CS373 Software Engineering Blog#2
Welcome to week 2 of software engineering!
- What did you do this past week?
This past week I downloaded Docker and went through a tutorial to get a better understanding of how it works. I stepped through some of the most commonly used commands like “run” and “build” to see if I could replicate it. I also looked through the first assignment, Collatz, before class and came up with a list of clarifications/questions to ask during class so I can get started on the weekend.
2. What’s in your way?
So far, the only thing in my way is getting a handle on my schedule. I’m taking classes, including this one, where there are at least 2–3 assignments due every week. Even though some of these tasks may not be difficult, it’s a lot to keep track of, so I need to figure out an efficient way to not overwhelm myself.
3. What will you do next week?
Next week I will start digging into the Collatz assignment. I hope to finish latest by Sunday, so if I have any issues or bugs, I can use the following Monday and Tuesday to polish it off.
4. If you read it, what did you think of the makefile?
The makefile seems pretty straightforward. There were some commands I had to look up or ask my peers, but since I had worked with makefiles during OS, I had a general idea of the concept and structure.
5. What was your experience of Docker?
The class lecture really helped with the general idea behind Docker. Going through the tutorial was also really helpful in setting it up locally and testing out a few sample images. I watched a couple Youtube videos on how to use it with VSCode, but it led me down a rabbit hole of information, and I slightly overcomplicated the process. Oops.
6. What was your experience of assertions?
So far my experience with assertions has been pretty minimal. Besides using it a few times in past classes, I don’t really have much practical experience with it.
7. What was your experience of unit tests?
I haven’t used a formal unit test framework before, but I have written unit tests for my past internship and for most of my previous classes.
8. What made you happy this week?
I got to see my friends for the first time after 6 weeks:)
9. What’s your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?
I found a pretty cool Docker extension on VSCode. It includes a Docker explorer, where you can see all your images, volumes, and containers. Many of the Docker commands are also built in the Command Palette and it has auto completion for building docker files. I think this will come in handy when we start our group projects!
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