Once again its project mode time! This time I learned about SQL and databases. We started with SQLite and ] understanding how to create tables and using queries to search through them. After that we started to learn how to use ActiveRecord, and Sinatra. Using ActiveRecord and Sinatra I learned how to create ruby objects with database relations. Through that I am now able to create a full application from scratch. I am really happy that we learned SQLite, queries first before tackling ActiveRecord. By taking the time to look into what was really going on behind the scenes it helped deepen my understanding of how databases work. Now that I am going into project mode, the time has come to start building my own project. Usually when this happens I start to look into my everyday life for some ideas.
I got my idea for the project while talking to my cousin. We were discussing how to start creating our own things. The idea was simple. Lets design a case, that we can 3d print. The case was for a raspberry pi which we bought in order to start creating some cool machines. Unfortunately whenever we would come up with ideas for the case, nothing would get done. We were disorganized. Thats when I thought to myself, “we are always coming up with good ideas, but never get it anything done.” Around the same time, I had to come up with an idea for a sinatra project. Thats when I decided to create a project manager app. With this project I would be able to follow all the requirements for the sinatra project and also start creating a website I could use myself. In earlier blogs I talked about how I decided to become a software engineer to be free to create my own ideas. This is yet another great example of a project that I worked on that follows that philosophy. If I want my website to have a certain functionality then ill just code it. If we need a specific thing to keep track of, I can add it to the project manager. Now I have a place where we can store our ideas and give each other deadlines. This application will also help us keep track of the progress we make and any research we do.
As I was creating the project manager app, I started to see how difficult it is to design an app by yourself. I can get the website functionality to work pretty quickly but then I would get stuck in the formatting for countless hours. I learned so much about css and javascript just by googling. I found that I would need to stop myself from worrying too much about the formatting and getting the functonality to work instead. I can see the importance of having someone who has an eye for colors and styling. If I want to truely bring my ideas to life I am going to have to find a way to put the ideas in my head to the actual screen. I am going to have to start building a team. So far I have three, dedicated people. My goal for the end of the next section is to be able to make my sinatra app, easier to use. I am excited to see how much better I can make this website as the days go. I don’t want to lose the drive to create things. As I am learning I am going to continue to strive to make applications that I can use in my daily life.