Programming Corner

A question was posted on LinkedIn which caused me to get out of my shell and post again. After all, I know all too well how frustrating it is to try to get something to work and not being able to find any meaningful examples on the web (YES... we have all grown fond of Google to find examples and get lazy researching topics, but that's life...) I decided to post some simple examples on how to create MS Word documents from scratch. This is all based on my postings on LinkedIn on this very topic. To read the thread, you may go  here . First question : What is Apache POI? In simple terms, this is an free, open-source software (FOSS) that provide an application interface for Microsoft documents. This product was created by the Apache Foundation POI team. My examples are based on version 3.8. The latest version is 3.9 and there is a beta 3.10 available. Second question : What kind of Microsoft documents? Simply, MS Office documents (i.e. Word, Excel, Power...

This is my very first attempt at blogging. I hope I am not too bad. For my first blog ever, I am choosing a topic that I believe is very important for all students and not just those majoring in Computer Sciences, Software Engineering, etc. Even entry-level professionals might benefit from the contents of this blog. At least, that's what I hope. That said, the example I am using in my blog was the result of a practical exercise I gave my Computer Sciences students a few days ago. I have been teaching part time since 2008. Since I started teaching, I am noticing a trend that alarms me a great deal. It seems to me that students nowadays either lack effective problem solving skills or completely undermine the importance of effective problem solving. In fact, I have even notice this trend on exceptional students. I hope that my effort in shedding some light in the subject is futile. Therefore, I ask of you to leave feedback, positive or negative, once you finish reading ...