You Get What You Get and You Don’t Throw a Fit
We forgot to customize our Imperfect Foods order last week, so tonight’s mashed potatoes were made with russet potatoes. I love mashed potatoes. They were good. But honestly they’re better with Yukon gold. Decisions were made (or rather, delayed to the point of being made). I ate the potatoes anyway. Welcome to the russet mashed potatoes version of a blog post.
Think back on your first day of class. How did you think websites were built? Now how do you think they’re built? What is the difference in your thinking?
I’m not sure I was that far off in this one. I guess I had imagined that websites were mainly built by one person (or just a few), with lots doing upkeep. I now realize lots of people are involved in both. I suppose I did not realize how many coding languages or other systems were used. I’m really not sure how else my thinking has changed.
What have you gained through this course beyond code? Beyond technical savvy?
I am slowly learning to apply my previous experiences (especially yoga, but also behavior change) to learning. Specifically, I’m applying life skills (or qualities) of mindfulness, self-reflection, patience, and grace to learning how to code.
Humility — I’ve gained a bit more of that, too.
Persistence — I spent a lot longer trying to install a used wireless keyboard recently than I would have before. I wasn’t successful. I also believe that’s because the keyboard needs a charger. I’ve learned my technical savvy doesn’t extend to wireless keyboard installation.
Where do you think you’re headed? Why? How? What are you going to do to encourage that? What kind of projects do you see yourself working on in 10 months?
I’m headed toward a job. That hasn’t changed. Why? Because I want to, and it will be better for me than what I currently do. Eventually, it will be a job I care about and that fits many of my values, but probably not so much in the next 10 months. How? I expect to be teaching myself another (or multiple) new coding languages in 10 months. I will likely be spending a weekend learning a new language for a job interview, much like my friend who graduated in February is doing now.
I’ll encourage that by continuing to do what I’m doing. I’ll recognize what I’ve accomplished so I can continue to do so. It’s more of the same, knowing that “the same” is actually always something new. Keep on keeping on.
Hopefully I’m working on a passion project or two. I’d like to be doing something that I may be able to use in my current work (or others in my current work can use) or something that will get recognized as valuable to others. I’ll work on any work projects. Sometimes you just pay the bills and figure out what you enjoy about it along the way.
Why is it generally a good idea to position CSS <links>s between <head></head> and JS <script>s just before </body? Do you know of any exceptions?
I think that CSS links go within the head tags because they need to be applied before the HTML. You don’t want the site to look crappy then get better; you just want it to look good. JavaScript is applied at the end because it needs something to be applied to. It’s no good to have it there working hard before there’s anything for it to work on.I’m not sure about exceptions. I suppose there may be some exception if it has to do with the essential-ness of the timing or sequence in which not only form (HTML) but function (JavaScript) load. In a response similar to what I gave for my sample coding to apply to this program, I hope that I know of an exception some\day and see this answer as novice and ignorant.
Consider HTML5 as an open web platform. What are the building blocks of HTML5.
The Document Object Model may be considered a building block, a bit like a foundation. Elements and their attributes and methods attached to them are the other building blocks. Knowing the amount of resources that go into creation and development, I could imagine a fair amount of cursing was also a building block of HTML5. Perhaps the souls of the creators? How philosophical are we getting here?
What’s the difference between the :nth-of-type() and :nth-child selectors?
One is applied to the page and the other is applied to those elements within a parent element. Nth of type means the ordinal position of the type of element. Nth of child means the ordinal position of the child element. There may be several p elements on a page, so p:nth-of-type (2) is applied to every other p element on the page. There may be several p child elements within a div, so p:nth-child (2) is applied to every other p element that’s a child of that div.
What is CSS-selector specificity, and how does it work?
CSS-selector specificity refers to the order in which different types of CSS rules are applied. It’s like a tournament. Yes, we have the standings (top to bottom in a cascading effect is how the rules are applied), but in the tournament class selectors beat type selectors, ID selectors beat class selectors, and !important beats all. Universal selector (*), combinators (+, >, ~, ‘ ‘, | |), and negation pseudo-class (:not()) are all playing exhibition — they don’t count.
What resources do you use to learn about the latest in front-end development and design?
Honestly, I’d like this to be based more on what others lead me to, and less on what I randomly find. The Code Newbie Podcast is one small resource I’ve listened to a few times (but honestly, my commute times are quite committed to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, and I don’t see that changing much as the NFL season approaches). I peruse Medium and have actually found a few helpful articles there. I like both these options because I know they’re recent. There are always YouTube tutorials, which may or may not be current, but at least the good ones explain things well. I have access to an online coding bootcamp that I’m still working through (which was recently updated in November 2020), and I use an app to practice (which I’ve already recognized is out of date, but I need the practice). I’ll get what I get, and I won’t throw a fit.