DEV Community: JkImExploring

Why I used WordPress for my portfolio

JkImExploring — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 18:00:08 +0000

September was a month for sure. There wasn't anything particularly off about it but being furloughed for this long is messing with my head a lot as well as going through the job hunt process and everything going on with Covid-19 and the election and stressing if I'll even get called back. So I decided to distract myself by redoing my portfolio, something I've been meaning to do since I first created it.

I had done one around this time last year and was never fully happy with it. If you want to see it it's still live here.

I used WordPress because:

I bought the URL for my book blog but decided to focus my time and effort on other things so I switched the URL for that back to the free .wordpress version.
Easy updates. I don't want to have to spend a ton of time working though the code to add a page, post, photos or projects. It's not that I'm lazy, I just want to spend that time on other things.
I missed WordPress. Not going to lie. I've used WordPress at my past couple jobs and haven't had an excuse to create one in a while so it was fun to mess around with it more.
I want to create WordPress sites for others and I didn't have anything that fully showed what I was capable of so this is it.

And the final result is here. I'm planning to update the copy after Halloween and I still have to do SEO on all the pages but for the most part it's done!

Have you used WordPress before? What makes you decide whether to hard code or use WordPress?

Basics of switch cases and defaults

JkImExploring — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 18:21:27 +0000

Switch cases were one of my favorite things to learn (and to use). Granted, they aren't always the best thing to use but when used I feel it makes the code cleaner than using if/else statements as well as slightly faster.

What is a switch case?

A switch case is a chunk of code that will perform differently depending on the result of the expression passed through.

The difference between the if/else statement and a switch is that in a switch statement you can continue to go through the statement even if one of the conditions is met. If not you can create a break statement.

Syntax:

(taken from w3schools)

switch(expression) {
  case x:
    // code block
    break;
  case y:
    // code block
    break;
  default:
    // code block
}

Example in practice:

var x = 2;

switch(x){
    case 0:
      console.log("Saturday");
      break;
    case 1:
      console.log("Sunday");
      break;
    default:
      console.log("You have to work.");
      break;
}

This would return "You have to work." since the expression isn't equal to 0 or 1.

In comparison this is what the code looks like as an if/else statement:

var x = 2;

if (x==0){
   console.log("Saturday");
}
else if(x==1){
    console.log("Sunday");}
else{
   console.log("You have to work.");
}

What should be the default?

I used to think it didn't matter but today I was working on the "Who likes it" kata on CodeWars and it clicked. The default is if it's equal to anything not previously covered.

For example, I had the default as if no one likes the status it will return "no one likes this." (which, harsh but okay.) However, it was failing on the attempt tests because where I had case 4 as listing any other number after 3 people liking it, that was only catching exactly 4 people. The switch statements only work for that number. They don't work for ranges as if/else statements can.

The solution to this was to make the return of "no one likes this" as a case 0.

Let me know if you have any questions below!

Battling my imposter syndrome with projects

JkImExploring — Sun, 02 Aug 2020 18:21:29 +0000

I recently finished my first personal project in a while. Between my cross-country move, job searches and Corona I haven't been coding as much as I should be. Because of this my imposter syndrome increased so much and I knew I needed to combat that before it got out of control.

My first step was to take a deep look at what I know are gaps in my knowledge or things that I haven't gotten down as solid as I'd like. Some of those things are CSS pre-processors, APIs and SVG.

I then created an advice generator to get more comfortable with all of those. I learned a lot and I was so proud of how it turned out... and then I decided to post it on social media and I realized something.

My third step is something I'm trying to do more often which is post about what I'm doing and learning. That way you get more confident talking about coding and getting more comfortable with the verbiage and having people see your work.

Instagram and Twitter I post things without feeling too much pressure. I've posted problems I've had and bits and pieces along the way, whether they look good or not. It's all about the process. It's more transparent and informal.

However. I also know the importance of posting on LinkedIn and instantly my brain went in a million directions:

What if no one likes it.
It's not even that good.
The design is mediocre/ trash.
It's such a small project but still took me forever.
It's a small project.
It's nothing special.

Basically it boiled down to the fact that I'm not a designer mixed with imposter syndrome.

My roommate made me post it anyway and there hasn't been any interaction within the 30+ people who've seen it. But the world hasn't ended. No one's commented saying it's trash.

For me, the best way to combat my imposter syndrome is to not just code more but to post about it more. I'll create a project that mixes things I already know with things that make me want to tear my hair out in hopes of getting better.

While just one (unsuccessful) LinkedIn post isn't the cure I feel it's a huge step. I've never shared my code work there before despite the fact I want to make the switch to a front-end job.

