What’s a lightbulb that has gone on for you? Give an example.

I used to find conditional statements very overwhelming. I would read the whole thing and feel lost on what meets the conditions or not and when the code will stop running. However, it wasn’t until I started from just one “if” statement to “if” and “else” all the way to “if,” “elif,” and “else” that I realized that I don’t have to read the entire conditional branches, seeing the bigger picture. For instance, in the example below, I’d look at the value and start one line at a time. I just stop whenever the condition is true/met, if not, I move on. Python, just like me, is a child trying to figure out what meets the requirement and doesn’t meet the condition– one line at a time.

Describe some confusion you’ve experienced. Did it help you learn?

In the past, I found variables and functions very confusing. I couldn’t differentiate between them and didn’t know why certain names for them worked without writing extra codes to instruct what they should do. Through the readings and related practice, I was able to learn the concept of each type, pre-designated variables and functions, and the difference between “int” and “input” (their similar spellings confused me because I never knew what “int” stood for).

current_time_string = input("what time is it right now?")
waiting_time_string = input("how many hours do you have to wait")

current_time_int = int(current_time_string)
waiting_time_int = int(waiting_time_string)

hours = (current_time_int) + (waiting_time_int)
timeofday = hours % 24

print(timeofday)

After practicing some codes and reading the fundamentals of the terms, I know why the variable name is “var_string” and why “input” and “int” have different formatting. I felt confident explaining to anyone what is happening, line by line, and how all the lines work together to “print(timeofday)”.

What’s still fuzzy for you? What will you do to make sure you can resolve your fuzziness?

We have discussed how important it is to know how to print and debug. I am getting more familiar with the print function, but the whole concept of debugging and the necessary tools that help you spot an error faster go over my head. How do I spot an error efficiently? What exactly is a syntax error (to someone that is not familiar with coding, all the contents feel like syntax)? What if I use “try” and “except” in the wrong way, how will I ever know? This hesitation and questions are most likely to remain throughout the whole coding journey I have. However, I know I have to push beyond my comfort zone and learn these debugging skills so that I can utilize them when codes get more complicated and dependent on other lines in the program. Instead of erasing what I did or un-doing changes, I will assess the situation whenever I get an error and use debugging strategies rather than going back to my old habits.

What problem-solving strategies have been working for you? Give an example.

Whenever I hit a roadblock and I couldn’t figure out why the error keeps occurring, I used to (and even now) rewrite the codes that were more familiar to me. Even though that would make functional codes, I knew I was wasting a lot of time and learning opportunities that I didn’t know how to seek and achieve. Now I use the “print” function to see if I am on the right track. The “print” function keeps track of where I am, if my codes are doing what I want them to do, and if not, giving me visible signs that things I wanted to happen didn’t occur.

For instance, here I have three conditions where the user’s input could determine the outcome of Sooj the turtle. In the past, I wouldn’t put the “print(“Invalid Input Try again :(“) line and would suffer if users didn’t write in an input box what I expected them to write. Now, if there are input errors, I know the conditions weren’t met but the codes still worked because it would print out “Invalid Input Try Again :(.” The visibility of my progress puts me at ease and allows me to try more things outside of my comfort zone.