, but i think i see the big checker-board sign at the end of the road.

I have messed with horse data in Access for 7 years. And full time in VB for about 3 years. I now can produce my own speed figs and show pps from my database... using free data from our friends at Equibase.

I was starting to have delusions of progress but, alas, along come some colts who have just learned to spell Access, and they are going to over-take me. That isn't the problem, being over-taken. But to do it one of them set aside 2 DAYS, and another one planned on a long NIGHT. :D :D :D


Guess i will just have to settle for being a track pony in the little time i have left.

Fleww

[ranchwest]

I used to work with a guy who said he could re-write any program in 90 days.

I never saw him complete anything.

[cj]

The main part of my program took several months to write, working 4-6 hours per day. People think I'm nuts, but I would do it all again if need be.

[sjk]

As I have posted elsewhere, I spent thousands of hours developing my program as well. I don't mind it when others set out thinking that they can achieve the same ends in a matter of days. They have to start somewhere and this may provide the first step in a valuable project.

What bugs me is when people tell you what can't be done. Just because something can't be done overnight, or can't be done via the first thought that pops into your mind, or can't be done by someone unwilling to put the necessary time and thought into it, does not mean that it can't be done.

A computer can win at this game and that is a fact.

[Tom]

As Dave Schwartz, a renowned programmer once said (on this forum!)..."Let's WALK down the get them all!"
Hang in there.

[HIGH ROLLER]

it's all trial and error

[ranchwest]

Originally posted by HIGH ROLLER
it's all trial and error

Mostly error. :)

[BeatTheChalk]

Completely took me down on the floor .. gasping for
breath and laffing so hard....that the dog called 911...
They said .." Oh it's you again Sugar ...dont worry ..Earl
will be ok in a while ..."

[Dave Schwartz]

Beat,

LOL - That was quite an image you created there. I can just see the dog barking into the phone.


Dave

[Dick Schmidt]

CJ and all,

I have just one thing to say to all you "labor of love", write your own program types: make lots of backups!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a backup in the other room, in a friends house, in a safety deposit box, in another state. Do it often and do all of them. I know two people who lost over 1,000 hours of work to hard disk problems. That's just gotta hurt.

Dick

Been there, done that, have the tee shirt.

[Tadek]

Brian
The software business is known to attract three types of people: programmers, consultants and BS’ers. Programmers can develop software, consultants can analyze it, BS’ers learn sophisticated terms, talk a lot and declare that they can develop in half-time and at half-price.

Might be that you’ve met two of them.

Regards

Tadek

[BeatTheChalk]

LOL And she is quite a handicapper in her own right. We put
some black stuff on her paws and she walks over each page in
the form....I cant tell you the rest of the system though..I have
promised the dog to keep it as our own !! But the best thing
she does is find me sitting .. working ... THEN without warning
it is run jump and bump.

[ranchwest]

Originally posted by BeatTheChalk
Completely took me down on the floor .. gasping for
breath and laffing so hard....that the dog called 911...
They said .." Oh it's you again Sugar ...dont worry ..Earl
will be ok in a while ..."

Hehehe

Aren't you glad you got that phone with the over-sized keys? It's a real life saver (when used in conjunction with man's best friend).

My dog understands stretch runs. He backs off until he finds out if it's a "dang it" or high fives all around.

[NoDayJob]

Originally posted by sjk
A computer can win at this game and that is a fact.

I don't believe a computer can win at this game without a competent software designer/handicapper writing the program. Just like AI doesn't exist without the human brain being involved.

NDJ

[cj]

Originally posted by Dick Schmidt
CJ and all,

I have just one thing to say to all you "labor of love", write your own program types: make lots of backups!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a backup in the other room, in a friends house, in a safety deposit box, in another state. Do it often and do all of them. I know two people who lost over 1,000 hours of work to hard disk problems. That's just gotta hurt.

Dick

Been there, done that, have the tee shirt.

Been there, done that, LOL. I have several backups.

[sjk]

NDJ,

If you didn't start off as a competent software designer/handicapper, after the thousands of hours it would probably take to get to the end you would very likely be one.

If you already have considerable experience with the handicapping, at least you have ideas on where to start looking. If you were a beginner at both handicapping and software design it could indeed be a long road.

[BillW]

Originally posted by NoDayJob
I don't believe a computer can win at this game without a competent software designer/handicapper writing the program. Just like AI doesn't exist without the human brain being involved.

