DEV Community: ResoTap

Project: Tic-tac-toe - Reflections.

ResoTap — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 15:05:21 +0000

As I begin another project I find myself failing to spend enough time planning. This ultimately leads to more road blocks and a general lack of direction. I need to acknowledge the benefits in giving each step of the process an appropriate amount of time. If I rush through one then that ultimately leads to issues in another.

It's easy to get restless and jump right into writing lines of code, after all, this feels more productive than just thinking/planning. You have something concrete to look at and at the end of the day you can say, "Nice! I got this much done.". However, even if that one session went well, and I have something to show for it, any time that's cut out of the planning phase will ultimately come back to bite me.

I need to adjust my perspective on what I consider productive and find the value that comes from having a solid plan/idea of how you want to approach a project. This will ultimately lead to more productivity and improve my own abilities as a developer.

Project: Library - [Completed]

ResoTap — Mon, 15 May 2023 17:04:35 +0000

I just finished my first project in the JS path of TOP and feel pretty good about where I am in my journey. While there are still/always going to areas I need to improve on, overall I am happy with my current standing.

I was able to improve on how I plan for and approach new projects by breaking down each problem to it simplest form. With the help of StackOverlow and ChatGPT, I was able to find the answers I didn't have myself and learn why those answers worked so that I, hopefully, will not need them as much in the future. This being the thought process I have whenever I come a across an issue I can't think through on my own. If I am seeking the answer to a problem then my goal is to find the most efficient/correct answer, and why that answer is best for the current problem, so that I will be able to get it own in the future.

I am trying to be hyper aware of my reliance on tools like StackOverflow and ChatGPT, while I am still learning. I do think that AI based tools will be standard for developers going forward, I don't want to be reliant on them to do everything. Therefore I am putting an emphasis having these resources be something I only use after I am sure I can not come to a conclusion on my own.

After reading the book, "Make It Stick" by Peter C. Brown, I have a new appreciation/understanding of how the learning process works. One of the more important take-a-ways being that the struggle to recall information strengthens it. Assuming you do get the answer eventually, that information will last longer because of the effort you put into trying to recall. It's that recall process that solidifies what you learned previously.

Knowing this, I want to be able to achieve this as organically as possible each time. I don't think this recall process solidifies the information as well when you have to be given the answer, like with ChatGPT. However, if you spend too much time spinning-your-wheels and getting frustrated then I think it's best to get your answer. Even when you are given the answer, its often not completely accurate and needs to be tweaked to fit your current needs. Requiring you too think through another problem, even if that new problem isn't as cumbersome.

At the end of the day, these AI tools are here to stay and I just have to find a way to make the most of them while also making sure they don't hinder my development in the process.

Overall, I believe I am doing a good job at finding that balance.

TOP project: Library - Understanding errors

ResoTap — Tue, 09 May 2023 15:29:03 +0000

This project has been a good exercise in how to connect the dots for everything I've been building towards up till this point. Oddly enough I felt more comfortable working with the objects/arrays than I did with the DOM. I had to reacquaint myself with some of the appropriate syntax. Specifically, using 'querySelector' instead of 'getElementsByClassName' when trying to access one element.

ChatGPT was a big help when it came to explaining why I was getting an error when using 'getElementsByClassName'. I would've eventually figured out by spending the time going through google posts and refreshing my DOM knowledge but this definitely saved me a lot of time.

I don't like to use ChatGPT for most things I do in coding. Simply because I don't think it is always conducive to learning if I am always being given the answer instead of working it out myself. In this example, I was very happy to have the resource as it gave me exactly what I needed, nothing more and allowed me to continue.

New TOP Project: Library

ResoTap — Mon, 08 May 2023 01:44:37 +0000

I finally made it to the first project of the JS path for TOP(The Odin Project). Excited that I am back to learning more JS and working on JS based projects. I am putting an emphasis on making sure I am do everything the right way, and that starts with the planning process!

