Day 7 Packages, Collections, Lists, And other Organization

We learned about organization today. Brian introduced packages and described how packages create namespace or, a grouping of like code. We also talked about collections in Java. There are a ton of classes in Java which implement the Collection interface, but today we focused on ArrayLists, Queues, and Stacks.

Later in the afternoon, I had my first 1-on-1 with Brian. We discussed the format of 1-on-1s going forward in the cohort as well as expectations. Apparently in a few weeks, we will be practicing whiteboarding sessions so that we’ll be ready to write code in technical interviews! It was great to get better introduced with Brian and to talk to him about class pacing, among other things. He gave me some ways to extend the knowledge from class during weeks where the material is mostly review for me. He also opened the door to ask questions about anything programming related, even if it’s not something he assigned in class. Excited about that.

Meetup:

First off, it’s absolutely bonkers to me that CoverMyMeds not only provided the space, but also provided food and drinks. A free meal is always a success. The speaker was Seth Kraut, a Senior Software Engineer at Upstart. He spoke about Domain Driven Design and clean code architecture. Though some of the information was over my head, I found the content stimulating.

I’m still new to networking and I find the idea of introducing myself to the groups of strangers intimidating. The Columbus Ruby Brigade asked for newbies to introduce themselves to the group and that introduction was the extent of my socialization for the night. As I left the building, it was immediately clear that I missed out on meeting a lot of interesting and talented people, but in the past I wouldn’t have even attended. As I attend more meetups, I’ll continue to challenge myself to reach outside of my comfort zone and meet new people.