DEV Community: Anita Olsen

My Wins of the Week! ⭐

Anita Olsen — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 21:50:00 +0000

📰 I published a new post on DEV! ✨

Anita Olsen

Jun 10 '25

What is the Most Difficult Thing You Ever Had to Code?

#discuss

Comments 30

1 min read

💻 I completed 7 singleplayer levels and I played multiplayer levels daily on CodeCombat! ✨
The list of singleplayer levels completed is incorrect but at least some is shown correctly but you should get the idea

🎯 I met my weekly target on Codecademy! ✨
I refreshed on the Python 2 course and finished project DNA Analysis

I am a series of small victories and large defeats and I am as amazed as any other that I have gotten from there to here.
-Charles Bukowski

Thank you for reading! ♡

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What is the Most Difficult Thing You Ever Had to Code?

Anita Olsen — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

I believe the most difficult thing I ever had to code was my web page. Not so much the one I have now but the layout I originally intended for it. I just never seem to be able to get it the way I want it. Ever since the arrival of the smartphone, websites have had to be responsive and look good on phones but this does not go too well with the type of look I am going for which is a classic late 90s/early 2000s website with a kawaii theme. I am positive I will figure it out with time as long as I keep at it though.

What is the most difficult thing you ever had to code?

My Wins of the Week! ⭐

Anita Olsen — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 14:58:55 +0000

📰 I published a new post on DEV! ✨

Anita Olsen

Jun 3 '25

What is Your Approach to Solving Problems With Code?

#discuss

Comments 37

1 min read

💻 I completed 7 singleplayer levels and I played multiplayer levels daily on CodeCombat! ✨

🎯 I met my weekly target on Codecademy! ✨
I refreshed on Python 2: input and output and project DNA Analysis

🔥 I hit a 45 days streak on W3Schools! ✨
I learned about Python tuples

Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field. -Brian Tracy

Thank you for reading! ♡

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What is Your Approach to Solving Problems With Code?

Anita Olsen — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

I do my best to remember what I have learned, to think outside the box, to be creative and break the code into smaller parts when necessary, but it is not always easy to do so.

CodeCombat sometimes asks me to complete a level with x line of code. For example: "Use 8 lines of code" and another which offers a greater reward with "Use 4 lines of code". I usually manage to complete the level with the lowest maximum line of code and sometimes even less than that which makes me feel great!

Problem-solving is one of the most important skills a programmer should have as programming is about problem-solving as well as writing lines of code. There is more than one way to solve problems and I wonder what other people's approaches to problem solving are.

Do you have a particular approach to problem solving? Do you have a step method or something which you follow? What is your approach to solving problems with code?

My Wins of the Week! ⭐

Anita Olsen — Fri, 30 May 2025 07:12:48 +0000

📰 I published a new post on DEV! ✨

Anita Olsen

May 27 '25

Do You Plan Ahead or Figure out Programs as You Are Writing Them?

#discuss #programming #coding

Comments 49

2 min read

📰 I got featured on DEV's Facebook page! ✨

💻 I completed 9 singleplayer levels and I played multiplayer levels daily on CodeCombat! ✨

💻 I completed all the Python list exercises on W3Schools! ✨

💟 I received 3 new badges on Codecademy! ✨

🎯 I met my weekly target on Codecademy! ✨
I completed the course Learn Intermediate Python 3: Exceptions and Unit Testing

🔥 I hit a 38 days streak on W3Schools! ✨

I learned about Python lists and networking in cyber security

✅ I have had a most productive month of May! ✨

Learning to code is learning to create and innovate.
— Enda Kenny, Taoiseach, Ireland

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Do You Plan Ahead or Figure out Programs as You Are Writing Them?

Anita Olsen — Tue, 27 May 2025 14:00:00 +0000

I have been wondering if I should plan ahead everything I code in advance since I tend to figure out a program as I go. When I do anything frontend, I plan how I want the CSS image or the web page to look like before I even start to code though but apart from that, I pretty much jump into it right away. I admit it would probably have saved me some time if I had just sat back and planned out the desired outcome more before I started coding.

Here is an interesting excerpt on the topic from Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham:

For example, I was taught in college that one ought to figure out a program completely on paper before even going near a computer. I found that I did not program this way. I found that I liked to program sitting in front of a computer, not a piece of paper. Worse still, instead of patiently writing out a complete program and assuring myself it was correct, I tended to just spew out code that was hopelessly broken, and gradually beat it into shape. Debugging, I was taught, was a kind of final pass where you caught typos and oversights. The way I worked, it seemed like programming consisted of debugging.
For a long time I felt bad about this, just as I once felt bad that I didn't hold my pencil the way they taught me to in elementary school. If I had only looked over at the other makers, the painters or the architects, I would have realized that there was a name for what I was doing: sketching. As far as I can tell, the way they taught me to program in college was all wrong. You should figure out programs as you're writing them, just as writers and painters and architects do.

Do you follow a particular structure while you code? Do you plan ahead or figure out programs as you are writing them?

