Entering the World of Software Engineering
18 Jan 2023
Initial Thoughts
Prior to ICS 314 I already had some experience with building websites and therefore was already familiar with Javascript. The programming language is, in its own respects, rather simple and is admittedly one of my more favored languages to code in. From a software engineering perspective, I believe Javascript to be a very useful programming language as there is less of a need to be specific when coding (for example, there is no need to specify variable or return types). This provides the coder with more flexibility and, in my opinion, a more enjoyable coding experience. Not only are software engineers allowed more time to focus on the design of their software systems, but the language’s flexibility also makes it one of the easier programming languages to pick up – especially by people who have had no prior coding experience.
Journey into ES6
Compared to my first experience with regular Javascript, I found ES6 a little harder to learn and use. Although it’s over-simplicity makes it significantly faster to type (granted, this is only if you know what you’re doing), the short-cuts the language takes in its code writing started to become confusing to me after a while. As a person who prefers clear and easy-to-understand code, I tend to find my code leaning more towards the long, tedious side – a trait that is completely eliminated when writing in ES6. Therefore, although I do admit ES6 is probably a lot more practical, I find using it rather uncomfortable.
The Stress of Athletic Software Engineering
In the case of athletic software engineering, I personally find it quite the stressful experience. As a person who does not fare very well under pressure – especially when a time limit is involved – my ICS 314 WOD (“workout of the day”) experiences thus far have been less than pleasant. In every single WOD I have done so far, I have found that the slight wave of panic I usually get from being hit with a fresh problem is only exacerbated by the incessant ticking of the clock counting down the seconds I have left to find a solution. Despite this, however, I believe these exercises will only prove useful in helping me get better at working under stressful circumstances as well as improve my problem solving skills which will ultimately help me in the workplace.