NDJ

It depends on if you are actually talking about implementing effective AI, or displaying a human readable past performance from a bris CSV file or any of the various possibilities in between.

There are many avenues for the non experienced software designer to take for making his/her own software. Many non programmers effectively use Excell/Access and VB. There are other routes.

For a 500K line AI/statistical analysis program suite, I would agree with you that a little more competence would be warranted.

Bill

[NoDayJob]

Originally posted by sjk
NDJ,

If you didn't start off as a competent software designer/handicapper, after the thousands of hours it would probably take to get to the end you would very likely be one.

If you already have considerable experience with the handicapping, at least you have ideas on where to start looking. If you were a beginner at both handicapping and software design it could indeed be a long road.

Agreed!

[NoDayJob]

Originally posted by BillW
For a 500K line AI/statistical analysis program suite, I would agree with you that a little more competence would be warranted. Bill

500k lines of "C" or 500k lines of assembler?

NDJ

[Tadek]

Gentlemen,

Believe me or not but I have an automatic evaluation method which produces positive results. It requires an initial adjustment to the current meet on the track and some profiling. I’ve tested the system on four tracks over one year and it always produced better return-profit then my manual handicapping (lower winning percentage though) and all of those profiles were positive.

Regards

Tadek

[BillW]

Originally posted by NoDayJob
500k lines of "C" or 500k lines of assembler?

NDJ

C/C++ would be a strong candidate for a project of this size, depending on the implementor, of course. Good optimizing compilers available today have negated the need for assembly language in most application level work.


Bill

[NoDayJob]

Originally posted by BillW
C/C++ would be a strong candidate for a project of this size, depending on the implementor, of course. Good optimizing compilers available today have negated the need for assembly language in most application level work. Bill


I use "X" basic for my programs.

http://xbasic.sourceforge.net/

http://www.xbasic.org/

http://www.maxreason.com/software/xbasic/share.html

[BillW]

Originally posted by NoDayJob
I use "X" basic for my programs.

http://xbasic.sourceforge.net/

http://www.xbasic.org/

http://www.maxreason.com/software/xbasic/share.html
NoDayJob,

Not a bad way to go at all (hence my comment "Depending on the implementor":)). Language is a means, successful handicapping is the end. Getting there is a fun and interesting journey.

For those who are shy about trying programming, xbasic is a good thing to look at also.

Bill

[plainolebill]

Bill,

Do you know anything about 'Liberty Basic"? I've seen it mentioned and they have a fairly comprehensive website.

Thanks

[BillW]

Originally posted by plainolebill
Bill,

Do you know anything about 'Liberty Basic"? I've seen it mentioned and they have a fairly comprehensive website.

Thanks

Actually I haven't fooled with any type of basic in 25 years. I am somewhat familiar with the general evolution of the language though (and have seen a few comments around specifically re. xbasic). It is quite a bit more useful than the max 2 characher variable name/line numbered stuff that I once learned on. It is still quite a bit more friendly to the beginner than a lower level language environment such as C/C++ and a more useful language in 2004.

Bill

[osophy_junkie]

For anyone looking to get started with software design.

http://www.ibiblio.org/obp/thinkCSpy/

[NoDayJob]

Originally posted by osophy_junkie
For anyone looking to get started with software design.

http://www.ibiblio.org/obp/thinkCSpy/

Python is really for people with lots of data base experience. There are better languages for the neophyte.

NDJ

[osophy_junkie]

Originally posted by NoDayJob
Python is really for people with lots of data base experience. There are better languages for the neophyte.

NDJ

NDJ,
What is your source of this information? Python is no better for people with database experience than C or Basic is. SQL and PL/SQL are nothing like python syntax, nor does python make use of any common database idioms for data storage.

I belive python to be the best language for the neophyte, Besides reading like psuedo code, it has the ability to be used interactively. It has a very large standard library, offering many useful features out of the box.

Ed

[NoDayJob]

Originally posted by osophy_junkie
NDJ,
What is your source of this information? Python is no better for people with database experience than C or Basic is. SQL and PL/SQL are nothing like python syntax, nor does python make use of any common database idioms for data storage.

I belive python to be the best language for the neophyte, Besides reading like psuedo code, it has the ability to be used interactively. It has a very large standard library, offering many useful features out of the box.

Ed

My associate uses Python along with "C" for data base applications. "X" basic works just fine for my purpose, even though I know other languages. Since my software isn't for sale, I program down and dirty and it works. It boils down to personal preference.

NDJ