Category Archives: cs-wsu

GitHub and Docker: Streamlining Database Management for Modern Development

In AI based fast growing world of software development, very deep knowledge database management plays a pivotal role in ensuring application performance and scalability. GitHub and Docker have become indispensable tools for developers, providing streamlined workflows and efficient environments for database development, testing, and deployment. This blog explores how GitHub and Docker work together to simplify database management in today’s world.

GitHub, a leading platform for version control and collaboration, is key part is managing database code, schemas, and migration. For hosting configuration files, and database-related repositories, GitHub using one source to get maximum database workflows. GitHub also fulfill the software tester and developer related tools to easy to convert code and data process without any lengthy process. Giving branching, pull request, and code reviews facilities actually make GitHub performances very advanced in machine learning world. Version control with actual data track with their schemas, collaboration with multiple contributors and Integration with CI/CD Pipelines provides key benefits of GitHub database. Where Docker, the development and testing of databases is being transformed by a packaging platform. Docker enables developers to reproduce production-like environments on local computers by enclosing databases within containers, guaranteeing stability across the stages of development, testing, and deployment. Environment Consistency, Isolated containers and scalability provide key features of docker which give real support in testing team so we can easily grow with our GitHub system.

When combined, GitHub and Docker provide a robust solution for managing database workflows.

  1. Versioning and Collaboration with Docker Files:

Docker files and Compose files, essentials for databases, are stored in GitHub repositories. Developers can version-control these files, and automate container builds via GitHub Actions.

2. Automated Testing:

Developers can easily supply files with version control and creating pipelines so spin up actual data for their multiple automated testing.

3. Database Migrations as Code:

Teams store migration scripts in GitHub, while Docker containers provide isolated environments to test these scripts. Reliable schema modifications in staging and production settings are guaranteed by this method.

Advantages of Using GitHub and Docker for Databases:

Reduced Onboarding Time: Learners can start working with prebuilt Docker containers without any work delays.

Improved Testing: Automated tests run against containerized databases, ensuring thorough validation of database changes.

Enhanced Collaboration: Efficient team workflow, while Docker guarantees consistency of the surroundings.

In conclusion, GitHub and Docker together form a powerful duo for modern database management, addressing challenges like environment consistency, version control, and collaboration. For small project to build large applications these two combos give detailly work and improving features in all workers. GitHub and Docker will continue to redefine how databases are managed in the software development lifecycle.

Citations:

  1. GitHub Actions Documentation. (n.d.). https://docs.github.com/en/actions

2. Docker Documentation. (n.d.). https://docs.docker.com

From the blog CS@Worcester – Pre-Learner —> A Blog Introduction by Aksh Patel and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Week 13

We started to work in the front end I became more curious about front-end developers. They are often the key if someone will even use a website to begin with. You can have a fully functional site but if it isn’t engaging it can lose people. In the past, this wasn’t something you had to deal with but there are so many things taking people’s attention that just doing the bare minimum isn’t enough. There are things that we don’t even think about that are key to a successful website. A main common feature now is dark mode if a website doesn’t come with this theme it can scare away users. Even simple things like where the search bar is placed are key for the navigation through the site. This week I decided to find information about front-end developers and how they achieve success.

The article starts by explaining what a front-end developer does. They create the graphical layout of a website or application. Front-end workers are usually hired by someone looking to build a website. They can create a site layout to give the buyer an idea of what their website could look like. It can save people a lot of money and hassle if their vision can reasonably be imagined by a front-end developer. A front-end developer’s main focus should be to place everything to benefit the user it should be simple and intuitive for the user. There are several job opportunities in this field from working in industry or having the freedom to be a freelancer. This is a job that offers a lot of challenges but with critical thinking, a solution can always be found. Many big companies hire this position including Microsoft and Meta are always looking for new front-end developers.

Reading this article showed me a new field in this space. There are many fields in Coding there are so many I find a new one every year. This field uses different coding languages including HTML, CSS, and javascript to name a few. I liked how this was a problem-solving job that there has to be actual decision-making need to be successful. This is a job that is engaging while trying to engage others to use your product. The key for a great front-end developer would probably have to be to not forget about the little things. This article reassures that keeping a user-friendly UI is the key to having a successful website.

https://www.coursera.org/articles/front-end-developer

From the blog CS@Worcester – DCO by dcastillo360 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Software Testing Circumstances

Software testing is crucial phase of the software development cycle. After numerous errors and choices have been made, this entire approach functions in a single manner. However, the effectiveness and efficiency of software testing are significantly influenced by the circumstances in which it is conducted. After we finish the software testing phase, there are still issues that arise despite the extensive critical thinking and methodology. The term “software testing circumstances” refers to the conditions and environments in which testing occurs. These conditions include a number of elements, including financial constraints, time limits, team experience, technological infrastructure, and the development technique adopted. Testing is scheduled in accordance with their execution and development procedure based on critical situations.

