What do you think about Typescript so far? If you’re a complete newbie, how does it compare to other programming languages that you know? If you have prior experience, did you learn new things from this module, perhaps with respect to ES6? Do you think Typescript is a good or bad programming language from a software engineering perspective?
What about athletic software engineering? Did you find the practice WODs to be useful? What do you think about this style of learning? Is it stressful? Is it enjoyable? Do you think it will work for you?
As a computer science student with prior experience in explicitly typed languages like Java and C, as well as dynamically typed languages like Javascript and Python, I have to say that I really enjoy Typescript. I’ve used JavaScript in my own solo ventures and while it got the job done for smaller projects, Typescript feels a lot safer because I am able to be explicit about what types of variables I am expecting to receive and return. Althought Typescript is a bit more verbose than Javascript and certaintly more verbose than Python, the ability to enforce strict rules on types in our code is worth the few extra lines. From an engineering perspective, Typescript brings great value to multi-pesron jobs, which is standard in the industry, because static typing is good for collaboration, scalibility, and maintainability. Javascript is good as well but more so for smaller or more personal projects.
Athletic software engineering is interesting to me because in school, we are very focused on theory so adding in factors such as time constraints, best engineering practices, and documentation is interesting in the sense that it adds a real world layer to our otherwise theory-heavy curriculum. The time constraints led to my first WOD being a DNF (did not finish). I find the practice WODs to be very useful if done correctly. To do them correctly, you should time yourself and attempt it on your own without looking at the solution first. Doing it this way simulates the real environment that you complete the WODs in, allowing you to improve your speed and critical thinking. This style of learning is stressful but I find it enjoyable because there is a competitive aspect to it in the sense that I am competing with myself. I know that this style will work for me as long as I do not cut corners but use the tools around me to benefit my learning over any “performance”.