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XML - Managing Data Exchange/XSLT and Style Sheets

In previous chapters, we have introduced the basics of using an XSL stylesheet to convert XML documents into HTML. This chapter will briefly review those concepts and introduce many new ones as well. It is a reference for creating stylesheets.

XML Stylesheets
The eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) provides a means to transform and format the contents of XML document for display. It includes two parts, XSL Transformation (XSLT) for transforming the XML document, and XSLFO (XSL Formatting Objects) for formatting or applying styles to XML documents. The XSL Transformation Language (XSLT) is used to transform XML documents from one form to another, including new XML documents, HTML, XHTML, and text documents. XSL-FO can create PDF documents, as well as other output formats, from XML. With XSLT you can effectively recycle content, redesigning it for use in new documents, or changing it to fit limitless uses. For example, from a single XML source file, you could extract a document ready for print, one for the Web, one for a Unix manual page, and another for an online help system. You can also choose to extract only parts of a document written in a specific language from an XML source that stores text in many languages. The possibilities are endless!

An XSLT stylesheet is an XML document, complete with elements and attributes. It has two kinds of elements, top-level and instruction. Top-level elements fall directly under the  root element. Instruction elements represent a set of formatting instructions that dictate how the contents of an XML document will be transformed. During the transformation process, XSLT analyzes the XML document, or the source tree, and converts it into a node tree, a hierarchical representation of the entire XML document, also known as the result tree. Each node represents a piece of the XML document, such as an element, attribute or some text content. The XSL stylesheet contains predefined “templates” that contain instructions on what to do with the nodes. XSLT will use the  attribute to relate XML element nodes to the templates, and transform them into the result document.

Let's review the stylesheet, city.xsl from chapter 2, and examine it in a little more detail:

Exhibit 1: XML stylesheet for city entity

 Since a stylesheet is an XML document, it begins with the XML declaration. This includes the pseudo-attributes  and. They are called pseudo because they are not the same as element attributes. The standalone attribute allows you to directly specify an external DTD The  tag declares the start of the stylesheet and identifies the version number and the official W3C namespace. Notice the conventional prefix for the XSLT namespace, xsl. Once a prefix is declared, it must be used for all the elements. The <xsl:output> tag is an optional element that determines how to output the result tree. The  element defines the start of a template and contains rules to apply when a specified node is matched. The  attribute is used to  (match) the template with an XMLelement, in this case the root (/), or whole branch, of the XML source document. If no output method has been specified, the output would default to HTML in this case since the root element is the start tag The  element is an empty element since it has no character content. It applies a template rule to the current element or the element's child nodes. The  attribute contains a location path telling it which element's content to process. The instruction element  extracts the string value of the child of the selected node, in this case, the text node child of

The  element defines the rules that implement a change. This can be any number of things, including a simple plain-text conversion, the addition or removal of XML elements, or simply a conversion to HTML, when the pattern is matched. The pattern, defined in the element’s  attribute, contains an abbreviated ../XPath/ location path. This is basically the name of the root element in the doc, in our case, "tourGuide."

When transforming an XML document into HTML, the processor expects that elements in the stylesheet be well-formed, just as with XML. This means that all elements must have an end tag. For example, it is not unusual to see the  tag alone. The XSLT processor requires that an element with a start-tag must close with an end tag. With the  element, this means either using   or   As mentioned in Chapter 3, the   element is an empty element. That means it carries no content between tags, but it may have attributes. Although no end tags are output for the HTML output, they still must have end-tags in the stylesheet. For instance, in the stylesheet, you will list:  or as an empty element. The HTML output will drop the end-tag so it looks like this:  On a side note, the processor will recognize html tags no matter what case they are in - BODY, body, Body are all interpreted the same.

Output
XSLT can be used to transform an XML source into many different types of documents. XHTML is also XML, if it is well formed, so it could also be used as the source or the result. However, transforming plain HTML into XML won't work unless it is first turned into XHTML so that it conforms to the XML 1.0 recommendation. Here is a list of all the possible type-to-type transformations performed by XSLT:

Exhibit 2: Type-To-Type Transformations

The  element in the stylesheet determines how to output the result tree. This element is optional, but it allows you to have more control over the output. If you do not include it, the output method will default to XML, or HTML if the first element in the result tree is the element. Exhibit 3 lists attributes.

Exhibit 3: Element output attributes <SMALL>(from Wiley: XSL Essentials by Michael Fitzgerald)</SMALL>

XML to XML
Since we have had a lot of practice transforming an XML document to HTML, we are going to transform city.xml, used in chapter 2, into another XML file, using host.xsd as the schema.

Exhibit 4: XML document for city entity

Exhibit 5: XSL document for city entity that list cities by City ID

Exhibit 6: XML schema for host city entity

Exhibit 7: XML stylesheet for city entity

 * Although the  is set to "xml", since there is no   element as the root of the result tree, it would default to XML output.
 * is a top-level element that creates a group of attributes by the name of "date." This attribute set can be reused throughout the stylesheet. The element  also has the attribute use-attribute-sets allowing you to chain together several sets of attributes.
 * The  produces the XML stylesheet processing instructions.
 * The element  creates a comment in the result tree
 * The  element allows you to add an attribute to an element that is created in the result tree.

The stylesheet produces this result tree:

Exhibit 8: XML result tree for city entity

The processor automatically inserts the XML declaration at the top of the result tree. The processing instruction, or PI, is an instruction intended for use by a processing application. In this case, the href points to a local stylesheet that will be applied to the XML document when it is processed. We used  to create new content in the result tree and added attributes to it.

There are two other instruction elements for inserting nodes into a result tree. These are  and. Unlike, which only copies content of the child node (like the child text node), these elements copy everything. The following code shows how the copy element can be used to copy the city element in city.xml:

Exhibit 9: Copy element

The result looks like this:

Exhibit 10: Copy element result

The output isn't very interesting, because copy does not pick up the child nodes, only the current node. In our example, it picks up the two city nodes that are in the city.xml file. The copy element has an optional attribute, use-attribute-sets, which allows you to add attributes to the element. However, it will leave behind any other attributes, except the namespace, if it is present. Here is the result if a namespace is declared in the source document, in this case, the default namespace:

Exhibit 11: Namespace result

If you want to copy more from the source file than just one node, the  element includes the current node, and any attribute nodes that are associated with it. This includes any nodes that might be laying around, such as namespace nodes, text nodes, and child element nodes. When we apply the  element to city.xml, the result is almost an exact replica of city.xml! You can also copy comments and processing instructions using  and  where   is the value of the name attribute in the processing instruction you wish to retrieve.

Why would this be useful, you ask? Sometimes you want to just grab nodes and go! For example, if you want to place a copy of city.xml into a SOAP envelope, you can easily do it using. If you don't already know, Simple Object Access Protocol, or SOAP, is a protocol for packaging XML documents for exchange. This is really useful in a B2B environment because it provides a standard way to package XML messages. You can read more about SOAP at www.w3.org/tr/soap.

Use an XML editor to create the above XML Stylesheets, and experiment with the  and   elements.

Templates
Since templates define the rules for changing nodes, it would make sense to reuse them, either in the same stylesheet or in other stylesheets. This can be accomplished by naming a template, and then calling it with a  element. Named templates from other stylesheets can also be included. You can quickly see how this is useful in practical applications. Here is an example using named templates:

Exhibit 110: Named templates

Templates also have a mode attribute. This allows you to process a node more than once, producing a different result each time, depending on the template. Let's create a stylesheet to practice modes.

Exhibit 12: XML template modes

 * tells the processor to look for a template that has the same mode attribute value
 * returns the current node which is converted to a string with Using  will also return the current node.

The result isn't very flattering since we didn't do much with the file, but it gets the point across.

Exhibit 13: Result from above stylesheet

By default, XSLT processors have built-in template rules. If you apply a stylesheet without any matching rules, and it fails to match a pattern, the default rules are automatically applied. The default rules output the content of all the elements.

Sorting
Writing “well formed” code XML is vital. At times, however, simply displaying information (the most elementary level of data management) is not all that is necessary to properly identify a project. As information technology specialists, it is necessary to fully understand that order is vital for interpretation. Order can be attained by putting data in a format that is quickly readable. Such information then becomes quickly usable. Using a comparative model or simply looking for a specific name or item becomes very easy. Finding a specific musical artist, title, or musical type becomes very easy. As an Information Specialist, you must fully be aware that it often becomes necessary to sort information. The basis of sorting in XMLT is the xsl:sort command. The xsl:sort element exemplifies a sort key component. A sort key component identifies how a sort key value is to be identified for each item in the order of information being sorted. A Sort Key Value is defined as “the value computed for an item by using the Nth sort key component” The significance of a sort key component is realized either by its select attribute, or by the contained sequence constructor. A Sequence Constructor is defined as a “sequence of zero or more sibling nodes in the stylesheet that can be evaluated to return a sequence of nodes and atomic values”. There are instances when neither is present. Under these circumstances, the default is select=".", which has the effect of sorting on the actual value of the item if it is an atomic value, or on the typed-value of the item if it is a node. If a select attribute is present, its value must be an Xpath expression.

The following is how the <xsl:sort> element is used to sort the output.

Sort Information is held as Follows: Sorting output in XML is quite easy and is done by adding the <xsl:sort> element after the <xsl:for-each> element in the XSL file.

Exhibit 14: Stylesheet with sort function

This example will sort the file alphabetically by artist name. Note: The select attribute indicates what XML element to sort on. Information can be SELECTED and SORTED by “title” or “artist”. These are categories that the XML document will display within the body of the file.

