Progress Report 4: Java

Yesterday we cleaned the home. We didn't just clean it. We made it more cleanable. I love that. One thing that seemed pretty clear to me by the end is that a project completed is worth more than a few projects merely begun. Despite that fact I still kind of want to start the student consulting thing. But for right now there is plenty to do.

I am a little bogged down in Java right now. I think that by the time the program is written I will have to be a Tenderfoot. Right now I am not yet a Scout, much less a Tenderfoot. But I will say that I love it. I think it is powerful, rich, and beautiful. I love the way the structure works. I love the accessibility and the universality. I'd like to find excuses to use the language in my numerical simulations down the road and also in making presentations.

As far as the signal processing side of things I am feeling pretty good now. I found a great text, the computer music tutorial, by Curtis Roads. Then using key words from the text I found referrences to many modern methods for solving the "pitch detection problem." The methods that I came up with on my own were there. But there are many others as well. So the math part I now feel pretty good about. It's just the real time control of sound data using Java that we really need to get a handle on. It's a little iffy whether we will make the deadline or no. It still seems possible. But we'll see.

It sounds like Denis is making some good progress. We'll get there soon enough!
Doug