Suhaib's CS Journal

CST 334 Week 1 Summary: This week was a solid intro to how operating systems work especially around the idea of processes. I learned that what feels like multiple programs running at the same time is really just the OS switching between them really fast — way faster than we notice. The OSTEP reading broke down how context switching works and what’s actually saved when the OS switches from one process to another. It basically tells us that every process has its own state and memory even if it’s just sitting idle. I also brushed up on basic computer architecture and got more comfortable using the Linux shell. In one of the assignments we used gcc to compile C programs. We also practiced navigating files and running commands. We also went through the process of using gdb to debug C code. Setting breakpoints and stepping through the program made it way easier to see what was actually going wrong. The PA1 assignment was definitely challenging especially getting String__resize to pass all th...

1. While taking CST 363, I learned how to write real SQL queries with joins, subqueries, and views and got a lot of hands-on experience with it using the MySQL Workbench during our labs and homework assignments. 2. We learned how to design a database using ER diagrams and normalization also through the workbench. 3. I got hands-on with MongoDB and saw how it’s different from SQL, plus how to connect databases to simple web apps and got experience doing that through the command prompt/ terminal.

  MongoDB vs MySQL These are both databases, but they work pretty differently. MySQL uses tables like a spreadsheet. Everything is organized in rows and columns. MongoDB doesn’t do that. It stores data in a more flexible format, kind of like writing it in a JSON file. They do have some stuff in common. You can use them to search through data, they both support big amounts of information, and you can use them with most languages. The main difference is how strict they are. MySQL wants everything to follow a specific structure. MongoDB lets you throw in different kinds of data and it won’t complain. Personally, if I was doing something like tracking student grades or a store inventory, I’d go with MySQL. But if it was something like a social media app where the data changes a lot, MongoDB would be better.

Lab 17 -  In this lab, I learned how to connect a Java program to a MySQL database using JDBC. I handled user input, inserted data safely with checks for duplicates and valid departments, and used transactions with commit and rollback. I also tested everything from both Java and the MySQL terminal to make sure it worked as expected. Lab 19 - Group Project Our group built a prescription management system using Spring Boot and MySQL. I worked on the patient update controller, where I handled retrieving the patient's current info, displaying it in a form, validating the doctor’s name, and updating the patient's address and assigned doctor in the database. We also created tables for doctors, patients, drugs, pharmacies, prescriptions, and inventory. Then we wrote Java controllers to handle registering and updating doctors and patients, creating prescriptions, and validating input.

Slow Indexes I learned that even if a query uses an index, it can still be slow. It’s not the index itself that’s slow, but what happens after. If the index finds a lot of matches, the database has to scan extra pages and go back to the table for each row. That’s what really slows things down, not a “bad” index. Week 5 Reflection: This week was interesting and fun as well because of the practical assignments we did. Lab 18 was a good practical experience where we designed a real-world database for a pharmacy system. Setting up the tables and connecting everything made it easier to see how this stuff would actually work outside of class.