Description: Assignment 2 is about upgrading an e-commerce website to allow user registration and login, personalization, and security. The registration information is saved and used for login, and only registered users can make purchases. The site is personalized to the user after login. The requirements included a cleaner user interface, well-commented code, modularity, use-case design, and thorough testing. The use of sessions or cookies was not allowed for this assignment. The project involved creating a login page, processing submitted forms, and implementing a registration page with required fields. For more information about this project, click here.
What did you learn from this assignment? I learned a lot! Some of the skills I worked on was how to authenticate a user, keep data persistent, develop security measures, and various front-end frameworks for creating personalized user interfaces.
Did you work with a partner? Assign an estimated percentage on the amount each team member contributed to the assignment (including yourself). I worked by myself on this assignment.
How did you get help when you needed it? What did you need help with? Whenever I encountered a challenge or had a question during the project, I took the initiative to research and learn more about the topic. Developing strong research skills is essential in this field, and I utilized various resources such as online tutorials, coding forums, and past labs and assignments for reference. Additionally, the professors and teaching assistants were very helpful and provided guidance whenever I made an appointment with them.
How was developing this assignment different than assignment #1? The development process for assignment #2 was different than #1 because of the specific requirements and objectives of the assignment. Assignment 1 involved validating the quantity of a purchase, and it focused on different aspects of programming than assignment #2 which required personalization, login, and registration functionality. Assignment 2 required a deeper understanding of web application development, authentication, security, and data persistence. Additionally, it required me work with more tools & frameworks.
Estimate the % of time you spent (a) thinking about how to do something, (b) writing code (but do not include testing, (c) testing and debugging:The majority of the time, approximately 60%, was spent on problem-solving and planning the implementation of the project. About 25% of the time was dedicated to writing the actual code, while the remaining 15% was spent on testing and debugging to ensure the application worked as intended.
Describe what worked well with this project? What did not work well? The project was largely successful, with the registration, login, and data storage functions working well, and the user interface being improved. However, making the website user-friendly for multiple users and tracking their purchases was a challenge, but I was able to figure it out.
If you could go back in time and do things differently, what would you do differently? START EARLY. I would prioritize starting the project earlier to allow for more time in testing and debugging. You’d be suprised how long debugging and testing takes up your time.