The first thing I did when I woke up today was code FizzBuzz. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a popular script that every programmer should know how to code. I try and randomly write it from scratch every once in a while, because the best way to learn something is to 1) memorize it 2) see how long you can go without thinking about it 3) and then recall it successfully. That last part is the most important. So, for example, when I first learned FizzBuzz, I would code it from scratch once a day. When this wasn’t a challenge anymore, I changed the exercise to once a week. Now I do it about every 2 weeks. The longer you can go before you code it again (correctly) the better. However, if you go to write the code and mess it up, that means you waited TOO long, so relearn it, and then try again sooner next time.
But it is also important to remember that coding isn’t all about memorization. What I am trying to memorize during this exercise is not the exact wording, or the syntax, or even the language at all. I am trying to memorize the routine of coding. I am learning the way to code, the exact script I’m writing makes no difference. It is important for me, in this programming whirlwind, to maintain what I currently know and build upon it. The skill I’m working on when I do this is learning to solve problems using code.
This morning I wrote fizzbuzz using python, but I think I’m gonna do it in javascript, ruby and c in a little bit.
Something else I like to code from scratch every now and again is how to find prime numbers. Try it: write a program that takes a number from user input, and finds all the prime numbers between 0 and the given number. I tend to like math puzzles the best. If you ALSO like math problems, definitely check out Euler Problems.
Someone on Instagram this morning recommended using The Odin Project, so I decided to give it a shot! So far it’s great. It walks you through a ton of resources if you want to be a web developer. As a way to practice my HTML/CSS skills, I just spent the last 2 hours recreating the google homepage (as per their recommendation). Tada!
The next thing I worked on today was the jQuery course on CodeAcademy. You will soon realize that I jump around a LOT. This tends to keep my focus more, and I can only work on one subject for a couple hours before I start to fade. I’m gonna make a fun jQuery project tonight…
