Today's Progress
Working on easing myself back into the coding mindset again. I completed Python From Beginner to Intermediate in 30 Mins on Udemy. The coding exercises I completed can be found here. The course was super simple, but taking just one week off from coding made me a little rusty as a beginner.
Thoughts 💭
It's actually quite surprising how much you can forget when not coding daily, especially when your mental energy is focused on other things. I'm a little less confident in my abilities, but looking back on past projects I've done makes me feel a bit better and gives me motivation towards exceeding that level.
Today's Progress
Read another chapter in Bjarne Stroustrup's Programming Principles & Practice Using C++. Starting to get to the good stuff!
Thoughts 💭
I'm finally getting to the sections where I'm able to follow along with coding in the book and work on syntax again. I haven't messed around with C++ lately, so this will be good practice. I'm very interested in C++ applications for robotics and manufacturing. Additionally, I'd really like to start getting into PLC coding and start learning languages like Ladder Diagram (Ladder Logic) and Function Block Diagram.
Today's Progress
I began working on another Udemy course, C++ Tutorial For Complete Beginners. I set up a MinGW Compiler as well as Eclipse IDE/CDT Development tools and PATH environment variables and aliases so I'm able to begin writing source code and compiling on Windows.
Thoughts 💭
Setting up the compiler and IDE was a little challenging, but StackOverflow always has some great resources to help. Looking at a few tutorials, I was able to set everything up and verify it was working correctly. As I progress through my book and course, I'll be able to code along to get some experience.
Today's Progress
I continued working through Udemy's course, C++ Tutorial For Complete Beginners. I began learning about OOP and inheritance, which can prove very useful when writing functional programs.
Thoughts 💭
I studied OOP in Python for a bit, so thankfully I have a basic understanding of the theory behind it. I'm excited to see how I can implement it within C++ programs.
Today's Progress
I continued Udemy's course, C++ Tutorial For Complete Beginners, and started learning about pointers.
Thoughts 💭
Okay, so pointers are a bit confusing to me. I only briefly studied them in Python, so I plan to find some YouTube videos that will help explain them. I really want to finish freeCodeCamp's Responsive Web Design Certification, but I'm struggling a bit with flexboxes and mobile settings, which is preventing me from finishing my projects. I found a few Udemy classes that are dedicated to flexboxes, so I'm planning on working through those so I'm able to implement what I learned in my projects, particularly my Tribute Page.
Today's Progress
I completed Udemy's course, Flexbox: The Complete Guide, as I still struggle a bit with this concept. The course provided some good knowledge and great resources at the end for continuing education on the topic. I really want to implement this in my Tribute Page for the Responsive Web Design Certification on freeCodeCamp. Hopefully now I'll be able to!
Thoughts 💭
I think my biggest challenge with flexboxes (and CSS in general) is just not knowing where to start. I'd like to complete a few more courses on the overall topics within CSS so I can understand how to better implement the to creat a functional and responsive website.
Today's Progress
Today I refactored the HTML for my Tribute Page, which is pretty plain without any CSS. I did begin some work on the CSS formatting and managed to create a pretty neat page title.
I also finished SoloLearn's CSS Fundamentals course and feel much better about tackling the CSS portion of my Tribute Page.
Thoughts 💭
As much as I was dreading tackling the CSS portion of my project, I'm finding it to be much of a trial and error process for me. I have been utilizing some great resources from freeCodeCamp, Codecademy, CSS-Tricks, MDN Web Docs for CSS, a great Flexbox Guide, as well as Webflow's Flexbox Game. I think CSS is just one of those things where you need to dive in headfirst and experiment with different properties in order to learn.
Today's Progress
I worked a bit more on the CSS for my Tribute Page and started experimenting with a lot of different properties. Unfortunately I was unable to achieve the layout I've envisioned for the page and I think the biggest issue I'm having is the best way to link HTML and CSS elements (tags vs. id vs. classes). I think I'll work on refactoring the HTML portion tomorrow.
Thoughts 💭
Although writing the HTML portion wasn't terribly challenging, there are other aspects that factor into how difficult the CSS portion becomes. I think If I start with a clean slate by removing all the ids, classes, etc. and just leaving the content, it will be easier to work on the HTML and CSS both at the same time in order to make them work a little better with each other.
Today's Progress
I refactored my Tribute Page HTML (again!) and removed ids, classes, etc. in order to start fresh. I also learned a bit more about HTML Semantic Elements and implemented them in my code to replace some of the div tags. I think this will greatly help when it comes to working on the CSS portion again.
Today was also the first day I tweeted a piece of coding advice for C++, which is quite exciting because it means I'm beginning to understand concepts and can explain them to others, even if they're simple like the one below. I'm really starting to feel like I'm making progress in my coding journey!
Thoughts 💭
I think refactoring is such a great concept to practice, because as you learn more about the programming language you're working with, you're able to discover new ways to achieve your desired outcome, often with more concise code that is easier to maintain. I can definitely see the benefit of learning this skill early!
Today's Progress
Yo, I was a busy woman today! Let me break down what I've been working on...
