171
There are cases where real code is preferable, and cases where pseudocode is preferable. You shouldn't rely on a simple iron rule, but rather on judgement of what is appropriate to the situation.
Some things to consider:
Programming languages come and go. In the 60s, Fortran was considered a really nice and readable programming language, much easier to ...
49
In my research, I often write algorithms, which may contains statements like:
Find a dominant subspace of a given hermitian matrix A with relative accuracy Ɛ.
Find a nonnegative solution of this system of equations / inequalities.
Sort these eigenvalues from large to small in modulus, discard small ones and reshuffle the eigenvectors accordingly.
These ...
38
Pseudo-code is forever; real languages change all the time.
If you'd published a paper with an algorithm in Python in the Python 2 days there is a significant possibility that the "executable" code that you wrote then will no longer operate correctly if people run it under the latest release, even in less dramatic cases the advance of new libraries and ...
25
The arguments that you have heard are all possibly correct. I have been a reviewer and author of many computer science articles, I would like to answer this question in my way and the way I feel.
Pseudo code is shorter. Given a modern language like Clojure or Python, the real code is often not much longer. Even if it is, (electronic) paper is cheap.
The ...
16
I like the current three top answers right now (by @ObscureOwl and @DmitrySavostyanov and @JackAidley). But I feel like there is one option that is not being represented.
You can provide both the pseudo-code and the real-code.
Most likely the real-code is too long to be provided in-line in your paper.
So you would provide the pseudo-code in the paper.
Then ...
15
In my experience as both an author and a reader it is highly preferable to use real code rather than pseudocode whenever possible. I have never had a reviewer complain when I used real code rather than pseudocode.
Moreover, real code is advantageous not only because the reader can run it themselves but also because the author can run it and make sure they ...
10
Pseudo code lets you focus on the important bits of the algorithm and summarize the rest.
Real code often starts with load some libraries, read in some data, then format/ rearrange it the way you need, no need for that in pseudo code.
Your algorithm might consist of multiple separate steps, some of which are standard, well-understood and boring, others ...
8
I would say this is more convention, as this seems really quite field-dependent. In "combinatorial" discrete algorithms papers, I almost never see real code. Well, a notable exception is Don Knuth's TAoCP, but not everyone is Don Knuth, right?
However, in a field I work in (functional programming), presenting real, runnable code is the norm. Much of the ...
5
I would use research fellow as your title in English and in German use whatever your contract says or research fellow as well. That leaves out the slightly awkward postdoctoral part.
In general, unlike a doctorate, using the title 'postdoc' is not something that people in academia worry a lot about (and outside academia many people will have no idea what ...
4
There does not have to be a clear distinction.
The most important part of pseudo code is, that it should be clear to read. So you do not want to deal with constructs that are not part of the actual algorithm and you do not want to deal with syntax constructs, that are useful in a programming language, but not easy to understand when you do not know the ...
4
A personal statement is set up to describe the development of your interests as they pertain to your graduate program. People apply to graduate programs for many reasons. The backgrounds of applicants may differ widely. The personal statement is an opportunity to tie together your experiences in such a way that they show the school that your skills and ...
4
It may be thin, but you won't know until you write it up formally and submit it to some appropriate journal. The real feedback will come from reviewers and/or the editor.
The question here is just a hypothetical. Make it concrete and ask someone (the editor) who is in a position to make a determination. You will have to make your case there.
In general, ...
4
Is publishing runnable code instead of pseudo code shunned?
Not that I know of, but this probably depends on the specific subculture of the respective field.
In Computer Science is it preferable to describe algorithms using pseudo code rather than real code?
It was (see Owen's answer) and sometimes still can be (see considerations below).
If so, why?
...
3
It will take the search committee a while to complete the first round of review, and often they don't start immediately after the deadline. So a delay of a few days is normally not a problem.
However, a month is really excessive. If that's how long it takes, I think there's a very good chance that they will finish their first round of review before ...
3
In computer science, there is generally no straightforward connection between corresponding authorship and authorship order. There are even some fields, especially in Theoretical CS, where alphabetical ordering is the default. In other fields, seniority of authors (which is correlated to corresponding authorship, as the most senior author is usually most ...
3
This is not really an answer but a (somewhat) relevant anecdote that's too long for a comment. About 20 years ago, I chaired my department's graduate admissions committee. The college had a requirement that new graduate students whose undergrad degree is from outside the U.S. must participate in an orientation before the start of their first semester of ...
3
I think it's fine to call yourself a postdoctoral researcher. After all, that is the job you are doing. As cbeleites' answer points out, a PhD isn't a hard prerequisite for the job, so calling yourself a postdoctoral researcher does not imply that you are a doctor.
3
There was a time when pseudocode was the clear choice, since programming languages were so crude. The 60's and 70's, but later than that -- it takes time to safely assume a language is in general use, and at the time, not using pseudocode just felt weird. I remember pseudocode including such pie-in-the-sky constructs as: "foreach", for-loops, loops at all (...
2
For 2, Vegetarian is quite common in Taiwan since there are significant Buddhism population (around 10% ?) there. You should able to find a greater variety of budget choices with a little effort.
2
Mr. (presumably) Bob, computer scientist, researcher.
You may throw in your MSc (computer science) or Dipl.-Inf. - whichever it is in your case.
For many (most?) such positions (my experience is Italy/Germany) the PhD isn't a hard prerequisite. The actual prerequisite is that you have the required research abilities, and having a PhD is one way to show that ...
2
I think the best personal statements are the honest ones. Your question here might be the first draft of yours. Describe what you studied, why you want to move on to something more concrete and immediately useful/fun. (Be a little less forceful than "hate tuning parameters".) You can explain why simple (perhaps not "mundane") course projects turned you in ...
1
I seem to be in quite a similar position to you myself. I have been working as a Mechanical Engineer in industry for over 10 years since I graduated and I have found myself becoming increasingly disillusioned by the repetitive nature of the work and lack of challenge. I feel like I am not really using my true abilities and not realizing my potential. ...
1
I have been reading here that a PhD can be a waste of time for people that do not seek a purely academic position.
I doubt this is entirely true, and I suspect it is dependent on the field. What about research positions in industry or research centers? Here you have made a start ...
I have already applied a couple of times for research positions in ...
1
I strongly disagree with user117219. When I started my PhD, I was not 100% sure that that was what I wanted; the PhD seemed like an OK option to me at the time. Now I'm an assistant professor, loving my job. Your mileage may vary, and it might not. No way of knowing in advance.
If your personal finances can take the salary hit that comes with transitioning ...
1
State of the art refers only to the very highest accuracy ever achieved up to the point that you write your paper in computer science (I work in the field).
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
