100 Days of Python - Day 1
Tags: devjournal
Published: 2024-03-30 19:07:41

I've been working on my consistency with everything but especially  coding. I'm currently earning my Associate's in Computer Science and took a Python class (which I loved). However, right after that, we moved on to Java ( hated it) and because of that experience, I took a bit of a break from coding and moved to elective classes. Because of that decision, I've forgotten most of my coding skills, **BUT** I can read and correct code if I see it; it just doesn't come to me very easily when I want to make a script. 

That said, I decided to go back to Dr. Angela Yu's 100 Days of Python class to refresh my memory. I think she's an amazing instructor and wish I had been consistent in the past. I would have been way further ahead in my career than I am now with these skills. 

### Debugging

Day 1 started out with learning how to debug. Because it's a type of troubleshooting (which I have a love/hate relationship with), I receive immense satisfaction from figuring out why something isn't working as expected. I found this to be especially useful while earning a certificate for software testing and validation, where I spent some time debugging sample code. 

### Input Function 

The learning environment is a little different when it comes to the platform we are using this time around. I forgot the previous platform, but with Auditorium, there is a separate pane in the browser IDE for input , which was a bit confusing for me. However, it did provoke me to think more in steps and worry about how it would work in a typical IDE at a later time. One of my biggest "issues" I have when it comes to coding is I have the big picture and forget to break things down in simpler steps to get the desired result. 

### Variables 

The variable reassignment exercise once again reminded me to think in steps but also that there are other resources available to me. In this case, the other resource was the ability to create another variable.


![Resulting code for Variable switching exercise](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/u7mm2vga58vmfa7omjsr.png)

I really could have done this in 3 steps but I think I was over excited that I figured it out. I feel like I am shaking rust off of my brain when it comes to thinking like a programmer again. 

Here, I should have just created the variable c to  store the original value of a, then made variable a store the value of b and then variable b  store the new value of c which is a. Kind of confusing, but again, shaking the rust off of my brain.

c = a
a = b
b = c

### Band Name Generator


![band name generator code](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/6tks7qrytpi4dbqo81jz.png)

The goal here was to use everything that we'd learned earlier in the lesson, which are print, input, and variables. This assignment was fairly easy, but I had to recall how to place a newline (\n) in order to make the input prompt appear on the next line.

![Result of code](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/0tsz5f3xqiehz8x17ze6.png)


I should've used this as a time to practice pseudocode. Even though this code is pretty easy, I feel like I should be practicing leaving comments as if I were leaving  clues for my future self or another programmer. 

Richmond Hill Shuri is a strange but interesting name for a band, but I'll take it . 

Day 1 done! I can't believe how much I forgot, but I also am surprised what came back to me like muscle memory.