Last Day of School ... before exams

Today, I was quite tensed as I wasn’t able to download a software to convert to PDF. I was able to fix my error during first period when we had a science party. When we entered the classroom, we were given instructions to post everything on our website and the culminating activity directory. We received our yearbooks in the library and were signing each others’ yearbooks rapidly. We listened to all the speeches and some of them were well planned. I got a shock five minutes before the period was about to end. I wasn’t able to find my two classes filled with close to 900 lines of code. It just disappeared. I had no idea what to do. I saved everything on my hardware and I hoped to find it at home. I was unsuccessful so I used an older version and edited the required parts. Thanks to Mr.Arkin, I was a little more relieved for extra time to post my files. I appreciate Mr.Arkin’s help throughout the semester to me individually. I definitely learned a lot and all of this knowledge will be useful to me in the future or should I say near future for the exam on Tuesday. I was pleased to have him as my teacher once again.

The Penultimate Day

Today, I sent my advertisement to Staples. I have completed my user manual and testing report, however I still have one error regarding my applet class. I needed some help with the error so I tried searching the Java API on the internet. I couldn’t really figure out my mistake. I was depending on Karl to help me as he was the only other person who worked with Applets, but I couldn't contact him. My flow chart was done manually and I scanned them as individual JPEG files. I am not sure how to combine them as one single PDF file. I hope to figure out a solution to this problem. I am excited for the webby award speeches as I have created one just now. I also can’t believe that tomorrow is the last day of school. We are getting yearbooks which is a great way of remembering memories.

3 days left to go

The project is almost coming to an end. I am continuing to write code for my Applet Class to show the graph of the parabola. It is quite long as the paint method draws everything line by line. I still need to complete the Javadoc for my Quadratic Solver class. I am in the process of completing my user manual, testing report and flow chart. I still need to send my laminated advertisement to Staples Print & Copy center. Not to mention that exams are less than a week away. I started studying for all my courses but I feel that I will have leisure time if I complete my culminating activity for Computer Science. My goal is to have everything ready by tomorrow.

Preparation for the Exam

Today, we were notified about a new account to upload our major projects. We were given our directories, the username and password. I also found out that I was classified under the Apps project as I was in the advanced crew. When we entered the class, scantron cards were distributed and we were asked to write our roll numbers at the top. I thought that we were going to have a test instead so I was a little tensed. We were given the format of the exam, a exam review list of topics, and our seat numbers. I was relieved to find out that the exam consisted of only java. No advanced topics will be on the exam. We were asked to indicate output statements clearly and a watch is definitely necessary. Only thing left to do is study!

Checklist for Major Project

I created a checklist for myself of all the things that I need to have completed to hand in such as the user manual, testing report, laminated document, code and the Declaration of Authorship. I continued working on my major project during class however running the main method takes a long time. I feel that this occurs due to an infinite loop in my code. I tried fixing my loop conditions but it doesn’t seem like the problem was fixed so I took a different approach to creating the code. Hopefully, I get it fixed soon because the deadline is nearing.

repaint() or update(Graphics g)

I went through the time consuming process of completing my paint method. I did not know how to call the paint method. I tried with no arguments but it required them. I tried to create an update method to just call the repaint method. It still did not work. I finally tried to call the QuadraticSolver method in the Applet class. It worked and now my applet combined with my other methods was working. However, I still have my other components to complete such as the Javadoc.

paint(Graphics g)

Today, I created my paint method which involved extensive use of Graphics. I used drawString, fillRect, drawLine, Format font and many others. I had to draw lines for the x-axis, y-axis, the vertex and the actual curve itself. There were conditions to check in the paint method as well. I would say that this was hectic but I hope I will be able to finish tomorrow.

init() method

In the applet class, the first method that I created was the init() method, which means initialize. I was originally going to run with my QuadraticSolver class but I have reversed the thinking so that the Applet class depends on the QuadraticSolver class. I made my main method in the QuadraticSolver class as an accesor so I can call it in the init() method. This method sets the values for my paint method which I know is going to be extremely long.

Applet Decision

Apart from the other methods, I wanted the user to be able to see what the parabola looks like. For this, I had to create a separate class importing the main Applet class. I was able to take a look at Mr. Arkin’s Java tutorial big book. I read through the Applet section. It was quite long, but now, I think I have a good sense of what needs to be done.

Y-intercept

I created the method for the y-intercept as a void method. I felt that I may have to plug in zero in all the x-values and write out the entire equation. I then thought about it for a second and realized that the c value was the y-intercept. This shortened my code to just two lines. I was greatly thankful for that. We also handed in our minor projects to Mr. Arkin with our roll number written on a post-it note stuck on the back. I am now finished with half my culminating activity.

Finishing up the Minor Project

I gathered all my research for my minor project on ICT Technologies. My html and css code was completed and my pictures and references were mentioned on the tabloid size digital file. Since this is my first time working with Staples Print and Copy Center, I had to download Cute PDF writer and the GhostScript. I also had to check if the header and date were unchecked. I sent it to Staples but Staples only opens for 5 hours on Sunday so I asked for it to be delivered sooner.

Discriminant, Roots and Direction of Opening

Today, I created my method for finding the discriminant and roots. It was a simple method of using the equation b^2 - 4ac and testing if it was less than, greater than or equal to zero. This determined if it was one repeated real root, two roots or complex roots. With the a value, I was also able to determine the direction of opening of the parabola based on if the value is negative or positive. This information will be of assistance when they are using my program.

