Groovy, Man!/ Friends In Address Books

     Here I am at the coffee shop once again. I've got GrooveShark going. Click the link for the playlist that I'm playing. I've been on this one for a while, and I still like it! Always a solid electronic song going on. I've had a latté, I may get a regular coffee at some point to keep my eyes open. Friday being its usual self, I'd rather get this over quickly, but I need to put some time in. So, time to plug in and plug away!

HTML/CSS

      I'm sorting my friends! It feels a bit like circles in g+. They're even using Google colors. Anyhoo, it's the CSS I'm looking at. they pretty much don't care to teach you how to make a circle border. It's just there. Seriously. Don't just throw things at me, tell me what they are! Good thing ye olde Personal Initiative is still around.
div {
display: inline-block;
margin-left: 5px;
height:100px;
width:100px;
border-radius:100%;
border:2px solid black;
}
And that's how to do a circle border.
Now they teach me something cool. You can have an <id> and a <class> in the same tag. That is definitely nifty! Lots of uses for that. And I finished. That was quick. Looks like we're about to get into this:

I'll continue with that in the next post.

JavaScript

      Isn't it funny how normal it can become that a single letter being incorrectly capitalized eventually is not so stupid any more? It's perfectly logical that the computer would have a binary (heh. I made a play on words) track. It's either right, or it's wrong. There is no such thing as close. That's totally normal for me now! How strange... The Address Book of happening is still happening. I was trying to get it to print out a return on a search and it just wasn't working. It wasn't until I hunkered down and really scrutinized the code that I discovered my error. A lower-case 'l'. How thoughtless of me. I shall endeavour a better attempt at correct grammar today. After smashing my way Neanderthal-style through the lesson I moved on to adding more people in an easier method.
Starting off with this function:

var add = function(firstName,lastName,email,phoneNumber){
    contacts[contacts.length] = {
    firstName: firstName,
    lastName: lastName,
    phoneNumber: phoneNumber,
    email: email
};
It allows for any additions to be done with one line of code like this:

add("Mookie","Chess","example@example.com", 9003006000);

It doesn't print anything, it just adds that person to the address book. In order to see if actually worked, we use this:

list();

If you recall, that was part of the earlier code.
Turns out, it actually has a use.
And project Address Book is complete!

Olé!
Now it is time to bid you adieu. See y'all on Monday!

--Martin

Beautiful Weather/ Not A Walk In The Park

     It's a beautiful day here in Texas. I had to take a break from my studies and go for a walk to enjoy this gorgeous weather. One of my friends told me that Katie Herzig was giving all of her music away for free today. So, that's what I was listening to. It was pretty good. I actually got my studies on a roll today. So, this is actually going to go out on time! No coffee today. I'm awake enough from all the amazing weather. So, time to plug in and plug away!

HTML/CSS

      I've been doing HTML just long enough for that picture to make my eye twitch just a little. Ever since I started learning HTML I've been writing these posts in HTML and I'll get little error messages if a tag isn't closed, or something. So, I'm more perceptive to tags lately. Mainly because I don't like the error messages. I'm pretty sure that I don't really care for the <nth-child> tag when it comes to calling a specific element. I mean, what's wrong with class or id? Although, I suppose that maybe some tags can't have those in there. So, maybe that's when they're useful. Hopefully.

I earned a badge! Olé!

JavaScript

      JavaScript. So useful, and yet so daunting. I seriously need to start doing some real world applications to have some real knowledge under ye olde metaphorical belt. I have the most basic ideas of .js, but some of the more esoteric practices can be overtly foreign on such a frequent basis that the only way to retain knowledge is to do the lessons over and over and over and over... As long as it actually helps me attain something in the end, I suppose it's worth it. The code that I'm starting with today is pretty much just simple math. Which should be easy, except that it isn't always easier said than done











 If you want to do cool code snapshots like this, go here.  It's called Marmoset.
      Anyhoo, the age bit was OK. I just had to do an <if/else> statement. Although, I'm sure I could do a ternary operator and have it all done better. I'll try that next time I need an <if/else> statement.

