| The first step in creating effective data is knowing which kind of data to create. A good repertoire of data types is a key part of a programmer's toolbox. A tutorial in data types is beyond the scope of this book, but the "Data Literacy Test" will help you determine how much more you might need to learn about them. |
The Data Literacy Test Put a 1 next to each term that looks familiar. If you think you know what a term means but aren't sure, give yourself a 0.5. Add the points when you're done, and interpret your score according to the scoring table below. _____ abstract data type | _____ literal | _____ array | _____ local variable | _____ bitmap | _____ lookup table | _____ boolean variable | _____ member data | _____ B-tree | _____ pointer | _____ character variable | _____ private | _____ container class | _____ retroactive synapse | _____ double precision | _____ referential integrity | _____ elongated stream | _____ stack | _____ enumerated type | _____ string | _____ floating point | _____ structured variable | _____ heap | _____ tree | _____ index | _____ typedef | _____ integer | _____ union | _____ linked list | _____ value chain | _____ named constant | _____ variant | | _____ Total Score |
Here is how you can interpret the scores (loosely): 0 14 | You are a beginning programmer, probably in your first year of computer science in school or teaching yourself your first programming language. You can learn a lot by reading one of the books listed in the next subsection. Many of the descriptions of techniques in this part of the book are addressed to advanced programmers, and you'll get more out of them after you've read one of these books. | 15 19 | You are an intermediate programmer or an experienced programmer who has forgotten a lot. Although many of the concepts will be familiar to you, you too can benefit from reading one of the books listed below. | 20 24 | You are an expert programmer. You probably already have the books listed below on your shelf. | 25 29 | You know more about data types than I do. Consider writing your own computer book. (Send me a copy!) | 30 32 | You are a pompous fraud. The terms "elongated stream," "retroactive synapse," and "value chain" don't refer to data types I made them up. Please read the "Intellectual Honesty" section in Chapter 33, "Personal Character"! |
Additional Resources on Data Types These books are good sources of information about data types: Cormen, H. Thomas, Charles E. Leiserson, Ronald L. Rivest. Introduction to Algorithms. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. 1990. Sedgewick, Robert. Algorithms in C++, Parts I-IV, 3d ed. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1998. Sedgewick, Robert. Algorithms in C++, Part V, 3d ed. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley, 2002. |