Old Man Learns to Code

" Look before you leap " is a common alliterative warning ( WaZit? ) about diving blindfolded into a strange pool or any other unmapped situation (e.g., a coding project). Yet so many beginner programmers try hammer some code onto a blank page, thinking that doing it from " scratch " is the best way. They're wrong. It's the worst way. See gQAB ::: Plan before you run (Note: QAB stands for Query ABout. The "g" prefix means via google) See also:  Reasons You Should Plan Your Python Code Before You Write It by dts) No general goes into battle without first having mapped out the terrain, without first having studied the enemy and having analyzed the various obstacles that may foil the campaign (e.g., will the Russian winter defeat Napoleon's / Hitler's troops?). So how does that apply to a new coding project? One Python Vlogger ( Wu --here: How to build understandable programs ) gives an example based of designing a Tic-Tac-Toe game to be pl...

I don't know why I didn't pay much attention to BAT / CMD commands in the past . Recently though, I've bee using them more and more for all sorts of tasks, especially when accessing files with long path names. My current "Going Bats" test file [.. when starting this post] is this: [Jump to ( here ) for Latest to explore] [Jump to ( here ) for Latest appends >> to this post] @echo off rem This is one way to include a comment. Next 2 lines output CRLF's echo.             <-- causes a line skip, aka print a CRLF echo. echo This text will be printed on the CMD console. "Hello World" echo. echo See Go BAts foleder in Other Sw tab echo. color 1E               <-- causes my console to display as Yellow text on Blue background                                   <-- Se...

  WHAT IS OOPS? Wiki =  Object-oriented programming Google =  object oriented programming Reddit =  object oriented programming YouTube =  object oriented programming in python MIT course =  Object Oriented Programming Wiki =  Object-oriented programming The underlying ideas for both my 1st and second OOP projects are explained ( here ). I successfully implemented the loop tracker first and my second project --not yet finshed-- will be the Abbreviation Xpander (class AbbvXpander():) But first, let's discuss some basics:     (1)  What is a "class"?     (2)  What is an "object"?  (The original plan was 'messaging' as explained here ) [Note to self: How to find all locations of character in string? ( Google Answer here ) ( YT Answer here ) Re Gemini answer: wow clever, use enumerate ] The Metaphor / Analogy / Model Problem of defining "Classes" The map is NOT the territory and  similarly,  the "class" is...

This post is about making  incremental improvements ( BABY STEPS ) as opposed to focusing on my beginner's journey towards gaining proficiency in Python. The post finds its origins in some crude HTML code I've been putting together. My current default browser allows for custom picking of a HOME pag e for the launch of the browser. See " A Better Browser Start Page " Rather than allowing an external entity to control what I see as first impression on launch of the browser, I rely on my own local and static HTML page to do so. The goal is to block any immediate Dopamine hijacking perpetrated by external forces and to instead purposefully  slip myself down into meditative quiet waters of my own making so that I can  meta-cognate about:  (1) my current workplace environment, (2) my first thoughts, (3) my priorities  while musing under the influence of some neuro-chilling mood music . see:  How Waterfront Views Improve Mood see: Metacognition techni...

 I thought I could keep two of my Blogs separate, namely, my " Old Man Learns to Code [in Python]" blog ( here ) and my " Old Man Learns about Learning" blog ( here ). I was wrong. It turns out that there is a common thread that inherently ties the two endeavors together. Actually more than one. More like a bundle of threads! First, the word, " Learns " applies to both. So they're inseparable right there! Second, both call for some " Fluid Intelligence ", especially  when dealing with solving novel coding or other kinds of problems (more on that later). Thirdly, both involve " Emotional  Intelligence " because various emotions surge to the forefront each time the code or learning doesn't work and we need to or sat least should know how to deal with those emotions. Finally, there is  the involvement of  the Limbic  brain section or emotions managing parts of our brains and how they provide both motivation and demotivation for...

  1. The first rule of DKE is that you don't talk about your own infection by DKE.  2. The second rule of DKE is  that you don't talk about your own infection by DKE. 3. The third rule of DKE is that the Duning-Kruger Effect (DKE) only applies to thee, to others, and not to me. 4. The fourth rule is ...   So here we go again.  ... I was just reflecting on how DKE struck me once more with respect to my Python coding skills in a previous post . Why was I going down the tunnel thinking funnel? Why was I so confident that my loop_name variable "had to be" formatted in just one way and no other?  Now I'm realizing that I am just as DKE-stricken when it comes to my  HTML  coding skills. (5) My newly adopted paradigm includes avoiding the launching of my default browser in the morning with a START PAGE pointing to some real time news or other AMYGDALA triggering content. (6) Instead, I'm asking the Browser to...