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Table Of Contents
Holidays Closed on Re-open on
Christmas Day  &
the day after Christmas 		 December 25, 2000 
(Monday) 8:30 p.m.		 December 27, 2000 
(Wednesday) 9:00 a.m.
The first day of January December 30, 2000 (Saturday) 6:00 p.m. January 2, 2001 (Tuesday) 9:00 a.m.
The day preceding Lunar New Year and Lunar New Year Holidays January 23, 2001 (Tuesday)  1:00 p.m. January 27, 2001 (Saturday) 9:00 a.m.


 

Computer Centre User Survey 2000
 

Welcome to the CC Survey

A user survey on computer services provided by the HKU Computer Centre is being conducted in electronic format at website   http://intranet.hku.hk:8030/ccform/app/computing.survey  from December 22, 2000 to January 31, 2001.

Please take this opportunity to participate in this Computer Centre Web Survey and give us your valuable feedback on the quality and your satisfaction level of the computer services provided by the HKU Computer Centre.

What is the Survey about and How will it benefit me?

We feel that it is important to let our users rate the importance and their satisfaction of the computer and network services we provide.  The benefit of the survey is that your opinions and feedback will help us in identifying areas in which we are doing well and areas in which we need improvement, and also, which services are most important to you, so that we can focus our effort on what you want and provide better services in those areas.

In this survey, you are asked to rate the importance and your satisfaction level of the overall computer services we provide on a scale of 1 to 5 with
    Importance (1= not at all important, 5= most important, 0= not applicable)
    Satisfaction (1= not at all satisfied, 5= most satisfied, 0= not applicable)
Be sure to put down your responses in this section of the survey to give us your feedback.

How do I fill out a web form?

The web survey is made of radio buttons, checkboxes, text boxes and pull-down selection lists.  To select a radio button  or a checkbox  ,  click the little round circle or tick the little square. To select from the drop down list ,  click the little downward arrow to drop down the list, then select an option by clicking on it.  To fill in the text boxes , click in the text box and type in the characters or numbers.   Lastly, you must click the   button to submit the completed web form.

What will we do with the Survey Results?

The survey data collected from this process will be analysed and reported at the conclusion of the survey and the results will be published in the next issue of the Computer News.  Data analysis will be performed using the SAS package.

The Computer Centre would like to thank you for your participation. We are sure that your response will assist us in the development of new facilities and services to reflect the requirements of all of our users.

I have decided to participate.  Where is the Survey form?

Simply click the following link to get into the survey. This webpage is in the intranet and is only accessible from the HKU network. If you are using an ISP's network service, you cannot access it.  Answer each question in the survey that is applicable to you and leave the non-applicable questions blank.  Thank you for taking the time to help us know ourselves and you better.
 

http://intranet.hku.hk:8030/ccform/app/computing.survey
Mabel Chau
Tel: 2859 8934
Email: chaumabc@hku.hk

More 56Kbps Modem Lines

We are pleased to announce that 120 new lines were added to the x2/V.90 standard 56Kbps modem pools on November 9, 2000.  This upgrade operation has expanded the 56Kbps modem pools for students and staff  to 888 lines. Among the new lines,  72 lines were added to the one-hour pool for all users (Tel: 29757000), 24 lines were added to the half-hour pool for all users (Tel: 29647000) and 24 lines were added to the one-hour pool for staff-only (Tel: 28595100). An updated summary of the dial-up lines is shown below
 
 
x2/V.90 standards 56Kbps Modem pool Tel. no. No. of lines
one-hour 56Kbps modem pool for all users  29757000  480
half-hour 56Kbps modem pool for all users  29647000 168
half-hour 56Kbps modem pool for all users  21057100 96
one-hour 56Kbps modem pool for staff only  28595100 96
half-hour 56Kbps modem pool for staff only  29642300 48
Total:  888

After the installation of these new lines, statistics show that users can get connected to the PPP network at any time in a day. The peak period in which a saturation in utilization of the lines can be observed is between 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.  If you should encounter any difficulties in using the dial-up lines, please contact the undersigned.
 

Katherine Kwok
Tel: 2859 2497
E-mail: katkwok@cc.hku.hk

Applying for HKU-Cert (digital certificate) through Intranet Systems for Staff and Students

Since the launch of the HKU-Cert * (digital certificates) issuing service by the Computer Centre on 22nd September 2000, a HKU staff or student can get a HKU-Cert and the corresponding private key at the Centre's General Office (Room 223, Run Run Shaw Building).
 
* Note:  The HKU-Cert is issued through the HKU CA (Certification Authority) which is built on the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology. 
Click here for a brief description of the basic mechanism of PKI.

Starting from January 2001, in order to facilitate our staff and students to apply for the HKU-Cert without coming to the Computer Centre, users can apply for the HKU-Cert via the Intranet Systems for Staff and Students, respectively, as follows:

  1. Login the Intranet Systems
  2. After login, click the links "Computer Centre" and then "HKU-Cert On-line Application Form".  You will then be asked to enter a password for encrypting your HKU-Cert private key on a CD-R to be issued to you.
  3. You will be notified by e-mail to collect your Private-Key CD-R at the Computer Centre General Office (Room 223, Run Run Shaw Building) . This process will normally take one working day.
  4. You can either go in person or ask a person authorized by you to collect your Private-Key CD-R.  At the Computer Centre, you or the authorized person must show the appropriate personal identification (e.g. HKU Smart Card or HK Identity Card) and submit a signed copy of the HKU-Cert Subscriber Agreement (version 2.0).
Note 1:  When the applicant collects the Private Key in person at the Computer Centre's General Office, he can at the same time request to save his private key to his HKU Smart Card.
Note 2: Since the password encrypting the private key is only known to the applicant, collection of the Private Key CD-R of an applicant by his authorized person would not compromise the security of his private key.

Use of the HKU-Cert

The HKU-Cert can be used in HKU Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) applications where electronic signatures are required, and in e-mail programs which support the use of electronic signatures and encryption of e-mail messages.

As more HKU ESD applications are being developed, users will find more occasions for using electronic signatures.  Apart from the on-line application form system and the Computer Centre Ordering System which were introduced in the previous issue of the Computer News, we are pleased to present another ESD applications using the electronic signature:

Should you have any enquiries relating to the HKU-Cert and its use for ESD (Electronic Service Delivery) applications, please contact the undersigned.

M. C. Pong
Tel: 2859 2491
E-mail: pmc@cc.hku.hk


The Symposium on Fundamental Computing Education in Tertiary Institutes

On October 20, 2000, the Computer Centre had organised, in association with the Association of Fundamental Computing Education in China (AFCEC), the "Symposium on Fundamental Computing Education in Tertiary Institutes" at the University of Hong Kong. The AFCEC, which was founded in 1984, is a National Association of China with the mission of fostering the development and advancement of fundamental computing education in tertiary institutions in China. The association has a membership of over 300 universities and colleges. Most of its members participate actively in the Steering Committee for the  Fundamental Computing of the State Education Commission and in the Committee on Grade Computer Examination of the National Education Examination Authority.

