Forem: Casey Echternacht

Distinction With(out) a difference

Casey Echternacht — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 18:28:21 +0000

I'm relearning Java. It's one of the first programming languages I studied in school and it is hitting differently this time around.

For instance, I never mastered when to use public vs. private, the purpose of (String[] args) or the logic behind choosing a data type. I memorized patterns and tinkered with things like this whenever I got error messages, but I wasn't really understanding.

I just learned that "Integer a" and "int b" can both represent the same number, but they have different capabilities.

An Integer is an instance that has access to methods such as .equals and .compare. It can be converted to other data types if necessary.

An int does not have access to methods. We can compare ints through '=='.

As a younger learner, this seemed like a distinction without a difference and it was frustrating. I have much more to learn in this area, but I know see it as a meaningful gap that I look forward to filling.

Legacy Java on OSX 10.15+

Casey Echternacht — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:47 +0000

One of my classes requires a program that runs on Java 6.

These instructions worked for me.

I had a hard time finding them; hopefully linking it my incredibly popular blog will boost it in search results :P

Oh no, not stackOverflow?!

Casey Echternacht — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 22:40:19 +0000

Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash

Today I hit an obstacle and asked my first question on stackoverflow. Before posting, I tried everything I could think of. Then, I spent a half hour on google. Then, I composed a question for the site and read through its 10+ suggested links that might be related to my problem.

As a last resort, I hit "submit" for my question. Within minutes two different people posted suggestions. Their advice didn't work, but DID lead me to solving my own problem.

I updated my question to inform future struggling coders of why my problem occurred and how to fix it.

My question has received 3 downvotes. It's going to get buried, and the next person who has my problem will have to repeat this whole cycle.

I tried to be a good citizen today; this is kind of demoralizing. I hope someone makes a site like this, but for people who don't already know everything.

Fear Level: 0.1

Casey Echternacht — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 19:16:38 +0000

What if I study a course and can't complete challenges at the end? Not because I'm ill-prepared, but because I'm just inadequate.

When I'm staring at a blank page in VSCode, is it just writer's block or something a bit more chronic and permanent?

What if the bar is so high when I graduate that a saturated job market leaves me with zero opportunities?

These thoughts tend to paralyze me, but I've found a new coping mechanism: watching skateboard videos.

These lunatics risk hospitalization for their craft. If they're dedicated and skilled and lucky enough to make it into the top 0.1% then they earn a living comparable to a shift-manager at Panda Express.

There won't be any broken bones when I fall, so I'm jumping back in right about now.

Time to pivot

Casey Echternacht — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 18:52:42 +0000

I've been studying Java because seasoned programmers recommend it. I have made a concerted effort to know all the best words in this language. When I sit down to create my own project, I'm stuck.

But it's not the same kind of stuck as when I sit down to write a post and I have writer's block. It's the kind of stuck where I can't take a single step without following someone else's example.

There is so much to this language that has to do with how to make a program run efficiently, how to make it easy to read, how to make it well-organized; how to make tweaks that are only visible "under the hood".

In order to stay motivated, I need the gratification that comes from delivering something more tangible (UI/UX stuff; interactive websites).

Half-baked knowledge

Casey Echternacht — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 19:30:04 +0000

This video is (I think) targeted towards new language learners. If feels applicable with coding as well.

It further supports my initiative to make multiple passes on difficult / new material and to move on without fully understanding.

The word the is hard to define or understand. If I had put all my effort into defining the before learning to speak any other word then my growth would have been stunted. By moving on and partially understanding thousands of words I've been able to put the in the necessary context to give it meaning.

Likewise, downcasting means little to me at the moment. I made an honest attempt to understand it, and now my strategy is to cover enough ground where I find myself needing to downcast. Then I can revisit a concept that is already slightly familiar.

Following the Blind

Casey Echternacht — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 05:34:43 +0000

When blind people read brail, they trace their right index finger over a line of text and closely follow it with their left index finger.

I imagine that the right finger is priming the reader's brain; narrowing the range of possible interpretations. Then the left finger proceeds over the same characters with context that it inherits from the right finger.

I'm starting to run into terms and ideas that are completely new to me (method overriding, upcasting, downcasting, etc). Progress feels sluggish at the moment.

The Brail Approach

First pass
I'm going to briskly traverse a tutorial while making flashcards for unfamiliar terms. If I reach the end not knowing how to apply any of the concepts I won't panic or feel bad.

Second pass
I'll restart the training module having made the terms and concepts at least slightly familiar.

OOP; NOW I (kind of) get it

Casey Echternacht — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 21:50:21 +0000

I followed a tutorial to build a rudimentary mortgage calculator. It has objects and methods, which makes it OOP, right?

Wrong

Method A calls method B which calls method C... etc; which is procedural programming. Apparently, typing lines of code into IntelliJ does not qualify as Object Oriented Programming.

This tutorial is having me refactor so that I have a single class dedicated to handling input, a separate class for doing math and a whole other class that handles displaying data.

My brain hurts. I'm going to spend an extra day with this tutorial. This puts me a day behind schedule, but I'm not moving on without solidifying this concept.

This. makes more sense

Casey Echternacht — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 00:35:38 +0000

I'm now taking the time to make flashcards when I study. This practice is forcing me to stop when I don't understand something. The whole concept of "this." in Java is easy to skip past when I'm watching tutorials at 2x speed; it finally makes sense though.

"this." allows us to have identical names for fields and parameters without causing confusion.

public String text;

public void setText(String text) {
this.text = text;
}

Starting... now

Casey Echternacht — Sun, 08 Jan 2023 20:05:00 +0000

Well, it didn't take long to fall of the horse. Yesterday I put off my coding obligation until evening, which is when there was a rare heavy dose of family drama.

I had trouble concentrating, so I just didn't execute my daily plan.

In the past when I break a streak I've been embarrassed. That embarrassment was its own obstacle to getting back on track. Part of getting back up is admitting that I fell in the first place.

Well, I'm not letting something silly like that keep me down. I'm back

100 days

Casey Echternacht — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 17:25:31 +0000

New initiative: code every day for 100 days.

I have 13 days left in my plan to complete Mosh's Java mastery course. Then I will learn to use GitHub and start making commits.

Today I worked on a mortgage calculator and got better at setting up while loops. I also dealt with bringing variables into scope.

The first obstacle is me

Casey Echternacht — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 21:45:38 +0000

About a year ago I was struggling with the dry, lifeless and poorly formatted material provided in my online college course.

I started seeking out youtube videos and found a channel that I loved (). I liked it so much that I purchased his 12 hour Java mastery course.

It is a year later and I still haven't completed it. Why? Because once I finish the videos I will be responsible (in my mind at least) for having "mastered" Java.

Also, my next obstacle will be to DO SOMETHING. Right now I have this cushy next step of following a tutorial. When I'm done with the course, I feel like I'll have to sever my own umbilical cord. It is easy to make progress now that I know what I was afraid of.

To anyone who stumbles upon my writing, the best advice I can give is to reflect often. Know yourself and you can shortcut through your own similarly dumb none-sense.