Learning to Think In Code

 Week 4 Learning Journal: This week we covered Merge Sort and did a review on all the major concepts for the midterm. We learned how Merge Sort works on the divide and conquer method, which works by breaking down an array into two smaller halves repeatedly until all the arrays are individual elements. Then they would recursively sort these arrays until they were back combined into one fully sorted array. It was good to get to see the recursion tree and how the Merge sort would be done in order to efficiently put the two arrays back together. We also looked at the Master Theorem and practiced determining what case to pick for a given recurrence relation. Going over graph traversals, brute force, and time complexity this week helped reinforce the ideas from the previous few weeks, leading to a good review for the midterm!

 Week 3 Learning Journal: This week, a new family of design techniques and graph traversals were presented. First, brute force design techniques were reviewed which rely on enumerating and checking each potential solution, like how we discussed brute force solution to both TSP and the Knapsack Problem, also why brute force may be impractical for large problem instances. Next, we also went over Breadth-First Search and Depth-First Search traversals to graphs, and I was surprised to learn where to use each type of traversal and their time complexities for graph representations using either an adjacency list or an adjacency matrix. I enjoyed the discussion of divide and conquer algorithms and the Master Theorem, which showed an organized technique for reasoning about time complexities of recursive functions rather than unrolling each one.

CST370 Module 2 Weekly Engagement  This week we dove deeper into algorithm efficiency, and how we can approach analyzing it using notation such as Big O, Big Theta, and Big Omega. I got more practice in finding the time complexity of an algorithm through pseudocode and recurrence relations for algorithms that included brute force methods and recursion. I also worked through algorithm puzzles such as finding the angle of the clock hands, and the racing car puzzle to provide better context to the theories rather than pure memorization. The quiz helped solidify my knowledge, while also testing it, allowing me to understand what I need to work on for future.

Class Engagement Week 1 Many core ideas for algorithm design and analysis were covered in Module 1, and one major idea that resonated with me in this part was being taught to express algorithms using pseudocode first, and then translating them into the actual program. I think dividing an algorithm into step-by-step logic really helps organize the problem in a more coherent and digestible way, and it makes programming easier later on. The algorithm puzzles, such as the fake coin, traveling salesman and matching pairs puzzles were very enjoyable as well because they challenge my ability to think from multiple angles. Another thing that I thought was really interesting was getting introduced to Sorting, Searching, Graphs and Trees, and what the purpose of different STL data structures are in efficiently organizing data. We also started touching upon algorithm analysis and time complexity. Identifying the basic operation and comparison between the worst-case vs the best-case performances w...

What went well? What would you improve? What was the most impactful part? What challenges did you face?  What advice do you have for future SL students?      Overall, the service learning project at the Kern County Sheriff's Mounted Posse was a valuable experience. The goal of my project was to design and implement a photo upload and storage system that would enable event participants and volunteers to upload photos via a mobile friendly website. Something I feel I was particularly successful in was applying the skills and principles that I have learned through the computer science courses, to solve  a real world problem. Planning, designing, and developing this system had provided me with real world experience of not just developing a system, but also how a system as such can be beneficial to an organization even after the class is done. I feel that I accomplished something useful by providing a solution for the organization.      The most signif...

This week’s module focused on how operating systems manage I/O devices, hard drives, and the basics of file systems. The main topics we covered were I/O devices, the structure and performance of hard disk drives, files and directories, and finally how a simple file system is implemented. All of these tied back to the bigger idea of how the OS communicates with hardware while keeping everything organized, reliable, and efficient. We discussed I/O devices, where we distinguished between block devices and character devices and the way the OS communicates with both categories. The discussion revealed that disks, keyboards, and USB peripherals, for instance, differed markedly in their performance requirements. I grasped the main ideas but had to struggle a little bit with the concept of hierarchical buses and the reason behind faster devices being nearer to the CPU. It dawned on me that it’s all about minimizing latency and maximizing data transfer rate, thus the concept clicked. Next, we w...