We have used the  function to sort the results of an   statement before. The sort element has many other uses as well. Essentially, it instructs the processor to sort nodes based on certain criteria, which is known as the sort key. It defaults to sorting the elements in ascending order. Here is a short list of the different attributes that sort takes:

Exhibit 15: Sort attributes

The sort element can be used in either the  or the   elements. It can also be used multiple times within a template, or in several templates, to create sub-ordering levels.

Numbering
The  instruction element allows you to insert numbers into your results. Combined with a sort element, you can easily create numbered lists. When this simple stylesheet, hotelNumbering.xsl, is applied to city_hotel.xml, we get the result listed below:

Exhibit 16: Sorting and numbering lists

Exhibit 17: Result hotelNumbering.xsl 1. Bull Frog Inn 2. Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur 3. Pan Pacific Kuala Lumpur 4. Pook's Hill Lodge

The expression in  is evaluated and the value for   is based on the sorted node list. To improve the looks we are adding the format attribute with a linefeed character reference (&#xa;), a zero digit to indicate that the number will be a zero digit to indicate that the number will be an integer type, and a period and space to make it look nicer. The format list can be based on the following sequences:

Exhibit 17: Numbering formats – Uppercase letters – Lowercase letters – Uppercase Roman numerals – Lowercase Roman numerals – Numeral prefix – Integer prefix/ hyphen prefix To specify different levels of numbering, such as sections and subsections of the source document, the  attribute is used, which tells the processor the levels of the source tree that should be considered. By default, it is set to, as seen in the example above. It also can take values of  and. The  attribute is a pattern that tells the processor which nodes to count (for numbering purposes). If it is not specified, it defaults to a pattern matching the same node type as the current node. The  attribute can also be used to specify the node where the counting should start.

When level is set to, the processor searches for nodes that match the value of  , and if it is not present, it matches the current node. When it finds the match, it creates a node-list and counts all the matching nodes of that type. If the  attribute is listed, it tells the processor where to start counting from, rather than counting all nodes

When the level is, it doesn't just count a list of one node type, it creates a list of all the nodes that are ancestors of the current node, in the actual order from the source document. After this list is created, it selects all the nodes that match the nodes represented in count. It then maps the number of preceding siblings for each node that matches count. In effect,  remembers all the nodes separately. This is where  is different. It will number all the elements sequentially, instead of counting them in multiple levels. As with the other two values, you can use the  attribute to tell the processor where to start counting from, which in effect will separate it into levels.

This is a modification of the example above using the :

Exhibit 18: Sorting and numbering lists

Exhibit 19: Result – hotelNumbering2.xsl 1.1 Bull Frog Inn 1.2 Pook's Hill Lodge 2.1 Pan Pacific Kuala Lumpur 2.2 Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur

The first template matches the root node and then selects all  nodes that have   as an ancestor, creating a node-list. The next template recursively processes the  element, and gives it a number for each instance of   based on the number of elements in the attribute. This is figured out by counting the number of preceding siblings, plus 1.

Formatting
Formatting numbers is a simple process so this section will be a brief overview of what can be done. Placed within the XML stylesheet, functions can be used to manipulate data during the transformation. In order to make numbers a little easier to read, we need to be able to separate the digits into groups, or add commas or decimals. To do this we use the  function. The purpose of this function is to convert a numeric value into a string using specified patterns that control the number of leading zeroes, separator between thousands, etc. The basic syntax of this function is as follows: The following are the characters and their meanings used to represent the number format when using the format-number function within a stylesheet:
 * is a string that lays out the general representation of a number. Each character in the string represents either a digit from number or some special punctuation such as a comma or minus sign.
 * is a string that lays out the general representation of a number. Each character in the string represents either a digit from number or some special punctuation such as a comma or minus sign.

Exhibit 20: Format-number function Symbol             Meaning 0              A digit. #              A digit, zero shows as absent. . (period)     Placeholder for decimal separator. ,              Placeholder for grouping separator. ;              Separate formats. -              Default prefix for negative. %              Multiply by 100 and show as a percentage. X              Any other characters can be used in the prefix or suffix. ‘              Used to quote special characters in a prefix or suffix.

Conditional Processing
There are times when it is necessary to display output based on a condition. There are two instruction elements that let you conditionally determine which template will be used based on certain tests. These are the  and   elements.

The test condition for an  statement must be contained within the   attribute of the   element. Expressions that are testing greater than and less than operators must represent them by “&gt;” and “&lt;” respectively in order for the appropriate transformation to take place. The  function from XPath is a Boolean function and evaluates to true if its argument is false, and vice versa. The  and   conditions can be used to combine multiple tests, but an   statement can, at most, test only one expression. It can also only instantiate the use of one template.

The  element, is similar to the   statement in Java. By using the  element, the   element can offer a many alternative expressions. A choose element must contain at least one when statement, but it can have as many as it needs. The choose element can also contain one instance of the otherwise element, which works like the final else in a Java program. It contains the template if none of the other expressions are true.

The  element is another conditional processing element. We have used it in previous chapter exercises, so this will be a quick review. The  element is an instruction element, which means it must be children of template elements. evaluates to a node-set, based on the value of the select attribute, or expression, and processes through each node in document order, or sorted order.

Parameters and Variables
XSLT offers two similar elements,  and. Both have a required  attribute, and an optional   attribute, and you declare them like this:

Exhibit 21: Variable and parameter declaration <xsl:variable name="var1" select=" '' "/> <xsl:param name="par1" select=" '' "/>

The above declarations have bound to an empty string, which is the same effect as if you had left off the select attribute. With parameters, this value is considered only a default, or initial value to be changed either from the command line, or from another template using the  element. However, with the variable, as a general rule, the value is set and can't be changed dynamically except under special circumstances. When making declarations, remember that variables can be declared anywhere within a template, but a parameter must be declared at the beginning of the template.

Both elements can also have global and local scope, depending on where they are defined. If they are defined at the top-level under the <stylesheet> elements, they are global in scope and can be used anywhere in the stylesheet. If they are defined in a template, they are local and can only be used in that template. Variables and parameters declared in templates are visible only to the template they are declared in, and to templates underneath them. They have a cascading effect: they can spill down from the top-level into a template, down into a template within that one, etc, but they cannot go back up!

We are going to hard-code a value for the parameter in it's declaration element using the  attribute.

Exhibit 22: HTML results

The value that you pass in does not have to be enclosed in quotes, unless you are passing a value with more than one word. For example, we could have passed either country="United States" or country=Belize without getting an error.

The value of a variable can also be used to set an attribute value. Here is an example setting the countryName element with an attribute of countryCode equal to the value in the variable:

Exhibit 23: Attribute of countryCode

This is known as an attribute value template. Notice the use of braces around the parameter. This tells the processor to evaluate the content as an expression, which then converts the result to a string in the result tree. There are attributes which cannot be set with an attribute value template:
 * Attributes that contain patterns (such as  in  )
 * Attributes of top-level elements
 * Attributes that refer to named objects (such as the  attribute of  )

Parameters, though not variables, can be passed between templates using the  element. This element has two attributes,, which is required, and  , which is optional. This next example uses with-param as a child of the  element, although it can also be used as a child of.

Exhibit 24: XSL With-Param

 * Here we match the  nodes that were returned in the   node set.
 * , as discussed earlier, calls the template named
 * The element  tells the called template to use the parameter named , and the select statement sets the expression that will be evaluated.
 * Notice the declaration for the parameter is in the first line of the template. It instantiates  to an empty string, because the value will be replaced by the value of the expression in the   element's   attribute.
 * outputs a line feed in the result tree to make the output look nicer.

Exhibit 25: Text results – withParam.xsl City Name: Belmopan Number of hotels: 2 City Name: Kuala Lumpur Number of hotels: 2

The Muenchian Method
The Muenchian Method is a method developed by Steve Muench for performing functions using keys. Keys work by assigning a key value to a node and giving you access to that node through the key value. If there are lots of nodes that have the same key value, then all those nodes are retrieved when you use that key value. Effectively this means that if you want to group a set of nodes according to a particular property of the node, then you can use keys to group them together. One of the more common uses for the Muenchian method is grouping items and counting the number of occurrences in that group, such as number of occurrences of a city

Text Results – muenchianMethod.xsl City Name: Atlanta Number of Occurrences: 1 City Name: Athens Number of Occurrences: 1 City Name: Sydney Number of Occurrences: 1

Datatypes
There are five different datatypes in XSLT: Node-set, String, Number, Boolean, and Result tree fragment. Variables and parameters can be bound to each of these, but the last type is specific to them.

Node-sets are returned everywhere in XSLT. We've seen them returned from  and   elements, and variables. Now we will see how a variable can be bound to a node-set. Examine the following code:

Exhibit 26: Variable bound to a node-set

Here, we are setting the value of the variable  to the node-set   from the source tree. The  element is a child of city, so the output generated by apply-templates is the text node of. Remember, you can use variable references in expressions but not patterns. This means we cannot use the reference  as the value of a   attribute.

String types are useful if you are interested only in the text of nodes, rather than in the whole node-set. String types use XPath functions, most notably,. This is just a simple example:

Exhibit 27: String types

This is in fact, a longer way of saying:

Exhibit 28: Shorter version of above It is also possible to declare a variable that has a number value. You do this by using the XPath function.

