Sensor this, Sensor that

Hackystat Data Retrieval

Wow, so this past week, we've finally gotten to see what it is generally like retrieving data from Hackystat's DailyProjectData records. This is to prepare us for the Devcathlon, which is based on Hackystat data. This was not terribly bad (thanks to the screencasts, see below). I just need some more time with the system. I guess these things will come more natural when I do this more and more.

There were a couple of new classes and libraries that were introduced. We mainly worked with the SensorDataClient where it processes the request and retrieves it.

I originally had problems because when I retrieved my sensor data instances. It did not match what I saw in my project browser, momentarily. I was not sure what caused the discrepency. I even looked into the ProjectSummary class to further look into what caused the discrepency by printing the tool and owner of each event. But it eventually went back to normal.

Otherwise, everything went smoothly.

Screencasts

A lot of information was introduced. As I mentioned earlier, this wasn't as difficult as it could have been because of screencasting. Professor Johnson had just began something new with our class this past week. He would record his screen (a.k.a. screencasting) and do basic exercises relating to Hackystat with us. When the lecture was over, he was kind enough to upload it (as .mov files) to the Hackystat project page.

I think the screencasts are pretty cool to watch. The camera zooms in enough so the viewers can tell make out everything. We have a good shot of the exact activity that is taking place. I typically enjoy learning by watching so I hope the screencasts continues. I don't have any particular concerns right now, since I can probably find my answer in the JavaDocs too.

The screencast are (most importantly) useful. There are times where I feel like, "Oh, I forgot something he shown us in class." Also, if someone is sick, they can easily catch up on what was shown in class. Overall, I think this is pretty cool. More teachers should do things as such. Then again, it'll be hard to motivate attendance otherwise.


Download Link: [LINK]