CST 370 Algorithms - Week 1

 This is the first week of Fall Semester 2025. It's also my second year in CSUMB Online Program. I have accomplished many, but there are more await ahead. First and foremost, it is this course: CST 370 Algorithms. I heard from other people that this type of course is not easy to deal with. Therefore, I prepare my mind and soul before Week 1 begin.

However, the materials and lessons from Week 1 is not that bad. Thanks for my previous courses in El Camino College, I am familiar with C++ and this is a great opportunity for me to refresh my mind. Plus, all of the graph, tree and algorithm runtime, I have learned them all in previous CS and Math courses. Therefore, I consider it a good start for CST 370 (instead of easy start).

But I still handle the programming assignment (aka Homework assignment) carefully. The assignment itself is not hard, so pseudocode and hand-written plan are not necessary for me. However, I still follow the procedure step by step. Coding and testing frequently, piece by piece rather than running all at once. Those images below are what I did:

Step 1: Making sure the input is stored correctly

Step 2: testing the algorithm can run (it may not work correctly)

Step 3: testing with many outputs to ensure the algorithm works correctly with basic cases

Step 4: Clean up, add comments if needed. Then come up with test cases to fully test the whole program

With this structure (or procedure), it's easy for me to solve the problem while developing the program. In addition, I won't feel overwhelmed when there are bugs to squash.