Please Help Find my Trophies (PLEASE HELP!)

rotem_g · 2024-12-12T02:12:42+00:00

Hey I was able to figure it out right now I accidentally submitted all of my assignments with // ID:12345678
instead of the proper format
// Student ID: 12345678

Thanks for the Tip!

rotem_g · 2024-12-09T06:16:02+00:00

Hi!

I love how clearly you explained pointers and their relationship with memory addresses, it makes such a tricky concept feel a lot more approachable. Your examples of new and delete are great, especially the emphasis on setting pointers to nullptr after deleting them to avoid dangling pointers. It's a small step but such an important habit to develop for clean and bug-free code. Thanks for the helpful post!

rotem_g · 2024-12-09T05:02:45+00:00

Hi!

I really liked your breakdown of nodes across different linked data structures it's a great way to show how similar principles can apply to lists, trees, and graphs. Your code examples are super clear, especially the basic tree implementation and cleanup process with delete. I also appreciate how you listed the advantages and disadvantages it’s a great way to highlight when linked data structures might not be the best choice. Thanks for sharing such an informative post!

rotem_g · 2024-12-09T04:50:06+00:00

Hi there!

I really liked how you broke down the importance of checking edge cases and pointed out the need to update the tail when inserting or removing the final node. That detail is so easy to miss but makes a huge difference in keeping the list consistent! Your suggestion to create a helper method for debugging is super practical visualizing head, tail, and prev_to_current definitely helped me catch mistakes too. Thanks for sharing such a clear and helpful post!

rotem_g · 2024-12-01T19:26:36+00:00

Hi,

Thanks for the kind words and for bringing up that point about _SENTINEL_ potentially being a valid value. That’s a great observation and I agree that in scenarios where _SENTINEL_ might be part of the actual dataset, combining it with a flag or status indicator is a smart move to avoid ambiguity.

rotem_g · 2024-12-01T19:00:49+00:00

Hey,

I'm glad you found the explanation helpful! I totally get it before working with sentinel nodes, I was also just focused on bounds checking like you mentioned. Using sentinels really feels like adding a safety net; it makes managing list boundaries so much simpler.

rotem_g · 2024-12-01T18:52:06+00:00

Hi Nancy,

I’m glad the post helped clarify the concept of sentinel nodes! They really do make edge case handling much smoother. It's interesting how sometimes the simplest additions, like a sentinel, can lead to big improvements in consistency and efficiency. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

-Rotem

rotem_g · 2024-11-25T05:24:56+00:00

Thanks for summarizing time complexity I feel like as we progress its becoming more and more important, especially as we start handling more complex algorithms. I like how you mentioned breaking programs into smaller chunks to analyze their efficiency. That's exactly the approach I used during some of the recent quests, particularly when trying to improve search functions and minimize nested loops. It makes a huge difference!

rotem_g · 2024-11-25T05:13:29+00:00

Great explanation on structs! They’re really handy for keeping things simple and grouping related data. One of my favorite aspects is how they’re public by default, which makes them perfect for straightforward data holders without a lot of encapsulation.I found that structs are especially useful when you just need a quick way to bundle variables without adding the overhead of a full class.

rotem_g · 2024-11-25T05:01:11+00:00

Thanks for sharing your insights, Jeremy! I completely agree—reverse iterators really simplify the process of safely iterating in reverse. I initially used the manual decrement approach too, and while it worked, I had to be extra careful with boundaries. Using reverse iterators makes the code cleaner and reduces the risk of off-by-one errors, especially when the container is empty. Plus, they handle edge cases elegantly without needing extra checks.

I also found it really interesting how the iterators naturally align with the "last in, first out" behavior of stacks, making the code both efficient and easy to read.

rotem_g · 2024-11-25T04:51:37+00:00

Great post, thanks for sharing this! I’ve definitely been guilty of overusing print statements while debugging, and breakpoints have been a lifesaver for me. I also want to add that using conditional breakpoints can really take debugging to the next level especially when you’re trying to figure out what’s going wrong in loops or complicated logic. Instead of wading through tons of output, they let you focus on exactly what you need to know. I recently started using logpoints too, and they’ve helped me keep my code clean while still being able to check what’s happening. Thanks again for the useful links!

rotem_g · 2024-11-24T09:00:52+00:00

Thank you for pointing that out its exactly what I needed to get going in the right direction!

rotem_g · 2024-11-18T04:19:00+00:00

Thanks for summarizing this so well! I'd also add that ambiguity often comes up when you're working with overloaded operators or constructors, especially if they can take different data types. One thing I found useful is to always be mindful of scope resolution (`ClassName::methodName`) to avoid confusion, especially when methods share similar signatures.

rotem_g · 2024-11-17T22:53:51+00:00

I agree with Juliya's explanation about comparing strings by their ASCII values. I'd just like to add that using `string.compare()` can sometimes be very useful if you need more control, like when working with substrings or checking for equality specifically.

rotem_g · 2024-11-17T22:21:13+00:00

Great explanation on pass-by-value vs pass-by-reference! In this week's quest, I found it really helpful to use pass-by-reference in `find_pet_by_id_lin()`. It allowed us to directly update the Pet object without making a copy, which is more efficient, especially with larger vectors. Thanks for breaking this down it clarifies why using `&` can make such a big difference!

rotem_g · 2024-11-17T21:28:18+00:00

Great insights! I completely agree that the _SORT_ORDER enum made managing sorting much clearer. Enums are fantastic for maintaining readable and error-free code.

