Prior to taking this class, I expected to learn about HTML, CSS, and professional web development fundamentals. These expectations were met, but I did not know how much more this course had to offer. Development environments, user interface frameworks, and project management are all areas I developed and gained more knowledge in as a student programmer. Most importantly, this course has taught me that programming is more than learning new languages and applying them as you feel; it is about communication and creating something that people can use and benefit from.
Using development environments such as IntelliJ and GitHub has given me experience that I will use and apply in the future. IntelliJ organizes all source code in a neat and orderly fashion while being very compatible with GitHub when updating code. GitHub is something I needed to get familiar with, but after some time using it there are clear benefits. Being able to modify code with partners and merge edits together was very useful when creating our final web application. Moreover, this taught us communication and project management skills. GitHub is something that I will be using a lot and is essential to sharing and editing code with others.
Additionally, we covered user interface frameworks which made life much easier when designing applications. Frameworks like Semantic-UI allow programmers to use pre-made components that possess existing styles and can be adjusted to fit individual applications. Semantic-UI allows for a lot of freedom in design and formatting and made it very easy to customize layouts. Drawing from a collection of styled items, rather than creating your own, is very beneficial to programmers because it saves a lot of time when designing. The documentation on the Semantic-UI website is easy to follow and is a great resource when creating a web application. Learning to use frameworks saves a lot of time and makes work look neater and more organized.
Overall, my knowledge and confidence in software engineering has progressed by leaps and bounds. I am now way more aware of what it takes to become a web developer, how to work on applications in groups, and the amount of communication it takes to be successful. My awareness of development environments is far greater than before this class and my overall coding and web development skills have increased tremendously. User interface frameworks are something that I am able to apply to projects and personal applications in the future. This course has broadened my horizons and shed some light on the world of programming. I know this is just the beginning and am excited to learn more about myself, software, and coding.