2020-2021 Genius Hour

Week 1

 For my 20% Time project I am going to learn how to code in Python and using that knowledge make a small little game. I will be using coding websites like code academy, videos,and etc. to learn how to code.

Week 2

For week 2 I forgot to do the 20% Time project, but I know that I am changing the project I am doing a bit. I will be learning JavaScript instead of Python as it is easier and more beginner friendly. I hope I enjoy coding and that I will continue afterwards. 

Week 3

I have decided that I will learn JavaScript instead of Python as it is easier for beginners to learn. When coding you have to put console.log before you do anything so it actually does what you want it to do. Right now I am enjoying it although I am procrastinating a bit on this Genius Hour stuff.

Week 4

Today during codecademy I learned that you can add methods to your string. Methods are actions that you can do like .toUpperCase which capitalizes all your words. Once you learn how to code you find that what you just learned is pretty simple and I don't know if it will stay that way.

Week 5

I learned how to use the let, var, and const commands (variable declaration) and how to change them even though you cannot change some of them if you already have them set. Overall my opinion is that learning to code JavaScript is fun and becomes easier the more you learn.

Week 6

 I learned about Conditionals and how to use them for things like true or false situations where if it is false it plays a different text than the true version. I also learned how easy it is to forget things (which is totally my fault).

Jan 6 2021

Today I finished the last part of the lesson which was basically just a review of what we have done and etc. I could just do whatever I want and do something. I have so far learned about variable declaration where you bind a value to a variable and much more.

Jan 13 2021

I learned about function declaration and how it is similar to a variable declaration where instead of binding a value to a variable you bind a function to a name. There are three parts of a function declaration, the function keyword (function), the identifier (identifier) then the body of the rest of the code. There is also a hoist feature in JavaScript which allows access to function declarations before they are defined although it isn't considered good practice.

Jan 20 2021

Continuing on from last week we are learning about calling a function, when we wrote the function before we just wrote the function without being called in which the code inside the body will start executing what it is supposed to do. To call you have to put the identifier followed up by parentheses.

Jan 28 2021

I learned about Parameters and how you need to put them in there so the computer just puts it as undefined. Parameters are usually variables and without them the code wouldn't work. Overall, without these Bloggers I would probably have forgotten most of what I learned.

Feb 8 2021

I learned about Helper Functions which is the return value of a function inside another function. Since each function is carrying out a specific task, it makes my code easier to read and debug if necessary. I then did a problem with helper functions involving the cost of monitors etc. I am forgetting a lot about what I have learned over the past few weeks ;o

Feb 17

I have been learning about Function Expressions, Function Expressions are another way to define a function. To define a function you must use the keyword,function. If the function has no name it is called an anonymous function.A function Expression is often stored as variables.To invoke a function expression, write the name of the variable in which the function is stored followed by parentheses enclosing any arguments being passed into the function.

Feb 24

Using => Arrow Functions get rid of the need to put the word functions every time you need to create a function instead using =>.  Instead, you first include the parameters inside the () and then add an arrow => that points to the function body surrounded in{}.

March 10

Last Wednesday was a day off. Today I learned about Concise Body Arrow Functions. JavaScript also provides several ways to refactor arrow function syntax. The most condensed form of the function is known as concise body. Knowing myself this is getting complicated, I will probably forget this in the next few weeks. 

March 17

Scope is an important idea in programming. Scope defines where variables can be accessed or referenced. While some variables can be accessed from anywhere within a program, other variables may only be available in a specific context. Overall, I'm pretty sure I have forgotten a ton of information, but luckily, I have this blog to read!

March 24

Blocks and Scope

In order to talk about Blocks and Scope we need to talk about the blocks.A block is the code found inside a set of curly braces {} . Blocks help us group one or more statements together and serve as an important structural marker for our code. These lessons are becoming really hard, I'm not sure I am able to remember all of these.

April 7

Global Scope

I had Spring Break, so I might not be able to remember much, but today I learned about Global Scope. In order to know about Global Scope we need to know about Scope. Scope is "the context in which our variables are declared. We think about scope in relation to blocks because variables can exist either outside of or within these blocks." according to codeacademy.org. In global scope, variables are declared outside of blocks instead of inside the blocks. They are called global variables, because they can be accessed by any code in the program. 

April 14

Variables defined in a block are only accessible to the code inside the curly braces. We say that variable has block scope because it is only accessible to the lines of code within that block.Variables that are declared with block scope are known as local variables because they are only available to the code that is part of the same block.

April 21

Having every variable become accessible isn't a great idea. Too many global variables can cause a problem in the program. According to Codecademy.org, "When you declare global variables, they go to the global namespace. The global namespace allows the variables to be accessible from anywhere in the program. These variables remain there until the program finishes which means our global namespace can fill up really quickly.
Scope pollution is when we have too many global variables that exist in the global namespace, or when we reuse variables across different scopes. Scope pollution makes it difficult to keep track of our different variables and sets us up for potential accidents. For example, globally scoped variables can collide with other variables that are more locally scoped, causing unexpected behavior in our code."I have forgotten many things and it's become clear that I most likely will not be able to make a game or anything of the sort.

April 28

Practice Good Scoping

Today I practiced scoping. According to the site, practicing scoping will:

• It will make your code more legible since the blocks will organize your code into discrete sections.
• It makes your code more understandable since it clarifies which variables are associated with different parts of the program rather than having to keep track of them line after line!
• It’s easier to maintain your code, since your code will be modular.
• It will save memory in your code because it will cease to exist after the block finishes running.
• Overall coding is kind of forgettable and boring. I hope that I might be able to find joy in other types of coding.

    May 5th

    Review Scope

    Today I basically reviewed what scope is. Overall this coding learning is pretty boring and I hope to move on at some point. I reviewed the following terms and what they meant(according to Codecademy.com):

• Scope is the idea in programming that some variables are accessible/inaccessible from other parts of the program.
• Blocks are statements that exist within curly braces {}.
• Global scope refers to the context within which variables are accessible to every part of the program.
• Global variables are variables that exist within global scope.
• Block scope refers to the context within which variables that are accessible only within the block they are defined.
• Local variables are variables that exist within block scope.
• Global namespace is the space in our code that contains globally scoped information.
• Scope pollution is when too many variables exist in a namespace or variable names are reused.
• I then played around with my own coding.