Frightful First Few Weeks.

   The first few weeks in the course CSC148 have come as much of a surprise. After finishing CSC108 during the 2014 Fall session and receiving a better than average grade I came into CSC148 with high hopes, and a high-level of hubris. I soon did realize the magnitude of my gross underestimation when the first quiz was in front of me. I instantly became aware of how little I knew about classes. Although it was a simple quiz, being only a single question, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the question would be looking for. Needless to say, I didn't get the desired marks on my first quiz. I had learned my lesson and went home directly to read over all the course notes and lecture slides twice over. Professor heap stated that during the first year of computer science studies the teaching staff want to instill the virtue of 'laziness' in the students, although I understand what is meant by this I also know that computer science isn't a field of study that allows people to cut corners. For example, if a person skipped the earlier lectures in this course they wouldn't have a firm grasp on the implementation of list comprehensions. That person would have just lost a major problem solving tool. It is for that reason I should not underestimate CSC148 as being "just another 100-level course" because everything learned in these "basic" courses will benefit me in the future, if not immediately.

    Another impression I had of the first few weeks is that the course material isn't as straight forward as it was in CSC108. I understand how this freedom will be a common theme within a work place environment, because employers won't "hold the hands" of their new employees for too long so it is important to be have a good sense of direction and plan ahead when possible. The first assignment for example, did not have any set format like assignments in CSC108. No specific methods were required which meant more freedom for students. This increase in freedom came as a double-edged sword because although we were allowed to experiment a little bit with our methods we would still have to make use of 5 classes in order to receive full marks, some of which I did understand how to incorporate/populate (I didn't know what kind of methods to put inside game_view and whether or not they belonged there). It would be very easy to create a working game of subtract square without the overly complicated use of classes and inheritance but one of the main purposes of this assignment was to create a framework in which any two-player/turn-based/zero-sum/full-disclosure game could be plugged in to play in the future. So for that reason I believe that, overall, the first assignment was a good learning experience in the skills of self-organization and planning. In conclusion, CSC148 operates at a much faster pace when compared to CSC108 and therefor I should not face it with the same attitude and I should definitely not underestimate this course going forward.