Validity of equation input

Today, I had to plan out all the possible ways that the user could enter in a valid equation. The input also had to be entered with spaces and appropriate characters. I came up with 4 possibilities. For each of them, I created an isValid() method that tokenizes, parses, determines value of a, b, c and in the end, outputs if it is valid or invalid. My 4 methods were quite similar but the number of tokens for the String array varied and in some cases, b or c may be set to zero as it is not included in the input. The code was really long as there were several conditions to check for such as the operators used and whether it was a quadratic in the first place. Now that this is done, I can start working on my other methods which will display other information about the quadratic equation. 

Change of Plans

After last night's work, I realized that the translator program wasn't for me and I was more interested in creating a math utility program. However, I didn't like the equation balancer suggestion. In class, Karl and I decided that we both wanted to work on something different so we started working individually on two different topics. I also notified Mr.Arkin of this change and my topics for both the minor and major projects for teacher approval. My projects were approved and I decided to start working on the "Quadratic Equation solver" for my major project and "future of ICT" for my minor project.

Culminating Activities begin

Today, we were told about the culminating activity which consists of a minor and major project. The minor project is individual and is due in a week. The major project is to be done in partners. They both have laminated pages and the major project has several options like an app, or a video, broadcast, etc. Mr. Arkin decided to give the Advanced crew other options. Either a Java to turing translator or a math utility program. I chose to work with Karl and we decided to work on the translator program. It was overwhelming but we started. We decided to contact each other as this code will have a lot of lines and we need to split the work.

Panther Pantry Day 2

Today, I worked on my Order class of sorting the entire array of products by department, name and price. I also created a receipt with the individual subtotals by department and the total with tax included. It was easy to complete as I was helping others with similar code. Now, over the weekend, I need to complete the javadoc and make sure that I followed the guidelines so I can hand it in to Mr. Arkin when I get back. Monday, we will start culminating activities and I am excited to find out what it is.

Panther Pantry Day 1

Mr. Arkin wants the advanced crew to complete the panther pantry class as well. It will take me a shorter time but I just started today and I have a few days left. Today, in class I completed the Product class and completed the tokenizing class to split the shopping list. I accepted in all the values for name, brand, description, department, price and tax code. I have also created my array of Products to store in all the data. Tomorrow, I need to do the sorting and calculations.

Reverse Polish Notation

A sample question of reverse Polish Notation is 347+* which really means 7 + 4 * 3.  A great advantage is that brackets are not required. The result of this question is 33. To retrieve, we can use Nodes creating new nodes that store the values of stack.pop() or push a node off with stack.push(someNode). I hope to finish this code soon.

Stack implementation

Stacks are used in reverse polish notation. This is a strategy for calculation equations with operators written after the constants. It is almost like an olden day calculator. I began working on the RPN class today and it seems complicated to be as you would need to pop the stack to get the operators and constants separately. An example is when you need to parse syntax. I will continue working on it tonight.

Stacks

Today, we learned about stacks. This seems familiar to me as I remember doing it in programming club. Stacks know their size and top. There are several methods such as push, pop, next and top. It reminds me of stacks of plates that need to be cleaned. Stacks are similar to nodes. They are a bit confusing but with more practice, I think I will get better at it. We were asked to write our own Stack class with the appropriate constructor, accesors and mutators.

Completion of Singly Linked List

Today, I completed my singly sorted linked list and I also modified my insertion sort class. It took a lot of editing of the code to finally end with the correct results. My singly linked list compiles but it received run-time errors like Null Pointer Exception. I am going to try working on it tonight.

Wrapping Up

This work period was helpful in completing my insertion sort class, however, I am still having a few errors with my singly sorted linked list. I also remembered to add these errors to my error log. Everyone else was working on their panther pantry class. I was curious to work on it as well because I had been helping a few people so I had an idea on what needs to be done. I decided to complete my singly sorted linked list first before I try the Panther Pantry class. This Panther Pantry class seems to be taking ages to complete as it has almost been two weeks by now.

Party Update

Mr. Arkin was absent today as well so we had a guest teacher. I continued to work on my singly linked list program. Though it compiles, I am facing a few run-time errors which I have added to my error log. I also remembered of the party that my class might have this Friday depending on the planning. Therefore, I sent a mail out to all members of our class on wikispaces and I updated the party page from the previous party so students can sign up for the item they are bringing. I like the idea of this party as it is a great way to begin the long weekend. I hope to finish this Linked List Class as soon as possible.

Singly linked lists

Today, we had a guest teacher due to Mr. Arkin’s absence. The class was working on Insertion Sort of a card-dealing problem. Since I was not aware of this sorting algorithm, I tried the question as well and got a sense of the algorithm. After, the advanced crew was given a main method as a continuation of the  Node class to implement an array of integers into nodes but should link each other in the sorted order. Using methods of the node class made the task a little bit easier. I feel relieved after finishing all the French projects due today which gives me more time to continue working on my code. The singly linked list runs in one direction so I assume that we are soon going to begin doubly linked lists. I can’t wait!

