OU - Only use what they teach you!

I learned a useful lesson today. I received back my marked TMA04 for MT262 - I'd been expecting this for a few days - I already knew that my mark was going to be low on account of the fact that I had only answered one question. I decided before doing the TMA that I would rather spend time revising for the exam than spend time on the TMA and I was in the fortunate position of having done well enough on the previous three that I didn't need to do TMA04 at all. But I'm a sucker for punishment but also enjoy reading the comments that my tutor makes about my work [Ed: are you sure thats not the same thing?] - so it was a trade off! I'm rambling now, but I got 46 marks out of a possible 50. Thats good enough for me.

Anyway, thats not the point of this post - and nothing to do with what the lesson was. It turns out that I had used some bitwise operators in my C++ code (nothing wrong on that normally). The problem was that we haven't been taught about bitwise operators so must not use them. Oh, thats a shame - I use things like that a lot in my day-to-day work. I lost 2 marks for that oversight. I seem to manage to do something like that on every course I do.

MT262 - TMA02, Going well

Just the filip I needed - 94% for TMA02. The funny thing is that it is so long since I did the actual TMA that I couldn't recall what any of the questions were. Anyway, things are going in the right direction on this course.
Right now I am whizzing through Block 3 so that I can get back to T224 (which requires more time and concentration because the subject matter is one that I am not quite so familiar with). But Block 3 of MT262 has us writing software that produces plots of data-values that have been collected by a thermometer (not a real thermometer, but a simulated one). And its great fun.
And already paying dividends - I was asked at work yesterday if it was possible to write some software that will check the availability of a database on a networked server. The method simply involves connecting to the database over the network (it could be SQL/Server, Oracle, MySQL etc) and then performing an SQL select for a known number of rows and logging the duration.
As soon as I was given the request the phrase 'simulated thermometer' popped into my head [Ed; you lead a sad life Simon]. So now, a few hours later, I have an application that monitors a remote database and logs the transaction time - it writes it to a log files and plots the data on a graph in real time.

All I have to do now is to persuade my employers to contribute financially to my OU studies [Ed; the words 'pigs' and 'flying' come to mind].

MT262 - TMA01

My marked TMA01 received back a couple of days ago. I had almost forgotten what it covered having completed it in early February and submitted it in early March. So reading it again was interesting. A couple of errors that I had allowed through - which is annoying considering that I wasn't exactly short of time. But a 90% score is above the 85% that I set myself as targets so I'm happy with that. And this time I have no issue with the marking scheme (see T224).

I completed TMA02 in late March but won't be submitting it until mid-May. Which is just as well - because I decided to have a final read through of it this weekend and found some much simpler ways of writing some of the C++ code (and I like to keep my code clean and simple). And one question where I hadn't read the descriptions of one of the functions correctly. So tonight I must finish going through TMA02 and the set it aside ready for submission.

Meanwhile I am progressing through Block 3. Slight problem here because the OU are not shipping the Block 3 books until May (actually, according to the Material Dispatch page for MT262 there are no Blocks 3 and 4 - but thats wrong). But hoorah for pdf's - so I can make headway by printing out what I need - and printing 2-up double-sided means that I get 4 pages on one sheet of A4 - so not quite as environmentally disastrous as it might have been.

OU - MT262 - Progress so far

It might seem odd to be posting a progress report before a course has even started, but I find that I have just finished Unit 3 of Block 1. Unit 4 claims to be 6 hours work, which if its anything like the previous 3 units means that I will complete it in about 90 minutes. No kidding.

Why started already and why so quickly? Two questions, two answers. First off, I want to get as much done before I start on T224 (materials haven't arrived yet anyway), and the reason that I am making good headway is that it appears to assume no previous programming experience so spends some time telling us what an Integer is; what a String is; this is how you repeat blocks of code, etc. etc.

So all I have to do is to note down the terminology that they use (because I'll be expected to use it in TMA answers) and then do the practical work which, so far, requires very little thought.

Still, the more I get ahead the more time I will have when it gets challenging!

OU - MT262

Subtitled "Putting computers to work" this course covers the art of writing computer software in C++. I have been looking forwards to this course for some while. Not because I want to find out how to make computers do some work (I've been doing that for more years than I care to think about) but because I love writing software and want to get to grips with C++.

The official start date of the course is late January, but I thought I would make a head start and am currently up to Unit 3 of Block 1. So far, it has to be said, its been a stroll in the park - just covering some basic syntax and clearly aimed at people who have very little programming experience. I am assured that as the course progresses it does become more challenging. Well, lets hope so!

I have another course running in parallel with this and am still waiting for the course material to turn up. I only registered on 1st January and the start date is not until February 2nd, so plenty of time to get further ahead with MT262.

OU - Materials materialize

So here I am, ploughing through all my Java revision and new work with a SCJP firmly in my sights when a package arrives from the OU. Yes, MT262 has landed on the doormat. Now, a quandry, I'm inquisitive, I want to know what is in the package, I want to make a start. But I don't want to be distracted from my Java work. And anyway, MT262 doesn't kick off until late Jan - so I still have 6 weeks.

But its there on the shelf. Staring at me. Making odd sounds. I'm convinced that one side of the package says 'Eat Me'. I'm sure I wont sleep well tonight, I'll be restless and thinking about that damn package. I might have to sneak down in the early hours and take a peek and then, and then I'll feel that I have let my self down - just like I do when have that bar of Cadbury's chocolate when I know I shouldn't. And of course by then its too late, the deed will be done.

I should, I shouldn't, I should, I shouldn't. Of course there is the packing list - I really ought to check that the package contains what it ought. I should, I shouldn't. Oh hell.

See, already this has distracted me. Time for a cup of tea....now where did I put that chocolate bar...

To infinity ... and beyond

[Silence]
To begin at the beginning:

Well, thats enough of Dylan Thomas for the moment. He resorted to alcohol when it got tough, but he produced some great poetry through it. But for an M359'er alcohol was the last thing on the mind. Cramming it full of every fact, every technique, every thing that I could so that I might stand a chance in the exam ... and now waiting. Waiting for the long nights and short days of December. And a result.

One thing is certain - there's no distinction this time! But will it be a 2 or a 3? Or will it be a fail? Almost impossible to fathom and I dare not think about it.

So now am in this gap, this place of limbo, between M359 and MT262. But the time is not being wasted. Instead, I am deep into restudying Java - not from the M254 books, but from other published work. Getting to grips again with Object Orientation and learning to 'do it properly'. What fun! So much better that those dark, sloe-black, slow black (note to self; stop this Dylan Thomas stuff) days and nights spent studying databases.

OU - MT262

Well, just signed up for MT262 starting in January. My reason for doing this, apart from the fact that it sound quite interesting an involves a fair bit of C++, is that I need to complete my D50 Diploma (the Computing Diploma) before December 2008 otherwise I won't be able to count my M206 pass against it - and that will mean that I'll have to find another 60 points from somewhere.

And because M359 finishes in early October, I need to find something to do between then and January - so I might sign up for S197 Astronomy as a 12 week 10 point course. Just because it will be interesting - no other reason.