Assigned topic: Why geeks need to know how to write
- a computer programmer should have the basic skill to write explicit comments and documentations for his/her code so that other programmers can understand and use it, otherwise the code is of no value.
- writing comments for the code and keeping a debug journal provide themselves with future references and will save them time when encountering a similar problem.
I was writing slogs for a whole semester for CSC165, and to be honest it still kind of frustrated me when I heard that slog would be back for CSC148. Though it indeed took me quite a long time to write and read through my fellow classmates' posts every time, I have to admit writing on a weekly basis has benefited me in several ways:
1. Writing deepens my understanding on course materials.
This is concluded based on my own experience in CSC165. Each time before starting to write, I would draw an outline of new materials learned in the past week, both in lectures and tutorials, and also some interesting and informative topics I have come across in the course notes. While writing, I got a chance to process what discussed in the lectures and to relate it to my own learning experience. This may span several posts, for example, I may relate a debugging experience to what I learned several weeks or months ago. Besides, what I found helpful was that I could always find out some new problems otherwise would be overlooked by writing down those key points in my own words and reading my classmates' posts. It is always a good idea to learn and seek help (after pondering) from others, especially from my smart fellow classmates.
2. Slogs serve as good resources for later review.
I have read all the logs from the links posted on the course website. Several of them mentioned the same topic that debug notes come in handy and save you a lot of time. Since the same bugs would probably reappear, also the notes give you an alert for your mistakes and reduce the chance you make them later programs. When I was writing for CSC165 last semester, I preferred writing a summary when we finished a chapter. Normally I would write about the general ideas introduced; typical problems and general methods to solve them; common mistakes; my own difficulties while learning and how I solved them, etc. For this semester, I guess, apart from the above, I would also include a fair amount of debugging notes for future reference.
3. Writing and reading slogs develop my English.
Even if having writing slogs for a whole semester, I still find myself struggling for what to write LOL. And for someone like me whose mother tongue is not English, it seems that keeping a journal in English is a short-cut to improve writing skills. I don't know whether it is true, but as far as I'm concerned, I just don't see any improvement in my own writing styles(here I mean the precision and elegance of language), whereas in terms of organizing, I guess yes. Besides, browsing others' posts enlarged my vocabulary. More often than not, I would learn some new phrases and oral expressions.
