Unit-0
Ok, for the first two weeks, we have gone over the basics of C, while using XCode. Learning char, strings, int / integers, amongst other things, was rather easy to grasp the concept. At one point, I created an if/else code which allowed the usage of user input, giving an output of a comical story depending on the choices (i used BOOL) the user chose. After hours of trying to debug my code without success, I decided to attend office hours and ask the teacher for assistance. It was a bittersweet moment, because he informed me that there was nothing wrong with my code; there was a problem with XCode and I needed to create a new project and to restart XCode. Although I won’t get my time back, it did help me to start new habits --closing the program when I’m not using it, backing things up-- I learned an additional way to check if its me or the program.
When learning the concept of ‘break’s and ‘continue’s, it was rather confusing. The best way to explain the difference between the two is to draw out an actual diagram --this indeed is beyond helpful for MANY things when coding. My biggest obstacle at the current moment is the correct usage of loops, ‘for loops’ and ‘while loops’. As practice and an intro to loops, we have practiced Bubble Sorting, I know, its the worst but its good practice when breaking things down for concept.
At the current moment, I am working on a hangman project in command line. I started off by outlining it in a notebook and started with the basics. For the most part, I have an idea of what I am doing, however, I am struggling (a small struggle) with the syntax and putting everything together; I keep getting infinite loops. Its a process of trial and error.
The trip to and from Long Island City is a bit much and at times inconvenient, but in the end I know it will all be worth it. When people say, trust your struggle, it really is what makes you or breaks you. I believe that my dedication and determination is what keeps me going everyday and trusting my struggle is how I prove to myself that I want it that much more!
Oh, and I am also using a coding book, “The Big Nerd Ranch” and following along with the exercises. When using books like this, you have to follow along with the exercises for efficiency.