Seriously, remembering the names to these things can be hard! I tried three different ways before I got this. Like I said. remembering things in .js is hard sometimes! Remembering all the operators and objects and whatnot. I'm going to eventually remember them all, but it isn't exactly a walk in the park. Not that anyone said it would be. OK. That's the end for today.

See y'all on Wednesday!

--Martin

I Got Glomped!/.js Is Hard!

      
     It's a Wednesday here in my timezone, and that means I gotta pump out some juicy coding goodness. Also, that's the nerdiest thing I've said since.... yesterday. My gf sent me an HTML script that said she loved me. Yup we're nerdy. There should be a nerd pride parade! that would be so cool with blinking lights and whatnot! Maybe make the GPS route that we follow spell out NERD. *Ahem! ANYhoo... I'm actually at the coffee shop today. I know, it's not Friday! You're wasting gas! ACtually, I have to run errends when I'm done, so I thought: why not study at the coffee shop today? And that's what I'm doing. I switched back to the dev channel on my Pixel because the beta channel was getting laggy, so now that I have a smoother UX I'm happier. The music of choice today is "Programming Electric&Alternative" on Grooveshark. It's actually OK as long as they don't hit me with some Drake or similar stuff. Alright, I have my coffee at hand, my music going, it's time to plug in and plug away!

HTML/CSS

      So, on this front, we have Class and ID selectors. I love these guys; they make my day so much easier! I can now call things directly without worrying about disrupting something, and still have differences in something with the same tag as something else. Here's an exapmle:
<h2 id="intro">Introduction</h2>
<h3 class="standout">Classes and IDs in CSS</h3>
<p class="standout">Classes and IDs are super easy in CSS.
                                                  You're using them right now!</p>
<h3>Regular HTML Selectors</h3>


      Notice that there are tags with the same name,but they have <id> or <class> inside the tag, and those equal a name. So, the CSS side to this would look like this:
#intro{
    color:#b83c3a;
}
.standout{
    color:#f7ac5f;
    font-family:Verdana;
}
     Again, notice a few things that are different. There's the <#intro>, but then there's <.standout> tag the <id> tags get the<#> in front of their name, and the <class>  tags  get a period<.> in front of them.  You can have the same name for an <id> and a <class> and they won't interfere with each other. Why have the two different types of ways to call something specifically? I have no idea. They both work the same way. But I suppose I'll figure that out at some point.

JavaScript

      I swear... Every time I'm about to get the .js going stuff happens. It's already 6:02 PM here, and I'm just getting this part going. I got glomped by a friend that I hadn't seen in a while and I regret nothing. We had a great time catching up. I believe I made the right choice. I had a ball and now I'm scrambling to get some .js going. So, if this part of the post is skimpy, you know why. Also, I need to ramp up my .js times of studies. It's getting into the technical part, so I have to study twice as much to get what I'm being taught.
      Alright here we go. Still on constructors, sadly. They're really giving me the run-around. I just can't seem to memorize how to do this. I'm going to get it, it just isn't going to be easy. Right now, I'm working on this:

function Rectangle(height, width) {
  this.height = height;
  this.width = width;
  this.calcArea = function() {
      return this.height * this.width;
  };

  function calcPerimeter(height, width){
      this.height = height;
      this.width = width;
      this.calcperimeter = function(){
          return this.height * 2 + this.width * 2;
      };
  }
}

var rex = new Rectangle(7,3);
var area = rex.calcArea();
var perimeter = rex.calcPerimeter();

