Extra Blog: }

It was pretty fast I would say. Mandatory school. School that students need to complete before starting into society and can make their own decisions of what they want to do. All these years, 15 of them, went by like a blink of an eye. And high school was only a faction of that blink. It's crazy to think that this is over, but we must move on with life.

High school has been fun and stressful at the same time and I have changed my mindset regarding the world. I see it as a place with possibility and people. But despite high school ending, I want to enjoy the rest of it to its fullest. I aim to spend time with the people I've been with for the last four years in the next week to the fullest since, for some of them, I may never see again.

Regardless, I am glad that I am almost stress-free, the last thing I need to consider is my college classes and finals. I am glad I've had the experiences I see a bright future ahead, regardless of where I go. I wish everyone the same as well. It's sad honestly.

Also, we are now a part of history, and, like so many other years, are graduating high school. I have confidence in this class that they will make a change to this world we live in. There are some great people in this class. Kind and happy people, leaders, and creators. If any class can do something to this world, regardless of whether they are good or bad, I believe that this class has the power to do that. To be more than just a statistic in history, but rather, a driving force for a new tomorrow.

Senior Project Reflection

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

Time management with the amount of information I had. I had more than 70 slides and I was able to us up all the time and include everything. I was worried I wouldn't have enough time, but I used it all efficiently. Also, I was able to speak energetically throughout the presentation without

(2) Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

          AE/P

b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

          AE/P

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

Having actual experience in programming and creating applications as well has having solid evidence for my answers. Each were very direct the answers were clear and made sense logically. There was a lot of information and I was able to communicate them well, despite the large amount of content.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I would have cut some slides from the powerpoint as some were not as needed. Also, I would prepare better organization of distributing the activity forms as they was disorganized. I would also rehears more so I wouldn't stutter.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.

I was able to understand what it really takes to be a software developer and a programmer in general. I was able to learn things that people wouldn't learn until they start working, therefore giving me ample experience in programming. I will have a large amount of background experience going into the major of computer science as well as understanding what exactly is possible with technology.

Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal

Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties updated on the right hand side of your blog.

Done.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pk06m750zrh1IsLXwaHWU21neVqb5LkzlIeC5KYTGr0/edit#gid=0

Contact Name and Mentorship Place

Lily Wu.

Our house at her computer desk.

Interpretive
What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important things that I have learned from mentorship are various programming skills and information as well as how to actually applying that knowledge that could be used in a practical way. This includes not only teaching me a large amount of code that helped me later on in my independent component and having me research parts and create a computer from scratch, but also showing me the code and contents of example programs that she had worked on previously in the workplace. These elements helped me to understand what it really means to be a programmer and what I would need to generally prepare for when I enter this field in the near future.

Applied
How has what you've done helped you to answer your EQ? Please explain.
During mentorship, I told my mentor about my essential question and asked about her thoughts on it. She immediately said that the most important aspect is the understanding of the business side of the application, meaning to understand all the external aspects of the developing application other than programming itself. This would include communication with team members, understand customers' needs, and knowing how the application will be used. I was able to experience how important this was by doing work assignment she had me do including creating a computer and installing software such as the Oracle database into the computer. I had to understand what exactly she wanted and needed to cater my actions towards that need. Doing this helped me to develop my 2nd answer to my EQ and ended up becoming my best answer.

Extra Blog: Generating Reports in PDF Format

As an addition to the development of JIIS, I allowed for users to have a way to generate a report of the existing user records in a PDF format that could be downloaded, saved, and printed. On the report, it contained the title "JIIS User Profiles Report," the report generation date, the report page number, and the table of all the current user records in the JIIS_User_Profiles database table. My mentor helped to guide me through this process by directing me to which sample programs to review, as well as what I should replicate in the JIIS programs.

Also, in addition to implementing the ability to generate user profile reports, I changed the font color and size of the alert messages in the add and update forms so that they could be more noticeable. I changed the font color to be red and made the font almost the same size as the titles of those forms.

Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers? 

EQ: How can a software developer create applications that best meet customers' needs?

Answer 1: A software developer can create applications that best meet customers' need by having a solid foundation in fundamental knowledge.

Answer 2: A software developer can create applications that best me customers' needs by understanding the business side of the application.
Answer 3: A software developer can create application that best meet customer's needs by actively keeping up to date with technology and continually learning new technological subjects.

What is your best answer and why?

My best answer is my second answer, due to the fact that it involves the developer of the understanding of the customer, the people who will use the application, and how it will be used. In a sense, it is basically the understanding of the application's main purpose to fulfill. A solid foundation, as stated in answer one, can be helpful and will certainly make the process of creating the application easier, but this does not mean that the application will directly be in line with customers' needs, much less met them at all. Also, as stated in answer 3, learning new subjects is also helpful and it allows the developer to be be flexible if addressed with a task they have never done before, but this is not present in every request. In fact, it rarely happens that the developer would need to learn something new. Also, learning new things can help to meet a customer's needs by doing something they requested, but it will not ensure that it can be completed as successfully as possible as having an understanding of the business side of the application. Therefore, due to these reasons, answer 2 is my best answer.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

I wanted to research what is at the core of programming an application and wanted to single out what was really important. I found that the only reason why applications exist is due to the end goal, as everything is worked towards and developed to complete it. I found that this goal is the customers' needs on the business side of the application, mixed in with other work and date that needs to be researched. My mentor even said that the business side is most important as well as it allows the programmer to not only understand how the system works, but also understand the request, or end goal, as well. I was able to see how this relate directly to both it's success as an application, but also its relativity to the essential question itself.

(3) What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

One problem I ran into was defining who the customer is. Throughout my research, I found that applications were for both customers that came directly to the developer with request (as in the case of my mentorship and independent component), as well as the customer as a general target audience in the market. To make sure I could accurately represent who the customer is, I had to define the customer as two different types - a direct customer and a target audience. I also had to define the differences in knowing what their needs are since direct customers would write request layout all the needed items explicitly and target audiences would be unknown, therefore requiring research into what problems they need solving.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?
Stating that the business side is extremely important.

Mentorship and interview with Lily Wu.

Why understanding customer is important.

Interview #3 with Jorge Huerta.

Identified how much change is causes depending on the target audience.

Katie Klumb's article "How to Design Websites for a Target Audience."

Link that the target audience is a customer also.
Diane Vigil's article "Web Design, Ad Copy and Targeting your Target Audience."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Huerta, Jorge. Personal Interview. Feb. 13, 2015.

Klumb, Katie. "How to Design Websites for a Target Audience." Web Ascender. Michigan Website Design and Development, July 1, 2014. Web. Jan. 23, 2015.<http://www.webascender.com/Blog/ID/565/How-to-Design-Websites-for-a-Target-Audience#.VMJZTivF-VM>

Vigil, Diane. "Web Design, Ad Copy and Targeting your Target Audience." Web Design Help. DianeV Web Design Studio, n.d. Web. Jan. 23, 2015. <http://dianev.com/web-design-help/web_design_basics/target_audience.html>

Wu, Lily. Personal Interview. Oct. 24, 2014.

Independent Component 2

LITERAL
(a) Statement saying:
“I, Jason Wu, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 37.5 hours of work.”

(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.
Rockoff. Larry. The Language of SQL. San Bernadino, CA: Course Technology Cengage Learning,

     Feb. 27, 2015. Print. Mar. 27, 2015.

(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours).

The digital spreadsheet has been completed. This is the link to the spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pk06m750zrh1IsLXwaHWU21neVqb5LkzlIeC5KYTGr0/edit#gid=0

(d) Explanation of what you completed.

For Independent Component 2, I expanded Jason Internet Information System (JIIS) to include the use of the Oracle database as well as additional functions, as specified by my mentor's service requests, spanning over three phases. The first phase involved setting up a database table, named JIIS_User_Profiles, using the PL/SQL Developer so that the JIIS Web Application can have access to the database table to store user ID's, user passwords, first names, last names, phone numbers, security levels, and password status. I also reviewed several sample ColdFusion programs that my mentor gave me to study. Based on what I learned, I used the sample programs as a template to create JIIS programs to connect to the JIIS_User_Profiles database table. I tested the programs and debugged four of them so that they could connect to the database properly. The second phase, I converted my existing JIIS Web Application programs from HTML to ColdFusion so that they could interact with the database. Basically, the task was converting the static web application to become a dynamic web application. Here, I also made the header bar, footer bar, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) code, which alters the look and format of the page, into their own, separate programs so that they could be easily changed in the future without having to alter every page that contains them. The third phase involved including addition functionality to the JIIS Web Application. I created entry form programs to allow "Administrator" and "Manager" users to add new user records into the JIIS_User_Profiles table. Users who do not have the "Administrator" or "Manager" security levels will be unable to have access to this form and will get a message stating that the add function is not available to them. In addition, when a record had been successfully added to the JIIS_User_Profiles table, I generated a display message to indicate that it had been added successfully. Next, I created programs that also allows "Administrator" and "Manager" users to view all of the existing user data records that had been saved into the JIIS_User_Profiles database table. Again, users who do not have the "Administrator" or "Manager" security levels will not have access to the view function. Furthermore, I created several programs that would allow "Administrator" and "Manager" users to have the ability to modify, update, and delete user records, as well as have the ability to reset a user's password. First, I modified the view program to add a hyperlink in the User ID column to allow "Administrator" and "Manager" users to select and click on the link to have access to the update entry form and transfer the selected record onto the update form. Second, I created programs that allowed "Administrator" and "Manager" users to modify existing user data records and update it in the database table. The programs also allows them to delete the user's data record from the database table as well as reset the user's password. While developing these programs, I performed an extensive amount of testing to ensure that everything was working, including validation of the user records in the database table.

After development and testing of the web application was completed, I modified the header button images to better reflect the contents of the web application. I also added in comments into the programs to log changes and to describe what the programs do, as I had learned from my mentor before hand. Once this was completed I preformed a final test to ensure all of the the programs were working properly and turned it over to my mentor for acceptance testing. Throughout the development of the JIIS Web Application, I researched web design and read an SQL book.

