Learning The Language
29 Aug 2023
New Language, New World.
So, you just changed your degree to Computer Science, you spent last semester trying to figuring out Java and what all these new languages are and do. Now what? Well, if you’re like me you start to realize the amazing world of programming that you have just stumbled into. An entire world with unique cultures, more languages than you can fathom, and endless possibilities of what you can do. With each language unlocking more possibilities, understanding, and analyzing what each language brings to the table is a vital part of the journey.
It’s on the horizon!
It’s important when viewing something to understand your perspective, where you view it from has a lot to do with how you perceive it, for myself my viewpoint of JavaScript comes from a Java point of view. Java is strict, structured, and mind numbingly tedious. This is great in a sense of clarity and redundancy but also extremely time-consuming and at times restrictive.
JavaScript on the other hand takes the “all gas no breaks” approach. Streamlined flexible syntax, arrow functions, and destructuring, JavaScript’s dynamically typed language is a breath of fresh air. It feels intuitive to learn and natural to write in JavaScript. My experience with both Java and JavaScript is limited but I’ve come to understand that a difference in learning techniques can make an impact.
Got to be fit to go far
Okay I’m going to learn JavaScript, now I have to break a sweat doing it with “athletic software engineering”? Well, no, but also yes. Athletic software engineering a method of high intensity fast paced way of learning implemented by my software engineering class. This type of learning hinges on WODs (workouts of the day), a interview style quiz to start the classes, where you are presented with a problem and need to find a solution and complete the code for it in a specified time limit. This was an incredibly intimidating prospect at first but I’m already seeing the benefits from it. The high intensity, stress, and pressure of ASE quickly brings to light any deficiencies in your abilities and knowledge.
The workouts of the day remind me of wind sprints, a form of endurance training where instead of running at a slow constant pace you give it all you have in short bursts. You do these short bursts more and more and soon enough you realize your new “slow constant” is lightyears faster than before. WODs seem to create a familiarity with the pressure and intensity of a test or job interview to the point that you will become numb to intimidation factor of both and be able to keep calm and focus on the tasks at hand and not how nervous you are. It also has an added benefit of being very fulfilling and rewarding, as you are aware of its difficulty and therefore pleased with your completion of it. The accelerated rate of the course and the confidence I have gained in a short time frame while learning a new language has created confidence that this style of learning will be one I come back to during the rest of my education.