I am still in the process of learning javascript but I feel that the syntax is a bit easier compared to Java, or C++. I find myself to be a novice programmer and by going over the exercises on freeCodeCamp really helped me grasp the fundamentals of javascript as well as refreshed my memory on programming. Even though I’ve learned Java, C++, and C; I am not quite sure what a good and bad programming language is. I actually learned a lot from this module being that it took me a really long time to finish freeCodeCamp. I had some difficulties solving some problems but I was able to solve them by stepping back and trying to really understand what the problem is asking.
I feel that the WoD’s are challenging and really puts me under the pressure. For Exercise 7 (Project Euler Two) I had a very hard time grasping what the problem was asking. I spent maybe 20-25 minutes trying to understand what the problem was and how to format my program. I eventually gave up and had to watch professor Johnson’s solution. After understanding what the professor did, I was able to understand the problem and map out how to program the function. After three attempts I was able to solve the WoD in less than 4 minutes.
During the first graded WoD we took in class, I felt like I was able to understand what the problem was and how I should approach coding it within the time that Professor Johnson read the problem to us. As I was writing my program, I felt so stressed and anxious that I couldn’t think properly, but was getting distracted by the people around me finishing. One by one everyone would leave the room, and I was stuck on syntax errors. Trying to figure out what the syntax error was so I refreshed the page, then what I saw on my screen was… BLANK… GREAT!… I wasn’t able to finish the WoD within the given time but re-thinking and re-formatting my program, I was able to fix my program.
Currently I don’t find WoD’s enjoyable but I feel that they are a great way to improve our programming skills. I am currently really stressed from school being that I am behind in both my Algorithms (311) class and this class, but I know what I need to fix and improve and therefore will have to put in more hours into studying. I feel that with more experience and practice doing more WoDs, I’ll be able to greatly improve the rate at which I can analyze the problem with better understanding and then be able to map out how to program the problem.