CST338: Software Design, Week 2

What I Learned This Week

This week I worked through Lab 00 and Lab 01, which covered Git, IntelliJ, unit testing, and object-oriented design. Lab 00 was all about getting the development environment set up and using basic Git commands like git status, git add ., git commit -m, and git checkout -b. At first, I felt a little stuck, especially when we were expected to write some methods on our own while I was still trying to wrap my head around the assignment. But after spending more time with it, I started to feel more comfortable saving changes, switching between branches, and understanding what each command was doing. I’m now much more confident using Git from the terminal.

Lab 01 helped reinforce object-oriented programming concepts like constructors, setters, getters, and unit tests. I also started getting more familiar with the Google Java Style Guide, which is slowly becoming second nature. This week we also started learning about interfaces. Dr. C explained the concept using a real-world example, which made it easier to understand how interfaces act as a contract that classes must follow. He also walked us through how this() and super() work in constructors. I’d seen both before, but his explanation helped clarify when and why to use them to keep code more reusable and organized.

There were definitely some tricky parts this week, but working through the labs, and getting help when I needed it, made a big difference. I really appreciate our TA, Polina, and her office hours. She’s been incredibly helpful and made the material easier to digest. I’m looking forward to applying what I’ve learned in the next few assignments.