What I hope to learn in CS3216

When I started out as an undergrad in the School of Computing, I have absolutely no idea what programming is about. So learning programming is sth very new to me. Level 1000 and level 2000 modules were crash courses one after another; it was like seeing everything through a fog. Luckily I met good people who helped me in understand what I was learning all along. But still my basics are not very firm.

Everything is still like a dream, so unreal. "I am a computing student and I know programming?" It was until I am able to finish a lab at a speed faster than I have thought I could have taken and I am able to contribute my ideas and help my project teammates, i know everything is getting real. When it comes to level 3000 and level 4000 modules I start to see more familiar stuff here and there, and I know this is where I belong.

Last time when I heard of ppl who knows a lot of programming languages, I really admire them. But coming to this stage, I realised I actually know a lot of programming languages... but just that I don’t know not know them well. The most confident languages I know of now are Java and C#. And some of the programming languages I know of are pretty impractical to the real world, though they are good for learning theory. In job advertisement, who will state Haskell and Prolog as part of the programming language requirement? And I heard a saying that most things that we learnt in school will become obsolete when we graduate.

Half a year from now, I will not be an NUS undergraduate anymore. So I want to learn as much I could now.  I want to learn practical skills which can put what I have learnt all these while into good use. I want to learn about the latest evolving technology, hope I can apply these to my working life later. I want to learn how to “capture eyeballs” (a phrase used quite commonly when I read abt CS3216), which I think involves some psychology aspect. I like the satisfaction feeling after finishing a project, so I hope to get more of this feeling by coming out with innovative applications. I know I will have to go through another crash course once again, but this time with more preparation and confidence.

Furthermore my CS3215 project wasn't up to my expectation, many regrets. So I don’t mind going through another hectic semester once again and make up for whatever regrets I have. I wish to learn more about team work in this module, learn how to work with people from different faculties and major. I wish to know how things can be thought in different ways from ppl immersed in different teachings, which I think will help me to enhance my creativity. Last but not least, learn how to have fun and make new friends!