Distributed computing; dashes and hyphens

Riches Communications Newsletter

Issue 12, December 2003

In this issue:

- Distributed computing
- Dashes and hyphens
- Other web sites of interest

Distributed computing

Distributed computing is helping to find cures for human diseases and disorders, and search for intelligent life in outer space. And you can help! How? With the computer you are using right now.

Data processing for complex scientific research often relies on clusters of supercomputers, running for extended periods, churning through sets of complicated calculations. In contrast, most personal computers do not 'work' very hard. Even with a few applications running, the load on the CPU is usually not very high. Distributed computing takes advantage of this unused power by performing data processing for a research project, with the initial data being downloaded to a users PC and results sent back via the internet. With thousands of participants involved, the processing power that the researchers can access is quite significant.

Two of the most popular distributed computing projects are:

SETI@home - SETI stands for Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, and the project uses distributed computing to analyse data received from outer space (by a radio telescope) for signs of intelligent life.

folding@home - Proteins are formed from amino acids, and then 'fold' to perform specific functions in biological systems. Problems with folding are believed to be responsible for human disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and cystic fibrosis (find out more about folding). The folding@home project uses distributed computing to simulate protein folding.

The projects above can be run in various ways - as a screensaver, standalone program or background process. Owners of dual processor machines can even run two instances of the software, each processing its own set of data. An internet connection is only required to transmit and receive data, not for processing.

Distributed computing projects are a great way to get involved in scientific research—get your CPU working harder today!

Dashes and hyphens

Dashes and hyphens are used to break up writing or to link words together. There are various choices such as em rules, en rules and hyphens, all with their own meaning and rules for correct usage.

The em rule is a long dash, equivalent to the width of a capital M. It can be used to denote a change in meaning in a sentence, as in the last line of the section above on distributed computing. When two rules are used in the middle of a sentence—like this—the text between the em rules can be used to clarify a meaning (similar to using parentheses, although em rules provide more emphasis). Em rules are always unspaced i.e. no space at either end.

An en rule is shorter and is used with words or numbers to convey a link between them. Examples include periods of time (e.g. 2000–2003) or designated routes or combined words (e.g. the London–Paris train). There are no spaces in the examples above between the text and the en rule. A spaced en rule is required if one or both of the words to be linked consist of more than one word e.g. a Boston – New York flight.

A hyphen is shorter again, used most often to designate a break in a word to clarify the meaning. With words such as 'pre-empt' the hyphen avoids any pronunciation confusion from two vowels appearing together in a combined word. Prefixes are often hyphenated, as in 'post-flowering' or 'non-fiction'. Confusingly, some prefixed words are not hyphenated, such as 'coordinate'. The use of hyphens in English varies from country to country, however, and a reliable dictionary should be consulted for guidance.

Web designers should use — as HTML code for an em dash and – as HTML code for an en dash. A hyphen can be inserted with the appropriate key on the keyboard, or the code -.

Em rule (—): —

En rule (–): –

Hyphen (-): -

Other web sites of interest

Jokes Place - Need a joke for a speech or just for a laugh? Try this site.

Wisden CricInfo - The latest news on cricket from around the world.

XE.com - Excellent site for currency exchange rates and calculators.