Exhibit 29: Declaration of variable with number value

You can use numeric operators such as + - * / to perform mathematic operations on numbers, as well as some built in XPath functions such as  and.

The Boolean type has only two possible values, true or false. As an example, we are going to use a Boolean variable to test to see if a parameter has been passed into the stylesheet. Exhibit 30: Boolean variable to test

We start with an empty-string declaration for the parameter. In the  attribute of , the   function tests the value of. If the value is an empty string, as we defined by default,  evaluates to , and the template is not instantiated. If it does have a value, and it can be any value at all,  evaluates to.

The final datatype is the result tree fragment. Essentially it is a chunk of text (a string) that can contain markup. Let's look at an example before we dive into the details:

Exhibit 31: Result tree fragment datatype

Notice we didn't use the select attribute to define the variable. We aren't selecting a node and getting its value, rather we are creating arbitrary text. Instead, we declared it as the content of the element. The text in between the opening and closing variable tags is the actual fragment of the result tree. In general, if you use the select attribute as we did earlier, and don't specify content when declaring variables, the elements are empty elements. If you don't use select and you do specify content, the content is a result tree. You can perform operations on it as if it were a string, but unlike a node set, you can't use operators such as / or // to get to the nodes. The way you retrieve the content from the variable and get it into the result tree is by using the copy-of element. Let's see how we would do this:

Exhibit 32: Retrieve and place into result tree The result tree would now contain two elements: a copy of the city element and the added element, description.

EXSLT
EXSLT is a set of community developed extensions to XSLT. The modules include facilities to handle dates and times, math, and strings.

Multiple Stylesheets
In previous chapters, we have imported and used multiple XML and schema documents. It is also possible to use multiple stylesheets using the  and   elements, which should be familiar. It is also possible to process multiple XML documents at a time, in one stylesheet, by using the XSLT function.

Including an external stylesheet is very similar to what we have done in earlier chapters with schemas. The  element only has one attribute, which is. It is required and always contains a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) reference to the location of the file, which can be local (in the same local directory) or remote. You can include as many stylesheets as you need, as long as they are at the top level. They can be scattered all over the stylesheet if you want, as long as they are children of the  element. When the processor encounters an instance of include, it replaces the instance with all the elements from the included document, including template rules and top-level elements, but not the root  element. All the items just become part of the stylesheet tree itself, and the processor treats them all the same. Here are declarations for including a local and remote stylesheet:

Exhibit 33: Declarations for local and remote stylesheet

Since  returns all the elements in the included stylesheet, you need to make sure that the stylesheet you are including does not include your own stylesheet. For example, city.xsl cannot include city_hotel.xsl, if city_hotel.xsl has an include element which includes city.xsl. When including multiple files, you need to make sure that you are not including another stylesheet multiple times. If city_hotel.xsl includes amenity.xsl, and country.xsl includes amenity.xsl, and city.xsl includes both city_hotel.xsl and country.xsl, it has indirectly included amenity.xsl twice. This could cause template rule duplication and errors. These are some confusing rules, but they are easy to avoid if you carefully examine the stylesheets before they are included.

The difference between importing stylesheets and including them is that the template rules imported each have a different import precedence, while included stylesheet templates are merged into one tree and processed normally. Imported templates form an import tree, complete with the root  element so the processor can track the order in which they were imported. Just like include, import has one attribute, href, which is required and should contain the URI reference for the document. It is also a top-level element and can be used as many times as need. However, it must be the immediate child for the  element, otherwise there will be errors. This code demonstrates importing a local stylesheet:

Exhibit 34: Importing local stylesheet

The order of the  elements dictates the precedence that matching templates will have over one another. Templates that are imported last have higher priority than those that are imported first. However, the  element also has a   attribute that can affect its priority. The higher the number in the  attribute, the higher the precedence. Import priority only comes into effect when templates collide, otherwise importing stylesheets is not that much different from including them. Another way to handle colliding templates is to use the  element. If a template in the imported document collides with a template in the importing document, apply-templates will override the rule and cause the imported template to be invoked.

The  function allows you to process additional XML documents and their nodes. The function is called from any attribute that uses an expression, such as the  attribute. For example:

Exhibit 35: Document function

When applied to an xml document that only contains an empty hotel element, such as the result tree will add a new element called amenityList, and place all the content from amenity.xml (except the XML declaration) in it. The document function can take many other parameters such as a remote URI, and a node-set, just to name a few. For more information on using, visit http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt#document

XSL-FO
XSL-FO stands for Extensible Stylesheet Language Formatting Objects and is a language for formatting XML data. When it was created, XSL was originally split into two parts, XSL and XSL-FO. Both parts are now formally named XSL. XSL-FO documents define a number of rectangular areas for displaying output. XSL-FO is used for the formatting of XML data for output to screen, paper or other media, such as PDF format. For more information, visit http://www.w3schools.com/xslfo/default.asp

Reference Section
Exhibit 36: XSL Elements <SMALL>(from http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/xsl_w3celementref.asp and http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt#element-syntax-summary)</SMALL>

Exhibit 37: XSLT Functions <SMALL>(from http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/xsl_functions.asp)</SMALL>

Exhibit 38: Inherited XPath Functions <SMALL>(from http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/xsl_functions.asp)</SMALL> Node Set Functions

String Functions

Number Functions

 Boolean Functions

Exercises
In order to learn more about XSL and stylesheets, exercises are provided.

Answers
In order to learn more about XSL and stylesheets, answers are provided.

Programmation XML/XSLT XML/XSLT e fogli di stile

source: wikimedia

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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text:
2020 LCK season

The 2020 LCK season was the ninth year of South Korea's LCK, a professional esports league for the MOBA PC game League of Legends.

The spring split began on 5 February and was scheduled to end with the spring finals on 13 April; however, the regular season was suspended for two weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, and the split instead concluded on 25 April.

The summer split began on 17 June and concluded with the summer finals on 5 September.

title: 2020 LCK season


text:
Margaret McKay

Margaret McKay (née McCarthy; 22 January 1907 – 1 March 1996) was a British Labour Party Member of Parliament for Clapham from 1964 to 1970.

Early life
Despite later assertions that McKay was born in 1911, she was in fact born on 22 January 1907 at Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, a daughter of Joseph and Betsy Ann (Catlow) McCarthy.

Career
McKay's family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts in her youth, but then returned to England. McKay joined the Independent Labour Party's Guild of Youth, then the Young Communist League, graduating to the Communist Party of Great Britain. She left the party in 1932, joining the Labour Party, and became active in the Socialist League, a left-wing pressure group within the party, serving as its general secretary from 1936 until it was dissolved the following year. She also became general secretary of the National Union of Domestic Workers, a national organiser for the Transport and General Workers' Union, and Trades Union Congress Women's Officer (1951–1962).

After holding various trade union posts, McKay stood unsuccessfully for Labour in Walthamstow East at the 1959 general election. At the 1964 general election, she defeated the sitting Conservative MP Alan Glyn for Clapham, taking the seat with a majority of only 556. At the 1966 election she increased her majority to over 4,000 against the Conservative Ian Gow, but she stood down at the 1970 general election, when the seat was won by the Conservative William Shelton.

While in Parliament, McKay became a supporter of Arab interests, creating a mock Palestinian refugee camp in Parliament Square and wearing Arab robes during debates. Jordan issued a postage stamp in her honour. After retiring from politics, McKay moved to Abu Dhabi. She became a friend of the then President, Sheikh Zayed, and died there on 1 March 1996. She is buried at Sas Al Nakhl cemetery.

title: Margaret McKay


text:
Rudolf Staechelin

Rudolf Staechelin (May 8, 1881 – January 3, 1946) was a Swiss businessman and art collector. He is considered one of the major Swiss collectors of the first half of the 20th century.

Biography
Staechelin was born in Basel, Switzerland, to the master builder and contractor, Gregor Staechelin, and his wife Emma, née Allgeier. His father's family was originally from Istein, Germany. In 1922, he married Emma Mina Finkbeiner.

Art collection
Staechelin's collection initially focused on French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, later expanding to include East Asian art. In 1931, the Rudolf Staechelin’sche Familienstiftung (Rudolf Staechelin's Family Foundation) was established to act as custodian of the collection. Parts of the collection have been on loan for several decades to the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in Geneva.

The collection has included works by Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso, among others.

Exhibitions

 * Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain, 17 March 2015-14 September 2015

title: Rudolf Staechelin


text:
Φᾶσις

Etymology
hydronym of an uncertain language; possibly 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, or.

Proper noun

 * 1) the river Phasis; the river Rioni

title: Φᾶσις


text:
Speiredonia darwiniana

Speiredonia darwiniana is a species of moth of the family Erebidae first described by Alberto Zilli in 2010. It is found in north-western Australia, where it has been recorded from Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

The wingspan is 68–73 mm.

title: Speiredonia darwiniana


text:
User:Jwallis1/sandbox

= National Rural Transit Assistance Program (National RTAP) = is a program of the Federal Transit Administration administered by the Neponset Valley Transportation Management Association and serves as the national arm for the Rural Transit Assistance Program.

The mission of National RTAP is to improve mobility in all rural, small urban and tribal communities across the country through technical assistance and training for transit providers. Since its inception in 1987 National RTAP has developed and distributed training materials, provided technical assistance, generated reports, published best practices, conducted research and offered Peer Assistance with the goal of improved mobility for the millions of Americans living in communities with populations under 50,000.

title: User:Jwallis1/sandbox


text:
Rudkhaneh-ye Mordaq

Rudkhaneh-ye Mordaq is a river in northwest Iran.

