Week 2: the basics
Bonus: not just HTML and CSS this week, but Photoshop as well!
So the coding component really starting during week 1, but I figured the soft skills days deserved a post of their own. Besides, next week will be a continuation of this week’s learnings, as I dive into level 2 of basic HTML and CSS, so at least it will have some flow! (I’ve also been listening to tons of Jay-Z…)
They say that learning a new language can be difficult – and for good reason. It is hard – and that’s basically what web coding is: languages. It’s simply trying to convey to a particular piece of software (i.e. a web browser) what you want to show, and how you want it to look, by using a specific language that the software is meant to interpret. So if you include Photoshop, I’m currently learning 3 languages. It’s kind of like going to a secret society where everyone communicates by ultra-secret handshakes, and you can only decipher what the handshakes mean by doing them over and over with different people until you get consistent reactions. No big deal, right?
Our task for the week was to pick a country, and make a website for it. The criteria: it must consist of at least 5 pages, have a navigation section on every page, a side-bar, at least 3 links to outside web pages, and at least 2 photos. Easy, right? Kind of, I guess. But for a novice, it seems an appropriate challenge. I got stumped on the ‘div’ element, trying to get things to line up, or ‘float’ so that things don’t just stack one on top of the other down the page. So when I got home the other night, I downloaded Komodo (a free code editor – can anyone suggest a better one?) for my out-of-date macbook and tried recreating what I had already done at school without my notes. Late at night, and into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, after much head-scratching and Googling, I had pretty much what I wanted. Except for the dang menu bar. But I’ll get it soon! When it’s finally live next week, I’ll consider sharing the link if I’m not too embarrassed…
As for photoshop, same deal. I’ve at least now gone from total idiot to functioning amateur in the field of picture-manipulation. Perhaps I’ll post my first assignments when I’m finished, and if I’m not too embarrassed about those either.
In both cases, progress is evident. Pretty soon I’ll have just enough knowledge and skill to be dangerous. Look out!
NEXT WEEK: HTML and CSS level 2. Get stoked!
This is really fascinating stuff!! When computers were first in use way back when I was a young woman everybody thought that those with math skills would become the experts but I always thought there was more of a link with the language part of the brain than anything else and it does seem so. Thanks for posting to me I enjoy the updates. I shared the link with Pinterest.
thanks Eileen. I’m grateful that language (in it’s traditional sense) has always come naturally to me. I hope that this remains true throughout my studies!
Hey Michael, I’d recommend Sublime Text 2 as another code editor, my personal favourite after using many others. Here are some tips and tricks for Sublime as well.
Thanks Cory! You’re not the first one to suggest Sublime Text 2. Up until a couple weeks ago, I couldn’t even install it since I had a dinosaur version of Mac OSX. Now that I’ve upgraded, I’ll be sure to give it a whirl.