 
INTERPRETIVE
Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.
Developing JIIS allowed me to understand what it really took to develop a web application for a customer. Each phase of my Independent Component had requirement tasks that I needed to complete by a deadline. I had to exactly meet these needs and had to follow them exactly as they were stated in the service request specification from my customer. The experience I had developing a web application is similar to what people do in the work place. I also dealt with setting up a database, creating a table, and using it.

Phase #1 Work Assignment

Phase #2 Work Assignment

Phase #3 Work Assignment

The JIIS_User_Profiles table and it's contents during developement

The Update form without the Reset Password function

Notification that the user was updated successfully

The View Page and the links to the Update form

The Add Form

Code for the add form that adds the inserted information into the database

Code that makes the actual, visual part of the Add Form

Code that checks to see if the current user has enough administrative rights to access the page

APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.
This component helped me answer my EQ as I was able to see how all three of my answers apply to meeting a customer's needs. My first answer was supported in that I needed extensive knowledge of how to program before actually creating the application. I spent a large amount of time learning how to use SQL code and planning the logical steps of how to achieve my objective. My second answer was supported in that I needed to understand the business side of the application, how it will be used, and the customer's expectations. This included designing the layout of the webpage. Also, if I didn't meet a requirement exactly, my mentor had me correct it. I also had to learn to communicate with my mentor to ensure that I understand all the requirements completely. This, as well as other factors, enforce the need of understanding the business side of the application. My third answer was also supported in that I needed to know how to use tools such as the PL/SQL Developer to create database tables and Adobe Dreamweaver to design and write programs. I also had to learn how to program using the ColdFusion programming language to create a dynamic web application. I learned some of these aspects as I was developing JIIS, but they were all something new to me that I needed to know to be successful in completing this component. This enforced the idea that continuous learning of new skills in technology is essential in creating a web application for a customer.

Extra Blog; HTML to CFM

On April 12th (starting on April 10th), I completed the first and second phase of the Independent Component work assignment. This involved creating a database table for user profiles and converting my previously made HTML programs of JIIS into ColdFusion (CFM) programs.

For the first phase of the independent component, I created a new database table in the PL/SQL Developer and named it "JIIS_User_Profiles". Here, I added in user ID's, user passwords, first names, last names, phone numbers, security levels, and password status. Then, using SQL code, I retrieved information, added new records, updated existing information, and deleted records from the table. I then turned my work assignment over to my mentor to perform acceptance testing for phase 1. Once she completed, I moved on to the next phase.

After using existing FRS ColdFusion programs that were given to me by my mentor that allowed the application to connect to the database tables, I was able to complete this phase 2 swiftly. Some versions of the code weren't working so I had to debug the programs. Some programs worked after renaming the specified table to the one I made in the database. Others were more complicated. One major problem I ran into was updating a user's password from the default password, "12345". At first, I thought that the problem was due to a few lines of code that converted the user ID from lower case characters to upper case characters to check against the user ID's in the database. Since the user ID's were lower case  in the database (an 'e' followed by a number), I decided to remove that part of code. Unfortunately, it was late at the time, and I could not fix the problem.

The next day, I started working on it again. I decided to make the user ID's upper case in the database table and re-entered the lines of code that I deleted the day before. After testing it, the program worked fine and I confirmed that the user's password was updated in the the database table correctly.

Once I fixed this problem, I needed to convert my previously made HTML programs to ColdFusion programs. This part was pretty easy as I had a clear idea of what to do. First, I copied and pasted my HTML programs into the ColdFusion "CFM_Code" folder and changed their file extensions to .cfm. Then, I decided to update the directories of the images and hyperlinks in the programs to match the new locations of the program files. Once I started doing this, I realized I should make two new programs for the header and footer bars so that, instead of altering every hyperlink and directory path of the images repetitively in each program, I could instead just modify them once.

After making separate programs for the header and footer, I altered the "JIIS_Functions" program to match the directory paths in the folders as well. I then entered the <cfinclude> tag into each of the programs where the header and footer were used. After performing unit testing, the result displayed the header and footer correctly.

After converting all the programs from HTML to ColdFusion, I performed the final acceptance test to ensure that all the buttons and hyperlinks worked. After changing some minor bugs, I was finally able to get the program to work completely. I turned over my work assignment to my mentor and she checked all of my programs and performed validation testing to ensure that all the requirements for the second phase of the work assignment were met.

Now that I have completed phase 2, I will be starting on phase 3, the final part of my independent component. It will consist of creating a new entry form that would allow users to add, delete, update, and view user information. 

Extra Blog; Structured Query Language (SQL)

On April 5th, me and my mentor met to learn about creating tables in the Oracle database and using SQL to retrieve, update, add, and delete records from the database. We also briefly went over how to convert my JIIS HTML pages to ColdFusion Pages and how the Financial Reporting System for my mentor's work uses the database. The following is the work assignment that lists out what we did:

First, we went over creating a table in the PL/SQL Developer. Creating a table was pretty straight forward. All we needed to do was right click on the "Tables" Object from the PL/SQL Developer and select "New..." Doing this displays a popup window that lets us define the name of the table, the columns/fields of the table, the datatypes for each column/field, and the primary key for the table. After doing so, the table that we created was listed in the Tables Object in the PL/SQL Developer.