Nodes and Linked Lists

After completing the sorting assignments, we were given a lesson on nodes and linked lists today. The Powerpoint was quite long but writing it by hand helps in remembering the information. Nodes link to more nodes. The lesson seems confusing at first but it involves using Objects and sorting once again. This was for the advanced crew however the rest of the class continued to work on their bubble sort of their items array. Each node knows its datum and the “next” link which connects to the next node. We were given an assignment for the node class to complete the code using the documentation of implementing constructors, accessors and mutators. I didn't know how to start but once I did, it was easy.

La Deprime

Today, the Grade 11 French IB's were engaged in another trip to watch a modern French play known as “La Deprime”. It involves several characters with individual problems at a bus stop intertwined together in the plot. There was romance, comedy and action. Unfortunately, due to my allergies and sickness, I wasn’ able to enjoy the play as much as I wished to. After the play, we went to a nearby park to eat lunch which aggravated my allergies even more. As we were leaving to get on the bus to go back to school, it began to rain, but it wasn't a downpour. We ran out of time to continue with our activity but I really enjoyed the play.

Last work period on Problem Decomposition

Today was the last day for our problem decomposition of the panther pantry. I finished my sorting (bubble, quick) classes. I was wondering whether the advanced crew was expected to complete the Panther Pantry class but Mr. Arkin has not provided us with any instructions. However, I still try it anyway and during the period, I was able to assist Rampragash with his tokenizer error and Regina with her inputFile error. I am glad I helped them because I learned something as well. I can’t wait till tomorrow because it is our second French trip for the semester. I hope we start something new after the trip.

Progress against Task

Today, I continued working on my Error Log and Daily Blog. Our class was given another opportunity to have a party the Friday before the long weekend. Surprisingly, my French teacher also agreed to a party. We continued to conference with Mr.Arkin about our progress on our programs. The rest of the class continued to tackle through the Panther Pantry sorting problem as I continued with my sorting classes.

Problem Decomposition

Coding a complicated problem in Java will take time and a lot of lines. Breaking the problem down into simple chunks and combining them together at the end makes the work load seem lighter. We continued to work on our programs of quick sort. I believe that we are nearing the end of the Panther Pantry problem. I was able to help both Rampragash and Regina with their programs since they were dealing with a compile error message. I was also able to learn something new from helping them. I will be able to finish the contest problem that I was working on for such a long time using Problem Decomposition.

Sorting array of Items

We continued with our work of sorting arrays. I felt that this period might be helpful for me to update my error log. I also tried applying quick sort to a few real-life problems. After completing the questions for the advanced group, I thought it might be interesting for me to try the Panther Pantry class of sorting the list of items. It seems like putting it into an array of items and then checking the individual department, tax status and name takes a lot of time. I broke the steps down to create simple programs, however I cannot check it as I did not create the Product class earlier. I felt that just creating an array and sorting it by its individual department and name and price would be a plausible task for now.

Progress on the array sorting

I completed the sorting array of items and I was also given information about the DEEP program from Mr.Arkin  but it seems like the dates won't fit my schedule. However, it would be a great experience for me and I would love to do it maybe later in the future. We continued conferencing individually with Mr.Arkin and I clarified a few doubts about Quick Sort. I hope to learn recursion soon so I might be able to try a few senior problems in the CCC and DWITE.

compareTo Method

I have previously used the compareTo method in the Selection sort program for an array of Simple Objects. I could have made my life easier had I noticed that I created the method before for the Array of Objects assignment. The compareTo method returns a negative value if a should come before b; 0 if a and b are the same and a positive value otherwise. This method can also be accessed from the super class. I have understood Quick sort and created a basic skeleton program for sorting an array of integers with Quick sort.

Array from File Sort

Today, our assignment was to create an array of integers and strings separately on a file and read from the file and sort it to print it out on the console. It was a work period and I was able to complete the program with a run-time error which was due to the lack of an import statement. I expect that we will soon learn the last type of sorting known as Quick Sort. I also tried a few contest questions from DWITE and CCC with the sort algorithms to familiarize myself with the lesson.

Bubble Sort

A new method of sorting was learned today. This algorithm is known as Bubble Sort. This algorithm compares pairs of adjacent elements. The number of elements in the array subtract 1 determines the number of passes needed to run through to sort the entire array. When comparing a pair, sometimes a swap is required and sometimes it is not. To make the program more effective, a boolean can be created to check if no swaps are being made to show that the data is already sorted. This sort is  useful for the Panther Pantry group to sort their list of items. I have created an array of integers and strings to sort them with bubble sort. This sort is a little different from selection sort.

Working hard on Sorting

Today, we continue to work hard on the sorting classes. I have completed the selection sort class but there are several other algorithms for sorting such as bubble sort which I expect we will be learning soon. It is almost time for the weekend and I am excited. The last few questions in the Array of Objects Assignment can be mastered now that the Selection Sort of the Simple Object Class is completed and the sorting algorithm is known.

Selection with Switch

Today, we learned Selection with switch also known as the switch-case. The Case statement is used only when the integer is known as a definite constant and not a variable. The first time where break; is crucial in programming is found in case statements. This is a modification of the if statement with cases with several possibilities. The switch-case will be useful for the students working on the Panther Pantry as there are several items that have similar characteristics. I am completed my Selection Sort Class and hope to get rid of the run-time errors.

Selection Sort of the Simple Object Array

Today, I continued working on the selection sort class. A compareTo method is needed however there is one under the Super Class and the programmer can create one as well. This advice given by Mr. Arkin really was useful. I had an idea of converting strings with capital letters to lower case Strings as a temporary variable, but when comparing, the compareTo method recognizes this difference. I also realized that we can use some of the methods that we created in the Array of Objects Assignment. I hope to complete this class today for homework.

