Category Archives: architecture

Welcome to My Journey in CS 343: Software Construction, Design & Architecture

Hello everyone, my name is Rick Djouwe, and this semester I am beginning CS 343: Software Construction, Design & Architecture. I am truly excited for this class because it represents the next step in strengthening my ability to think beyond coding and focus on building well-structured, scalable, and maintainable software systems.

What This Course is About

CS 343 covers a wide range of essential topics in modern software development, including:

  • Design principles such as abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.
  • Best practices like SOLID, DRY (“Don’t Repeat Yourself”), and YAGNI (“You Ain’t Gonna Need It”).
  • Design patterns that provide reusable solutions to common problems.
  • Software architectures and frameworks, including REST API design.
  • Refactoring, code smells, and concurrency, which improve software quality and longevity.
  • Modeling and documentation tools like UML, which ensure clear communication of design decisions.

In short, this course is not just about writing code, it’s about learning to think like a software engineer who can approach problems critically, design solutions thoughtfully, and work effectively with others.

Skills and Outcomes

Through CS 343, I will gain valuable experience in:

  • Collaborating with stakeholders to design, test, and deliver software systems.
  • Applying professional judgment and staying current with evolving tools and practices.
  • Organizing projects using proven methodologies and team processes.
  • Communicating complex technical concepts clearly, both in writing and orally.

These outcomes connect directly to the broader goals of my Computer Science major: analyzing problems, building solutions, and developing the professional skills needed to succeed in the field.

Why This Matters to Me

As someone pursuing a career as a software engineer specializing in artificial intelligence, this course will help me strengthen the foundations of software design and architecture that are critical in building intelligent, scalable systems. Beyond my academic goals, I also see a strong connection to my current role as an Automation Developer at The Hanover Insurance Group, where I contribute to projects that rely on thoughtful design, testing, and collaboration. The principles and practices I learn here will make me more effective in my work today while preparing me for even greater responsibilities in the future.

I am eager to reflect on my progress throughout the semester, connect this material with experiences across my other courses, and apply these lessons directly to both my professional role and long-term career.

For me, CS 343 is more than a class, it’s a bridge between where I am now and the kind of innovative, responsible, and skilled software engineer I strive to become. I am also excited to meet everyone in this course and learn from each other as we move forward together. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to connect, collaborate, or study together this semester!

From the blog Rick’s Software Journal by RickDjouwe1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

A Microservice

A General Dive

This week, I looked into the topic of something called microservice architecture. It’s a way of designing software systems that breaks them into smaller, independent services that work together. To better understand it, I read the article “MicroserviceArchitecture”, which gave me a beginner-friendly explanation of how it works, its benefits, and some challenges. Since I’m new to computer science, I thought this topic was interesting because it seems like something I might use if I ever work on big software projects.

The article explains that instead of building one big application (a monolith), microservices split the application into smaller pieces. Each piece, or “service,” can do a specific job, like managing user accounts or processing payments. These services talk to each other using APIs, and they’re independent, so you can change or fix one without messing up the others. The article also talks about the pros and cons. On the good side, microservices make apps easier to scale and maintain. But on the downside, they can get pretty complicated to set up and manage.

I picked this article because microservices came up during class discussions, and I didn’t really get it at first. I wanted to find a resource that explained the basics without assuming too much prior knowledge. This article seemed perfect for a beginner because it explains things step by step. I also chose it because I’ve always wondered how big companies like Netflix or Amazon manage their systems, and it turns out they use microservices.

The biggest thing I learned is how microservices make scaling easier. For example, if one part of an app is getting more traffic—like a checkout service for an online store—you can scale just that service without touching the rest of the app. I thought that was really cool because it makes so much sense for big companies. Another thing I learned is how microservices make it easier for teams to work on different parts of a project at the same time. On the flip side, I also realized that microservices can be tricky because you have to make sure all the services work together smoothly. This made me think about how important it is to plan ahead when designing software.

I think this knowledge will be useful later when I work on group projects. If we ever build something complex, I might suggest using microservices to keep things organized. I also want to learn more about tools like Docker, which the article mentioned, because they help manage microservices.

Resource:

microservices-architecture

From the blog Computer Science From a Basketball Fan by Brandon Njuguna and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.