CST 338 Week 1

Week 1

Here week go again with a new course! We began this course with a pretty straight-forward string manipulation assignment that is going to be our only solo assignment for the course. Starting week 2, we will be grouped into new groups for the following assignments. We haven't had to work in groups for the past couple of classes and I have enjoyed it because I can work on my homework on my own time. I'm not super excited about having group work again, but I understand the benefits of doing so.

The solo project went fine. I read in the material that we will be deducted points if we use functionality that hasn't yet been taught. That makes me a little nervous and I found myself going back to the lecture notes often to make sure that I wasn't using something that wasn't there. I have taken several courses in Java and have worked with it professionally (and still do every so often). It makes it a bit difficult to remember where we're at in our guided instruction.

Specific prompts

Have you used Eclipse before?

I have used Eclipse in both courses for school and professionally. However, I switched to IntelliJ and found that I prefer it for Java development. I primarily switched because the dark theme that I was using at the time for Eclipse wasn't consistent with the toolbars. So, the text editing portion of the editor was dark and the navigation and side panels were white. I look at a computer a lot and prefer dark themes for things that I spend a lot of time looking at. After getting used to IntelliJ, I couldn't turn back. Everything felt so much more natural in it compared to Eclipse. For this course, I will continue to use IntelliJ, while using the same style settings that the professor prefers.

What languages are you proficient in at this point?

The language that I'm proficient with varies depending on when you talk to me. Two years ago, prior to working my current job, I would have replied with Ruby. Shortly after, I would have said C#. Now, I would likely respond with Javascript or Java because that's what I've been using the most lately. If I were to list languages on a resume right now, I'd likely only put Ruby, Java, and JavaScript.

What is your desired field of Computer Science at this point?

I'm employed full-time as a web developer. I'm very happy with it and don't see that direction changing anytime soon. However, I'm not opposed to changing my career goals and I probably will at some point.