It is located at 37°8'24" N and 46°2'18" E in  East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, near the town of Bonab, and flows into the southern end of Lake Urmia.

The Area has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk).

title: Rudkhaneh-ye Mordaq


text:
Vern Kennedy

Lloyd Vernon Kennedy (March 20, 1907 – January 28, 1993) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. Kennedy batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Kennedy attended college at what is now known as the University of Central Missouri, where the football field bears his name.

While pitching for the Chicago White Sox, Kennedy threw the first no-hitter in Comiskey Park, a 5–0 shutout over Cleveland on August 31, 1935. His most productive season came in 1936, when he posted career-highs in wins (21), innings pitched and  complete games (20). A competent hitting-pitcher, he compiled a .244 average (181-for-743) with 36 extra base hits, including four home runs and 61 RBI. He also made the American League All-Star team in 1936 and 1938. In a 12-season career, Kennedy posted a 104–132 record with 691 strikeouts and a 4.67 ERA in innings.

Kennedy died in Mendon, Missouri, at the age of 85 after a shed (smokehouse) roof collapsed on him.

title: Vern Kennedy


text:
List of protected heritage sites in Waterloo, Belgium

This table shows an overview of the protected heritage sites in the Walloon town Waterloo, Belgium. This list is part of Belgium's national heritage.

 * }


text:
Draft:Archive/2024/Stellarium

Link to any subpages this page might have

Welcome to the Stellarium page. The page describes how to get, run and use the free program Stellarium, as well as how to find, run and design lessons for use in it.

What is Stellarium?
Stellarium is free software planetarium, licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or so says Wikipedia. The program is free, fun, and a great introduction into the world of astronomy. You can use it to aid in viewing stars, or in a school setting by using a computer projector. You can view the cosmos on your own, or run user created scripts to give presentations. For more information, you can see their website, forum or wiki

How to get Stellarium
You can get Stellarium and run it on you computer in just 7 easy steps.

Step 1
Go to www.stellarium.org/

Step 2
Choose your operating system and click on the link to the right

Step 3
Click save file. Note, this should download from sourceforge.net. Be careful, .exe can be harmful (virus) if you don't know where they are from. Some school computer labs may have downloading disabled. If this is the case, ask the teacher on duty for help before downloading anything.

Step 4
In most cases, the download should be to the desktop. Find the icon named Stellarium-###.exe (###=version), and double click it.

Step 5
This should bring up an installation guide. Click next, and accept the GNU license (it doesn't cost you anything)

Step 6
Keep clicking next until you get to a button called install. Upon clicking that, it should install.

Step 7
Goto your start button and search for the new program (yes, if you have a mac, these instructions will be a bit different). Click run.

Running Scripts
Scripts are predefined...

title: Draft:Archive/2024/Stellarium


text:
Catriona (gastropod)

Catriona is a genus of sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Trinchesiidae. All species were transferred to Tenellia as a result of a DNA phylogeny study in 2016. It was reinstated in 2017 on the basis of DNA and morphological criteria.

Species within the genus Catriona include:
 * Catriona aurantia (Alder & Hancock, 1842) - type species of Catriona
 * Catriona casha Gosliner & Griffiths, 1981
 * Catriona columbiana (O'Donoghue, 1922)
 * Catriona gymnota (Couthouy, 1838)
 * Catriona lonca Er. Marcus, 1965
 * Catriona maua Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1960
 * Catriona nigricolora (Baba, 1955)
 * Catriona oba Ev. Marcus, 1970
 * Catriona pinnifera (Baba, 1949)
 * Catriona rickettsi Behrens, 1984
 * Catriona signifera Baba, 1961
 * Catriona susa Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1960
 * Catriona tema Edmunds, 1968
 * Catriona urquisa Er. Marcus, 1965
 * Catriona venusta (Baba, 1949)

Species names currently considered to be synonyms:
 * Catriona anulata (Baba, 1949) : synonym of Trinchesia anulata (Baba, 1949)
 * Catriona catachroma Burn, 1963 synonym of Trinchesia catachroma (Burn, 1963)
 * Catriona ornata (Baba, 1937) : synonym of Trinchesia ornata (Baba, 1937)
 * Catriona perca Marcus Er., 1958 synonym of Cuthona perca (Er. Marcus, 1958)
 * Catriona puellula (Baba, 1955) : synonym of Cuthona puellula (Baba, 1955)
 * Catriona pupillae Baba, 1961 synonym of Trinchesia pupillae (Baba, 1961)
 * Catriona viridiana Burn, 1962 synonym of Trinchesia viridiana (Burn, 1962)

title: Catriona (gastropod)


text:
triboelectric

Adjective

 * 1)  Electrical charge transfer due to sliding or contact.

Translations

 * French: ,
 * Italian:
 * Portuguese: triboelétrico
 * Spanish: triboeléctrico

title: triboelectric


text:
Pharmacy Council Ghana

The Ghana Pharmacy Council is a statutory regulatory body established by an Act of Parliament of Ghana, the pharmacy Act, 1994(Act 489)Part IV of The Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857). It is located in Accra, the capital of Ghana.Its core function is to secure public interest in the highest standards in the practice of pharmacy

Vision and Mission of the council.
The Vision of the Council is “To guarantee the highest levels of pharmaceutical care”. The Council’s Mission is “To secure the highest level of pharmaceutical care by ensuring competent pharmaceutical care providers who practice within agreed standards and are accessible to the whole population. In addition we shall collaborate with related local agencies and international pharmaceutical organizations to enhance our effectiveness and our contribution to rational drug use in the nation. This mission shall be carried out with dedication, integrity, and professionalism.”

title: Pharmacy Council Ghana


text:
Ashian Daniel

Ashian Daniel (born 20 February 2001) is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He made his first-class debut for Nondescripts Cricket Club in the 2019–20 Premier League Tournament on 15 August 2020. Prior to his first-class debut, he was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He made his Twenty20 debut on 4 March 2021, for Nondescripts Cricket Club in the 2020–21 SLC Twenty20 Tournament. He made his List A debut on 24 March 2021, for Nondescripts Cricket Club in the 2020–21 Major Clubs Limited Over Tournament.

In August 2021, he was named in the SLC Greys team for the 2021 SLC Invitational T20 League tournament. In November 2021, he was selected to play for the Galle Gladiators following the players' draft for the 2021 Lanka Premier League.

In January 2022, he was named as one of six reserve players in Sri Lanka's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against Zimbabwe. In February 2022, he was named in Sri Lanka's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against India. In April 2022, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) named him in the Sri Lanka Emerging Team's squad for their tour to England. In June 2022, he was named in the Sri Lanka A squad for their matches against Australia A during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka. In July 2022, he was signed by the Kandy Falcons for the third edition of the Lanka Premier League.

title: Ashian Daniel


text:
Talk:East Spotswood, New Jersey

Location
East Spotswood is not the same as the community of Old Bridge. They each had a passenger and freight station on the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company system. In order from Jamesburg, the stations were Helmetta, Outcalt, Spotswood, East Spotswood, and Old Bridge. The borough of Spotswood lists East Spotswood Park, near Spotswood’s 1832 Camden & Amboy Railroad Memorial. The description of Old Bridge should be removed from the article.
 * – Zeete (talk) 10:27, 7 July 2021 (UTC)

GNIS coordinates
GNIS has two distinct locations listed for East Spotswood:

The first, on the South Amboy quadrangle map, is in Old Bridge Township. It is south of the community of Old Bridge in East Brunswick. This location is not along a railroad.

The second, on the New Brunswick quadrangle map, is in the borough of Spotswood, near Dora Avenue and Main Street, along the railroad. It is one and one-quarter miles from the former station in Spotswood, as noted by the New Jersey Geological Survey.

The first location appears to be a data entry error on the South Amboy quadrangle, the label incorrectly copied from the New Brunswick quadrangle. No other sources have been found to verify this location as East Spotswood.

The second location agrees with the several sources cited above.

The location for East Spotswood should use the New Brunswick quadrangle map coordinates, which are in Spotswood.
 * – Zeete (talk) 10:40, 7 July 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:East Spotswood, New Jersey


text:
User:GinaMessick

I am a University of Pittsburgh student currently enrolled in an Intro to Film class and am working on Teresa Cheng.

Previously I took a Art Since 1945 course and worked on the Gutai Group page.

Please feel free to contact me with any concerns.

title: User:GinaMessick


text:
candidarsi

Verb

 * 1) to nominate oneself as a candidate, especially for a public post
 * 2) (with ) to be likely to achieve a goal
 * 1) (with ) to be likely to achieve a goal

title: candidarsi


text:
User:Florasch

Florasch
I am a Translation Studies MSc student at the University of Edinburgh.

My example citation
I read an interesting story on the BBC News website about Uber in London.

My Subpages

 * User:Florasch/drafts

My example lists
Things I like:
 * hiking
 * reading

title: User:Florasch


text:
Al-Sadeq SC

Al-Sadeq Sport Club (نادي الصادق الرياضي), is an Iraqi football team based in Al-Imam Al-Sadeq district, Basra, that plays in Iraqi First Division League.