Key Challenges in Software Testing Circumstances:

  1. Time Constraints

Some tasks are ruined by tight deadlines, but other tools can help your complete tasks more quickly. Ultimately, how you do your work under intense pressure depends on how you handle time limitations.

2. Limited Resources

Insufficient resources, such as skilled personnel, testing environments, or financial backing, can restrict testing scope. Some resources offer extra help with the task at hand, but the testing scenario’s limited resources have impeded your work and stopped you from resolving their problems so you can continue testing.

These Two is key problem we see in every testing problem.

Adapting to Testing Circumstances:

  1. Prioritization with Risk-Based Testing

Teams can allocate resources efficiently by focusing on important capabilities and identifying high-risk areas. This guarantees that, despite limitations, crucial functions are adequately tested.

2. Early Involvement of Testing Teams

Engaging high skills testers from the beginning of the work is give reliable and accurate result and give balancing the whole cycle in testing phase.

3. Cloud-Based Testing Environments

Without requiring a significant upfront infrastructure investment, cloud testing methods provide scalable and wide-ranging testing environments. By simulating actual circumstances, these technologies increase coverage.

These are fundamental abilities we master in our cycle to get deeper and faster results with the time we need for essentials.

Our testing encounters little errors that can be resolved with minor adjustments, so we lower the testing error graph. AI-driven technologies assist us in our performance section, allowing us to draw our testing error cycle without requiring a large expenditure.

               In conclusion, Problems involving software testing can cause difficulties, but these can be successfully avoided with preemptive measures and modern tools. Understanding and adapting to the nuances of each testing scenario is key to maintaining reliability and user satisfaction.

Citations:

  1.  Myers, G. J., Sandler, C., & Badgett, T. (2011). The Art of Software Testing. Wiley.
  2.  ISTQB Foundation Level Syllabus. (n.d.). https://www.istqb.org
  3. Atlassian Continuous Testing Guide. (n.d.). https://www.atlassian.com/continuous-testing
  4. IEEE Software Testing Standards. (n.d.). https://www.ieee.org

From the blog CS@Worcester – Pre-Learner —> A Blog Introduction by Aksh Patel and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Introduction Blog

Hello, My name is Aksh Patel, and this is my first blog. I am a junior year Worcester State University student. My major is Computer Science but i am more interested Design Technique. 

I will discuss in-depth details in design ideas during my whole semester, so just wear your seat belt and join in on my trip.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Pre-Learner —> A Blog Introduction by Aksh Patel and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Week 15

Last week my group and I were discussing behavior-driven development. It is a type of development that refines our previously learned developments. This is a great jumping point to what we were previously learning and it will make for a great assignment. I would like to give more information on this subject matter because it is valuable. This is another practice that is used in the field that can be used in the future.

Behavior Driven Development (BDD) is an agile testing practice that prioritizes creating automated tests first before specifying system behavior. BDD is utilized in a group setting where both agile teams and business participants can see eye to eye. BDD are tests used to capture a story, feature, or capability from a user’s perspective. During this development, there should be three different heads of mentality to considered. Customer minds usually stakeholders understand the business needs and their desire for new requirements. Developers understand what needs to be done to accomplish their responsibilities and technological feasibility. Test-centric minds should consider any exceptions, new edges, and boundary conditions. There are three phases during BDD discovery, formulation, and automation. The product owner or product manager creates criteria that must be used to write a good story. Then, the discovery process where the team finds any additional information that could enhance the criteria. There is an automation phase that automates the acceptance test. This test shares a lot of similarities with Acceptance Test–Driven Development (ATDD) and Specification by Example (SBE). 

This new development strategy was very useful to learn. It’s good to understand different types of development plans and how you can combine them to make a stronger development cycle. During the agile team cycle, I feel like every cycle you can change what type of software development you use for that cycle. Based on the project, resources, and time you can choose different software developments. Learning about BDD gave me an insight into the business side of the development process. These are things you may not think about when creating your software but should be a priority. You would expect your software project to be examined by someone who is informed in the field but to try to explain to someone that is funding it would be a hassle but necessary. It makes sense that people who aren’t on the team would have to understand the development. It’s a group effort between multiple teams that all must work in unison to create a working product.  

Advanced Topic – Behavior-Driven Development

https://scaledagileframework.com/behavior-driven-development/

From the blog CS@Worcester – DCO by dcastillo360 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Week 14

Considering this week we only had one day of class it’s good to reinforce the ideas we learned to spread out in separate classes. I was in a search this week for an article that went into depth about software technical reviews. Software technical reviews are very important; understanding the fundamentals is a key component in the field. 