Back from the Long Weekend

The class was split into two groups today: “Selection Sort” group and the “Panther Pantry” group. I began in the Panther Pantry group but in a few minutes, Mr. Arkin decided to transfer me to the “Selection Sort” group. The Selection Sort Algorithm is a very useful algorithm in computer programming and real life. To sort N items, you need to make N passes through them. We began with a simple problem of sorting an array of integers. Now came the challenge. The assignment was to sort an array of Simple Objects containing a string and an integer. The input is read from a file and the method of sorting was left for us to decide. It seems like a lot to do but if we break it into chunks, the work load seems lighter.

Guest Speaker - Jack Gao

We had a guest speaker, Mr. Jack Gao, today in our class. Jack is a former VP student who graduated last year from IB. He is doing Computer Science in Waterloo and Business at Laurier. He is also going to California for Co-op which threw me back in my seat as I was surprised to hear a first-year university student being so involved. Apparently, HL courses can act as transfer credits. Being involved in extra-curricular activities for a new experience and making friends were emphasized. A lot of topics such as recursion and sorting were written on the board to prepare for computing contests. A friend of Jack, Jacob Plachta, is a known person to me. From grade 6-8, I went to Programming club at Woburn CI and Jacob was our leader. A lot of inspiration was taken from this presentation and I enjoyed it greatly!

Remedial Plan Day 2

Today, I created steps in improving myself. Practice makes perfect is a well-known statement. That was my first step. Being familiar with vocabulary terms and understanding the code would assist me well. If I do find something new while coding, I should look into it in detail as it may help me in the future. For the past few days, we had a guest teacher and I hope that he gave a good report on us to Mr. Arkin not to mention that our behaviour was acceptable for an IB class. Tomorrow, we are having a guest speaker!

Remedial Plan Day 1

Today was the first of two days that we had a guest teacher because Mr. Arkin was celebrating Passover. We were expected to create a plan to improve our mark and performance. I looked over my test once again to see the areas where I lost marks. This gave me a rough idea of the areas that needed some work. I will continue to create steps tomorrow.

Test Returned

Everyone was quite scared about getting their test back and when I got back, it was like a bomb was dropped on my head. I was pleased with myself for majority of the test until the thinking section. However, it was expected as I ran out of time. Over the course of the period, we went over the model answers and I made a note of the things that I need to remember to do better in the next evaluation. Our mid-term marks were also posted and I was satisfied with my mark but I know that understanding and learning is more important. More practice will make performance better.

Java TEST

We wrote the Java test during the last period of the day and today was Friday so a little disappointed. The test was clear and seemed short until I turned the page over and I realized that there were still two more questions. I reviewed a lot of definitions which helped me. There was 5 minutes left and I had just started the last thinking question. I tried as hard as I could to write fast but the bell rang and I had to put my pencil down. I didn't do as well as I hoped to do. I guess I have to wait for the test scores now.

L'avare

Today, all the Grade 11 French IB students went to downtown, Toronto at the George Ignatieff Theatre affiliated with the University of Toronto to watch the play L'Avare written by Moliere. This play was written centuries ago which explains the bizarre costumes worn by the professional actors. The theatre gave a dramatic experience and the stage had beautiful sets. This two and a half-hour play was filled with comedy throughout with the greedy father and his children who have fallen in love. The daughter fell in love with the lackey and the son is in love with the young bride-to-be for the father. Who knew that there were family ties between the lackey and the young bride and the hilarious chef. A mishap occurs at the end where families join together and the money box is retrieved. I enjoyed the play very much, but I have to study for the test tomorrow.

Last Minute Review before the Test

The title of today’s post speaks for itself. Due to the french field trip tomorrow, today was the only day for clarifying doubts with Mr. Arkin before the test. As a preparation, we were given the array of objects assignment. I was reviewing the concepts taught in class so I can prioritize what to put on my reference sheet and what not to. I had a few problems with the array of objects assignment and I hope I can solve them soon.

Thumbs-up for the Simple Object Class

Today, we created a simple object in class with four constructors, two accessors and two mutators. This class was supposed to accept an integer and a String. I was able to complete the source code and the Javadoc in time for a peer to test my class. I received a thumbs-up for my class and now I had to begin preparing for the test in a couple of days. Now that I know my strengths and things that I need to remember, I need to complete preparing my reference sheet for the test.

Last Day for IO Assignments

Today was the last day to complete the IO assignments. I was constantly facing a runtime error with my string tokenizer but with Mr. Arkin's help, I was able to fix it and complete my assignment. Now, we have to study for our test on Friday and prepare a reference sheet. Lots of Studying to do!!!! Also, the truth tables were provided to us and I am sure that we are going to use it in the future while writing programs.

Reaching the Finish Line

Today, the class was like any other day. There was not much to be done except for continuing the Input Output Assignments. I realized that the output for Assignments 4 and 5 need to be written to another file so I just modified my program to fix the problem. I am going to fix any run time errors for homework and hopefully it works successfully! However, I am extremely sick so I cannot stare at the computer screen for a long time. :(

Casting and ParseInt

Casting and ParseInt both serve a similar purpose of changing the datatype of the variable but casting does it for the specific variable however, Parse is used to analyze a literal string and store them in different categories. I am making my way towards the end of the Input Output Assignments. I was debating with myself whether I should listen to Mr. Arkin's private lessons to certain students but I decided to continue with my assignment and clarify doubts with him when I get them. I have to upload all my errors into my Error Blog, as they are piling up!

