Chapter 5 of 7 · 4 practices · 4 min · 4-question quiz

Explain your own code and decisions

Panels increasingly ask students to open the code and explain it. Know your parts deeply, the whole system broadly, and be ready to justify your choices.

Start: Know every part you wrote deeply and the rest of the system broadly

4 practices in this chapter

1Know every part you wrote deeply and the rest of the system broadlyIn a team project, each member should be able to: Explain in depth the components they built: the logic, data flow, edge cases and why it was done that way; Explain in outline every other component…
2Be ready to open the code and walk through it liveExaminers may ask: "Show me where the reminder is scheduled" or "What happens in the code when two phones edit the same batch?" Prepare so this is easy: Have the repository open in your editor before…
3Answer "why didn't you use X?" with your reasons, not defensiveness"Why didn't you use Flutter / MongoDB / a transformer model / microservices?" is one of the most common questions. It is not an accusation; it checks whether your choices were deliberate.
4Be open about libraries, templates and AI tools you usedPanels may ask which parts you wrote and which came from libraries, templates, tutorials or AI tools. Answer plainly and match what your report says.

Check yourself on this chapter

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