Managerial history

 * 🇮🇶 Aqeel Al-Shaheen
 * 🇮🇶 Wissam Hamza

title: Al-Sadeq SC


text:
Wikibooks talk:Wikibooks for Wikimedians

I have no strong feelings about stub and incomplete, but I do think that consistency is good. In many ways it is as important to establish policies soon as to establish the best policies. --Rs2 22:35, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

It is very unclear to me what are the different aims of Wikipedia and Wikibooks. Several articles I have made major contributions to in Wikipedia (e.g. Link rot) have been moved to Wikibooks, but I have no idea why. Could someone please clarify why an article should be placed in Wikibooks and not Wikipedia? Fmccown 16:07, 14 November 2006 (UTC)


text:
Krasnoznamensky, Altai Krai

Krasnoznamensky (Краснознаменский) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Krasnoznamensky Selsoviet, Kuryinsky District, Altai Krai, Russia. The population was 77 as of 2013. There is 1 street.

Geography
Krasnoznamensky is located 8 km north of Kurya (the district's administrative centre) by road. Novoznamenka is the nearest rural locality.

title: Krasnoznamensky, Altai Krai


text:
McKay Christensen

McKay Andrew Christensen (born August 14, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder.

Christensen played for three different ballclubs during his career: the Chicago White Sox (1999–2001), Los Angeles Dodgers (2001), and New York Mets (2002). He made his Major League Baseball debut on April 6, 1999. Christensen last played in a Major League game on April 7, 2002, and is now retired and working as a real estate developer.

Christensen is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and reportedly passed up a million-dollar signing bonus in order to serve a mission in Japan. Christensen was originally drafted by the California Angels and was traded to the White Sox while in Japan as a missionary.

Personal life
Christensen's parents are Stephen LaMar Christensen (b. 1949 in Provo, Utah) and Victoria Ann "Vicki" (née Swan) Christensen (b. 1948 in Los Angeles County, California). His uncle is Utah politician F. LaVar Christensen, and his 3rd great-grandfather is Nathaniel H. Felt, a member of the first Utah State Legislature.

title: McKay Christensen


text:
francoa

Etymology
The genus was named by botanist Antonio José Cavanilles (1745-1804) after Spanish physician Francisco Franco who lived in 16th century.

Noun

 * 1)  Any plant of the genus, with white, pink or red flowers, native to Chile.

title: francoa


text:
US States/South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the southeastern United States. It was one of the original thirteen colonies and now borders North Carolina and Georgia. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union in the Civil War, and the bombardment at Fort Sumter off its coast marked the opening of hostilities in that conflict.

Contents

 * /Historical/ - Historical sites associated with statehood.
 * /21st century/ - Auto industry

title: US States/South Carolina


text:
Olivia Norris

Olivia Norris (born 17 September 1983) is a German female javelin thrower, who won an individual gold medal (52.03 m) at the 1st Youth World Championships - Bydgoszcz (Poland).

title: Olivia Norris


text:
User:Evan.wilson

I'd very much like to see the entire Wikimedia project truly blossom, so, in the spirit of the wiki, I'd like to pull my load and more.

title: User:Evan.wilson


text:
Talk:Saudi Exchange

Regulating body
Tadawul is regulated by the Capital Market Authority www.cma.org.sa. If anyone has time, you can add their information to the article because I'm not sure about copying stuff from thier website (see disclaimer). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Najd (talk • contribs)

 * It's always a good idea not to copy things. Use your own words. I'm not very familiar with the subject matter, but I will try to write something soon, you may also want to go ahead and create the article. - Eagletalk 08:58, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

 * It's sad to see "Saudi Monetary Agency" surviving in that article for so long. Slackerlawstudent 07:24, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Tadawul is completely owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.[6] i think must changed it already get ipo  — Preceding unsigned comment added by <IP_ADDRESS> (talk) 18:34, 21 March 2022 (UTC)

Jarir and Shams
I think both links point to irrelevant articles! How do you fix it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Najd (talk • contribs)

Hello Najd. I'll work on it. In the meantime, please check your talk page, there are very useful links on how to edit. Thanks for the spelling fixes by the way. - Eagletalk 08:44, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Is Jarir that is listed the Jarir bookstore chain?Burning phoneix 10:36, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

 * I think it is the company that owns the bookstore chain and the one that publishes the books you find there. - Eagletalk 10:50, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

SEC and some minor edits
Hey, first of all, i'm not really sure if this is how i start a new discussion, new wikipedian :). Anyways, i have eleminated a company that is not listed, the sand company. I have also updated the number of listed company and added the new company name. I have also corrected the name of the Electricity company to reflect its new name. I believe also that we should use the ticker symbol first as it appears in www.tadawul.com.sa then in paranthesis, we add the full name. I'm going to do it if i have time. thanks

2006 Bear Market
Do you guys think we should add coverage of the Bull market that happened in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and the bear market that happened in 2006?

 * I think we should, the market lost nearly 60% of it's capital in nearly 4 months. It was a huge crash. Burning phoneix 07:44, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

tyy
yuyy

About TASI as the eleventh largest in the world
I deleted the statement that TASI is the eleventh largest stock exchange in the world as I find it to be baseless and it even contradicts the fact that the eleventh largest is between NSE(India) and Australian ASX. If I open Yahoo Finance and then click on Asian major indices, I couldn't even find it. Correct me if Im wrong. —Preceding unsigned comment added by <IP_ADDRESS> (talk) 15:40, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Insider trading
The first insider trading case in Saudi history resulting in a prison sentence occurred in 2009 in order to satisfy U.S. complaints. Other cases were being investigated, including a Capital Market Authority regulator manipulating share prices between 2007 and 2008.

Petey Parrot (talk) 23:16, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

Islamic Finance
Some aspects of stock exchanges in other parts of the world are presumably inconsistent with Islamic Law. It would be interesting to know exactly how the Saudi exchange operates and what differences, if any, are due to Islamic principles.Bill (talk) 02:49, 14 February 2014 (UTC)

Annual returns stops at 2020
Can somebody bring this up to date? <IP_ADDRESS> (talk) 08:22, 14 July 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Saudi Exchange


text:
Nino Salvatore

Gaetano "Nino" Salvatore (28 July 1932 – 25 June 1997) was an Italian endocrinologist known for his extensive research on the thyroid gland. He spent the majority of his career in Naples' Stazione Zoologica and the University of Naples Federico II, while also spending periods at the American National Institutes of Health and in France.

Life and career
Salvatore studied medicine at the University of Naples Federico II and, after graduating, travelled to Paris to work at the Collège de France with the endocrinologist Jean Roche. During his time in Paris from 1956 to 1958, he developed an interest in endocrinology and particularly the thyroid gland. He returned to Naples in 1959 and continued to collaborate with Roche on research into thyroid diseases at the Stazione Zoologica. In 1961, he moved to Marseille before relocating again in 1962 to the United States, where he worked in Jacob Robbins and Joseph Edward Rall's laboratory at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, until 1964.

Salvatore returned to Naples in 1964, where he hosted many foreign investigators, and continued to visit laboratories across Europe and the United States. He intermittently spent time at the NIH in Bethesda, where he was a professor of general pathology between 1972 and 1974, and received a NIH Fogarty Scholarship in 1977. He headed the Centre of Experimental Endocrinology and Oncology of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) from 1972 to 1997 and served as dean of the University of Naples Federico II medical school from 1981 to 1997. He was also president of Stazione Zoologica from 1987 and chair of the CNR Committee for Biotechnology from 1994, both until his death in 1997. He successfully advocated for the introduction of iodised salt to prevent endemic goitre and universal newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism in Italy.

Research
Salvatore's early research at the NIH focused on the synthesis and structure of thyroglobulin. He discovered in the 1960s that thyroid hormones can be found in the lowest classes of vertebrates and invertebrates. At the NIH, he and his collaborators developed a method for purifying and isolating thyroid iodoproteins (proteins containing iodine) and subsequently discovered a new iodoprotein named 27S thyroglobulin. In the 1980s, he developed the FRTL-5 cell line of rat thyroid cells that was adopted worldwide for performing various functions of the thyroid gland in in vitro experiments. He also contributed to the discovery of the RET proto-oncogene's role in thyroid cancer and the role of various other genes in thyroid development. His last research paper, published posthumously, covered the synthesis of thyroid hormones within the thyroglobulin molecule.

title: Nino Salvatore


text:
Eucorysses grandis

Eucorysses grandis is a species of shield-backed bugs belonging to the tribe Scutellerini.

Description
These shield-backed bugs are variable, sometimes cream-coloured or orange to purplish-red with bluish reflections and black spots.

Distribution
This species is present in India, China, Japan through to Malesia.

title: Eucorysses grandis


text:
Talk:Hillsborough District Brigade

Copyright
Copyright (c) 1997, 2005. Charles LeCount

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

I am not sure what this copyright note is about. The article is fully sourced and there is no source by a Charles LeCount. There is a Charles LeCount, who is deputy director of the North Carolina Historic Sites

User:G._Moore G._Moore  17:40, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

title: Talk:Hillsborough District Brigade


text:
Goobang Creek

The Goobang Creek, a perennial stream of the Lachlan subcatchment, part of the Murrumbidgee catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia.

Course and features
The Goobang Creek rises in the Curumbenya Range, 10 km north of Wolabler Mountain, east of. The creek flows generally southwest towards and then generally west, joined by three minor tributaries before reaching its confluence with the Lachlan River at Condobolin. The creek descends 312 m over its 217 km course.

The Newell Highway crosses the creek near Parkes.

History
Prior to European settlement, the catchment area of the creek was inhabited by the Wiradjuri people. Major Thomas Mitchell and John Oxley were early explorers in the area. The town of Condobolin was proclaimed in 1859. In the mid-1860s, gold was mined on the creek. The bushranger Ben Hall was shot dead at Goobang Creek in 1865.

