CSUMB CS Online Learning Journal - Ryan

For the Markov code review I worked with my teammate Brandon Hoppens. My strategy for the Markov assignment was to first read through the entire prompt and ensure that I had a general idea of what the program was supposed to do. I then worked through the prompt building each method before moving on to the next. I built all of the methods and then ran the test after my initial build. I was able to pass a few of the test and failed others. I then went back to the individual tests I failed and manually debugged them. This was in contrast to how Brandon tackled the prompt as he was implementing the methods as they were needed. He worked to ensure each piece that he added worked with the existing code base. I think I would change my strategy to adopt some of his methods and use an incremental approach. I relied on building the entire program before running the first test, and I can see how on bigger projects this could lead to some frustration.  The feedback I received from Brandon was ...

  Wk03 Learning Journal: Jotto Code Review For my code review I received feedback from Brandon Hoppens and Maria Imperatrice. The feedback I received consisted of identifying some areas for improvement for my code and some areas where my logic was off.  I found the code review very helpful and it was refreshing to have another set of eyes go through my code and identify where I may have made some mistakes. If I had to rewrite the code I would incorporate many of the comments and feedback provided. Both Brandon and Maria provided me with additional insight to how to write the code and suggestions on what parts to change to get the program to execute correctly. I had also neglected to fully document my code with Java style comments. In the future I will be more thorough with my comments and make sure that all methods are properly explained. For me I struggled with getLetterCount, showPlayerGuess and pickWord unit tests. I was unable to get these unit tests to pass. On reflection...

 This week we had our first homework assignment. For me it was a real challenge. We had to program a game called Jotto which is similar to Wordle. I think the biggest challenge for me was figuring out how all the different methods work together in the game. We were provided with a UML diagram and some starter code, but I found it challenging for me to understand what each function did. I also had some difficulty figuring out how to understand what the Jotto Test file was doing. I know it was checking and testing my code but I think I need more practice with unit tests to clearly understand what is happening. I think this week really exposed some of my weak areas when it comes to using Java. I can get through the initial stages and setups pretty easily, but when it came to programming the logic I really struggled. I find I have to put in extra repetitions to remember all the different details about coding. Programming is also very precise so if I do not remember all of the details o...

 Week 9 Learning Journal This week we started our first programming class using Java. I was a bit rusty with the language but working through the Codingbat exercises helped refresh my memory. The problems on the Codingbat website were somewhat challenging and my main strategy was to first understand the exercise problem. I would then break it up into parts and try to solve one part at a time. I noticed that with the coding exercises there is usually and underlying pattern and then it is a matter of layering the complexity over the top. I did however find myself in situations where my initial programming attempt did not work and then I would spend some time experimenting with the code to see if I could get the desired result. There were even times where I deleted my entire code and started over to see if a different approach would work. Most of the early exercises I could complete on the first try, but as I got deeper into the exercises I found I would often have to modify and reana...