Overview

In my opinion, this year has been quite good. I have had some successes, some failures, and have learn at least something from all of it. Ms. Sehkon has been quite helpful when it comes to my struggles. I wish I had more options to go into though. Even though she would give me an option of interest, it was only one. It would have been nice to have a "door number two" for me to choose. Other than that, this year has been quite good and I am thoroughly happy that I had taken it.

CMS - Just Really Boring

Right now I'm working on Content Management Systems (CMS). Basically, it allows you to set up a website similar to Reddit or Blogger. It also allows you to add plugins to it, which can range from a clock to a Paypal transaction widget. Though thew concept is really cool, I find working with it really boring. There really not a lot I can do with it unless I spend a lot of time learning how to use it. It really is just a version of blogger to me. I don't think I'm going to stick with it for long....

MySQL: Bitter, Then Sweet

 I had never talked about this previously, but I had worked on learning MySQL before working on AP Java.   The first time I worked on it, I was mainly working on it using PhpMyAdmin. I did not really understand it too well and grew bored of it quickly. After finishing the web design project, Ms. Sehkon brought up the topic of working on MySQL again. This time, she asked me to work with the command prompt. After a week of fiddling around with the command prompt, I was able to create databases and table withing MySQL. This is when I was given my project. Create a PHP script that would allow someone to add information to an "email list" and a script that would allow them to view it. I really enjoyed working with MySQL this time and was happy Ms. Sehkon had brought it up again.

HTML: A Bit Of Nostalgia

After attempting to work at AP: Java, Ms. Sehkon had asked me whether or not I would be interested in joining the Skills BC competition next year. I was a little hesitant, but also quite interested. I told her that I wasn't exactly sure if I was creating a website up to the standards they would want, seeing how my HTML knowledge is somewhat basic and it would take me weeks to make a professional looking product. Seeing my potential in it, she showed me what was asked of from last year's Skills BC competition: A simple game review site, holding games and their info. I looked at was was needed to completed and she said to me that if I could create this, I could be ready for next year. So I took on the task of creating this site within a school week. It was going well, but from the beginning, I knew I was never able to finish it. The file package I was given had been missing info - mainly photos and game info. By the end, I was able to finished as much as I was given. Though I wasn't exactly happy with it, I knew I did my best with the time and resources i had.

AP Java - A Big Mistake

After I had finished the main part of Java, Ms. Sehkon asked me if I was going to take any courses next year. I had told her that i had already signed up for AP Java for next year. She asked me if I wanted to to prepare for it by doing some of the assignment out of the book and I gladly accepted. She handed me a book and pointed me out to the chapter i wanted to start reading. I quickly delved into it all.

Yet to my surprise, I had not exactly know what I had gotten into. The topics in the book were extremely advanced, using terms and example i did not know of nor hardly comprehend. It took me two weeks to go through the chapter, and i still only understood the basic topics listing in it. It was really stressful and I was worried that I might get a bad mark on the assignment. Ms. Sehkon realised this and told me that she was only recommending that i do it, no that I needed to. She explained that it is quite high level and that I should be having fun with it. So we talked and figured out another project for me to work on: HTML5.

Java - The Next Step In Learning For Me

After my first project, I had wanted to start learning Java. Since the rest of the class had already started projects by then, I had to catch up with everything. It was quite stressful trying to make up for lost time, but managed to do it. I started learning through videos created by a man named "Bucky, His videos explained Java in a very simple way, which helped me created the projects better. The problem was that they never went very in-depth: you never really learned the reason why you would use certain command or syntax.

I was able to reach the final project just after it's due date. I was really happy with what i had and done and was ready to learn more. Once I had finished this,  I went onto learning AP Java. 

PHP - My First Project

When I first started this course, I had already had some knowledge of HTML5 and PHP. When Ms. Sehkon and I were working out my first project, she suggested to me that I build a PHP program. So I created a little program that would take someone's information and create an email, which would be sent off to a company. From what I had known, the code was good and it theoretically should have worked, but unfortunately in order to run the script i needed a proper web server with PHP installed. We tried creating one, but it was too much of a hassle and I eventually gave up on it. I still believe that I have the program, and I would like to eventually test it out once i have a web server.