Visual Web Developer

So, I am running through a list of videos here;

http://www.asp.net/learn/videos/#beginners

And finiding out that making a website from scratch, all hand written, is a little bit obsolete. Depending on how you set up your page, you may need some code clean up but for the most part VWD seems to do a fantastic job of keeping things neat and tidy. In fact one of the most amazing aspects of VWD was its CSS handler/manager. Wow! Not only do you NOT need to memorize all the different options/syntax but they have all your customizations listed right there for you, to pick apart at your leisure.

I am very impressed with this piece of software. I must say.

Cheers!

Still Learning

Just a brief post today.

I had taken a hiatus for various reasons a month ago (mainly being sick) but I am trying to get back in to the swing of things, though I am taking a slightly different direction currently.

Right now I am trying my hand at .NET programming. Specifically asp.NET. I am not really versed on everything as of yet, and I am not QUITE sure which specific language I am actually learning, but currently it seems like (as I am using Visual Web Developer 2008 express) I am utilizing a few different languages. Mainly C#, HTML, AJAX, Java and Visual Basic. I am sure there are/is more to it than that, but as of my second day, that seems to be the gist of it.

My goal in utilizing asp.NET is to be able to create a simple income tracker for my business, using a SQL database server that we already have running for other things.

We shall see how it goes, and I will try to keep this, blog, updated more frequently than as-of-late.

Cheers!

Sicko!

Hey there!

So, I apologize for not having post here in the last few days as I have been consumed with getting better from a UTI. Seems my body is just open to all kinds of infection these days. I wonder if grey hair is infectious? (I am 24 for the record)

I should be back in to the swing of things by next week, maybe late this week. Been playing a lot of games and reading a lot of manga lately. I finished up X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Pretty fun game, but it was too long. If they had expelled the puzzle sections of the game it would have had a much better flow.

Read through the first volume of the Pluto manga, and wow what a great story so far. Though I will write more about those on a second blog I am going to be starting up soon (all for manga reviews).

Until Next Time!

While we wait

A quick update.

I have started on chapter 17 of C for Dummies. It discusses 'while'
loops and their pros and cons versus using 'for' loops.

My understanding so far is that while using 'while' loops may be
easier in the short term, using 'for' loops provide you with more
flexibility in what you can accomplish.

I will update again once I have finished the chapter.

Cheers!

Repeat After Me

Ok, so since I have not been reading much lately due to being sick I figure I can post a short piece of code that I had previously written to show you what kind of level I am at.

So, first, the code (it is in an image format since when I use the 'code' function in here the formatting goes to shit).



This is simply one piece of a 5 part code, though this piece represents, almost exactly, what happens later on.

Basically this program tells the user to repeat after it using the correct keys.

It tells the user to type every number it says in numerals. ie. ONE = 1

(the program goes up to the number 5, since the code is redundant, there was no need to keep going as the ideas behind it are easily learned from the first few instances)

The fun of writing this program though was figuring out how to take the users WRONG answer and allow them to try again, and again, and again, and then continuing on with the program when they finally get it right.

Obviously it is very hard to screw up 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 but the ideas behind it hold true. Being able to take a wrong answer and allowing the user to try once more. ie. error checking, so to speak.

Another part of the fun of writing this program was the fact that I was still very green on how do/while loops worked so it was very pleasing when it finally worked just right. I had some looping issues with certain areas not being displayed properly, or areas being printed twice in a row. The fix for that was making sure I was using the 'fpurge' function after each 'getchar' function.

Alright, so that is that.

Cheers! :D

Test 2

Apologies for so many tests, just making sure my line breaks in html are working for RSS feeds.

test

testing RSS html

Lethargy

Just a quick post from my, cracked screen, iPod Touch.

I have been, sick for the last few days and as such have not gotten
any programming done.

I hope to rectify this very soon as I feel my battle with these
foreign life forms is almost at an end.

By the way, I did get around to purchasing the PAX tickets over the
weekend, so that is a plus.

Cheers! :)

PAX/09 Here we come!

So I just got through purchasing my 3 day pass, for my brother and myself, to PAX/09. This is going to be awesome!

I have debated for a few years now whether I wanted to go or not simply because I had no one to go with! But my brother is 14 now and we have a lot in common re video games and can talk quite easily about our likes and dislikes in games.

The biggest thing I am looking forward to? Getting my hands on some Blizzard product! Woo, this is going to rock so much fucking ass. :)

Cheers.

P.S. I didn't get around to any programming last night as I was at the gym after work for about an hour, and had ended up cooking some pasta sauce (for pasta) afterward, at which point it was about 9pm and I just wanted to go relax and read some manga I had bought.

Naruto v1 (yes I went there, I debated for a long time whether I wanted to start reading Naruto because I know how addicted I will become, but I took the plunge anyways. I'm a freak!)
Croquis Pop v2 (pretty groovy story so far)
20th Century Boys v2 (very 'real' and dramatic, has an air of suspense and mystery about it, quite a nice change from all the fantasy manga I read)

C for Dummies: Chapter 16

Alright, for my first official post (apart from my droll mission statement) I will simply tell you about my current experience and where I am at in my studies.

To learn the C language I am using the C for Dummies book which you can probably find at your local book store or buy online straight from the Dummies Store.

Currently I have just finished chapter 16 where the book discusses the for() loops in a bit more detail, and explained some mathematical shortcuts that programmers are able to take.

For instance, 5x5x5x5x5. . .etc is equivalent to z*=5 (where 'z' is the variable and * is the multiply symbol).

Example:


for(z=5 ; z>=500 ; z*=5)
{
statement;
}


That simply says to start the 'z' variable at 5 [ z=5; ], keep running the loop until the 'z' variable is greater than, or equal to 500 [ z>=500; ], achieve this by continuously multiplying the 'z' variable by 5 [ z*=5 ].

Right now I am unsure of where I would want to use this type of loop, but I am sure as I start to learn more the answers will become clear to me :)

Cheers!

Mission Statement!

This first post of the Tom-Jar blog is to state my mission.

Mission is as follows.

#include

int main()
{
int hope;

printf("Learn a few programming languages\n");
printf("Learn to apply that programming knowledge toward iPhone game creation\n");
printf("%d you are not too late to the party\n",hope);

if(hope==true)
{
printf("Make a lot of money\n");
}
else
{
printf("Get a real job!\n");
}

printf("%d that was informative for you!\n",hope);
return(0);
}



Now obviously there are a few errors in this source code, but I think the message comes across pretty clear no? :P