Googling: a now-required skill

Posted by Seth Benton on Mar 7 2010 under DSP on the Web   

How many times has Google saved you? If you're a dsp programmer, I'll bet A LOT. These days, there are simply so many answers out there (and a bigillion more added daily), that for any given problem, the solution is out there. Or at least information to point you in the right direction.

I won't claim being an expert. There are other blogs for that. But I thought I'd share a few dsp-related insights that have helped me out immensely.

• It's not all about search engines. Not everything is on google, or buried so deep in the rankings you'll never find it. Know the go-to sites. For dsp, I've found comp.dsp/dsprelated, wikipedia, and dspdesignline.com good resources. If you're programming in MATLAB, the MATLAB file exchange is a godsend. You'll find mountains of dsp code, often implementing the most obscure functions. And the comments on the code are often enlightening. I've also heard TI's attempt at social networking, E2E is good for TI stuff, but haven't tried it.

• It's all about the term. Often, zeroing in on the precise term to search for (on google or using a site's own search), makes all the difference. A search on 'image matching', for instance, will turn up completely different results than 'template matching', or 'image registration'. Even though all three of these terms refer to the same thing, essentially. Search on the wrong term, and it sends you down a rabbit hole. Search on the right term, and the solution can land right in your lap. But how do you discover the right term? One useful google trick is to look at the bottom of the search results under 'Searches related to ___'. Another is to put a ~ before a search. This will return related searches in the mix. Failing google hacks, just keep on the lookout for new terms in documents that are failing you and search on those.

That's all for now. If anyone out there has a good search trick, please leave in the comments!

 

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posted by Seth Benton
Seth is a DSP engineer/technical writer with interest in DSP for the arts. He graduated with an MS in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University (signal processing emphasis), and earned a BS in Audio Engineering from the University of Miami. He is currently enjoying freelancing and having time to blog.

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