Week 10 – Foundations in Software Design

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    Coming into this course I was a bit concerned because I only know an ounce of Java. I think following the lectures and re-watching the material really helped with not only the set-up of the course and some of the fundamentals of the language. I really appreciated that the lectures catered to people with various experience levels and provided great explanations of the software we’re using. At this point in time, I feel a lot more familiar with the environment. The most challenging part for me was taking the time to sit down and comprehend what was happening within the code. Although week 1 was mainly about setting up, it gave me the confidence that I have the opportunity to do well.

    Something that came in clutch for me this week was the UML diagrams. I only studied UML in theory before, but it is actually very helpful in understanding the bigger picture. So much so that I was pleased to learn how to generate a diagram. I realized that illustrations are a great tool for communication and improving comprehension. Furthermore, learning from the example classes helped set the foundation for week 2. These lectures were probably some of the best lectures I’ve had in within academia on software design.


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