Today I learned about python and how python works. I learned basic syntax including if-else statements, loops, and how to declare functions. Python is a very popular language currently and there are many different things that it is used for. I've been learning about web development and that is something python could be used for but python has many different applications. I'm interested in learning about how python is used for machine learning and also in data analysis.
I learned about how php is used throughout the internet. A lot of pages end in .php? or something similar if you start to pay attention and PHP is being used for that. I learned how and where to put the PHP tags in a html file and also some syntax on how to use PHP.
Today I spent the day working on my Pong Game. There are still many things I would like to add to the game including a stop, start, and reset button. I plan to keep working on it and add more effects when the ball hits the paddle and when a player scores.
I learned a lot of about looping in JavaScript using an anonymous function inside of setTimeOut function. After I had the game up and running I wanted to upload it to github and then host it on their servers. I learned a lot about github reposorties and git commands needed to add files to a repository. I then had to do some research into actually making the website live on github. I discovered that I'm only allowed to have one url attached to my username(aidanahram.github.io) so I don't know how long the techie youth site will last with that url. There are other services that I learned about that do offer free static web hosting so I'm going to have to look into that.
Today I continued to learn about web development and focused strictly on JavaScript today. I decided that as my Web Development assignment I'm going to create a pong game using some HTML, CSS, and mostly JavaScript. I started that by creating the board, the 2 players, and the ball. I plan on making the ball the techie youth logo and then having the whole webpage techie youth themed. I learned a lot of JavaScript while coding the game.
Today at techie youth I spent my time learning about backend development with different languages. I learned about PHP and the purpose of it. I have noticed PHP is used in a lot of different places around the web. I also learned more javascript and followed along a youtube video where they made a snake game in the browser. I'm going to continue to learn more JavaScript as it could be used to make games which I'm interested in.
Today I learned about using google analytics on my site. Google analytics will help me track how people interact with my website. This sort of information is extremely valuable if I want to do an ad campaign down the line.
After integrating google analytics into my website I spent some time learning about JavaScript. I want to develop a web based game so JavaScript will be necessary for that. I learned about declaring variables as well as the different types there are in JavaScript. I also learned basic commands in JavaScript such as printing to the console and creating functions.
Today I watched followed along a 4 hour tutorial on HTML and learned about making forms and different type of HTML semantics. Now I can include a form on a webpage that could be used for different reasons. I have to still learn how to program some sort of backend so that it can do different tasks with the information entered into the form but that's soon to come. I learned about how different HTML tags are used in different places so that a website can be easily navigated by a code reader for someone who is unable to see. There is a careful design process that goes into making a site accessible for those people.
Today I spent some time learning about SEO and how that works. I wanted to make my webpage get more traffic from google so I started looking into SEO and how to optimize my website in order to get the most conversions. I also signed up to get a business sort of display on the google page that way my company can look more credible. It would also let people leave reviews for us on google reviews which will make us look more trust worthy.
I also watched some YouTube videos about making websites with HTML and CSS. It taught me how to use different types of list items in HTML as well as image tags.
Today I finished up my WordPress site. It isn't exactly fit for the web design assignment since it has no backlinks to techie youth so I don't know if I should make another project or just turn it in as is. I created a website for a moving company that hopefully gets some business. I learned how to use WordPress plugins along with custom CSS to make a decently looking form that people can use to inquire about our pricing.
After I finished with the design of the website I had to do a ton of research into getting the domain and hosting setup. I ended buying a domain from namecheap and then attaching it to a HostGator plan. Currently the website is online and fully functioning and it can be viewed at seethrumoving.com. While making the site live I learned a lot about connecting SSL to the website to make it secure. The site doesn't have a tremendous amount of content currently but that's something I want to work on in the near future.
Hopefully the site will attract some people interested in my moving services and I can make some money!
Today I spent so much time trying to get my wordpress site set up. It turns out that its still not that simple which I should've expected. I spent a while learning how to use plugins on the website so that I could include a contact form on my site. However once I got the form up and running the messages wouldn't send to my email. I've been doing a lot of troubleshooting since then to get it set up but its still not running and I'm going to continue working on this tomorrow.
Today I spent most of the day working on setting up a WordPress site. I realized that creating a whole website from scratch might not be worthwhile for my circumstances. I think WordPress makes it much dimplier and also much faster to create a site.
I also spent some time learning about version control of code. This was part of the web development course however this can be used for any sort of coding. I learned about the different programs that exist that are used for version control and also how they manage to merge the old and new together to create the most up to date file. I w learned about SVN as well as Git which is probably the most common one.
Today at techie youth I learned a lot about ways to make my life better. In one of the lessons it mentions how it takes 21 days to make a habit out of something and then 90 to make it a permanent change. 21 days isn't much and in the grand scope of things 90 days isn't too long either. There are plenty of things that I've done for more than 90 days and then stopped doing. I also learned about how keeping mental and physical health in check might be the most important thing to do. Without your health your unable to do anything at all which is detrimental to making money.
I also learned about the importance of having a mentor in your life and how to go about finding one. I have an idea of the type of mentor I would want now I just have to go out and find one using the skills I learned today.
Today at Techie Youth I spent most of my time trying to design my own personal website. I was trying to make it look appealing to the eye. I learned how to create a basic form on the website. The next steps are to make it look nice using CSS and then having some sort of action happen when the form is filled out and submitted.
I also learned about how to deploy my website to the internet. It may be a bit premature but I was interested in how it is possible to do and it doesn't seem that hard. I have to pay for web hosting fees as well as a domain name. I also learned a bit about how the Domain Name System(DNS) and Secure Shell Layer(SSL) work in order for data to be passed around on the internet. It was a very general explanation and I hope to dive more into the mathematics of it another time.
Today I learned about time management and how important planning out a schedule can be. In one of the videos I watched they talked about how trying to save money can actually end up hurting you in the long run. They gave an example of how trying to save money at a discount store can actually not be worthwhile if you end of waiting an hour in line. That hour spent waiting in line could've been used to do more productive, money making activities. Another thing that really stood out to me was learning how to value your time. If I could value my time at $25/hour then I spent 2 hours watching TV it could and should be viewed as me spending $50 to watch TV. Time is a finite resource that we can never gain more of and spending it usefully will have benefits in long run.
Today I started working towards creating my own website. I watched videos in the getting started section of the web development course and I learned how to use HTML and CSS to setup and design a webpage. The videos also showed how to insert images into a webpage and how to make it work on different size devices. I learned how to have links to different pages inside of a website.
I followed along with the video to recreate their website with some of my own pictures and then after I tried to design my own website to solidify the knowledge into my head. The site that I started on isn't nearly ready to be deployed onto the internet but I plan to work on this for a while.
Today I spent a lot of time researching how to start building an app. I was trying to install a virtual box on my computer so that I can run mac OS on my windows computer. One video I found didn't work and I tried a different one and I got it running now. I learned a great deal about virtual boxes and running virtual machines from my local computer.