General Thoughts

Most people see computer programming as a science, an area involving analysis, logic and theories. While i don't disagree with that at all, I also think that the area can be described in other metaphorical terms. One can liken computer programming to an easel, Python to a canvas and the human developer to the artist. In summary, its another dimension for the left-brainers to play god in. Unfortunately, this whole Bruce Almighty thing isn't working out or me. I find myself forgetting fundamental "rules" like how to call a value that was previously returned. I also find myself forgetting obvious things when code errors pop up. My only consolation? Ain't touching this world in college! But i digress. As the six weeks is coming to an end, there are some things that i really enjoy about the class (unfortunately, its not the content). The grading policy's great! Not in the sense that students can score relatively well without a complete grasp on the content, although that does make me smile, but in the sense that there is less stress about it. The class is great as far as an introductory course goes and the grading policy is more lenient on those who are beginners. Plus, students in the class are all at different levels and assignments are set up so that students are less competitive with each other. Its a nice break from the typical LASA class. My only hope as of now is that by the end of this semester, i will have developed better problem solving skills which can be applied in other areas that i'm naturally stronger in.

Good things

    I'll admit it, i'm no natural at Computer Programming, programming languages or anything tech related. But lets not dwell on the negatives. Despite having a hard time getting the first function of project two down, i did it! Yes i had some help but hey, i think i'm finally getting the hang of things (as in how things are supposed to work, what the function of the main function is and the component element of functions). On the bright side, i learned a very good problem solving tactic from both Kailey and Averi. In short, if you're stuck, don't dwell on it, move one and do the things that you can do and then come back to the hard stuff. I thought this was an excellent approach to the lab. Allow me to explain. Both Kailey and Averi thought that the second function was difficult after they had completed the first. Thus, they skipped to the third function, maximizing their productivity without getting all caught up on the second function. How does this tactic apply to me, you ask? Instead of getting all hung up on the seemingly impossibility of the second function (i guess i am being a little melodramatic) i moved on to the main function and practically finished that one! This leaves an entire day devoted to figuring out how to graph the function! Realistically, will i still need help from my best buds and the teach? Almost without a doubt. But am i getting something out of the class? Yes, one hundred times over yes.

Troubleshooting

Highlights from this week:
-Decision control in python relies on Boolean logic anything not false (zeros (0,0.0) empty sequences, false sequences and nothings) are true.
- learned about conditionals (there are three; and,or,if with the if statement being the most common) which checks whether or not a statement is true as a condition for running. Just like in jeroo, if statements that contain elif statements offer the user more control over the code.
-comparison operators such as <,>,=<,>=,==,=! also evaluate true or false
-nested conditionals are confusing to read. Python allows the user to simplify by using comparison operators
-while loops may be used to repeat certain sections of code until a defined condition is met
                   
          ex. a=0
         while a<5
          means that this loop will continue to run until a is equal to five.
-for loops are a lot like while loops but they are preferrable to while loops when it comes to listing things
          ex. for variable in range (1,50) will assign the numbers 1-49 to variable

Lab:
-Finished with lots of help. Realized that one of my problems was not reading the pre-lab or the lab thoroughly enough to understand the task which, as you can imagine, doesn't help. I need to slow down. Thank goodness Mr. Tessler was willing to help me...Hopefully i can start to do more of the lab on my own next week. Mini-goal for 2/11-2/16, SET!

GRHHHH

      The most difficult part about this first project is solving the syntactical errors. I guess this week was the first time i realized how intricate coding is. One letter off or one space too many can lead to dysfunctional line of code. Although this isn't a new discovery, working on the project this week allowed me to see how much like binary general coding is. You either have the code right to a tee or not at all-- there's no middle ground. However, not to be a debbie downer, there are a few things i think i can learn from this week's assignment. For one, I'm not very detail oriented. Otherwise, a common error for me wouldn't be a missing colon at the end of a function definition. For two, I'm not that great at computer programming. Even though it was the first project every in which students had to write from scratch, i needed a lot of help besides consultation from previous labs and power points. I don't know what i would do without the people around me but i'm thankful that they were so willing to help. I wonder what the likelihood of me being able to help them out is....

And everything ends in a question mark

  I feel rather fortunate for being able to work on the project before its officially assigned. However, this good feeling is often overshadowed by my newfound realization of my understanding of the language. Although the project was introduced as a tool which would help quiz averages, i have found the project to be an assessment tool of sorts. In short, the results aren't pretty. According to my lack of progress within the hour i got to work on the project, it seems that i need to strengthen my understanding of coding syntax, the use of output/input variables (as well as arguments) and etc. The list is quite daunting and aside from looking over previous labs and slides, i dont know how to improve.
    The task as hand is surprising at best and undeniably intimidating. The comprehensive nature of the assignment definitely amps up the difficulty. In the project, students are expected to "to help an angry bird choose its trajectory so it can hit a pig located at a certain distance d and at a certain elevation h from the bird's position." Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you see it, in this first hour alone i've made some discoveries.I don't read very thoroughly. Instead of reading and understanding the hint,i tried to find velocity on my own. sigh. Its times like these that I feel like a genius.

How to Function

Functions in python are similar to functions in Jeroo. They are defined by the word def followed by the name and then the arguments
ex. def myster(a,b):
Anything included in the function must be written after the definition and indented and when functions are to be used, they need to be called and the call needs to follow the same indention as the definition. Arguments within the call must also be written out
ex myster(a,b)
Regardless of how you define a variable before a function, variables are bound at the call site. In other words, previous variables are forgotten. In the words of the powerpoint "Variables used in functions but defined outside of the function can be changed"

So why you functions or what can you do with functions?
1. they can make code easier
2.they can be used to define local variables (a. a new variable altogether or b. redefining a variable previously defined outside of the function to substitute its value)* these variables are then bound or set within the function
3.define new functions (act as a stepping stone for another function. similar to nesting?)

Lab issues:
So, this week's lab. I gotta say, it wasn't the most straightforward to say the least but i think next time i should open two skeleton documents, get rid of all the notes in one and work on that in order to mitigate any confusion that comes from the text....hopefully the i can focus better on the task. In general, although i feel like i understand functions, i still need to practice more so that defining variables will become more like second nature...maybe tomorrow...maybe : )

s is for snake?

Nope, no reptiles or creepy crawley snakes to report this week. Just Python, another computer language that looks almost like a natural language.

Recap:
Just as in in Jeroo, code in python consists of functions (ie. print), statements ( print("argument")), loops, and conditionals. Anything enclosed in "" are called strings. Numbers in this language can be categorized as integers or floating and are expressions. As far as variables go and completing tasks, Jeroo is actually very similar to python, at least on the conceptual level. Some differences i really took note of during the lecture is that when assigning variables and so on, the right side is evaluated first and then stored as the variable toward the left of the equal sign. Though i don't know whether or not this is an important deal, it nonetheless was a linguistic nuance that stuck for some odd reason. Furthermore, apparently the tutorial also suggests that one not ought to confuse the equal sign as something which equivocates both sides of the statement. Am i slightly confuzzled. Why yes. Fortunately, i now have python on my computer which means i can practice...because, as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.

Some basic numerical operations to remember:

Operation	Symbol	Example
Power (exponentiation)	**	5 ** 2 == 25
Multiplication	*	2 * 3 == 6
Division	/	14 / 3 == 4.666666666666667
Integer Division	//	14 // 3 == 4
Remainder (modulo)	%	14 % 3 == 2
Addition	+	1 + 2 == 3
Subtraction	-	4 - 3 == 1

chapter 1 of "Non-Programmer's Tutorial for Python 3," down. Next up....break time. : )