CST 338 Software Design - Week 7

 Look back at the HW1

Look back at the HW1 assignment and think about how you would approach it now.  Think about all the things we have covered and how far you have progressed.


- Looking back at HW1 (the Markov assignment), I’d approach it with a much better understanding of the concepts now. In the beginning, I had some difficulty understanding how to implement the Markov chain and random text generation because of how complicated the different methods looked. But through the course, I gained more clarity on algorithms, handling edge cases, and how to structure my code for better readability and efficiency. I would also apply more testing in projects, ensuring edge cases are covered, and leverage better use of helper methods to keep the code clean. Overall, the learning from this course helped me approach the task with a more systematic and confident mindset. 


Highlight at least two victories. 

It is very important to celebrate things that go right.  It is VERY easy, and common, to focus on the negatives.  I want you to focus on the positive aspects and really reflect and be proud of the work you have done.  Mention 2-3 areas where your skills have improved, things like 'I really understand access modifiers', or 'I am comfortable extending classes', anything where you feel better now than you did at the start of the semester.


- I successfully integrated a real API using Retrofit, which felt overwhelming at first, but now I'm confident setting up and consuming external APIs in Android.

- I also became very comfortable writing Room DAO unit tests. I can now insert, query, and delete records while verifying behavior with JUnit, which I didn’t know how to do before.

- I think I am much better now at adapting to different coding environments and IDE's. Before, I would look at a software and get really anxious because of all the different things in there but after using IntelliJ and Android Studio I realized it takes only a few weeks and continuous learning to get used to the different software.



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