EY Basics Technical Essay

17 Sep 2019

BROWSER HISTORY 1

Fall of 2018 I had to take ICS101, like many of us had to, which introduced me to the ICS390 class, which I took the following semester in Spring 2019. A crucial part of the ICS390 class was being a TA for a current ICS101 course. This gave me the opportunity to become very familiar with the basic coding skills that we used in the BrowserHistory1 workout. I was able to go through the entire WOD, play around and re-familiarize myself with some of the tools, and also realized the links we were given to study for the first quiz was extremely helpful. Slowly but surely, I was able to complete the first workout without looking at the screen cast. I knew there was probably a more efficient way to complete the WOD, so after receiving a Sd for my first attempt, I watched the screen cast, realized some new tricks, and deleted my initial code, and tried it again. The second time I was able to complete the WOD in 14 minutes!

My advice for this WOD would be to try the first attempt without any help. This will give you a good understanding of what you know and what you need to learn, re-teach, and brush up on. I don’t recommend looking at the screencast prior to your first attempt because it won’t be helpful for your future. It is ok to need to refresh your memory and re-teach yourself some tricks so don’t be afraid to fail your first attempt!

BROWSER HISTORY 2

Compared to BrowserHistory1, BrowserHistory2 was more of a struggle for me. I attempted to do the WOD without help from the screencast but was having a very hard time following the steps. The first objective that i struggled with was linking the style.css to my index.html. When I reached this part, I had to go to the screencast to give me some guidance. Once I was able to figure it out, I paused the screencast and attempted to finish the rest of the objectives. Creating the rules within the style sheet was not that difficult for me, especially with all the helpful tips that VS Code gives us along the way. However, a strange thing that I was experiencing was that my updates weren’t being seen as I refreshed my browser. I’m not sure why, but when I went to the file from my local computer and opened it (not refreshing the same one from WOD1), I could see the updates there.

After doing this WOD I found a way of completing the tasks that works for me. I do what I can on my first attempt, then reference back to the screencast when I am confused on what to do. By doing this, I know I am going to get a DNF. I just continue to go back and forth and get to the final result. Once I get to the final result, I delete my code and start up to get a better time. I had to attempt this WOD multiple times in order to get a time that I was satisfied with. However, I didnt have to reference the screencast during my final trys. I was familiar with what I was doing, just needed to become more efficient.

BROWSER HISTORY 3

Like BrowserHistory2, I had to attempt this WOD multiple times in order to get the correct final piece. Again, I struggled getting started with this WOD. There wasn’t a lot of new aspects that needed to be done in this WOD, but the new objectives were a little more challenging. Like WOD2, I needed to reference back to the screen cast in order to even complete my first attempt. I got a DNF for my first initial attempt because I did not know where to begin to get the 3 difference columns for each web browser. However, I was surprised when I somewhat recognized how to insert a navigation bar into the page (thank you ICS101!). Once I got the final piece, with help from the screen cast, I was able to re-do the WOD and complete it within the SD timeframe.

I do realize that Proffesor Port recommened we not watch the screencast at the same time as our initial attempt, but my advice is to do what you can, reference back when needed, and then go back and try it by yourself again!

BROWSER HISTORY 6

This WOD was a continuation of the Browser History 3 that we did a couple of weeks ago. Instead of all 3-browser histories on one page, however, we put them on single pages and created a button at the top of the home page. This button sends the reader to the separate page where they can read the history information. The link to the instruction is here.

In this WOD, things went a lot smoother than my previous experiences. I was able to get to step 7 without having any questions or issues. Once I reached to step 8, I kept receiving an error message in my VS Code. I had to continue to re-read my code to find where I was missing my quotation or >.

When I was preparing for this WOD I went over the last browser history 3 code and refamiliarized myself with it. Something that I did different was trying my hardest to complete the WOD without looking at the screencast. I definitely felt more comfortable with this WOD than the others, so I did not rely on getting through it using the screen cast as much. Something that I could have done better to prepare for the WOD was read the instructions in depth before-hand instead of just reading it as I get through the objectives. This way, I could google and research the steps I was unfamiliar with prior so I wouldn’t get stuck and eat up time during the steps.

INVOICE 1

For this WOD, we incorporated expressions and variables that we have been learning in class. We were assigned to create a sales receipt with 5 different products and needed to have the quantity and price, as well as compute the extended price, subtotal, tax, and the grand total. For further details on the assignment you can find the page linked here.

I found ease in creating the script for each item, quantity, and price, as well as computing the extended price, subtotal, tax, and the grand total. What slowed me down on this WOD was creating the table to insert the information into. I attempted to do this WOD before we learned it in Lab 6, so it was a very guess-and try type of game. I ended up viewing the page source from the Invoice 1 site and looked at the table code that was inputted. However, the code that was on the site was hard coded. This meant that I had to edit that code and insert the script form to display the information. I kept the aspects that created each cell but I had to use the script variables to show my information. Once I figured out I had to do that to complete the table, it was smooth sailing for me.

