Csc148 Week4: What? We've done 1/3 of the course?

I was surprised when I noticed that 4 weeks have already passed and we have done 1/3 of the semester! (If there are 12 weeks for this semester as I remember.)

For me, the past 4th week is the most difficult one compared with the other 3. We started learning recursion, which is not easy. It is something totally new to me, not like stuff we did in the first 3 weeks to which I was exposed in CSC108. To be honest, I was totally lost at class and I could not follow at all. I found it very hard for me to understand the purpose of the codes quickly and point out where should I use recursion. But, after reading the slides and the recommended online text, I found a little trick to help me get a better understanding about recursion, that is drawing the process flow diagram. So what I did was drawing the diagram corresponding to the instruction and then turning the picture into codes. Though it takes extra time, it helps me figure out where to put the recursion sentence and understand the whole operation process. And thanks to this little trick, I would say that so far recursion is not a problem for me any more.

Although it's a bit depressing that I hardly followed the lectures, there were some little delightful things. I did the lab by myself this week (I switched the lab section and most of my lab mates have already been paired up), and surprisingly, it went pretty well and I finished everything! The most beautiful point I find about programming is the time that all codes run properly and no bugs show up! Working alone is harder than having a good coding buddy, but it could bring more satisfaction if everything goes well. However, I do wish to have a coding partner for the coming lab. I am confident in my coding ability, but it's always better to make new friends! 

So, at the very end of week4 (Okay right now is Sunday night), here is the question: what did I learn and what have I gained in the past 4 weeks (or the first 1/3 of the semester)?
Answer:
Useful programming techniques (Object-oriented programming, recursion, class and subclass and how to choose appropriate test cases), problem solving skills and most importantly, a better understanding towards computer science and desire to learn more about it!