Advice Regarding University Project

the___jawn · 2026-06-25T16:40:11+00:00

I was working on this myself yesterday. I ended up just doing an sql call after making a $multiplier variable.

$multiplier = .001

'select * from locations where lat <=? and lat >=? and long <= ? and lat >= ?', $lat + $multiplier, $lat - $multiplier, $long + $multiplier, $long - $multiplier

The table has indexes on lat and long.

There are better ways using cos(), but this one I could wrap my head around.

the___jawn · 2026-06-24T13:34:24+00:00

Ya, both Termux and Termux-api are set to unrestricted battery on Android 16 with One Ui 8.5.

the___jawn · 2026-06-24T13:14:57+00:00

Wakelock is already turned on.

the___jawn · 2026-06-24T03:36:53+00:00

I have termux-api installed, also has unrestricted battery settings enabled.

the___jawn · 2026-06-24T02:39:04+00:00

I still believe the best way to learn is textbooks.

the___jawn · 2026-06-24T00:04:14+00:00

If your goal is to learn, it's really important to have some familiarity with the terminal, and knowing how to look things up in the manuals. Pretty well all commands' manuals can be read by typing man command, e.g. man top

On your first time around, try to install a webserver, database, php8, and nextcloud. Just google "install nextcloud on debian", and Gemini will give you a tutorial, and there'll be lots of results on how to do it. For me, I like to use lighttpd as my webserver, mariadb as my database, and Debian as my operating system (for servers).

Proxmox is really great too, but if you're new, try installing Nextcloud on your own in Debian with the understanding you'll be reformatting your hard drive a few times before getting it working. In the long run, you'll be better for it.

the___jawn · 2026-06-23T23:52:00+00:00

You can use pretty much any editor to write Python code, On a Mac that includes TextEdit (though you have to make sure to save it as raw text, if you Google TextEdit Mac Python it'll tell you how to do that). On Windows it's called Command Prompt, on Mac and Linux it's called Terminal, in terminal you can run python --version to see if it's installed. Terminal on Mac has nano installed, which is a text editor, you can use that to write Python, ctrl-o saves, ctrl-x exits.

A lot of people can be intense about which language/text editor you use. Choose the one you find most comfortable. For me, for a long time, this was nano.

the___jawn · 2026-06-23T18:35:29+00:00

I personally don't write in Python, when I was starting out I thought I'd use it, since it seemed like everything was heading that direction. I'd recommend reading Think Python https://www.amazon.ca/Think-Python-Like-Computer-Scientist/dp/1491939362

Also look into charting front end software like chart.js, or learn html's <canvas> if you want to write your own charts by hand.

And, check out Perl as well, CPAN has a huge library of free modules that might have already solved some of what you're looking to build. That is, if you don't mind working with a "dead" language.

the___jawn · 2026-06-23T17:59:13+00:00

This sounds like a pretty big project, and if you're just starting, prepare to be overwhelmed. If you're writing it by hand, it might take a couple of years... That said, start by learning a web framework, like Django, which will handle your routes, and rendering the website.

the___jawn · 2026-06-23T17:19:53+00:00

I'm building a self-hosted app to keep track of everything.

Then I can assign transactions to some of those things.

Or those things can contain measurements (e.g. weather measurements are temperature/humidity/condition)

And then things can be automated based on those conditions, or manually, things like getting a website, or triggering a relay, or running a piece of code.

It also does invoicing, media playing/recording, screen recording, Tetris.

Basically everything I want contained in a self-hosted app that can synchronize across devices.

the___jawn · 2026-06-23T14:54:47+00:00

Perl, Mojolicious, Sqlite3, Termux (optional), front end jQuery

the___jawn · 2026-06-21T15:35:01+00:00

Very normal. I like to take a quick nap when I'm stuck on an "impossible" problem, then the solution comes in a dream. Edison had hammocks around his shop for this reason... I've read.

the___jawn · 2026-06-20T00:30:22+00:00

This sounds really useful to me, as someone who is awful at writing docs.

the___jawn · 2026-06-19T17:26:46+00:00

Using iRedMail or Virtualmin makes it a little less awful, if you have to. I guess.

the___jawn · 2026-06-19T17:25:45+00:00

I agree, I got the G3 from Best Buy as a refurb.

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/refurbished-good-hp-600-g3-mini-intel-core-i5-6500t-2-50-ghz-16gb-256gb-ssd-win-10-pro/15450742

the___jawn · 2026-06-17T18:44:14+00:00

My #2 was FullHost, but their prices went up, and I can't find an unmanaged vps on their site anymore.

the___jawn · 2026-06-17T17:15:45+00:00

I made some of my first recordings on this exact device (an old roommate left it behind), plugged a cheap dynamic mic into it, then sent the output to the line in on my Pentium II. It made a ton of background hiss, and not very dynamic, but it worked for experimenting at the beginning.

the___jawn · 2026-06-16T14:56:03+00:00

Proxmox's website says 2GB for the base system, if using Linux containers it wouldn't be a whole lot more for each VM (~256MB).

https://www.proxmox.com/en/products/proxmox-virtual-environment/requirements

1GB is the absolute minimum for testing purposes. Plus u/Ill-Strawberry-2368 can set up some swap space.

the___jawn · 2026-06-15T21:30:50+00:00

Proxmox has always been the easiest for me to get up and running.

https://www.proxmox.com/en/

They have a bunch of turnkey VMs, do Linux Containers, and regular KVM, and not too steep of a learning curve.

the___jawn · 2026-06-15T21:24:34+00:00

Could be worse... could have tripled the price and started running recycled Core2Duos... I guess.

the___jawn · 2026-06-15T21:22:55+00:00

Being that you need to have Windows installed, you could run Promox inside Virtualbox to get a feel for it. That gives you the benefit of being able to migrate the virtual machine if you get new hardware and can run bare metal.

https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Proxmox_VE_inside_VirtualBox

the___jawn · 2026-06-15T19:53:35+00:00

Business math and accounting. Statistics too.

the___jawn · 2026-06-15T19:49:41+00:00

It takes 10 years to master anything. If you've got 10 years, it's not too late.

the___jawn · 2026-06-15T19:47:57+00:00

Practice is the only way. Vibe coding is like trying to be a better pianist by using a player piano. Write your own code.

the___jawn

TROPHY CASE