Week 1: CST 338 Software Design

 At the start of this course, it took me a little time to get back into the mindset of solving programming problems again. It had been a while since I last worked through CodingBat exercises, which I originally did in my introductory Java course, so this felt like a good opportunity to refresh and sharpen my skills. Once I got going, the familiar structure of the problems helped me ease back into logical thinking and steady problem solving.

When I began working through the challenges, I focused on reading each problem carefully and studying the examples to make sure I understood what was being asked. I found it helpful to restate each problem in my own words and then think about which Java tools such as loops, string methods, or conditionals could help me solve it.

At first, I sometimes jumped straight into writing code without much planning, just to see what would happen. That approach led to small errors or logic issues that I had to fix later. Over time, I realized that taking a minute to plan out my approach, whether mentally or with quick notes, made my solutions come together more smoothly.

What worked best for me was breaking problems down into smaller, logical steps and tackling them one at a time. For example, with string challenges, I would first figure out which part of the string needed to be returned or changed, and then focus on writing the correct Java syntax. For list and map problems, I reviewed how to access and modify values correctly before starting to code.

What did not work was assuming the first version of my solution would be correct. I realized that some of the problems included special cases, like very short strings or empty lists, and those sometimes revealed small mistakes in my logic. Working through those examples helped me see the importance of checking how my code behaves in different situations instead of just relying on the main examples.

Most problems took me two or three tries to get right. Usually, the first attempt helped me see where my logic was off, and the second or third refined it into a working solution.

Overall, this first week was a solid reintroduction to Java problem solving. The CodingBat challenges reminded me that programming depends on clear thinking, testing, and attention to detail. It felt good to get back into the flow of solving problems and rebuilding those skills.