My Wins of the Week! ⭐

Anita Olsen — Fri, 23 May 2025 11:33:20 +0000

📰 I published a new post on DEV! ✨

Anita Olsen

May 20 '25

Do You Ever Feel Stupid While Learning To Code?

#discuss #learning #coding

114

Comments 125

1 min read

💳 I signed up for DEV++! ✨

💻 I completed 45 singleplayer levels and I played multiplayer levels daily on CodeCombat! ✨

💻 I completed a Python Code Challenge on W3Schools! ✨

⭐ I received a new activity star on W3Schools! ✨
Now I have 4 activity stars in total!

💟 I received a new badge on Codecademy! ✨

💻 I completed a quiz on Unit Testing on Codecademy! ✨

💻 I completed a practice on unit testing on Codecademy! ✨

💻 I have been working on fixing an AI system in Please adopt me. # AI needs repair.! ✨
I completed tutorial phase 4 and 5!

🎯 I met my weekly target on Codecademy! ✨
I learned more on unit testing in Python 3 and completed the lesson

🔥 I hit a 31 days streak on W3Schools! ✨

I brushed up on Python lists, completed a lesson on programming concepts and learned about networking in cyber security.

I'm not a great programmer; I'm just a good programmer with great habits. - Kent Beck

Thank you for reading! ♡

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Do You Ever Feel Stupid While Learning To Code?

Anita Olsen — Tue, 20 May 2025 14:00:00 +0000

I remember after I had completed all the Game Development lessons (especially Game Development 1 and 2) on CodeCombat, my final task was to create a minigame in Python and I was left with no comments or help of any kind on how to do that (apart from the lessons I had previously completed from the course). It always left me feeling so overwhelmed that I was unable to code anything, I would feel better the next day and then start coding my game.

It should be no secret that learning to code is hard, but it is not helpful to keep thinking like that. It is much more beneficial to think of coding as a challenge as it changes your perception from coding is a struggle to coding is a challenge instead.

Coding is a challenge like in a classic adventure game where the hero is going on quests, encounters problems along the way and sometimes has to face a huge and intimidating monster. Nobody knows everything, you learn as you go and coding is a challenge, a challenge you can always improve on!

Do you ever feel stupid while learning to code?

My Wins of the Week! ⭐

Anita Olsen — Fri, 16 May 2025 16:00:47 +0000

📰 I published a new post on DEV! ✨

Anita Olsen

May 13 '25

Why Code in Dark Mode?

#discuss

Comments 53

1 min read

💻 I have been working on fixing an AI system in Please adopt me. # AI needs repair on Steam! ✨

For unknown reasons, the AI system have to function through a separate CUI console system. With AI, operate the system and check the depth of the system.

I completed tutorial phase 1, 2 and 3!

💻 I completed 7 singleplayer levels and I played multiplayer levels daily on CodeCombat! ✨

💻 I completed all the string exercises on W3Schools! ✨

💻 I completed 3 Python Code Challenges on W3Schools! ✨

🔥 I hit a 24 days streak on W3Schools! ✨

I brushed up on Python escape characters, string methods, string formatting, operators, boolean values, networking basics and cyber security in-depth network layer

🎯 I met my weekly target on Codecademy! ✨
I learned more on unit testing in Python 3

Coding is the language of the future, and every girl should learn it. As we depend on technology more and more every day, learning to code isn't just smart, it's necessary. - Karlie Kloss

Thank you for reading! ♡ 🎮 Visit my web page

Why Code in Dark Mode?

Anita Olsen — Tue, 13 May 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Dark mode was originally the default colour scheme for computers and many people believe that coding in dark mode reduces eye strain (among other things) but there is no conclusive evidence for it.

I code in light mode and prefer it to dark mode simply because it feels better on my eyes. Light mode also makes my coding activity feel lighter and therefore also more pleasant as well.

Which mode do you code in and why?

My Wins of the Week! ⭐

Anita Olsen — Fri, 09 May 2025 14:00:00 +0000

📰 I published a new post on DEV! ✨

Anita Olsen

May 6 '25

What Qualities Make a Great Software Developer?

#discuss

Comments 3

1 min read

💡 I can now make a button in Markdown! ✨

🎮 Visit my web page

💻 I completed 28 singleplayer levels and I played multiplayer levels daily on CodeCombat! ✨

I am sorry but the dates are a little all over the place 😅

🔥 I hit a 17 days streak on W3Schools! ✨

I brushed up on Python numbers, casting and strings, and I learned about cyber crime, money making threats and The Dark Web in the introductory course on cyber security.

🎯 I met my weekly target on Codecademy! ✨

I learned more on unit testing in the Learn Intermediate Python 3 course.

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. – Confucius

Thank you for reading! ♡

What Qualities Make a Great Software Developer?

Anita Olsen — Tue, 06 May 2025 11:14:06 +0000

Software developers should know their chosen programming languages, be able to use them, debug them and have problem-solving skills.

What qualities, beyond technical knowledge and skills, should a great software developer have to not only survive, but also thrive in this ever-changing competitive technology landscape?

What qualities do you think make a great software developer?