Etymology
Goobang is believed to be an Aboriginal word for a species of the acacia tree.

title: Goobang Creek


text:
Foreign policy of Xi Jinping

The foreign policy of Xi Jinping concerns the policies of the People's Republic of China's Xi Jinping with respect to other nations. Xi became the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012 and became the President of the People's Republic of China in 2013.

Xi has reportedly taken a hard-line on security issues as well as foreign affairs, projecting a more nationalistic and assertive China on the world stage. His political program calls for a China more united and confident of its own value system and political structure. Xi Jinping's "Major Country Diplomacy" (大国外交) doctrine has replaced the earlier Deng Xiaoping era slogan of "keep a low profile" (韬光养晦) and has legitimized a more active role for China on the world stage, particularly with regards to reform of the international order, engaging in open ideological competition with the West, and assuming a greater responsibility for global affairs in accordance with China's rising power and status. Xi has advocated for diplomats to adopt a more assertive style, commonly expressed as Wolf warrior diplomacy.

In setting foreign policy, Xi favors an approach of baseline thinking, in which China explicitly states red line that other countries must not cross. In the Chinese perspective, taking tough positions on these matters reduces strategic uncertainty.

Overview
Xi takes a strong personal interest in foreign affairs. In his first five years in office, Xi flew over 350,000 miles, visited five continents, and gave over one hundred speeches to foreign audiences. In doing so, he became the first Chinese leader to outpace his American presidential counterparts in foreign travel. Xi's extensive schedule of phone and video foreign meetings as part of his "cloud diplomacy" (云外交) received prominent attention in Chinese media, similar to in-person foreign visits.

Xi has overseen a shift towards a Chinese foreign policy which, as contrasted with the approaches of Chinese leaders since Deng Xiaoping, is more assertive in acting proactively rather than reacting, and more willing to forcefully assert national interests rather than compromise them. Xi states that the "primary theme of China's foreign policy should be the striving for achievements, moving forward along with time changes, and acting more proactively." Xi calls on diplomats to demonstrate a fighting spirit, which has been expressed in the form of wolf warrior diplomacy.

During the Xi Jinping era, the Community of Shared Future for Mankind has become China's most important foreign relations formulation.

Xi advocates "baseline thinking" in China's foreign policy: setting explicit red lines that other countries must not cross. In the Chinese perspective, these tough stances on baseline issues reduce strategic uncertainty, preventing other nations from misjudging China's positions or underestimating China's resolve in asserting what it perceives to be in its national interest.

Before 2017, Xi stated that China should participate in forming a new global order. This position changed in 2017, when Xi articulated the "Two Guidances": (1) China should guide the global community in building a more just and reasonable world order, and (2) that China should guide the global community in safeguarding international security.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, China engaged in mask diplomacy, a practice facilitated by its early success in responding to the pandemic. Chinese ownership of much of the global medical supply chain enhanced its ability to send doctors and medical equipment to suffering countries. China soon followed its mask diplomacy with vaccine diplomacy. China's infection rates were sufficiently low that it could send vaccines abroad without domestic objections. Academic Suisheng Zhao writes that "[j]ust by showing up and helping plug the colossal gaps in the global supply, China gained ground."

In the Xi era, China takes the position that unilateral economic restrictions and trade discrimination are impermissible measures for countries to use in achieving foreign policy goals and has positioned itself generally as a proponent of global free trade. In his January 2021 speech during the Davos Economic Forum, Xi called for abandonment of deliberate decoupling and the use of sanctions, stating that maintaining a commitment to diplomacy and a multilateral trade regime were important.

During the Xi Jinping administration, China seeks to shape international norms and rules in emerging policy areas where China has an advantage as an early participant. Xi describes such areas as "new frontiers," and they include policy areas such as space, deep sea, polar regions, the Internet, nuclear safety, anticorruption, and climate change.

In foreign policy announcements, Xi sometimes refers to "Great Changes Unseen in a Century". The phrase refers to the perceived decline of United States power both domestically and internationally, as well as the broader fragmentation of Western powers. Xi also cites foreign friends of China in his foreign policy discourse to acknowledge other countries' sacrifices to assist in China's national liberation, particularly with regard to the Second Sino-Japanese war. For example, during diplomatic visits to other countries, Xi has praised the contributions of "friends" such as Claire Lee Chennault, Norman Bethune, Dawarkanath Kotnis, and Soviet pilots.

Taiwan (Republic of China)
In 2015, Xi met with Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou, which marked the first time the political leaders of both sides of the Taiwan Strait met since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1950. Xi said that China and Taiwan are "one family" that cannot be pulled apart. However, the relations started deteriorating after Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidential elections in 2016.

In the 19th Party Congress held in 2017, Xi reaffirmed six of the nine principles that had been affirmed continuously since the 16th Party Congress in 2002, with the notable exception of "Placing hopes on the Taiwan people as a force to help bring about unification." According to the Brookings Institution, Xi used stronger language on potential Taiwan independence than his predecessors towards previous DPP governments in Taiwan. He said that "we will never allow any person, any organisation, or any political party to split any part of the Chinese territory from China at any time at any form." In March 2018, Xi said that Taiwan would face the "punishment of history" for any attempts at separatism.

In January 2019, Xi Jinping called on Taiwan to reject its formal independence from China, saying: "We make no promise to renounce the use of force and reserve the option of taking all necessary means." Those options, he said, could be used against "external interference." Xi also said that they "are willing to create broad space for peaceful reunification, but will leave no room for any form of separatist activities." President Tsai responded to the speech by saying Taiwan would not accept a one country, two systems arrangement with the mainland, while stressing the need for all cross-strait negotiations to be on a government-to-government basis.

Xi states that reunification with Taiwan should occur peacefully because that is "most in line with the overall interest of the Chinese nation, including Taiwan compatriots." In a speech at the 100th Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi stated: "Resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification is a historic mission and an unshakable commitment of the Communist Party of China. It is also a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation. We will uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and advance peaceful national reunification. All of us, compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, must come together and move forward in unison. We must take resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt toward “Taiwan independence,” and work together to create a bright future for national rejuvenation. No one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity." Xi has also said that unification under a "one country, two systems" approach would be appropriate. The American think tank Council on Foreign Relations described Xi's position on Taiwan as continuing consistent with China's 1979 shift from "liberation" of Taiwan to "peaceful unification" with Taiwan.

In 2022, after the Chinese military exercises around Taiwan, the PRC published a white paper called "The Taiwan Question and China's Reunification in the New Era," which was the first white paper regards to Taiwan since 2000. The paper urged Taiwan to become a special administrative region of the PRC under the one country two systems formula, and said that "a small number of countries, the U.S. foremost amongst them" are "using Taiwan to contain China." Notably, the new white paper excluded a part that previously said the PRC would not send troops or officials to Taiwan after unification.

Africa
During Xi's administration, China has maintained cordial relationships with each Africa government except Eswatini, which recognizes Taiwan but not the PRC. Xi's diplomatic rhetoric links the China-Africa Community of Shared Future to the concept of the Chinese Dream. Although Xi has generally prioritized relations between the Communist Party of China and political parties in the Global South, Xi has especially prioritized such party-to-party relations in Africa.

At the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Xi emphasized the "Five Nos" which guide its foreign policy in dealing with African countries and other developing countries: (1) non-interference in other countries' pursuit of development paths suitable to their national conditions, (2) non-interference in domestic affairs, (3) not imposing China's will on others, (4) not attaching political conditions to foreign aid, and (5) not seeking political self-interest in investment and financing.

Under Xi, China has cut back lending to Africa after fears that African countries couldn't repay their debts to China. Xi has also promised that China would write off debts of some African countries. In November 2021, Xi promised African nations 1 billion doses of China's COVID-19 vaccines, which was in addition to the 200 million already supplied before. This has been said to be part of China's vaccine diplomacy.

United States
Xi has called China–United States relations in the contemporary world a "new type of great-power relations", a phrase the Obama administration had been reluctant to embrace. Under his administration the Strategic and Economic Dialogue that began under Hu Jintao has continued. On China–U.S. relations, Xi said, "If [China and the United States] are in confrontation, it would surely spell disaster for both countries". Xi has described relations between China and United States in terms of the Thucydides Trap, a term first used by political scientist Graham Allison, meaning that in a clash between two great powers that could otherwise cooperate for the benefit of humanity, all would lose.

'The U.S. has been critical of Chinese actions in the South China Sea. In 2014, Chinese hackers compromised the computer system of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, resulting in the theft of approximately 22 million personnel records handled by the office.

Xi has indirectly spoken out critically on the U.S. "strategic pivot" to Asia. Addressing a regional conference in Shanghai on 21 May 2014, he called on Asian countries to unite and forge a way together, rather than get involved with third party powers, seen as a reference to the United States. "Matters in Asia ultimately must be taken care of by Asians. Asia's problems ultimately must be resolved by Asians and Asia's security ultimately must be protected by Asians", he told the conference.