Both Professor Ian Davies, Vice Chancellor of HKU and Professor H Q Tan, President of the Council of AFCEC, who were guests of honour at the symposium, stressed in their speeches at the opening ceremony that information technology is of mandatory importance in today's society and the key to the future.  They also shared with the delegates at the symposium that the mission of university educators is to ensure that our students will master good techniques on IT, so that they could survive and thrive in the new e-economy world and contribute actively to the society.

The symposium was a valuable occasion for colleagues at HKU to share with more than 160 delegates from China and Hong Kong on the experiences and methodologies in teaching fundamental computing at the tertiary level.  The following keynote speeches were presented in the symposium:

Reflection and Reform of Computing Education for Science Students in Higher Learning Institutes
    Professor B Q Xie, Department of Electronics, Beijing University

Continuing and Professional IT Education in Hong Kong
    Dr S M Shen, Deputy Director, SPACE, HKU

Experiences in Facility and Support Provisions for Web-based Course Development
    Dr P T Ho, Deputy Director, HKU Computer Centre

Design and Studies of University Network Teaching Systems
    Professor P H Shen, Director, Computing and Information Management Centre, Tsinghua University

PI-Learning - A Pervasive and Interactive Web-based Learning System
    Professor F Y L Chin, Chair of Computer Science, CSIS, HKU

An Evaluation on the Use of a Web-based Assignment System for Fundamental Computer Education
    Dr Wong Wai, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, HKBU

Dr Ng Nam, Director of the Computer Centre, would like to express his heartfelt thanks to the Council of AFCEC, in particular Professor Tan, for giving the HKU Computer Centre the privilege of hosting this symposium, to our Vice-Chancellor Professor Davies, for inaugurating the event and speaking at the opening ceremony, and to our Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Felix Wu, who hosted the lunch for the delegates. In addition, special thanks are due to Mr Lawrence Law, Director of Information Technology Services Center of HKUST, who arranged a visit to the HKUST campus for the delegates from China at the close of the symposium.

A photo gallery of the symposium is available at http://www.itservices.hku.hk/symposium/symposium.html
and a video clip of the opening ceremony can also be viewed at http://www.itservices.hku.hk/symposium/view.ram.
 

Anita Chan
Tel: 2859-2491
E-mail: cwy@cc.hku.hk


From the Help Desk...the HKU ACEnet, Hallnet and VPN facilities

In the last issue, we looked at how to access the HKU network from home via the telephone lines using the PPP service. In this issue, we shall look at accessing the network from the residence halls (Hallnet),  the Access-Everywhere network (ACEnet), and accessing the HKU network from an ISP (Internet Service Provider)'s broadband service.

The Hallnet and ACEnet

In all the University's residence halls, network points are installed for every hall resident.  Students can plug in their desktop PC's or notebook computers to the network points in their rooms and connect directly to the HKU network.

In the ACEnet,  network points are installed on the walls in most major buildings in the university campus. Staff and students can use these ACEnet points for connecting to the network typically using a notebook computer.  Click here to find out the locations of these network points all through the campus.

The Network Interface Card

Before you plan to use the Hallnet or the ACEnet, you must obtain a Network Interface Card (NIC) for your computer. At present, all networking from PCs need the network card (except the PPP service which uses the modem as the network  interface).  The network card is what identifies your PC (with a machine number) to the network. Your network card has an ethernet address (EA) that is unique in the world.

You must register the EA of your network card with the Computer Centre so that our network system recognises you as a legitimate user, otherwise the system will not allow access to those who did not register their network cards.  You can register your network card via the staff or student intranet.

When you connect to the Hallnet or the ACEnet, you will be assigned an IP address by the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server. The DHCP is the protocol that dynamically assigns IP addresses in the PPP dial-up system as well.

Your IP address is a unique number which identifies you on the Internet. If someone else is using the same IP address, then the browser will display an error message that there has been an IP address conflict and you will not be served the web page you requested.

If you wish to check the IP address you had been assigned by the DHCP, click Start...Run in your windows, then type the 'winipcfg' command in windows. If your IP address does not start with '147.8...' then it is wrong.  Be sure to select the correct network adaptor.  For hallnet and ACEnet, select the 'Ethernet adaptor', not the 'PPP adaptor'.  Then click the 'Release' and 'Renew' buttons at the bottom of the 'winipcfg' screen to release the last assignment and get a new IP address.

Moving in the Halls

For hallnet users, your name must be registered in the hall where you are staying before you can register your network card. Contact your hall manager about your hall registration if the intranet system will not allow you to register your network card properly.

If you had moved from one hall to another, you cannot use the network in the new hall. You must delete your previous network card registration in the student intranet system and then re-register it again under the new hall.

Broadband and VPN

More and more users are subscribing to the broadband service instead of using the PPP dial-up service for faster speed on the Internet.  Broadband refers to telecommunication that provides multiple channels of data over a single communications medium typically using your cable TV line (with higher bandwidth) instead of the telephone line.

When you use the broadband service, you are subscribing to an ISP.  When you connect to the HKU network from an ISP, you can only view contents placed on the HKU web server (www.hku.hk) but not contents on the intranet such as the Student Connect system, the UIS system etc.

To access systems installed on the HKU intranet using an ISP's network service, you must use our VPN service. The VPN connection makes use of the Internet's routing infrastructure to move secure data to and from a private network, maintaining privacy through the use of a tunneling protocol and security procedures. The details for configuring the VPN server and procedures for connecting to the HKU network can be found at http://www.itservices.hku.hk/news/ccnews85/vpn.html

Currently, only Windows 95/98 operating systems are supported but not Windows 2000.  The equipment manufacturer for our VPN gateway decided to quit from the enterprise network market, and hence, there will not be any upgrade for our existing VPN gateway.  However,  it is our plan for the next development of the VPN service to support the Windows 2000 and hopefully other platforms as well.

The proxy server

A proxy server serves as a gateway for the security of the institution. It also serves as cache memory space for storing webpages.  If you request a webpage from an external site outside of HKU, the browser will first look for the page on the proxy server.  If it finds the page, it returns it to the user without searching on the Internet. If the page is not in the cache, the proxy server, acting as a client on behalf of the user, uses one of its own IP addresses to request the page from the server out on the Internet. When the page is returned, the proxy server relates it to the original request and forwards it on to the user.

When using the Hallnet, the ACEnet or the VPN networks, you must configure the proxy server in your browser or you will not be able to view sites outside of HKU.  As the proxy server may be moved to different hardware from time to time, you should configure for the automatic proxy. The automatic server location is at
    http://www.hku.hk/local/cc/proxy.pac
 

Mabel Chau
Tel: 2859 8934
Email: chaumabc@hku.hk


WebDAV - a Software Tool for Easy Updating of E-Courses on WebCT server 

Our WebCT users may find uploading webpage files to the WebCT server not an easy task because it involves multiple steps.  We are pleased to inform our users that we have recently installed WebDAV on the HKU WebCT server (ecourse.hku.hk) which should simplify the tasks of uploading and managing the course files in the WebCT server.

What is WebDAV?

WebDAV stands for 'Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning'. It allows web authors to manage files of their web sites through the 'Web Folders' of their local workstation operating on Windows or Macintosh. With WebDAV, course designers can now manage files of their WebCT courses directly on remote web servers from their workstations without having to upload and unzip files via the browser interface.

