CS373 Spring 2020: Sonali Bhat
Post #3!
What did you do this past week?
This past week, I spent a lot of time working on Collatz (Project #1). I decided to work on the lab machines, so I wouldn’t have to tackle the Docker situation just yet. I went through the provided workflow and kept the grading rubric in mind. I felt like the project went going pretty smoothly, aside from one bug that I struggled with involving passing test 3 on Hackerrank. I eventually figured out the issue thanks to a helpful hint I found on Piazza that pointed me in the right direction! I have now finished project #1!
What’s in your way?
I don’t really feel like anything in particular is in my way. I feel like I am getting a lot of understanding about Python and good software engineering practices in lectures! While the first project looked a little intimidating at first, I think it went a lot more smoothly than I expected.
What will you do next week?
I think we start Project #2 next week, so I’m excited to start working the project that we will be building on for the rest of the semester! I’m looking forward to working with the group that I’ve found!
What was your experience of exceptions, types, and operators?
I think that exceptions are useful tools that should definitely be used as good software practices. Like we discussed in class, there are other ways to indicate the same information that an exception could, however an exception would be the cleanest, neatest way to go about it. I think it’s great that we spent so much time talking through Python’s types and operators, because its always helpful to have a deeper understanding of the language that you’re using -namely how things are stored, and the different tools you have at your disposal.
What made you happy this week?
Honestly? Finishing Collatz much faster than my expected time for completion made me pretty happy. I expected this project to take me about 20 hours, but it didn’t take me nearly as long. I was pretty proud of myself for succeeding in working with Git in creating my first repository!
What’s your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions! It’s the best way to learn! It can be intimidating when you feel like you may be the only one confused and you don’t want to be the odd person out, but its far more likely that there are other people just like you who are afraid to speak up. We are lucky to be in such a collaborative supportive environment where we aren’t going to be judged on our questions.
Have a great week y’all!
