First Steps

06 Sep 2019

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A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Software engineering has always been rather intimidating to me, but also incredibly exciting. Just the concept of creating a software that people can use through code is something I have never done before, yet here I am, taking the first steps to understanding software engineering. At the time of writing this, it is September 2019, and I have just begun to dip my toes into the prospect of software engineering, starting, of course, with JavaScript. Before taking this class, I had no experience with JavaScript and had actually heard very little about it, but after learning more about the language I found myself surprised that I did not hear about it earlier.

So far, I am finding it to be one of the more friendly languages I have ever worked with, and I am impressed with how much it simplifies the coding process. I’m certain that because of this simplification, there are plenty of restrictions for this language, but so far, I have yet to encounter one. I am also greatly enjoying the functions, and options, provided in E6; they certainly help in making codes look more concise and easier to digest. I’ve had a great first impression with JavaScript so far, I’m excited to start using it, and discover both the disadvantages and advantages it has over Java and C/C++.

JavaScript though, is just one aspect of the class, and it is a class that so far I have been both enjoying and losing a couple hours of sleep over. So far, I think my main concern for this course are the WODs. We do get a few practice WODs, which certainly help with the problem solving aspect, but I don’t feel like they offer much in terms of preparing for the actual WOD as the topics don’t really relate. Of course, that just means I need to ensure I understand the material and come in more prepared than I have. Still, I am excited for the course in general, as I’m sure, that this teaching style will lead to a lot of freedom and confidence when confronted with other software projects in the future.