I wrote the calcPerimeter Method, but I can't seem to call it right, or it's missing something... I don't know. Turns out I had a lot of fluff in there... Typical me, add too much junk. I need to get that under control! Here's the finished code:
function Rectangle(height, width) {
  this.height = height;
  this.width = width;
  this.calcArea = function() {
      return this.height * this.width;
  };

this.calcPerimeter =function (){
    return this.height * 2 + this.width * 2;
  }
}

var rex = new Rectangle(7,3);
var area = rex.calcArea();
var perimeter = rex.calcPerimeter();

Notice the much smaller addition that I added. Pretty much, I just got carried away and added those two lines that got deleted because they said use the code already there as a model, but they didn't mean everything. Well, now that I got that out of the way, I done! I shall see y'all on Friday! Unless I get glomped again, but I doubt it since I'll be at home. So... bye! 

--Martin

Powercord + Bad Memory = Two Trips/ Finally Using The 'This' Keyword

     I did it! I got the coffee, which saved my life, AND I got more of the JavaScript done than I said I was going to. It was very frustrating, but now I know how to use the <for/in> loop stuff. I think.Today, I finally get to see what the <this>  keyword does. I've seen it all over the place in other people's code, but I've never used it. So, now I finally get to learn about it. Today is Friday, so I'm at the coffee shop, for the second time... I got here, got some tea, because; I'm a rebel like that, aaaaand no power cord. Seriously. I can't believe that I forgot it; I was going to work without it, but my Chromebook was dead. So, I drank my tea in peace, and then I had to go all the way back home and get my power cord. I'm back now and jamming to the Foo Fighters thanks to +Tejas Richard . I've got four of their albums on random, so I should be good to go for a very long time. And now it's time to plug in and plug away!

HTML/CSS

      Today I'm getting my first real taste of CSS. Now to see that I can keep up. First, they're making sure I can do tables with HTML so that I can use the tables for pictures, I think. It would seem that I was right. I'm making a table of pictures that link to stuff. You know, <a href> and shtuff. So, now to do the nine cells in the table and get this thing imaged up! I now know something new. The image that you see when the picture hasn't loaded yet, or doesn't load, is the HTML bits doing their thing. Well, consider me impressed. Here is a page laid out with just HTML:

And here is the same thing except that this code(<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="stylesheet.css"/>) was added in. That's it. And you get this:

That is very cool! Not really sure how that all worked, so let's go study what they're telling me.  

     So, the stylesheet bit is actually referencing a page called stylesheet.css(it's one tab over from the one I'm working on.) I didn't see the tab that had all the CSS goodness. So, as I thought, the(<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="stylesheet.css"/>) bit was referencing the CSS tab not just one line of code that does amazing things. And I feel stupid for thinking that could ever be a thing. OK, so now that the confusion is out of the way...

      Time for a coffee break! Delicious delicious coffee. Yeah, I couldn't go without it.

JavaScript

     Now for that fabled <this> keyword does! According to the lesson:"The keyword this acts as a placeholder, and will refer to whichever object called that method when the method is actually used." That's clear enough, I suppose. So, to break it down even more for youse guise, here's an example of when to use the <this> keyword thingie:
// here we define our method using "this", before we even introduce bob
var setAge = function (newAge) {
  this.age = newAge;
};
// now we make bob
var bob = new Object();
bob.age = 30;
bob.setAge = setAge;

// make susan here, and first give her an age of 25
var susan= new Object();
susan.age=25;
susan.setAge=setAge;


// here, update Susan's age to 35 using the method
susan.setAge(35);
So, anything with the (.age) at the end of it, is going to be run through the setAge function(if you do things correctly/ you want them to connect) it will patch you through and you have the magic of <this>! pletty cool, eh? I sure thought so! Which is where I'm going to end this! I know, I know, why so little on the .js, Martin? Well, it's hard that's why! Well, that and it's Friday. I promise to have more next time. So, I'm going to go study some more and report more on Monday. Have a nice weekend, y'all!