In spite of what seemed to be a tumultuous start to Xi Jinping's leadership vis-à-vis the United States, on 13 May 2017 Xi said at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing: "We should foster a new type of international relations featuring 'win-win cooperation', and we should forge a partnership of dialogue with no confrontation, and a partnership of friendship rather than alliance. All countries should respect each other's sovereignty, dignity and territorial integrity; respect each other's development path and its social systems, and respect each other's core interests and major concerns... What we hope to create is a big family of harmonious coexistence." Relations with the U.S. soured after Donald Trump became president in 2017. Since 2018, U.S. and China have been engaged in an escalating trade war. In 2020, the relations further deteriorated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Xi has called the U.S. the biggest threat to China's development, saying that "the biggest source of chaos in the present-day world is the United States." Xi has also scrapped a previous policy in which China did not challenge the U.S. in most instances, while Chinese officials said that they now see China as an "equal" to the U.S. On 6 March 2023, during a speech to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Xi said that "Western countries—led by the U.S.—have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression" against China, which he said brought "unprecedentedly severe challenges to our country's development."

India
Relations between China and India had ups and downs under Xi, later deteriorating due to various factors. In 2013, the two countries had a standoff in Depsang for three weeks, which ended with no border change. In 2017, the two countries again had a standoff over a Chinese construction of a road in Doklam, a territory both claimed by Bhutan, India's ally, and China, though by 28 August, both countries mutually disengaged. The most serious crisis in the relationship came when the two countries had a deadly clash in 2020 at the Line of Actual Control, leaving some soldiers dead. The clashes created a serious deterioration in relations, with China seizing 2,000 km2 territory that India controlled.

Iran

On 4 June 2019, Xi told the Russian news agency TASS that he was "worried" about the current tensions between the U.S. and Iran. He later told his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during an SCO meeting that China would promote ties with Iran regardless of developments from the Gulf of Oman incident.

Japan
China–Japan relations have initially soured under Xi's administration; the most thorny issue between the two countries remains the dispute over the Senkaku islands, which China calls Diaoyu. In response to Japan's continued robust stance on the issue, China declared an Air Defense Identification Zone in November 2013. However, the relations later started to improve, with Xi being invited to visit in 2020, though the trip was later delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2022, Kyodo News reported that Xi personally decided to let ballistic missiles land within Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) during the military exercises held around Taiwan, to send a warning to Japan.

Korea
Under Xi, China initially took a more critical stance on North Korea due to its nuclear tests. However, starting in 2018, the relations started to improve due to meetings between Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Xi has also supported denuclearization of North Korea, and has voiced support for economic reforms in the country. At the G20 meeting in Japan, Xi called for a "timely easing" of sanctions imposed on North Korea. After the 20th CCP National Congress in 2022, Rodong Sinmun, official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, wrote a long editorial praising Xi, titling both Kim and Xi Suryong (수령), a title historically reserved for North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung.

Xi has initially improved relationships with South Korea, and the two countries signed a free-trade agreement in December 2015. Starting in 2017, China's relationship with South Korea soured over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD), a missile defence system, purchase of the latter. which China sees as a threat but which South Korea says is a defence measure against North Korea. Ultimately, South Korea halted the purchase of the THAAD after China imposed unofficial sanctions. China's relations with South Korea improved again under president Moon Jae-in.

Middle East
While China has historically been wary of getting closer to the Middle East countries, Xi has changed this approach. China has grown closer to both Iran and Saudi Arabia under Xi. During a visit to Iran in 2016, Xi proposed a large cooperation program with Iran, a deal that was later signed in 2021. China has also sold ballistic missiles to Saudi Arabia and is helping build 7,000 schools in Iraq. In 2013, Xi proposed a peace deal between Israel and Palestine that entails a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. Turkey, with whom relations were long strained over Uyghurs, has also grown closer to China. On 10 March 2023, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore diplomatic ties cut in 2016 after a deal brokered between the two countries by China following secret talks in Beijing.

Southeast Asia
Since Xi came to power, China has been rapidly building and militarizing islands in the South China Sea, a decision Study Times of the Central Party School said was personally taken by Xi. In April 2015, new satellite imagery revealed that China was rapidly constructing an airfield on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. In November 2014, in a major policy address, Xi called for a decrease in the use of force, preferring dialogue and consultation to solve the current issues plaguing the relationship between China and its South East Asian neighbors.

Vietnam
On December 12, 2023, Vietnam and China announced 36 cooperation agreements during a visit by Xi to Vietnam. The agreements addressed a variety of issues, including cross-border rail development, digital infrastructure, and establishing joint patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin and a hotline to handle South China Sea fishing incidents. The two countries also issued a joint statement to support building a community of shared future for humankind.

European Union
China's efforts under Xi has been for the European Union (EU) to stay in a neutral position in their contest with the U.S. China and the EU announced the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) in 2020, although the deal was later frozen due to mutual sanctions over Xinjiang. Xi has supported calls for EU to achieve "strategic autonomy," and has also called on the EU to view China "independently."

Russia
Xi has cultivated stronger relations with Russia, particularly in the wake of the Ukraine crisis of 2014. He seems to have developed a strong personal relationship with president Vladimir Putin. Both are viewed as strong leaders with a nationalist orientation who are not afraid to assert themselves against Western interests. Xi attended the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Under Xi, China signed a $400 billion gas deal with Russia; China has also become Russia's largest trading partner.

Xi and Putin met on 4 February 2022 during the run up to the 2022 Beijing Olympics during the massive Russian build-up of force on the Ukrainian border, with the two expressing that the two countries are nearly united in their anti-US alignment and that both nations shared "no limits" to their commitments. U.S. officials said that China had asked Russia to wait for the invasion of Ukraine until after the Beijing Olympics ended on 20 February. In April 2022, Xi Jinping expressed opposition to sanctions against Russia. On 15 June 2022, Xi Jinping reasserted China's support for Russia on issues of sovereignty and security. However, Xi also said China is committed to respecting "the territorial integrity of all countries," and said China was "pained to see the flames of war reignited in Europe." China has additionally kept a distance from Russia's actions, instead putting itself as a neutral party. In February 2023, China released a 12-point peace plan to "settle the acute crisis in Ukraine"; the plan was praised by Putin but criticized by the U.S. and European countries. During the war Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given a nuanced take to China, saying that the country has the economic leverage to pressure Putin to end the war, adding "I'm sure that without the Chinese market for the Russian Federation, Russia would be feeling complete economic isolation. That's something that China can do – to limit the trade [with Russia] until the war is over." In August 2022, Zelenskyy said that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Xi Jinping did not respond to his requests for direct talks with him. He additionally said that while he would like China to take a different approach to the war in Ukraine, he also wanted the relationship to improve every year and said that China and Ukraine shared similar values. On 26 April 2023, Zelenskyy and Xi held their first phone call since the start of the war.

title: Foreign policy of Xi Jinping


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The Canadian (film)

The Canadian is an extant 1926 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based on a 1913 Broadway play, The Land of Promise, by W. Somerset Maugham. The film was directed by William Beaudine and starred Thomas Meighan. Meighan had costarred with Billie Burke in a 1917 silent film based on the same story, The Land of Promise. In both films he plays the same part. This film is preserved in the Library of Congress.

Plot
A couple undergo hardship homesteading in Alberta, where they are plagued by bad weather and financial woes.

Cast

 * Thomas Meighan as Frank Taylor
 * Mona Palma as Nora
 * Wyndham Standing as Ed Marsh
 * Dale Fuller as Gertie
 * Charles Winninger as Pop Tyson
 * Billy Butts as Buck Golder

title: The Canadian (film)


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Video Game Design/Introduction/What is a video game

What is a game?
It's a good question, and a common question, one that you can spend a great deal of time arguing over. The definition, conscious or not, will influence how one decides to design a game. So it makes sense to begin there.

There are multiple ways we could define a game, with varying ranges of inclusiveness. The essential problem with most definitions, however, is that they only work when one looks at certain types of games or players.

First, let's state some things we can be certain of:
 * Games exist only by being played; they are interactive.
 * Between one and an infinite number of players may participate, depending on the game.
 * Some games are generally considered more entertaining than others, and some players prefer certain games to others.

The Competition definition holds that games are entirely about players competing against each other, to be the first or the best at something, or in the case of a solitaire game, to overcome the challenge presented to him through the gameplay. This is a reasonable definition for many games, and can be stretched even to very simple games such as Catch, where the only gameplay involved is tossing a ball or other object to the other players. The competition in Catch would be the players versus the ball and the environment; the player holding the ball must try to successfully throw it to the other player, and the other player must try to catch the ball without missing or dropping it. There is a deliberate attempt to make the game challenging; the players could hand the ball off to one another but they never choose to do so.

But what about something even simpler and less rule-based than Catch? Could we call building blocks a game to play? We do say that one "plays" with them. For the Competition definition, we would have to come up with some sort of competition that the player has between himself and the blocks, or his mind.

The player does have a challenge in building structures of his own devising, in coming up with architecture that won't collapse. But neither the blocks nor his mind are trying to hinder him in this goal. They are both tools, assisting him. The blocks have the property of being weighted and prone to gravity, and the mind is not going to assist him perfectly through every step of the process, but these are properties of the objects, not active attempts to foil him. Unlike in the case of Catch, where the players wish to be challenged, someone building blocks is interested in using his tools purely to a productive advantage.

So if you consider building blocks to be a game, then the Competition definition fails. It should be noted, though that many designers consider them and derivative items(Legos, Simcity, etc.) to be toys rather than games.

(The challenge in the game makes the game. Building blocks is playing in a different form, driven by personal targets to create the outcome. A game has set rules, and usually has a beginning, middle and an end, whereas playing mostly starts and ends at your own will without rules controlling the way you manipulate or use your play things. Playing is 100% down to you. A game is set out to be played in a particular manner.)

