Blog 11: More IDB Phase 3
1. What did you do this past week?
This past week, my group and I worked on implementing the requirements of the Phase 3 portion of the IDB project. We made a lot of progress because at least one person was working on the project every single day and we made more attempts to work together in person. I feel like we accomplished a lot more than we normally would have at this far away from the deadline.
2. What’s in your way?
My group’s biggest priority is simply finishing up Phase 3 of the project. Individually, I also have another project for a different computer science class, but the due date is later than the Phase 3 deadline, so I am not as worried about conflicts between my work schedules.
3. What will you do next week?
My group still has to finish up Phase 3 for the IDB project, but things are going fairly good so far. We will continue to work on the project and check that it meets all of the requirements. We are on track to finish by the deadline as long as we work diligently and frequently throughout this upcoming week.
4. What did you think of Paper 11. More getters and setters?
I thought this paper did a nice job building off of the last paper in the series. What I have found is that I understand the concepts best if I read the summary paragraph first. The summary paragraphs are usually worded in straight-to-the-point and simple terms that make the rest of the paper easier to understand. Long story short, objects that have the data should do the work for you — not the classes using the objects.
5. What was your experience of select, project, and cross join?
I had a more difficult time understanding the inner workings of select, project, and cross join, but after my group explained more, I was able to get a grasp of the material. I would say I still need to do some more reviewing before I feel comfortable.
6. What made you happy this week?
This week, I was able to kick off the weekend with a crawfish boil. All of my friends and I got together and had a great time in the sun. It was the perfect way to relax at the end of the school week.
7. What’s your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?
This article by Dana Linnet explains the Department of Defense’s (DoD) recent policy announcements to promote advanced technology talent within DoD agencies with a “tech-savvy and tech-driven culture” as well as implement faster procedures to acquire technology contracts. While this article does not reference specific software development roles, it focuses on two fundamental changes to how the DoD plans to approach technology. The first is creating a new culture in technology roles — similar to those in Silicon Valley — so that the DoD can have more success in recruiting talent. The second is making the government contract process easier and faster so that startups — who may be more pressed for time in acquiring contracts — have an easier time working with the government. This second change should increase the number of companies contracted by the government and streamline the introduction of innovation to the DoD’s legacy systems.
