An empty screen is terrifying. Oh, okay, I’ll just run ‘learn’ to get me going. Oh wait…can’t do that either. Hmm…talk to a technical couch on Ask a Question? Nope…not that either.
My first project was a challenge and took me longer than expected, but coming out the other end, I appreciate how the work encapsulated my knowledge and pushed me out of my new coding comfort zone where I have plenty of crutches to fall back on if I get stuck.
Of course, I still did have 1:1 meetings with David which were incredibly helpful. Watching someone else work through the code is eye-opening – a deep breath and basic logic is all it takes.
In the end, I created a program that scrapes the National Dance Council of America website for all ballroom events and competitions.
A list of all the events will appear in a numbered list, in order of date. The user is prompted to input the number of the event they wish to learn more about. If done so, the event organizer, number, email and website appears. If the user enters done, the program says goodbye and exits the search.
I am pleased with my project and proud of myself. I see how far I’ve already come and I can’t wait to learn more, be more comfortable with some languages and uncomfortable with other. Most importantly, I can’t wait to trust myself, my logic and my coding abilities.