How to make use of WebDAV?

Follow the procedures listed below to set up WebDAV and web folders on your PC or Macintosh. The web folders created for your WebCT courses on the server can then be referenced as if they are on your local disk drives.

Notes on using WebDAV

  1. WebDAV supports file locking so that when a user is editing a file in a web folder, that file can only be viewed on the web but cannot be edited by other users.
  2. Although multiple web folders can be defined, only one folder (connection) can be active at a time. e.g. If a designer owns 2 WebCT courses and sets up 2 web folders for these courses, he has to enter his designer account name and password every time he switches from one folder to the other. Therefore, it is preferred to work on one folder at a time.
  3. For applications such as Office 2000, the web folder icon will appear in the folder list of the application such that users can edit the file directly from this application. For other applications in which the web folder cannot be located, users can save their files on a local disk drive and then copy the files to the web folders later.
Setting up WebDAV for users of Windows95 or above

The pre-requisite is to have the IE5 browser installed. Then, follow these steps to setup a web folder that connects to your WebCT course :

  1. Start 'Window Explorer'
  2. Click 'Web Folders'
  3. Click 'Add new web folder'
  4. Enter 'http://ecourse.hku.hk:8900/your_course_id' as the location, e.g. http://ecourse.hku.hk:8900/introwebct

  5. Enter your WebCT designer's name and password

  6. Label the new web folder with an identifier of your choice, e.g. 'Introduction to WebCT'

  7. This folder can now be referenced by Windows
Setting up WebDAV for users of MacOS 8.1 or above

System requirement for Mac users is to have a PowerPC based Macintosh running MacOS 8.1 or higher. Follow these steps to connect to your WebCT course through WebDAV:

  1. Download the Goliath application at http://www.webdav.org/goliath/#download and install it in your Mac
  2. Start WebDAV and make a new WebDAV connection to your WebCT course

    3. To upload files to server, drag-and-drop the files to the WebDAV folder

To learn more about WebDAV on Mac, please visit this web site http://www.webdav.org/goliath/.

If you would like to learn more about WebDAV, please visit their site at http://www.webdav.org/. If you have any further questions, please contact the undersigned.

Fanny Chau
Tel: 2964 5737
E-mail: hcxccyh@hku.hk

The HKU Gigabit Ethernet Campus Network Backbone


The HKU campus network backbone has been using the ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) technology since 1997 to provide a faster network and to implement the ACEnet roaming network.

As the vendor supplying our existing ATM network equipment is backing out of the highly competitive network equipment market and is phasing out the customer support, the Computer Centre has to resort to other network equipment providers in order that we get the most cost-effective supplier and support for our network.  In the past few months, the Computer Centre was searching for a substitution solution that can meet our network backbone requirements.

The Gigabit Ethernet (G.E.) technology is found to be one of the best solutions available as its price has dropped drastically and it would meet the large bandwidth requirement of our current campus network. Besides the bandwidth requirement, inter-operability with existing network equipment is also a major factor to consider. The Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) technology is being used in the existing ATM campus backbone to facilitate the linking together of geographically dispersed users. Now the Ethernet-based VLAN technology has become mature enough to be deployed. With all these advantages, the G.E.-based network infrastructure was selected to inter-operate with our ATM-based campus network.

Two high-density G.E. backbone switches had been installed in October serving as the new G.E. backbone.  These two G.E. backbone switches have a very compact design that each switch can provide integrated functions of router, ATM switch and G.E./F.E. switch within a single box. The router function provides additional network traffic routing capacity to the existing network, so that the existing backbone routers can be off-loaded and network resiliency is increased. The ATM switch function provides connectivity to the existing ATM backbone and thus the two backbone networks can be linked up. For the G.E. switch itself, it can be configured to use VLAN-based network topology to join the existing VLAN-based ATM network. Therefore the overall new backbone can be fully inter-operable with the existing network. We have already performed many tests with positive results before actual implementation.

The entire implementation plan has different phases and we are working with the vendor closely. At the current phase, the two G.E. backbone switches were installed and running.  One of the switches is installed in the Computer Centre and the other is in the Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building as a backup. The new G.E. backbone switches are connected to each other by two G.E. links with load-sharing function enabled. Each G.E. backbone switch has a ATM OC-12 (622Mbps) link to connect to the existing ATM backbone network. In this backbone design, there should be no single-point-of-failure between the backbone switches. Several network segments had been switched over to the new backbone and they are running normally without any problems.  Some network traffic on the old backbone had been re-routed to the new backbone to off-load the old backbone routers.

In the next phase, we are going to install 15 to 20 high-density F.E. switches with dual G.E. fiber uplinks to different buildings to serve as a building concentration switch for that building. To cope with the increased need of fiber connections between building in the main campus, additional fibers are being installed. We shall report further on the progress of the GE backbone upgrade project as it develops.


Glossary

Asynchronous Transfer Mode

ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) is a dedicated-connection switching technology that organizes digital data into 53-byte cell units and transmits them over a physical medium using digital signal technology. Individually, a cell is processed asynchronous relative to other related cells and is queued before being multiplexed over the transmission path. Multiplexing is sending multiple signals of information on a carrier at the same time in the form of a single, complex signal and then recovering the separate signals at the receiving end. Our ATM backbone has a transmission speed of 622 Mbps.

Gigabit Ethernet

Gigabit Ethernet (GE) is a local area network transmission standard that provides a data rate of 1 billion bits per second (one gigabit). Existing Ethernet LANs with 10 and 100 Mbps cards can feed into a Gigabit Ethernet backbone.

Fast Ethernet

Fast Ethernet is a local area network transmission standard that provides a data rate of 100 megabits per second (100BASE-T). Workstations with existing 10 megabit per second (10BASE-T) ethernet cards can be connected to a Fast Ethernet network.

virtual LAN

A virtual LAN is a local area network with a definition that maps workstations on some other basis than geographic location (for example, by department, type of user, or primary application). The virtual LAN controller can change or add workstations and manage load balancing and bandwidth allocation more easily than with a physical LAN.

Ethernet

Ethernet is the most widely-installed local area network (LAN) technology. A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers that share a common communications line and the resources of a single processor or server within a small geographic area (e.g. within an office building).  An Ethernet LAN typically uses coaxial cable or special grades of twisted pair wires providing transmission speeds up to 10 Mbps (10BASE-T).
 


Ronald Leung
Tel: 2857 8593
E-mail: lhy@cc.hku.hk


Upgrade of the WAN Links to University Hall and Ricci Hall
 

We are pleased to announced that the WAN (wide area network) links to the student residences University Hall and Ricci Hall have been upgraded from 256Kbps to T1speed  (1.5Mbps) since December 1, 2000. The network traffic congestion problem previously experienced by residents of these two halls is now resolved and the network access response is much improved.

At the moment, the Computer Centre is also in the process of installing additional fibre cables and routers for serving the student residence halls in the Sassoon Road area, namely the Lee Hysan Hall, R.C. Lee Hall,, Wei Lun Hall and the Madam S.H. Ho Residence for Medical Students, so as to alleviate the network traffic congestion problem which could occur during the peak usage period at night time.  This development is scheduled to be completed by February 2001.

