Boot camp blog
Published: 2022-09-19 13:21:54

       So just three weeks earlier, when I was still at home learning coding on my own and preparing myself for boot camp. I still remember that feeling I had, I was not just physically preparing myself but also mentally because I was so excited but yet nervous and scared about going to the coding boot camp. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to catch up with the work because I did quite some research before applying and heard that it was quite intensive since it's a three months course. I told myself that I will have to work really hard.   Now after three weeks of boot camp I feel like I am adjusting to the pace of learning and I am no longer feeling as nervous rather excited and I can also build some applications right now. 

       Let's talk about the first week of boot camp, it was quite difficult. There was so much to learn that the first day was kind of overloaded with new knowledge already. I had to spend a lot of time after class to review and process what I’d learnt in class. Basically my daily routine for the first week was really just eat, sleep, code and on repeat.  Even though it was a bit overwhelming, at the end of the day, I think it is worth all the hard work! I learnt about what functions are and how they are one of the fundamental building blocks in JavaScript.  A function is a set of statements that performs a particular task. A function consists of the function keyword followed by the name of the function, a list of parameters to the function, and the JavaScript statements that define the function. I also learnt about DOM Manipulation, which I really found amusing and it expanded my knowledge in coding. Especially when I can create interactive elements on the DOM with different DOM events. There are so many events we can create – load, click, mouseover, mouseout, keydown, toggle, etc. Events normally used in combination with functions, and the function will not be executed before the event occurs. Finally, I had a basic understanding of how to communicate with the server.

       After the first week, I was feeling much better since I am slowly starting to adjust to the pace of learning here and I am also starting to really enjoy the fact that each day the knowledge I have acquired. The second week, we mainly focused on how to make HTTP requests to the JSON server. The first request I learned was the FETCH request. To make a FETCH request, we can use the fetch() method which provides an easy way to fetch resources asynchronously across the network. A FETCH request is simple to set up. It takes one argument which is the path to the resource you want to fetch. Then we can use the then() method to do what we need to do with the promised response. The first thing we usually do after fetching the resource is to parse the response as JSON with the json() method. As the FETCH request allows us to get data from the server, we can also send data to the server with the POST request. To make a POST request, we can use the fetch() method by providing a second argument with method, header, and body. Method is to indicate what request we are making to the server.  In the header, we can indicate that the body of the POST message contains JSON with ‘Content-Type:  application/json’. Finally, the body contains the data that we are sending to the server. Beside the FETCH and POST requests, we can also do a PATCH request to update the data and a DELETE request to delete the data. I now have a much better understanding of flatiron’s ‘Three Pillars of Web Programming’ – recognize events, manipulate the DOM, and communicate with the server, but practice is the key. I really enjoy working on the additional practice section of the program. Some of them are interesting while some of them are challenging. Especially for the bonus,  sometimes I would get stuck there and tend to get a little frustrated. However, after solving the problem and finding the solution to it, the feeling I got was not just satisfying, it was also like a mission accomplished. Doing the bonus also improved my problem-solving skills.

       Finally, the third week was project week, and I think it is relatively an easier week. We were split into groups of two to work on a single project. Me and my partner decided to work on a random color generator. I learnt a lot during this project. One thing specifically was that beside making sure everything is working, keeping the code clean and DRY is very important. Keeping the code clean and DRY can reduce the possibility of introducing errors or conflicts. To do that, we should aim at reducing repetition and replacing it with abstractions. Also, DRY code is much easier for others to understand.

       Overall, I was really excited about coming into boot camp and expanding my knowledge about coding each day. My passion for coding is growing everyday. I will continue to work hard  and I am really looking forward to the rest of the phases.