TL;DR:

Figure out what you're not confident about
Utilize those things in a project
Share the process and/or finished project
Talk about programming and code

How do you battle imposter syndrome?

How do you decide when to share an app idea?

JkImExploring — Mon, 18 May 2020 00:20:59 +0000

I've been pretty quiet on here so far this year. I mean to do a post a week and then I went through moving, I got a job within a week, I explored the area a bit, I got furloughed and I've been writing a lot more on my lifestyle blog and I've even started doing YouTube. But my favorite thing I've started is to learn Android App development and I've decided to create my own app.

I feel like one of those frat boys that comes up to you and is like "I got an idea for an app. Can you make it?" Except it's me all the way. And that's a pretty amazing feeling. Granted, I know I'll need help along the way.

However, I've been debating whether or not to share it. I'm in the very beginning stages of gathering information and designing before I start coding.

On one hand I'd love to be able to talk to people about it and share and it'd be a lot of content creation. On the other hand I'm kind of worried someone will decide to code it faster and get it in the app store and I'll have to redo the design or functionality.

I think part of it is that I like hiding all the work I do and then shocking people when I show them what I've done and I'm trying to battle that and show the process to encourage other people to start learning how to code and to get experience from more advanced developers.

I think what I will be doing is writing up posts and sharing after I've gotten past a certain point that will be decided in the future.

When do you start sharing?

Interesting videos I've found recently

JkImExploring — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 20:37:29 +0000

Like most of us probably are I'm subscribe to quite a few developers on YouTube. Yesterday there was an interesting video that popped up and I've seen quite a few unique and/or helpful videos these past couple weeks.

Workouts: I've been doing Yoga With Adriene but I also decided I felt like doing PiYo (a mix of pilates, yoga and a bit of zumba) and found a new instructor online! It feels like I'm back at my college gym.

Career tips: I follow Brandy Morgan for all of her tips and quality vlogs. I always leave with some new tidbit of advice. Her most recent video was about how to use social media to get freelance clients but a lot of the advice is also applicable to getting full-time jobs and networking in general. I love how she emphasizes that it's not a one-day thing, it's really taking time to make connections over time.

Life advice: Amy Landino is also a youtuber I follow who has created an amazing life for herself by helping others create their dream lives. She focuses on time management, focus, finding your passion and motivation. We are all going through massive changes with the shut downs and shelter in place or lockdowns and she did a video about navigating through massive changes.

Friendly advice: I also follow Kalyn Nicholson quite closely and she is definitely more of a niche life advice person. I am sure a huge part of her appeal to me is that she's the same age as me and is going through the "what do I want to do with my life and how do I get there" and it's like listening to a friend.

Coding adventure: Today Joma Tech uploaded a video about how he coded an entire app on his phone. I know some people don't have access to laptops so I was interested to find out if there was a way to do it all on the phone. You can check out his video for more information but I decided it's something I wouldn't do. I don't even like doing posts on my phone.

Any videos or creators you'd like to share?

How to get motivation back

JkImExploring — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 15:24:59 +0000

These last couple days I've also been really unmotivated. My brain has been going every which way and I haven't been able to focus on anything for too long unless I see an immediate payoff.

Then I came across this tweet:

The answers can change but this really got me thinking about how far you can go if you put your mind to it and kind of gives more direction when you start thinking about the larger goals. I think about this all the time but I think I need to make a giant glowing sign with it on to see every morning.

Sometimes just thinking about goals doesn't help. Sometimes thinking about the future can be overwhelming. Just as looking up motivational quotes and looking at the Instagrams and videos of people who inspire you can have the opposite effect.

Here is how I've gotten back on track in the past:

List everything I need to do the rest of Dec, Jan/Feb, end of 2020, and goals for 2025 (I'm going to be honest there's a 99% chance the 2025 ones will change but just to get myself thinking of where I could go).
Make a plan. Put together a plan of what workouts to do what days, what lessons/ tasks to get done with and how many quality job applications to do each day. This helps with creating actionable and reasonable goals.
Put app timers back on and cut some back. My phone has app timers included and I have them set for a reasonable amount of time.
Get back to the gym. I've found when I'm physically in good shape my mind is a lot more with it and I think I'm finally over my cold.
Morning study sessions. It's so hard for me to pay attention to things after work. I honestly have no clue why. I tell myself I'll do something and hours later I still haven't done that one thing. So morning sessions help with that

Even going through the motions to try to get back on track sometimes helps. I think taking some time to plan out your upcoming days and get excited about life and changes will help a ton.

How do you get your motivation back?