Since there was no data within the table we had just created, we used an existing table to see how to retrieve, add, update, and delete records. We right clicked on a table named "Departments" and selected "Query data." Doing so displayed all the data within the Departments table, as well as showed us the SQL code that retrieved the data. My mentor pointed out that there was a little blue arrow that pointed downwards at the top of the table display. She said that this meant that there was more records than what was currently being displayed on the screen. Upon clicking it, the rest of the data was displayed (after scrolling  a long way down).

The SQL code that displayed was:

select * from Departments

This code retrieved data from the table "Departments" and displayed it on the screen. The select command retrieves and displays the data from the specified column(s). In this case, the columns specified was an asterisk (*). This mean that the indicated column to select was "all" the columns in the table. To indicate which table to select 'from,' the command from, followed by a table name allows the SQL code to know which table to retrieve all the columns from. In this case, the table is "Departments". 

My mentor showed me how, instead of selecting all columns, it is possible to just indicate specific columns from the Departments table to select from. This was done by typing each columns' name in place of the asterisk in the order that we wished to display them, each separated by a comma. Doing so would only display the specified column(s), once the code is executed by clicking the "Execute" button at the upper left corner of the PL/SQL Developer.

Following  the from command, there was more code that could be written. These were the where and the order by commands. First, the where command filtered what was being retrieved. It created a statement 'where' if the condition specified was true for a record, the record would be selected. If a record did not meet the condition, that record would not be retrieved and, therefore, would not be displayed. For example:

select * from Departments

where ID = '1234'

Doing this will only display the record(s) with a value of '1234' in the ID column/field. To specify multiple conditions, the word and can be placed directly after a condition. For example:

select * from Departments

where CITY = 'Pomona' and STATE = 'California' 

The second additional piece of code was the order by command. This ordered the records by a certain column in ascending order. The first records to be displayed were the records that had no value (null) in the field. Then, the records with a numbers and letters in the specified field would be displayed (ex: 1, 13, 1G, 2, 24, A, A3, AB, B45, BC, BW, C, ect.). For example, the SQL code

order by CITY

displays the records ordered by the CITY field.

After showing me the different pieces of SQL code for retrieving data from a table, my mentor then showed me two different ways to add and delete data from a table. The first way was right clicking on a table, selecting "Edit data," and editing the records from there.

The second way was selecting "Query data" and typing in for update after the initial select command. After running it, the displayed table had a plus and minus button in the menu bar, as well as a "Post changes" button. Clicking the plus button would create a new record row in the table, while selecting a record row and clicking minus would result in deleting the selected record row. Once changes have been made, it is required to click the "Post changes" button to save the changes. To confirm the changes were made successfully, my mentor executes the SQL code again. To delete all the records in a table, we can type the SQL code:

delete from Departments

This delete command can also contain a where command.

In addition to showing me SQL code in the PL/SQL Developer, my mentor also showed me that, for my current HTML programs, I can open them in Adobe Dreamweaver where I would be able to convert them to ColdFusion programs. This is done by changing the file extension from .html to .cfm.

Afterward, my mentor taught me how the FRS Web Application uses a database. She showed me FRS tables, views, and stored procedures. The tables were organized similar to the Department table; they just had different values pertaining to different things. She then showed me existing FRS View Objects, which contained SQL code that contain combinations of tables to be used for specific inquiries. She then showed me Stored Procedures and explained that they were like sub-programs to save multiple SQL statements in a single procedure and to use parameters in conjunction with the SQL statements.

Extra Blog; Databases

On Friday, April 3rd, my mentor and I sat down to install a new Oracle Database and ColdFusion Web Application Development Platform on her computer so that I could work on my Independent Component 2, an extension of JIIS. She created a work assignment for what we were going to do and we followed each step, using past documentation as an example.

The first thing we did was to install an Oracle Database 11g Release 2 64-Bit Server on a server for my mentor's computer to connect to. In doing this, we setup the database name, set up the Administrative password for the database, and the directory in where the database would be saved (D: Drive). Once we finished setting everything up, the database started installing. Due to my mentor's fast computer, the set up took only 30 minutes. She stated that at here work, it took around three hours. After it finished, we also has to set up the passwords for the SYS and SYSTEM Database accounts. The SYS and SYSTEM accounts are the initial accounts that are used to access the database since no users had been created yet.

Next, we setup the Oracle TNSName Network Connection in an Oracle folder under the D: directory. We created backup copies of the existing TNSName Network Connection file and altered the file to connect to the server's IP address. Due to the file being an ORA file type that is not originally designated to be opened by a preset program, we opened the file using notepad. In the file, there was a line that had the text "HOST =" and "PORT =" in separate parenthesis. For "HOST =", the IP Address of the server we were connecting to was required. My mentor stated that typing the IP address directly did not work since the IP address was given a name. However, typing in the name associated with the IP address worked instead. Therefore, we we entered in the name associated with the IP address of the server we were connecting to, rather than the actual numbers of the IP address. As for "PORT = ", the preset port associated with the IP address was typed.

After this was set up, we installed the PL/SQL developer, a tool that would allow us to create, add, update, and delete tables in the database once we connect to the server. This was easy to install; it was just like any other software and was not nearly as difficult as installing the database.