Should you have any questions relating to the network improvement work for the halls mentioned above, please contact the undersigned.
 

Ronald Leung
Tel: 2857 8593
E-mail: hyleung@hkusua.hku.hk


Upgrade of the HARNET-CERNET Connection and Development of the HARNET-Internet2 Connection

Upgrade of the HARNET-CERNET Connection

We are pleased to announced that the dedicated network link for connecting HARNET (Hong Kong Academic and Research Network) and CERNET (China Education and Research Network) has been upgraded to an E1 (2.048 Mbps) IPLC (International Private Leased Circuit) since December 1, 2000. Before the upgrade, the link between HARNET and CERNET was only supported by a 64Kbps connection. The upgraded link is now connected directly to the HARNET router which provides a shorter route for Internet communications between all local universities and the institutions in China. Since the upgrade, the response of accessing network sites of  CERNET has been noticeably improved although we can notice that the utilization of the upgraded links has already become very full.
 

Development of the HARNET-Internet2 Connection

In Issue No. 86 of the Computer News, we reported that the Computer Centre has embarked on a development together with the JUCC (Joint Universities Computer Centre) to provide  Internet2 connectivity for HARNET so that this forefront network facility could be available to our users.

The aim of Internet2 is to develop advanced Internet technology and applications for the research needs of higher education.  Over 180 U.S. universities, in cooperation with industry and government, are leading the project. Internet2 will provide better and more powerful network capabilities to support the research and educational activities of universities and research institutions. Internet2 is capable of three things: higher bandwidth; multicasting; and guaranteed delivery and performance. However, Internet2 is not just a faster network, it is also a testing ground for participating members to experiment with Internet applications of the future using various new and emerging Internet technologies.

In September, 2000, the JUCC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) in U.S.A. to be an International MOU Partner of Internet2, together with a Joint Agreement for Interconnection of HARNET to the Abilene Network of Internet2.

The Abilene Network is the major backbone network connecting Internet2 sites and universities in the North America. There are many data exchange points along the Abilene Network. The most common access point for Asian network connections is the Science, Technology and Research Transit Access Point (STAR TAP) where many Asian networks (e.g. CERNET, SingAREN, TANET) connect to. The STAR TAP is essentially a large ATM switch in Chicago with enough capacity to provide stable configurations of emerging network technology, plus the network engineering to provide new services to an ever-expanding international community. For further details on Abilene Network, interested readers may consult the following links:

The Abilene Project: http://www.ucaid.edu/abilene/home.html
About Abilene: http://www.ucaid.edu/abilene/html/about.html

It is the plan of JUCC to connect HARNET to the Internet2/Abilene Network through a direct network connection of 10 Mbps or higher to STAR TAP in year 2001.  At present, the JUCC is also in the process of soliciting industrial and commercial sponsorship to facilitate the set up of the HARNET-Internet2 connection. Users who are interested in knowing more about the HARNET-Internet2 development can contact the undersigned for more information.
 

Ronald Leung
Tel: 28578593
E-mail: lhy@cc.hku.hk

Mathematica 4.0 and SPSS 6.14 installed on HKUSUA

We are pleased to announce that Mathematica 4.0 and SPSS 6.14 for Unix have recently been installed on the HKUSUA system. The use of these two software packages are discussed in the following:
 

Mathematica 4.0

Mathematica is a software which lets you perform highly complex numerical, symbolic and algebraic computations easily and displays the results with sophisticated graphical plots to output devices and files.

1. Functions and features

Mathematica has over 843 built-in functions for numerical and symbolic calculations, processing and plotting of  2D and 3D graphics, as well as for users to create their own libraries for the specific needs. Mathematica also provides interfaces for linking external software e.g. TEX or user programs written in C or Fortran. Thus, within a processing session using Mathematica, you can pass information to or receive information from other applications and programs.

Note: Mathematica is made of two parts: a kernel and a front end. The kernel is the part which does calculations while the front end is the part which handles Mathematica notebook files and interacts with the user.
 

2. Starting and Quitting a Mathematica session

A. Setting Mathematica kernel for graphical display

If you wish to display graphical plots using Mathematica kernel , set up your terminal as follows:

B. Starting and quitting Mathematica Kernel C. Starting and quitting Mathematica Front End

3. Using Mathematica

You can enter Mathematica commands or data according to its syntax as highlighted below:

A. You have to enter Mathematica function names in their exact form (mindful of the upper and lower cases):

For instance, you must enter "Show" instead of show or SHOW

B. Use correct Metacharacters to separate your symbols and perform special functions

        N [Log[4 Pi]]   as      log(4pi)
        N [Pi,7]        as      pi to 7 significant digits
        %, %%, ...      as      last result, second last result...
        >> filename             write expressions to filename
        >>> filename            append to filename
        << filename             receive from/load filename

        ?Show                   on-line help on the Show function
        ??Show                  more information
        ?Sh*                    list of functions beginning with Sh
        ?$*                     list all global variables

        !! filename             display content of filename
        !                       spawn a new shell

        (* ... *)       as      comment

        x^y             as       x to the power y
        -x              as      minus x
        x/y             as      x divided by y
        x+y             as      x plus y
        x y  or  x*y    as      x times y

        f[x]            as      f(x)
        f[[x]]          as      Part(f,x) - indexing
        {a,b,...}               as      list of values
        (term)          as      for grouping

        ;                       command separator which prohibit input

        x=value                 assign value to variable x
        x=.                     clear value of x
        x=y=value               value get assigned to both x and y

        y:=f[x]                 deferred assignment (Definition)
 

C. Input/Output

4. Dealing with graphics output

There are a number of macro files (packages) provided to deal with different output devices/formats:

FileGraphics.m - direct Graphics output (Postscript commands) to the file pstmp
PSDirect.m      -       direct Graphics output to stdout
VT340.m         -       Graphics output for VT340 terminal
Tek.m           -       Graphics output for Tektronic 4014 series terminals
Motif.m         -       Graphics output to X-Window

You can load any one of them in a Mathematica session using the << operator.

psfix is a utility program which can convert the default Mathematica PostScript output file to Encapsulated Post Script file
 

5. Examples

The following shows how Mathematica is invoked from a session with the HKUSUA system, and the sequence of commands for numerical/symbolic calculations and simple plottings.
 

A. Numerical/Symbolic calculations

hkusua% math
Mathematica 4.0 for Solaris
Copyright 1988-1999 Wolfram Research, Inc.
 -- Terminal graphics initialized --

In[1]:= Expand[(1+x)^2]

                   2
Out[1]= 1+ 2 x + x

In[2]:= Factor[%]

               2
Out[2]= (1 + x)

In[3]:= x = 2

Out[3]= 2

In[4]:= Evaluate[%%]

Out[4]= 9

ln[5]:= Simplify[%1]

Out[5]= 9

In[6]:= x =.