--Martin

Syntax, My Dear

     It is a lovely Friday here in Texas and I am back at it! I'm here at the coffee shop getting ye 'ol caffeine going. I have been true to my lowering the caffeine amount, but I sure do miss it. So, I'm happy to have my cup 'o Joe today. So, now that I've got that and Freaks by Hawk in Paris playing, I'm ready to plug in and plug away!

                                       HTML5

     After acing the test for all the HTML that I've learned over the course of the last few days, I moved on to a social networking profile for King Kong.  That's not something you say every day.   To start they want me to make ME a profile. This:https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gq0oYM8KXyA/UupJccVf9NI/AAAAAAAB-tg/_F3b13eH30Q/w852-h608/but-first-coffee_0.jpg
was the picture that I went for my profile pic. I think that works just fine. I'm actually really picking up this HTML stuff really well! I think I'm starting to get how to learn how to learn programming more easily. Pretty sure my synapses are starting to realign themselves so that I remember text better. 
     I finished the social profile! I am now the social profile maker of awesome!

Olé! Now, onward to the JavaScript!

                                    JavaScript                  

     And we're meeting the Logical Operators again! There are three Logical Operators in JavaScript and they are: 'and' (&&), 'or'(||), and 'not'(!) I've already dealt with these, but now they're being again. Starting with: 

var iLoveJavaScript = true;
var iLoveLearning = true;

if(iLoveJavaScript && iLoveLearning) {
  // if iLoveJavaScript AND iLoveLearning:
  console.log("Awesome! Let's keep learning!");
} else if(!(iLoveJavaScript || iLoveLearning)) {
  // if NOT iLoveJavaScript OR iLoveLearning:
  console.log("Let's see if we can change your mind.");
} else {
  console.log("You only like one but not the other? We'll work on it.");

}
Which works out well, because; I do love learning.  
     And now to work on a Choose Your Own Adventure game involving a troll. I'm making a game, on the internet, about a troll. Irony thy name is Choose Your Own Adventure.
     So, it would seem that yet again the people writing out the lessons forgot to tell me something important... Let me explain; here's what they told me to do: do a variable that includes a prompt. Make the prompt have a <.toLowerCase> or a <toUpperCase> at the end and then create some switch statements. This is what I made:

var user = prompt("What is your quest?","Answer here.").toUpperCase();

switch(user){
    case "Bacon.":
        console.log("That's not a quest!");
        break;
    case "To seek the Holy Grail":
        console.log("Right. Off you go.");
        break;
    case"To be bored and alive":
        console.log("That's not a quest, that's what a teenager says.");
        break;
    default:
        console.log("That... isn't in the records, but whatever. Go away.");
}

     Now, at first, I didn't know why I was only getting the default switch statement. Turns out, you need to uppercase your cases like this:
  case "BACON.":
        console.log("That's not a quest!");

        break;
so that they will be the same. They didn't tell me that. Deductive reasoning alone got me through that lesson after some loss of time. Seriously, I think someone that didn't really know what they were doing made this entire series and was overseen by someone who just glanced around to make sure things ran. There should be some kind of beta testing or something for anything like this. But, I digress. Onward to the rest of the studies! 

     So, after battling my way through that, I am now moving on to Arrays and Objects. Which, I know I've gone over before, but it's never a bad thing to brush up on things already studied at this stage. You can put arrays inside other arrays? Array-ception! 
     So, you can nest other arrays in Dimensional arrays: var array=[["Hello", "Hi"],[23,46]];
Which all have the same  amount of elements as nests (number of[]'s) how many dimensions the array has is governed by how many nests it has. So, in this case, it's a two dimensional array.
And Jagged Arrays: var array=[["burp","Pizza"],["questions",42,"life"],[13]];
Which don't have the same amount of elements in their respective nests, but can still be used in the same manner. 
     Well, a lot has been done today! Good thing for the coffee!  I just have to remember syntax! Syntax,syntax,syntax!! From what I've heard, that's just something any programmer has to be aware of. So, keeping that in mind, I'll see y'all Monday!

--Martin