In order to connect to a server, a computer must have a client that can connect to it. Therefore, what we did next was to install the Oracle 11g Release 2 32-Bit Client onto the computer. At first, I was confused with this. I didn't get why we were installing a 32-bit client when associating with a 64-bit software. I wasn't  even sure if that would work. My mentor assured me that it would work with either a  32-bit client- or a 64-bit client.The only reason why we installed the 32-bit version was because of the PL/SQL Developer, a 32-bit piece of software. In order for the PL/SQL Developer tool to work with the data base, it reqires the client to be 32-bit as well.

Next, we tested the SYS account for the PL/SQL developer and created new users that could be used. Upon opening the PL/SQL Developer, we entered in SYS for the Username field, the designated password for the account, the database name, and what to connect to the database as. We connected as SYSDBA. Before connecting, we turned off windows firewall since leave it on can cause some errors in the connection process. After doing all of this, were were able to connect successfully to the database.

We then created new users by right clicking on the User file and clicking "New..." In the popup window, we were required to fill in the username, the password for the account, and the permissions for the account. First, we created an account with the name "MISADMIN" and tested to make sure it was working properly by logging in to the account. Once we confirmed that it was working, we then made 4 other accounts in the same way, but with different permissions.

To fill the database with tables and data records to test and work on, we then transferred test data records from the FRS Test Database by exporting and importing those files. First, we created a folder to designate with as to where the exported data should go to. We then opened cmd.exe while connected to the server the test database was in. We used the command "exp" and filled in necessary information such as the username and password. We also created a .log file to record what is exported. After running the program and waiting for a significant amount of time, we finally ended up with both a .log and a .dmp file. The dump file contained all the data records and tables from the test database.

In order to transfer this file from the test server to the server with which the new database was installed, a tool named Total Commander was used. The servers were already connected to each other so, in Total Commander, all we needed to do was to move the .log and the .dmp files over. In the server with the database that we just installed, we opened cmd.exe again and, instead of typing in "exp" for export, we instead did the "imp" command to import it into the corresponding location.

Next, we needed to install the software that would allow us to actually create web applications. In this case, we used the ColdFusion 9.0 64-Bit Enterprise Server as it could be used with the Oracle Database. In making this work, we set up the Internet Information Services (IIS) and the Web Server IIS. We enabled this through windows by going to the Control Panel and running the server manager. Here, we enabled IIS and allowed for Application Development, IIS 6 management Compatibility, and the FTP Server. After installing the IIS, we tested it to make sure it was working by opening Internet Explorer and typing in "http://localhost." What was display was an image of IIS7.

After this, we installed the ColdFusion 9.0 64-Bit Enterprise Server on the same server as the database. This installation was straight forward. It was like installing any other piece of software with a product key. After filling the key in, marking the corresponding settings, and creating an administrative password, the installation of the ColdFusion 9.0 64-Bit Enterprise Server was complete.

We then setup the final settings for the ColdFusion 9.0 Administrator Configuration Site. We connected to the servers IP address and opened the file under the directory CFIDE/Administrator/Index.cfm. There, we entered in the password and changed the settings for each major component: Server Settings, Data & Services, Debugging & Logging, Server Monitoring, Extensions, Event Gateways, Security, and Packaging & Deployment. Each one of these component consisted of many different sub settings. Once all of these were set properly (which took a long time due to the immense number of settings), the installation of the Oracle Database and ColdFusion Web Application Development Platform was complete.

Overall, this entire process of completing this work assignment took 9.5 hours in total and spanned over 2 days.

Extra Blog: Computer Building

On Februrary 27, 2015, my mentor gave me a new work assignment that seemed quite daunting. This assignment was to build a whole new computer from individual parts for both of our use. My mentor gave me a list of general spaces she wanted and I was required to find compatible parts to those specs of balanced value and quality. I was also required to research how to build it, what each part does what, and how to install the Operating Software and drivers. The website I used, as well as the website my mentor recommended me to look at, was http://lifehacker.com/5828747/how-to-build-a-computer-from-scratch-the-complete-guide. She stated that when dealing with IT, it is important to not only learned the software side of a computer, but also the hardware side of it. Building a computer deals with the hardware side and allows for a better understanding of the computer as an entire whole. The following is the assignment sheet in writing:

I sat down with my mentor on the 6th of March to review the additional and specific parts that I found such as the case and we ordered it online. Once all the parts arrived we made sure everything was there and decided to start building the computer on the 13th of March.

Before building the actual computer, we set up and got everything read to ensure that finding parts and protecting them would be easy. We went over the part list again to make sure we had everything we needed (which we did.) We then set up and anti-static mat (tin foil connected to wires plugged into the ground) to make sure that the parts were protected from static shock that may occur. We also unboxed everything and got prepared to assemble everything together.

The next day, we started to build the computer itself. It was a length process that took up most of the day. We first opened the case and, upon inspection, we took note on different areas where we would place stuff such as the drive bays and the motherboard mounting area. We then decided to test the main components first to check to see if anything was faulty from the start. We mounted the motherboard and mounted the power supply (twice because the 1st time was upside down.) In addition, we installed the CPU, its cooler, and the RAM. After connecting the power supply to the motherboard and the outlet to the power supply, we turned it on and it displayed a green LED indicating it was in standby mode, ready to be powered on.

