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). For example, a relational table that constrains values to ints can only have ints inserted, while spreadsheets can have a string inserted even if the intended value was an int.
 
With these constraints, databases are linked together by key-value pairs that can be independent from a numbered spreadsheet. 
 
Databases can also store much more data and perform more operations than spreadsheets can. Spreadsheets are created to only be worked on by a few users at a time, while databases can be accessed by many more users at once.
Installing and configuration a database and learning how to use it is more complicated that just reading and writing data to a file.  What are some important reasons that makes a database a useful investment of time?
Learning how to manipulate a database is important for software development. In my case, I plan on developing a Pokemon-like video game in my free time, so I can tell that learning how to manipulate a database will be very useful for this project. For these games, a database of information for each creature will be necessary to create instances of these creatures. I can also see databases useful for other types of games, like choose your own adventure games, for keeping track of what is completed and what is not.
What do you want to learn in this course that you think will be useful in your future career? 

I have answered part of this question above, regarding the use of databases in video game development. I also see that SQLite is used for almost all embedded databases in mobile app development, so learning how to manipulate databases is integral for software development. Another idea I had was to create a mobile app for schedule blocking -- I haven't found one that was sufficient for my needs yet, so figuring out how to develop one will also require the use of databases.

Isopod Update: I plan on checking out the Sacramento reptile show!

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