I have seen many posts saying an interface is bounded by a contract which specifies the way in which it's methods should be implemented. But couldn't get what is meant by that. Could you please explain?
I have seen this mentioned a few times and I am not clear on what it means. When and why would you do this?   I know what interfaces do, but the fact I am not clear on this makes me think I am missing out on using them correctly.   Is it just so if you were to do:  IInterface classRef = new ObjectWhatever()   You could use any class that implements IInterface? When would you need to do that? The only thing I can think of is if you have a method and you are unsure of what object will be passed except for it implementing IInterface. I cannot think how often you would need to do that.   Also, how could you write a method that takes in an object that implements an interface? Is that possible?
In the Landau theory of phase transitions, is the order parameter a thermodynamic variable of state? In the Landau theory of phase transitions, one typically considers a "free energy" $F$ as a function of the temperature $T$ and the "order parameter" $\psi$: $F(T, \psi)$.  For the sake of clarity, let's consider the liquid-gas transition, in which the order parameter is usually taken to be the difference of densities between the ordered phase and the disordered phase.  In this case, it looks that the order parameter $\psi$ is closely related to the the volume $V$, a global variable of state.  What is the correct interpretation of $\psi$ as a thermodynamic variable?   I consider several logical possibilities, but all interpretations look troublesome to me:    $\psi$ is a variable of state replacing the volume. In this case I have a few related concerns:   Is the "free energy" $F$ the Helmholtz or the Gibbs free energy?    If $F$ is the Gibbs free energy, $F$ should depend on the temperature $T$ and the pressure $p$ (the conjugate variable of the volume), so it shouldn't depend on $\psi$.  If it is the Helmholtz free energy, it's ok that it depends on $\psi$, but the experiments are usually carried out at constant pressure, not constant volume.  Usually, state variables are something one can select at will [for instance, think of the phase diagram $(p, T)$]. However, the order parameter $\psi$ is not selected at will, but it is selected by the system as a result of the minimization process according to the Landau theory.  $\psi$ is yet another variable of state in addition to volume and temperature.    Why the pressure is not usually taken into account as a variable of state, and only the temperature is considered? What is the conjugate variable to $\psi$? Can really $\psi$ and $V$ be taken as independent?  $\psi$ is not a variable of state, is something else.   What else can $\psi$ be from the thermodynamic point of view? Same question as above, why is pressure not usually taken into account in Landau theory? In which way does quantum mechanics disprove determinism? What exactly are the Python scoping rules?  If I have some code:  code1 class Foo:    code2    def spam.....       code3       for code4..:        code5        x()   Where is x found?  Some possible choices include the list below:   In the enclosing source file In the class namespace In the function definition In the for loop index variable Inside the for loop   Also there is the context during execution, when the function spam is passed somewhere else. And maybe  pass a bit differently?  There must be a simple reference or algorithm somewhere.  It's a confusing world for intermediate Python programmers. how to get rid of arm64 in apt W: Invalid 'Date' entry in Release file /var/lib/apt/lists/_var_cuda-repo-8-0-local_Release N: Skipping acquire of configured file 'non-free/binary-arm64/Packages' as repository 'http://repository.spotify.com stable InRelease' doesn't support architecture 'arm64' E: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/xenial/main/binary-arm64/Packages  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.88.161 80] E: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/xenial-updates/main/binary-arm64/Packages  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.88.161 80] E: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/xenial-backports/main/binary-arm64/Packages  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.88.161 80] E: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/xenial-security/main/binary-arm64/Packages  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.88.161 80] E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.   After I installed Jetpack for Jetson tx1, my ubuntu constantly tries to fetch arm updates. Is there a way to disable this?  EDIT:   $dpkg --print-architecture amd64  $dpkg --print-foreign-architectures i386 arm64   I see that arm64 is included in foreign architectures. How do I remove it? T SQL Table Valued Function to Split a Column on commas I wrote a Table Valued Function in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 to take a comma delimited column in a database to spit out separate rows for each value.  Ex: "one,two,three,four" would return a new table with only one column containing the following values:  one two three four   Does this code look error prone to you guys? When I test it with   SELECT * FROM utvf_Split('one,two,three,four',',')    it just runs forever and never returns anything. This is getting really disheartening especially since there are no built in split functions on MSSQL server (WHY WHY WHY?!) and all the similar functions I've found on the web are absolute trash or simply irrelevant to what I'm trying to do.  