After this initial test, we mounted the HDD, SSD, and Optical Drive in their corresponding places. We then ran cables from the motherboard and the power supply to these drive in the 'back' of the motherboard to reduce air blockage inside the main area of the case itself. We then ran the power cables from the power supply to the drives as well in the same direction. The same was done for the fan to their location. After this, the video card was installed. We had to remove some of the back panels so that the ports at the end of the card could come through. Once these were installed, we ran cables to it from the power supply through the back. We read the user manual for the motherboard and case to make sure everything was done correctly. It was a good thing that we did because we almost damaged the motherboard by plugging in a 1394 cable into a USB port. After checking, we hooked up a monitor and keyboard for these tests so we could actually see things.

The first test worked fine and the boot menu came up stating to pres F2 or DEL to get to the BIOS setup. It work the first time, but after that nothing would show. We went through the process of looking up solutions and trying them out, finally finding that resetting the BIOS was the solution (and turning on the monitor.) Once the system was able to boot again, we prepared everything for Windows to be installed. After inserting the disk, the OS installed easily.

Afterwards, we installed the final drivers for certain parts such as the GPU and the motherboard. In addition, data was transferred from another computer, the layout was changed, and various software was installed to finish the computer.

At the end of all this, the computer was a success. Not only was the computer built by myself with some help, but everything worked fine and as planned in the end. This experience has inspired me. It showed me that even though certain things in life might be overly complicated or too far for a regular person to go to, persistence and determination will allow a person to accomplish those tasks.

Fourth Interview Questions

1. What is your name, job title, the place where you work at, and the amount of time you have been in this field?
2. What would you say is most important to learn before coming into this field of work?
3. Have you ever needed to learn any new things since you started working in this field? If so, what did you learn and why did you need to learn it?
4. How much does the change of technology over time affect your work?
5. What do you consider to be the most influential factor in determining success in this field of work?
6. What kind of database do you use, how often do you use database, and what do you use it for?
7. How is the database structured/organized?
8. What is SQL and what do you use it for?
9. What are the benefits of using a database, particularly in what you work on?
10. How do you retrieve information from databases from a program?
11. How do you receive a service request and who do you receive them from?
12. How do you ensure that you understand a customer's service request completely?
13. How important is it to understand who your customer is?
14. What do you do to ensure that you complete the service request?
15. Do some projects or service requests require multiple people to complete? Why or why not?
16. How often do you meet with your customer, co-workers, and managers?
17. What kinds of service requests do you receive?
18. Do you keep in contact with your customer after completing a service request? If so, why?
19. How can an individual become a successful computer programmer in general?
20. How can a software developer create applications that best meet customers' needs?

Blog 17: Third Answer

1. EQ 

How can a software developer create applications that best me customers' needs?

2. Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)

A software developer can best create applications that best meet customers' need by actively keeping up to date with technology and continually learning new technological subjects.

3. Details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example)

• "Technology changes fast. Don’t get left behind."; A quote from Clint Shank, an author of programming and technology topics. Technology changes constantly and new platforms and internet browser versions are constantly becoming apparent in use. Therefore, in order to to best make an application for a customer, one should learn what the latest technology is and whether one should learn previous versions of software. Either way, the developer must continually learning new subjects, new or old, regardless of past experience to design something catered directly towards customer's needs.
• Software being updated at a steady rate; From my research, I have found that the languages change quite often and certain things from earlier versions become less applicable or unusable in new versions. For example HTML5 being updated recently and the change from C++ to C#. These differences should be known in order to know what can, and cannot, be created.
• Knowing how to use software that is new to you; One example of this is my experience from mentorship where I was learning how to create Oracle database tables and use the PL/SQL Developer to retrieve, delete, add, and update data in the tables. In addition, I learned how to use ColdFusion programs to work with databases as well. I found that learning databases as well as the tool is very important. In the future, ideas and concepts such as these should be learned, if previously unknown to the developer.

4. The research source(s) to support your details and answer

Boehm, Anne and Delamater, Mary. Murach's ASP.NET 4.5 Web Programming with C# 2012 5th Edition. Fresno, CA: Mike Murach & Associates, Inc., 2012. Print. 14 Feb., 2015.

Carr, James R. "Computer Programming in the 21st Century: Quo Vadis?" University of Nevada Reno. Web. Aug. 8, 2014. <http://www.uh.edu/~jbutler/anon/carr.html>

Jollymore, Amy. "7 Ways to Become a Better Programmer in 2014." O'reilly Radar, Jan. 1, 2014. Web. Aug. 25, 2014. <http://radar.oreilly.com/2014/01/7-ways-to-be-a-better-programmer-in-2014.html>

5. Concluding Sentence

 Technology is always changing and it is a developer's responsibility to keep up with technology to best carter to the changing market and medium in which they make applications. Continuous learning of these new pieces of information will not only help to optimize the application in the best way possible for all users, but it will also help to manage and organize data and code. Therefore, keeping up to date with technology is a way that software developers can best meet customer's needs.

