Robert Begna's Tech Blog

This week in DPS909, I published my first open source project, a simple note taking app. The app utilizes a content-editable div in which the user can type any note within the space. The app doesn't require any external database like MongoDB to store data entered by the user. Instead, it utilizes the FilerJS Browser System Library . This library essentially saves input entered by the user to a local file on their desktop. In this manner, the user can maintain progress in their note even after closing the web page. To implement my app's saving and clearing note functionalities, I used the Hotkeys.js library  This library allows the user to use keyboard shortcuts to save (Ctrl+s) and clear (Ctrl+c). The user receives alerts when their message is saved or cleared. An important aspect of this lab was working with Git and Github. This lab taught me how to create a new repository on Github, clone my repository to my local machine, and upload new files from my local machine

The Windows Calculator is a utility application available on Microsoft Windows allowing the user to perform shorthand mathematical operations. The calculator supports BEDMAS operations and features a scientific mode to perform more complex operations (logarithms, trigonometric,  exponential, etc). It can also function as programming calculator, and performs unit conversion or various measurements (length, distance, weight, temperature) and currencies.  The program is written in C++. I chose this application as I have no prior experience with open source or contributing to projects on GitHub. Choosing a simpler project will allow me develop my skills and knowledge without being overwhelmed by the complexity and abundance of source code present in other projects. I also use this application quite often, so it will be interesting to learn more about the code working behind the scenes.