CST499 Capstone Week 4

This, week we worked on our capstone project. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, but I learned about a few interesting topics.

My goal was to add a license in a textfile to a window that could be closed by clicking off of it. I tried a few different approaches like linking a text tile to a Text object, then attaching that to a window or using a scanner to read in every line. In the end, those didn't work, and I created a very long String, called that class and function and printed it out to the window. There are some inconsistencies, but its functional.

I later created a mouse event to close the open window when it was clicked on.  As a result, it meets some of the requirements we initially planned, but not all. 

Another problem I had was that the window was too large initially, so I used several functions to get the window dimensions then create a viewing window of that size. This will most likely work on other's computers as well.

Next week, I hope to get a lot more done and ask for help when I need it.

cst 499 Capstone Week 3

This week, I focused on FXML and Menu bars for JavaFX. FXML is an XML based language that lets the user build a GUI without application logic. First, you make the main class and define the stage and scene. Than you change the import statements in the FXML file to include what you intend to work with. The elements the FXML file deals with can also be done in a .java file. FXML files are a little bit cleaner and it is easier to see what elements are nested. JavaFX can also use CSS to add style. In the JavaFX specific CSS, not every CSS statement works without issue. There are some limitations to its CSS abilities. When I was using Eclipse, with a few JavaFX plugins, there was still no JavaFX CSS specific help offered with code completion. Overall, JavaFX is a great way to make GUIs and I would definitely use it in the future.

cst499 capstone week 2

This week, our group discussed the effective meetings reading from last week. It seemed like we already used a few ideas in the article through our CS learning. A number of meetings could have been done over email and didn't need to be discussed. Meetings are nice to have in general, just so everyone can get their input in all at once. We used to keep minutes but every big decision was later posted to the Hangouts chat to remind everyone later. It was concluded that this article was not software development specific because as we have read about, failure in software will happen. Deadlines can be missed and features could be implemented incorrectly, it is not unacceptable for this to occur. Features that take longer than expected is built into Agile's point design. I haven't worked in a professional software development setting, so I will have to see for myself if the tips in the article work. 

cst 499 capstone

This is a summary of how to run business meetings that produce results. Before every meeting, plan the meeting, ensure the necessity of the meeting, ensure participation, and distribute pre-work. Before a meeting is planned, plan a pre-meeting with others who will help you plan for the meeting, then decide if a meeting is necessary. After you decide who needs to be at the meeting, postpone the meeting if essential participants are unable to attend. 48 hours before the meeting, send the reading material to every participant so they are ready to meet. 

During the meeting, facilitate the meeting, involve each person in doable actions, and create a follow up plan. The meeting leader should keep the discussion on track and ensure the meeting meets the meeting goals. The meeting leader should involve attendees who aren’t participating because sometimes people take time to think through their answers or will only respond if there’s a consensus in the room. A follow up plan with action items, name of person with action item ownership, due date, and definition of a complete action item should be made.

After the meeting, publish the meeting minutes, follow up, create accountability, and debrief meetings for improvement. The meeting leader, secretary, or note taker should publish the meeting minutes and plan within 24h. Then follow up with people between meetings. A culture of accountability should be established by making failure to keep commitments unacceptable. Lastly, the meeting leader should have participants discuss what was good and bad about the meeting process anonymously because you won’t get real answers otherwise.