Extra Blog; Retrieve, Add, Update, and Delete

On February 21, 2015, I met with my mentor and she taught me about databases. My mentor showed me a Production database she used for the Web Application System called Financial Reporting System and recommended me to read chapter 12 of the book “Murach’s ASP.NET 4.5 Web Programming with C# 2012 5th Edition” by Mary Delamater and Anne Boehm titled “An Introduction to Database Programming.” The following will be information about databases that I have learned.

The book my mentor recommended to me.

(Less pretty than that other book)

Table of contents of what I read.

First of all, there are many different types of databases, some of which are more commonly used than others, depending on the system that is being used. Types of databases are Flat-file Databases, Hierarchical Databases, Object-Oriented Databases, Relational Databases, and many others. My mentor, who is in charge of the FRS system, uses the Oracle Database and is a Relational Database. In order to access the Oracle database, she uses the PL/SQL Developer Tool. To have access to the FRS data records from the database in the PL/SQL Developer, she uses SQL code. SQL is an acronym for Structured Query Language and it is the programming language used to retrieve, add, update, and delete data records from the tables in Oracle databases. My mentor walked me through how to use SQL code to retrieve FRS records from a specific table as well as the concepts of the Relational Database.

In the Relational Database, each table consists of one or more records, or rows, that contain the data for a single entry. The tables have primary keys which uniquely identify each row. The tables can also be defined by one or more indexes which provide an efficient way to access data from a table based on the values in specific columns. Relational Database tables can relate to each other between primary keys and foreign keys, the keys that refer to the primary key of another table. When a row in a table relates to one or more rows in another table based on the keys, it is called a one-to-many relationship. When two tables are related via a foreign key, the table with the foreign key is referred to as the foreign key table and the table with the primary key is referred as the primary key table. There are also one-to-one relationships and many-to-many relationships.

Each column in a database needs to be defined a data type to determine how the computer reads each row in the column. The data type also determines what can be stored into that column, as well as the length, precision, and scale of the data. It is also possible to make the columns “nullable” in that it allows a null value to be stored in a field. A null value is like an “empty” space. It is a value that represents that something is occupying that space, but the value itself is unknown. Default values can also be assigned to each column. When new rows are added to this column, the row will contain the specified default value. Identity columns can also be made. New rows that are added to this column will contain a numeric value that is generated automatically. To restrict values that a column can hold, you can define check constraints. Check constraints can be defined at either the column level or the table level.

One of the major portions of information that my mentor gave me is the actual use of SQL code to obtain data records from the database. There are four SQL statements I learned that retrieve, add, delete, and update data. They are the Select, Insert, Update, and Delete statements.

The Select command retrieves and sorts selected rows and columns from a specified table. An example is as follows:

Select ProtuctID, Name, UnitPrice
From Products
Where CategoryID = ‘props’
Order By UnitPrice

This will result in a table being displayed, consisting of all the selected columns (ProtuctID, Name, and UnitPrice) from the specified table (Products) that meet the condition where the CategoryID is equal to ‘props’. The table will then be ordered by the specified column (UnitPrice) in alphabetical order or least to greatest if it is a numeric value. The column names can be replaced with * which specifies all of the columns in that table.

The Insert command adds a row into a table with a certain value. An example of this is as follows:

Insert Into Categories (CategoryID, ShortName, LongName)

Values (‘food’, ‘Spooky Food’, ‘The very best in Halloween cuisine’)

The values specified (‘food’, ‘Spooky Food’, and ‘The very best in Halloween cuisine’) will be inserted into new rows in the corresponding columns (CategoryID, ShortName, and LongName) in the specified table (Categories).


The Delete command is similar; it removes a certain row in the table. It is coded slightly differently:

Delete From Categories
     Where CategoryID = ‘food’

The command will delete the row(s) of the specified table (Categories) that meets the condition where CategoryID = ‘food’.


The Update command consists of setting the value of a row equal to be equal to a new value.

Update Categories
     Set ShortName = ‘Halloween cuisine’

     Where CategoryIN = ‘food’

The value of a certain column (ShortName) in the specified table (Categories) will be set to a new value (‘Halloween cuisine’) if the condition is met (Where CategoryIN = ‘food’).

The Relational Database can contain other database objects like Views. They act like tables, but aren’t technically tables themselves. Views are predefined queries that are stored in a database and are accessed by issuing a Select statement that refers to the view. The View creates what is known as a virtual table, which is a temporary table that’s created on the server. Views consist of simple SQL statements.

The Relational Database can also contain Stored Procedures which can contain more complex and generally more SQL code than views. Stored procedures can use the insert, delete, and stored commands.

Answer 2

1. What is your EQ?
How can a software developer create applications that best meet customers' needs?

2. What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
A software developer can create applications that best meet customer's by having a solid foundation in programming knowledge.

3. What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

A software developer can create applications that best meet customer's by understanding the business aspects of the application.

4. List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

• Knowing what the customer/userbase wants is vital to making an application dedicated towards their needs; Mentor, as well as other employees at my mentor's work place continuously meet with customers and establish who will be using it
• Understanding the business structure can allow for the application to be made and developed as effectively as possible; FRS is designed for court employees to enter, record, and calculate court records by their month-end report. This application is optimized for this task, therefore meeting their needs more effectively.
• Ability to understand how to communicate with the customer as well as how to develop applications as a team; Conversing with customers, whether client or target audience, is common and keeps the application on track. Also, many big projects have teams of people working on them at one time. Understanding one's role, and the roles of other people will allow a more efficient work environment and a more synchronous team.