Spirit for IO and VPCI

Today, we had our spirit assembly in the Double Gym and it was definitely full of spirit with lots of cheering and loud screaming. The scheduled timings were quite humourous: Start- 9:21, End- 9:52. After the assembly, we made it back to our classrooms and continued working on our I/O Assignments. I made it to my 5th Assignment.

* is not the same as mutliplication

Programmers are used to typing an asterisk for multiplication and a slash for division however non-programmers can not comprehend these symbols therefore Unicode hexadecimal is used to display the operators. These values can be assigned to constants. Methods that help you perform work are called utility methods and to minimize repeated code, methods can be used. I am still working on the Input Output Assignments.

Modifications and a Fresh Start

Today, I finished my modifications on my program that displays messages of cold and warm to guess the magic number. The program compiles and runs successfully. I am hoping to finish the program where the previous scores of the user are displayed. I began working on the Input Output Assignments and creating methods for each assignment in one main method is a lot easier. The String Tokenizer also helps in completing the code. I am making sufficient progress on the assignments and I am learning a lot of new things along the way.

Glued to the TV

Today, being Saturday, April 2, 2011, I was glued to the television to watch the finals of the ICC World Cup 2011. It was India vs. Sri Lanka and India had a rough start in the beginning. Sri Lanka started off first with 274 runs and I was excited. Nearing the end, it was a critical situation but with the last two hits, India won the World Cup. I was delighted and excited at the same time and I read that 4 billion viewers were watching it live. I wanted to be with my family in India as the celebrations were massive with fireworks throughout the night!

Loads of happiness!

Today was April Fool’s Day and I was shocked to hear an announcement on the PA system. The OSSLT which the Grade 10’s wrote yesterday was leaked on the internet therefore scheduling a retest for Tuesday, April 5, 2011. I was horrified to hear that I had to rewrite the 3-hour exam. However, the afternoon was different. First off, what a party! I loved it because everyone was committed to bringing something whether it was food, drink or music. A great big thank you to Mr.Arkin for bringing the wonderful carrot cake. It was delicious! Half-way through, I decided to do some work so I could enjoy the weekend. At the end of the day, as I went to check the  list, there was a sheet that said “April Fool’s Day”!

OSSLT Exam

Today, we wrote the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test which was designed for all grade 10 students in Ontario. The timing was scheduled so all students throughout the province write it at the same time. The exam began at 9 and ended at 11:45 with a 15 minute break in between. The exam was manageable however, the writing was long. The space was limited to express your ideas. Due to the exam, there were no classes today and interviews began in the afternoon. I am looking forward to speaking with my teachers about my performance later today.

Learning the GNFRFCPWL...

Today, we reviewed the homework classes on the secret number and repetition. I had a doubt about the program and the answer was in the powerpoint for Mr.Arkin's Guaranteed Never Fails Rules for Computer Programming While Loops. These four easy steps can help any programmer in writing while loops, unless you make errors with parseInt or comparing strings as I did. But, we learn from our mistakes and I surely did!

After the lesson, some of the students were quite hyped in the India vs. Pakistan cricket match for the World Cup. India won with a lead of 29 runs and is moving on to the finals. Yay! :) I was able to complete the magic number program and a challenge was to modify it with displaying previous scores and adjusting ranges to show: cold, very cold, warm, very warm. I completed them with previous knowledge from this course.

Flow Control

Today, we got our code off results for the course and course section class. My team was successful in creating code tested without flaws. We learned flow control and the three types: sequence, selection and repetition. We were given the syntax for the if statements, while loops, do-while loops, and for loops. With repetition, there are indeterminate and determinate loops. Finally, the breaking flow consists of break and continue. Also, blocks  define the scope of variables. Using the different types of flow control, our code can be more efficient as you wouldn’t have to rewrite code several times.

Input Output Assignments

Mr. Arkin surprised the class with a party planned for April 1st! I first thought that it was a trick because April 1st is April Fool’s Day. Today, we also began the Input Output Assignments. Import statements are needed to access packages such as Buffered Reader, Input Stream Reader, IOException, etc. These statements also need to be in alphabetical order at the very top. The Buffered Reader allows the program to interact with the user through a file or the console. We also need to close the inputFile and the outputFile at the end of the code. We also learned parsing integers and doubles because any line of text read from the input file is taken in as a string. With Buffered Reader and File Writer, programs can help the users in solving problems.

Data Structures

Today, all the teams published the Course and CourseSection classes. We were asked to challenge another team. My team equally worked hard as before on the Student class. We hope that our code will once again be flawless. A lesson was taught today on Data Structures consisting of arrays which are collections of like variables stored under a single name. The first element is called the zeroth element. It is declared and initialized like the following: int[] a = new int[10];. Every array knows its length and you can call the elements as index or subscript.

This will be helpful when long lists of data need to be read and you can store them all under an array. Data structures in general are a scheme for organizing related pieces of information. Static data structure’s size and nature are determined before the program is executed. You can change the values stored in arrays as well. I can’t wait to start writing complicated programs with arrays.

