Posts
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Java Week One
It’s been exactly one week since Head First Java and Core Java arrived on my doorstep. I finished reading through chapter 5 of Head First Java last night, and this morning I typed up the code for the SimpleDotComGame, compiled it, and played a quick game against the computer. I won!
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Remote Pair Programming Benefits and Tips
My first experience with remote pair programming was in Berkeley’s Engineering Software as a Service class on EdX.org. The prospect of a video conference, sharing my screen, and trying to code with a total stranger was intimidating to say the least. It turned out to be a fantastic experience, though. I met great people and learned way more than I could have on my own.
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FreeCodeCamp
It’s hard to stay focused when there are so many awesome out there to learn. I want to get into Wordpress and build mobile apps for iOS and Android. Swift is especially intriguing… I spent a little time exploring Objective C in a CodeSchool course last year, but I’ve heard that Swift takes its cues from languages like Python and Ruby that have a simpler and more readable syntax.
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UI/UX Observations from a User Perspective
After a couple of rather frustrating experiences today, I wrote down some things I want to keep in mind whenever I’m working on a site. Nothing new or earth shattering, but these are some reminders to myself as a developer, from myself as a user.
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Implementing Binary Search in JavaScript
This morning I worked through the binary search tutorial in the Algorithms class on Khan Academy. The concepts were familiar from when I took MIT’s Introduction to Computer Science and Programming on EdX, but this time I learned to implement the algorithm in JavaScript rather than Python.
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Wrapping Up Viking Code School
The first cohort of Viking Code School officially wrapped up last week. It was a great adventure. I got to help some amazing students experience an amazing amount of growth in 3 months. I also got to build some tests for the VCS website. The test suite runs pretty slowly, and I really want to refactor and add to it - but it did its job and caught bugs for us. I built an RSpec demo, a simple Rails API for the students to hit, and some lesson content on the Decorator Pattern. I even found a bug in the automated tests for a JavaScript assignment and got it fixed. JavaScript is still elusive to me, so this felt pretty awesome. I’m really thankful for the whole experience and everyone I met and worked with along the way.
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Rails: Setting Up for Testing
As I started work on a new Rails project recently, one of my first priorities was to set up my test environment and tools so I could use test driven development (TDD) from the beginning. Here are the steps I took, some snags I ran into, and some things I learned along the way.
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Viking Code School: The Maiden Voyage Begins
This week marks the beginning of an exciting new adventure - the maiden voyage of the Viking Code School. I had a fantastic experience as a TA with Omaha Code School last spring, and I’m excited to play that role again with a new group of students in a whole new format.
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Object-Oriented Design in Ruby
Ruby is a beautiful programming language and a fantastic language for beginners. It’s clear, simple syntax makes it accessible, and it’s amazing how much you can get done in a few short, simple lines of code. Combine Ruby with the Rails framework, and newcomers can hit the ground running fast. This speed is both a wonderful and a terrible thing.
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