CS371p Spring 2021: Week 3

What did you do this past week?

This past week, I was mostly focused on setting up the Collatz project, all the while, my other classes have begun to ramp up. I have added some slight optimizations to Collatz but still not enough to pass both the test cases. In addition, I’ve been mainly doing homework, calling with friends, and running an organization I am a part of here on campus.

What’s in your way?

I can definitely feel my rust programming in C++ as I never had any formal teaching in it. I’ve been mainly using JS and Python recently, so it’s been nice reviewing C and Java concepts. However, I need to do some more reading on my own for C++ concepts.

What will you do next week?

Next week, I will finish up the Collatz project and ensure I have met all the requirements of the project. In addition, I will continue to learn the C++ concepts taught in class. On top of this, I have to finish multiple assignments in my other classes, so it will be a long week.

If you read it, what did you think of the Continous Integration?

It was interesting hearing a professional engineer’s view on continuous integration as it is such a powerful tool for large codebases. I completely agree with the article’s viewpoint in that CI is a necessity these days. Last summer, I interned at a startup and I actually got to set up the CI/CD pipeline for the codebase, so I have seen first-hand the impact it can have.

What was your experience of Collatz?

I’m currently still in the process of finishing up Collatz, but I am just implementing different types of optimization strategies. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the unit test libraries and the CI setup. It can be quite frustrating to not see the test case results, but that’s what software development is all about.

What was your experience of exceptions?

After our discussion of exceptions, I have further solidified my stance that exceptions are an extremely powerful tool when used correctly. When building my own REST API, it was common to create different types of exceptions for different user errors and handle them differently. I’m glad I can do this in C++ as well.

What made you happy this week?

I finally got the opportunity to play some basketball as it one of the things I love to do in my free time. In addition, I got to catch up with a UTCS alum and relieved some of my stress about post-graduation plans.

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

My pick-of-the-week would be to use Notion as a software development documentation and planning platform. Notion is a software tool that has a kanban board and documentation abilities. I have used Atlassian’s Jira board and the Monday board, but the UI and the ability to have everything on Notion makes it a great option. Check it out here: notion.so!