I started by writing out by writing out the steps I would have to take in order to get the desired output.

While there will be more needed in the end than what I have written above I felt this would suffice to get me going in the right direction.

Spending the time to break down the problem I'm facing has really helped me understand. I don't think I spent enough time doing this with previous projects.

Being able to talk through the problem and visualize everything really helps me organize my thoughts and keep track what I have to do.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

Classes, constructors and objects, oh my!

ResoTap — Sat, 06 May 2023 15:17:11 +0000

It has been awhile but figured was a good time to write since I have just begun my deep dive into the depths of JS! One thing The Odin Project(TOP) has done really well is providing a structure that is cohesive and easy to follow. The third party material is to-the-point and rarely tackles material that you haven't been introduced to yet. Which is impressive, the whole course is like a well constructed quilt. Filled with different fabrics, textures and designs but still manages to come together in a pleasant way. (Makes me excited to get involved with some open source projects down the line!)

Currently, I am learning more about objects, classes, constructors, methods, this and how to appropriately invoke them all. Just finished reading through this great article that TOP provided at the bottom of one of the lessons that does a great job at explaining many different ways to use all the above.

Gentle Explanation of 'this' in JS.

I think the best part about the article is how the author, Dmitri, rigidly sticks to the correct descriptors when talking through each example. I found it a bit different/difficult to read at first but as I went through each section it became easier to understand as the style in which he writes remains the same and does not deviate. Thus making these topics easy to grasp.

Felt like giving a shout out to Dmitri Pavlutin for the great resource!

Getting back to writing...

ResoTap — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 23:01:52 +0000

Well, as much as I intended to document my coding journey I quickly let the documenting part get away from me. Not too surprised by that. I had planned to end my days reviewing what I had done that day and using this blog as my outlet but that did not work out as I had intended. After getting home from work and putting in my time with The Odin Project's(TOP) lessons I had no energy left to give. Not that that has changed but I am going to make a more concerted effort to keep up the habit. I believe I will be able to get a lot out of these posts down the line and help me gain some perspective on how far I have come should perspective be needed(and I know it will!).

Anyways, I have now completed the Foundations portion of TOP and find myself breezing through the first portion of the full stack JS path. So far it has been a lot of reading, with introductions to new syntax and HTML/CSS concepts. I have been really enjoying the change of pace and the introduction to new material but also trying to get through this part as quickly as possible because I have never struggled that much with HTML/CSS(that's not entirely true as far as CSS is concerned). The same can not be said for JS though. I still don't feel too confident about my ability to code with JS and the lesson block following the one I am on is a deep dive into JS.

I know I will gain confidence with more practice so I am excited to get started again. However, I am unsure if TOP alone is enough to really get me to where I want and have been on the look out for some supplementary material. I was really hoping to go on this journey and reach my goal without having spent any money on courses but I have been finding some that seem interesting and targeted at some of the issues I have been facing. The main issue being my ability to problem solve.

I don't feel confident in my ability to be given a problem that has a solution and be able to find it on my own. Take the information I have learned and figure out the best course of action. The argument could be made that at my current level I am expecting too much of myself, but either way I still recognize that as being a weak point in my education/coding ability. I think I have made too much of a leap, from learning how to write functions, loops and if statements, to coding whole projects(like calculators and etch-a-sketches). Not that those are big projects but I feel like I skipped a step and went from 'A to C' without stopping at 'B'.

I have seen some courses out there that have talked about how they address this feeling directly by connecting the dots a bit more before jumping to building projects. Still haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet, and will likely not do so until I get to the next JS section of TOP. If I still feel like I am missing something once I get there then I will look for some other material to help fill the gaps. In the end the investment will be worth it, I believe.

Finally finished my first project!

ResoTap — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 15:48:26 +0000

While I definitely could clean up the CSS a bit, and probably will at a later date, I am happy that I am done. Took me a bit longer to complete than I had initially intended but still made it.

What I learned

I did not take the planning portion of the process as seriously as I could have. I think this ultimately set me back in the long run as I found myself a bit rudderless at certain times. It really helped when I started making lists of different issues I was having. This allowed me to keep track of what needed to be done more easily.

This was also the first time I revisited my own code and had to refactor the way it works. Didn't think much of it beforehand but knowing it was fine to just delete code and start from scratch, really opened things up for me. I had anxiety about deleting the code of the only JS project I had that worked and that wasn't something I was excited about. I wasn't working on the main branch either so I should have done that a lot sooner.

I definitely got better at googling. Sounds small but knowing what to google can make all the difference. Which ties back into the planning and list making, since my google searches are more direct and specific.

Overall, I learned a lot during the whole process. Unfortunate it took me as long as it did but I learned from my mistakes and won't do the same thing in the future.

As long I am learning and growing then that should be what I am focused on. Results will matter eventually but at this point, progress is what matters most at the moment.

It's not much but it's honest work.

ResoTap — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 02:50:54 +0000

Today I did not get much done, too much going on when I got home from work, but I did manage to make myself a to-do list for tomorrow. I tried to identify everything that needs to be tweaked and compiled a list so I know where I should start tomorrow morning. I have been listening to this book on audible called Atomic Habits by James Clear, which has helped give me some ideas on how I can be more productive and better set myself up for success. I am only about half way through the book but it has been very good so far.

As of right now my schedule consists of me waking up at 6am, grabbing a cup of coffee and jumping right into wherever I left off the day before. Some mornings are more productive than others, but at the very least that hour allows me to review what I have and come up with a plan of attack for when I come home from work. I work as a para in a school and the hours run from 9:20 to 4:10. Not a terribly long day which is nice and gives me the flexibility to get some hours in before and after work. I walk to and from work, which is about 30 minutes each way, so I am usually able to be on my computer and studying/working by 5pm and go until around 7pm.

In total, during the week, I average about 2-3 hours per day which is spent going through TOP lessons/projects. Weekends I devote somewhere between 4-6 hours a day, since I tend to have more energy/time.

I could always put in more time to speed up the learning curve but I have come to the conclusion that I need at least 2-3 hours a day to unwind and I don't want to burn myself out. I'd rather it feel like something I get to do than something I have to do, and if I am stressing myself out trying to cram as much as possible then I run the risk of losing that drive.

As of right now, time is on my side and I am trying to enjoy the ride as much as possible. This stuff is HARD, very rewarding but mentally draining. Surprisingly enough, I find there are a lot of similarities between what I do at my job and coding. Both require a lot of problem solving which can take up a lot of mental energy. Part of me wishes I still had a job building furniture and moving boxes around a backroom, just to balance out what I am doing throughout the day.

All in all, I am lucky to be in the situation I am in now. Inching closer everyday to my goal, knowing that I am putting in the hours needed to make it happen.

Feels good.

First post, lets see where this goes.

ResoTap — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 01:08:48 +0000

So I just found this site and decided that it would be a good idea to start blogging/writing about where I am at in my journey. I am currently working my way through the Foundations portion of The Odin Project.

In the process of refactoring a rock, paper, scissors program so that it can be interacted with and displayed through the web page of a browser instead of the console. I am learning a lot through this process and after struggling this last week to figure out what I was missing I finally had a breakthrough!

Thanks to this post I figured out how 'e' can represent an event and that after triggering this event an object is passed to the handler function which can then be referenced within that handler function elsewhere. Originally I had no idea where this 'e' argument was coming from but this one post was so nicely worded it cleared everything up and the fog was lifted.

I will likely go into more detail in future posts, with snippets of any code I was working on but, for now I just had to get off my chest the sense of relief and satisfaction I felt when finding this solution. Really does make all the struggling worth while when the pieces start to come together.