In[7]:= Simplify[%1]

               2
Out[7]= (1 + x)

In[8]:= D[%,x]

Out[8]= 2 (1 + x)

In[9]:= Integrate[%,x]

                2
               x
Out[9]= 2 (x + --)
               2

In[10]:= h = (1+x)^2 ==0

               2
Out[10]= (1 + X) == 0

In[11]:= Solve[%10,x]

Out[11]= {{x -> -1}, {x -> -1}}

In[12]:= Solve[x^2+x+1==0,x]

                     1/3             2/3
Out[12]= {{x -> -(-1)   }, {x -> (-1)   }}
 

In[13]:= NSolve[x^2+x+1==0,x]

Out[13]= {{x -> -0.5 - 0.866025  I}, {x -> -0.5 + 0.866025 I}}

In[14]:= Quit

hkusua%


B. Simple Plots

hkusua% math
Mathematica 4.0 for Solaris
Copyright 1988-1999 Wolfram Research, Inc.
 -- Terminal graphics initialized --

Reference:

SPSS Release 6.14 for Unix

 
SPSS is an integrated and comprehensive system for statistical data analysis.  Due to the phasing out of the HKURSC system on which the SPSS package was previously installed, SPSS for Unix (Release 6.13) has been installed on HKUSUA since October,  2000.  The SPSS modules available on HKUSUA include:
SPSS Base provides you with the basic functions of data access, data preparation, analytical reporting and predictive modeling so that you can analyse the data you have got for making better decisions.
SPSS Tables provides you with the functon to generate reports in tables format from results of analyses which could be very complicated. The tablulated results would enable you to communicate your  results with others effectively.
SPSS Categories can be used to predict categorical outcome when you understand how items are grouped with perceptual maps.
To invoke SPSS on HKUSUA, go through the following steps (as in the previous HKURSC system):
  1. Start the Excursion program on your PC or type &ldquo;xhost +&rdquo; on your workstation.
  1. Login to hkusua.hku.hk and type the command
&lsquo;setenv DISPLAY your_ip_address:0.0&rsquo;
to setyour display environment to your PC or workstation.
  1. Type &lsquo;spss&rsquo; to invoke the SPSS package.
  2. To run SPSS in batch mode (No Graphical User Interface), please use the following command
                                   spss -m <  input_fileanme > output_filename
 
If you encounter any problems in using SPSS, please report them by email to  ithelp@hku.hk or ccssg@hkusua..hku.hk.

Should you have any enquiries related to the the procedure in using the SPSS software, please contact the undersigned.

 

Frankie Cheung
Tel: 2859 2489
Email: frankie@cc.hku.hk

and

and Kenneth Yip
Tel: 2859 7973
Email: kkyyip@hkusua.hku.hk


Termination of the HKURSC Service

We would like to inform our users that all services supported by the HKURSC system (running AIX 3.2.5) were terminated on 30 November 2000.

The applications previously run on the HKURSC system, including the SPLUS, SPSS and Mathematica, are now available on the HKUSUA system. (It is a SUN Enterprise 10000 system running Solaris 2.6.) Furthermore, the Mathematica and SPSS systems installed on the HKUSUA are newer versions, as follows:

Please contact the undersigned if you have any enquiries about the phasing out of the HKURSC system.

KC Chang
Tel: 2859 7972
E-mail: kcchang@hkusua.hku.hk

Purchase of Laser Printing Units using the Credit Card through the HKU ESD System

The Computer Centre is pleased to announce a new service for purchasing laser printing units for printing in the PC laboratories in the Computer Centre.  Starting from November 15, 2000, a staff or student can purchase laser printing units in the HKU ESD System using a credit card (VISA or MasterCard) and signing with his digital signature.

In order to sign with your digital signature, you must first get your HKU-Cert (digital certificate issued by the HKU Certification Authority) and the corresponding private key from the Computer Centre.  The private key for the digital signature will be stored in your HKU Smart Card or on a HKU-Cert Private-Key CD-R issued by the Centre.  The smart card must be read by a smart-card reader while the CD-R can be read from any PC with a CD drive.

A PC running Windows 95 or 98 can run the HKU ESD System after some software is installed in the PC.  Please see the description of the HKU ESD System and click the link Pre-requisites for the details of pre-configuring your PC.  The PCs in the PC Laboratories in Run Run Shaw Building are pre-configured and are capable of running the HKU ESD System.

You can visit the HKU ESD System by clicking on the "HKU ESD" button in the HKU Intranet or HKU Intranet for Students home pages.  When you click on the link "Purchase Laser Printing Units", you should see the following screen:

To proceed, you must identify yourself to the HKU ESD System using your HKU-Cert private key, either with your HKU Smart Card or the HKU-Cert Private-Key CD-R.  Once you have been authenticated by the HKU ESD System, the following screen will appear and you can follow instructions as shown on the screen to purchase the required laser printing units with your VISA or MasterCard.

After you have chosen the required number of laser printing units and entered your VISA or MasterCard information, the credit card payment will be settled through the payment gateway provided by the Bank of East Asia Limited, and the transaction details will be recorded with your digital signature.  The system will then return a reference number of this transaction.  You are advised to record the reference number of the transaction.

With this electronic purchasing process using the digital signature and payment by credit card, the operational cost of the printing units is reduced and we can offer our users a discount as follows.  (Purchasing by cash is otherwise $30 for 100 units at the general office counter).
 
The charge schedule is:  100 units -- $24 (20 % discount of cash payment of $30)
400 units -- $90 (25 % discount of cash payment of $120)
Note:   1 printing unit for printing one A4 page from a black and white laser printer
10 printing units for printing one A4 page from a colour laser printer

If you would like to know more about the above service or how to apply the electronic payment gateway system to facilitate  operations in your Department, please contact the undersigned.

Newton Lui
Tel: 2859 7975
E-mail: lty@cc.hku.hk

PC Maintenance and other IT Support Services for Departments

The Computer Centre is offering a wide range of IT services for supporting the teaching, learning, research and administrative activities of the University. Besides the services provided through the centrally managed facilities, such the campus network infrastructure and the central host computer and server systems which are free to all staff and students, there has been an increasing number of requests from departments asking for other IT support services to meet their specific needs.  The Computer Centre has introduced various cost-recovery services to meet the specific needs of the departments for achieving their goals. The various types of departmental IT support services available from the Computer Centre on a cost-recovery basis are offered as follows :

1. Computer Equipment Maintenance services

 
The Computer Centre has a strong team of technicians to provide fast-response to computer equipment maintenance requests on a variety of computer equipment such as PC's and peripheral products.  Our technicians aim to arrive at your site (currently only in the university main campus) within 30-minutes of receiving the service request from you.  By subscribing to our annual maintenance service which is very price competitve, you can greatly minimise the down time of your PCs when they crash or have problems to connect to the network.

In addition, the Computer Centre also coordinates for University departments to subscribe for maintenance of other popular microcomputer-related hardware items with external service vendors. These hardware items include HP printers, Apple and Macintosh systems and Epson products. Departments can gain the benefits of "one-stop" maintenance through the Computer Centre arrangement as well as the special discount available from the vendors through the bulk volume maintenance rates acquired by the Computer Centre.