After browsing MDN Web Docs HTML Elements Reference, I realized there were so many tags and attributes that I had never even heard of, so what better way to learn than to recreate the site!?
I wanted to make sure I did things the proper way though due to copyright and trademark laws, so I emailed Mozilla directly requesting permission to recreate their site just for my own knowledge.
Don't tell Mozilla, but I already coded the HTML part of the page! Shhh! However, I'm not going to be uploading the code to my GitHub repo until I receive confirmation from Mozilla that it's okay to do so. And if they decide it isn't, well, it was good practice and I actually learned a few new HTML tricks that I was able to share with the Twitter community!
Not to mention the INSANE amount of code it took to recreate just the HTML...
9️⃣3️⃣1️⃣ lines of code! Wild! I definitely have a newfound respect for Web Devs that create sites like this, but I'm thankful for the practice I was able to get.
I also coded some HTML and CSS for a recreation of a fictitious crafts store website, Dasmoto's Arts & Crafts, which was a freeform project that is part of Codecademy's Web Development Career Path. The only instruction was a design spec that outlined some CSS elements.
After it was all said and done, this is how it turned out:
There are definitely ways to make this site look better, but the goal was to design the website so it matched the design spec, so that's what I did. Might refactor it at a later point...
What. A. Day! And I'm still not done, I'm on a coding kick! I also shared a YouTube playlist I created with my Twitter community for all the other ADHD people like myself that need some relaxing music with no words to listen to while jamming away on some code.
You can check it out here! 🎶
Thoughts 💭
I honestly feel like I'm starting to understand coding concepts much better. I networked with some pretty amazing people on Twitter and look forward to seeing what everyone else is working on each day. It's definitely very motivating to see so many other people participating and encouraging each other. Everyone is so helpful and kind and it truly has made this journey an amazing one so far.
Now...back to coding! 💻
Today's Progress
I received an email back from Mozilla with their creative license information and it turns out I'm able to re-create any of their MDN Web Docs sites, no problem! I started working on the CSS and worked mainly on the page title / header and the navigation bar. I also uploaded the HTML code and the CSS Code, as well as the header background image. So far, this is what it looks like:
Thoughts 💭
I'm not sure how I feel about the design style of the page yet. I sort of struggle with how to style things as far as fonts, colors, etc. I do like the layout of the navigation bar along the side of the page instead of the top. I think I'm going to take a bit of a break from the CSS / design scene for a while and do a little more work on Udemy's course, C++ Tutorial For Complete Beginners.
Today's Progress
As planned, I continued with Udemy's course, C++ Tutorial For Complete Beginners and completed several basic projects based on the concepts I learned. You can check out the code here.
Thoughts 💭
I'm really enjoying C++ so far, although the syntax feels quite clunky. It's been interesting working in the Eclipse IDE/CDT Development program, as well as using the MinGW Compiler. I'm also learning quite a bit about how to run programs from the command prompt, which I'm somewhat unfamiliar with. I found a few courses on that subject that I'm going to be taking in order to learn how to effectively utilize it.
Today's Progress
I made it through the C++ Tutorial For Complete Beginners course and am ready to complete the final project, which sounds like it's going to be awesome! I learned a ton of useful concepts, but my favorites were:
Constructor Inheritance
Encapsulation
Pointers & Pointer Arithmetic
References
Thoughts
I really enjoyed this course and the instructor was amazing. The explanations were so thorough and I feel like I'm finally starting to grasp the harder concepts. I'm beyond excited to complete the final project!
Today's Progress
I'm almost done with the C++ Tutorial For Complete Beginners course I've been working on. I was able to complete a final project that utilizes the majority of concepts I learned in the class. After following a ton of tutorials, along with copious amounts of googling, I was able to complete it and I think it came out great for my first C++ project. I used Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL) API and completed everything with Eclipse IDE/CDT Development and the MinGW Compiler. I'm thinking about trying to find a basic installer program to create a distributable .exe just for the fun of it to see if I can do it. I'd also really like to see if there's some way I could increase the dimensions of the window generated and possibly create a live wallpaper using it.
You can find all the code for the Starburst project here. I also uploaded a video to Vimeo, which you can check out here.
Here's a screenshot of one of my favorite parts:
Thoughts 💭
Although this project was extremely challenging (and I thought above my skill level at times) the sense of accomplishment after finally finishing it and seeing my first real, working C++ project was very satisfying. There are still a few things I'd like to tweak in the project, along with refactoring some of the code, but overall I'm very happy with the results.
Today's Progress
I finally finished the C++ Tutorial For Complete Beginners on Udemy!
The instructor, John Purcell, was amazing and highly engaging and I would recommend him to anyone wishing to learn programming languages. He runs a site called Cave of Programming and you can also find a lot of his courses on Udemy. I'm planning on going back through all the code I completed in the course and adding comments to really solidify the concepts I learned. I figured if I can understand it enough to comment it, then I must have retained some of the information.
Thoughts 💭
I'm happy to have completed another Udemy course, especially one in C++, since that's the language I'm most interested in. I purchased the instructor's Learn Advanced C++ Programming course and am excited to begin.