Week 13

Well, this week was one of great achievements! We finally finished our IDB project and with it, the very last project of our Software Engineering class. I have said it before and I will say it again, this has been definitely one of the funnest project I have had in school and one that involved lots of learning and getting familiarized with several different technologies that interact together (which can get quite intense!)

For this last iteration of the project, the number-one task that Blake Ellingham and I had was incorporating the search bar into the site and providing a "Google search" feature within the data we store in our database. We used HTML and CSS for the search bar itself and customizing it. However, we relied on Javascript to be on the lookout for the user typing in data and clicking the "Search" button. At that time the first thing we do is parse the query. For example, as stated before, we added pluses where the spaces used to be for the purpose of redirecting to a different page.

We also created a different template to display the search results. The results are divided in terms of AND and OR results, meaning if the user searched for more than one word, then different results will get filtered into these two categories. I definitely strengthened my HTML, CSS, and Javascript skills with this last iteration of the project. I really enjoyed it because these technologies, in my opinion, are not taught in depth in school (I still have no idea why). So it was a great opportunity to get more familiarized with them and work on a project that simulated very well what working on a "real world" project is like. Working in such big teams can get quite complicated especially when it comes to communication.

I would say my biggest take away in terms of team coordination is that keeping everyone in the loop of what's happening in your team is key! If everyone knows what's going on, on all ends of the project there will be less room for confusion.