View full article here: https://jkimexploring.wordpress.com/2019/12/19/how-i-plan-to-get-my-motivation-back

7 projects, 12 months

JkImExploring — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 16:09:23 +0000

So originally I was planning to do a 12 projects, 12 months year-long project. I only had two ideas and one is a bigger one. Someone gave me the idea of doing sprints for it and develop it in different phases.

But I still want to do other projects along the way so I decided to switch off months, or do a couple months of sprints and then switch to a different project but I’ve decided to talk about some projects exactly I want to do.

I honestly haven’t decided all of them but getting started on these will take me through September so I’m sure I’ll have more ideas later.

PROJECTS TO BE COMPLETED:

Workout Calendar- This is going to be my larger project. I’m hoping to do six different sprints in order to get it up and running and quality. I’m hoping to have it to at least a usable state by April at the latest. I also want to create this as an app which I have never done before. If anyone knows if there is an android equivalent to this site let me know.

Color picker that changes site colors- I saw Jack do this on his portfolio site. Basically he takes into account the color contrast for accessibility and when you choose a new focus color it’ll update the rest of the site to maintain color contrast. I thought that was super awesome so I want to try it out.

Build a react component- This seems like something that will be really quick but I want an idea for something I will reuse time and time again to do it for. I don’t necessarily care if it’s been done before but everything I’ve coded before are complete projects so I want to try to do something that can be put in multiple.

Breakout- This is one of those games I loved playing as a kid. I want to recreate this using C++ so that I have more experience instead of just lessons. Break out of the tutorial stage… get it? I’ll see myself out.

WordPress theme- I’ve wanted to create my own theme for a while now. Granted I do love my current one I do want something personalized.

Basically I want my GitHub to be a lot more entertaining than it was this year. I think this year I was stuck in a “I don’t know what I want to create.”

And who knows what 2020 will bring. If I get selected for the second part of the scholarship I’ll be doing 5 projects with the Nanodegree.

What projects do you have planned for 2020?

Originally published : https://jkimexploring.wordpress.com/2019/12/12/7-projects-12-months/

My first programming interview

JkImExploring — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 02:43:51 +0000

I've decided to write some posts about my experiences interviewing and doing cover letters and the journey and I'll post them when I want to.I was looking for a new job and came across this company that creates data management systems for large companies. The company also focuses on helping the community and bettering their employees. This sounded amazing to me so I applied for the job and put a lot of effort into my cover letter and application.

I heard back a couple days later to schedule a phone interview.I scheduled one and woke up an hour early each day to do CodeWars and LeetCode problems. After work all that week I did either that or looked into the company more.

The more I researched the company the more I wanted to work there. Seriously. This place is amazing. I also hung out with friends and still went to the gym so don't worry. I didn't burn out that much.The time for my interview came and I was nervous. They had sent me a link for a live coding exercise so I knew it was going to be a code-based interview. I was asked two questions:

Tell me about yourself.
What was your favorite project in your portfolio?

The super easy questions. Then came the programming part. The reason for these is to see how you think. It doesn't mean I like them, but I get why they do them.I had two different exercises and the first one took the majority of the time. I created for loops and if/else statements and then I walked him through my logic and made changes to make it work properly. Then we did the same thing with a second problem.

Overall I think it was good? They didn't run it through to see if it actually would work which really threw me off.I did send a thank you note later, but I ended up not getting the job. It was actually really cool to be able to talk about programming with someone who understands what I'm talking about. I don't really have that in my life.

Do you get nervous before interviews? How do you handle the nerves?

Original article here: https://jkimexploring.wordpress.com/2019/12/07/my-first-programming-interview/

What are CSS variables?

JkImExploring — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 15:42:54 +0000

Today's a coding post day! One thing I want to do in 2020 is to start one coding post a week so if there's anything you want to learn about let me know!

I cam across the concept of CSS variables quite a while ago and it was a game changer. Utilizing this concept makes massive (and minor) color scheme changes.... which I do quite a bit.

In order to start playing around with CSS variables back in September I decided to take my memory game project from my Nanodegree course and switch over the colors to utilize CSS variables. The code examples following will be taken from that but the Github for it is here and the photo of what it looks like is the feature image.

What are CSS variables?

CSS variables are a way to create consistency between all of the colors. It makes it easier to change the color scheme at one time instead of going through and making sure you don't miss any of the CSS colors.

So far I have only played around with using CSS variables when it comes to colors. But you can use it for so much more. I've seen them used for paddings or margins as well.

How do you create a CSS variable?

For some reason I had this assumption that CSS variables would be difficult to learn or somehow that they would be more complex than necessary. I was surprised when I found out how easy it was.

