The (turbulent, chaotic or crazy) year 2020 is coming to an end. Many have told me that time goes by very quickly this year due to the pandemic - we all have to stay at home and so forth. Here are some topics I wish to bundle into one post for the future me. I may leave things simple and unorganized, so read at your own discretion.

• Coronaflight-HKG
• Data Structures
• Docker
• Other
• Amoureuse

Data Structures

This year I spent some time in studying advanced data structures. The two types of data structures I've included in the mock seminar were: trees (related to string processing) and distributed data structures.

1. Prefix tree (a.k.a. trie)

Essentially, we have to bear in mind that it can be used to perform prefix retrieval - and the problems with this nature may be attacked with it.

2. Burkhard-Keller tree

We need to be careful when implementing it, like traversal. It is also a good example of mixing algorithms (string metrics) with a data structure (the tree).

3. Skip list

This is an ordered (and randomized and interesting) data structure with applications in distributed systems. We can compare from that aspect with a BST or a self-balancing BST.

4. CRDTs

This is a set of distributed data structures. They are capable of handling concurrent editing, as in collaborative editing. Another famous method is operational transformation.

Docker

I knew how to use Docker, but things can confuse you when you want to optimize your build, refactor your configuration or understand the storage drivers. All in all, Docker is just a tool for automating stuff - if you need extra work on top of the "build" obejctive, you may be using it wrongly. Thanks to my internships, I got the opportunities to brush upon my DevOps skills.

Other

I do have other WIP topics, but let's put them aside and resolve it next year, in other posts.

The semester in France was great, though there was a period of lockdown. I was still able to visit le Louvre, walk along the side of la Seine, have a walk in le Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen and so forth. I won't forget the friends, classmates, professors, people, courses, food, fresh air and the beauty of this brilliant city.