girl geek in training

Best use of GIF ever

I spent so much time on one end of semester project that the other project turned into a steaming pile of fail. I hope for mercy.

I have however learned the basics of JSP and how to get my Java class files into JSP. I also definitely understand OOP programming more than I have before. It’s pretty exciting…and frustrating. Also, I finally get Eclipse and I like it!

I continually marvel at how these steps from CS 201 (aka crash course in Java) to CS 331 (data structures/algorithms with lots of Java programming) led me into courses where there was a lot less hand holding, but that foundation made it possible for me to not freak out. It also helps that I have stumbled through web scripting languages and database management in my previous life. It’s nice to know understand what the heck is going on: the theory behind it.

However, the biggest lesson I have learned this short summer semester is that application development is best done over the course of weeks with plenty of rest. When I, with fresh eyes, started looking at some of the PHP code that was failing and that was written during my sleep deprived moments, the reasons for failure were so obvious.

I’ve been…busy. My one complaint about summer session is that for CS courses, introducing the final projects towards the end of the session is just not right. I’ve been up for about 4 days straight (well, with 5 hour sleep breaks) attempting to finish one final project which still needs work. I haven’t started on my other final project and I have to figure out Java for the web (JSP) to make it work.

I know Java to an extent. I’m just nervous about getting server connections up, figuring out how to connect to the database, and all the things that can often go wrong when you do something for the first time. My hope is that I can make it work and learn some things about Java in general that are still fuzzy.

What the past 4 days have taught me is the importance of practice. I’ve been telling myself that I would make my personal website dynamic (using PHP) for 6 or so months. I hadn’t done PHP in a while and so, was nervous about picking it back up. The project I’ve been working on (for my database course)  needed a GUI interface. I could have done this in JSP, but as time was short, I wanted to use a language I was passingly familiar with and that I knew would work.

Now I feel a lot more confident about using PHP for when I do update my website. Also, I’ve noticed my CS courses have taught me to not have a total meltdown when I see error messages. Apparently error messages help you figure out what want wrong. Who knew?

After today’s presentation of PHP/MySQL application which worked a bit, but not totally, I needed a break from sitting at a computer writing code. I also took a 3 hour nap. It was glorious. Now, I am going to get a full night’s rest before tackling this next project.

Who knew JUnit was so gangsta?

For this week’s OODP homework, I had to write a paper on Test-Driven Development (TDD). I was already familiar with the concept because I had to do unit testing in last semester’s Data Structures and Algorithms class. Again, many thanks to my previous CS instructors for giving me the knowledge to not be lost in the current semester!

We also had an extra credit assignment that I am hoping will negate that one missed homework assignment. This semester’s slides on JUnit used version 3, but now there is a JUnit 4. Thus, the extra credit was to rewrite the slide using the latest version. I found this helpful blog post that I wanted to share/remember for all eternity (or until JUnit 5 comes out).

I absolutely love unit testing in case you were wondering.

My apologies for the dire silence.

I ran a relay two weekends ago.

Then, my brother and future sis-in-law came to visit.

I have been playing catchup ever since. I managed to miss one homework assignment from my object oriented programming (OOP) class. It’s online and I had 6 hours of video to get through and so, it got overlooked. Luckily, the teacher announced extra credit yesterday which I hope will help me make up for it.

The best thing about OOP homework is that it’s not difficult. Difficult would be having to write a program and going through it not working about 6-10 times before finally getting it mostly right. That would be how my last two CS classes went. But, the best part about my last two CS classes are that I am already extremely familiar with the concepts being discussed in the OOP lectures.

Had my first database organization homework. I have to pat myself on the back because after a lot of Googling, I figured out how to use PuTTY to connect to a remote server, that I could use my Windows ftp command line to get the files from said remote server, and how to use sqlplus like a midboss.

A few affirmations:

• I do really like working with databases. I picked a great minor. Yay!
• The more I am forced to work with command lines, the more comfortable I become with it, and the more I prefer using it.
• I need a graphic designer superfriend because I have no desire to do cool graphics.

The Thinker

Increasingly, I get the feeling that school is all about training you to think: think like an editor, think like a programmer, think outside of your immediate reality. There is nothing impossible about it. However, some concepts take longer than others.

For instance, I am still not a great or likely even a good Java programmer, but all of the concepts keep getting clearer and clearer each semester. The last lecture in my Object Oriented Design and Programming course was pretty much a crash course in Java. I was happy that all of it was extremely familiar to me. I just finished the first homework assignment part of which was to list 20 Java naming conventions (not already mentioned in class). Initially, I found this which seems pretty official, but certainly didn’t contain 20 additional conventions. Then, I hit the jackpot: a list that should likely be called The Anal Java Programmer’s Guide to Naming Conventions.

As simple as that question appears, it did make me think about how poorly written most of my previous programs have been. These revelations remind me of learning about the PARC (proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast) principles for the first time in Document Design. Things that seem like magic, programming and visually appealing documents, are actually pretty methodical.