Previously on CS399J...

Wacky fun this term. I introduced a couple of new lectures on Maven, Web programming, and Maven. Let's see what people thought.

1. What do you wish you had known before taking this course?
• Since we developed all our applications on the unix command prompt, I wish I had better unix tools for program development.
• Building projects with Maven. Specifically how the heck you use it with Eclipse. (Not just using the generated project ... but using the maven eclipse plugin). A better grasp of inner classes and reflection. Their opportunities of use still don't "pop" out at me.
• I wish I could have taken an introductory course in Java. When I took CS 200 it was taught in C. Now I think they teach it in Java.
• More about how the java compiler, and java in general divides up packages into subdirectories
• Nothing.
• know how to build a web site better. have a better understanding of JAVA libraries and utilities.
• I wished I had like an introductory Java class before this one, I think it might made me more prepared for class.
• Nothing.
• I wish I had more knowledge of GWT and Maven before. As I said in my email, though we faced some challenges, I really enjoyed working with them. (I like to learn new tools and beside I think look good on the resume :) )
• I wish I had known a little more about servlets. I know that most frameworks make them transparent, but I did enjoy the servlet assignment the most out of all of them. Also, it would have been nice to lean about .properties files (but I know that ties into the internationalization stuff we didn't have time for)
2. What is the most important thing you have learned in CS399J?
• Exploration of the Java API and Javadocs.
• Using maven is a pretty important one, I think. The GWT library and servlets seem to be important as well. Things like forums and junk don't really use these things and they could, so there's some opportunities there :)
• To be persistent and ask questions.
• Don't underestimate a problem, it may seem simple and straight forward, but it may not be. So always have a game plan. Also, set up maven right the first time, then it's all easy from there.
• GWT! Java! I came with no knowledge of anything java related to this course. Than I even picked it as my language of choice for my open software dev class. Awesome! Even the last assignment showed me so much. I really wanted to know how I can create a war to deploy to a tomcat server from scratch, now I will look at it next week and know how. I tried to do it manually. Tools are good!
• how to create a good test plan and how to write code to connect and transfer data from client to server.
• Learning about GWT and working with them.
• Learned to build a GUI using GWT.
• The most important thing I learned is: Do not fear of learing new tools. It can be fun. Continuing the good habit of testing as we code.
3. If you could give one piece of advice to someone taking this course in the future, what would it be?
• Reflection and inner classes were two extremely relevant topics and two things I knew nothing about. It seemed like immediately after seeing the topics in class I was presented with them in the real world. Also, the talk that you and I had after class in regards to commons logging helped to lead me in the direction required to debug all of my work projects.
• Make sure you take it with David Whitlock
• Use eclipse. It cuts down on the time it takes to do work, simply because of the real-time compiling. (or Net Beans, if you want) Though, working with Maven and any IDE is a bit of a hassle (because of the remote repositories)
• Don't take shortcuts.
• don't get behind in the work, or it'll screw you in the end.
• For someone who is swamped: do not take it. Get your life in an easier state, than take the class. Don't take the class if it does not seem personally useful. As the friend who recommended the class to me, I have to agree and say: The teacher and projects are fun!
• have a good foundation in writing abstract JAVA classes.
• Never take this class with any other engineering classe, because it hard to keep up with, I would suggest to take this class by itself.
• Start your projects early.
• My advice will be 1. Start assignment as early as possible. It becomes quite easy to finish them on time without any problems. 2. Use concept of unit testing as it is utmost important and helpful too. 3. Get the assignment right the first time. (I remember I had couple of problem during first submission and hence had to resubmit) I guess I wrote three pieces of advices. :)
• Tell Dave what you want to learn about! And don't be afraid to ask questions! Dave will teach you!
4. What made you stay in this course?
• Because its a fun class
• I was paying for it and I wasn't failing? I actually enjoy Java a lot more than some similar languages *cough*C++*cough* (I hate pointer references, as in * & <- gross) It makes things pretty simple. It'd be really awesome to jump into some Java 3D junk sometime. I've very curious about building a real (as in current level tech) game engine in the language, that isn't the Chrome engine.
• I got help when I asked for it. I was allowed to resubmit a program that wasn't working correctly.
• Why would I leave? It's an interesting course, on an interesting topic, that'll give some good background when going into the job market.
• This is one of the rare courses that I fully enjoyed. That and graduation.
• It was difficult but interesting and challenging, plus it is a requirement for my major.
• What made me stay in class is the Lecture broadcast, because whenever I miss a class or I don't understand something I can listen to the lectures at home at anytime!
• Learning web-based client/server and GWT programming.
• On the first day of the class, I looked at the schedule and saw that reflection and gwt were something I was not familiar and wanted to learn them. I had some basic experience of working with java application for my previous course work. Wanted to extend my knowledge of java language and still lot more to explore.
• You are a witty instructor and I could tell that you enjoy the material, but even more than that, you were covering a few topics that I had never been introduced to and all of which were important. It seems that more often than not, in my tenure at PSU, the same topics were beat into my head over and over, and I had to study outside of my homework in order to learn new things. To me, what you taught in class was the most practical (and applicable) material covered here at PSU.

Want to hear what other people had to say? There are lots more comments from previous terms.