The main function of a software technical review is to examine a document either in a group or alone and find errors or any defects inside the code. This is done to verify various documents to find if they reach specifications, system design, test plans, and test cases. An important thing to consider is this is a step to make sure the client gets clarity of the project and stays informed on how it’s going. In addition, finalize any changes to reach the requirements before being released to the market. This allows for improved productivity, makes the testing process cost-effective, fewer defects to be found outside the team, and reduces the time it will take to create a technically sound document. The main three types of software reviews include software peer review, software management review, and software audit reviews. The process of software review is simple if you are informed of the implementations taking place. First is the entry evaluation which is just a standard checklist to know the basis for the review. Without a checklist, you will be pulling on strings to find what is wrong with the code or what it’s missing. Then comes Management preparation ensures that your review will have all the required resources like staff, time, and materials. Next is review planning where you create an objective that comes from the team. You then move on to preparation where the reviewers are held responsible for doing their specific task. Lastly, examination and exit evaluation where the group meets up and is discussed to make the team on the same page and verify any discoveries.

Reading this article allowed me to see other steps that are taken to do a software technical review. If we as a team were able to create an objective of what to search for inside the code last week it would have been more goal-oriented instead of randomly searching for faults in the code. As a team, it would have been great to have a more organized group so then when we come together we have an understanding of what we should all find. I would like to see how it would work trying to explain to someone who doesn’t code what has been done and show them that their money is being placed in the right place. Other than that this is a great way to reduce time and be in unison with your team.   

https://medium.com/@vyashj09/software-technical-reviews-in-software-testing-what-is-software-technical-review-321462039f4f#:~:text=A%20software%20technical%20review%20is,an%20object%20in%20the%20software.

View at Medium.com

From the blog cs-wsu – DCO by dcastillo360 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Week 13

The next classes will be about Software technical review it would be great to get a step ahead by delving into the concept. We only started with the review section of the code but fully understood it before the class could skip the barriers of never implementing this idea. Whenever doing something new there is always a barrier which can be difficult at first but with practical knowledge, it can be implemented with a greater effect.  

This article first talks about why there is a technical review. There are technical reviews for the company’s higher-ups who may not be fully aware of the coding process and the difficulties that come with it. They have to understand the developer’s importance to the business because they are spending a lot of money with ineffective results. Many times deliveries aren’t are time and come in fault states having several bugs. This is where a technical review comes in handy it’s a deep dive that provides a suitable perspective. Their definition of a technical review is a deep dive assessment of your software that provides findings and recommendations that be later adapted or discussed amongst your team. Common finds inside a technical review include slow or late deliveries which are just not meeting the due date, random or persistent bugs an example would be fixing the same thing over and over again, and sleepless nights because of worrying too much. These aren’t the end be it all every technical review is different and should be focussed on your team’s goals. The main discussion should be of pain points the things that keep you up at night to make the software complete. Process and team review is another key ingredient that makes sure everyone is working on the right task or if there are changes that need to be made plus an idea to every team member’s contribution to the project. The last thing the team should do is an effective summary that can be graded with a brief description. Detailed findings and recommendations that can be read by people not in depth with coding so they can get an idea of what is being done behind the scenes and can tell the team what needs to change.

Reading this article gave me an idea as to why we do technical reviews because when doing mine I was stuck trying to figure out problems in the code. I didn’t want to nitpick and find small issues that would seem redundant because at times it is better to keep it clean and simple. But understanding that this needs to be done to prove to people on the other side of the business that work is being done is a great insight. It makes a lot of sense that other people in a company would want to know what is happening on other sides of the department.

Technical Review: A Trusted Look Under the Hood

From the blog CS@Worcester – DCO by dcastillo360 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Week 12

Considering that we have been working on the Mars rover for the past two weeks, I decided to find an article that correlated with this. I went straight to the source and found something about the actual Mars rover. I was able to find an article that piqued my interest. This article was specifically about the real rover and the people who worked on it. I chose this article to show the broad potential we all have inside the CS field that none of us even heard about. I hope to open your minds to all the possibilities you can do with code.

    The article begins by introducing the reader to Melody Ho a full-stack developer for the Nasa Mars website. She has a multitude of responsibilities she has to publish information about every mission and create data pipelines to be accessible to the public. Her journey began by working on a basic HTML book and playing computer games. She gives her reflection on her journey to inspire the next generation of women in space and technology. She most enjoys programming code that is efficient and adapting it to the best version of code possible. When she was growing up she was considering a career in computer games because she hadn’t yet seen the opportunities available for programming. She leaves the article by advising the next generation. She says to embrace new things and don’t be scared because these are opportunities that are needed to succeed. Technology is constantly changing don’t be discouraged if all doesn’t click it will take time.

