Asking questions without making code public.

[chouhaizi]

Hi, I recently struggled through a project.

How can I get hints without making my current progress with the code public? i.e posting my code and the questions would be stupid.

It was a nightmare as I struggled through alone because the people from my class seemed pretty clueless too.

No idea what my mark will be but I am not optimistic, as I realised some of the crazy stuff I had coded after submission.

[cnoeval]

Ask your teacher or hire a Tutor? Find a mentor you can communicate with privately?

[Disch]

Why can't you post your code publicly? I don't think teachers would discourage people from seeking outside help as long as they aren't getting other people to do their work for them.

But if your teacher does have some stupid rule where you can't do that... then that sucks. I guess private tutoring would be the next option.

[chouhaizi]

When questioned about such things lecturers are very cagey. The norm is to say go over the practicals and exercise sheets (which is what he said to a friend who asked questions). But after doing so for so long one starts to lose hope.
I thought I had it working at one point then after submitting realised I didn't.. tut tut..

I hadn't thought of a mentor.. Cheers

[chouhaizi]

I think it is standard Uni rules mate, yep, it sucks.. I was horrified when I looked at my code the day after submitting lol.

How to find a good mentor or tutor, quick google in my area doesn't bring up much.

I have had a tutor once and I didn't really find them any more useful than the internet helpers..

[ModShop]

Don't your professors/TA's hold office hours? While I only visited with mine to get to know them, they were almost always helping people with problems and were happy to do so. Going to see your professor to get help shows that you are dedicated and care about the class, so beyond just figuring out the solution it goes a long way to do so.

[chouhaizi]

Like I said, when asked questions about projects, the response is 'see the practicals and exercises'.

I am not going to whine on about the lectures because it is pointless, I am looking for a fix, and as I am pretty much broke I need a cost effective solution. (But not so broke that am not willing to pay for a little tutoring if the value is there).
And time is also an issue as the course is only a twelfth of the whole. I don't mind failing as I know it isn't the end of the world, though after all the time and effort put in (alone) a fail is like a big kick in the teeth.

[dhayden]

This sounds very odd to me. I'm sure it's against the rules to use someone else's code, but that's no reason why you shouldn't be able to post your own when asking a question. If someone uses it, that's their mistake, not yours, and he shouldn't blame the victim (you) because someone else used your code.

That said, if you're still uncomfortable posting your code then I suggest you
- make a public post describing the problem and saying you can't post the code.
- ask if you can PM the code to some kind soul who might help.

[tipaye]

posting my code and the questions would be stupid

Don't worry about that, you'll find that even what you consider stupid is over someone else's head and vice versa.

Remember the guy who invented the "Buoyancy Operated Aquatic Transporter", how do you think he felt when the patents clerk couldn't stop laughing?

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, but there are people on the internet, including this site, who will enter into private correspondence and help you out free of charge. I don't think it hurts to ask, and I don't think it's against the forum rules. If it is, oops.

[MiiNiPaa]

Can you identify the problem you struggle with right now and localize it? That way you will avoid posting just assigment and your full code. You might need to post code snippet with localized proble, but if you really know what your problem is, you can just write it for scratch to illustrate your question.

For example, your question on large project dedicated to maintaining some registry can be:

I have a vector of structures. I need to sort it by several fields, for example sort by family name, and people with same family name should be sorted by given name.
Problem is, I have about 10 fields and user can select any amount of them in any order to sort by. Creating comparator for every case is impossible.
What is the best way to do it?

You do not really tell what are you creating, nor did you post any code, but question is clear and easy to answer.

[chouhaizi]

Buoyancy Operated Aquatic Transporter, that is something I never heard until today.

I hate to bother people with my problems but I realise I am screwed if I cannot get over it.

Thank you all for your response, I now have a clue of how to tackle such issues.

All the best.