Games in History
The earliest known games are board games such as Go and Nine Men's Morris. Sports records show that athletic games existed in ancient times as well.

Up until the industrial age, newly designed games were not well-known, if they existed. But a lot of the games and sports played today were invented or had modern rules drawn during the 19th century. Baseball, basketball and football (both the American and international games) are examples of sports that grew up in that period. While some evolution of the rules has taken place since then, they largely resemble the same games played today. New board games like the game of Goose also started appearing at this time. These changes may be most easily attributed to a combination of improved transportation, communication, and manufacturing; with a more mobile society, popular games could easily spread throughout the world, and games with specialized equipment could be built in larger numbers.

The next 'big wave' came with the 1950s and 60s, with the newly developing American consumer society. In this period both flashier and more complex games started appearing. Of special note was the increasing complexity of war games that continued into the 70s, that eventually branched off into the role-playing game.

Of course, during the same time frame video games were just being born. As far back as the 1950s the use of electronics, and especially computers, as a medium for entertainment had been considered or experimented with by academics and enthusiastic students. By the 1970s, they were ready to be mass marketed, first with Pong and variations thereof, then in a series of arcade games such as Canyon Bomber and Lunar Lander, and at about the same time with the Atari 2600 VCS(Video Computer System). These very early video games are notable because of their originality. They were made by and for an inexperienced gaming population, something very different from what is seen today. And most of them found success, being neither copycat imitators nor rushed, uninspired "genre" pieces.

Today, the technology has advanced greatly. No longer just a few rules with simple graphics and sound effects, most modern video games attempt to be virtual reality experiences that engage their players by conveying settings and stories in a visceral manner, combining the techniques of the cinema with gameplay rules to make settings seem realistic. They are produced at great expense and risk; the amount of content needed to achieve an impact competitive with other games has grown astronomically large.

Indeed, one of the more interesting developments in gaming has been the added significance of the 'storyline'. Back when the prime requirement of a video game was to reproduce the playability factor associated with the traditional board game, the inclusion of a background to the events taking place in the game was a manual filler at best. However, with the evolution of gaming technology bringing us ever closer to a fully convincing visual representation of an 'imagined reality', there is now a huge emphasis on the way in which the story unravels around the user's interactions. Any modern action or adventure game that wants to stand a chance out there now requires strong script writing, a solid plot with the occasional twist, and if they're really pushing the boat out, multiple endings/outcomes based on choices made by the user throughout the game. The makers of these games not only want to create a fully interactive cinematic experience, but also one that stands a good chance of winning an Oscar.

Future games may break the boundaries of the screen and common input devices and use methods of input and output that we can hardly imagine today.

The problem with today's game market is that because of the money involved most new games are similar to old tried and tested formulas. The sad fact is that originality is lost, the big players no longer want to risk their money on original ideas.

The Gameplay Experience
Perhaps more important than what the game is, is what the player gets out of the game. That's what a "gameplay experience" is - it encompasses the whole range of player thoughts and feelings during play. Some games try to be more engaging than others, and they may come from different angles. But whether the game is just a component of a larger event (a party, for example) or an event in itself, the experience, rather than the production values or quantity of gameplay, is the measure of what makes the game effective.

Overall the gaming experience is the most important thing, although the target at the end of the game can enhance the play. Take gambling for example, the thought of winning money at the end of the game heightens the playing experience.

The gaming experience is all about immersion: to believe in a small way you are connected to the game world and can affect the events that are unraveling before you. Whether you are snowboarding down a mountain, playing god or shooting your way through mindless zombies, you are connected with the virtual world. It is your journey through that world that is as important, if not more so, than the end finale.

The emotions you are put through in a game also play a big part in the gaming experience. If for example you are playing a game based on a film, you take the emotions conjured up during that film into the game, whether that be a feeling of fear or of invincibility. You therefore become even further immersed, possibly more so than someone who may not have seen the film.

Social Games
Social games, used to pass time or as an excuse to drink or as a way of demonstrating status, among other things, are usually simple enough to grasp quickly, or can be played with little concentration over gossip.

Challenging Games
Challenging games are focused on the presentation of increasingly difficult problems for the player(or players) to solve. Sports are examples of challenging games because they try to test the limits of human abilities; this is why professional leagues can be sold as entertainment for spectators. Other players help you solve these problems or you can solve on your own. This type of games help solve problems in real life, cooperation lessons and solving.

Virtual Realities
Modern game design, especially video game design, has grown increasingly interested in conveying immersive worlds that players can become deeply involved in. Virtual reality is the most appropriate term for this path of design, which is concerned not so much with the storyline or actual realism as it is with making the setting and action as convincing as possible.

Addiction
Despite the wonderful benefits games offer as diversions, spending too much time, to the neglect of normal life duties, and social development with direct contact with others can and often does happen. The line between addiction and a strong enjoyment of games is real, although the addict will rarely admit which side they are on. There are many resources to help the addict.

What is a video game?
A video game is a specific type of software that runs on hardware, a computer or video game console. That hardware platform requires at least some memory (that can be in several forms), some processing capacity and ways to interact with a display and some method with which a player can control the game.

When you get right down to it, that is what a video game is. It's interactive media. The player presses, clicks, or types something and then the game will respond according to some established rules. The elements of communication, therefore, are vital. Video Games are interactive video art pieces. In simpler terms; a video game is just another way to have fun and express creativity.

While definitions are nice and simple, in order to efficiently understand video game design, you really need to know the mechanics behind it all. We will not go into that in depth just yet, but realize that it requires programming, graphic design, sound design, music composition, and so much more.

Since the development of the first video game in 1931, the video game industry has grown on a kind of exponential curve. There were a few bumps in the road, but the industry has come to the point where it is taking in over $7 billion dollars annually. Salaries for people in the video game industry range from $32k to $200K. And a single video game can sell from $10 to almost $100.

Of all the things, it is not anything without a player, that is the participating audience of this interactive media.

After playing
Games will train and educate people, providing new skills and knowledge they can use outside of the game. An example is readily found in flight simulators, but even arcade racing games will train the player to manage more complex situations They will leave the player in an emotional and intellectually changed state. This can be a profound change (anger, catharsis, even love) or a superficial one. The relevance of these is different for each game and must play a role in game-design. In general designers will try to provide a catharsis at the end of each game, a happy ending. But more importantly the player will take away an updated concept of the game itself. This will not just be static knowledge, for example maps of the game or the pros and cons of combos. The player will also gain dynamic knowledge, going over the gameplay in his head, replaying rather than analyzing the game. This after game experience is more relevant to game-design as it creates a slower, more profound feedback loop into the game. ''For example a puzzle game is changed when the gamer can pause or replay after a night's rest. Another example has a player planning his RPG character upgrades and coming back to the game anxious to obtain them.''

A last important issue is the relevance of the world to the game. People can come away from a game curious, and learn more about the real world that will then influence later gameplay. For example a tactical tank simulation designed with real world combat in mind can be cracked by studying real world combat. Social contact will provide them with info that will also influence later gameplay. Players will visit walkthroughs or discuss tactics with friends. And don't forget that the player will predict these matters while playing. For example, a hardcore gamer will not readily plunge into a children's pony-combing game if he has to tell his friends later on. Tying in the player after he stops playing can make or break a game. Ultimately you want the player to come back.


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Sadrabad, Nishapur

Sadrabad (, also Romanized as Şadrābād) is a village in Darbqazi Rural District, in the Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 84, in 22 families.

title: Sadrabad, Nishapur


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Josef Winterhalder the Younger

Josef Winterhalder the Younger (25 January 1743, Vöhrenbach – 17 January 1807, Znojmo) was a German-Bohemian painter belonging to the fourth generation of painters and sculptors in the Winterhalder (Bildhauerfamilie). He worked in Moravia, Lower Austria and Hungary.

Life
He was one of six children born to the sculptor Johann Michael Winterhalder. After his mother's death in 1753, he and two of his siblings were sent to live in Olmütz with their uncle, Josef (now referred to as Josef Winterhalder the Elder) who formally adopted them. He introduced his nephew to his colleagues, Paul Troger and Franz Anton Maulbertsch and he was an assistant in the latter's workshop from 1763 to 1768. His first mature work in his own style is an apotheosis of Saint Clement at the parish church in Horní Břečkov, completed in c. 1770.

After marrying and settling in Znojmo, he worked prolifically throughout the area until the early 1780s, when Emperor Joseph II suppressed the monasteries and ordered a reduction in the ornamentation of churches; part of a general program of religious modernization.

These actions had a serious effect on Winterhalder's livelihood, but he was able to find patronage from the Moravian nobility, decorating several of their mansions with trompe-l'œil ornaments and the like. This period includes his only portrait. In 1796, János Szily, the Bishop of Szombathely, wanted murals for his cathedral. Maulbertsch was the Bishop's first choice, but he was ill (terminally so, as it turned out), so the commission went to Winterhalder. This restored his career, to some extent. The murals were lost during World War II.

Around 1800, he wrote Moravian artists in Znojmo and the surroundings, a compendium of artworks and artists (with critical commentary and biographies). He also listed his own works in the order of their importance (rating those from the period of suppression at the bottom), and mused about the course of his life. His last known works were in 1805, at a library belonging to the Premonstratensian Order in Geras.

title: Josef Winterhalder the Younger


text:
List of protected heritage sites in La Hulpe

This table shows an overview of the protected heritage sites in the Walloon town Terhulpen, or La Hulpe. This list is part of Belgium's national heritage.

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