The time is upon us, dear readers: TEST TIME!

Though it’s been really nice knowing I have two whole weeks to prepare for the exam, the stress of all the details has been getting to me. There’s so much to remember in a language I’ve never written in before, so I’m definitely grateful for the extra time. I’m also really grateful that Professor Downing goes into such detail with everything we need to know.

For each function that we are expected to know and write, Downing goes over the basic functionality and then asks us to pair up and write what is under the covers on our own. In this way, we are able to think about the details and come to the important questions on our own, rather than just being told how it works. Then, to ensure everyone ends on the same page, Downing goes over the solution step by step, calling on students to provide pieces of the solution they came up with.

I also really appreciate that, as we go over these problems, he emphasizes points that we should keep in mind. He will even be so clear as to say, “Make sure to know X because I may ask you to do it on the exam” or “ask questions because this may be an important thing to know for the test.” It takes some of the pressure off knowing that the professor is “on our side” in terms of preparing for the exam. So if we don’t perform well, it’s all on us. ;P

Tip of the week: Want to learn more about some of what’s under the covers of Github? Here’s a simple, readable dive into just that: http://githubengineering.com/counting-objects/