Why Would You Assign or Copy a list in Python to be a set?

Problem scenario
You are trying to understand some code. You see a variable in Python that represents a list being cast to a set.

You see something like this in a Python program:

example = [1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3]
new_example = set(example)

You are curious why this would be done.

From the IDE you do (and see) the following:

>>> example = [1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3]
>>> print(example)
[1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3]
>>> new_example = set(example)
>>> print(new_example)
{1, 2, 3}

What would be the benefit of this?

Answer
A set has no duplicate values. It is a quick way to eliminate duplicates.

What Does MoRef Mean or Refer to?

Question
What does MoRef mean?

Answer
It is a portmanteau of "Managed Object Reference." It is a data type that comes up in the context of alerts/alarms in vSphere.

(The answer was adapted from page 152 of PowerCLI Cookbook by Sellers.)

"MoRefs are unique identifiers assigned to objects at the time of their creation." (Taken from page 202 of PowerCLI Cookbook by Sellers.)

Does the Sport You Like Determine How Long You Will Live?

Question
Does an athletic interest affect your life span?

Answer
Possibly. The relationship could be correlative or causal.

The expected average longevity for male athletes was 56 years for cyclists, 66 years for weightlifters, 75 years for rugby players and 92 years for golfers.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8532055/

How Should You Modify the sudoers File?

Problem scenario
You want to modify the /etc/sudoers file. What should you do?

Solution
You may want to back it up. Never modify it with vi, vim or gedit. Use "sudo visudo". Page 433 of A Practical Guide to Fedora and RedHat Enterprise Linux recommends you always use sudo visudo. If you accidentally corrupt the file when modifying /etc/sudoers manually, you can be prevented from using sudo again. Your Linux system may not be recoverable if you cannot use sudo again. There are ways to fix it, but be warned you should always use "sudo visudo" to modify /etc/sudoers.

Is Kubernetes Ending Support for Docker?

Problem scenario
You read that Kubernetes is ending support for Docker. What does this mean for Kubernetes users?

Solution
Probably nothing for most Kubernetes users. Kubernetes is going to support Open Container Initiative images.

Docker is more than a container runtime; its container runtime is containerd (according to twoardsdatascience.com). We expect containerd to be supported for a long time.

To read more about this deprecation/obsolescence, see the following links:

Is There a Difference between Coding Languages and Programming Languages?

Question
You read that there is a difference between coding languages and programming languages. What is the difference?

Answer
The question is theoretical and subjective. Sometimes diction, semantics and job descriptions are not that important.

Coding and programming are different (but there are probably very highly-paid people who disagree). It seems that in certain contexts, rightly or wrongly, people use the terms interchangeably. Most sources say that coding is a subset of programming. "Coding is a fragment of programming …" taken from Techgig.com.

Coding can refer to the task of translating logic into reserved words, variable definitions, and using syntax of a given language to "code" a program after planning has happened. Programming can refer to the task of gathering requirements, creating logic and exception handling, to design a program from a planning perspective. Context can make one term more appropriate than another. Coding can be thought of as more of a hands-on implementation process (e.g., from a senior architect) of writing code. Programming is more formalizing business logic into a solution and whiteboarding while it emphasizes the pre-implementation phase.

Languages can vary from assembly, C, to higher level languages such as object-oriented ones. Many languages are compiled, but not all. Context can dictate the descriptive words such as "coding" or "programming" for such categories of languages.

To learn more about the differences between "coding" and "programming", see these:

You may want to search for "programming vs coding vs scripting" in a search engine to learn more.

If you search on Indeed.com for "coding software" (as just searching for "coding" will bring up medical billing coding jobs), you find far fewer jobs than if you search for "programming."

What is the Insuretech Industry?

Question
You have read about insuretech, but you do not know what it is. What is the insuretech industry?

Background
An economy driven by short-term, niche demands can be satisfied by anonymous providers via recently pioneered mediums of exchanges has created a new area of need for both insurance and technology products.

The modern marketplace of new contracts, anonymous providers, and multiple companies rapidly converging on diverse platforms has created new products and services.

Answer
Insuretech is a collection of products and services pertaining to insurance that are designed to protect modern exchanges with cutting-edge technologies. The traditional insurance model is obsolete for cryptocurrency, the cyberspace gig economy, and modern contractors of numerous emerging fields.

Insuretech is a collection of innovations and knowledge wherein an activity can be insured in a commercial way with a underwriter providing protection and the buyer receiving a benefit or potential benefit in exchange for a premium or fee. Where innovation and insurance meet is the insuretech industry. For more information see this external posting.

The insuretech industry is growing rapidly, and there are many products and services that can help you. To learn more, see these web pages:

Be advised the some companies offer manuscripted, custom insurance. You may need to get such a policy as of 2022 depending on the wording of the contract (e.g., for a freelancer or staffing/consulting opportunity). The peace of mind of having the right insurance is very valuable. Never underestimate the complexity of the law or the multitude of events that can happen. Sadly many contracts can potentially ruin a given party.

If you need to create a legal policy for your website, try termly.

How Do You Get the Docker Service to Start when You Get “Failed to start Docker Application Container Engine”?

Problem scenario
"Failed to start Docker Application Container Engine"

Possible solution
Run this:

sudo systemctl status docker.service

Examine the output. Does the "Drop-In" section include an override.conf file or other wise refer to a .conf file?

Back up the file (e.g., to your home directory).
Remove the original file.
Then run these commands:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start docker