Here is the function:  USE *myDBname* GO SET ANSI_NULLS ON GO SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON GO ALTER FUNCTION [dbo].[utvf_SPlit] (@String VARCHAR(MAX), @delimiter CHAR)  RETURNS @SplitValues TABLE (     Asset_ID VARCHAR(MAX) NOT NULL )  AS BEGIN             DECLARE @FoundIndex INT             DECLARE @ReturnValue VARCHAR(MAX)              SET @FoundIndex = CHARINDEX(@delimiter, @String)              WHILE (@FoundIndex &lt;&gt; 0)             BEGIN                   DECLARE @NextFoundIndex INT                   SET @NextFoundIndex = CHARINDEX(@delimiter, @String, @FoundIndex+1)                   SET @ReturnValue = SUBSTRING(@String, @FoundIndex,@NextFoundIndex-@FoundIndex)                   SET @FoundIndex = CHARINDEX(@delimiter, @String)                   INSERT @SplitValues (Asset_ID) VALUES (@ReturnValue)             END              RETURN END Limits involving factorials $\lim_{N\to\infty} \frac{N!}{(N-k)!N^{k}}$ I am trying to calculate the following limit  $$\lim_{N\to\infty} \frac{N!}{(N-k)!N^{k}}$$ where $k$ can be any number between $0$ and $N$.  I thought of the following:  If I take the logarithm of the expression then I get:  $$\lim_{N\to\infty} \left(\log(N!)-\log((N-k)!)-k\log N\right)$$    Using the Stirling formula this can be approximated as:  $$\lim_{N\to\infty} \left(N\log(N)-(N-k)\log(N-k)-k\log N\right)$$  Now there are two cases: If $k$ is $N$, then the second term vanishes and the remaining terms cancel. If $k$ is smaller than $N$, then I can drop the $k$ inside the second logarithm and all the terms cancel. So the limit $$\lim_{N\to\infty} \log\left(\frac{N!}{(N-k)!N^{k}}\right)=0$$ Which means that: $$\lim_{N\to\infty} \frac{N!}{(N-k)!N^{k}}=1$$ I don't know if this is mathematically rigorous. Would like some help. Thanks My Pakistani passport expires less than a month from now. I understand that some countries only let people in if their passport is valid for six months or more. Will I be able to enter Pakistan on a passport that is about to expire?  Also, travelling back to Pakistan is likely to involve transiting through some other country.  Does the six-month rule still apply to people returning to their country of citizenship? This is a minor frustration, but I have a  that I put italics and bold into (using asterisks.)  Now I know I just just be happy that I could do it at all, but it seems to me that those should not count toward my comment char limit. I converted a raster image to vector in Illustrator CS6 using Image Trace then the Expand option, though when I save as an svg the image looks embossed. I suspect it's due to the layer background being white and the paths not lining up, but I'm unsure how to fix it or prove that theory without manually having to adjust every path.   This is how it looks in Illustrator before I export it:    The image looks like this when saved/exported with art optimized option: How can I store and retrieve a custom list in a blend file? I am trying to create a script that will allow me to generate a list and store it in the blend file. The list starts out blank and then strings get added to the list, resulting in: [&quot;test1&quot;,&quot;test2&quot;,&quot;test3&quot;] I create a PropertyGroup Class for the enum, define a new scene property as a CollectionProperty type with access to that enum Class, before appending a new item into the enum: import bpy  class item_set(bpy.types.PropertyGroup):     myItems = []     enums = bpy.props.EnumProperty(name=&quot;My Items&quot;, items=myItems) bpy.utils.register_class(item_set)  bpy.types.Scene.myItemSet = bpy.props.CollectionProperty(type=item_set)      newItem = bpy.context.scene.myItemSet.add() newItem.myItems.append(&quot;test&quot;)    I need to be able to add items to the list, save the blend file, re-open the file, run the script again and retrieve the list from the scene. However, the  states:  One thing to keep in mind is that after saving and reloading your blend-file, your new property will have disappeared...    ...To make the values you assigned in a previous session available again, you need to redefine the property. So after reopening the blend-file you need to rerun: bpy.types.Object.myProperty = bpy.props.StringProperty()   I can do the appending into and retrieval of the property values absolutely fine upon an initial run, but as the documentation states, the property is unavailable when trying to view it's contents on a reload of the file (after having run the script, saved and re-opened the file), but I am unsure how to redefine it without clearing all it's values. If I redefined the scene property, it would presumably also need the enum Class to be available, which would currently set myItems back to [] (empty). Do I need to change the way I am initially setting the items in the class or am I on entirely the wrong track with all of this? All I need to do is store a list in the blend file, so if there is a better way please let me know. Thanks. (I would hope, eventually, to be able to store sub lists [[&quot;a&quot;,&quot;b&quot;],[&quot;c&quot;,&quot;d&quot;],[&quot;e&quot;,&quot;f&quot;]], I'm just trying to get normal lists to work first.) Dark age of universe when all fusion process ceases? Some say we live in the golden age of the universe because there exits countless number of stars that shines in the dark universe. As the supply of gas for star formation is steadily being exhausted, it is estimated that star formation will cease in 100 trillion years.  