Summary of Object-Oriented Programming Concepts

This course is so different from my others its like another planet. I am a fourth year chemistry student so I've become used to a certain system of studying. Understand slides, review slides, take midterms. The chem method. 148 is a great break to the monotony in how much more abstract is is. The object oriented content we have covered so far seems simple in retrospect but I like how powerful it is. For the midterm I didn't know how or what to study. If you understand the concepts they are so natural that studying isn't even required.
The information hiding content we covered seems a little out of place looking back now. We spent two lectures on it I think and it wasn't tested on the midterm nor mentioned since. I'm not sure if it will be touched again but it is disconnected from the flow of the rest of the content. I hope we come back to it as I like learning how to compartmentalize information to the right part of the program.

Tracing Recusion Impressions

The recursion tracing exercises are surprisingly effective. The method takes a powerful abstract process and distills it into 2 steps: the base case and the recursive case. I initially imagined tracing recursion to involve a hefty amount of writing with lines everywhere not realizing the point was to not duplicate work you had previously done. After the first few examples done on your own the process becomes so natural that it's internalized without even realizing it at first. Now considering any recursive method the base case comes flying out easier than an expletive when stubbing your toe and this organization allows an organized focus towards the recursive case.

I have to wonder how long we will go while only seeing these 2 case recursive functions. I can't imagine even a large segment of recursive methods are organized so simply.

The first few weeks.

The first weeks of 148 have gone by surprisingly quick. It feels as if we haven't covered much in terms of topics but when I look back it makes sense since each is much deeper than any single topic covered in 108. It seems like there isn't much to study for the midterm if it already makes sense since
it's only object-oriented programming, class design, and recursion tracing so far. The availability of an aid sheet also furthers my procrastination. I guess I'm fulfilling the first tenet of a good programmer as our professors would want.

I really enjoyed A1 here more than any assignment so far in 108 since there was no starter code. For the first time I can say, 'Hey, look at this program I made.' If you want to look cool in non-CS classes show off the game you made it's a real crowd pleaser. The class design for A1 took much more thought than the actual implementation of subtract squares which surprised me. Fully deciding what is general to all games versus what needed to be in our specific game is not always clear.

I am also loving the format of the labs. You can just show up, get to work, and ask for help when you need it. No time wasting name games or forced groups like many other departments. A thing of beauty.

Geeks should learn to write.

In 1923 the Nobel prize in Medicine was awarded to Sir Frederick Banting and John Macleod of the University of Toronto for the discovery of insulin. A flurry of controversy ensued as Banting's lab assistant, Charles Best, was overlooked for the award in spite of his large contribution to the discovery. Another co-discoverer James Collip  that shared the patent for insulin with Best and Banting was also snubbed. This has been viewed most commonly as pandering to Macleod's already established reputation but it could be seen in another light.
Macleod's contribution was legitimizing the initial findings from the insulin discovery that were met with wide skepticism. His expert skills as an orator and writer allowed insulin to reach the world and his influence caused Banting to suspect Macleod of trying to take all the credit. Putting aside the personal issues, the Nobel committee  reasoned that the entire discovery might not have taken off if not for Macleod spreading it effectively.
Writing is the principal method of communication worldwide and most students in technical fields still unfortunately do not get explicit education for it. There are untold amounts of useful discoveries sitting in abandoned shelves or servers due to the poor writing abilities of their authors. It is not without reason a portion of most research grants include publishing funds as scientific discoveries essentially do not count if not communicated. I like that the University of Toronto is trying to approach this issue with the Writing Instruction for TAs (WIT) program in many STEM departments.  This is extra funding for TAs to mark and give feedback on writing. I have personally been through numerous chemistry courses with this programs and have felt the benefit on my lab reports. In the end, the ideal is to be able to read any paper or book and not tear one's hair out because you can't understand an author even though you both speak the same language.