March 20th update

This week, we focused even more on binary trees and how they work. A lot of it is stressing again how simple yet intricate these trees can be, a simple node possibly leading to a whole new tree of code. It's really fascinating how deceptively simple the concept is, and what benefits it has over a regular tree.

In a regular tree, while it may be simple to add more children to a single node without much hassle, an issue would be the problem of organization of the tree. A BST node can only have two children at a time, but a normal tree could blow up from having way too many. BST condenses this issue with only two off shoots that can possibly lead into more trees, and they do so in a way that makes it so adding/removing a node wouldn't kill the entire experience. The usage of nodes linking to each other reminds me a lot about linked lists, as if you remove one, you can patch the relationship to the next without too much of a problem.

March 14th late update

Apologies for the late update everybody! I'll make two posts this week to make up for the mistake, this one being the first one.

Well, we discussed binary trees in class this week and how they work. This is particularly interesting for me, an aspiring video game designer, as this illustrates the ability for some video games to have moral choices. Binary trees show the possibility of a single choice having multiple children, much like multiple branching paths in some games. I can only imagine how, when I properly learn the code for it, this would aid game design.

The Advantage of Modern Programming's Object Oriented Programming (March 4th)

As I try my hand at some simple Javascript programming, it strikes me how rather advanced object oriented programming has progressed in terms of surpassing classical line by line forms of coding. While there is undeniable simplicity in the original forms of entering commands one by one, object oriented programming really has just made the entire experience far easier. It may be slightly more cumbersome to learn and excel in, but after having definite experience with the two, I would lean more towards object oriented due to its flexibility. The ability to go back and change code without breaking previous commands is far too useful to pass up, especially when you can branch off it very easily in comparison to line by line.

Week 3

This week, we had our first test in CSC148, and it was quite interesting. Most people complained that there wasn't enough time to complete all the problems, but I personally thought that it was enough time to write the docstring down for the situations posed. That's the main point of the class, so that should be the focus of the answers in the test. Hard program code is nice and all, but the class stresses program design, so docstring is much more critical.

Also this week, we've learned about linked nodes, a unique array type used for better memory conservation. While it is slightly impractical in my head, I can use the usefulness of having a very conservative array form. The link nodes could be very handy to work with when trying to insert an object in the middle of an array, but so long as you have the specific values about that array or something identifiable. Else, well, back to the drawing board.

Week 2

This week was all about building off previous programs through understanding them. A hefty statement, but one that I find makes sense if one was a program designer. By utilizing the system of subclasses and superclasses, programs can be much more efficiently designed as long as a docstring is present to explain it all

Additionally, we were taught various new ways to think logically about program specifications. On a specific example of coding line recognition, I have thought up of a solution that would work in a very specific mindset and situation. However, many other solutions were put up that interest me, such as using a broader recognition system so that the program could be much more flexible. No need for insane loops as I thought, interestingly enough.

The Beginning of CSC148

As we progress into week 3 of our CSC148 course, clear goals and ideas began emerging regarding what to I personally expect to learn. There is a lot of emphasis placed on program design over program coding, a very interesting idea compared to a standard class on coding. Indeed, it seems to be the course's focus, relying on more docstring writing rather than hard code. I hope to understand this particular point of view as the course progresses on, and see how I can possibly integrate this form into my own personal coding skills.