CS 373 Spring 2021: Kent Hansen #2

1. What did you do this past week?

This past week I got set up with some of the tools we will be using in this class and also got a head start working on the first project.

2. What’s in your way?

For now not much is in my way as I had a chance to take CS 371p in the fall so the collatz project is familar. I have a few loose ends to tie up before I finish it out completely.

3. What will you do next week?

Next week I will work on completely finishing the project as well as reviewing some of what we have gone over so far in class, specifically making sure I understand both the python and typescript implementations of the notes.

4. If you read it, what did you think of the makefile?

I thought the makefile was mostly straightforward as I had seen the similar makefile for the C++ version last semester although there are still some elements of makefile syntax that are less clear to me. It also hadn’t occurred to me that a makefile could be used outside of C/C++ so it was interesting to see its implementation with python.

5. What was your experience of Docker? (this question will vary, week to week)

Even though I was somewhat familiar with how Docker works, I feel like hearing an explanation of it again was useful for me. I haven’t gotten it set up on my machine quite yet but I plan to do that this week.

6. What was your experience of assertions? (this question will vary, week to week)

I have a deeper appreciation for assertions after this week, particularly when we talked about how they are crucial for finding where your code went wrong when it inevitably does.

7. What was your experience of unit tests? (this question will vary, week to week)

I was pleased to hear that python has a built in unit testing framework which makes it straightforward to test your code. It’s interesting that more more languages don’t have this built in and rely on external tools.

8. What made you happy this week?

This week I found out that the Austin Film Society is screening movies from the Sundance film festival at a drive-in theater so I’m going to see one tonight which I’m looking forward to.

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

My pick-of-the-week for this week is React Native, which I learned over the break. It’s a very rewarding tool because there is almost no learning curve going from regular React for web apps to building a mobile app.