AMC Property Tax Payment Made Online

Nice initiative by AMC by allowing payments for property tax to be online. However the payment by net banking has some glitches.Go for payment by cards.

Getting rid of the 'Aw snap' on Chrome

Suddenly today as i opened the Google Chrome, i found something very strange. Every time i tried opening a page it didn't. Instead, i was greeted with the annoying 'Aw-snap' that the page is unavailable. I tried using the 'settings' page but that wouldn't open either.
I tried using another browser and found that my internet connection was working fine. After googling, i finally found a solution:

1. Open "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\"(without quotes) on the file explorer
2. Rename the 'Default' folder to something else , eg. "BackupDefalut"
Now one may face the problem in renaming the folder as the system would prompt as : "Unable to rename as being used by another programme" So one needs to go the Task Manager and end the process "Chrome.exe"
3. Now we need to restart Chrome and it should work
4. You will notice that due to this your old profile is gone,however one may sync it back by signing into the google account.

Hope it was helpful. Thanks!

Auto forwarding sms

Recently i was trying a way to auto forward the incoming sms from one phone to another. I stumbled upon the app MacroDroid Its almost a perfect app for doing automated tasks like auto forwarding sms, alarm, reading out messages and many more.

Its based on trigger action and configure where you need to create a trigger and the corresping action alongwith some configurations(if any).

Here is an example to auto forward any sms:

1. Create a new Macro
2. Add the trigger : Incoming sms from a contact (one can choose among contacts,unsaved contacts,etc)
3. Add the corresponding Action, in this case, forward the sms . Add the contact to whom the sms is to be forwarded here.
4. Add the constraints if any for the trigger to work.

UPDATE:
After using the app in different phones, i faced a problem that the app doesn't seem to work as expected on Mi phones. The main reason behind it is to do with the ROM of the Mi phones being configured such that it doesn't allow all applications to run in the background by default. Hence the MacroDroid app was getting killed once the user either locks the phone or some other priority app being opened.

Though the problem can be solved only after Mi releases an updated version for their ROM , here is a tweak to make the app not being closed in the background automatically.

Go to Settings->Permissions->AutoStart->. Here you will find a list of various apps . Choose the aap you need to autostart and make it active.

Next go to Settings->Permissions->Permissions-> . Here you need to grant the corresponding permissions to allow the app to use.

Next go to Settings->Battery->Manage apps battery usage->Choose apps. Choose the required app and after selecting the app choose on No restrictions

Hope the post was useful. Please leave behind comments if you face some issues. Thanks.

Enabling VoLTE in Redmi 3S

I bought Redmi 3S recently.Though it is a VoLTE enabled handset,the signal is not shown. So on inserting the Jio Sim card, i couldn't see the VoLTE signal. To overcome this here's a small tweak : Go to Settings -> Sim cards and mobile networks -> Here you will find the sim cards 1 and 2 Go to the specific sim card where there is Jio Sim Next go to Access point names . Here you need to add a new APN with name as Jio 4G and APN as jionet Next go to more and save the settings. The APN will reset. You should be able to see the VolTE/HD sign now. If not, try changing the Access Point to something else and again switch back to the newly set Access Point. Voila! the VoLTE should be back.

It may happen that after this even if u disable mobile data it may not be disabled. So for that you need to go to the network settings as mentioned above and Restore default APN . Now you should have a working VoLTE as well as internet.

All the best.

Digits/Life of PI

Well this post comes mainly after watching Life of Pi and being inspired by it. I always wanted to solve this problem PIVAL but never quiet got the kick untill watching the movie.

Till date about 10 million digits of PI have been successfully known. I started with Machin's Machin's formula which gives correct values till 100 decimal places. Then i came upon this formula by Chudnovsky which helped me to calculate around 35000 digits of PI within the time limit specified (~25 secs). On applying binary splitting and a customized square root function (Newton's method) i was able to improve to 37000. Hope to increase more and in search of better results.

Modifying the Euler Totient Funtion

Hi All, Came across an interesting problem and thought of sharing it. Most would know about the ETF , which basically helps one to count the number of integers co-prime and less than N . However to get the count of integers which are co-prime to N but less than a specified limit (say M <= N ) is not so common.

At first i thought of modifying the ETF calculation ETF calculation by initialising result to m . The results were 'almost' accurate but not correct. So as a turnaround , i got a different approach. We can factorise N and then from M do an inclusion-exclusion principle on the factors of N . i.e say the factors of N are p1,p2,p3..pk . Then the required solution would be : M - sum(M/pi) (1<=i<=k) + sum(M/pi*pj) - ..sum(M/pi*pj*..pk)

Though i had got the result but coding it was the next challenge. 1. First step was easy as it involved just factoring N . (O(sqrt(N)))
2. Next we had to get all combinations of the factors, in other words all the subsets. This can be done by bitmask technique, i.e consider binary representation of integers and if the ith bit is set then the integer is in the set . We can store each subset in a vector and then based on the size of the subset calculate the denominator with appropriate sign!
3. Thus we can calculate the answer perfectly. :)

Hope it was useful. Finally a post after almost 6 months.Been really busy , specially after getting into this corporate world.