 
2. Departmental Computer Technician Support

The Computer Centre also offers chargeable technical support services to departments in the form of allocating Computer Technicians to work with the departments directly on their IT support and service requirement.  We offer flexible arrangement which can be full time, part time or even on an hourly basis. This "Computer Technician Support" service is particularly attractive to small departments which require regular but occasional staff support on departmental IT matters.

3. Programming Support for the Academic Departments

The Computer Centre provides professional programming support for departments to develop applications for facilitating their specific academic or administrative activities.  Our staff will work out a plan with your department to implement the project and the manpower cost for development will be charged to the department on a project basis.
 

4. Installation and Relocation of Network Points and Network Installation for PC stations
 
To connect a PC to the campus network, you have to contact the Computer Centre to install a network point for your PC.  Through a central allocation scheme, departments are provided with one network point for each Term-of-Service I staff.  If a department requires to set up more network points or to relocate certain existing network points, the department will be charged on the cost incurred.  The Computer Centre can also assist departments to set up network interface cards at cost and install the necessary software for their PC stations.
5. Sale of Computer Consumables
 
The Computer Centre offers a variety of computer consumables, such as toner cartridges, floppy diskettes, zip disks and CD-Rs, for sale to the staff and students of the University. These items are sold at cost so that you can gain both the benefits of paying better prices and saving your effort to go outside the campus to purchase those items.
 
6. Laser Printing Services
 
The Computer Centre provides laser printing services to students in the PC laboratories for both black and white and color printing. These printing services are charged at notional rate to recover the operational cost in maintaining the printing services.  Students are urged to use the ESD (Electronic Service Delivery) approach for buying printing units with the use of electronic signatures for paying by credit card. A discount is available for ESD purchases - $24 for 100 units or $90 for 400 units.  Purchase in person at the Computer Centre general office is charged at $30 for 100 units.

7. Software Site Licensing Arrangement

 
The Computer Centre coordinates site licensing programs for departments to acquire PC software in a cost-effective and easy-to-manage way.  Software included in this program are Microsoft, SAS, SPSS, Corel, Norton AntiVirus & Ghost and RichWin products. The Computer Centre negotiates the best price on these software products for the University by consolidating the requirements from various departments and striking a bulk deal.
Following is a summary of the cost-recovery services, their charges and how to access them :
 
Services
Pricing Information Available at
How to Subscribe
1. Maintenance services
http://www.itservices.hku.hk/services/pricelis.htm
 Fill in and return the form at http://www.itservices.hku.hkoffice/forms/cem-2.htm or call our General Office at 2859 2491.
2. Computer Technical Support Services Hourly rate : HK$250 Use the HKU ESD System at https://hkuesd.hku.hk:8000/servlets/EService/loginESD to place an electronic CC Order Form for the required no. of hours or through the printed CC Order Form
  Part-time/Full-time : calculated at the University's staff cost of the Technician grade Address a written request to the Director of Computer Centre stating the preferred arrangement
3. Installation and Relocation of Network Points and  Network Installation for PC stations http://www.itservices.hku.hkoffice/forms/cf-71a.htm Fill in and return the form at http://www.itservices.hku.hkoffice/forms/cf-71.htm
4. Programming Support for the Academic Departments Charge will be calculated according to the specific staff effort required for the project Address a written request to the Director of Computer Centre stating the preferred arrangement
5. Sale of Computer Consumables Browse the price list at
http://hkusuc.hku.hk/cc/services/consumable_price_list.htm		 Use the HKU ESD System at https://hkuesd.hku.hk:8000/servlets/EService/loginESD to place an electronic CC Order Form for the required items or through the printed CC Order Form
6. Laser Printing Services
$0.3 for one page of black & white print
$3.0 for one page of color print
Print units are available for sales through :
1. HKU ESD System at https://hkuesd.hku.hk:8000/servlets/EService/loginESD
2. Self-service purchase systems at RR-104 & OLB-134 
3. General Office at RR-223
7. Software Site Licensing Arrangement Browse the price list at
http://www.itservices.hku.hk/services/tender.htm and select the option “Software”		 Use the HKU ESD System at https://hkuesd.hku.hk:8000/servlets/EService/loginESD to place an electronic CC Order Form for the required items or through the printed CC Order Form

Note : The above pricing is subject to revision by the Computer Centre.

Please note that all prices quoted above are applicable to internal projects and departments which are funded by UGC. For those outside projects or non-block grant activities or self-funding projects, the Computer Centre will apply an overhead charge on the services to be provided, including the overhead charges as required by the University.

If you are interested in any service not mentioned above, you are welcome to contact Mr. C. M. Mak, Manager of User Support Services at 2859 2491 or send email to mcm@cc.hku.hk.
 

Idy Tang
Tel: 2859-2491
E-mail: kytang@cc.hku.hk


Staff News

The Computer Centre has been experiencing a lot of staff turnover in recent months probably due to the high demand for experienced I.T. personnel in Hong Kong.  We are continuously recruiting to fill the vacancies.

We welcome the following new members to the Computer Centre:


We bid farewell to the following staff and wish them every success in their future endeavors:

  • Mr Jeffrey Kwan Cho Fai who left on July 31, 2000
  • Mr Wu Sing On who left on August 13, 2000
  • Mr Ho Ka Fai who left on August 31, 2000
  • Mr Chan Yuen Keung who left on September 18, 2000
  • Mr Michael Leung Chi Wai who left on October 2, 2000
  • Ms Elaine Shum Kei Yum who left on October 9, 2000
    • Training News

    The Computer Centre is pleased to announce a series of courses scheduled for January to March 2001 to assist staff and students in using the Centre's facilities. The courses will cover the following areas:
     
    • Internet Browsing and Webpage Authoring
    • Chinese Information Handling
    • Spreadsheet
    • Unix System and Application Software
    • PC Network and Services
    • Word Processing 
    • Web Course Tools
    • Parallel Programming
    • Adobe Photoshop
    • Statistical Analysis

    Most courses are open to all staff and students free of charge.  A fee is charged for courses provided by a course vendor. Some courses require pre-requisites.  Click on the course number to see the description of each course.

    Users can apply on-line for these courses through the "CC Course Registration" icon in HKUWIN or click the "Staff Registration" or "Student Registration" links below.

    Click here to suggest new courses you would like.

