jrtrana

I think therefore I blog

To start the year I was a major bloggins skeptic.  I saw some value but initially didn't see any real difference between blogging and a Course Tools discussion board.  I have been converted.  I truly feel that blogging was a major part of my learning experience in BIT 320.  What worked best for me were the search function on the class website and the use of Sage.  The 2 posts a week is very manageable and a good push to get the knowledge out there.  It was extremely helpful to see where others were at in their understanding of the course and having a virtual converstation with the professor involved.  Responses came quickly and helped to solve issues, especially with projects.  Posts about current news articles were also helpful for me to keep the scope of the course in sight.  The best part about the whole experience is that when one student had a question, a response was posted for all to see.  There was very little insider knowledge.  Everything was shared in an open forum for the greater good of the class.

Project Presentation

I am curious as to how the project presentations will work for next week. I could not find any requirements for the presenting on the course website. Should we present about our project goals in general or should we get into techinical things? I feel like we will all say the same things as far as the technical functions and it may be more interesting to hear how each group thinks their project could serve the organization they have chosen. Are we going to discuss any of these things in class?

All together

The second half of the semester we have learned all sorts of very techinical information. What I don't understand is WHY the whole process of converting SQL to HTML has to take place. It seems to me like things are far more complicated than they need to be. The process of converting SQL to XSQL then to XML then using XSLT ... and on and on until we finally get HTML seems too tedious. Why isn't there some sort of software than can basically just do it all automatically?

Lacking Knowledge

I fell like my biggest downfall in our current discussions in class is my lack of knowledge of HTML.  I have absolutely no experience.  I feel that if I had a basic knowledge of the language it would help me along in a few of the exercises.  I know that XML is different, however, it seems like an HTML base of knowledge would be helpful.  Does anyone know if a easy, concise source where I could learn the very basics of HTML without a lot of time committment?

SSH

It was slightly difficult for me to follow along with Bud on Tuesday when we were going through everything in class. I am not having any problems working with Oracle or actually producing XML, but in the process of getting to that point. I am still confused with SSH and how exactly it works. Bud kept using the command "cd" followed by something else. I don't know what "cd" means and where all the information we were getting comes from. Were the "Webapps" folder and such set up prior to starting the class?

Blogging

I have to admit that when the class started and I had my first experience with blogging, my reaction was far from what i would call "psyched." I really thought is was just something techies would use to talk about computer things of no real value to anyone else. I though, why not just send an e-mail if I want to talk to someone in particular or just set up a website if I want the whole world to know what I think. Blogging seemed to me like a mix that really didn't have a lot of use. I was intimidated by the huge number of blogs from the class and really didn't want to read all of them. Now, with Sage I find everything to be much easier and more valuable. With the ability to use trackbacks to respond directly while still letting everyone else view my response, I have seen the light. My finance class uses the old version of Coursetools and the discussion board drives me crazy. It is very clunky and tedious compared to blogging. I have officially converted to a "Blogging Believer."

XML

In preparation for Tuesday I did a google search for XML to have a better understanding of what exactly it is and what it is good for. Not surprisingly I came across XML.com, a site dedicated to XML. If you scroll down, on the left hand side there is an "Essentials" section. In this section there are all sorts of explinations of all the words Bud has been throwing around all semester. I have had an idea what he has been talking about the whole time, now I know much better. The site offers all sorts of information about XML and how it relates to Web Services and Databases. I suggest even a quick look if you are in the same boat as me (more hopes than abilities when it comes to knowledge of technology).

Exam

I share the same issues that maulin has about the exam. But, I am also curious if and how SQL will be covered on the exam? Is this something we are just learning for the projects, or is it going to be tested on the midterm?

Single Hash Marks in ER Models

There is one issue that came to mind when I looked at the ER model we worked on in class today, Exercise 2. When you look at the entity type "Sold to Us" and look at its relation to "Customer" and "Sales Person" you see the famous single hash mark that we discussed for quite a while in class today. My initial question is how this single hash differs from a double hash mark. One thing that seems to work in this case (and a notation that I think would be very useful) is that the single hash implies that the relationship can exist but is not essential that it exists. In this example, a customer does not have to sell a car to exist in the database. If this is the case I am not sure why the notation would not be a "O" followed by a hash mark. I am still a little fuzzy on the purpose of the single hash and its meaning.

Answer to my own question

When I opened my folder I realized that the articles were the same ones we got last Thursday in class. I answered my own question from my previous post.