The past week was very busy in terms of the work that was completed on my project. As I look back to the beginning of the Co-Op, it is almost hard to believe how much we have accomplished in a few short weeks. I have learned so many things about programming and development and feel that I have a much broader view of the subject from when I started, even though I know so little in the grand scheme of things.

For example, I have developed my own approach when it comes to developing a project. I start by identifying the goals and functions of the project, then diagram the classes, functions, and whatever other components are absolutely necessary. I then start coding the basic functionality, with the goal to get a working version as quick as possible. When working with complicated code, it can be easy to get lost in the details, so I have learned to only start with the basics and adjust the code when needed. Lastly I will work on the visual components and check for bugs and think about ways to improve what I wrote. These steps were mostly formed by learning the Agile methodology, a key philosophy when it comes to software design, especially when working in teams.

As far as the project I am working on, it is almost completed and is nearing the finish line. Last week I worked on the parts that check data points in our files against what is in our database to find matches, or return error messages when not found. These checks will be used when presenting the data in a readable format to the UI for our clients. I also got started on creating the functional acknowledgement, which basically serves as a “receipt” for our clients telling them which files were acknowledged and which were rejected. This involved an extra series of checks to make sure the files they send us are compatible with our parsing program.

Rounding out the week, I give myself a 5 since I was able to accomplish a good bit and progress to the next steps of the project. Hopefully next week I can finished the acknowledgement so our project can go live!