    Staff Registration   or   Student Registration


    Course Schedule

    Courses on Parallel Programming
     
     
    C0513500 SP2 Parallel Programming
    with workshop    		 Jan 29, 2001 
    2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-101
    C0613500 SP2 Parallel Programming
    with workshop    		 Feb 27, 2001 
    2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-101
    C0713500 SP2 Parallel Programming
    with workshop    		 Mar 28, 2001 
    2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-101

    Courses on Unix System and Applications
     
    C0411800 Introduction to UNIX  Feb 22, 2001 
    2:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201

    Staff Registration   or   Student Registration
     

    Courses on Web Browsing and Webpage Editing
     
     
    C0414000 Introduction to WWW  and Internet services  Jan 9, 2001
    9:30 am - 12:30 pm    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    C0315100 Basic HTML Editing Jan 30, 2001
    9:30 am - 12:30 pm    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    C0715100 Basic HTML   Editing Feb 16, 2001
    9:30 am - 12:30 pm    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    C0514000 Introduction to WWW  and Internet services  Mar 8, 2001
    9:30 am - 12:30 pm    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    C0216100 Using CGI programs in
    Webpages     		 Mar 13, 2001
    9:30 am - 12:30 pm    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201

    Staff Registration   or   Student Registration

    Courses on Microsoft Office and Other Topics
     
     
    W0381000 Dreamweaver 3 
    (Student only)     		 Jan 11, 12, 2001
    9:30 am - 5:00 pm     		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    W0181400 Corel Draw 8 
    (Student only)     		 Jan 15, 16, 2001
    9:30 am - 5:00 pm     		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    W0280500 Adobe Photoshop 5.5 
    (Student only)     		 Jan 18, 19, 2001
    9:30 am - 5:00 pm     		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    W0281600 PowerPoint 2000 
    (Student only)     		 Jan 19, 2001
    9:30 am - 5:00 pm     		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-101
    W0181300 MS FoxPro 
    (Student only)     		 Jan 22, 23, 2001
    9:30 am - 5:00 pm     		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    W0281700 Flash 4.0 
    (Student only)     		 Feb 1 & 2, 2001
    9:30 am - 5:00 pm    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    W0281500 Access 2000 
    (Staff only)     		 Feb 5 & 6, 2001
    9:30 am - 5:00 pm    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    W0380500 Adobe Photoshop 5.5 
    (Staff only)     		 Feb 19 & 20, 2001
    9:30 am - 5:00 pm    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    W0180200 Chinese Word 97
    (Staff only)    		 Mar 5 & 6, 2001
    9:30 am - 5:00 pm    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201

    Staff Registration   or   Student Registration
     

     Course Descriptions:

    Using Electronic Signatures

    This is a 2-hour course on how to use electronic signatures in email and other electronic documents.  You will learn:

    1.  how to sign in HKU ESD applications,
    2.  how to install a private key and digital certificates in e-mail programs,
    3.  how to sign, encrypt and decrypt e-mail messages.
     

    Courses on Internet Browsing and Webpage Authoring

    Introduction to WWW and Internet Services

    This is a 3-hour introductory course. Course contents include
        Introduction to Internet
        Using The Netscape Communicator 4 Browser
        Reading Chinese on WWW Browser
        Tour on the HKU Intranet
        Tour on the Global Internet

    Basic HTML Editing

    This 3-hour course workshop on HTML editing using the Netscape Communicator 4 Editor.  In the workshop, students would be doing the following exercises:
        Exercise 1 - Create a document, try colors, fonts, bullets lists etc.
        Exercise 2 - Create targets and hyperlinks
        Exercise 3 - Create a table
        Exercise 4 - Using image files in your document
        Exercise 5 - Uploading your document to the server

    Using CGI Programs in Webpages

    This is a 3-hour course on using cgi programs in webpages.  Contents include:
        Exercise 1 - Running cgi program on the web server
        Exercise 2 - Imbedding cgi programs in a web form
        Exercise 3 - Putting a counter in a homepage
        Exercise 4 - Putting a guestbook in a homepage
    Pre-requisite: Basic HTML Editing. Attendants must have HKUSUA computer account.
     

    WebCT (Web Course Tool) Training Courses

    Introduction to WebCT

    This 2-hour course will discuss the basic functionalities provided by WebCT from a student's point of view to give participants some feelings on what WebCT can do for their course. e.g. browsing course materials, attempting on-line quizzes, using bulletin boards.

    Introduction to WebCT2.1

    This 2-hour course will provide hands-on training on WebCT v2.1. Major new features in v2.1 are:

    WebCT Course Designer's Basic Workshop

    This 4-hour course will cover steps for course designers (staff members who actually prepare courses on WebCT) to post lecture materials on WebCT, and to perform customization on course homepages.
    Pre-requisites: Introduction to WebCT, Basic HTML Editing.

    WebCT Course Designer's Advanced Workshop

    This 2-hour course will cover more advanced features for course designers, e.g. preparing on-line quizzes, checking statistical data, managing student records.
    Pre-requisites: WebCT Course Designer's Basic Workshop

    Courses on Parallel Programming

    SP2 Parallel Programming with Workshop

    This is a 3-hour seminar and workshop for people interested in parallel programming using the IBM SP2 Supercomputer. It covers the methodology of writing parallel programs using the message passing interface (MPI). Students should have programming experience in C or Fortran but experience in parallel programming is not needed. Sample programs will be given to users in the hands-on workshop.

    High Performance FORTRAN

    This 3-hour seminar on High Performance FORTRAN provides an easy way to write data parallel programs in MIMD computers such as the IBM SP2. The High Performance FORTRAN is an extension of the FORTRAN 90 in several areas, including:

    Introduction to FORTRAN 90 Programming

    This 9-hour course provides and introduction to the structure and syntax of the FORTRAN 90 language for FORTRAN 77
    programmers. After taking this course, users will be able to write FORTRAN 90 programs using arrays and write reusable and
    readable codes using the data encapsulation feature of FORTRAN 90.

    Courses on Unix System and Application Software

    Introduction to UNIX

    This is a 3-hour introductory course for users with little or no Unix experience. The course will cover the Unix computing environment, the Unix file system, the editor, email, disk quota and mail quota allocations and commonly used Unix commands.

    Seminar on MAPLE V

    This is a 2-hour introduction course on the use of MAPLE V for mathematical computations.  The course covers:
        Maple Objects,
        Syntax of Maple V commands
        Some Common Operations
        Numerical Operations
        Graphics
        I/O
        Programming in Maple V

    Seminar on MATLAB

    MATLAB is an integrated computing environment for numeric computation and visualization. This 2-hour seminar will give an
    introduction on using MATLAB in numerical analysis, matrix computation and graphics etc.

    Seminar on Mathematica

    Mathematica is a general computer software system and language intended for mathematical and other applications. In this 2-hour seminar, examples of using Mathematica in numerical calculations, graphics, algebra and calculus, solving equations etc, will be shown.

    Seminar on SAS

    The SAS package is an integrated system for data analysis. In this 2-hour seminar, users will learn how to create a SAS
    data set, to retrieve data from the data set and to perform some commonly used statistical procedures. Users are expected to have some statistics background.

    Seminar on SPSS

    This is a 2-hour seminar for users with some statistics background. Users will learn how to read the input data as well as to
    perform some simple statistical analysis.

    Connecting to the HKU Network (PPP, ACEnet and Hall Network)

    This is a 3-hour seminar on the HKU network with an introduction to the network topology, network services, and the software for accessing the HKU network.  The HKU network can be accessed from the following venues:
        PPP - for dialing in from home
        Hallnet - for student residing in residence halls
        ACEnet - for accessing everywhere from any network point
     

    Courses on Microsoft Office and Other Topics

    MS Word 2000 ($360)

    This is a 2-day course especially designed for users who want to learn how to navigate through and work with documents; manipulate text; change formatting and page layout; and preview and print a document.

