February 20, 2023
In this week’s “workout of the day” (WOD), I prepared an electronic sales receipt through the use of JavaScript variables input throughout an HTML file. The exact instructions are listed here: https://dport96.github.io/ITM352/morea/060.expressions-operators/experience-invoice1.html.
In my first attempt, I utterly failed at completing the exercise in the given amount of time. I worked as hard as I could for about 40 minutes, before I ultimately gave up. This is because anything beyond that time would still translate to “DNF” or “did not finish”. Nevertheless, throughout this trial I was successful in naming my variables and adding JavaScript comments, though I greatly struggled with inserting an HTML table. I realize now that I should become more familiar with the syntax of various object designs used in HTML.
It wasn’t until watching the screencast that I realized – it’s always best to perform in the most efficient way and choose the path of least resistance. In the screencast, my professor simply inspected the page source and took the table that was already coded into the instruction sheet. Which was …genius! I wish I had thought of that from the start.
After utilizing that little trick, I was able to successfully complete my workout on my second attempt. Though inspecting the page source was abundantly handy, I will still dedicate more time to learning the basic features of building a table in HTML. This is to aid my understanding of the language, as well as refine my skill.
Moreover, there are a few things that I will do differently to prepare for my next WOD. First, I will thoroughly read the instructions and become familiar with the syntax that is most likely used. Next, to improve my own skill, I will choose to not watch the screencast until after I’ve attempted the exercise at least three times. Solving each problem for myself will surely make me a better programmer in the long run.