A tutorial on trees

I came across this site eternally confuzzled which seems really good on data structures, specially trees and thought of sharing it..Hope it's useful :)

divisibility by 7

Hi, recently i came across a problem where it was required to check if a number is divisible by 7 . Though quiet an elementary task, i think its not very commonly known. This is what i found.
Test 1:
Reverse the number . Mulitply each digit of this reversed number by the digits 1(=1%7),3(=10%7),2(=100%7),6(=1000%7),4(=10000%7),5(=100000%7) consequtively till all digits are covered. Sum the products. If this value is divisible by 7 then the original number is too.
Actually these numbers are the cyclic remainders of division by 7.
Test 2:
Take the last digit of the number and subtract it from the number formed by the remaining digits.If this value is divisible by 7 then the original number is too. We can do it recursively to reduce the number .

Hope that helps.

Pointers

Hi, recently came across an article which through some questions, has great explanation of pointers . They show that arrays are not pointers which is common pitfall.
Here's the link:
Pointers
Njoy reading. :)

Adding Javadoc of a jar in eclipse

Hi, recently i was facing with this problem of how to add the javadoc files of a jar in eclipse. I used netbeans earlier in which it was a simple process but here its not so straightforward.
First go to configure build-path of the project and select the jar in libraries tab. On expanding the jar file add the javadoc location to it and you'r done.
Hope its hopeful.

Some pearls of wisdom

Recently i came across few articles which were very inspiring especially for programmers.
They generally are concerned about how one must learn a language, start programming and ask relevant questions
Here are the links:

How to ask the smart way
Short simple examples
Why everyone's in a rush?

Hope it was useful.

Finding the shortest distance connecting 3 points

I came across another interesting problem, THREETW1 in spoj, thanks to hwk . Here we need to calculate the co-ordinates of the point which connects 3 points in shortest path.
For this problem we need to find the Fermat point . We first calculate the barycenter of this point from the sides of the triangle and then represent it in cartesian form.
This problem has application in finding the point where 3 points would be linked most efficiently , specially in cable wires and telephones.
Happy coding!!

Finding whether a point lies inside a polygon

Hi, it's been a really loong break. Well after getting into the corporate world, you hardly get time!
I recently came across a problem TETRAHED in SPOJ which asks us to find whether a point lies inside a tetrahedron or not.
It seems quiet an interesting problem as the solution can be extended to any polygon.
In this we need to find the barycenters of the required point and then check the signs of the barycenters. If they are same then we can say that the point lies inside the region.
The problem has its application in geometric modelling and in graphics.
Enjoy!!
IMPORTANT LINKS:
1.My DISCUSSION
2.triangle centers
3 tutorial

Down the memory lane...

I feel quiet sentimental as i write this. Its been 4 winks of time since i stepped into a place , getting where needs you to beat around 350000 more aspiring candidates. As i appeared today for the very last time for my semester exam i felt that this can't be it. I mean how could it end just like this , would there be no more bunking classes,tests, no Ctrl+C followed by Ctrl+V ?? Was this the end ?
After i finished the exams and stepped out of the academic building,I stood there in a haze just gazing at it. The very place, getting into was something big for me 4 years ago when i had once gone passed it.
It was on 28th April 2007 when i stepped in and found around 100's alike lined up in a queue in front of HALL 9 all waiting to enroll themselves. We all were tensed not knowing what would happen in a place completely different to whatever most of us had been exposed so far.
I was lucky to have Partho Debnath as my first friend there and my roommate. I still remember how in the first week there both of us would explore most of the rooms of Hall 9 trying to make friends and learn about them . It was a great feeling that people throughout India were under a roof. Then perhaps the most dreaded moments came when boys visited each others rooms to know which zone he belonged. (you know why?) We had friendly interactions with our seniors who embraced us into their college families and thus our journey started.
Time flew past and soon we were sophomores. I was again greatful to have Navin Kumar Verma,a.k.a Navin ji as my roommate who inspired me greatly to believe that All is well :). I also met Anand Verma[a.k.a baba] , who till date gets up at 6 in morning , does some excercises, freshens up and then only studies and yes who also goes off to sleep by 11 at night.
Tests, assignments, proxies and bunking classes summed up the next years and we were sophomores no more.
Third year came and with it the tension to get a good internship . Sab lag gaye daud mein (including me). Inbox of IIT professors were flooded and many industries too gave us
opportunities. I too did my project on Android platform which was quiet satisfying.
Well third year too passed by as we now entered into the final lap.
We were now the BTech seniormost and that gave a completely different though not new feeling. Soon campussing started and most of us got placed at good places. Soon it was my chance and i too got placed. :) At first it felt that now what? But then i realised that Mukit'11 was coming up and we had to make it large. It was a grand success with participants all over the world (we had some online events too.) Mukti ended , now what, two months passed by and entered April and it was project time. I would be highly greatful to Howlader Sir who helped a lot in my Cryptography project. What a guide!
Soon exams were knocking and though we had only a couple of papers and we knew it would end before we would realise it. So finally it ended within a span of 5 days and now i sit before my computer writing this and realising that yes this is it. Well one phase of my journey has ended but there are many a miles to walk before i stop. Its been a great golden period of my life, emboidered by moments like India winning the World cup. Oh! that tumbling in mud in Hall 9 to running on streets in the final year. These moments would be treasured for ever.
Lets see next is what?

