Monday, November 7, 2011

Designing at its worse

We are half way through the semester and have hit the midway point in our Cheese Magnifier project. Design has been an interesting track, but I have not been one to notice how I've changed in time. Take Java for instance, I know that I know Java, and that I used to not know what is was, but I can't remember how I felt when I didn't know Java and was learning it for the first time. The same thing goes with design, I don't recall not knowing what design was. I can go through the various steps we have going through the SRS, the SDS, and the RRC and learning different things. The SRS is written for everyone to read and understand the project as a whole, and the SDS is written for the programmer in mind to create the project. The RRC is used to help critique the SRS to make sure the purpose of the project is being met. I can say what I learned, but the process has mainly been forgotten.



Learning through the FOSS world has been interesting. Most of the learning has been hands on. As for FOSS, I am one to lurk before posting or speaking my ideas even on message boards. The same thing happens on IRC, and as IRC has less text to lurk about, I have not spent a lot of time communicating to the FOSS communicating as that is not my forte, and have left that to another team member who is more secure in his ability to communicate to the masses. In this regard my FOSS learning has been dampened as I'm not using the advantage of being in a FOSS community, but because it is a FOSS community is why I'm not secure in the first place. As my learning has been hands-on in team meetings, I don't think that being or not being in a FOSS community makes a difference. Hopefully the second half of the semester leads to a better understanding.