Ethan's Computer Science Journey

 Wow... Week 25 already. Time sure is flying, as this is the first week of my CST 334 Operating Systems course.  As for what I've learned, it certainly has been a learning curve. The first thing I learned about was C. Seeing how it's not object-oriented like C++ and Java, but it still has many similarities to the two languages. I've coded in both, but mostly Java since coming to CSUMB. We were also provided with resources to read papers because I believe we have a group project related to doing so. Next, we reviewed computer architecture, it's been a while since I took the course at De Anza but it is certainly nice to know that we won't need to be redoing it as much. I then messed around with PowerShell, Docker, and gdb. It's a learning curve, and I've had to ask ChatGPT how I've messed up in following the instructor's instructions for Lab 1, but I survived and got the assignment done. Using PowerShell is not easy on the eyes for me. We also went ove...

 Briefly summarize the what you consider to be the three (3) most important things you learned in this course. The first most important thing I learned is SQL & Relational Databases. Mastering core SQL operations like select, insert, update, delete, and relational concepts like primary/foreign keys. The second most important thing I learned in Transaction Management & NoSQL. Understanding ACID transactions, concurrency control, and NoSQL systems like MongoDB. The third most important thing is SQL proficiency. Mastering complex queries like joins, subqueries, aggregates, and managing database structures like tables, constraints, and keys.

Compare MongoDB with MySQL. What are some similarities? They are both open source, run on multiple OS, support indexing, and support many programming languages. What are some differences? MySQL uses tables with rows and columns, and MongoDB uses JSON-like documents. MySQL uses enforced schema, while MongoDB is schemaless. MySQL supports joins and prefers vertical scaling. While MongoDB doesn't and prefers horizontal scaling. When would you choose one over the other?  Choose MySQL when you need structured data with well-defined relationships, rely heavily on joins, foreign keys, and/or complex SQL queries. MongoDB is better when data is unstructured, nested, or constantly evolving. If you're dealing with large-scale data and need horizontal scalability. 

Summarize what you have learned this week.        This week I learned about database programming concepts like Java's Connector/J (JDBC) API for interacting with MySQL. Like establishing connections using DriverManager.getConnection(), executing queries with Statement and PreparedStatement objects. Also embedded SQL in older languages like C, which use precompilers and shared variables. I also covered stored procedure calls with CallableStatement. Mostly focused on learning syntax, error handling, and security considerations.