Comparing two Strings

Today, we continued to work on our Course and CourseSection class in our teams. Seems like there are a few overlapping elements but I clarified them with Mr.Arkin. I also found out that you can create arrays with other data types than the general String, int, double, etc. When comparing two strings, you cannot use an if statement with a direct equals operator and check if it equals a String. This is because Strings are objects, therefore, we need to use a string method such as the equals method, or the compareTo method. This advice helped when we were comparing our course elements in the array. We are continuing to refine the code so the code cannot be broken.

Course and Course Section class

We began the course and course section class. A course needs to know its title, description, code, department, course section and the course section needs to know its teacher, students, room, enrolled students, max and min number of spots available. We continued to work in the same teams as the Student Class. There is a possibility for a course to have more than one section and to help us, Mr. Arkin taught us about “The Zen of Void”. I am encountering a few errors with the array of Course Sections but I hope to fix them by tomorrow.

Won the code-off ... (sort of)

Last night, my team completed the class and posted our links on the wiki. Today in class, we switched our code with several teams such as Andy's and Rampragash's team. They both returned with the message of “unbeatable” and we were delighted. We took the extra step in the method for the date of birth in checking for the individual months and leap years. Finally, Mark's team came back with the same message however near the end, they found a mistake. We forgot to put “this.” to differentiate from the parameter and the instance variable. We were a bit disappointed but we learn from our mistakes so we were happy with our accomplishment. We also began the course class in the same teams and we hope to create code without any errors this time.

Student Class

As we got back from the March Break, Mr. Arkin decided to warm up our Java skills so we had a Student Class Code-off. This class was designed so a student would know their name, date of birth, and gender and at least 3 more things about him or herself. We also had several other requirements such as a toString method and a public and private constant. We were put into teams of 3 and our goal is to break the code of the defender's team with the link to the Javadoc, class and tester file. Jessie, Regina and myself seem to be at a good position in creating the skeleton. I think we will be successful in this code-off.

Aboard Victoria Airways

For homework, we had to brainstorm for the Victoria Airways class. My team chose the customer class. Today in class, we put up our lists on the board for verification by Mr.Arkin. We realized that we were missing a very important component - the name of the customer. Similarly, the flight segment and the airplane class requirements were also modified. After approval, we began writing the Javadoc and the outline. We also managed to write the instance variables. The bell rang and we were overjoyed as it was March break. No homework was assigned but I think I will get a head start on this class.

Advancing with the BoatSeller Class

I guess now that everyone is on the “boat”, we decided to start selling them. After the completion of the Person class, for the tester, we had to implement the BoatSeller Class. As we create a person with a name, age, gender, height and weight, we now can assume that they have a boat and they also need to specify the type, name and tonnage of the boat. Our homework was to brainstorm for the Victoria Airways Class in teams of 3. We assigned the customer, flight and airplane class for two teams per topic using the Wikispaces.

Satisfaction of Completion

Today, I completed the enhanced calculator class. In this class, I also learned in depth about number formatter that helps to set decimal places for a real number. Since I had some free time to spare, I read the Javadoc for the Person Class so I can get started with it for tomorrow’s class. I created the skeletal outline for the Person class so all I need to do is to insert the code.

Import Statements

When writing a program, there are certain classes that need a package to be imported. An example of an import statement is: import java.io.* . These import statements must be at the very top of the program and also written in alphabetical order. Today, I continued working on the Enhanced Calculator Class. I am on the verge of finishing.

Shorter is better!

There are classes with special values stored for MIN_VALUE and MAX_VALUE which makes life a lot easier in some circumstances. Evaluating boolean expressions such as (a==b) does not need a full-length if statement. Instead, we can write one line: “return a==b;”. This reduces our code length when we are writing really long programs. A review list of operators was given with symbols similar to math except for equal to (= =),  not equal to (!=), and (&&), or (||). Other than these exceptions, the rest are the same when comparing two values.

"this.variable" is not the same as "variable"

Today, we learned that if the variable in the parameter had the same name as your instance variable, you must use “this.” to differentiate the two. I hope I remember this as I might forget. I was able to complete the Simple Calculator Class and get started with the Enhanced Calculator Class. It is more advanced than the previous one hence the term “enhanced”. We are progressing with writing programs without skeletons and composing our own tester programs.

Catching up on the lifeBoat!

Up until now, every individual was at a different stage in comprehension of Java. Today, was a recap day of clarifying doubts with a question and answer period. This helped a lot of students with the Boat class example. I felt that I could work on the Purse class and I was able to complete it. As I started on the Simple Calculator Class, I paid close attention to the discussion as it helped me in pursuing the calculator class.

At lunch, I was able to correct my CCC problems and I was happy in the end with a grand total of 51 points. I hope to learn how to code the last question correctly for the future.

Javadoc, (Parameters), and CONSTANTS

Learning to write a javadoc is quite fascinating as it is the backbone for any programmer to write a program. However, you need to write in 3rd person plural. Constants must be entirely in CAPITAL letters. Today, we learnt how to declare methods with parameters and call methods with arguments. The toString method is very important to return a string representation of the code. With this much progress, we will soon start writing complicated programs. YAY!

CCC!

My mind was working hard for the second half of the day in coding problems for the Canadian Computing Contest. It felt like there was a lot of time in the beginning (3 hours to be precise), but near the end, I was rushing for time. It wasn't as hard as I expected. I was shocked to see the first question as it could be done by an amateur programmer (not completely). The 4th and 5th question really was challenging and I had to rack my brain for it. I was able to solve the mining question; however, the network question was truly complicated. Overall, I thought it was a good experience!