Since I attempted to do the WOD before we went over it in depth in class, I had to do a lot of personal research to figure out what to do. I did research as well as watch part of the screen cast to confirm my findings. I did enjoy doing the assignment early, but I also enjoyed learning the “why’s” and “why-nots” about the tasks in class. Compared to the other WODS, I tried not to use the screen cast as much. I also liked that the instructions for this WOD were a lot more in depth and detailed.

For the next WOD I plan on waiting until it is assigned and learn the things in class before attempting to do it at home. I think this will allow me to do it without using the screen cast at all and see how much I am “digesting” from class.

INVOICE 2

This WOD was a continuation of Invoice 1. For this assignment, we needed to add another aspect to our sales receipt. Based on the subtotal of the items in the receipt, the consumer will also have an additional shipping charge. In order to create this shipping charge, we needed to add an if and if else condition. A link to the assignment information is here.

Honestly, I struggled in the beginning of attempting this WOD. I understood the Lab 8 that was done I class, but when I got to the Invoice, I questioned the correct steps to take. The part of the Invoice 2 that confused me was when I had to input the final else condition. I did not know that I had to create a new var’s name to make the shipping answer subtotal multiplied by 5%. The next aspect of the WOD that slowed me down was realizing that I had to move the var total after the var shipping. Once I moved it down then it was showing correctly.

I think the lab 8 that we did in class was a lot of preparation for this WOD. However, I do think that I had a lot of questions that I maybe shouldn’t have had. I am not sure why I had a hard time adding the second else condition. After I put it in with help from a classmate, it all made sense, like a lot things that we do in class and the screencasts. That is why I am getting a little nervous about the things we are learning in this class. I do understand it after I am told what to do and why to do it… but it seems that other people in class already know “off-the-bat” what to do without needing help. Is that just me? Is that normal?

Smartphones Products 2

This WOD was used to practice the Loops that we have been learning in class. In order to practice this, we used the Smartphones Products 1 file that we created earlier in the semester. Instead of hard coding all of the information on the page, we used the script function to show the information on the page. We then used an eval loop to indirectly access the variables using a string and a counter inside the loop. To see further details of this assignment you can click here.

The first time I attempted this WOD I was able to complete the three out of the four tasks without much screencast help. When I got to the fourth task, inserting the loop into the code, I needed guidance from the screencast to make sure page would run. However, even with the screen cast I made a silly mistake! While making the loop conditional I used an assignment when I should have used a comparison. When I did this, none of the product was running on the page. With help from professor port, I was able to catch and fix my mistake.

I realize that by now, my routine for these WODs have been pretty similar for each assignment. I attempt to do the WOD the first time without help from the screencast, and once I get stuck, I reference the video to help me continue the assignment. However, even using the screencast, I still had to ask professor port for some assistance. I really don’t think that I have could done anything to better prepare for this WOD. The practice that we did in class, as well as the detailed instructions made this WOD an easier task.

Invoice1_1

This WOD was another continuation of Invoice 1, similar to Invoice 2. For this WOD we are told to create a “running total” instead of computing all of the extended prices. Instead of hard coding the computations, we had to use expressions and variables. A link to the WOD detail page can be found here.

For this WOD, I had trouble in a few places. The first issue that I struggled with was knowing to separate each section of the table with separate document.write(``) commands. Once I did that, I was able to get further along in the assignment. I inserted the variables above each separate item, and then ran into my next problem. In the instructions it said to not create new variables for each row, but for my first attempt at the WOD, I created new variables (oops). Once I deleted the command that created the variables and made it a running variable, like we were supposed to, my page ran correctly.

In order to prepare for this WOD I did a lot of googling. One thing that I had to google was how to fix my running variable issue. This WOD was a little different because we were not given the screencast to help us with our issues. For some reason, I like doing the WOD’s without the screencast because it forces me to google more. Sometimes it is harder to have the self-discipline to not rely on the screencasts given.

Smartphone Products 3

For Smartphone Products 3, we used the files from smartphone 2 to create objects and array’s instead of each individual variable for each item. The instructions to this WOD is here.

I really enjoyed doing this WOD. I found that I am finally getting the hang of some of the concepts that we are learning in class, especially the objects and arrays section. When referencing the readings that were given to us, completing WOD was quite easy. The only part that I stumbled on was when creating the loop. However, I was able to overcome this struggle by referencing back to one of the assignments we did in lab 10.

Different than the previous WOD’s, but similar to the Invoice1_1, I have been using the references given to us in the modules and past assignments to help me get through the WOD’s. I believe that this forces me to learn the concepts deeper than when I would depend on watching the screen cast. For the next WOD I will continue to use the references and assignments that are given to us. I believe that I have been able to prepare well for each WOD and found the ways in which I like to complete them.