Liam's Computer Science Learning Journal

          What is the most interesting thing you have learned in your reading of "Software Engineering at Google"?          Throughout reading SAG, I have found myself repeatedly fascinated with the granularity with which Google has established software engineering methodology. The level of depth that each respective workflow boasts--whether this is code reviews, ownership, testing, or readability standards--is a departure from my work experience where establishing SOPs has historically been a substantial challenge. It is a miracle that these engineers have managed to get this much written down and canonized. The guardrails and approval steps can appear daunting and restrictive at first glance but ultimately, they serve to provide an engineer the proper runway to make the most effective additions and changes to a code base that they can. These processes prevent slowing development by allowing programmers to focus on writing maintain...

 Describe what are the good points about using Git for source code management. What are possible problems that Git merge does not solve when merging code from different developers?          This week's lab 5 demonstrated why Linus Torvald saw the need to create Git and additionally why it has become the standard tool for version control management. Git's unmatched traceability when seeking out code change history via commits makes it simple to see all additions, subtractions, adjustments and remediation of the code. Git's use of branches allows developers to work separately on features and bug fixes without disturbing the main branch before verifying the new additions to the code are safe to merge. Git allows for an organized work flow that enhances collaboration while preventing developers from stepping on each other's toes.           As lab 5's merge conflict illustrates, Git cannot solve every collaborative coding problem o...

           This week's offering from CST438 demonstrated the usefulness and sensibilities of a web development framework known as React. Instead of manipulating a web page directly via its Document Object Model (DOM), React uses a component-based architecture that updates a copy of the DOM to determine which portions of the page need to be changed. Lab 3 familiarized the class with the fundamental aspects of the React framework: reusable components for the user interface such as a login page, props to pass inputs between relevant component, JSX (which exists somewhere between JavaScript and HTML), state management, sending user changes to the backend, and making REST API calls. These concepts became increasingly practical throughout the lab as controlled form inputs, event handlers, session storage, conditional rendering, and REST API communication combined to create responsive user experiences while minimizing unnecessary communication with the backend. As...

           Upon attending the orientation for CST438: Software Engineering, I was surprised to learn that this class positions physical programming as more of a backseat concept to the core subject matter of the presented curriculum. After having read through chapter 1 of Software Engineering at Google, I see there are many non-programmatic concepts a developing programmer must learn--pun absolutely intended. This class somewhat reads as more of a conceptual and spiritual sequel to Software Design since that class focused on sound design patterns for building functional, scalable, and reworkable software. To address how my perspective has shifted upon completing week 1's materials, I will dedicate a paragraph to the REST labs and a subsequent paragraph to the SAG reading.          The REST application labs 1 and 2 were a strong start of blending a small programming challenge into illustrating how responsibility is delegated across e...

 Service Learning: LibreOffice Software Development Reflection           Throughout my service-learning experience with LibreOffice, I gained a much-needed and hands-on understanding of what it actually means to engage with a large, long-lived open-source codebase. One of the biggest victories was simply learning how to navigate the environment--getting the project to build, understanding the workflow through Gerrit, and becoming comfortable using tools like "git grep" to locate and modify relevant code. These may seem like small steps but in a project of this scale they are foundational and non-trivial. I feel very prepared to dive into another huge codebase where I must accept that I simply will not be able to understand much of what I see and instead will have to drill down into one specific focus to gain understanding and contribute efforts.           The most impactful parts of the experience were seeing how rea...

   Week 7 Learning Recap           Week 7 of CST370 was a reinvigorating volley of algorithmic delights. I found myself looking forward to the programming assignment during this week’s lectures and puzzles. I always love actionable steps, the pathway to victory as my Calculus professor once called it. As the shadow of the final exam looms ever closer, I have been quite intentional about fully absorbing the lecture, example, and textbook excerpt before moving onto the next concept.           This week's algorithms folded very nicely into each other throughout the module. Counting sort using frequency and distribution to place in the index was the perfect simple intro to stack Radix's LSD method of going digit by digit.  The coin collection problem was my first "alright pausing on this and clocking back into work" moment, but upon returning became quite clear--I appreciate that dynamic programming is tactile and ca...