Java Fundamentals

Today was another day of copying notes from a powerpoint presentation. We learned the essentials before becoming a java programmer such as the datatypes, subprograms (procedural) and methods. Apparently, the file name must be identical to the class name. I guess I have to change a few things. There are 3 types of methods: CAM (constructors, accessors and mutators). I made an acronym to remember the order. There are several rules to follow when writing code in Java so we have to be familiar with them to be professional programmers.

Computing Day at York University

I was able to experience University life during the course of the full day at York University Keele Campus. I have been in this area several times but never actually visited York University. I was planning on taking the TTC but my dad was kind enough to drop me as it was snowing in the morning.

I arrived a few minutes after 9 am and we registered in at the Computer Science and Engineering Department building. We waited in the lobby for the rest of the class to arrive. The first presentation began at 10 am describing what is computer science and whether it has an intellectual dimension or is it only about Technology? It was presented by Jeff Edmonds in a big lecture hall.

Following this presentation, we headed to Hall C for a presentation by the York University Rover team. It was intriguing with their mind, body, soul concept and I was impressed with their achievements in the University Challenges from the previous years were they placed 1st rank. My eyes were glued to their design and I was picturing it on the red terrain of Mars. However, it was time to leave.

The next presentation was a hands-on experience where we were attacking our partner's computer as a trojan virus. I really enjoyed it and at the same time was shocked to see the several things a virus could do to your computer. I was getting hungry as it was 15 minutes past 12 and luckily it was lunch time.

We had until 1:30 to finish our lunches. This was like any other lunch except I decided to buy a medium hot chocolate at Tim Hortons. My friends and I were chatting about the possibility of winning the roll up to win contest. We headed back to the lobby as it was almost 1:30.

The final presentation was gruesome and interesting at the same time. The speaker, Burton Ma showed us several methods of surgery with the help of computers and how successful they are becoming in preventing deaths after this new addition. I finished drinking my hot chocolate and as I rolled up the cup, it was highlighted in red so I thought it said please play again. However, I read gagnez in french and I definitely knew that meant "WIN". I won a donut and I was delighted. Overall, this trip was not only educational but at the same time, extremely enjoyable. The donut made my day even luckier.

Cayley Waterloo Math Contest

People prepare for things in advance so they are able to show their talent at their best on the day of. That was the case with me. I had completed several Waterloo Math Contests under the Cayley category for practice. Today was the day of the contest where I was being evaluated on my skills! I was nervous at first but I was confident when I began as I had been doing math contests every year. Part A was easy as it was testing skills taught in the curriculum. Part B was applying the skills with real-life situations. Part C was the real tough one to conquer! Luckily, I had plenty of time to work on the questions. I finished the questions with 30 seconds left in the hour. I remembered that I had skipped a question so I quickly entered in the answer and let out a big sigh when the timer started beeping! I now await for the results.

Terminology Trivia!

Today's class is a significant lesson in familiarizing ourselves with the terminology used in programming. It is very essential to know these terms on our fingertips as we use them to communicate with other programmers. Some of the vocabulary was a recap from last year such as programmer and source code. We learned new terms such as executable, identifiers, comments and classes. Comments and keywords can be identified easily in a program as they are colour-coded. The lesson was executed with the standard software of Powerpoint which is a useful method in my opinion as it helps students learn better by understanding the key concepts. I learned a lot of new information about classes, objects, constructors and methods. Some people might understand better by comparing it with Turing but I like to stick to Java. I didn't have anything to program so I tried a contest question from DWITE. It was a challenging problem but I was able to solve it!

Write once, run anywhere.

Today was the 1st day of learning to write code using Java. We installed Java Development Kit (JDK 6.0) as our compiler and DrJava to write the source code. Mr.Arkin provided us with an introduction to "The Development Process" with the steps required to program with Java. There is a total of four steps beginning with writing the algorithm and then coding the algorithm in programming language, followed by compiling it in byte code and ending it with converting byte code into binary code by a Java Virtual Machine. A rough outline on how programs are written were shown using Classes which is a factory for making objects. We learned several rules of naming classes, and the syntax for writing comments. A new term was introduced to me: "delimiter". Since I have programmed using Java, most of the information was familiar to me. I was able to finish the HelloWorld Class and I hope to code advanced programs in the near future!

Final day for the Super-power Assignment!

I am delighted and tensed for the same reason. Yay, it is the last day for the project but Nay, we don't have any more periods to work on it. I had completed my project already but for some reason, my link to my super-power autobiography assignment was not working. I was frustrated. I hope to get it to fixed as soon as possible. The peer-marking database has to be fixed by Mr.Arkin before we submit our marks. I had to get my partner's co-ordinates so I can communicate with her on the long weeked. I am overjoyed that we get a break but I need this time to finish my submission. I aim to finish it earlier so I can enjoy the rest of my weekend!

Lists...

Today was a recap on lists from last year's HTML unit. I was able to recognize unordered and ordered lists as they were familiar in code and I have used it previously. However, I learned about definition lists and the code for it. This list makes it easier if you are making a vocabulary list for yourself. I decided to use a list in my super-power assignment but I have not decided which one. We were given few tips for our project about underlining and emphasis. We were reminded about the special character entities and the credits must be grammatically correct. I noted down a few points on my checklist so I can make sure I have them in the end. I am continuing to add external links, but this time it must be embedded. Hopefully, this project will be concluded soon.