   Reading this article gave me more of an introspective view of someone’s life in coding. This article doesn’t have much connection to the code we do in class but I think it’s very interesting to see the whole perspective of a coding journey. This article touches upon aspects that you may not think about every day but it gives much attention to what is important. Melody trying to inspire the next generation is very touching. She didn’t have to do this but she did. For me, it gave me a broader view of programming because sometimes you may have a tunnel vision of what you can do with your code but the possibilities are endless. There are a lot of connections that you may not see on an everyday basis. She mentioned how she double majored in business and I didn’t even see the correlation of coding in a management setting but it’s there. There are a lot of connections in programming with other skills there are some I haven’t thought about.

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/coding-brings-mars-data-down-earth

From the blog CS@Worcester – DCO by dcastillo360 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Week 11

Deciding on a topic this week I decided to delve into Test Driven Development (TDD). I found an article with an engaging title “Test-Driven Development (TDD): A Time-Tested Recipe for Quality Software” by Ferdinando Santacroce. This would be very useful for me and the whole class because it’s fresh in our minds and we will continue to work with this concept. Getting a firmer grasp on this topic will help me with future assignments and homework. It’s always great to get an insider view with experience inside the field connecting it to what we learn in class.

This article begins with the history of TDD giving credit to Kent Beck one of the first “extreme programmers”. At the time nobody had ever reversed the idea of testing starting with a test instead of the actual code. The purpose of writing a test before the code would help programmers put them in the perspective of the maker making it easier to create the software. This would make more tunnel-focused code with much more simplicity because of just focusing on the test. Plus the codes get rapid feedback because all the tests have been made. TDD has the fastest feedback loop only surpassed by pair programing. Currently, TDD is widespread inside the field and several teams utilize it day to day. It’s hard to adapt to this type of coding scheme but with time it is proven to be a key to success. Minor grievances may also come up because this type of process can be too rigid or the lack of tools.  

After reading this article getting a glimpse into the history of how this came to be. It didn’t specifically specify when it started but I assume it was around the 90s because it mentions how common it is now. Understanding the benefits of doing this test answers my question why would you decide to do your coding process in reverse? What we have been learning is that it will be conventional to have code and then write the test connected to the already processed code. The benefits of cutting down time because of the faster feedback times and leading to less complicated code, I now understand its purpose. That is a recurring theme with code the simpler the better because you are never working alone. Maybe it is a self-contained project but your future self may not understand your complex code and updates to the code should be easy to do not a headache. 

https://semaphoreci.com/blog/test-driven-development

From the blog cs-wsu – DCO by dcastillo360 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Week 10 Blog Post

Searching for an article this week I looked for something relating to mocking. Considering last week I did the negatives on mocking I think it’s valuable to have various perspectives. Seeing multiple ideas with mocking can give us an idea of how to implement them in the future. The writer of this article is a reliable source being a Java script developer. Getting information from someone in the industry can give a perspective inside the workforce and how people inside see different ideas. Not everyone may agree with using the same coding language but seeing how developers see different concepts can give an idea of the drawbacks to stuff and where in our own experiences can we improve. Overall this article is a great way to see how mocking is seen inside the workforce by an experienced professional.   

In this article, Eric Elliot focuses on the drawbacks of excessive mocking. He points out how brittle tests and how they can be easily broken. There broken simply just from the change of implementation even though the behavior stays the same. Another point is a false sense of security because of there lack of accuracy that occurs from not using accurate real behavior. This is a fault in the test because the test will pass even if it isn’t supposed to. Third, he focuses on complexity overload which is just adding too much complexity can make the code harder to understand and maintain. Elliot still believes in mocking but a more balanced approach can overall help the program. Mocking should be used sparingly and when there actual weight for its use. All together Elliott wants the audience to create a strategy that will have confidence in their code correctness while also minimizing any negatives of excessive mocking. 

Reading this article at first I thought it would be more of a pro mocking but it’s more in between. It says its flaws while still sharing the positives. After reading this article I understand that mocking can cut time but it can bring flaws to testing. The best time to utilize mocking is when time is scarce and later it can updated with time. It still isn’t the ultimate be-all to testing but with a balance, it will work. Understanding these flaws can foresee issues that may come up when mocking. Mocking should never bring up complexities that can complicate the code and should always have a priority in simple to understand and easy maintenance.

View at Medium.com
https://medium.com/javascript-scene/mocking-is-a-code-smell-944a70c90a6a

From the blog CS@Worcester – DCO by dcastillo360 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.