Worldwide Web
A lot of new and exciting times this week. Web development! This week we were getting used to using Sinatra which is a ruby framework used for developing small web applications.
As this was our first foray into front end development so far on this course, there was initially some explanation of how the frontend integrates with the backend, learning about the internet which is essentially a network of clients and servers all transferring data to one another.
As last week being very stressful, I was looking for ways to help reduce the pressure I put on myself so made a commitment this week to reserve a bit of time every morning to meditation with the headspace app. I have never used any other meditation apps before so I can’t really compare it to others. Based on my own experience the app layout was clear and intuitive. The group sessions are held every half hour and are short at only 10 minutes or so. Who can’t spare 10 minutes to help declutter their mind, I feel like this is easily forgotten when we are feeling rushed off our feet with life, and can be something we put off and forget about. Looking after your own mental wellbeing is extremely important and I feel like with short experience so far this week with meditation it has helped me maintain focus and experience more clarity in my everyday thoughts.
So much is piled upon you at the bootcamp it can easily feel overwhelming and meditation is an excellent way to help yourself focus on your goals for the day.
In general, I found this week to be kinder than the last, there was some light html and css work to initially get us started and familiar with our new environments before diving into our weekly project which consisted of creating an online game similar to pokemon but with much less functionality! It was certainly very interesting learning about and using MVC models to map out where the code should be and what is responsible for each part of the application. We used capybara to run our web tests, sinatra/rack to build our app and shotgun to keep our servers running without reloading everytime we made a change. It was confusing initially keeping track of what gems were required and I know I wasn’t the only one who felt this way on the course!
Another new thing I thought I’d try out this week was process workshops, it’s essentially where you are tasked with building a small program including tests without any outside help. The idea simulates a technical interview and is heavily focused on your coding process, how you program and your communication skills. All important skills to improve on before facing the big bad world in the search for a job. So how did I get on? Needless to say it was an absolute disaster my tests weren’t passing and I tried plugging on without quite figuring out how to make them pass. I need to be more open to trying out different options when someone is not working as it should rather than going down rabbit holes. After switching roles halfway through I got a good glimpse of how I could have tackled my own challenge, it was a good learning experience for myself and while I didn’t enjoy the experience much this week. I can definitely see the benefit in doing a few more process workshops and will be going again. I am here to learn and improve and the experience certainly showed I still have a long way to go.
Onwards and upwards to week 4!
