Beginning of the end

The end of the semester is fast approaching. I feel like I have learned a lot on this course, yet it seems there is much more I do not know. The last lab was very troublesome for more, due to the fact that I did not quite grasp the material. This is my fault, as I have been trying to play catch up for quite a while. The irony in this is that this is probably my favorite class, but it being an elective, I need to focus on my other classes that are deemed more “important”. These final two weeks are pretty light on my schedule, in which I will be giving most of my efforts to this class. I’ll be reviewing the topics for Lab #4 and the new topics that are most likely coming in the final exam. It is worth noting the the topic that is giving me the most difficulty right now are the I/O ones. Mostly because I can almost never get those files to work properly. All my code compiles just fine, and I go over the logic of the code many times in order to make sure it works. But I can’t seem to actually make it work on a file because it never reads them. I must be doing something wrong. But I don’t believe it is code wise. I’ll be visiting the professor soon in order to review my two labs and afterwards i’ll address him with my question. 

COMP3010-04

Up until now, I have completed three lab assignments, scoring pretty well in all of them. I got a pretty good grade in exam #1. Exam #2 however, I failed. I am pretty sure I could do most of the coding involved with the topics discussed in the chapters, but I didn’t put any effort at all to actually study the material. At many times during the exam I knew what I had to do but I could not remember the tools I needed to do so. I am also behind on the quizzes. My grades are good on those too, and they serve as good reviewing tools. There are 4 more weeks left in the semester, I need to go to all the classes and pay more attention, the material that is left is not so easily understood just by reading the textbook. Despite my recent setbacks, I know I have learned plenty in this class and if I straigthen myself up for this last stretch ill do well on the course. Now is time to refocus. I expect nothing but great results from here on forward. 

COMP3010 – 3

I just finished reading Chapter 4 and further reviewing the concepts using the powerpoint presentation used in class. I now have a solid understanding of functions and all the different things you can do with them. I took the quiz and scored a 93%, so hopefully on the real version I will get the same or perhaps a higher score. I will now begin working on Lab #3, I hope to finish it by tomorrow. I need the extra credit since my attendance score is pretty sub-par, and it will not allow me to get an A in the course if I keep it as it is. I’ll try my hardest to not miss anymore classes. I shall be updating the blog once I finish working on the lab. Also worth mentioning, the second midterm is coming up. I hope to obtain a grade of B or higher. 

COMP3010 – 2

I would say the first third of the course has already passed. I feel like I understand most of the concepts, and my grades are reflecting this. However, I could do slightly better. I am knocking on the door for that A, so I need to make sure to pay more attention to details and review my labs more in order to make sure I improve my grades. Most of my errors are due to carelessness. I also have a gripe with the quizzes. Some of the questions don’t properly appear on my screen or the results are really confusing. Its an OK learning tool, but I feel like I am better off practicing the problems on the book. Entering this second part of the course, I am quite excited for the new concepts and new tools i’ll learn to improve my programming prowess. I shall be back to talk about my progress in Lab #3, as well as my experience with quizzes #4 and #5, which I hope is better than my last two (86% and 80%, still eluding that 90%)

COMP3010 – First Blog Post

I just finished working on Lab #2. I decided to tackle the problems by first solving them on paper, writing an algorithm of sorts in which I specified the inputs and outputs to the program. In between inputs and outputs, I wrote the series of calculations or steps needed to arrive at the necessary conclusions. Afterwards, I proceeded to write code that would execute these steps. Overall, this approach worked really well, mostly because when it came  time to compile, most of the errors where badly written code or missed semi-colons, and nothing to do with program logic and syntax. However, I did have difficulty with three of the problems. Problem #4 I could only limit to 12 months, because with the logic I developed for its prior version, problem #3, it could only work with a one-year timeframe. Technically it does as it is asked, but I should find a way to broaden the scope. I also had difficulty with problem #8, Moore’s Law. The logic is fine, but I need to find the correct value to replace “doubling every two years”, since the exponential growth equation works for one iteration at a time, not to. Finally, the last problem, problem #10, works just fine. But it isn’t done in the same way the book asks. I still have a week left to turn them in, so I will be addressing my concerns to the professor. Also, I need to remember to add comments to all my programs. So yeah, I still have a little bit of work to do.