DEV Community: Ikanke-abasi Akpaso

JAVA SCRIPT BASICS

Ikanke-abasi Akpaso — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 19:11:01 +0000

Hey everyone!

Today i'll just be posting a few things about java script that i learnt last week.

Starting off with the variable name syntax;
Naming a variable on java script is quite different from python.
Java script involves the use of the key words: let, **
** or var.

These keywords however have slight differences apart from their names of course!
The let keyword allows you to change values while the const does not. **var **is similar to let but is an older method and is not in use anymore.

Syntax is;
let name of variable = value;
const name of variable = value;
var name of variable = value;

For example:
let nameOfCat = "Fred";nameOfCat
'Fred' The value of the variable can be changed:nameOfCat = "Sam";
nameOfCat'Sam'

For const however, the value of the variable cannot be changed!
const nameOfCat = "Fred";nameOfCat
FrednameOfCat = "Sam"; XXXX (This will show a type error because the constant variable cannot be reassigned)

Note: When naming variables on java script, camel case is most preferred e.g nameOfCar rather than snake case (name_of_car) which is preferred in python.

That's all for today, see you in my next blog post!

HOW TO BUILD A BMI (BODY MASS INDEX) CALCULATOR USING PYTHON

Ikanke-abasi Akpaso — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 13:25:04 +0000

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a medical screening tool that uses your weight and height to estimate your body fat percentage and assess your health risk.
As a beginner in Python, just like me, a body mass index calculator is one of the simplest and useful projects you can create
Building a BMI calculator involves the following steps:

1.Set Up your code editor:

(I use Visual Studio Code) and open a new file (CTRL + N), save it using the name bmi_calculator.py (This is optional, you can call it whatever name you want, but this is preferable for easy referral)

2.Write a Comment:

You’ll want to add a comment on your code editor, which includes the mathematical formula for calculating BMI, as well as the different BMI categories.

3.Get User Input:

Create a weight variable and a height variable. Both variables will store the input function, input(), which allows for a user’s response. Inside the input function, you can use questions such as Insert your height or What is your weight? whatever your choice is

Height = float(input("What is your height?: "))
Weight = float(input("What is your weight in kg?: "))

The BMI calculation uses kg for weight and meters for height, so it’s better to specify those units in your input. E.g.: Instead of just asking “what’s your weight?”, ask “what’s your weight in kg?”
We use float() here to convert the user’s input to a float so python does not read the numbers as a string.

4.Calculate BMI:

Next, we create another variable for the BMI calculation. I called mine BMI. In this variable, you store the mathematical formula for calculating the BMI.
So we have: BMI = Weight/ (Height *2)
The / operator is the division symbol while the * operator is for multiplication.
Just like in a normal calculator, Division goes before multiplication, but the brackets are solved first before any other operations. In BMI calculation, the height is multiplied first by 2 and then divided by the weight which is the reason for including the bracket.

5.Show the Result:

After the calculation, you’ll want to create a response back to the individual to tell the value of their BMI and what category it falls under.
We can do this using a flow control statement, in this case the if statement. An if statement’s clause will execute if the statement’s condition is True. The clause is skipped if the condition is false. The if statement is followed by an elif (else if statement that provides another condition that is checked if the previous conditions are false), and finally an else statement (runs when both if and elif are false)

• Using the if statement, we have:
• if BMI < 18.5:
• print("Underweight")
• elif BMI >= 18.5 and BMI < 25:
• print("Normal")
• elif BMI >= 25 and BMI < 30:
• print("Overweight")
• else:
• print("Obese")
•
•
You can check out the complete code here:
https://gist.github.com/IkankeAkpaso/7d2b3e3ab30a03febc8950c7baaf9d78

Although on Gist Hub I used something called the “f” string, which I have not discussed here yet, doing it like in the example above is still fine.
That’s it! you’ve built your own BMI calculator! Thanks for reading!

Python Variables

Ikanke-abasi Akpaso — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 11:15:56 +0000

Hi everyone, I’m Ikanke.
I'm on my coding journey, and it’s been interesting so far.
I’m going to be sharing some stuff I’ve learned.
So I’ll be starting with Python variables.

Mastering Python Variables
In Python, variables are like magical containers that hold values. Think of them as little storage boxes with names on them, and you can store anything you want inside—numbers, strings, lists... the sky’s the limit! 

Here’s the fun part: you get to name these containers however you want (well, almost). Let’s dive in and explore how we use these super-powered containers in Python.

What’s a Variable, Anyway? 🤔  
In simple terms, a variable is just a name that holds a value. It’s like a label on a box where you store your favorite things. But the trick is, you can store any kind of value you like! 

Example:
n = 120
My_lucky_number = 7
print(n + My_lucky_number)  # Output: 127


- `n` holds the value `120`.
- `My_lucky_number` holds the value `7`.
- When you add them up, Python tells you `127`! 

In Python, you don’t need to stick with the same value forever! You can reassign a variable at any time. 

Example:

python
Fav_num = 23
Fav_num = 24
Total_num = Fav_num * 2
print(Total_num) # Output: 48


- Initially, `Fav_num` is `23`, but we decide to change it to `24`.
- Then we multiply it by 2 to get `Total_num`, which is `48`. Easy, right?

---

Variable Naming Rules: Don't Break Them! 
Now, here comes the important part: While you can name your variables almost anything, Python has a few rules to keep things sane.

1.Start with a Letter or Underscore   
You can’t start a variable name with a number. Python is very picky about that.  
Do not try this:

python
5numbers = 10 ❌ Nope! Can't start with a number.


But you can start with an underscore or a letter:

python
_numbers = 10 ✅ This is fine!
Totalnum = 20 ✅ This is also fine!


2.Use Letters, Numbers, or Underscores   
After the first character, you can mix it up with letters, numbers, or underscores. But no spaces or funky symbols! Keep it clean.

Here’s what works:

python
numbers_5 = 15 ✅ Totally cool.
totalSum123 = 30 ✅ Also good.




3.Case Sensitivity is Real 
Python is case-sensitive, meaning `myvariable`, and `MYVARIABLE` are both different! 

---

These are a few important things to note when naming variables in Python.
I hope this helped!