Images and Anchors

Images and Anchors are similar that they both should be "in-line" elements which must appear in a "box": paragraph, list or table. Many students thought that these terms were different. Another new fact that we learned when writing the code for images was that we must specify the source, alternative text, width  and height. All of these attributes must also appear in quotation marks which many of us forgot to do. I also had to go back to change my code in a few places because I forgot to add in the anchors. Today, I searched for all my images that are corresponding to my topic but I was having a hard time to find a relevant background for my website. I hope to finish it for homework!

Blog Notes!

Today, as we checked our blogs in class, we noticed that we received comments. They were from Mr. Arkin and he complimented on my success in validation and being live on the web. During today’s lesson, we received a few suggestions on how to improve the overall outcome of the blog with minor changes to thinks such as spell-check, grammar, capitalization and colour contrast. I was also shown how to change the date of posting using the post options which really helped me in arranging the posts in chronological order. What more can I say about the superpower assignment than continuous work on making sure all requirements are met. Hopefully, I can get a peer to edit my project as soon as possible. I am excited that we are going to start Java soon in class. I was also looking forward to writing the Canadian Computing Contest this year but it seems like I have a lot on my shoulders. I look forward to more people replying to my posts.

Hard Work is the key!

At the beginning of Friday, February 10th's class, we just confirmed a few things on our agenda. We listened to some music in studio 218. We were notified about the upcoming Waterloo Computing Contest. A link with some information about University of Toronto was also provided. Many were delighted to hear about the new web designing course which is going to be introduced in the upcoming year. All class, I was working hard on the project and clarifying my doubts as much as possible with Mr. Arkin. It seems like there is still a lot more to do regarding the project however it is validated on the web!

Introduction to Cascading Style Sheets

Today, we were on our best behaviour as we had guests from the Toronto District School Board visit our classroom. Simultaneously, we were deeply engaged in the lesson about formatting using Cascading Style Sheets. We learned about the rules of selectors and declaration. We were able to look at a sample program and analyze its elements. There were certain exceptions to the different ways of writing the code to formatting. Finally, I read the Word Processing Guidelines to make sure I didn't miss anything. For homework, I am still continuing to work on my project and trying to follow all the rules.

Live on the Web!

February 9th, 2011 was a successful day as I was finally able to connect to the FTP server. I was delighted to have posted my website live on the World Wide Web at last. It was a remarkable feeling within me. During class, we were able to track through directories and comprehend the parent-child relationship. To get a better understanding, we looked at Victoria Windsor's homepage's structure in the directories. To assist with my superpower assignment, I was able to use Validation Man's page guidelines. Additionally, I recalled my memory about absolute and relative addresses from last year's HTML project. I am continuing to work on my website by reading through the page mechanics on Cascading Style Sheets.

FTP connecting to server?

Today was a busy day with the gallery of choices in the morning and with shortened periods. Several problems were occurring with connecting to the main server in British Columbia. This evening, we figured out the solution to one of the problems with the wrong host name. However, that doesn't end all problems. Hopefully, we successfully can upload the file onto the server tomorrow. We are continuing with our website and the superpower assignment and validating both web pages. A lot of progress is being made on the page but still more to do! Today, both my pages were validated so now I can focus on the content rather than the formatting. Since we are back to a regular schedule tomorrow, I hope to complete more of the task in class. That's all for now!

HTML Validating complete!

Today, we completed our HTML validation. The terms client and server were clearly distinguished as client being software which requires service and server offers the service. We were notified about our excursion to York University computing on February 25, 2011. I can't wait to go and explore the university and learn the different methods they approach when computing. Changes were made in directory naming from website to your own name. We created links to our blogs so our fellow peers may view them as well. I read a couple of them and they all seemed very interesting. Finally, we were trusted in remembering the password for our File Transfer Protocol folder. It seemed like there was a lot shown to us today in terms of organizing our assignments but once you frequently use them, it gets better with practice. I have managed to understand some of the basic coding for css and hope to accomplish a lot in tomorrow's class with my assignment. There's always more awaiting in the world of programming!

Em-dash, En-dash, Hyphen...

During Friday's class, we learned the difference between HTML and CSS. Also, we were taught about special character entities such as quotes, apostrophes, non-breaking space, em-dash, en-dash and hyphen. The following content elements will assist when we are working on our superpower autobiography assignment. As homework, I have been able to experiment in writing code to create a validated web page. With lots of extra practice from last year's web site assignment, it was not too difficult. Writing content and formatting the page is time-consuming but worthwhile in the end at the outcome of the web page. A lot of knowledge has been gained from today's lesson.

Welcome to ICS Semester 2!

Today, we were introduced to our class wiki and our curriculum on touque.ca. The daily log was also presented to us to provide us with our homework for each day. We learned about the usage of the dropbox and definitions for a few terms such as file, directory and root. We were requested to create a folder with sub-directories to keep our assignments organized on our home drive. Finally, the words empty elements and container were taught as an introduction to the upcoming assignment. I was able to create a dropbox, a blogger account, overview the superpower assignment and read the policies on the class website with my parents. Today's class really gave an opportunity for the students to view various methods of gathering information if any circumstance of forgetting or misplacing homework occurs. These methods help students to become responsible and organized.