Speech:Spring 2011 Scott Log


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 * Spring 2011
 * Proposal
 * Report

Week Ending March 8th, 2011
Task:

For this iteration of the project, my role was to continue with the project proposal, and merge remaining information into the document. I also wrote an abstract describing the project for the URC.

Result:

I was able to complete most of the proposal. Some of the steps included may need a little bit of clarification, but for the most part, everything seems to be well done. Communication is certainly getting better as the project progresses, and all team members seem to be more accessible. Given the nature of writing the proposal, my step comes last, so I really need to give the other team members enough time to complete their tasks, as they are more technical. Merging the information is mainly a matter of editing, which has proven to be time-consuming, and an ongoing process. The abstract was to be a paragraph about the project. It took a while to write even though it was short, and I am looking forward to feedback on both to make improvements. The idea was to be as succinct as possible in explaining what we are doing, and what the purpose is. This abstract is going to be presented to the URC as an introduction to the project, as Capstone is going to become a requirement for upcoming CIS majors. The abstract is due by March 4, 2011, so ensuring its clarity will be priority in order to keep with the deadline.

Plan:

I plan on making any needed corrections or adjustments to the proposal and abstract given the feedback. Also, the training section needs to ultimately be filled out. I also plan to read more about Unix, so if need be I could help another group if they need it. I will ultimately be communicating with at least the team leaders about their progress and with Chris about the wiki and VPN.

Concerns:

My only concern was the last sections in section 3 regarding the training. KC was kind enough to share her class notes with me so I could get a better understanding of the process, and I can reference Mike on Thursday with more questions. Also, the sections regarding the test sets may need some additions.

Week Ending March 22nd, 2011

 * Task:


 * Results:


 * Plan:


 * Concerns:

Week Ending March 29th, 2011

 * Task:

My task for this week was to start figuring out how to make a tool for setting up experiment directories according to the experiment directory structure we will use. Given the nature of the work we are doing, and based on the discussions we have already had, it seems that a convenient way would be to use a web application that uses PHP and SQL. (NOTE: Mike-jonas 14:30, 2 April 2011 (UTC) No, see my comment at end of this section).


 * Result:

I did some research by going back through old assignments I have done for previous class to look at how we could create a simple application to record experiments. The first step will ultimately be to have the database set up, but it is possible to start work without it if we agree on the data fields and their names.

We could basically have a simple web application that allows someone to log in, and then access a blank “form” page that can be used to input results. The results would be stored upon hitting the “submit” button into our database. There could also be a page that one could use to “view results”. This page would simply access the database and display information already stored.


 * Plan:

The form could be developed using html. Then PHP and MYSQL commands could be tied in for the actual application part. The database shouldn’t be too hard to get set up either, as it will not be very complex. Once we know exactly what the datafields are I can write out all the code for the application. This week, I will work on making a skeleton for the application. This could be the basic html and PHP, and even some “generic” MYSQL commands that only need the correct datafields put in. I plan on communicating closely with James and KC to get a more clear idea of what the database and database application should look like, and will let them know if I’m having trouble This should be done by our meeting on April 5th.

As a side, I also spent some time with SSH and PUTTY to get use to using UNIX to access my machine. I am still getting acquainted with this, but will do more over the week as for exploring my machine. I have also been looking up general information on Sphinx and Switchboard given the resources posted on the class site and Google.


 * Concerns:

I don’t have too many concerns this week. I think that it should go pretty smoothly, and consistent communication should be enough to get the job done. My main concern is how exactly the experimental database and application should look, as this will affect how the code is written.

COMMENT: Mike-jonas 14:30, 2 April 2011 (UTC) I think Scott was a little lost here until he met with me. He is not working with a database but with a directory structure containing data...they are not the same. The experiment database, which is a separate task, is being handeled by another class and part of KC's responsiblity is to be their contact.

Week Ending April 5th, 2011
Tasks

Thursday 3/31

Met with Professor Jonas to discuss writing a PERL script that can copy a directory structure for ease of logging new experiments. He gave some insight on PERL and how to write the script. I have also been looking at perl.org, which is a great starting point to get to know PERL. I still need to do more research, but will begin trying to write a basic script that can be manipulated at later date to fit our needs.

Friday

N/A

Saturday

Started working on PERL script to recreate data directories based on the original script Professor Jonas and I had talked about.

Bmq29 Check out the script that I have written and put up on Foss. It's almost complete just needs a few more things, I'm all done on it before Thursday night though. Takes the transcript, parses a line, creates a directory for audio/transcript and pulls out the audio for that conversation. Experiment directory layout is a little different than it, but shouldn't be that hard to fix. It then parses and tries to fix that piece of the conversation. it's written in perl. Hopefully it can help you out.

