E5 - Reflecting on Assignment 2 Technical Essay

30 Nov 2020
  1. Provide a brief introduction to the assignment along with a link to this page for further details

Assignment link: https://dport96.github.io/ITM352/morea/150.Assignment2/experience-Assignment2.html

For Assignment 2, we are to create a online store in which a user is able to register and log in, and then make a purchase after doing so. The user should not be able to purchase without an account, but should be able to view the items for sale. The data from the quantities purchased on the store page and the user information should be retained as the user navigates through the purchase > login/register > index process.

  1. What did you learn from this assignment?

From this assignment, I learned how to allow users to create an account as well as how to move data from one page to another using query strings. I also learned how to set up requirements for form boxes and to send errors when requirements are not met.

  1. Did you work with a partner? Assign an estimated percentage on the amount each team member contributed to the assignment (including yourself).

I did not work with a partner. However, I did have a friend outside of class guide me through some of the coding and help me look for/fix mistakes.

  1. How did you get help when you needed it? What did you need help with?

I knew some of my friends had experience with coding, so I asked some of my friends for help. I mainly needed assistance in ways to write a certain code or find mistakes in the code that I missed. For example, I could not figure out why the user’s name was not showing up on the invoice page, even though it was part of the query string. It turns out I just had to add an extra “&” in my code to make it work.

  1. How was developing this assignment different than assignment #1?

This assignment was a bit more challenging, in my opinion, and required a lot more google searching for solutions.

  1. Estimate the % of time you spent (a) thinking about how to do something, (b) writing code (but do not include testing, (c) testing and debugging

Perhaps about… 25%, 45%, and 30% respectively? I’m not sure. I sort of do all three at the same time, sometimes, just constantly cycling through all three stages.

  1. Describe what worked well with this project? What did not work well?

I think I am overall pretty satisfied with how Assignment 2 worked out. I was able to figure out most of what I wanted to do on my own and how to do it, just needed some assistance in how to actually write the code correctly to have it do what I want. I also figured out how some of the codes that I was confused about before. I still don’t have an effective way to look for mistakes, though, and I don’t know how to debug. I’m also still very confused about some of the codes in css, especially when I’m trying to center something. None of the codes that I searched up seemed to work, even the W3 example didn’t work on their site?

  1. If you could go back in time and do things differently, what would you do differently?

I think I might’ve liked to sit down and played around with the css and website layout a bit more, as that’s one of my favorite parts. Perhaps also add a few more functions to the site. I was a bit short on time due to family issues and couldn’t do as much as I would’ve liked.