CS373 Spring 2021 Week 2

What did you do this past week?

This past week I applied to some software engineering positions, played some tennis, made some progress on some training for my internship, and got a much needed haircut. I would say the week was overall pretty productive for the most part. Though, the semester has not gotten back into full swing yet.

What’s in your way?

The semester is slowly just starting to begin. Though, I have been antsy to get going and get ahead on my work. I would say it is pretty much out of my control but, I am trying my best to do what I can to get the ball rolling and try to have a simple and stress free final semester.

What will you do next week?

This next week I will try to get project 1 finished in the first few days so that I can spend the rest of the week working on finishing touches or minute details. I would also like to start my exercise routine back up. The first couple weeks were problematic so I would like to get back into having a workout schedule and routine.

If you read it, what did you think of the makefile?

The makefile seems fairly straightforward. I have not had to create or use makefiles for about a year but, it seemed pretty familiar and understandable compared to past projects I have had that used makefiles.

What was your experience of Docker?

Docker is very new to me and I have spent some time the last couple days researching it and setting it up. I think it is the best option for me out of the 3 given for the class (Download all the tools on my machine, SSH into CS machine, or Use Docker). I am excited to learn this new tool because I think it will give me pretty useful knowledge for my career outside of school.

What was your experience of assertions?

I have not gone into much education about assertions beyond their functionality so, it was interesting to learn where to use them and where not to use them. I assume we will either be required to use them in our projects this semester or at least highly encouraged.

What was your experience of unit tests?

I believe most programming classes in the CS department require students to write tests for their projects so, it is not a new concept to me. They can be annoying and boring to make but I do think their is a lot of value to being able to make strong and diverse test cases. I can only imagine that writing test cases does not stop after graduation.

What made you happy this week?

I got a much needed haircut and had a lot of great food. I had not cut my hair since June so, I was glad to get my hair back under control. Also, I made steak one night for dinner and I believe it was probably the best one I have made this semester.

What’s your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?

Codecademy is a great website for learning a new programming language, read articles or blogs, and overall increase anyone's CS knowledge. There is a premium version that has a lot of great resources but the free version does offer a great deal on its own. It is a great tool for ranges of expertise from beginner to well rounded programmers.