5. What printed source best supports your answer?
Vigil, Diane. "Web Design, Ad Copy and Targeting your Target Audience." Web Design Help. DianeV Web Design Studio, n.d. Web. Jan. 23, 2015. <http://dianev.com/web-design-help/web_design_basics/target_audience.html>

Describes importance of understanding the customers, establishing who and what the application will stand for, and how recognizing the non-technical side of an applications is also very important.

6. What other source supports your answer?

After notifying my mentor on my changed EQ, she stated how she thought that understanding the "business side" of the work was most important. She stated how it can give you the idea of what the customer wants, as well as how to work within the the system. Doing this can also developers to make application that are designed specifically for the customer and those who will use it.

7. Tie this together with a concluding thought.

This answer combines having knowledge of the customer/target audience, the work environment, and type of usage. I might need to reword the thesis statement a little bit to make it sound more clear and lass vague. I will need to research more about this answer so I can have an idea of what to specifically teach about during my presentation.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

I plan to extend the website, JIIS, that I made for my Independent Component with new content and functionality. This can include email and contact fields and using databases within the website. I might also attempt to host the code on the internet if I am able to. I also plan to learn more of both HTML and CSS from the book "HTML & CSS" by Jon Dukett that my mentor gave me previously.

2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I have never learned how to use data bases before so that will take time. Also, I will receive another model service request from my mentor to work and add all the requirements to achieve 30 hours. The 1st service request required research as well as time and effort to create each aspect of the application. That took up a little over 30 hours. This will be the same.

3. Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

Learning how to use new concepts for creating a web application, as well as completing another service request for my mentor will give me more experience in this kind of work, while giving me a better understanding of the possible answers to my questions.

4. Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

Done

Independent Component 1

LITERAL
(a) I, Jason Wu, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 31.5 hours of work.”

(b) 

• Duckett, Jon. HTML & CSS; Design and Build Websites. Indianapolis: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print. 
• Orme, Pete. "Principles for Successful Button Design." Tuts Plus. Envato, Feb. 13, 2013. Web. Jan 16, 2015. <http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/principles-for-successful-button-design--webdesign-6094>
• Guglieri, Claudio. "20 Steps to the Perfect Website Layout." Creative Bloq. Future Publishing Limited, Dec. 9 2014. Web. Jan. 8 2015. <http://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/steps-perfect-website-layout-812625>

(c) Done
(d) I completed making JIIS, the website my mentor had me make based off of the FRS system used by the LA County courts. It contains 5 pages of information and a login page with 2 existing users right now.

  
INTERPRETIVE
Defend your work and explain its significance to your project and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work. 

JIIS contains a Login page with 2 users (made it easy to add more), passwords for those users, error messages displaying if the user or password was not found, header and footer bars, header tabs linking to each page, graphics that I made myself, and under construction and welcome pages. There are also a logout button and animation graphics.

Me learning CSS for the 1st time

Almost finished design of the login page

Back ground Code to the login Page

 Photoshop version of the login logo

Me saving and creating Header tabs

JavaScript code of the login Page

Me first testing the program

APPLIED
How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better? Please include specific examples to illustrate this.

Creating JIIS helps me to experince the process of creating web applications and helps me to learn how to think and create each element of a website. I gain experience in using Visual Studio Express and programming HTML, CSS, and Javascript together. It helps back up some of my answer to my EQ. I also gained experience in creating graphical image in photoshop.

Extra Blog; /html

In the past month, I have started reading the book "HTML & CSS" by Jon Duckett that my mentor gave me. So far, it has been very informative, and breaks down fundamental ideas such as the syntax and structure of elements and tags of HTML as well as the concept of web browsing as a whole. It described how webpages are basically files that are sent from a web server to other computers that request them. It says how the part at the end of the URL describes which country's server it should go to, that server will then find the IP address and send that information back to the computer that requested it. Then, the computer will contact the web server's IP address and the web server will then send the webpage back to the computer to display on screen. This information was pretty interesting and was very informative. I haven't gone too far into the book yet, but the information has been very helpful; I feel confident in actually creating JIIS with the idea that I know what I'm doing.

Test run of what I learned in the first two chapters of the book.

As for the recent presentations that have just occurred this past week, I feel I did pretty good considering my lack of practice and stress. I feel, however, that with practice, i could have done even better and could have possible have gotten an AE for the component. As for the grading, I feel that some have an unfair advantage though as certain teachers give AE's and better grades in general for work that may be about the same quality as others who score less. Although it is somewhat difficult to regulate grading since each person's opinion (especially on what they consider AE, good, or above and beyond is), it is an issue that I think many feel should be addressed in some way. The definition of 'above and beyond' should be regulated by the teachers. Even if the students don't know, there would be a set standards between the teachers of what constitutes extra work and going 'above and beyond' in order to keep grading fair and consistent. Without it, grades become solely based on opinion and is not fair for the students.

In the next few weeks, I will be finishing up the HTML portion of the book and will complete JIIS to finish my 1st Independent Component.