Software Engineering Thus Far
13 May 2021
Learning and Growing
I’ve come a long way since I first dove into the world of Software Engineering. I’ve learned so much just in the past few months. Along with a few others, I worked together on a Web Development project that allows students to find and upload cheap and simple recipes. The project was my first experience with web development, and it has opened doors for me into a whole new world. A year ago, I had little to no knowledge about web development. Now I have the knowledge to create a basic website. However, the knowledge I’ve gained recently goes beyond web application development. I’ve also learned many fundamental software engineering concepts such as Coding Standards, Ethics in Software Engineering, and more.
Coding Standards
Coding standards are a common coding style that ensures clarity in the code, making it much more readable. It is also a way to keep everything organized and everyone on the same page. I used ESLint (a coding standard tool that highlights errors in code) on my recent web development project, and it has made my life much easier. When I first learned about ESLint, I thought it would just be an annoyance that would constantly tell me my code is wrong, which was not the case. It allowed me and my project team members to have an understanding of each other’s code. Since we were all adhering to a coding standard, all of our code was straightforward. There was no confusion about our individual code that we each contributed to the project. Coding Standards are a great tool that allows for an understanding and proves to be beneficial, especially in group settings. My recent project isn’t the first or the last time I will be working with a team on a project. I will use what I now know about Coding Standards to my benefit when working on group projects in the future. It is beneficial in group settings and to anyone else that may want to look at my code. Suppose I code programs in some cryptic way only I can understand. In that case, it will be complicated to receive feedback and help since no one will understand my code, which is why coding standards are so important. Having a uniform standard can be beneficial beyond coding. There could be standards put into place in different work fields that ensure everyone has a mutual understanding and can all come together to solve a common goal.
Ethics in Software Engineering
You can be the best coder in the world, but if you have no ethics, you will not make it. Some people’s lives depend on software and technology in general. Would you trust someone to create something that your life depended on if you knew that they had no ethics or morals? It’s so important to understand the importance of ethics and to practice it. As a software engineer, I have a duty to prevent any harm that could arise from what I create. Ethics, however, doesn’t pertain to just Software Engineering but life in general. If everyone had no ethics, morals, or trust, where would we be? It’s important to do the right thing and think about who you could affect with anything you do. There is no single “ethics handbook” that lays out everything you need to know about ethics since a lot of it comes from your own personal moral compass. We as humans can differentiate between right from wrong. With careful planning and thinking, we can prevent doing the wrong thing. Many software engineers spend a lot of time staring at a screen and typing all day. It can be easy to forget how much of an impact you can actually have on the real world. We hear about it all the time with huge tech giants and the controversy behind privacy concerns. It’s essential to carefully think about how your actions can affect people.
Moving Forward
There’s still much to be done and a lot to learn. I am excited to continue my Software Engineering journey. It’s not easy, but when I’m working on something difficult like a project, and I finally complete it, it feels gratifying. I am eager to learn as much as possible, and I am excited to see what the future holds.