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CST363 Week 4

CST363 Learning Journal - Week 4 In this course, I remembered a few things from the last time I took an intro to database systems course. I wish I still had the textbook from that class, I feel like it would have helped me with my studies.  I've learned how query data from a database, and how to present it to the user with conditions. The different types of joins I had trouble with previously, but now I know how to use each one best. I've used ER diagrams to visualize the relationships in a database. I am more confident about reading ER diagrams, and understanding what they convey for a database. I remember the normal form rules from a previous class, and the zybooks textbook supplements this. There are a few questions I still have about databases: I still need guidance on how to implement SQL into Java. Many of my implementations are researched from the Internet. I need to research more about MySQL Workbench 8.0, there are some issues that occur with large databases that I nee...
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CST363 - Week 3

Went back on previous CS courses and updated their titles to their corresponding weeks, rather than the total week count of the program. The breaks in-between jumbled my numbers too much! CST363 Week 3 - Learning Journal What is an SQL view.  How is it similar to a table? In what ways is it different (think about primary keys,  insert, update, delete operations) ? SQL views are a bit like subclasses in Java, where they are mainly used to present only specific data to the user. Views can be created to restrict what information a user queries from a database, but without modifying any existing tables in the database. Views can also be used as a shorthand for complex queries, so they are not written over and over when they are needed.   Operating on views can be tricky, because restricting what data is available can have undesirable side effects. For example, inserting a primary key that exists in the base table but not the view itself will be prevented because the view wi...
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CST363 - Week 2

 CST363 Week 2 Learning Journal SQL has the flexibility to join tables on any column(s) using any predicate (=, >, < ). Most of the time the join will use equality between a primary and foreign key. Think of example where joining on something other than keys would be needed.  Write the query both as an English sentence and in SQL. If you can't think of your own example, search the textbook or internet for an example. Compare the prices between a digital product and a physical product. create table digi_product (key varchar(20), price varchar(15), name varchar(20), provider varchar(20), size numeric(10,2) primary key (key) ); create table phys_product  (key varchar(20), price varchar(15), name varchar(20), store_location varchar(20) shipping numeric(10,2) primary key (key) ); What is your opinion of SQL as a language?  Do you think it is easy to learn and use?  When translating from an English question to SQL, what k...
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CST363 - Week 1

Since this is the new fall semester, I'm not too sure whether to include the last two weeks as part of the 100-week count for this program. I'm going to assume no, that is not included. CST363 - Week 1 This week I had trouble finding information to help with the java labs. I felt like I had to research a lot more information than what was provided in the course for these specifically. On the other hand, the ZyBooks textbook is very well made and helped me relearn MySQL statements from years ago. I plan on writing a whole notebook using this textbook just so I have access to it later. There are some questions that this week wants answered:  Relational database tables and spreadsheets look similar with both having rows and columns.  What are some important differences between the two? Data that is inserted into relational database tables must adhere to the table's constraints. For spreadsheets, any data that is inserted is not validated (some spreadsheets can enable this). ...
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CST338 - Week 15, 16

Homework 01 Hangman - Reflection For the Hangman assignment, I feel much more confident about extending classes, and how best to implement interfaces or extending abstract classes.  For other assignments, I feel a lot more confident about the GymLog assignment because our group's final project uses similar design patterns in it. Specifically, I can create activities, bind a layout to them, and have them be interactable with a listener set up. I'm having ideas of how I can make some rudimentary apps with this knowledge. With this, I have a better understanding of how android development is like. I had no experience with it prior to this class, and I am happy to see a project being developed on an emulator in real time. Isopod Update:  I haven't looked too closely, but I think there is an imposter black panda among the panda kings...  
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CST338 - Week 14

Markov Review Meeting Time: July 28, 2025, 8pm Participants: me, Jose      Jose got full points on the Markov assignment - I missed one point for forgetting to create another GitHub branch to work on.      Both of us discussed that the amount of hours we put into the assignment was above the 2 hours minimum it suggests - it took Jose about 7 hours to finish the work, while it took me about 6 hours to finish the assignment. We both did not write out our ideas for how to approach Markov on paper, since there was a prompt that we could follow. I felt like the prompt is clear enough to follow and create a working project out of it.        Jose and I agree that having more time to focus on Markov would have helped when working on the assignment.  The amount of assignments we get a week (combined with our jobs) didn't let us fully internalize the information we used for Markov. We could try to change our strategy to focus more time on ass...
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CST338 - Week 13

CST338 Week 4 - Project 1 Review Meeting Time: July 18, 2025, 6pm - 7pm Participants: me, Stan      My strategy for solving the assignments was to first get all of the code instructions implemented. I also write javadocs at the same time as implementing methods, so sometimes they can be outdated if the method is changed later. Once that was done, then I could attempt to debug the issues that were present. I did it this way because to test some methods, other methods must be implemented first, so this helps solve that issue. I did not plan it out on paper, since the code instructions were clear enough for me to understand how to implement the methods as asked (at least, 90% of the time).     Stan's strategy is to create the structure of the project first, like the constructors, method and field names, then to follow the code instructions and implement them. After this he tests his code and makes fixes when needed. He uses breakpoints when debugging to check varia...
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