DEV Community: Aqeel Akbari

Project 3 - Tetris Game

Aqeel Akbari — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 22:09:54 +0000

In our third and final project, we were split up into division called the ATARI-DIVISION. We worked in a much larger team and our task was to find all the bugs and fix them in an already implemented game of Tetris.

Overall:

Despite there being a lot more work to go around in this project, it was actually not nearly as stressful or time consuming as the previous projects. This was definitely in part because I was not in any of the leadership positions, but it was also because of the amount of people that we had.

Week 1:

During week one each team was assigned a package or two in the project and was tasked with understanding and finding bugs. We also built up our communication, specifically we used a discord server. I found many bugs inside of the events package and came to understand the code quite a bit. After drafting up a document of what needed to be fixed or changed, most of the work for our group was done. We also had to make a design document but the entire division was working together to do this. The only other thing that needed to be achieved was the team documentation and staying up to date with the rest of the division. Week 1 went very smooth and it was a lot of fun to understand the implementation of the given code.

Week 2:

During week two is when we went about fixing things and adding our own touch. Overall the bug fixing went really well, I think the work was spread out decently and the tasks got done in a timely manner. We also had to update the design document with the new methods that we thought of in this part. I updated the design doc and reviewed code in the part of the project.

Communication:

We used discord to communicate. It was very successful. There was private channels for each team as well as a division channel. This allowed us to contact our team for our divided up tasks but also communicate between all the other teams when needed. This way worked a lot better than having a couple communicators that had all the info. We also had communicators but their role was not as important this time around. We also had big division wide meetings were anyone was allowed to join. These were very helpful to get a grasp of what needed to be done and what had already gotten done.

To conclude, this project went very well. Tasks were divided well and communication was good. I also had a lot of fun doing certain portions.

Project 2 - Design and Implementation

Aqeel Akbari — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 22:37:17 +0000

In our second project, we took on the roles of both a design team and an implementation team.

Overall:
I would say that it was a pretty good experience working with my team to create the design document and figuring out the design for the other team as well as working with other teams to implement their design. I gained a lot of knowledge of how to schedule and work within a group. Especially because I was the leader of my group this time, there was a lot more pressure on me to make sure the team was doing ok and everything was alright.

Design Phase:
This phase was not that difficult and was actually quite fun. We did the doc so that everyone was collaborating, making it that everyone knew what was going on and contributing. I would say that our documentation was pretty well thought out with plenty of clarification for the other team we would pass to.

Implementation Phase:
This phase was a lot more difficult to manage everything and make sure that the code was being built correctly. There was a lot of extra meetings as well as code issues that had to be resolved. At the end of the day we got it done and submitted but we never heard back from the other team.

Issues and Solutions:
Some communication was lost in translation or was not as organized. Our communicator said this was in part because of the disorganization of the team we passed out design to. She said there she had to be in multiple chats at the same time and felt like she was talking to single people instead of a team of people. Most of the communication went very smooth though aside from a couple hiccups. We also had a problem with clarifying some things from the team we received the design from but we communicated and figured it out. Other than that we didn't have many issues aside from fixing code and making sure everything was working according to the design of the other team.

Overall I would say this project went pretty well. My team was helpful, on time, and open to putting in the required work to get the project done. I am looking forward to working with them for project 3. I am also looking forward to gaining more experience in another project setting as this one increased my skills as a leader, a team player, and a worker.

Project 1 - Unit Testing

Aqeel Akbari — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 21:30:33 +0000

During this project we established some norms in our team and accomplished our goals.

We established some commit documentation and our roles. Our wiki has been put together as well as out project management board. The only challenges we really faced when doing these things was getting our entire team together. Because of conflicting schedules, finding a day when we can all meet is very hard. We ended up picking the best option but not everyone can get into the call at once. To combat this, we talk through teams and help each other with through messaging.

We also accomplished all of the goals that we set out to achieve week one. During the first week we established what we wanted to accomplish for unit testing and put them into the project management board. This included what unit tests everyone was doing. During the second week I accomplished my unit tests and commit them to the main branch. Mine was able to be pulled with no issues. The only challenge I really faced during that process was figuring out how to use gradle properly. After talking with some of my teammates though, I got it figured out. One challenge we faced as a team was getting everyone's tests figured out and in the main branch by our agreed upon day. We are still trying to work on getting everyone's in.

Overall I would say our work as a group was successful but could use some work. Our communication could improve and so could our time effectiveness.

Second Blog - Git Assignment

Aqeel Akbari — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 23:22:58 +0000

For this assignment I made and implemented a couple of classes, the main one being the Player class.

Overall I would say this assignment was not super difficult in terms of ability. It did take me quite a bit of time just write all the code and debug it but the concepts themselves were nothing new or complicated. I had to do a lot of rethinking about how I wanted to implement something and it took time to recode methods.

In terms of the git commands, they were fairly easy to use. Anytime I needed reminding of something, I would just look at the class slides or look at the git documentation. For example, when I had to do the first commit from the doubleLink branch, I had to check what flag to use so I could push upstream to the origin.

I would say that this assignment was fairly fun for me, it’s been awhile since I’ve done something like this and it inspired me to do some game development. My code overall could be improved and optimized but I think for now it is in a good place.

First Blog Post - Fibonacci Sequence

Aqeel Akbari — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 21:22:20 +0000

I created a small program, when provided with the nth position of the Fibonacci sequence it gives the number in that position.

When it came to making the code itself it was really not that complicated so there was not many issues. The only issues I came across was trying to get back into the java mindset and remember all the syntax. I solved this by taking a look at some of my past projects. Here's a quick list of the things that I had to remember.

System.out.println();
; at the end of lines
if statement formatting

Some things I looking forward to in this class would be getting the experience of doing a multi stage group project. Since it will simulate what a workplace project will be like, I am very excited. In terms of feeling, I am a little worried about balancing this course with the rest of my course load. I'll do my best to stay on top of all of my work.