Lost in the Terminal, Found in IntelliJ

During Week 1 of CST 338: Software Design, we covered Lab 00 and Lab 01, which introduced essential foundational tools like unit testing, Git, and interfaces. One of the highlights for me was learning how to integrate GitHub with IntelliJ. I was genuinely amazed at how seamlessly these tools work together, and I’m excited about using them in collaborative projects later in the course. Setting up version control and seeing how commits, branches, and pull requests function in a real development environment made the learning experience feel both practical and professional. Learning how to write and run unit tests also stood out—it’s clear how crucial they are for ensuring code correctness and preventing regressions, especially in larger codebases.

Although the bulk of the material on interfaces is scheduled for next week, the early introduction helped me start forming a mental model. I’m beginning to understand how interfaces provide structure and promote flexibility in code design. It’s a concept I’m eager to explore more deeply.

One challenge I faced this week was time management. Adjusting to the course schedule while also studying for my cybersecurity certification was difficult, but it reminded me of the importance of planning and staying on top of the weekly workload. I also realized that skipping over training materials to get straight to the assignments makes things more confusing and time-consuming in the long run. Fortunately, the recorded videos and detailed instructions helped me catch up and understand the material thoroughly. I’m grateful that the course is designed with support in mind—it makes a big difference for online learners. Going forward, I’ll prioritize the training resources and improve my scheduling to stay ahead.

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