[Informatics] Informatics data structures

[timmer at westnet.com.au]

Hello Mark
actually, provided you don't enter it into the same column, Excel lets
you do SUM(A:A) which is effectively SUM(column A)
RegardsRobert T-A

----- Original Message -----
From: "Year 12 VCE Informatics Teachers' Mailing List" 
To:"Year 12 VCE Informatics Teachers' Mailing List" 
Cc:
Sent:Mon, 5 Sep 2016 15:28:22 +1000
Subject:Re: [Informatics] Informatics data structures

Hi Quentin
Oooh. Your reference to "within and across sheets in spreadsheets"
made me think of worksheets, which may possibly be considered a
'structure'. Thanks!
I consider a 'structure' to be a defined and organised collection of
more primitive entities.  - A record is a defined set of
fields.  - A table is an organised set of records.  - A VLOOKUP
table in Excel is a delimited selection of rows and columns.
With such a definition in mind, it is interesting that Excel does not
treat rows and columns as structures.  It does not recognise the
concepts of fields or records, except when groups of cells are defined
in VLOOKUP or HLOOKUP formulae. (Are there others?) 
AFAIK there is no spreadsheet function that can do something like
SUM(Column A) or AVERAGE(Row 32). Instead, the range of the relevant
cells must be enumerated, e.g. SUM(A1:Z10).
Happy I am to be contradicted
Yoda Mark
On 5 September 2016 at 14:00, Lydall, Quentin C  wrote:
    I am sure that data structures refers to the tables, records and
fields in RDBMS as you say, Mark, and to rows and columns within and
across sheets in spreadsheets. The terminology is what we used in
commerce and industry as analyst programmers.    Quentin Lydall
Teacher        34 Alkara Avenue  Lara, Victoria 3212  P: 03 5282
8988 F: 03 5282 818  M: 0412523007 
E:lydall.quentin.c at edumail.vic.gov.au [2]  www.larasc.vic.edu.au [3] 
[4]       
   From:  on behalf of Mark 
Reply-To: Year 12 VCE Informatics Teachers' Mailing List 
Date: Monday, 5 September 2016 at 1:47 PM
To: Year 12 VCE Informatics Teachers' Mailing List 
Subject: [Informatics] Informatics data structures

   How now, brown cow, 
 Info U3O2 KK3 refers to  "data structures relevant to selected
software tools". 
 First, I wonder, _who_ has 'selected' these tools - the examiner or
the student?  
 - If the examiner has selected them, they have forgotten to name them
in the study design.  - If the student selects them, how can they be
examined, apart from, "Select and name a data structure. (1 mark)" 
 Then I wondered _which_ data structures are relevant to Info.  
 None is named in the study design. Sure, SD gets it easy: it is told
to cover arrays, records, and associative arrays, but Info has to work
it out alone. 
 Are we to interpret the KK as referring to: 
 - VLOOKUP tables (Excel) - tables, records and fields (RDBMS) 
 - files? But not even CSV is covered in Info and (obviously) scary
stuff like XML won't apply. 
 Can anyone think of any other relevant data structures for
Informatics?

 What if we just teach kids the Expectiminimax Tree, and the Fibonacci
Heap and hope they can mention them on the exam? 
 With a friendly moo, Mark 
 -- 

 Mark Kelly

 mark at vceit.com [9]
 http://vceit.com [10]                                 
-- 

Mark Kelly

mark at vceit.com [11]
http://vceit.com [12]  

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[4] http://www.facebook.com/LaraSecondaryCollege
[5] mailto:informatics-bounces at edulists.com.au
[6] mailto:mark at vceit.com
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