CS 371p Spring 2021: Brinda Prasad

What did you do this past week?

This past week, I’ve been getting through my assignments and readings as we get into more of the content in each of my courses. Rewatching the lectures has been really helpful for this class especially, and I’m starting to get into a habit of reviewing my notes before our quizzes.

What’s in your way?

I feel like I’m doing the bare minimum most days, and I’m struggling to find ways to motivate myself to do more of the things I plan out! I’m hoping that using my planner regularly and taking breaks during the day will help me get more done for classes.

What will you do next week?

I plan on starting the first project for this class this week and want to make sure I have time to get through the workflow. I’ll be making sure to get some of my other work and tasks out of the way early on in the week so that I can spend a good chunk of time working on the project.

If you read it, what did you think of the makefile?

I’ve worked with makefiles in the past, but I haven’t really examined the details or understood what each line does before! There was a lot of syntax that felt familiar, but reading through people’s explanations on Perusall really helped clarify the purpose of specific lines.

What was your experience of Docker?

I haven’t used Docker before, but it seems to make setting up our workspace much easier! So far, my experience with Docker has been smooth. I’ve installed Docker but still need to get the Docker image for the project.

What was your experience of assertions?

I don’t recall using assertions as much in the past. However, I thought Professor Downing’s explanation during class was really helpful and gave me clarity on when and when not to use assertions for the purposes of this class.

What was your experience of unit tests?

I’ve used unit tests multiple times, and have learned how important they are to any code you’ve written! I’m hoping to get used to writing them myself, especially for our class projects.

What made you happy this week?

I caught up with my high school friends this weekend! It was a lovely break from everything else going on during the week.

What’s your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?

University students can get free access to a ton of developer tools and websites through the GitHub Student Developer Pack! I’ve found this really helpful, and all you have to do is verify your student status here: https://education.github.com/pack.