Sunday/Monday

For some reason I couldn't upload a post on sunday. I am still learning about perl, and will continue some more into the night here and maybe tomorrow morning if need be. I have been looking online and reviewing what Professor Jonas had talked about as well as Brian's script. PS: Thanks.

Results

I am still learning about PERL. I tried editing the script that Professor Jonas gave me to start with. I basically just changed some of the syntax to match the updated directory structure:

A good reference that I was using was perldoc.perl.org. I spent the majority of my time reading through the documentation. I also spoke with Chris about actually running perl scripts. I'm still a little confused, but it seems like I need to be using a computer with something like Xampp. I will try again on my machine, as some of my experimenting was in the lab. I also lloked through Brian's script, and will reach out to him and Matt to become better acquainted with PERL and UNIX.

Plan

My plan for next week is be more of an expert in PERL in UNIX. This will help me from pointlessly searching the web and getting stuck. Putting it into practice is the most important part, and I will hopefully be able to bother Matt and Brian enough to get everything working. My thought is to further edit the script that I have, as this one is basic. I'm still learning, and need to take more of a step-by-step, piece-by-piece approach.

Concerns

As with any kind of programming, my concern is getting everything to work, and learning the syntax. I've had problems with PUTTY and getting on to the caseser, and then my machine, and will reference Matt about this, and actually getting a script to run, which I think Chris cleared up for me. I will reach out with problems though.

Week Ending April 12th, 2011
Tasks

Server was down. Did not keep up with writing daily logs. Was sick over the weekend into monday, and didn't get much done. Continued to read about PERL and UNIX. Looked over Matt's Capston Poster. The poster is going to be revamped.

Results

I played around with my machine (Mathusalix). My goal was to move the expdir.pl file onto that machine. I didn't have much luck, but I think I can get it.

Plan

My plan is to keep working with UNIX and PERL to get the script right. I will reference Brian and Matt if I get stuck.

Concerns

My concern is my lack of knowledge with UNIX and PERL, but there are a lot of good resources online.

Week Ending April 19th, 2011
Tasks

Friday - NA

Saturday - NA

Sunday - I'm late posting. I haven't had much time to experiment yet. I was swamped with work from another class and have been doing that all day, and am heading off to bed. I will be bale to focus on the script tomorrow night though.

Monday - No real success yet. I went online to learn more about perl. Managed to log into machine, but still looking up information on ftp and sftp. Downloaded Strawberry Perl on my local machine. I've really just trying to run scripts, even if it's "hello world". I have been using an online book called "Learning Perl" from Safari books. It seems pretty basic. I learned that you have use the chomd unix command to have the system recognize the script as a program. I'm still a bit lost.

Tuesday - Not sure if this counts for this week or next, but I got to sit down with Chris who gave me a crash course in Unix. This was super helpful, and my task now seems much easier. A week of frustration was solved in minutes. We created the script, and used sftp to "put" onto caesar, and then onto methusalix. Google turned out to be a great resource (i.e. "running perl scripts", etc.). I then ran the perl script. There is an error in my syntax somewhere, and I think it has to do with that it references "./" which is the directory we're in...don't know if that makes sense or not. I can now at least put the scripts on my machine though, and then test them, and then debug.

Results

The week started pretty poor, but turned out successful as I can move the scripts to my machine and run them. From there, it's a matter of editing code and testing. I learned that we use sftp (another putty application faciliates this) to "open host)", and then I can change to local directory (lcd) on the machine I'm on, and then put ("put ExpDir.pl"). From there, I can sftp root@methusalix on ssh, and then put ExpDir.pl onto methusalix. Then exit, and ssh methusalix. LS shows it's there and then perl ExpDir.pl runs it.

Plan

My plan for this week is to edit the script so that when I run it it actually creates the correct directories and files.

Concerns

My concern is my general lack of experience with UNIX and Perl, but will continue to utilize other class members. I at least can run the scripts now though.

Week Ending April 26th, 2011
Tasks

Been playing catch up, and really didn't do much besides read more about Perl. Next week will be more productive.

Week Ending May 3rd, 2011
Tasks

Weds-Sat

N/A

Sunday

Read through the report so far, and began reading back through everyone's journal entries to start putting together some of the other sections.

Monday

Still working on rough draft of report to post to wiki.

Tuesday

Started not feeling well. I will have my sections complete before Friday.