One of my favourite songs

Just love this song, "Sau gram zindagi" sung by Kunal in Guzaarish.
Here's just a try:

The Cup that matters!

Really thrilled today as most of you are after we won the all important battle.. yes the cup that matters the most is finally with us, and we can now proudly say that yes we are the CHAMPIONS of the cricketing world.

It was a dream come true and perhaps the only achievement left to achieve for the greatest cricketer on Earth, the great Sachin Tendulkar. What hasn't he done for the INDIAN cricket!! and aptly Virat Kohli says, "..he has carried the INDIAN cricket on his shoulders for the past 21 years and we are just carrying him on our shoulders for sometime.." after the historic win.

I believe what Gary and Dhoni have done and made this INDIAN cricket team is remarkable specially after all the controversies under Greg Chappel era. Gary now seems just another INDIAN .. :)
The attitude of MSD is immense and you could sense it with the way he ended the match, the way he spoke and silenced the critics by his bat.. as they say.. "bite is more effective than the bark"!

For us(me and all those in 2007-2011 batch) it couldn't have been a better adieu to our golden period of life. They won it for us when we entered this phase and they gifted us with even a bigger Cup when we are about to embark on the Corporate journey of our lives.
Often we used to cherish the moments when we won the T-20 world cup only to relive it now even in a bigger style.
I once again feel honoured to be an INDIAN and can proudly say to have lived in an era where GOD lived amongst us.

Winner for a couple of hours

Hi all, felt really happy to be the first one to submit a solution to this spoj challenge. This is a challenge problem so the shorter the code, the more points. Well i did remain the winner till a couple of hours till my code length was beaten by numerix, who is one of the best python coders around.
Hoping to improve my code and learn more python.

DesktopAlarm_v2

Hi, recently working on making a better version of Desktop Speaking Alarm.
Here's the latest version.
Improvements:
1. The application now works in background once you set the timer.
2. The clock set is a 24 hour one.
Please leave you reviews.

Fun with perl-- Terminal Animation

Here's some fun for you. Want to turn you terminal to a live aquarium with sharks and ships roaming around?? Here's what you need to do:
1. Install Term-Animation from here
2. Extract the package using tar -xvf filename
3. cd to the directory formed after extraction and run :
perl Makefile.PL && make && make test
4. sudo make install
5. Install AsciiAquarium from here.
6. cd to the directory and type sudo cp asciiquarium /usr/local/bin
7. sudo chmod 0755 /usr/local/bin/asciiquarium
8. Now to test the application , type:
/usr/local/bin/asciiquarium
or
perl /usr/local/bin/asciiquarium
Here's a screenshot of the animation:

That't it hope you enjoy!
P.S Source: nixcraft

Installing NS2 in Ubuntu gets easy

Hi friends, the following is one of the easy procedures to get ns2 (Network Simulator) running on Ubuntu:
1.Download the .rar file form here.
2. Now extract it (u need unrar programme for that).
3. You would find some .deb packages. Just right click on each and choose "Open with Package Installer".
4. Open the terminal and type: ns . If you see a % sign then you have successfully installed ns2
5. Now to test the simulator, type in terminal : ns example.tcl and a simulator should pop up.(You need to write a sample tcl for this or you may donwload the example tcl file from here).
That's it , congratulations,you have installed ns2 without much hasstles i suppose. :)

P.S:
1. While installing the packages with the package manager, some error messages may come , so leave those packages, and proceed with next and then come back to it.

2. A tutorial on ns and tcl can be accessed here.
3. Through the above method one won't be able to edit the source code of ns , so for that one can downlaod the ns-allinone RC7 from here . Extract it and do ./install . Then one needs to add some path variables in ~/.bashrc file (you will be told after the install process) and then run ./validate inside the ns folder