Well my Final Year Project is done, finished, finito! The hand in for not only the code but the 15,000 word dissertation was the 6th of May. In the week since I have been primarily breathing sigh after sigh of relief that it actually turned out okay. Below is a screen from the end result.
It wasn't perfect, there were bugs, there were things that I'd have done differently, things I wish I could change, but considering it was the first 'large' piece of software I have ever written, and definitely the one I have spent the most time on, it certainly could have been worse.
The experience was a roller coaster ride of emotions; Joy, despair, love, hate, pride and disappointment. There were times of pure ecstasy when features would come to life, and moments of sorrow and anger when things just didn't work. At times the code would seem majestic and beautiful, at others it would look like a hacky mess.
I have learnt so much from the experience. My knowledge of design, construction, debugging, and test has increased dramatically, but I feel the most important lesson I have learnt is the notion of compromise. Being realistic in your aims and what you hope to achieve is so very important to make sure you get something at the end. Now I'm not saying don't be ambitious, please set your sights high, but you have to realise you're not going to create a Call of Duty killer in the space of 6 months as an undergrad comp-sci student.
Now what I want more than anything is to take everything I've learnt and apply it to something new, something better, something even cooler!
