Austin Coding Academy - Day 6

How is Javascript different from CSS? How are they similar?

In Javascript, there are “collections” of data know as objects. In CSS, there are similar collections of different properties known as CSS rules. These two types of collections are structured very similarly, as well as both can store an indefinite amount of multiple different data types. CSS rules, however, also have characteristics that are more similar to Javascript functions than objects. CSS rules have changeable properties which alter the style and layout of the website, while Javascript objects are essentially just lists of data that can be stored and accessed.

CSS rules are limited to manipulating the styling and design of a website, but Javascript functions are what make the website come ALIVE! Functions are the mathematically based commands that add functionality (pun definitely intended) to our site, such as storing form data, doing calculations, animation and much more. Think of Javascript as the internal mechanical parts of a car that make the car run. HTML is like the structural frame of the car and CSS is like the outer body of the car with a fresh coat of paint plus a new set of rims!

Here's a good video that quickly demonstrates some ways Javascript and CSS interact with eachother

ACA Day 4: The 4th time’s the charm for 4rest!

What has your experience learning to code been like so far? What would you change about it?

Interestingly enough, my path to becoming a coder has not been a straightforward one. Rather, I have had to take a few detours and even navigate around a natural disaster before finally course correcting to the smooth path I am on now at Austin Coding Academy.

I officially began my journey to becoming a professional web developer a few months ago when I signed up for a local code Bootcamp in my hometown of New Orleans. It is a great program: challenging, fast-paced and I learned a lot about Javascript in a short amount of time. However, three weeks into the first phase of the Bootcamp, I was interrupted by a fairly common occurrence that happens in New Orleans sometimes: a major Hurricane!

Hurricane Ida hit South Louisiana on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (Which destroyed my house and all my stuff, including my first custom built PC, when I was 16 years old). Ironically, before I committed to becoming a coder, I actually worked as an insurance adjuster primarily dealing with Hurricane related claims. So, naturally, a major hurricane hitting my hometown presented a very lucrative work opportunity, not to mention disrupting my studies just when it was starting to get complicated. I decided to drop from that Bootcamp and go work Hurricane Claims.

It didn’t take me much more than a month to realize I would rather just take the money I had already made, volunteer to be in the first round of cuts when claim volume drops, go back to coding school, put my head down and grind it out.

Sure enough, An interesting thought occurred to me during that month or so. “Surely, there must be a coding Bootcamp in AUSTIN!” I did a quick Google search and, voila, Austin Coding Academy! You see, my commitment to coding has been largely motivated by the thought of possibly relocating to a place like Austin, even before I discovered Austin Coding Academy. To be fair, as a Hurricane Katrina refugee and an insurance adjuster, I have dealt with far more Hurricane related drama than even the average New Orleanian. When Hurricane Ida came thru and knocked power out for over a week, I had to make a series of quick decisions: I dropped out of code bootcamp, drove 4 hours to the nearest vacant hotel, and accepted the first insurance adjusting job I could find for the storm. Subsequently, I also made the decision that I would use my earnings from the hurricane to finally make the permanent relocation to Texas. Luckily, I also had the idea to seek out Austin Coding Academy.

I have been passionate about following the computer industry for almost a decade. I have also been visiting Austin for about that same amount of time and have become really excited about Austin in my more recent visits. In my opinion, the cat is clearly out of the bag now about Austin and I believe it is one of the premiere blossoming tech communities in the world. I consider it a great honor to have to privilege of being part of the Austin Tech Community. Though I encountered some major obstacles at the beginning of my coding journey which were highly stressful at times, all that matters to me now is that I have, seemingly miraculously, somehow ended up exactly where I want to be at Austin Coding Academy preparing to begin my professional career in the Austin Tech scene. So, I have to say, I would not change anything about my coding journey so far.

Austin Coding Academy - Day 2

Describe one thing you learned in class today.

Flex! Or, as it’s more commonly referred to in the dev world, Flexbox!

“The Flexbox Layout (Flexible Box) module aims at providing a more efficient way to lay out, align and distribute space among items in a container, even when their size is unknown and/or dynamic (thus the word “flex”).” css-tricks.com

Once I understood some basic properties of Flexbox, I quickly realized how it can be used to easily code pretty-much any overall layout idea I may have. While it is probably not the best display module for ALL instances, it can probably be used, one way or another, to achieve almost any type of page structure you can think of.

What are some of the “gotchas”/epiphanies you’ve had for writing efficient CSS?

A great characteristic of CSS is that, once you have created some basic styling parameters, it’s easy to copy and paste them across the board to give all the elements of your site a uniform styling. It is also easy to reuse display parameter such as flex-direction, align-items and justify content to replicate the same page layout across all pages and sections of your site.

However, while CSS is very intuitive and fairly simple for the average user to learn the basics of, it is almost guaranteed that any new CSS user will encounter instances where their CSS code is not displaying what they expect it to. Hands-on experimenting with different CSS parameters and changing their inputs is the best way to learn how CSS works. It’s important not to over-complicate things. Assess your code one step at a time, breaking things down to the most basic level possible.

There are some really great HTML and CSS tutorials on YouTube which can be really helpful for a new coder. Here is one of my favorite CSS tutorial videos:

Austin Coding Academy — Day 1

What excites you about coding? How do you think it can change the world?

Coding adds new dimensions to language and communication. As someone who is fascinated with language, sound and music, I am excited to be finally learning to code because it opens up endless possibilities for me to enhance my communicative abilities, enabling me to get through to more people and inspire them on a deeper level.

What’s the difference between an HTML element and an HTML tag?

“Technically, an HTML element is the collection of start tag, its attributes, an end tag and everything in between. On the other hand an HTML tag (either opening or closing) is used to mark the start or end of an element, as you can see in the above illustration.” TutorialRepublic.com

This is a really great YouTube channel I recommend for anyone interested in becoming a web developer: