DEV Community: Rylie Spriggs

Networking

Rylie Spriggs — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 05:10:27 +0000

This week my primary focus has been on networking and connecting with people who have the time to talk and share their experiences.
Fortunately, I work as a Barista in Seattle so each and every day I meet new engineers who all have been more than generous to help with the job search.

A few key pointers that I've gained through Career Services and personal connections and experiences:

1.) Build connections with everyone, send messages, mingle, and constantly outreach. The more you know means more opportunity and knowledge of the career field and what to expect.
2.) Keep up with old and new connections. Emails, LinkedIn or even in person to have a constant flow of ideas and work relationships.
3.) Don't give up, people see your hard work and applaud your efforts. Always keep going.

With those tips in mind, I now spend each day being confident with my new career path, and again everyone I have met has been more than kind to share pointers and information for their respective companies. This field is daunting, but with the right network anything is possible.

Fundamentals

Rylie Spriggs — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 00:57:05 +0000

After graduating from Flatiron School of Seattle I have been flooded with dreams and motivation for my future career and what steps I need to get there.
Since graduating, I have spent the better part of my free time watching lectures on Python, C++, and Java, filling my notes with the differences in those languages and data structures. Programming is ever changing so keeping up and constantly practicing is incredibly important.
I recently had a mock technical interview and it did not go the way I had hoped. I had spent hours and hours on Leet Code practicing algorithms and expanding my critical thinking, however I made a big mistake not keeping up with the fundamentals. What should've been a simple method actually stumped me, and of course I led myself to that position.
My take away from that experience was to not focus on the tough parts, but to expand my education and continuously work to be the best developer that I can be. I have started from square one, reading over the couple thousand pages of notes that I have accumulated with my time at Flatiron as well as each assignment.
After a lot of hard work, a tough lesson learned, and countless hours of studying, I'm on the right track to be the developer I've dreamed of.

The Calm Before The Storm

Rylie Spriggs — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 21:18:29 +0000

I'm not sure where to start, what a long journey it has been.

The past 10 months have been the most challenging, stressful, and exhausting time of my life. However, it's also been the most rewarding and fulfilling. I joined Flatiron with the goal that I've had since my teenage years, and that is to be a Software Engineer.
I am happy to say that I have submitted my final project, I haven't taken my assessment yet but the last year of my life has proven that I can and will accomplish anything I put my mind to.

Over the course of the last 10 months, I've learned an incredible amount of knowledge and skills in the programming field.
From Ruby, Html & CSS, to JavaScript and React, a crazy amount of information in such a short time, it truly is like learning a foreign language, but I was never good at French.

The first phase in my eyes was the most challenging, no it wasn't the most complex, but it was the first dive into the programming world that proved to be the most difficult.
Starting with procedural Ruby, I quickly understood the meaning of object-oriented programming. From variables & arrays, to booleans & iterations followed by scraping and API's, it all came together in a very logical and to the point manner.

Next came the Sinatra and Rails phases. In Sinatra I was introduced to SQL, Active Record, HTML & CSS, Sessions and MVC. With those utilities put together, I could then make an applications and deploy it to a browser page. It was exciting to see each skill build the framework of an application.
Next came Rails, at this point setting up the database was easily implemented from memory. With associations, forms, nested routes and the useful CRUD actions (create, read, update, & delete). The first three phases came together harmoniously, creating the framework of future languages I would learn and applications I would create in the future.

The last two phases were JavaScript and React. In JavaScript the DOM was introduced. With little client side manipulation in the previous phases, it was a huge leap in learning by adding new skillsets to my repertoire. With JavaScript, I learned everything from functions, to fetch requests and event listeners, adding more functionality and fun features to my learning and projects.
With React, adding in props and components, and the declarative writing that in turn defined actions, reducers, components and containers, it compacted every element of learning up until this point into a nice logical package.

Everything that I have learned so far has been a wild ride, but it's only just begun! I plan to continuously learn each and every day, master new skills, and tackle new projects.
Thank you Flatiron, my cohort members and my amazing teacher Candice Peters, this opportunity has given me a new outlook on life and abilities that I've always sought after.

In reference to my Final Fantasy image and title, I have only reached the Calm Lands, I still have a long journey ahead of me.

My React(ion)

Rylie Spriggs — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 01:45:43 +0000

For my final project for Flatiron I created a React app with a Rails backend. My project is my school portfolio that I hope to use in the future.

This time around I had a lot of fun creating my project as the initial phase of Javascript was a beast. As they say practice makes perfect and React was no different. So with that I knew that I wanted to create something based off my goals for enhancing my projects in the future. I will always think I could've done something better and I'm not ashamed to say that my CSS skills aren't the best.. so add that to the list!

To start off my backend I used postgresql and utilized the scaffold generator for easy setup to create my tables, Goals and Todos to complete that goal.
A goal has a project title, and description of what I would like to achieve to further enhance the quality and functionality. And Todo is a list of steps either completed or not to get to that goal.

Also the goal can be for anything I would like to do in the future as well, bigger projects, coding challenges, or whatever I'd like to set my sights on!

In the example above, My goal is to expand my Javascript project, as once again it lacked the CSS pizazz it need.

I went about this with a pretty standard React setup:
Actions || Components || Containers || & Reducers.

Actions used fetch to grab the localhost route for each table and their corresponding fetch, create, and delete paths.

Components for each table. To display and create.

Containers to wrap each component and their files to work as one.

And reducers that correspond with their actions.

The app also contains routes to my project repos, blog posts for each phase, and an introductory and about page!

My biggest struggle apart from debugging was actually figuring out how to default my node version to -v 16. I even created a new back and frontend. I spent more time than I'd like to admit on trying to figure it out, but alas theres always a very easy answer after hours of hard work.

As we're talking about goals, I hope to expand this project and be able to utilize it with future applications/interviews.

Cheers, React!

Javascript to the Stars

Rylie Spriggs — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 03:16:37 +0000

Another phase completed for Flatiron, this time around I created and in browser single page application using Javascript, CSS, and HTMl for the frontend and a Rails JSON API for the backend.

The frontend consists of both html and js index files, along with an ApiService, Info JS and Comment JS as well as the stylistic portion of CSS to give it that pop.
The backend contains the standard MVC of Ruby on Rails utilizing an active model serializer, migrations, a seed file and resources.

As for the function of the application, upon loading in, the application user can be wowed by how beautiful Earth is with a photo taken by the International Space Station in orbit.

Upon to start the application, a button to info on Planets is available, here the parameters are set to {planet: name, galaxy, moons, mass, gravity, discovery date}. Who would've guessed that Jupiter's mass is 318 times that of Earth?

From here user can comment on that Planet's info and give their thoughts about it.

Let's Build a Rails App!

Rylie Spriggs — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 03:44:54 +0000

Here we are again, writing another post, meaning that I completed my third project for Flatiron school and I could not be happier!

This time around, I created an Anime series collective of A-Z titles (my favorites of course).
Since you asked, series wise my favorites are: Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, but as our likes and interests change this will inevitably change.

Now back to the project..

Requirements for this project seemed like an insurmountable mountain, solving one step only made it seem like the peak got farther and farther away. However, Dory from Finding Nemo was in my head "just keep swimming(climbing)."

To start, I created a few models; Users, Shows, Reviews, and Watch Later.

We want a user to be able to sign in but not hardcode it into the user's controller so I used sessions =>

(omniauth was a headache)

Next, wanted to make sure a user could hop on and see a welcome page to sign up, login, or use a 3rd party, it went like this =>

Everyone needs a little help sometimes, lets bring in the application helper =>

Good stuff!!

Alright, next was the seed file, which took a lot longer than anticipated. =>

Awesome! Next was tying things together with the shows controller and view files. =>

Everything is in place for our views now =>

Which all tied together with new, edit, index, and show will look like =>

(26 titles are very difficult to fit in one screenshot but you get it)

So, great! We have our users and shows but we need to add some more spice, let's add reviews!

Here comes the reviews controller! =>

Sweet, looks like we're set to create some views so we can give our undying love to these amazing titles =>

All tied up like Houdini, it'll look like this! =>

So we can click on a title, get the genre, description, seasons, and rating, and then leave a review!You can even create a new review, update it or, or delete your review just incase you didn't get give it a 5/5.

And there you have it folk, an A-Z collective of Anime's you should definitely watch if you haven't already.

Now I know it doesn't have all the css bells and whistle right now, but this will continue to be a work in progress and will be updated once it's shiny and pretty.

Thanks for tuning in!

My first MVC app..

Rylie Spriggs — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 23:21:53 +0000

As I set out on Phase 2 at Flatiron, I knew that my next project would be even more complex than my CLI project.

MVC.. Models, Views, and Controllers, all moving parts of an intricate machine. To put it bluntly, I did struggle with concepts and how each gear moved with one another, but I never gave up. I marched on through lab after lab to get to my Sinatra Project which proved to test me in multiple ways, however I learned much more about programming and also much more about myself.

My MVC was based around the career I love, making coffee. Each day I go to work doing what I love, making morning fuel for every day people, I take pride in my work and even more so when I come up with a drink that everyone loves. This inspired me to create an app that will allow user's to view already created drinks by a pro or the user can create a drink on their own and use it for a future order!

To make this application work, structure is the most important thing:

app
- controllers
  - application_controller.rb
  - users_controller.rb
  - drinks_controller.rb
- models
  - users.rb
  - drinks.rb
- views
  - users
    - signup.erb
    - login.erb
    - account.rb
  - drinks
    - create_drink.erb
    - index.erb
    - show.erb
    - edit.erb
  - welcome.erb
  - layout.erb
- public
  - css
  - images

First created the models: user and drinks
user has_secure_password
user has_many :drinks
drinks belong_to :user

Now for controllers, User can login, or signup, or logout.

get '/signup' do
if logged_in?
redirect to "/users/#{@user.slug}"
else
erb :'users/signup'
end
end

get '/login' do
if logged_in?
user = User.find_by(id: session[:user_id])
redirect to "users/#{user.slug}"
else
erb :'users/login'
end
end

get '/logout' do
if_not_logged_in
session.clear
redirect to '/'
end

Drinks controller can create drink, edit, or delete a users drink.

get '/drink/new' do
if logged_in?
erb :'drinks/create_drink'
else
redirect '/login'
end
end

patch '/drinks/:id' do
@drink = Drink.find_by_id(params[:id])
if params.empty?
redirect "/drinks/#{@drink.id}/edit"
elsif logged_in? && !params.empty? && current_user.drinks.include?(@drink)
@drink.update(name: params[:name], size: params[:size], flavor: params[:flavor], milk: params[:milk], toppings: params[:toppings], details: params[:details], user_id: params[:id])
redirect "/drinks/#{@drink.id}"
else
redirect '/login'
end
end

delete '/drinks/:id' do
@drink = Drink.find_by(id: params[:id])
@drink.destroy
redirect '/drinks'
end

With controllers set in place, our views come along with it.
A user can sign in with a user name and password or login. Then, redirect to their account.

A user's drinks can be created, edited, and deleted.

All files end up compiled together to create a working app,
of course with CSS to make it aesthetically pleasing!

The whole process of project planning, creating, testing, and debugging was a long road, but at the end of the day I'm grateful to have made such a project and be able to call it my own.

Phase 1: Coding for the Future.

Rylie Spriggs — Sat, 17 Apr 2021 17:31:38 +0000

With my first phase of Flatiron coming to a close, I've taken the time to do some self reflection over the last two months that I have been in the program.
On day one, I had absolutely no coding experience. My first few assignments were eye opening, pushing me out of my comfort zone and activating my technical mind like never before.
In the beginning variables and iterations seemed complicated enough, but after spending hours upon hours doing assignments, research, and collaborating with others, Ruby is by no means mastered, but I consider myself very familiar and capable with the language.

At the end of the section, I had to create my own Command Line Interface (CLI). Now, I have built them before, but guided by tests and assignment requirements, so starting from scratch and creating my own was the true test.
I was quick to decide that my project will be a Final Fantasy character guide (FFX is my all time favorite game). Luckily, I was able to find a community created API => https://www.moogleapi.com/.
From here using URI and JSON, I parsed through the URL and assigned it to my Character class.

 character_array = JSON.parse(response.body)
    character_array.each do |character|
        Character.new(character)

Now, in my character class I used key value pairs in a hash to grab the attributes that I wanted.

 :name, :job, :description

Then, in my CLI class, the fun began. Creating a menu that was interactive with the user looked like this:

 Welcome to the world of Final Fantasy!

 Are you ready to choose your Guardian?

Invalid message:

 You've shaken up the Chocobos!

Exit the program:

 May Yevon be with you.

I used the Moogle API to puts out ALL characters across every Final Fantasy game in an indexed list. By searching a name it output their attributes, for Tidus:

Name: Tidus.

Job: Guardian.

Description: Tidus (ティーダ Tīda) is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy X, a rising star blitzball player from Zanarkand. After the gargantuan monster known as Sin attacks his hometown, Tidus is transported to the world of Spira. Lost, confused, and seemingly out of place, Tidus meets a newly-fledged summoner named Yuna, and her guardians. Yuna is to set out on a pilgrimage to put an end to Sin, and by joining Yuna on her pilgrimage Tidus hopes he will find his way home. Yuna is the main protagonist in Final Fantasy X-2, but her relationship with Tidus works as the prime motivation for her to start her quest..

It took me just over a week to get my code running, the moment my program responded flawlessly was a moment of pure joy, relief, and pride. After two months of constant learning, coding, and assignment after assignment I have learned and retained more than I ever expected.
After just one programming language, I am excited to delve deeper into the programming world. A hopeful jack of all trades, but still a master of none.

off the rails!

Rylie Spriggs — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 20:49:05 +0000

Unlike programming, there are no absolute paths in real day to day life. When I finally took my future seriously, I didn't know where to begin or even what I wanted. I couldn't see myself in a 4 year college nor could I see myself doing service jobs for the rest of my life. The one thing I did know is that I love technology and even more so, loved the framework that created it.
As we age, we usually move on from our "why?" phase, but not in my case. I question everything, needing to know all the little details as to why something works. As it sometimes is a curse, it's most definitely a blessing when learning and writing code.
As I embark on this journey, I glance at my sticky note attached to my monitor that says "Rylie, future Software Engineer," knowing that one day I could be programming my favorite video game or a program that could change lives.