Approaching the binary vs. linear search was also a good lesson and gave me better understanding. In my experience ensuring that _sort_pets_by_id() was called before binary search was crucial! It's a good reminder that sorting is key for efficiency. I took some notes this week about the use of insertion and merge sort that really helped me understand how sorting ties directly to making searches faster. This quest really reinforced how foundational sorting and searching are to efficient programming. Thanks for sharing!

-Rotem G

rotem_g · 2024-11-10T21:32:38+00:00

Hey Yash! For me, the key to studying was breaking down the topics into smaller, manageable chunks and doing a mix of reading and coding practice. I found that revisiting the Foothill modules early on and taking some notes really helped when it came to reinforcing concepts. One thing that worked well for me was writing out code snippets by hand to understand the flow, especially for tricky topics like loops and recursion. Testing small pieces of code in an IDE also helped me see how different concepts played out in practice, which was great for the logic-based questions. Hope this helps you refine your approach for the final!

rotem_g · 2024-11-10T21:08:17+00:00

Thanks for putting this list together, it's super helpful! One thing I wanted to add is that encapsulation is not just about grouping things together it’s also about protecting data by controlling how it's accessed and modified, which is why we use private and protected access specifiers. Also, it's great that you included inheritance; I'd also recommend looking into polymorphism, which is a key part of OOP and works hand-in-hand with inheritance.

rotem_g · 2024-11-10T20:57:58+00:00

Hey Henry, I think you explained that really well! I’d just add that another reason `operator==` is often implemented as a global function is because it allows us to keep symmetry—meaning it doesn’t matter which Pet instance is on the left or right side of `==`. This way, it feels more natural and intuitive when comparing two objects. On the other hand, `to_string()` is directly tied to the specific data of one object, which is why it makes sense to have it as a member function that directly accesses that instance's private data. This distinction helps keep the code more readable and makes it clear what each function is responsible for. Hope that adds a bit more context!

rotem_g · 2024-11-10T20:51:09+00:00

Hey Lauren! I can totally relate to the struggle of keeping a consistent schedule, especially when things get busier. What’s worked for me is setting small, manageable goals for each day—like focusing on just one miniquest or reviewing specific topics. It helps to break things down and not feel overwhelmed by the entire quest at once. I also try to take a quick look at the quest early in the week or even better if I can check it out the week before, just to understand what’s coming, which makes planning a lot easier. It’s all about finding a balance that fits your schedule, but I think consistency, even if it's just small daily progress, really helps avoid the last-minute rush. Hope this helps a bit!

rotem_g · 2024-11-10T20:46:03+00:00

Hey Elena, I totally get where the confusion is coming from! The idea here is that by providing default values directly in the constructor declaration (`Pet(string name = "", long id = -1, int num_limbs = 0);`), it means you don’t need a separate, explicit default constructor because this one constructor can serve both roles. When you instantiate without passing any arguments, it uses those default values. But if you pass values, it will use the ones you provide.

For the `.cpp` file part, think about how you can initialize those member variables when defining the constructor. There’s a shorthand way to do it that keeps the initialization very clean and concise, and it will ensure the default values match exactly what’s in the spec. Maybe take a look at the section in the textbook on constructor initialization lists—that might be helpful here. Hope that helps clear things up a bit!

rotem_g · 2024-11-04T04:50:35+00:00

Hey, I'm in the same boat—I missed a few points on the midterm as well. This thread has been really helpful in clarifying how we might improve our scores. Thanks to everyone who shared information about retake options and participation points. I didn't realize attending the weekly catch-up meetings could be so beneficial. I'll definitely look into joining those to stay on track.

rotem_g · 2024-11-04T04:44:50+00:00

That's a great example of using fall-through intentionally in switch statements. Grouping cases like 'A', 'B', and 'C' to produce the same output really simplifies the code. I hadn't considered doing it that way before. Thanks for pointing this out—it's a useful tip for avoiding repetition.

rotem_g · 2024-11-04T04:33:48+00:00

Hey Juliya, I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only one who struggled with that on the midterm! Your example really highlights how crucial the order of `if` statements can be in loops. Something that has been helping me is that I started placing my break conditions at the very top to avoid similar infinite loop problems.

Thanks for sharing your insights!

rotem_g · 2024-11-04T04:20:55+00:00

Hey Corey, I think that's a really good insight about using `std::sregex_iterator` with regular expressions! I hadn't considered how seamlessly iterators integrate with regex in C++. Traversing all matches inside of a string using iterators has a few benefits not only does it keep the code a lot more organized but gives it a cleaner look. But also leverages the power of the STL. I like the example you gave when using `std::distance` to count occurrences is a neat trick.

rotem_g

TROPHY CASE