Basically create the :root psuedo-class so the variables are applied to the entire project. Then simply type --variablename: whatever the color/size/whatever it is you want.

How do you implement a CSS variable?

I had been expecting it to be similar to variables in JavaScript where you just type it in. Nope. Now for CSS you have to write that it's a variable. Luckily, it's not a super long code that has to be implemented. This is the same whether you're using it for colors, margins or anything else.

Are there any down sides?

Yes actually! Internet Explorer doesn't support them. Are any of us surprised? Nope. So the way around this to add it after the variables. But IE... please get it together.

Taken from Mozilla documentation.

Have you used CSS variables before? Let me know if you have any questions!

View original article here: https://jkimexploring.wordpress.com/2019/12/04/blogmas-what-are-css-variables

Bertelsmann Scholarship: AI track

JkImExploring — Sun, 24 Nov 2019 17:59:38 +0000

Last Friday I got an email saying I was awarded the Bertelsmann Technology Scholarship Challenge Course. The course is an Intro to Deep Learning with PyTorch through Udacity. It utilizes Python as the programming language and is the fundamentals of AI (Artificial Intelligence). The classroom opened yesterday so I've already started. This is actually a free course on Udacity as well if anyone would like to take it!

So what makes the challenge course different?

Well, I'm glad you asked. Bertelsmann awarded around 45,000 scholarships to three tracks. AI, Data Analysis and Cloud Computing. That's 15,000 people per course. Then the top 1,500 people will get the full nanodegree. They take into account if you completed the entire course as well as the amount and quality of participation in the Slack group.

What I expect:

The recommended study time is 10 hours a week. During my last scholarship through them I definitely procrastinated on studying the first month since it was a topic I was already familiar with so I'm not doing the this time.

I have no AI experience and very minimal Python experience so I know it's going to take a lot more than the 10 hours. Thankfully on Slack we have a beginners channel to share resources and there are channels to get help.

I had started this course before but was quickly overwhelmed by the speed so having the extra help (and a deadline) is already helping. Personally, I tend to stay off Slack for the first week because it's a lot of people introducing themselves, posting just to post, repeat questions and not threading anything. It's unnecessary and very overwhelming. After the orientation and an AMA session I'm sure it'll calm down.

Have you done any AI? Is it something you're interested in?

View full article on https://jkimexploring.wordpress.com/2019/11/24/bertelsmann-scholarship-ai-track/

Halfway Point: Hacktoberfest

JkImExploring — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 14:19:37 +0000

While I wrote that title I heard the voice of my training app in my head… so that’s fun.

This month I’ve been doing more than normal and I honestly have no clue how I’m balancing it all. Last night I relaxed and watched Idiocracy and After and blogged a bit, neither took a ton of concentration which was exactly what I needed.

HACKTOBERFEST:
I am participating in Hacktoberfest this month. My plan was to do one the first couple days and then one each Saturday. Basically I’m one behind where I was planning to be at.

First Pull Request:

This was a super simple one just to get used to the process of doing a PR. There was good documentation and I basically just had to put in a new JavaScript object of a movie, emojis, etc.

Second Pull Request:

I had a goal to do something in C++ and since I’m just learning I decided to do one that was a HackerRank problem. I didn’t want people to just be able to copy the answer blindly so I also added in a couple comments about why the answer is what it is and why it isn’t as straightforward as I thought it’d be. I did one on a for loop and one on pointers.

I had only done pointers and then I was looking at PRs other people have put in and someone else had already done that. So note to myself (and others): LOOK AT THE PENDING PRs.

How's everyone else's Hacktoberfest going?

View full article here: http://www.jkimexploring.wordpress.com/2019/10/15/halfway-point-october/

My #Hacktoberfest Goals

JkImExploring — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 15:42:49 +0000

Every year Digital Ocean puts on a hackathon in October called Hacktoberfest and this year they are partnering with DEV. As some may remember last October was the very end of my nanodegree program so I didn’t participate.

WHY I’M PARTICIPATING
I’ve been wanting to get into open source for a couple months now to be able to use the skills I’ve been learning and interact with others’ code again since I miss that and I feel as though participating in something globally, like Hacktoberfest, will help motivate me to actually start.

Since it is my first time doing open source I’m going to start off with easier issues, but would I really be me if I didn’t add on more goals for myself?

HACKTOBERFEST GOALS:
Contribute to one climate change- based project
Do one PR where I have to learn something new
One contribution using C++ (if I fail on any this will be it since it’s a super new language to me)
One contribution utilizing React or Vue frameworks

What are your October goals? Who else is participating? Have you contributed to open source before?

Full text here: https://jkimexploring.wordpress.com/2019/10/01/hacktoberfest-2019/