Question: Will there be a day that the universe becomes completly dark when all the stars burn out? Does all the cooled bodies eventually collide due to gravitational forces? Will black holes eventually dominate the universe? Why people think dark matter as a massive particle? Couldn't it be gravitational waves? Dark matter is said to be present in the galaxies which helped galaxies to exist in the first place forming the glue to attach all the matter in the galaxies.  Given that dark matter never been seen or detected and only effect of which could be felt why do we believe it would be a particle? We have universe (almost) equally distributed in all directions with dark matter forming the skeleton for all the matter that could be seen. Can the dark matter be a illusion of gravitational waves interfering with each other forming this uniform interference pattern of galaxies/matter that is seen by us?  That would also explain the repulsive dark energy which would be the troughs in the gravitational waves indicating desructive interference in the gravitational waves.  Can we hope to simulating the above to come to the possible conclusion of source(two or many) of these gravitational waves that could give rise to skeleton of dark matter and dark energy which may be present in some higher dimentions? My university's thesis guidelines require that each bibliographic entry appear in whole on a single page, rather than being split across two. How can I prevent (La)TeX breaking a paragraph across a page boundary? I need to delete some rows from one large table. The rows to delete shouldn't be in another table, example:  DELETE FROM LargeTable WHERE id IS NOT IN (SELECT DISTINCT foreign_id from EvenLargerTable)  but my server can't handle such blunt query, because there are almost a million records in the LargeTable and few million records in the EvenLargerTable  How can I solve it? Let $f(x)$ be a monotone non-increasing function such that $\int_{0}^{\infty}f(x) dx$ converges. Prove: $\lim\limits_{x \to \infty} xf(x)=0$. My question is, why can't I simply contradict any other possibility by using the Integral Limit Comparison Test with $1\over x$? I am, after all, to show that $f(x)=o(x)$ as $x\to \infty$. I really don't understand why monotony is crucial here. I could use some help. Is there any shorter pronunciation of W than double-U? When spelling, every letter in the Alphabet is pronounced by a single syllable, with the only exception of W being pronounced "double-U". (Fun fact, in German it's approximately pronounced like the "ve" in very, but in some strike of cosmic justice Y is pronounced "Yps-e-lon") Why is that? Is there any at least semi-officially accepted one-syllable alternative pronunciation of W?  I checked some related post, e.g. , but they are more concerned with the "Why?" instead of the "Why not different?" mod Distributive Law, factoring $\!\!\bmod\!\!:$ $\ ab\bmod ac = a(b\bmod c)$ I stumbled across this problem  Find $\,10^{\large 5^{102}}$ modulo $35$, i.e. the remainder left after it is divided by $35$  Beginning, we try to find a simplification for $10$ to get: $$10 \equiv 3 \text{ mod } 7\\ 10^2 \equiv 2 \text{ mod } 7 \\ 10^3 \equiv 6 \text{ mod } 7$$ As these problems are meant to be done without a calculator, calculating this further is cumbersome. The solution, however, states that since $35 = 5 \cdot 7$, then we only need to find $10^{5^{102}} \text{ mod } 7$. I can see (not immediately) the logic behind this. Basically, since $10^k$ is always divisible by $5$ for any sensical $k$, then: $$10^k - r = 5(7)k$$ But then it's not immediately obvious how/why the fact that $5$ divides $10^k$ helps in this case. My question is, is in general, if we have some mod system with $a^k \equiv r \text{ mod } m$ where $m$ can be decomposed into a product of numbers $a \times b \times c \ \times ...$, we only need to find the mod of those numbers where $a, b, c.....$ doesn't divides $a$? (And if this is the case why?) If this is not the case, then why/how is the solution justified in this specific instance? I'm running a VPS of a german provider and want to switch from Ubuntu to CentOS. There I tried to install firewalld (was not preinstalled), but it always fails with the error  ERROR: Failed to load nf_conntrack module: modprobe: ERROR: could not find module by name='nf_conntrack' modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'nf_conntrack': Function not implemented modprobe: ERROR: Error running install command for nf_conntrack modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'nf_conntrack': Operation not permitted   Obviously the nf_conntrack kernel module was not found. Since this is a VPS, I cannot tinker with the kernel modules. On the support site of my provider I found a list of available kernel modules, for example:  ip_conntrack_netbios_ns ipt_conntrack    ip_conntrack    ip_conntrack_ftp    ip_conntrack_irc   Since nf_conntrack is not listed here, does that mean, that I cannot use firewalld? Is it possible to run it without this module?  I guess I could use iptables, if I wanted to (it seems to run correctly). But as I have more experience with firewalld, I would like to stick with it.    CentOS Linux release 7.7.1908 (Core)  uname -a: Linux xxxxxx.xxxxxxxx.xxx 3.10.0-042stab140.1 #1 SMP Thu Aug 15 13:32:22 MSK 2019 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux Do Wine Viruses only work while Wine is running? How will Ubuntu automatically allocate the disk partition sizes when we select Erase disk and install Ubuntu during installation?    Can the settings for automatic space allocation be changed?