    Course Outline :

    1. Word 2000 processing concepts
    2. Using dialog boxes and icons
    3. Documents editing
    4. Files save/retrieve and Management
    5. Files conversion and import/export filters
    6. Selecting fonts and using special text and symbols
    7. Auto formatting and style options
    8. Using thesaurus and hyphenation, spelling and grammar check
    9. Creating multiple columns and table
    10. Positioning text and graphics with frames
    11. Assembling documents with mail merge
    12. Working with long documents
    13. Printing master documents, envelopes and labels
    14. Data linking and embedding

      15.  
    PowerPoint 2000 ($200)
       
      This is a 1-day course on making a professional presentation slide show using PowerPoint2000.  Contents include:
      1.     Introduction to PowerPoint
      2.     Creating a presentation using "Auto Content Wizard"
      3.     Understanding PowerPoint views
      4.     Adding clip art and pictures
      5.     Customise slide shows
      6.     Transition effects and text animation
      7.     Printing slides and speaker notes
      8.     Creating special text effects with WordArt
      9.     Creating organisation charts
      10.     Inserting Microsoft Word table and Excel spreadsheet
      11.     Creating charts


      ACCESS 2000 ($360)

      Access is a powerful database software allowing users to create database and database applications without any programming work.  This is a 2 day course.

      Contents of this course include:
       

      1. The Access 2000 fundamental database components
      2. Using a database wizard
      3. Creating a database
      4. Defining data types and setting field properties
      5. Using the primary key
      6. Adding and deleting records
      7. Finding and replacing records
      8. Filtering and sorting records
      9. Relational database
      10. Making use of queries
      11. Using quick form and quick report
      12. Creating a customised form
      13. Changing design of forms
      14. Creating print reports
      15. Mailing labels
    Ms Excel 2000 ($360)

    The course outline of this 2-day workshop include :

    1. Spreadsheet concepts, basic movement
    2. data entry techniques & create formulas
    3. using special functions formatting
    4. cells formatting, data & formulas cell reference
    5. workbook save & retrieve
    6. using dialog box commands, icons & toolbars
    7. creating an embedded chart on worksheets
    8. creating graphical objects on worksheets
    9. worksheets printing techniques
    10. database query and table handling auto filter
    11. worksheet and workbook linking
    12. useful built-in & functions, PMT, vlookup, (if, sumif)
    13. add-in program, auto save
    14. graph and picture handling and slide show
    15. goal seeking and scenario manager


    Adobe Photoshop 5.5  ($360)

    This is a 2-day course on using the Adobe Photoshop, a software for photo retouching, image editing and color painting.
    Adobe Photoshop 4.0 has many new and enhanced features in auto-updating of formats, multiple layers control, digital watermarks for copyright, effects filters, and other enhancements for control of quality etc.
    Course outline :
        Photoshop Basic
        Selections, Mask and Channel Operation
        Enhancing Photo
        Montage and Collage
        Using Filters
        Painting
        Combining Photoshop and PostScript
        Special Effects
        3D/4D Adding Depth and Motion

    Adobe Illustrator 8  ($500)

    This is a 2-day course on using the Adobe Illustrator 8, a popular illustration software that can create graphically rich artwork for print or the Web.
    Course Outline :
        1. Basic concepts on computer graphic design
        2. Using various drawing tools
        3. Grid and guides
        4. Text editing, path type and area type and use of different fonts
        5. Rotating and resizing objects
        6. Mask effect, transforming objects from 2D to 3D
        7. Inserting graphic images

    Web Creation Using Dreamweaver 3  ($500)

    This 2-day course is designed for users who want to learn how to use Macromedia Dreamweaver 3, a powerful & professional visual editor for creating and managing web pages. With Dreamweaver, it's easy to create cross-platform, cross-browser pages.  Course outline :
        1. Dreamweaver Work Space
        2. Site Planning & Site Management
        3. Understanding Hyper Link
        4. Using Images & Animations
        5. Using Cascading Sytle Sheet
        6. Creating Forms & Frames
        7. Creating Interactive Homepage
    Pre-requisite: Basic HTML Editing
     

    Chinese Inputting Method & Chinese Word 97* ($360)

    This is a 2-day course especially designed for users who are familiar with the English microcomputer working environment but with little experience on Chinese microcomputer operation. The course will cover :
     

  • Basic principle Changjei Chinese character input method.
  • Basic operation of Microsoft Word 97 under the Chinese Windows 95 working environment.
  • Techniques and common practices in preparing Chinese document.

    •  

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Flash 4  ($500)

    This 2-day course is designed for students who want to learn how to use Macromedia Flash 4, to produce special effects and animation, for a multimedia homepage.  It can help users produce home pages with vector and bitmap graphics, motion, MP3 audio, form input and interactivity.

    Course outline :
        1. Flash Work Space
        2. Drawing and Editing Graphics
        3. Editing scenes and objects
        4. Using Timeline
        5. Creating animation and using sound files
        6. Using Actions
        7. Publishing and Exporting to movie
        8. Uploading homepage
    Pre-requisite: Basic HTML Editing

    Visual FoxPro 6.0* ($500)

    This 2-day course provides an introduction to Visual FoxPro, a fast relational database management system in Windows.  It is a 32 bit Xbase database engine, the application can be used in Windows 95/98/NT environments.  It can also support Microsoft SQL Server/Client Server.

    Course Outline:
        1. Starting Visual FoxPro
        2. Organizing with Project Manager
        3. Explore a database
            - Creating: new table, Query, view of local data, One-to-many form
        4. Ordering data using indexes
        5. Collecting tables into a database
        6. Finding information
            - Querying data, Updating data with views, Updating multiple tables
        7. Displaying information
            - Designing reports and labels, Displaying data in forms
        8. Visual FoxPro with other Application - Sharing information with other programs.

    Graphic Design Using CorelDraw 8* ($500)

    This 2-day course is designed for students who want to learn how to use Corel DRAW, the most popular vector-based drawing program that makes it easy to create professional artwork - from simple company logos to intricate technical illustrations.

    Course Outline:
    1. Basic concepts on computer graphic design
    2. Using various drawing tools
    3. Style and color of line
    4. Text editing, Fit text to path, Uses of different fonts
    5. Rotate, skew and resize objects, Group and combine objects
    6. Mask effect, transform 2D objects to 3D using Extrude function
    7. Inserting graphic images

    1. Since workshops on Microsoft Office97 and other programs for Windows are organised in conjunction with a course vendor, the Whiz Company, there is a nominal charge on the course.

    For courses requiring a fee, please send payment to the Computer Centre together with your registration form, or as soon as you have registered on the web, otherwise your registration is considered invalid and will be replaced by another applicant.  Payment can be made in cheque (payable to the University of Hong Kong), or through departmental requisition (for applicants supported by departments).   Successful applicants will be notified by e-mail or telephone at least one week before the commencement of the workshop. Once accepted, the fee is not refundable. However, substitution of participant is possible by written notification to the Centre.

    2. The workshops on Chinese Word 97  will be conducted in Cantonese.

    3. Enrolment for some courses may be for staff only while others are for students only.  Where it is not specified, the courses are open to all staff and students of the University.

    * The maximum number of participants for workshops held in Room 135, Old Library Building is 25; Room 201, Run Run Shaw Building is 22; and Room 101, Run Run Shaw Building is 20.